Lab Partners

Landscape photos resemble traditional Chinese paintings

Chinese born Don Hong-Oai spent most of his life in Saigon, where he apprenticed with a photography studio. He stayed in Vietnam through the war, before fleeing by boat to California in the late 1970s. While living in San Francisco, he went back to China every few years to create new negatives. He remained largely unknown until the final years of his life when he was finally discovered by the wider public. He died in 2004. Read more

Oasis Clubhouse: a new project by Chef Felix

Any tried and true foodie in Buenos Aires is an assiduous follower of Chef Diego Felix’s’ closed door restaurant, Casa Felix. Typically, however, his inspired pescatarian eats are only available a few months out of the year in Buenos Aires while the rest of the time, the Felix clan travels through Argentina, San Francisco, New York, Puerto Rico, and Latin America, generally, hosting closed door diners around the world. Luckily for all of us here in Buenos Aires, his contemporary yet distinctively regional fare can now be found in private events around the city as well thanks to the super exclusive Oasis Clubhouse. Read more

The Cool School: a film about seminal LA artists in 50s, 60s

The Cool School is an excellent look into the lives of some of the seminal artists creating their own scene in Los Angeles in the 1950s and 1960s. The film focuses around the Ferus Gallery and the artist, actors, and other creative types who were part of its success. Guest appearances come from Dennis Hopper, Ed Ruscha and narration by Jeff Bridges. It might take a little digging, but the DVD can be found on eBay and Amazon.

The secret diary of The Grates’ Patience Hobson

On the menu: pumpkin soup with sticky date pudding, courtesy of my mother. Occasionally one parent will send their child to band practice with a treat to share. Normally the treats dished out are easy to use not needing a lot of care. Examples being sweet breads or biscuits. My mum threw this idea aside, however, as she wanted to try something new (something annoying). Of course, there’s no denying how delicious sticky date pudding actually is, I don’t want to come off unappreciative, but it’s really, um, sticky. There you have it. It’s sticky. Yes, these are the kinds of challenges we faced at band practice today.