FMR magazine

I can't remember when I first came across the gorgeous art and culture magazine FMR Magazine published by Italian publisher Franco Maria Ricci, but it must have been something like 1985 or 1986. I remember back then drooling over the thick paper stock, the black gloss pages and the lush photography of incredible artworks, buildings and antiques, and the accompanying articles by top notch writers. I do remember though just how expensive it was, very, very expensive for a magazine. Even a really beautiful one. In my mind it became one of the symbols which opitimised the celebration of the 'high life' so popular in the 80's.

Fast forward roughly 15 years and I was looking through a discount bookseller's stall while on holidays in Perth, Western Australia, when I discovered stacks of old FMR Magazine issues from the late 80's. I was nearing the end of my holiday and money was scarce, but I picked through and bought 4 issues which were in good condition and had amazingly beautiful contents.

I always assumed the magazine went under, a classic victim of the end of 80's excess but I was wrong. It is still on sale and appears to be going strong, but available only through subscription. Very expensive subscription!

More info about the magazine can be found here (just click the *enter Franco Maria Ricci's world* link).

I Love Science

I would love to have seen the grant proposal for this research.

PS. The last paragraph totally freaks me out. 'Coagulates'... [shudder]

A Picture Speaks A Thousand Words

This is very funny, and probably a worthwhile cautionary tale.

[Link via the wonderful Fussy.]

Arcosanti

I remember years ago hearing about a project called Arcosanti, whereby an Italian architect Paulo Soleri was building a small prototype city in the Arizona desert. From the website it would seem that his work revolves around high density and multi-use facilities built along ecological principles. A percentage of the site is already built and the public spaces in particular look quite interesting. The project has been underway for around 30 years and they are still a long way off being finished by the look of it.

Soleri seems to be very optimistic that good design can positively affect social interaction. Some of his designs are quite arrestingly poetic in scope and scale, but I'm curious as to what it would be like to actually live in such a planned city. Living in a high density community is one thing when it is a campus of like-minded architecture students motivated with a single goal. What happens though when the Jones's with their late night parties and Sunday morning screaming matches end up cheek-by-jowl next door?

Laughter Under The Stars

I think I increased my Weirdness Factor with my friends and co-workers by telling them that I went to a Christmas party... on the 29th of October... at a Buddhist centre.

(It isn't quite as contradictory as it sounds. Buddhism itself doesn't deny other religions and believes that all faith systems with a core of compassion, and an ideal of freeing all beings from suffering, are valid. Many Buddhists also see Jesus as having been a Bodhisattva, a supremely compassionate being working to free all beings from suffering.)

As to the choice of 29th October, it was because the Lama in residence and a number of students were taking off to India shortly after, for teachings with His Holiness The Dalai Lama.

The evening was beautifull, cool and clear as we sat outside at tables in the garden under fairy lights and lanterns. I met many new people, struck up conversations with people I had only a passing acquaintence with, laughed and generally had a lovely time. I sat next to an interesting Korean man who talked about his love of the 'T. Lobsang Rampa' books as a teenager, and how even though in hindsight they are works of fantasy and fiction, they gave him enough of a taste of Tibetan Buddhism to start him off on the spiritual path that lead him to where he is now. (There is an interesting and crticial review of the influence of the Rampa books and the 'fictionalising of Tibet' here.)

So an interesting evening, and a nice reminder that there is considerable value in developing a sense of community with other people who are pursuing a similar spiritual quest, no matter what form that takes.

Chicken Or The Beef?

I find this website about Airline meals strangely compelling. My initial reactions were "what the fuh?" and astonishment at the scope of it. 10,000+ reader submitted images and reviews covering over 400 airlines.

It turns out to be one of those wonderful success stories that crop up on the net occasionally, someone starts a niche interest website that strikes a cord with people and it takes off (sorry about the pun). Read the 'about AirlineMeals.net' for the interesting history of how the site came to be. Some airlines are now actively using the customer reviews to monitor the customer reactions to their meals and the reviewer photos to monitor quality control and to ensure the cabin crews are presenting everything properly. The Dutch graphic artist who started and runs the site has now added other airline related ephemera such as vintage meal pics and advertising, and related airline food topics such as lounge food and behind-the-scenes of catering facilities.

