WE'RE SUPPORTING

Iraqi-American artist Wafaa Bilal spent an entire month living in a Chicago art gallery where he had rigged a webcam and remote controlled paintball gun which visitors online or at the actual gallery could use to shoot at him. The piece highlighted the danger everyday Iraqi citizens face both in terms of actual violence and the vitriol generated by the controversial and geopolitically convoluted war. The experience re-triggered the post-traumatic stress disorder that Bilal had acquired in his home country. The installation as well as his life as an activist, artist, and refugee are documented in his book, Shoot An Iraqi: Art, Life and Resistance Under the Gun.

WE'RE TRAVELLING TO

There’s something compelling about the energy, the charisma, and the incessant pmmft, pmmft, pmmft of the slippery ghetto tunes blasting (and I mean blasting) out of every hotel, café and bar in South Beach, Miami. Read more

WE'RE WEARING

The Hussy Summer 2009 Exotic Escape collection is up for viewing. I quite like the leather Zanzibar sandals for a stylish casual look that’s slightly sophisticated. While there are a few nice dresses in the new line, I much prefer the accessories and clutches. That’s partially why the rest of the globe has come to love this iconic Aussie label, right?

WE'RE THINKING

‘Some people call me the space cowboy, some call me the gangster of love, some people call me Maurice, cause I speak with the pompetus of love’. The pompetus of love?! Really. I don’t know what the heck Steve Miller was on the day he wrote that, but I could sure do with some now. Read more

WE'RE READING

George Lois is the god of good ideas, or at least one of them. When I am stuck on ideas, I pray to George the God, or look through his works in hope of doing something one hundredth as good as his work. Read more

Australian group Pivot have recently signed with the mighty Warp label and — even better (well, for us anyway) — have written a fun Secret Playlist for us. You can see where the many disparate influences have seeped into their latest recording, the beautiful and colourful, O Soundtrack My Heart.

WE'RE LISTENING TO

If you ever happen to find yourself riding across the mid-west on horseback with an iPod jangling about in your holster, be sure to let Calexico soundtrack the experience. They’re cleverly fusing a range of genres, mixing some good old country with US indie, a bit of jazz and even, in 2003’s Feast of Wire, some smatterings of electronica. Lead singer Joey Burns gives a healthy amount of cowboy twang and the soaring orchestral background and sweet country guitar licks add a real atmosphere to the music.

Listen to the Calexico song, Convict Pool.