Mix Tape

I was browsing the latest blogs of note the other day and came across a virtual mixtape. It was something a bit different so I went to the mixwit site.

Its interesting but lets be honest, its a time-killer listening to other 'tapes' already saved at the site. Some users seem to create a tape everyday just to capture the mood.

I've become a little addicted, so thought I'd post my first offering above. Its definitely quicker than creating a physical mix tape!

After writing the above, mixwit closed down which I'm sure disheartened some loyal followers. But the virtual tape will appear again in another form, every day there is something new to discover.

Zine Scene

Independent publications such as zines never went out of popularity it seems. I've been thinking about them for a while, looked up blogs about them and generally wondered how does one get into the zine scene.

I love the homemade nature of a photocopied booklet with ramblings, writings and general outside art.

They retain their DIY aesthetic by multiple photocopying and hand-drawn illustration. But really they are a platform for whatever you can think of -articles, art, collage, interviews- after all your the editor, reporter and publisher!

I went in search of zines in Hamilton to get ideas before I took the plunge. I only found one at Auter House. I've seen a couple in Wellington and know there is Cherry Bomb comics in Auckland, that sell zines. Must have a look next time I'm up.

So I decided to give it a try, make my own personal zine as its only a couple of A4s. But I wasn't sure what topic to write about, which is also true of this blog!

I joined the zinesters website http://www.wemakezines.ning.com/ just to give me an insight. There is lots of help out there from old-hat zinesters to noobs (newbies).

Its called 'Transmission', but I have hardly included any articles in it, even though I'm a journo. Think I wanted to see if solely imagery and a brief cartoon would carry the zine.

My family like it but I pay them well.
The next step is sending it on to a 'zine distro' and spreading my message to the world. But since there are hardly any words, my message isn't exactly loud and clear.

I was thinking of doing another 8 page zine about the hot spots of Hamilton after all the positive feedback.

TV withdrawal

As an avid TV addict, the medium itself is leaving me increasingly cold.
How much more mindless TV can we take before we run for hills screaming for mercy?

Its like a daily diet of pasta and cheese, it soon becomes evident that time is passing but you are not really living.
If you read the letters to the TV Guide, we should be outside throwing ourselves around the back garden or using the remote and turning the box off.

Maybe it dulls your brain. I find the trivial actions of everyday people eating lunch, talking, shopping somehow fascinating now when paired with ridiculous commentary. Or is the ultimate death knock on your social life-"I can't go out tonight, CSI is on!"

As we are nearly at the end of election season, the TV news is now as entertaining as 'Home and Away' as politicians plead for votes with empty purses.

Debates heralded as the 'deciding event' of the election are mind-numbingly boring. A tired audience who have heard all the arguments before, act as judge and jury.

Sleeping on the couch instead of watching sounds like a great alternative. If only I could press the off button as fast as the on switch.

Picture of the Day

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A picture speaks a thousand words, so instead of writing we can photo blog about our day. The possibilities are endless, it could be the couch or your breakfast.

No wonder photo bloggers begin looking for the unusual or even set the scene up themselves without admitting it. Everyday life doesn't exactly draw the crowds regularly unless you can find some interesting angles of your pet goldfish or office desk.

I was contemplating a photo library of stenciled graffiti, every store front, back alley or bin seems to hide another activist's masterpiece.
If we can't laugh at the state of world affairs, western super-powers or weird robots through these graffiti campaigns or vandalism, urban life is rather dull and austere.

The Brooklyn community of blogs features neighbourhood life in all its glory. A featured photo might be a woman in a large hat or children playing on the street with a small story behind it. They are all strangers but are bound by living in such close proximity to each other. Any blog Brooklyn-related is listed in links. Its like a Brooklyn tourism guide!

Photo-bloggers daily inspiration is posted for the world to see, all you have to do is look.

free, take one

Everyday the letterbox is filled with circulars and leaflets. They flood shelves in shops, the streets and the gutter.

Is it human instinct to take flyers pressed into your hand by a distributor instead of refusing. Fifty people can go by, each given literature they briefly scan. It is instantly crumbled and thrown in the bin or drops to the ground.

Is the prospect of a bargain more important than the planet?

