My life in general since portfolio submission: A dotpoint narrative.

In short:

• Trip to Melbourne booked for early February. Yay!
• Trip to Tasmania booked for the start of July '10 to see my new nephew that's being popped out a couple of months earlier. Super yay.
• Saw Sia play at the Astor last night (Tuesday). She was AMAZING, and so cute with her clumsy jokes and demeanor that I just wanted to wrap her up and take her home with me. The Astor however was a bit over capacity for the ventilation capacity it has. I was sweating like a bitch but loving it.
• Seeing Patrick Wolf play at Capitol in a couple of weeks. Should also be rather fantastic.
• Picked up my folio today from the uni after a few attempts to get it back. Now I can get onto applying for a job in a firm.
• Getting uni marks on the ninth. Fingers crossed that it's a bundle of High Distinctions.
• Drinking much G+T, also trying to cook whatever I can hack out of the ice in my freezer. There's shit in there that I don't remember buying, and there's a bag of Superfries in there that's nearly three years old.
• Been fixing up plasterwork and cornices in my recently vacated housemate's room, and I'm part-way through painting the ceiling. Then all of the stuff from my room is going in there so that I can do the same with mine, as well as redo the walls.

That's about all.

Society is obviously fucked.

I went to the trouble of scanning this in from my junk mail because I think it is so amazingly obscene.

McDonalds play stuff? Why the hell would a kid want to work at McDonalds? Surely their parents would encourage them to aim a little bit higher.

If this is any kind of indicator of the so-called "obesity epidemic", or just a hint of where society in general is heading, please kill me now.

Shame, Toys'R'Us. Shame.

Same with McDonalds.

I'm sure there's some kind of public health directive against this kind of subliminal marketing shit.

Folio

So the semester's work is finally over for me. I handed in my portfolio today, and even had it in with an hour and a half to spare. Go me.

The end of year exhibition is also all sorted and pinned up. I've got three different things in there; one from each project. That's on tomorrow night and should be quite a good event. If you know me, you'll know that free alcohol is always a good event in my books.

It's on 6-8pm in the Curtin Architecture building (201) if anyone feels like heading down and having a look whilst rubbing shoulders with some amazingly obnoxious and self-loving architects. The Interiors people also have space on the floor, so you'll see some of Darcy's work too on the night.

As far as folio goes, it was nowhere near as much blood and tears as previous years. In fact, it was quite an enjoyable experience and I managed to get at least two hours sleep every night so far this week. It's not quite as developed as I would have liked (it's missing all of the models from Project 2 because they were stolen and I couldn't be bothered remaking them just to take a photo.), but overall I'm pleased with what I came up with.

I'd say that it is minimal. Some would say that it's pushing the definition of minimal. I don't care.

Here's a slideshow:

...or for a much better way of viewing it (as the one above has a habit of starting halfway through), go here for a funky full screen navigateable slideshow. It's much more pleasant.

A few notes:

-The blank pages in project one saying "Original Slides" had a pocket cut out of them with the full size pictures shown before slid in.

and

-The first two pages of submission plans for Project 2 were printed on drafting film (clear) so that all of the plans could be overlaid at once. That's why they look weird by themselves.

That's all really.

Drinks!

I'm sorry.

I'm going to continue my little bit that I had to say at the end of the last post below. These stop and search laws are shitting me.

The idea that you are innocent until proven guilty is a base construct of our legal system in Australia. It's how things should be, and Karl O'Cockface needs to learn when to stay in his box. Police are there to enforce the laws that our society has. They shouldn't be campaining for new ones or trying to alter the way things are done. A person should be able to refuse a police search if they think it is inappropriate.

The thing that really shits me is that O'Cockface and the Police union dude are always saying "go into Northbridge at 3am and have a look. You'll see what we mean." The thing is, I've spent a lot of time in Northbridge at 3am, 4am and even 6am.The levels of violence are amazingly overstated and primarily caused by the big venues with their arrogant door staff and bouncers. The violent douches go there because there's a level of anonymity the venues provide that is only available in places with large numbers of people.

I also don't blame this whole situation entirely on Mr O'K. I lay the blame fairly and squarely on the media too. It's in no way a subconscious choice on their part to constantly publish inflated stories of violence on the front page of the newspaper. They make Northbridge out to be something that it is not, and it really shits me.

Shitting me more than that is the fact that they don't give equal weighting to the new laws in their publishing. On the weekend when the whole thing got elevated to the upper house of Parliament and made it's way towards restricting our freedoms, there wasn't any front page story. There wasn't any real story. In fact, as I believe, the only thing published on the weekend was about one politician's remarks regarding Nazi Germany, whilst completely skipping over the more pressng fact of the legislation that his marks were about.

Add to that the sub-standard level of shit reporting that is Today Tonight and Sunday Night (which is pretty much all of the news that the cashed up bogans in Perth watch) and you've got a situation where there are needless totalitarian laws being created to fix a problem that doesn't really exist.

Before we know it, half of the population of Perth are going to wake up and find themselves in a Police State and wonder how it happened.

