WE'RE SUPPORTING

With the new Tim Burton movie right around the corner, the quirky, spooky paintings of San Francisco artist Michael Page are just the right fix to hold me over. With a muted woodsy world inhabited by puppet-like figures, and the endearing monsters that terrorize them, ‘ll most likely be dropping by for a Page fix even long after I get my fill of Coraline next week. Read more

WE'RE THINKING

These photographs are so good I bought the book. I discovered Merkley??? on Flickr. This bearded photographer is a slightly unnerving straight-talking San Franciscan whose images of friends (mainly wannabe models) push the boundaries of symmetry, skin tone, colour and pleasure to the very limits.

History is the story of the winners, and western dominated culture recounts few triumphs from the east. Mongol is an effort to correct this balance, and the eastern influence is evident in much more than just the storyline. It is more like a fairy tale or legend handed down through generations, than based on fact, with mythical elements playing a major part, and the character’s motivations remaining simple. Read more

WE'RE TRAVELLING TO

Having lived in New York for over two years now, transplanted from the sunny beachside landscape of Sydney, Australia, I appreciate the gritty realism, yet positiveness and vibrancy in the photographic series on Manhattan locals by British writer and photographer, Ian Woolverton. In addition to his talents with the lense, Woolverton also has two humanitarian awards: one for the Australian Red Cross Service Medal for his achievements in the Bali bomb response and the other, Australian Government’s Humanitarian Overseas Service Medal, for covering the tsunami in Aceh. Read more

WE'RE READING

When I did the Master Cleanse diet a few years ago — the one where you consume nothing but lemon juice, maple syrup, and cayenne pepper for ten days — I sat at work looking at pictures of food as if they were porn. Scanwiches would have gotten me hot and bothered like nothing else.

WE'RE LISTENING TO

When you first hear William Elliot Whitmore’s voice, it’s hard to believe he isn’t a grizzled old man. The baritone-voiced one-man-band does rousing bar room ballads on the banjo and guitar that are sure to send shivers down your spine. On closer listen, Whitmore’s voice does seem slightly affected. But like Tom Waits before him, his voice is likely to age like a good scotch.

Listen to the William Wlliot Whitemore track, Dry.

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WE'RE WEARING

Colombian illustrator Catalina Estrada, whose work has recently adorned Zune players, has designed a t shirt for charity project Comparte Corazon, which benefits a group of women artisans in Ayacucho, Peru.