Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Op Shop Mini Haul


I went with my friend to the College of Fine Arts annual exhibition today. Made me even more excited about going there to study design next year. I will post up pictures from there later. 

We also went op shopping afterwards and ended up buying these red wine Gap trousers which is way too long for me because I'm a shorty pants. It will look good folded up which will be perfect for summer. I also purchased a copy of Jane Eyre and Oscar Wilde Plays. They're both so battered (which means they were well-loved) and the pages are yellow and have that lovely old book smell. 

In a second-hand bookshop head to the back, find the old books with dust undisturbed and woren off covers for these cloth true treasures.”

- Rachel Hall

Image is owned by me and cannot be reused without permission or crediting the original source.


Monday, November 28, 2011

Norwegian Wood and marginalia


Reading as a little boy I always wondered why there were blank pages at the end of books. Wikipedia offers us a technical explanation. Those blank pages are a result from the convention of printing books in large sheets of paper and therefore sometimes one or several pages are left intentionally devoid of content at the end. 

When I was ten years old however, I concluded that those pages were meant to be written on for the reader. Sometimes I would write alternate endings for books. For someone like me who was left utterly depressed by the endings of Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events, I found joy in writing a happier conclusion for the Baudelaire triplets. 

Or I would play pretend-critic and wrote what I thought about the book or noted down chapters and pages that I know I would want to revisit later on. 

Now I've moved away from writing solely on the end pages and now habitually write on the margins of all pages in the book, underlining quotes, writing of-the-moment reactions (usually immature) or just thoughts inspired by the writing. 

It made reading an active experience which is an essential part of this pastime. This is important especially for younger generations who are used to media acting as interactive spaces for them. 


I found this act particularly useful when I read Haruki Murakami's Norwegian Wood. A deeply saddening story about damaged, fragile minds. I found myself angered, depressed, amused and frustrated and writing about my thoughts was completely liberating. His writings are so beautiful that so many passages bore the underlines signifying their amazingness.  Murakami writes in a way that even the descriptions of the most banal object, character or setting can instigate a cleansing weeping session in one's room. It's like his words are stained with melancholy.

He is also quite blunt. He declares a character's death as if he was proclaiming the day's weather. The first sentence of the last chapter was written so plainly I had to re-read it several times to grasp what it actually meant despite its simple statement. A combination of shock and mournfulness swallowed me and I had to close the book to give me time to breathe. It was the first sentence of that chapter.

The characters are colourful, dark or just plain bizarre and they go in and out like ghosts. Once you start reading about one you end up forgetting about the others until you are jolted back to them.

Murakami is also a master of time. The narrative would weave the past, the present and the near future so seamlessly. It feels tightly constructed without being too antiseptic. 

If you have ever been interested in human beings and their minds and feelings, then please don't neglect reading this. 


All images are owned by me and cannot be reused without permission or crediting the original source.


Wednesday, November 23, 2011

Sculptures By The Sea at Bondi Beach // Part 2



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Sunday, November 20, 2011

Sculptures By The Sea at Bondi Beach // Part 1


Managed to catch the last day of the Sculptures by the Sea exhibition at Bondi Beach. So many great works and the beach setting made them even more special. It's great to have a bit of a change from the white walls of an art gallery space.

Some of the sculptures were witty, some were political and plenty were just plain beautiful. I was more drawn to the smaller works, ones that you have to get closer to inspect but I have to admit there were a couple that did not really impress me. Some of them looked like oversized souvenirs.

The weather wasn't all too great but the gloomy, grey skies made for some strikingly dramatic photographs. 

Images are owned by me and cannot be reused without permission/crediting the original source.


Friday, November 18, 2011

Stereo


To quote one of Charlie's angels: 'Tickets, I love tickets!'

My first ever music festival. Oh the irony considering the middle word of my blog's name. Never really been interested in them though because:
1) Sunburns are a fear of mine
2) Sweaty people are gross
3) I never know anyone in the lineup

But since everyone I know, literally, EVERYONE is going to this - I thought I should give it a try.


Image is owned by me and cannot be reused without permission/credit.

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

The Golden Hour


The golden hour is either the last and first hour of sunlight during the day. Everything looks so much better in photographs during the golden hour. Everything has a kind of supernatural and dreamlike tinge and the light is flattering on anyone. Terrence Malick, one of my favourite directors, shoots mostly during the golden hour and as a result his films have the most exquisite cinematography.

This was shot in Sydney harbour. Never seen it quite that beautiful before.

 I'm carrying (and abusing) my satchel which is going to get a lot of use over the next year. The poor thing doesn't even look new anymore and it's only been a month. 

I love this shirt from Esprit. It's light and airy and absolutely perfect for Sydney summer heat. I don't usually tuck my shirts in because it somehow makes me look slightly chubby but I really wanted to show off this multicolour stripe belt from French Connection.

I also got a new camera. My poor Canon Kiss is now accumulating dust on my bookshelf while I play with my new Olympus Pen E-P3.

I'm going to apologise in advance. The following paragraph might sound a bit geeky.

 I'm currently using the standard 14-42mm lens but I'm starting to really hate zoom lenses and becoming more drawn towards prime lenses. I'm going to get the M.Zuiko 45mm f1.8 on Thursday and I'm so excited. With an aperture that wide think of all the possibilities! And yes, the bokeh is beautiful. I'm also eyeing the "pancake lens", the 17mm f2.8 Wide but thinking of saving up a bit more and opt for the more expensive 12mm f2.0 Super Wide. I just need a wide lens to interchange between the portrait lens so at least I have something else to use if I ever want to photograph a landscape. 

It's true what they say. Once you buy your first non-standard lens, you keep going back for more. I'm so addicted!


End geeky camera rant.


Have a lovely week :)



Images are owned by me and cannot be copied or reused without permission. 


Tuesday, November 1, 2011

Japan


Snaps from my Japan trip a few years ago. I visited my family there and we played tourist in Osaka and Tokyo. I don't know if any of these places are still intact after the earthquake. Such a devastating disaster taking precious lives and ruining beautiful settings. I was there when Japan was suffering from economic turmoil and can attest to the fact that the Japanese are resilient people so they will, and are, going to get through any setbacks that come their way.


All images are owned by me and cannot be reused without permission and/or being credited.


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