rOXFORD

Liz works for an international language school on Beaufort St.
A few weeks ago, a lady in her office was offered a 4 month position in the company's Oxford branch, but she had to turn it down because of family commitments. She recommended that Liz apply for the position. Liz laughed.

On friday, Liz was formally offered the position. She accepted on the following conditions:

• her flight and accomodation was covered
• she still had a job to come back to in perth
• that her boyfriend could come too (and stay rent free), cause he is super cool

They accepted, too.

That means that from the end of this month, Liz and i will shack up in Oxford, England, until late August. I submitted my British passport application first thing this morning, hoping that the minimum 10 working days it takes to process the request will be enough...

Then i can work or collect welfare while i'm abroad!

Holla!

check out my travel blog from next June onwards, keep in touch

Guest Programme

in celebration of its 20th birthday, Rage held a competition called invade rage, effectively allowing a home viewer to guest programme the show for a night. This is my dream.

And this is my 20 song submission, trying its best to encapsulate the last 20 years of music, with a nod to rocking tracks and the medium of the film clip.

more of the same

(just from a different perspective)

anzac eve (gene/yolande housewarming)

for a few weeks we've been wanting to drop a house party at 5 ruby st, largely to celebrate the latest two additions to our 6-bedroom palace: yolande moved in about 3 or 4 weeks ago after replying to a poster at uni, while gene came over in february (i think) to try living with matt cop for the second time.

anyway, because tom plays gigs every friday and saturday night, and because people who work know that april is the month of public (hangover) holidays, the night before ANZAC day made perfect sense...
and besides working a shift at the video store, playing mixed netball and watching australia's next top model, no one has plans on a tuesday night.

Thanks to the hard-working smoke machine (and the excessive smoke machine juice ben jones brought over) you couldn't see 5cm in front of your face in the lounge room and hall -- but sadly could see rayson dropping his dacks and posing with a mangina during a game of strip-cardsofdeath (with two fully clothed girls, four not so fully clothed guys).

it seemed everyone had a good time, so i hope we made the ANZACs proud.

Oh, i almost forgot to mention tom's moving rendition of the last post/reveille, with a special encore in coup's bedroom while he was trying to sleep.

and my jeans have a major rip in the crotch.

PC Art Exhibition

Last year Liz's mum pulled some strings and got me wall space at the Perth College Art Exhibition for In Loving Memory of the 2nd Hand CD Store (19++-2005), my tribute to the Perth-Mandurah railway construction. It sold, and i got an extended invitation to contribute to the next show...

...which opens this friday night!

I will be pimping out my three of my Charles Street landscapes,
















Charles St, North Perth (Slik's Used Cars)

Charles St, North Perth (The Drive Thru)

Charles St, North Perth (The Old Corner Servo)

Remix

Kicked outa the Studio

The Burt St art studios where i have plied my trade for more than a year are owned by an old italian man. Or rather, the big former jam factory building is his: over 15 years, Rudy has decked out the interior with partitions and lights, a little kitchenette and a heap of character (thus making them studios).

Last week the old italian man's son-in-law convinced him that the rent he makes out of the artist-tenants is minimal in comparison to the land's market value. So they jacked the rent by 300%. I paid $40 a week for my studio space, as did 13 other artists. None of us can afford our studios now.

BHS Alumni Art Exhibition

I was casually hanging out in Europe when i was contacted by my former english teacher and current Bridgetown High School Principal Mr Bullied, asking me to organise an art exhibition of former students to coincide with the Alumni Weekend of March 2007.

It took me about 6 months to actually start said organisation, and now in a rush it is upon us!

For a couple of weeks from the 10th of March, the Bridgetown Pottery Gallery will host the best art from the best artists from Bridgetown High School's renowned artistic history. We have a graduate of 1955 and one of 1957. We also have a fair few more concentrated around my own years at the school.

Hot shit.

If you're in Bridgetown or fancy a 3 hour drive, go check out the show and buy our stuff:)

cheesey room entry

Farrk! today i nearly knocked myself out at work.

Trying to do a wicked entrance to the cheese room and to impress Ross (I was sort of hyper and felt like killing some energy), I ran at the cheese room door to burst through the blue plastic hanging flaps (how else do you descibe them?) with a sick fly kick inwards. It would have been awesome... but i didnt really consider the height of the door and the height of me (im part of the european foods tall crew). So my forehead slammed smack into the top of the door and i flipped backwards onto the ground with my feet flying above me.

Ross was concerned.

And to my surprise i wasnt hurt or concussed.

Ross laughed at me and called me an idiot.

That was my day.

*Six* Ruby St

The bad-boys of 5 Ruby St had something very rare and of high value at the beginning of 2007. No, not a shared-network goldmine of porn downloads...

a vacant and rentable room!
for the modest weekly price of $60 (or $8.55 a day).

Gene returned home from Europe to his $200 per week* flat, a casual job picking and packing orders at a respectable food wholesalers and a dream. A dream to continue exploring the atlas, first-hand. Something didn't add up.

"I'm really bummed about shit right now," Gene said one evening during a game of one-on-one b-ball. "Work is boring, rent is too high and i really miss Mel." His shot clanged off the rim and was rebounded by Macca.

