Pork Pies, a solo project for Jai Pyne

Jai Pyne on Australia’s inspiring nightlife

We asked Jai Pyne of indie-rock band The Paper Scissors what Aussie nightlife means to him. ‘A night out in Sydney for me is probably not the most thrilling experience compared to others. I could lie and tell you about how much I love Ching a Lings, or Shadey Pines. Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad there are some nice bars in Sydney now. But the truth is that I lay pretty low. For me, the best nights happen when food is involved. I think that’s one of the things that keeps me sane and keeps me in touch with Sydney. I often doubt the city and my reasons for living in it, but when I go out and eat, it reminds me of the reasons why I stay and why I begrudgingly love Sydney.’ Read more

The Paper Scissors Howl to the moon

Australian indie-rock band, The Paper Scissors, the hippest thing to come out of the dusty streets of Byron Bay since flavoured wheatgrass, have done it again with another awesome single, Howl [listen below], a short, sharp jab of pitch perfect, power pop. We checked in with their David Byrne-ish frontman Jai Pyne and asked him how was the recording process differed for this latest EP from their previous album: ‘It was completely different. We did the tracking live, with all four of us in the room together. It was great. I think it freed us up and let us be more of a band. We’ve come a long way since we recorded Less Talk More Paper Scissors. Now that Ivan [drummer] has been in the band for about a year and a half, it is a lot easier. We are all very comfortable playing with each other. We’ve been doing it live a lot’. Read more

The Paper Scissors’ Lung Sum

Ah, ha! Our favourite Aussie indie band, The Paper Scissors, have a new single out, Lung Sum, from their second full-length album, In Loving Memory. Oh, and the video is kinda fun. Of course.

Irina Werning’s Back to the Future photo series

Argentine photographer Irina Werning has complied this beautiful and poignant collection of portraits of adults re-enacting images of themselves as kids. From what I gather, she has asked people to submit photographs of themselves and then returned with them to these same spots at the same times in their lives. She’ll take this project round the world, from Baghdad to Eurodisney, and is looking for willing participants. Read more

Bug fighting in South East Asia

Of all the little idiosyncratic activities I’ve come across since living in Southeast Asia, this nears the favourite. The bug fights are held in a cemetery about half an hour outside of Chiang Mai late in the year when the stags are at their randiest. It pulls an impressive crowd who bet some hefty dollars on the winner, claimed by the beetle who throws its opponent off the revolving log and struts (or crawls) to victory. Read more

What The Fuck Should I Make For Dinner

All hail the magic 8-ball of cooking; the answer to those painful moments of indecision that plague every shopper at around 6pm on a hectic Monday evening. It’s not the nagging voice that questions every decision you make, but the blunt, obnoxious hollering of an online Gordon Ramsay. The kitchen abides.