Reading: Roger-Pol Droit

The 38-degree heat and an upcoming beach holiday has put me in a contemplative and philosophical mood. I am a dreamer by nature, but today especially so.

In these moments I find myself returning to what may just be my favourite book, 101 expériences de philosophie quotidienne (101 Experiments in the Philosophy of Everyday Life), by Roger-Pol Droit.

This book has special meaning to me, as I first encountered it when I had just finished high school and was trying to figure out what to do with my life. While I haven't answered that question yet, this book was instrumental in me learning how to step outside my mind, experiencing familiar things in a new way, and revel in the spontaneity of life.

The book is small, only 200 pages, and contains 101 simple 'experiments' that will have the reader reflecting on life, death and everything in between.

Some experiments are humourous, such as Dread the arrival of the bus, or Drink while urinating (surprisingly liberating). Some are sobering, such as Imagine your imminent death, or Contemplate a dead bird. And some may get you in trouble, such as Tell a stranger she is beautiful.

But every experiment in this book, no matter how silly or scary they sound, will have you looking at life in an entirely different and unique way, no matter how many times you try them.

Looking: Darren Wardle

"it's like another perfect day... I love LA" - Randy Newman

Me too. Sure, LA's a sprawling, crime-ridden metropolis with vapid people and insane traffic, but I like it because it is, more than anything else, a microcosm of the world. Everyone you've ever met, every movie you've watched, every joke you've laughed at, and every tragedy that has made you shed a tear, has been put into one huge blender and poured across a concrete valley. There's nowhere else quite like it.

Darren Wardle is a Melbourne artist whose airbrushed, 80s-inspired artworks reference LA and other 'car cities' such as Las Vegas and, to a lesser extent, Melbourne and Sydney. His hypercolour, saturated and overexposed images are meticulously detailed and devoid of any human presence. His work depicts an artificial, almost dream-like world where perfection is both alluring and repelling. Kind of like LA, actually.

Wardle is represented by Sullivan+Strumpf in Sydney, and Nellie Castan Gallery in Melbourne.

Laughing: I Have A Dream

Riding: Light Lanes

I've always liked the idea of riding to work, shops, movies, anywhere really. We have the perfect climate for cycling, as well as terrible traffic problems and a dwindling supply of fossil fuels. Yet for some reason the imbiciles that govern our city and state have spent more time building road tunnels they can't afford, rather than seriously invest in safe cycling (and public transport, for that matter, but that's another post for another time). As a result, the closest I've come to cycling in Sydney is last night's spinning class.

So what's a rider to do? Like everything important in life, if you want something done properly, you need to do it yourself. So Altitude's Alex Tee and Evan Gant came up with the Light Lane: a laser-powered bike lane that projects from follows you wherever you go. So you don't need to wait for the schmuks on Macquarie Street to get their act together. Ingenious!

Thanks to Two Thousand for the tip.

Wearing: My new sunnies

I've never seen myself as a sunnies kinda guy. Of course they are a necessity in Australia, but I've never really thought too much about them apart from that.

Until recently, I owned a pair of classic Ray Bans. They started getting a bit tired and I didn't know what to replace them with. But then I had an epiphany when browsing Kings Cross on a Saturday morning a few weeks back - I tried on my first pair of AMs at Haku. AM Eyewear is an Aussie label that is handcrafted from Italian materials, with a contemporary design that references classic 'Bans. All without trying too hard.

The even cooler thing is I went for the brown tint - so now my entire world looks like Armageddon. Awesome.

Reminiscing: Confucius has closed

Confucius has closed, originally uploaded by traffman.

Confucius was a little Chinese restaurant in Kings Cross. It never occurred to me to eat there because it reminded me of a low-grade Chinese restaurant, the type you find in country towns. But its closure has me reminiscing.

Chinese restaurants first began appearing in Australia in the 1950s. Australia in the 1950s was a very different place to today. Meat and three veg was the staple diet, immigration was something to be feared - not celebrated - and a large proportion of the population lived in a regional or non-urban setting. Despite the advent of the White Australia policy and subsequent ‘yellow peril’ hysteria, there seemed to be one Chinese family in every town, who would own the one 'international' restaurant. Albury, the country town where I grew up, was no exception.

I have fond memories driving empty single-lane highways with my father throughout regional New South Wales and Victoria, knowing that no matter what town we end up in, it would have a (nearly always empty) Chinese restaurant waiting for us, serving such cultural delicacies as sweet-and-sour, chow mein and, best of all, deep-fried ice cream. I cringe at the thought of eating these foods today, and, it seems, so do my neighbours, as the closure of Confucius illustrates.