"Coup's lonely too man," Macca suggested. "Perhaps you could just have some casual." Pump faking Gene into the air, Macca kissed the ball tenderly off the backboard and into the net.

"Gross man. Coup's hot but he's not really my type," Gene replied, with some impressive crossover dribbles. "Plus he has major poobs." Point taken.

"Well, what else can we fix? Hey, we have a spare room, you'd be saving over $150 a week if you moved in. And you'd make our rent cheaper too." Colm cheered from within the house. Macca drained another trey.

"Fuck yeah. Is that cool? That's a great idea man. I'd save so much money to travel with, wouldn't have to work as much at Euro's... plus i could live in this sick house. You're awsome!"

"I wish i could say the same about your game. I win." With that, Macca bounced the alley-oop to himself, and while slamming home the winning points, he slapped a sticker of his face at the top of the backboard.

And that's the way it is...



*some important details in this story have been inflated for entertainment value

Rhys' Film Ep.II

Rent Inspection #1

We passed!!!

!!!

(we failed the last one, and they threatened to evict us if we failed this time)

Terrorists Hold Hostages at European Foods

At European Foods (where Gene and I have worked for the last 5 years) i have always had morning tea up on Lake St at the Re Store. So does Malcolm. Luis and Rhys do too.

Anyway, Rhys (pictured) is studying film part-time at some institution, which is funny cause i always assumed he was a dead-head full time employee like everyone else at work, going nowhere. About a month ago i asked him about the course, and ended up volunteering to act in a 15 minute feature film he was to write and direct.

About terrorists...

Filmed on location at European Foods.

I was a terrorist who falls for the saucy hostage babe, Gene was a cop/counter terrorist/grand enterer and Liz was the aformentioned saucy hostage babe.

Stay tuned for more movie news.

Australia Day

It was a bit like limbo at Ruby st this year as part of the crew were planning to head to the more happening party with Asher at Munga after the countdown (later described primitive, apparently by ten there were three guys passed out on the lawn?), and the rest were made up of Ben Jones' (smones) friends, Kate, the Day sisters and the occupants and girlfriends of the house. It was a premature ending but not with out its fun. The kiddies pool filled with Genes' miniature Australian flags floating around digging themselves into peoples skin served well in helping us not melt into the burning bricks, a few basketball related drinking games, cooked cow and baci ice creams, I think Tom ended up with the most chin ups (13) in the car-port chin up competition and Ben Jones brought a smoke machine and some attractive friends. The usual focal point of Australia day (JJJ Countdown) was more like background music this year as there were minimal songs we were exited for. The day didn’t par with last year but was a generally fun and pissy day around the pool.

Four Days Over 40

Fark...

Although the soft wankers at the Bureau said it peaked at 38.8º on Thursday, my car said it was over 40º -- making it 4 consecutive days of +40º summer!

(queue steel drums)

Ole! Ole! Ole! Ole!
Ole! Ole! Ole! Ole!
Feelin' Hot! Hot! Hot!

Liz & James' Joint 23rd

You have to celebrate your birthday because it gives people an excuse for a party. At certain points of the year, these are of the utmost necessity: pre-christmas when summer strikes; at the ends of both exam periods in late June and November; and whenever life gets a bit mundane and samey between of all of these.

However, by late january when mine rolls around, i just want to relax. Christmas was only 4 weeks ago. New Years only three. Its too bloody hot and if you dance you get wet. But this was the first time Liz and I have shared our birthdays (January 23rd and 24th), and we had to celebrate that. So what can you do?

Liz volunteered her family's beach house near mandurah, but how many people will drive an hour to a party that they can't drink at? We thought of hiring a cinema, but without a great idea of what to screen (everyone watching me play NBA Live?) this seems a bit hollow. Ruby St was hosting Australia day later that week, and a place can't withstand two parties in a week.

So everyone-to-the-pub it was.

Thanks to all of you who came up to the Scotsman on saturday and helped celebrate our birthdays. Its kinda cool to have done something, and with as minimal organizing as possible!

Why Would I Lie?

The early favourite for the 2007 Hottest 100 had it's film clip released online today. Perth based wise-man Jeff Strong kicked off the lid with his Why Would I Lie? video, perhaps one of the catchiest folk songs of the recent popularity-wave.
Justin Elwin and James Pontifex guest starred in the clip's production, featuring pilfering, purging and (aero-) planes.

Check it out at myspace.com/jeffreystrong

Vartley Crew Are Home

On Wednesday night at 2.20am, Gene Eaton, Melody Miolin, Matthew Couper and Romilly Hawter cleared customs at Perth International Airport after 6 weeks in Europe. Kate Layman, Elizabeth Day, John Eaton, Rom's Mum and I were all present. Then i went home and went to sleep.

On Friday evening the group gathered at Hyde Park with their Perth-based entourage, ate Fish and Chips and discussed Paris and Paris Hilton.

The year finally starts on the right foot!

See also: Au revoir Andrée Vartley; the respective flickr sites of Coup, Gene, Mel, and Rom