Soundclash High...

And what a great gig it was. The audience was pumped, the energy was high and Bedouin Soundclash were visably excited to be in Sydney for the first time, playing to a packed house at the Annandale. As my mate Mel put it quite nicely...they mix rock and reggae well, or something to that effect. Singer Jay Malinowski's vocals were a scratchy delight (and c'mon, I'm a girl and his sex appeal is mesmerising). Playing mostly songs from their 2004 record Sounding a Mosaic, with the crowd pleasing 1259 Lullaby and finishing with an all-in When the Night Feels My Song, nobody went home dissappointed.

I urge you all to see this band if you are ever lucky enough to get the chance.

Feast Bazaar

Apologies for the shameless plug but I really do love this cookbook. Over Easter I had the rare pleasure of a full afternoon free to cook up a massive storm...and the thought of Moroccan food was making my mouth water. I started with Beetroot and Yoghurt Dip (actually from Syria), then made Tchoutchouka Salad (yeah I'm not kidding) which involves roasting red, yellow and green capsicums and further cooking them in chilli powder, paprika, cumin and garlic. This creates a spicy warm salad. I topped it all off with a Moroccan Tomato and Cucumber Salad and we ate it with hummus, warm lebanese bread and heated marinated kalamatta olives. Even after devouring the leftovers today I am still salivating thinking about it. I got the recipes from Feast Bazaar by Barry Vera, Murdoch Books, RRP $39.95. The television series this book is based on keeps eluding me but I hope to catch it one day soon. This is my kind of food. It is exotic, fragrant and conjures snake charmers and dusty market stalls in my mind. I must get to Morocco sometime soon!

Earth Hour 2008

Last year in my lovely lil (big) home town of Sydney, 2.2million peeps and 2,100 businesses turned their lights off for one hour. The result was the equivalent of taking 48,616 cars off the road.

This year the movement is going global. I urge you to please turn off all the lights in your home or wherever you are from 8-9pm this Saturday 29th March. It's a way we can all do something for this most beautiful environment of ours. last year some friends and I went up onto the hill at Sydney park where crowds had gathered to watch the lights dim and it was a great uniting community event. Following that we went to a local bar and had a beer by candlelight. For more info, check out the Earth Hour website and please do sign up to show your support.

Poll

Oh yeah...and cast your vote at the bottom of this page for the best Johnny Depp film of all time...how to choose?

Bedouin Soundclash hit Aussie shores

Sitting in my buddy Shane’s car in Vancouver a couple of years ago, a song came on the radio that made me near wet myself with glee. The announcer didn’t say what song it was. Dammit! Needless to say the radio stayed on and ears stayed pricked. Two days later its shiny goodness fell on me once more. As the song faded I was in purgatory please say it please say it I telepathically begged the DJ. ‘That was When the Night Feels My Song by Bedouin Soundclash from Ontario’. The CD was mine that day.
Fast forward two years, a third album, ‘Best New Group or Solo Artist’ Award at the Canadian Radio Music Awards and ‘New Group of the Year’ Award at the Junos, and still not so much as a bar here in Aus – until now. Bedouin Soundclash are down under for Bluesfest in Byron Bay and to my absolute approval are playing The Annadale this Wednesday night. Tickets are $20 and I’m going so feel free to come along (and comment below if I will be seeing ya there). You can have a listen here. The sound is an infusion of rock, punk, fun, soul and –you guessed it - Reggae

Trashbags 101

What I am about to point out to you is completely obvious and you probably already know it but here you go...there are a few things of which I am a serial offender when I go out to have a few drinks and I am starting to think that maybe if I put them in writing I wont make these mistakes again (hehe...as if). On a big night out:
DO NOT GIVE OUT YOUR NUMBER - You take their number. This way you can avoid awkward phone calls with people you are not sure you even remember that you met, let alone acted keen for.
STOP SPEAKING TO YOUR EX AFTER ABOUT THREE BEERS - This is crucial! You will make out you still give a crap about them when normally you don't. You will waste all the effort you put into your awesome outfit that was designed to show them that they're missing out big time by turning into a drunken fool that will remind them why they broke up with you in the first place.
DO NOT HAVE A BENDER ON SUNDAY NIGHT - As if Monday's aren't painful enough!
DO NOT HAVE TEQUILA SHOTS OR LONG ISLAND ICE TEA'S AT THE END OF THE NIGHT - unless you enjoy your head spinning when you finally lay your disgraceful head on the pillow at some ridiculous time in the morning.