These restaurants demonstrate sheer entrepreneurialism. Men and women moved their families into foreign, remote and unwelcoming environments, and established a business in the hope of creating a new, more prosperous and enjoyable life.

In the urban and self-consciously evolved society that is contemporary Australia, it is easy to dismiss our first taste of international cuisine as pure cultural cringe. But I am grateful to our first international restaurants and the people that ran them, because they helped establish the rich culinary landscape that Australia enjoys today.

Without chow mein, we may never have had Kylie Kwong, and for that we should be eternally grateful.

Listening: My President Is Black

Young Jeezy of all people has come up with this rousing ode to the USA's first African-American President.

I've pasted my fave part of the lyrics below:

Tell him I'm doin fine, Obama for mankind
We ready for damn change so y'all let the man shine
Stuntin on Martin Luther, feelin just like a king
Guess this is what he meant when he said that he had a dream

My president is black, my Lambo's blue
And I'll be goddamned if my rims ain't too
My money's light green and my Jordans light grey
And they love to see white, now how much you tryna pay?
Let's go!

Yeah, our history, black history, no president ever did shit for me
Had to hit the streets, had to flip some keys so a nigga won't go broke
Then they put us in jail, now a nigga can't go vote
So I spend doe, all these hoes is trippin
She a ain't a politician, honey's a polotician
My president is black, rolls golden charms
Twenty-two inch rims like Hulk Hogan's arms
When thousands of peoples is riled up to see you
That can arouse ya ego, we got mouths to feed so
Gotta stay true to who you are and where you came from
Cause at the top will be the same place you hang from
No matter how big you can ever be
For whatever fee or publicity, never lose your integrity
For years there's been surprise horses in this stable
Just two albums in, I'm the realest nigga on this label
Mr. Black President, yo Obama for real
They gotta put your face on the five-thousand dollar bill

Thinking: Arts in the USA

I was surprised to learn that the United States doesn't have any representation of Arts at the Senate or federal level. Although this is the land of Paris, Britney, Miley, and many other "artists" who have saturated the world's airwaves knows on a first-name basis, it is also home to one of the world's most dynamic contemporary arts scenes, particularly in Los Angeles and Miami, and, of course, the stalwart that is New York.

With Barack Obama's imminent inauguration, the calls to introduce a Secretary of the Arts are becoming increasingly loud. Arts advocates see Obama - who is said to be the most depicted president-elect in US history and has an iPod stocked with artists as diverse as Bob Dylan, Jay-Z, John Coltrane and Bruce Springsteen - as their greatest chance in decades to make this happen.

Although we in Australia are not seen as being particularly cultured (despite our self-view - perhaps this is the very symbol of being uncultured; when we think we are despite evidence to the contrary), we have federal arts representation sitting within the menagerie of responsibilities under the Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts. The Arts component is mainly responsible for literature, film, indigenous arts and administering tax incentives.

It is hoped that a US Secretary of the Arts will be able to increase awareness of America's diverse arts amongst its own people, as well as administer grants, educate young people on art history

However with the country in the midst of an economic crisis, the possibility of Obama adding a new bureaucracy, no matter how committed to the arts he is, seems unlikely.

Watching: Doubt

I doubt I'll make it to the gym this afternoon. I also doubt the Gaza treaty will work. That's the funny thing about doubt - it is constantly there; from the most insignificant suspicion to the most important allegation.

Doubt is set in the cold, wet and windy grounds of St Nicholas school in The Bronx, NY, which Sister Aloysius Beauvier (Meryl Streep) rules with an iron fist. When she begins to suspect Father Brendan Flynn (Phillip Seymour Hoffman) of abusing of a black student, she makes it her mission to bring him down. What follows is a power play between a woman who is too certain - or too proud - to go back on her word, and a man who is either too powerless - or too guilty - to fight it.

Doubt is based on a play of the same name, and it shows, with only three scenes in the entire 103-minute film. But it never feels boring. The wind howls and causes goosebumps to form on the back of your neck. Streep is both infuriating and enchanting, and Hoffman even more so.

Thinking: Suicide Towers

Suicide Towers, originally uploaded by traffman.

I've been following the troubles at the 'Three M's' estate in Rosemeadow, on Sydney's outskirts, with great interest over the past couple of weeks. It always fascinates me whether people are a product of their environment, or whether the environment is actually a product of the people.

This photo was taken in the centre of Redfern, where 41.6% of residents live in public housing, according to the 2006 census. Most live in high-density buildings with deceptively quaint names such as James Cook, Joseph Banks, Marton and Turanga.

