We’re searching for Australia’s best new sports writer

WE'RE SUPPORTING

While I am as impressed as anyone with an artist’s ability to render accurate and lifelike human figures, I’m more often compelled aesthetically by looser and more stylized images such as Camilla Engman’s. The wide-set eyes, bulbous bodies, and skewed proportions of the people and animals in Engman’s paintings lend them a certain expressiveness and melancholy. Read more

WE'RE TRAVELLING TO

This isn’t an outdoor art installation, but it is still somewhat curated. Or maybe hoarded is a better description. Somewhere in the inner western suburb of Sydney’s Summer Hill, there is a brightly coloured collection of garden gnomes on display. The owner of the home is yet to be seen, but there are hundreds of gnomes, side by side, all with equally dopey expressions on their faces and accompanied by a second fixation: caterpillar soft toys. There are so many gnomes, the garden is no longer visible. Maybe it’s an Amelie style prank that has just piled up over the years? Read more

WE'RE WEARING

Made from 100 percent organic cotton, pesticide free, and eco-friendly, this super soft tee featuring a unique, bold design celebrates a sinister world of kaleidoscopic colours and ripples of psychedelia, of serenading Queens, of dancing flamingos, of unimaginable euphoria. It’s all the work of Sydney label, Das Monk and it’s available through the Lost At E Minor online store for just US$40. Now, there’s one hell of a Christmas present, even if we do say so ourselves Read more

WE'RE THINKING

Back before The Beatles became the iconic poster-group of the free-spirited generation, they had a catchphrase that they would rally around as they struggled from club to club on the tough German circuit. This was in the early 1960s, before their star had risen and well before Sgt Pepper’s was even a twinkle in their eyes. Read more

WE'RE READING

Ok, so maybe it’s the extra-strong Brooklyn coffee I’m drinking or perhaps its that the pine coated goodness of Christmas is well and truly in the air, but I’m kinda excited this morning as my wife has just launched her website, Feature Shoot, which is a resource for photo editors, art directors, industry professionals, and pretty much anyone who appreciates good photography. It’s a great way to discover new photographic talent and the website is already bursting with interviews with up-and-coming American photographers alongside that of established photographers who have completed a project or whose work has taken on a new direction.

I don’t get Flight of The Concords. I just don’t find it funny. I also don’t get most comedy these days. It’s so derivative and clichéd. Everyone wants the same laughs. I like comedy that pushes the boundaries in strange ways. Fonejack is one underground unit that have had me rolling around on the floor with their real life skits. Read more

WE'RE LISTENING TO

Concept albums have always been a hit or miss affair, all too often to be taken with a pinch of salt. Some work brilliantly; many fall flat on their esoteric face. Dr John’s response to Hurricane Katrina is an intriguing album. Some is rousing, some depressing: it’s littered with political statements, perhaps too much at times but given it’s purpose the over-saturation isn’t surprising. Read more