And it's going to be the younger people, the most oblivious, that find themselves being discriminated against and driven out of the state.

It's folio time again

...and I really can't be bothered.

I've done a storyboard of the whole lot so I know EXACTLY how much I have to do, and how much nice expensive paper I need to fork out for. The thing is that at this moment in time, I just don't want to think about the 27 pages I have left to do.

I've also just looked at the plans for the end of year exhibition that's happening this Thursday, and I need to put in three things. Not one like some people. Three. Or at least that's how I interpret that CAD file that I got sent.

Putting it in perspective, the money I spend on printing the three things I could instead spend on a desperately needed new pair of shorts for summer. Bleh.

Suck it up, sunshine.

Page one:

Click for full size. 

Oh, and if that Police union dude actually does think that no officer is racist or discriminatory, he really needs to get a reality check and a new job. Arrogant douche.

"She has slandered every hardworking police officer - male and female - in WA. This two-bob politician is trying to undermine all the good work police officers have been doing over the years."

No she hasn't and she's not. You're just used to sweeping shit under the rug to maintain a good image.

Go Adele Carles. You tell it how it is.   

Senate - again

I was looking through the submissions AGAINST recieved by the Marriage Equality Senate Inquiry today. It's interesting reading.

Most of them tend to focus on the usual topics of kids and family dynamics, which I don't see an being of much relevance to the inquiry. After all, gay couples can already live together with kids if they like. Marriage won't change it much.

Quite a few people also need to learn the basics of sentence structure and punctuation, but that's another rant.

Anyway, a little way down the page I found a letter from an anonymous contributor that I found funny (in an "Oh my god" sad way). Somehow, the person managed to turn an argument against gay marriage into a muslim apocalyspe theory rant. I'd love to see their stream of thought as they wrote the submission.

Some people amaze me.

In related news though, the inquiry received over 10 000 submissions in favour of changing marriage law, and it was the biggest inquiry in Australia to date.

AME has a little article about the parliament debating afterwards here too, which is good.

Little Details

Last week my new camera arrived at the front door in it's box, packed snugly in a bag between a few sheets of foam and bubble wrap. I bought it off eBay, the place where the quality of things is never guaranteed until you receive it. So it came as no surprise when I opened the (pervert-esque? looking) camera bag to find the three lenses sitting in there with no lens caps and gritty dirt all over the glass. The camera too was just shoved in the bag without much care, despite the fact that there was a case for it in the package as well.

Strangely, I wasn't fazed at all by the state of things. I just spent a bit of time wiping and cleaning things and getting them into some sort of order, and in the end the camera ended up looking pretty nice. It came with three lenses, five filters, and a myriad of flashes and stuff - although all I wanted was the camera body and the smallest of the lenses. The one that fitted inside the old leather camera case nicely when fitted. As a complete package, it look pretty sweet.

Excitedly, I went out and bought myself a couple of rolls of Ilford 400 Black and White film, loaded the camera up and took a few photos to test everything. It all worked. Nicely.

There is something comforting in the sound of an old SLR taking a picture. The click of the mirror moving to expose the film to light, and then the physical movement of winding the film to the next frame with faint, grinding buzz. It's a physicality and reassurance of working that digital cameras just don't have.

Looking at something through a lens [I find] is a lot like drawing. You tend to notice a lot of the smaller details that are generally missed, and you keep noticing new things even after the photos are printed. Sure, drawing involves a lot more examination, logic and 'looking', but when you're photographing something other than a landscape and working out depth of field, focus etc the 'looking' part becomes relatively the same.

You know, as they say: The simpler things in life... blah blah blah...

It all applies in this instance.

Seed Bank

Apologies for not writing anything as of late. I'd love to tell you how amazingly FABULOUS Liza Minelli was. I'd also love to bitch and whine about how much sleep I didn't get in the past few weeks. However, I really can't be bothered. I've been quite happy simply doing nothing.

Nothing involves working, gardening and cleaning, if you were wondering.

Here's my final Design submission that I presented on Thursday last week. I'd have to say that it was the easiest critique that I've ever had to endure. There wasn't even any enduring, and i'd even go so far as to say that it was enjoyable. Shockhorreur.

In a nutshell, the project was to design a seed bank for the local plant species of the Merredin area, as part of the Millenium Seed Bank Project.

If you'd like a greater explanation, feel free to ask. We'll meet for drinks and nibbles and sit for hours.

As usual, click for larger.

I may not be writing much

However I am in the midst of a uni meltdown. Here's what I'm doing.

For Darcy, with love.

As usual, click for larger.

lol.

Dusty, gravel roads.

Today I was thinking about stuff. Life, direction, everything along those lines.

Deep.

My thoughts were accompanied by an almost surreal appreciation (satisfaction?) that my life has changed so much in the last few years.