These buildings, along with Northcott Towers in nearby Surry Hills, were bold social experiments from the 60s, where slums were cleared and residents were moved into new, affordable housing close to work opportunities in Sydney's CBD. Poorly resourced, with inadequate police and community facilities, these grand plans soon turned into a hotbed of violent crime, mental illness and illicit drugs. But in 2006, Northcott became first public housing estate in the world to be recognised as a "safe community" by the World Health Organisation. Brendan Fletcher's excellent documentary 900 Neighbours profiles the huge effort between residents and the wider community that resulted in their building being turned around.

The Three M's estate was developed about 15 years after the Surry Hills and Redfern projects, and was based on the idealistic Radburn Plan, first implemented in Fair Lawn, New Jersey. The concept was to separate traffic and pedestrians by flipping houses so garages face the street and the main house faces a communal parkland at the back, which in turn pioneered the cul-de-sac, that universally adopted symbol of suburbia. What it has meant in Three M's, however, has been isolation and a lack of security and privacy.

Yet other Radburn-based developments, such as Milgate Park Estate in Doncaster East, Melbourne, many parts of Canberra, and even Thurgoona, where I grew up, have not experienced the same social ills as Rosemeadow. So what went wrong at Three M's? Surely if a huge building like Northcott Towers can reinvent itself, it can't be too hard for three suburban streets?

Clicking: Uncyclopedia

In primary school, there was a kid who everyone used to tease for spending his lunch times reading encyclopedias in the library. Of course I joined in the teasing, being very careful to not reveal a deep, dark secret to my friends: that after school, in the safety of my own bedroom, I also enjoyed getting lost in the foreign, exotic worlds contained in the pages of these wonderful books.

Lexicon was my preferred brand at the time, as it had colour pictures and a more contemporary, American flavour than the stuffy old Oxfords they had at school. In high school, I swiftly moved into the digital age with Microsoft's Encarta, which had interactive stories and videos which I spent hours exploring.

Since those days I've used the convenient but unreliable Wikipedia as my main source of research. Which is why I was so excited when I discovered Uncyclopedia.

I only discovered the site recently while browsing travel destinations in Canada. I thought I was on Wikipedia and was interested to read that "Oscar Wilde actually had his first homosexual experience in Vancouver, leading to the town's well-beloved nickname 'That place where Oscar Wilde rendez-vouzed with 12 dudes at the same time'". Saucy...

Then I noticed the appeal from Uncyclopedia Mother Codeine's Mum, the site rules (1: Be funny, not just stupid; 2: Don't be a dick), and the potato puzzle logo and I realised that I wasn't in Kansas anymore.

This site is serious fun. With just the right amount of cheek, it really more informative and insightful than Wikipedia. I tested this site by researching some places that I'm familiar with,
and within a few minutes I learnt that "Sydney is loosely translated from the native Aboriginal language as "Atlanta with a harbour"" (so true) and that Melbourne has the lowest crime rate in Australia due to the continued presence of the city's founder, Batman (not to mention that the majority of "suss people" spend 6 months of the year in stadiums watching football). Too funny.

Uncyclopedia makes encyclopedias cool. Had the site been around during my childhood, I think that kid in the library wouldn't have been teased, and I would have been able to come out and announce to the world that I, too, like to read encyclopedias. I mean, it even has swear words! How cool is that?!

Building: Albury LibraryMuseum

Growing up in Albury in the 1980s, I was immersed in an architectural landscape consisting of a few federation buildings, 1970s tract housing and a really, really long railway station. It took a vivid imagination, a stack of old magazines, and hours trawling architecture books from the local - and, it should be said, poorly-designed - library for a kid to garner architectural inspiration.

So, when recently in town, I was delighted and surprised to discover the library had been replaced by the stunning Albury LibraryMuseum, designed by AshtonRaggattMcDougall.

The LibraryMuseum’s architecture references that same really, really long railway station, as well as local bridge and building design, and the region's natural features of rivers and trees. It aims to be the “city’s living room”, and what a stunning living room it has become.

I’ve admired ARM’s work since first laying eyes on Storey Hall as a wide-eyed 15 year old on my first solo trip to Melbourne, and now they have made their mark in my home town. Hopefully, with this striking addition, children growing up in Albury today will find inspiration a little closer to home.

Thinking: Meme

A meme (pronounced /miːm/) comprises a unit or element of cultural ideas, symbols or practices; such units or elements transmit from one mind to another through speech, gestures, rituals, or other imitable phenomena.

In internet land, a meme is just another word to describe a giant in-joke.

I first came across the word when I discovered the Song Chart Meme on flickr. Here, a bunch of people with way too much time on their hands have created graphs and charts to describe their favourite songs. Like these. Can you guess which classic songs they depict?