Amazingly despite living in the digital age, we are still reliant on paper to spread messages. Maybe its because a physical item and not a jumping ad on a computer screen that we can scrawl away from or shut down with a click of a box.

Even when trays in stores are stacked with the latest catalogue, people would rather read the specials and then put it back or rest it on a shelf.
We are in a constant battle with paper, newspapers and general junk ourselves.

Spare a thought for the hopeless hoarders, every aspect of modern life mass produced including paper takes over every living space they ever had.

One of the festival films I saw was about people crazy about movies. It followed three, who spent their days rushing from one cinema to another in New York.

Their apartments were crammed full of albums, promotional movie material and memorabilia. One woman had to move out because she had filled her entire apartment despite warnings from her landlord.

Guess that is why paper is successful as an advertising medium, it is hard to throw things away. Clutter-free books and TV programmes are all the rage, but will they save us from our own rubbish dump in the car, home or at work?

disposable camera

Remember when 'Staple Magazine' hit the streets in the early 2000s?

As with all new magazines, it had a fresh look and its bill stickers were all over the city when first released, only to fade into the background within a year.

Each month the back page featured the developed film of a disposable camera that had been given to some up-and-comer or famous NZ face.
Over 24 shots, the person took photos of friends or places, even swimming underwater with the camera.

I've never really been a fan of disposable cameras but they serve their purpose, when a digital camera isn't around. There is something final about film, without the handy erase button.

After leaving my camera at home, I bought a disposable before I left Napier for Wellington.
Lack of zoom, its obvious boxy shape and manual winder reinforced its status as a mode of convenience.
The environmental aspect of their disposable status is rather disturbing, but its a novelty I rarely repeat.

Capturing images along the journey, I went photo-crazy in Wellington. I think it helped that the shops were closed and less people were on the streets.

I was glad to be able to snap a golden sunset or an building without over-examining the photo, it seemed more about the moment rather than the camera for once.

I'm looking forward to finishing off the film and getting them developed. I haven't got a clue what to expect.

Art Deco City

Its all palm trees and sunshine in the bay. They are also rather proud of their art deco architecture, which is stunning but almost like a time warp.

Shopping on a Saturday, I tried on hats at a art deco costume shop on sale.
Its quirky when its just dress-up but I've heard they go all out on Art Deco Weekend.

It was Kelt Capital Spring Carnival weekend- the ultimate racing event and there were people on the street dressed in 40s costume. It felt a bit like a movie but everyone else seemed to be staring at them too.

On my travels, I went into an antiques and vintage clothing store. It was like a cheap gift store with bright lights on glass cabinets.
When I walked in, a number of plastic looking necklaces greeted me. The sign above them said "Genuine art deco necklaces found in the back of a European warehouse. $12 each."

Jewellery glass cases housed broaches, necklaces and crystals at the front of the store.
Down the main aisle, I came across a secondhand bookshop area, gloves, bags, war memorabilia, binoculars and finally a 1940s department store style vintage clothes area.
Hats were perched on old mannequin heads and dresses 'pre-1970' were displayed on racks.

It all started to feel rather morbid instead of quirky. Its great to enthuse about the era but it dawned on me that all the ex-owners are probably dead.
All this was reinforced by the 1940s style song with lyrics 'I'm going to live til I die'.

As other customers poked at the items on display, the whole thing seemed a tacky and distasteful way to honour the past. So I quickly exited, walking home via the steep staircases and lanes weaving above the city.

It was a sunny Saturday and the art deco detail of the city was more apparent as I climbed the hill. How could I argue with the views, palm trees and this small city's style!

Stress

I'm a bit of stresser but how can it all crumble into a massive health snowball on my first big internship week.

I've always leaned towards total burnout work-wise because lets face it, its a little fun.
But I think even for me, I'm a little wiped out from all the stuff on lately.

I arrived in the Bay in one piece, its hot here in the afternoons and everything has fallen into place. But I've been on edge and overtly worried about waking in time for work, getting there and then actually producing the goods.

So in this stressful time (one week) along comes large pimples, a cold, the sorest throat possible, day long headaches, shivers and automatic cars- where is the clutch and why is the shift always stuck in park?