There that feels much better ;) I hope you all heed my advice (if only I would!). If anyone would like to add to this list please feel welcome...

Move over Facebook

Are you getting sick of checking Facebook 15 times a day at work? Do you need a distraction every now and then but are you tired of nothing really going on to inspire you online? If so, next time you need a mental break at work or have time to while away at home, jump on to Mindfood.com to browse all sorts of topics - from news, travel, photography, food, the environment, culture, fashion, music or brainteasers - the list is endless. There is also a magazine, of which the first has just hit stands in Aus & NZ, a numerous selection of podcasts on various subjects, as well as even Mindfood TV! Yeah...so basically there is plenty to look at and read. Go check it out.

Life in the Woods

Speaking of films...I recently was incredibly moved by the film Into the Wild. It kinda messed me up because there is part of me that yearns to run away, to reject this complex, conforming society and live simpler, live amongst the wind and stars -free of it all. It was just a few months back that I was reading Jack Kerouac's The Dharma Bums which stirred up the same kind of freewheeler thoughts and impulses that I have lying below the surface somewhere. I guess being quite confined as I am at the moment has heightened this need to be outdoors and unrestrained. The movie has had me daydreaming about having a little cabin somewhere well out of mobile range, at last to escape to on weekends. So a few days after seeing the film I went to Gleebooks and bought Walden: Life in the Woods by Henry David Thoreau which was one of the books our hero was reading in the film. I just wanted to share with you all a little piece of it's wisdom:

"I see young men, my townsmen, whose misfortune it is to have inherited farms, barns, cattle, and farming tools; for those are more easily acquired than got rid of. Better if they had been born in the open pasture and suckled by a wolf, that they might have seen with clearer eyes what field they were called to labour in."

Michel Gondry returns...

I am eagerly anticipating Be Kind Rewind, the newest film by director Michel Gondry (Eternal Sunshine of a Spotless Mind, The Science of Sleep) starring Jack Black and Mos Def. The trailer looks hilarious and you can see it here. The story goes that Mike (Def) is distressed after his friend Jerry (Black) accidently erases all the videos in the video store he works in. To ensure that they don't lose their most loyal customer, they set about to re-create various classic films themselves. The plot seems quite simple, which is an interesting move for the usually surreal style of Gondry. I guess we shall see the result when the movie opens in Aus March 20th (and for all those overseas who have seen it already...shut the #%$^ up!).

Archibald Prize 2008

Well there you go. Last week I published a blog entry on my favourite artist, Del Kathryn Barton and on Friday she was announced as the winner of one of Australia's premier art competitions - The Archibald Prize 2008. She won for her work titled You are what is so beautiful about me, a self portrait with Kell and Arella (pictured). She received $50,000 for her efforts and I am very stoked for her. I guess this means I will definitely never afford any of her works. Oh well. You can read more about it here. Congratulations Del Kathryn!

Oodles of time...

It is rare that one faces a long period of time literally sitting on one's arse. Since having an operation on my knee at the start of last week I have been faced with such a scenario. It's amazing how, despite all the optimistic planning and intentions of writing articles and finishing books, one can get incredibly bored pretty darn quick. I've discovered that there really is only so much Miami Ink, Gordon Ramsey (?), Globe Trekker, Family Guy and Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou one can watch. Who woulda thought?

Let me pre-empt this by saying it is not cold. It is only a week into autumn and I am still in singlets and (well, lets not go there...I ain't dressing up). It was therefore pure, unfathomable boredom that has driven me to get the knitting needles out early this year. Too impatient for scarves and keen to learn something new, I have been taught (thanks Stitch n' Bitch) how to make the above mobile phone and iPod holders. They can be made in a few (ahem) hours. How gratifying! And how lucky you all are that you will be getting one for your birthdays this year!

Del Kathryn Barton does fashion...

I was lucky enough to catch an art exhibition last year in Paddington's Kaliman Gallery of works by Del Kathryn Barton. I was truly blown away by her whimsical and wild pieces. They were feminine and gutsy, colourful and peculiar. I have never found an artist that I adore more. Recently, Del Kathryn collaborated on a project with fashion label Romance Was Born and produced a truly original collection. Have a peek here and keep an eye out for this Australian treasure. Oh and did I mention she grew up on an alpaca farm outside Sydney?