1211415481

WE'RE SUPPORTING

Australian artist Jun Gil Park has been carving drawings into bananas lately, letting the natural oxidation of the scraped skin bring the image out. Read more

WE'RE THINKING

We love this idea. When was the last time you sent a letter? Ivan Cash wants to do something about it. He’s kicked off a project to revive the art of actually handwriting letters. He’ll take any email you send him, handwrite it into a letter, then actually mail it to anywhere in the world. All for free. This art project only lasts a month, so get cracking. Read more

Back in the day, when I was a skinny teenager on the great pedestal of life, I had a real obsession for the understated, low-fi, deliciously melodic and somewhat blurry sounds of the New Zealand Flying Nun bands. I would pool my meagre savings and canvas the local record shops, scouring the racks for the latest cassettes from The Bats, The Chills, The Clean, and, later, The Straitjacket Fits. Read more

WE'RE TRAVELLING TO

Located just off of the J train on the Marcy stop is Marlowe & Sons at 81 Broadway. Whatever the night of the week, this place seems to always be packed. Dimly lit, and intimately laid out, Marlowe & Sons offers a low-key vibe, with a great selections of cheeses and meats, as well as a limited dinner selection. It’s a great place to head to when all you want is to unwind from the frenzy of Manhattan. Consider this your first tasty rest stop in Brooklyn.

WE'RE READING

I’ve been a big fan of Michelle Vandermeer’s work since I came across her Mini Majellen zines at this year’s Sydney Writers Festival. Describing herself as a doer — as in one of those people who are always doing or making something — Michelle’s work, which includes book binding, illustration, jewelery making and her zines, stems from an internal creative springboard and a double degree in architecture and graphic design. Her work is smart and succinct. Read more

WE'RE LISTENING TO

Lyon-based Babylon Circus is music laced with ska, gypsy, rock, vaudevillian antics, dancehall and reggae. Their first Australian East Coast tour in 2008 saw the nine piece band sell every show out. They feature on the So Frenchy So Chic compilation. We asked them to tell us about their favourite music right now, and they started with Django Reinhardt’s Minor Swing [listen below]: ‘Backstage, home, in the bus, cooking or having breakfast, is there a time you wouldn’t love to hear this one? We love it anytime, any style, too, as it’s been remixed and rearranged so many different ways. Still, we love the original best’.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Read more

WE'RE WEARING

This t-shirt, featuring 79 fictional weapons from movies, TV, video games, and comic books, is a really great way to get nerds to stare at your chest.