But while my body has a melt-down least some interesting stories have cropped up.
Went door knocking around Flaxmere when they had the 200 plus school brawl and then talked to a McDonalds owner when an employee exposed himself in the children's playground.

News isn't always palatable but you have to get it out there amongst it.

I'm not sure what to make of the medical miracles but I'm sure they will be solved with sleep in the weekend.

Post A Secret

I was in Borders the other day (I love manufactured cosy environments) and found myself in the art section.

Amongst the overpriced books on street art or how to draw cartoons was the book 'Post A Secret'.

It is a community art project that encourages people to send in postcards of their secrets.

I've seen about two of the four editions which have been released and the content just gets crazier.

Its amazing the creativity out there even when you are dealing with the most painful secret possible. Most are weird scribblings or collages to over-emphasise the point.

Imagine the relief of sending your secrets to a box number anonymously. You could tell them anything and it won't be traced back to you but it would be out there. Published in Borders no less!

Maybe its perverted that we are automatically drawn to wanting to knowing what other peoples secrets are even if they are anonymous. Toilet walls, postcards, gossip columns- nothing has become outdated yet as a medium to divulge information to our community or the world.

We all want to know forbidden information, but how far does it go before it makes even us uncomfortable. Maybe because its anonymous there is not even a line marked in the sand.

'Post A Secret' now has its own blog, due to the sheer volume of secrets being sent in.

Stitching a storm

Before I interviewed the organiser of 'Stitch n Bitch Hamilton', I had a quick look on the net and I found a massive online craft community operating.

Even here in Hamilton, there is this craft group who meet at a bar weekly to knit and chat. No craft is excluded and as an ex-cross stitcher, I started contemplating a new piece.

I had previously heard of Subversive Cross Stitch in Bust magazine, so began my search there for some creative patterns.
Most of patterns include swear words in their sayings, as I've never been a graphic text person they don't really appeal. Anyway not sure if the charm would remain by the time I stitched it and then hung it in my laundry.

This brings me to what I would like to stitch- maybe a battle scene or a protest march, just to make it interesting and a little radical.

I've already bought some fabric for it but I'm not sure when the great masterpiece will be begun. I'll have to settle on an idea first, which could take a while.

Town Centre

After writing teeline passages about town centres, I've begun to wonder if they still exist.

If you believe the promotional imagery at your large nearby carbon copy shopping centre, its a place to meet friends and get all your to-do lists done.

When people-watching the other day at yet another Westfield, families kept to themselves, couples walked oblivious, school children gossiped and individuals moved with determination. No-one outside of shops seemed to actually interacting.

Architects impressions of new shopping centres highlight the building and the brand as the main attraction to the complex. People are barely decoration on the footpath or public areas even though they lure the viewer into the image and sell the concept as a place to be. It remains the same when these centres are built.

Reading the local paper, I came across an ad for my local block of shops. It termed the shops as 'a shopping centre where everyone knows your name'.
Like a lot of 1960-70s suburban shops in Hamilton, it is a singular row of shops with parking in the front and a large pot-holed car park at the back.

Owned by a family trust, basic necessities such as butcher, vet, fruiterer and real estate agent have gone. Replaced by cafes, therapists and furniture upholsters.

I won't term it the epicentre for the local community, but then maybe we don't require a modern version of the town square.

We call, text and meet at other locations on the move. The world doesn't stand still for us to interact with others.

Lost Art

Letter writing or sending a postcard seem to have become a lost art as email and new technology takes over the world.

In Browsers Bookshop, there is a box of old and new postcards. Most of the new ones are paintings by Edward Hopper (I'm now officially a fan) but some of the old ones are so faded and dog-earred.

It sounds strange to buy a used postcard, but the fountain tip pen message says more about the person than the scene. I read one from Paris that was an apology to a friend for something that they had not spoken off since.
I remember when I was younger, the point of writing a journal was to leave a piece of yourself behind and available to the future explorer who finds it.

A tale popularised by Anne Frank's diary, journals continue to be stocked with locks, flowers and ribbon bookmarks, but I wonder if their charm remains when social networking sites grow in members.

I guess its up to the individual as to what is important. Its nice to receive a hand-written letter or a postcard as fewer people get round to it, even if it has the cliche "wish you were here".