Kinda like cryptic crosswords, but actually fun.

Reading: THE ENDLESS CITY

THE ENDLESS CITY is a very large book. Huge actually. Coming in at 512 pages and 2.6 kilograms, this is probably not the book to tuck under your arm and take to the beach for some summer reading. Still, it's so good it would almost be worth the effort.

Apparently, at some point in 2006 the world changed from being primarily rural, to a primarily urban population – that’s right, more than half of the world’s population lives in a metropolitan area. And in this instance, ‘metropolitan’ doesn’t mean a car-loving suburban utopia such as Melbourne or Dallas. It is more likely to mean living with 15 million of your closest friends in the dusty streets of Lagos, or sharing the Yangtze River Delta with 80 million others.

Written by 35 contributors, and edited by Ricky Burdett and Deyan Sudjic, THE ENDLESS CITY gives a global overview of population change, and then presents six case studies into how New York, Shanghai, London, Mexico City, Johannesburg and Berlin are being affected by global population movements. In London’s case, it is struggling to cope with an exploding population from the EU’s country-members which currently stands at 27. Berlin, on the other hand, is one of only a handful of cities around the world that have a decreasing population, presenting some unique challenges for the former East German capital.

THE ENDLESS CITY also gives a unique insight into the almost universal power play between rich and poor in global cities. For example, the government-funded expressway in Mexico City that was built above an existing, but perpetually-clogged motorway, with the sole aim of ensuring wealthy suburban residents don’t have to drive through the ‘real’ city or navigate pesky traffic when commuting from their office to their suburban villa. To do this, the road has very few off-ramps for about 11 kilometres, meaning the poor still have to navigate the congested streets, while their rich amigos fly by overhead.

If you're interested in politics, geography, design, or just the world in general, this is a must-read and beautifully produced book. Try to buy it locally, however, as you can bet Amazon will charge through the nose to cart this epic tome from Seattle to Sydney.

Laughing: Family Fun

Every time I pass the Sydney Monorail I think what a stupid structure it is. Especially when it's raining and it splashes greasy water onto my white shirt.

Apparently not everyone shares my disdain for the single track. The Pedersens from Niles, California have set up a monorail system in their own backyard complete with a station named Kitchen View.


Now when I was a kid, we used our backyard to play with the dog, shoot some hoops, or maybe set up a BMX track. And don't get me wrong - I truly believe the guy who said, "the family that plays together, stays together". But a grown woman riding a miniature monorail in the backyard (wearing that dress) is something that definitely should be kept in the privacy of one's own home.

Here "mommy" takes a spin:


In this pic, Jr. takes a ride while daddy soaks in the spa. As Mr Pedersen says himself, "this picture just screams 'only in America', doesn't it?" Indeed...

Laughing: Giving the internet back its innocence

This series of print ads for German internet software company Roeschke are simply hilarious. They remind me of the hours spent in church as a kid, defacing the church's weekly magazine The Record by drawing faces on the straight-laced photos of church leaders. Only more sordid. And in colour. Brilliant.

Looking: Wasteland

Wasteland, originally uploaded by traffman.

Untitled Urbanscape 5, Mauren Brodbeck 2004/2005

Untitled Urbanscape 9, Mauren Brodbeck 2004/2005

I've always admired the photography of Mauren Brodbeck, particularly the Untitled Urbanscape and Cityscape series which so brilliantly captures that sense of hopelessness and domination that one feels from bad architecture.

But, having not learnt the art of digital photo manipulation yet, I have to make do with taking photos of what I see. So I was delighted when I came across this brilliant blue wall in an abandoned car park on Parramatta Road somewhere near Granville.

Looking: Barbara Kruger

No More Junk, originally uploaded by traffman.

The lovely mondomuse kindly tells me that this pic reminds him of Barbara Kruger, the anxiety-inducing NY conceptual artist who pioneered guerilla art by plastering her work on billboards and bus shelters, long before Bansky.

Kruger's work has parallels to more contemporary satirical media, including The Simpsons and, more locally, Kath & Kim, as it subverts mass media and popular culture in a relevant and easily-digestible way.

You can create your own Kruger-esque images at the wonderful ConsumeDaily.

Publishing: Three piglets

3 piglets, originally uploaded by traffman.

This is the first of hopefully many published photos of mine, thanks to the most excellent folk at Monster Children. No they didn’t pay me, but it’s still fun to see my piglets in all their printed glossy pink glory.

Welcome to Traffman

This is the story of a man.
Named Traff.
Who thinks things.
And sees stuff.
And takes photos.
And wants to share it.
That's all.

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