Me Performing a Chinese Fan Dance [F]

•September 15, 2016 • Leave a Comment

Yes, I am learning Chinese dance, and this is a recording of my first assessment for your critical observation and/or fremdschämen (German term typically used to describe someone who feels embarrassment on behalf of someone else):

That is me and Louisa. She was a great partner. We were meant to perform in groups of four but two of our members did not show up on the day. Between us, I think that made for a few awkward missteps, and spacing, and out of time movements — oi yoi yoi — but we got through it alright. LOVE watching Sarah’s reactions too. And I even think I impressed one of the four instructors marking us (“He’s so good it’s marvelous” @2:57) …or maybe I was just hearing what I wanted to hear. Mum took to calling me “twinkle-toes” when I visited her last, which is something I wish I didn’t have to hear. I don’t consider myself much of a dancer, but me and my sister did used to perform traditional dances when we were kids. Unfortunately all I can remember of those moments are from the photos that were taken.

 

Dancing is always in good spirits. Here are two examples of how the professionals do it:

Dr. Sketchy Auckland: Madam Mutiny & Ms Ruby Rebel

•September 6, 2016 • Leave a Comment

Madam Mutiny and Ms Ruby Rebel. / Assorted photos courtesy of Andrew Hales.

Load Straps Break Spilling Thousands of Tonnes of Cargo Into the Sea

•August 24, 2016 • Leave a Comment

Wow… I wonder how often this sort of thing happens:

It’s honestly about 80% them swearing about how fucked the securing mechanism is, and how shit the inspection of the securing was.

Massive Attack — “The Spoils” ft. Hope Sandoval [♬]

•August 11, 2016 • Leave a Comment

Cate Blanchett’s face is warped, changed and rearranged in the haunting new video for Massive Attack’s “The Spoils,” featuring Hope Sandoval:

Directed by John Hillcoat, the clip features Blanchett’s head rotating against a black background as Sandoval’s lithe voice drifts over Massive Attack’s brooding production. At first, the actress undergoes a simple hairstyle or makeup change, but soon, her whole face is cast in plaster, as its skin peels off and transforms into a stone statue.

Reclaiming Anonymity: A Private Affair [F]

•August 5, 2016 • Leave a Comment

Anonymity — I appreciate what this allows people to do and feel when they recognize they have it. When I began this blog for instance, I didn’t know what I was doing or care much about how I was doing it and for whom would see it. Over time I came to understand that blogging was for me, and this blog was my space where I didn’t have to be shy or censor myself for the sake of modesty or judgment from the world. It was fun. It was only when I realized that people I knew and cared about were visiting me that I began to filter my content to what I deemed suitable for them to read. My sister and younger brother for instance. This also meant I couldn’t write about my friends anymore either. Which isn’t a bad thing, but for myself, I don’t open up to people in my life, so writing is something I need.

This blog changed for the better and made me a better writer for it, but I also lost a personal mechanism for coping with my real life and my wishful thoughts. I truly believe I need writing in order to exorcise my thoughts and feelings on the regular, and I can’t do that on this blog anymore. I want that to change. Hence the reason why I am changing the general settings from public to private as of today. In my life right now, I could really use the benefits that come from journaling. No one visiting had gotten to know me any better anyway, so maybe it is about time I got to know myself, and experiment with this medium.

“Man is least himself when he talks in his own person. Give him a mask, and he will tell you the truth.” ~ Oscar Wilde

“For everything you have missed, you have gained something else, and for everything you gain, you lose something else.” ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

“The art of writing is the art of discovering what you believe.” ~ Gustave Flaubert

“We are part of a mystery, a splendid mystery within which we must attempt to orient ourselves if we are to have a sense of our own nature.” ~ Marilynne Robinson

“Truth that is naked is the most beautiful, and the simpler its expression the deeper is the impression it makes.” ~ Schopenhauer

Portishead — “SOS” [♬]

•July 18, 2016 • Leave a Comment

Music video for Portishead’s excellent moody cover of ABBA track released in tribute to British Labour Party politician Helen Joanne Cox who was sadly murdered 16 June 2016:

A Touch of Zen / Xia Nü (1969) directed by King Hu

•July 11, 2016 • Leave a Comment

A Touch of Zen is one film coming to this year’s New Zealand International Film Festival I will not pass up seeing on the big screen. I already have my ticket, see:

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A lady fugitive on the run from corrupt government officials is joined in her endeavors by an unambitious painter and skilled Buddhist monks. It is much more than that of course, as the official NZIFF write-up about the film below the HD trailer promises:

Continue reading ‘A Touch of Zen / Xia Nü (1969) directed by King Hu’

2814 — 恢复 [♬]

•July 8, 2016 • Leave a Comment

恢复/Recovery by 2814. From the album 新しい日の誕生/Birth of a New Day:

Footage is from the 1986 short film “Dream City” by Steve Siegel (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XTLKn3CcGLQ) / Video edited by David Dean Burkhart.

Quirky Hand-Drawn Characters Come to Life by Illustrator ‘Yoyo the Ricecorpse’ a.k.a 木匣子与圆脸兔’

•July 8, 2016 • Leave a Comment

Blending her original photography with hand-drawn illustrations in Photoshop, animator Yoyo the Ricecorpse creates quirky ghost-like characters that live in a world where anime meets Roger Rabbit. Each animation is limited to a single animated GIF that sees her doughy characters living in teapots or lounging around urban backdrops in photos taken from Yoyo’s travels to Tokyo.

Recently out of school, Yoyo now works full-time as an illustrator and animator in London and has transformed many of her characters into an assortment of shirts, pins, buttons and other objects available in her Etsy shop. She is also working on an animated music video that should be out soon. You can follow more of her work on Instagram and Behance.

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I think these are great. If only I were as proficient in animation as Miss Yoyo The Ricecorpse  That’s me undergoing a failed performance art/garden project in the middle of Albert Park. I should have better spent my time learning how to animate. I guess the next best thing is the augmented-reality game Pokémon GO.

Links to Yoyo’s tumblr and etsy pages are here: Tumblr / Etsy / Instagram

Jonah Hill in Hilarious Ad for Palace Skateboards

•July 8, 2016 • Leave a Comment

Jonah Hill talks Palace Skateboards and “Ree-boke” collaboration in this deliberately awkward ad! Love the so bad it’s good green screen:

https://vimeo.com/172908694

Tattoo Artist Who Lost His Arm Gets World’s First Tattoo Machine Prosthesis

•June 28, 2016 • Leave a Comment

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JC Sheitan Tenet, who is based in Lyon, France, lost his arm 22 years ago. He received the world’s coolest prosthetic courtesy of French artist JL Gonzal, who modified an existing arm prosthesis to accommodate the tattoo machine:

Genèse: Interactive Video Performance by U-Machine

•June 26, 2016 • Leave a Comment

Performance artists U-Machine created this work in which a pole dancer interacts with the geometric images projected on the screen behind her:

Art director: Amine Rachad / Dance and choregraphy: Marie Clain / Video & Music: Amine Rachad / Shooting and editing: Amine Rachad / Creative partners: La Grainerie ( la-grainerie.net/ ) / Co-producers: Festival Electro Alternativ ( electro-alternativ.com/ ) / Contact: contact.umachine@gmail.com / facebook.com/umachineshow/.