I remember back at the start of 2005 when I was seriously contemplating packing up one day and leaving Albany for Perth without so much as a Goodbye. My plans would generally have been along the lines of transferring within my job at Woolies and crashing at a mate's house until I found a bit of dirt-cheap accommodation that would fit my guitar, laptop and a bar fridge. The reality of it would probably have been far less fun than the romanticised version in my mind, but I really don't care. It's the thought that counts.

Thinking of where I am now with a steadily unfolding career, house, and generally 'set' direction in life, I always wonder where I would have ended up had I chosen to just wander off. On one hand it's a scary thought, but at the same time it's slightly exciting and intriguing.

One of my friends did the wandering thing not long back. He decided he'd had enough, packed up one night and drove to Melbourne. Sure, he slept in the car for a couple of nights, but somehow he managed to get a decent job and a place to stay and was quite happily set within a week. He has no one to think about. No attachments or obligations. It's a dream.

It makes me think that maybe I am getting bogged down in life far too early and should just lighten the fuck up. Who knows, I might just find myself in a better place.

At the same time, things have changed so much in the last five years that it's impossible to guess what the next five years will bring.

Such is the screwed-up lottery of life I guess.

Sunny Sunny Day

It's always easier to smile when the sun is out.

Particularly with coffee, dips and turkish bread on hand and no looming assignments.

Green light for Yanchep development

Hello urban sprawl, nice to see you again. Have you seen Sustainability or Environment around anywhere?

No?

I didn't think so. They must be 200km away on the other side of the city.

.

I didn't ask to be born this way.

Saying that, I am who I am, and I wouldn't ever change it if I were given a chance. So FUCK YOU to all of the people in this world, in this society and in this country who seek to drag me down in every second of my waking life.

You are my family, my old friends, my colleagues and my teachers. You are everyone who pretends to give a shit but then turns a blind eye and says that it is too hard. You are the glare out of the corner of a person's eye as they pass me, and the rocks that are thrown as I run down the street trying to escape. You are apathy in it's greatest incarnation and the dead teen hanging in his garden shed, alone.

You may have had the best years of your life in your teens, but then who ever noticed that one boy who was never there?

That boy that you only saw at school, the quiet one. The one who was not allowed out of the house, not allowed to go to friends' parties, not allowed to go into town with friends and not allowed to go out on weekends.

The one with the nice parents, or so they seemed when they weren't at home. How were you supposed to know that they were cruel, small-minded and scared? Scared of what their friends would think. What people would think. Too scared to notice the harm and the sadness and the resentment that they were harbouring behind the closed door of their house. Too consumed in their own self-pity to notice the marks on their son's wrists from endless nights spent awake contemplating an easier existence.

How can you be blamed when you did not know?

You can.

You are society and pressure. Opinion and perpetuated prejudice. You are the uncorrected hateful remarks in early life. You are the look of hate on the faces of the gang as they kick, spit and stab in malice in a dark alley. You... are the muted voices of the media as they write a single line on page thirty-seven about that poor faggot who was killed. After all, who wants to hear depressing news when you can read about Britney.

You don't care.

You wave your flag of support for five seconds and then throw it in the bin when a new TV show comes on the programme. You think. You intend. You hope. Many do.

Thoughts cannot be read. They cannot be heard. Nor can they be seen.

You are the stagnant force of apathy and defeat that holds me back.

Fuck you.

Suggestion: Strip search the Premier

The Barnett Government has many ideas which I disagree with. Mandatory sentencing, prostitution, the foreshore - the list goes on. It's latest invention however takes the cake in my book as being the stupidest totalitarian police-state invention I have ever heard.

As current laws stand, police are allowed to stop and search you for all manner of things if they have a reasonable suspicion that you are carrying weapons or drugs. The sticking point for police is that proving reasonable suspicion is a very dubious thing that many police simply don't have the patience or depth of reasoning to argue.

In lieu of that, good ol' Colin comes along and suggests new laws which give the police the power to search anyone they want without having to prove any suspicion in "trouble spots". If this actually goes through, what comes next?

Aside from being a violation of basic rights of privacy, I would like to know who exactly gets the power to decide where and when these searches are deemed permissable. If it goes anywhere near where Police Commissioner Karl O'Callaghan wants, I suspect there will be an amazing reduction in the number of people going to music festivals. After all, who would want to pay upwards of $150 and be strip searched in front of queues of people just to watch a few music acts and drink overpriced alcohol? Certainly not me.

Many of the supporters of the proposed changes take the view that 'if you don't have anything to hide, why worry?'. It's exactly that notion that makes the laws absurd. Surely if you don't have anything to hide, you shouldn't have to be subjected to humiliating public searches only to have the police find nothing and say "thanks, you can go now". In any case, I highly doubt the police would be carrying around a fold-up cubicle to enable them to conduct searches in relative privacy. In the case of Northbridge, this would be be on the sidewalk in broad view of passers-by.

Assuming the Government is successful in passing such legislation, I look forward to reading all of the complaints in the paper from innocent people who have been searched for no apparent reason. Thinking logically, the searches won't be able to do any more than a sniffer dog and hand-held metal detector already can - methods which are far more discrete and non-invasive.