As I said, strangely compelling.

Updated: I just noticed that the Aussie paper the Sun Herald recently did an article on AirlineMeals.net which makes for interesting reading

Return Of The Arch Nemesis

I have posted previously about my arch nemesis, the Evil Empire that is Sydney's City Rail rail network. This once efficient system is now a mishmash of cancelled, delayed or infuriatingly slow services, courtesy of a history of budget cuts and industrial action.

So I present with glee someone's take on the real Sydney rail network.

And... cue lawyers!

Button, Button, Who's Got The Button?

I'm in love with Project Button, a collaborative art project of amazing 1 inch buttons from artists all over the world. Very timely is the latest theme, Peace.

Oh, and the web design of the site is gorgeous too.

Spiritual Supermarket

Need more meaning in your life? Feeling a desire to connect with a greater truth?

Well get yourself over to Unusual Churches and Cults, the Church of Endora or the Cult Of The Dead Milkman may just help you to unscrew the inscrutable.

My Baby Takes The Morning... Monorail!

I love the stylings and sheer optomisitc exhuberence of many of the designs at this Transportation Futuristics exhibition site. It's a little slow to load but worth the effort.

[Link via the wonderful Things Magazine]

Hello What?!

Now I have seen everything.

Scroll down on this page until you find the Hello Kitty product towards the bottom of the page.

Oh. My. God.

The Romance of Travel

I have always been addicted to the look of vintage travel ephemera - posters, tickets, menus, luggage labels etc. Especially those that date from the early decades of the twentieth century through to the 1950's.

I guess the appeal is more than just a love of the pure Art Deco 'machine-age' aesthetic that many of them have. It's also the great romantic notions of travels by cruiseliner, by overland train and by the early years of airplanes, and of travel when so much was exotic and unknown.

So it is with joy that I discovered this gallery of vintage luggage labels. Delightful.

Change

Recently I've been listening to teachings and doing meditations on impermanence, one of the more important teachings in Buddhism and an important part of the Buddhist course I have been doing.

Quite suddenly I've been presented with an opportunity to reflect on this at close range, to feel the emotional ebb and flow of how I respond to major change and importantly to see how different it feels. It looks like three people very close to me are all about to head off on paths that will take them away.

Today my good friend (and ex-boyfriend) Steven heads off to Brisbane to live. I'll miss him but most importantly I feel happy for him that he has decided to take his life by the horns, to leave the job he hated, and to make a positive step towards re-connecting with his family.

In about four weeks time my friend, and room mate, Narelle heads off to Canberra to live. It's a positive move for her career, she'll earn more and save more, and she'll be moving in with her best friend. So likewise, this is a great move for her.

Last week I heard that my close friend of 27 years has been offered a job in Korea for a minimum of two years. He's heading over with his girlfriend this weekend to see what Korea is like, to find out if his girlfriend will be able to work there, and then to ultimately make his decision. If he accepts he'll be gone by month end. My first reaction... "No, you can't!!".

However, it didn't take too much reflection for me to see the grasping, the attachment, the ego involved in my reaction. All three are moving towards great opportunities, exciting life experiences and opportunities for great personal growth. So I'm at peace.

Frankly, I've surprised myself. A year ago I would be on a depressive spiral, feeling overwhelmed by these friends moving away, by having to find a new room mate, by fears of loneliness. It seems that I'm changing too.

Cry Boy Cry

While I was out this morning I picked up a copy of a 'best of' Jimmy Somerville CD (from the Bronski Beat and The Communards era) and have been listening to Jimmy's sweet falsetto ever since.

From the bitter sweet start of "Small Town Boy" I'm suddenly 19 again, lying on Gary's bed in his cold and dingy bedroom while he tells me what it's like to be young and queer in his small home town in England, and that he loves me. Gary had a 12" vinyl single which he would play over and over again and would sometimes cry along with. I'm so in love with him I feel electrified.

