I'm Being Followed By The Rolling Stones

The weird thing is when i hear this poem by Murray Laughlan Young, i think of Mick 'n' Keeeeeef from Stella Street rather than the real glimmer twins. Well arrrrrrrrrrighhhht.



http://www.murraylachlanyoung.com/home.html

Stella Street

Nubilous

Polaroid pictures were one of my earliest fascinations. Polaroid’s. Ancient Egypt. Dolphins. Go figure, I was a strange kid.

Anyway I digress. I was occasionally allowed to play with our ‘Onestep’ (picture above) camera as a treat. I loved the rainbow strip and wrapping my childish hands around it. I was liable to use all the film in the house if left to my own devices. I couldn't get my head around the fact that the picture developed as you watched. Magic. There are bundles of photos gathering dust in a box somewhere as a result of days spent running around taking shots. As time passed I discovered digital and my fascination faded.

A Polaroid camera would pop up at parties from time to time. Most people I know have a Polaroid camera gathering dust somewhere but rarely purchased film for it. Sales of film steadily declined. The company are moving from an analog Instant Film Production Company to a Consumer Electronics/Digital Imaging company. In early 2008 they announced that film for the iconic cameras would no longer be manufactured.


Enthusiasts were saddened at the fate of their beloved film and began stockpiling any supplies they could find. Prices got higher as supplies dwindled and many vocalized their opinion on the decision to stop production. However an Austrian artist, businessman and Polaroid obsessive called Florian Kaps has made a move to save the format. Kaps is the founder of Polanoid.net, which is the largest Polaroid gallery online and Polanoir, the first ever Polaroid-only art gallery in Vienna.

He has devised a plan to re-open a dormant Polaroid factory in Holland and begin manufacturing film again. Dubbed the “Impossible” project Kaps has said that “The project is more than a business plan; it’s a fight against the idea that everything has to die when it doesn’t create turnover”

IMPOSSIBLE will develop this new, modern Integral Film with the aim to start production in 2010. The plan is to produce 1 million films in the first year (2010) and 3 million films thereafter. According to their site "Impossible B.V. acquired the complete production plant from Polaroid and engaged the most experienced team of Integral Film experts worldwide. The IMPOSSIBLE company is founded with one concrete aim: to re-invent and re-produce analog INTEGRAL FILM for vintage Polaroid cameras. Polaroid is fully aware and supportive of this goal." The focus is on developing a new product consisting of optimal components that will fill the void left by Polaroid.

To read more about the project and how it's progressing:

http://www.the-impossible-project.com/

Loops

http://www.kakiking.com/
http://www.myspace.com/kakiking

Vancouver Zombie Walk 2009

"Look, you're the one who got me out in the armpit of the world chasing your galloping cadavers."
- Peter, City of the Living Dead (1980)

Photo taken at Vancouver Zombie Walk 2009

Warning to Women in Vancouver

I know this isn't really art/culture/design related but i do know that quite a few of you reading are from the Vancouver region. I wanted to spread the word on this and would ask that you do the same, especially to any women you know. Over the past 10 days or so a man has been approaching women in the downtown area-specifically the Burrard/Dunsmuir area.It emerges that he is quite active and has assaulted a number of women. He has approached at Bentall Towers 1 & 2, Burrard Skytrain station and also the Terasen Gas building. There has been no mention of him approaching men yet but that's not to say he hasn't/won't.

He is Caucasian, balding with dark fringe, stocky, 40 – 45 yrs old. Pictures are above. He claims he is from San Francisco/California, working in the movie industry and has given a number of reasons for approaching them e.g: needs to "borrow" some money for a taxi to get to work, needing some assistance etc. He has then punched a number of women.

There are 2 different clothing descriptions – paint on clothes (almost as if he works in construction) or clean cut.

If you see him, do not approach him and call the VPD or 911 immediately.

Update: A man was arrested circa noon on July 13th in connection with the assaults. Investigators are not releasing his name as charges are pending in the case.

Seep

Oscar Diaz is a designer based in London, Uk. He has used capillary action to create an unusual and cool calendar. Using a bottle of ink and paper it works by using a timed pace of ink seeping into the paper to indicate the date. The calendar was originally developed for an exhibition at the London Design Festival in 2007 but he has also used the effect on other pieces. I'm not 100% on how you can control the exact flow of ink through the paper but i've yet to see it in action.




According to Diaz ” A calendar self-updated, which enhances the perception of time passing and not only signalling it. The ink colors are based on a spectrum, which relate to a “color temperature scale”, each month having a color related to our perception of the whether on that month. The colors range from dark blue in December to, three shades of green in spring or oranges, red in the summer.The scale for measuring the “color temperature” that I have used is a standard called ‘D65’ and corresponds roughly to a midday sun in Western / Northern Europe.”

To see more of Diaz’s work check out: http://www.oscar-diaz.net/

Valediction

It’s difficult to comprehend that one of the most genuine and dear friends i've ever known has been gone 12 months. Previously cushioned by an invincible attitude that i have youth on my side and cancer won't catch me,i couldn't get my head around the fact that she was a few years older than me and 10 million times healthier. I’ve lost family over the years but the grief passed and didn't affect me in the same way that her passing did. I hate the fact that took losing her in order to fully realise that life is short. It prompted me to get off my ass and see more of the world. Whilst Vancouver simmers in an unusual heat wave I raise a glass to her memory tonight.

For months part of me refused to believe that she was really dead-Nope, she’s off gallivanting around the world, cracking people up and spreading a little light. She may not be physically here anymore but I still feel her presence at times.

August 2009 brings another loss, but of a different kind. A loss of trust, love and respect. Strange how a deceased person can seem so close and a living one so far away

Image: Distance

Civilization

Civilization is a stunning video installation that artist/director Marco Brambilla created for the elevator in The Standard Hotel, NYC. Brambilla worked with Crush who are a directorial collective and production company based in Toronto, Canada. Comprising of over 400 video clips and containing over 300 individual channels of looped video that blend into a multi-layered seamless scroll. It takes passengers riding the elevator on a trip from hell to heaven as theyascend and from heaven to hell as they descend.

Click here to watch a full screen version of the piece

http://marcobrambilla.com/

http://www.crushinc.com/

Somnambulism

"The answer came like a shot in the back
while you were running from your lesson
which might explain
why years later all you could remember
was the terror of the question
plus i'm not listening to you anymore
my head is too sore and my heart's perforated
and i'm mired in the marrow
of my (well... ain't that) funny bone
learning how to be alone and devastated
where was my conscience?
where was my consciousness?
and what do i do with all these letters
that i wrote to myself
but cannot address?"

Ani Difranco

Fluid

Unfortunately I've been unable to find a lot of information about the designer Charlie Bucket but I'm really impressed with what he has done with some tubes and colored liquid. The above is a prototype for a skirt. Clear plastic tubing which was woven around a loom to get a woven effect and according to Bucket the ultimate goal of the project is to translate this idea into a complete wearable outfit.I love how at 2.15 the piece almost appears to vibrate.Click on the link below to see a large screen version as the clip above doesn't really do it justice.

http://www.casualprofanity.com/