Three films

I prefer being in the dark rather than being in the light so I guess it isn't a surprise that I savour the cinema experience.

There have been memorable incidents- one involving smuggling a fish burger into a movie and then the attendant telling my friend off for possessing it. She had sushi with her and hasn't really forgiven me.

I jump a bit in thriller and horror movies and that is accentuated when I wear a plastic raincoat. I haven't yet fallen asleep, become locked in the grotty toilets or thrown up in my popcorn but I'm sure my time will come.

During this year's International Film Festival offerings, I ended up seeing three from the Incredibly Strange Film Fest which was running in conjunction.

Zombies were living in apartments in [rec]- the reporter trapped in the building liked to scream a bit but told the cameraman Pablo to keep filming while running.

A naive girl found power from an unlikely organ in 'Teeth'- very funny but I'm not sure if the mainly male audience found it so amusing.

Then 'Timecrimes'- three versions of one man play in a loop around a house and lab. Death, betrayal and confusion ensue. Love time travel movies ever since the Back to the Future trilogy.

Enjoyed them all and will have to seek out some incredibly strange ones in the future for some light relief.

Mixed tapes

In less than a months time, I'll be making a large road trip east for a three week stay. A five hour drive sounds daunting but isn't too bad with a couple of mix tapes.

Once you pass Taupo, it feels like you are alone in the wilderness for several hours. Last time I made the trip, I only recorded half of the tape properly with edited songs. The rest was taped continuously off the radio with ads, DJs and callers in-between songs.

As my car isn't worth the splurge of a CD stereo system, I'm sticking with my cassette player. Instead of hooking in the ipod, think I'll try and make at least 3 tapes for the journey.

I've always been a fan of older technology such as cassettes. I bought tapes instead of CDs until they became completely obsolete.

My brother used to use a hack tape to record songs and then re-recorded them onto a final tape. I just record direct onto a tape and don't re-record unless it is quite a messy recording.

Its funny to listen to the older tapes I made since about age 12. I had an obsession with 80s music and only recorded a few modern songs.
The quality is not the greatest- grainy, half cut off and parts re-recorded over but they provide some entertainment especially on road trips.

For birthdays, I used to record special mix-tapes so I had a defined soundtrack of tunes for the day.

I'm only half-way through the first tape for the trip and it is taking a while as I only want songs I haven't been able to capture.

I better listen to the radio over the next few weekends, so I can achieve my 3 tape goal.

Internal Maze

Whenever I visit a new supermarket, I feel like I'm lost in a theme park maze.

Everything is clambering for your attention and its a sea of colours and activity.

You have to travel through all the fruit and vegetables, dairy, meat before even getting close to smaller items like batteries or bread. All the while trying to escape slow trolley traffic and insistent product demonstrators.

No-one ever looks like they are having the time of their lives travelling with a trolley. At peak time like when you are on the road, there are traffic jams and road rage.
Shoppers try and pass you on the right and left, grab for the items you want, trespass personal space areas and children are always screaming for lollies or attention.

I wouldn't recommend going to supermarket- hungry, sick or tired, that never ends well. I once went to buy cake and ended up throwing up my dinner in the bakery- it wasn't pretty.

While you are killing time in trolley traffic, why not check out all the cheap appliances, latest dvds and cds available in a special aisle.
Along with my bread and instant meals, how could I forget that I needed to pick up a big screen TV for myself?

Then you get to the checkout and you search for the shortest line. Usually the operator-in-training is free, aren't you lucky? Over-charged and then they ask for your loyalty cards, which could be lost at the bottom of your wallet or in the washing machine. The bin could be a better choice.

I'm loving those self-checkouts- no personal contact/drama, only the machine and me. The scanning sounds are extra thrilling but they still demand my loyalty card.

If I heap all the goods back into my trolley, I could save 20 cents and then do battle with real cars in the car park. Or I could bundle them under my arm and drop keys, purse, groceries in the car park or even better the supermarket floor. Least I'm a clean and green consumer without my plastic bag.
I should really bring along my trendy eco-bag to pack my own groceries, but then I could be accused of shop-lifting.

After my weekly shop, I feel like a lab mouse that has just completed a maze marathon. Can't wait to start it all over again next week.