Fast forward a couple of years and a few tracks on the CD and Gary has moved on to be with someone else. I'm single, fairly happy most of time, and in particular I'm dancing my heart out at a bar called the Mars Bar in my old home town of Adelaide while Jimmy is singing "Tell Me Why". Can you tell me whyyyyyyy? It's likely that I'm also trying for the thousandth unsuccessful time to get my big unrequited crush Steve to dance with me. (RIP sweetie, I miss you and I'm sorry that I missed your passing.) Some men just won't dance, no matter how sweetly you ask them.

So it has been a bitter sweet afternoon. I've smiled a lot and cried a little. I've thought of past loves and lost friends, but I've also remembered transcendant nights on the dancefloor and big great loves. Thanks Jimmy, I owe you one.

Next Stop, Cirque du Soliel!

I cashed in one of my birthday presents on Sunday and went to trapeze school.

Yup, you read right. Trapeze. School.

It was challenging, fun, incredible and ultimately exhausting. I can't wait to do it again! I did discover though that the collarbone I fractured last year is operating at somewhere less than 100%, so I'll wait a few months, do some more pushups and strenghtening exercises and then have another go.

I had moments of trepidation as I climbed the ladder to the take-off platform, and even more as I had to lean right out and grab the bar (they have a hold of you by only the safety belt you are wearing). The exhilaration was incredible though, and I was able to ace a few tricks like doing a backflip from the bar into the net.

An hour and a half later I was tired, and had discovered muscles that I didn't know I had, but I was exhilarated and proud of what I had acheived. I don't have a problem with heights, but swinging out on a trapeze bar about 30 feet up in the air makes you face whatever fear you have about not just heights but your ability to undertake something new and physically challenging. I'm very glad I did it.

Cranky, Your Table Is Ready

I'm feeling a mixture of tired and cranky today, with a small shot of angry and a pinch of bitter thrown in.

I know much better than this, I really do, but you know what? Today I'm kind of enjoying it.

Five Things That Will Never Happen

Someone will describe me as lanky.

I will watch someone bite their nails and it won't send me into paroxisms of irrational internalised rage.

I will pay money to voluntarily see a movie with 'Princess' in the title.

I will similarly start watching "McLeod's Daughters", and will care very, very deeply about it.

One of my Morning Commute Crushes will stare at me first, and for longer.

I Got Your Updates Right Here.

So, cut to a neglectful couple of weeks later and let's see what our hero has been up to:

I turned 40. No-one died and the world did not, in fact, end.

I got sick with something as lame sounding as an Upper Respiratory Tract Infection. I got me some URTI, baby. Nothing life-ending, but I felt fluey, hot and crabby for nearly a week and had a killer sore throat and swollen glands. It was Not Much Fun.

I have lovely friends, who love me lots and show their affection in the best way possible... with really cool birthday gifts.

Speaking of which, I picked out my new bicycle (a Giant OCR1 road bike) which is a gift from my ex. I just have to wait 6 weeks for them to get me one in a size extra small! However, I still maintained my dignity in the face of such heartless labelling.

I'm in love with all the accessories cycling entails. You can never have too many hats, bags or shoes.

I put in a submission to create my own job role at my work, and move out of the mind numbingly boring role I have been doing for two years now. Two years! Why didn't I realise that I have limited time to waste? (see first point, above)

I seem to be on a mission to ensure that I am as fat as possible before summer arrives. I just polished off a bag of crisps and a Cherry Ripe for good measure. Urgh.

I'm all about Australian Idol. Who is my favourite varies from week to week, one thing is for certain though, little Anthony remains cute as a button.

Bye Bye 'Honest John'!

This has been doing the rounds of our email at work...

HOW TO START YOUR DAY WITH A POSITIVE ATTITUDE:

1. Create a "new folder" on your computer.
2. Name it "John Howard"
3. Send it to the recycle bin. (the bin must be empty prior to this step)
4. Empty the recycle bin.
5. Your computer will ask you: "Do you really want to get rid of "John Howard"?*
6. Answer calmly, "Yes," and press the mouse button.
7. Repeat, as required.

I guess you could easily substitute "George W Bush" for "John Howard" and it would still be strangely satisfying.

* Australian Prime Minister, John Howard.

These Clowns Are Scarier Than Anything Stephen King Ever Dreamt Up.

I understand the expression 'walk with the Lord', but should they be doing it in enormous clown shoes?

[link via the always amusing Mimi Smartypants]