Ho-Ho Hoes...

Kings Cross "Gentleman's Club" stalwart, Maggies, is getting into the Xmas spirit. They've deck out their Kellet St property with festive cheer. Top points for the use of the politically correct, "Happy Holidays" sign. The image of St Nick(with a cocktail) should be seen in context and not as a shameless grab for Christian business over the Xmas period, rather as a symbol, that reflects the physical persona of many of their clientele, fat, hairy, drunken men...And to think "they" say, we've lost the spirit of Christams!

Neck, Face the facts.

NYC based street artist NECK FACE visited our shores a little while back. Evidence of his visit can be seen throughout Sydney. Numerous tags, throw ups and even a full side of an old bus in Rushcutters bay abound. The photo on the right is taken of a Neck Face tag on a grill in Darlinghurst. Alarmingly old Neck also saw it fit to deface (or rather Neck Face) an AIDS memorial mural on the wall next to the Green Park(see left). Appalling! That aside, he is one of the busiest street artists going around. Check out his work with the RVCA clothing brand and a behind the scenes glimpse into his world on the new Krooked skate DVD.

priceless princess

Unfortunately this book, entitled: "The Princess Bitchface Syndrome" is not a joke. It's a primer on dealing with adolescent girls. Now "they" are just making syndromes up. Look out for support groups of parents who have daughters with P.B.F.S...

SASS-Y response to ram raid...

The Oxford street retail store of Australian designers Sass & Bide was recently the victim of a RAM RAID. Whilst repairs are being made to the facade of the store, the S&B team decided to tart up the boring wooden exterior with a mural depicting a CAR. Rather than being embarrassed about the incident they appear to be embracing the C'est la vie-ness of it all. If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, perhaps thievery runs a close second...

Blogger in Beruit...

Anna Burns (of FBI radio fame) has just finished a radio doco on Lebanese blogger/artist Mazen Kerbaj. During the most recent conflict in Lebanon he created a blog featuring his art in reaction to the war around him. The doco will be broadcast on Radio National. You can listen to it on-demand online from Monday 27 for a month. Or podcast it.

All the details are at: abc

to check out Mazen's blog go to: kerblog

Kings Cross Bucks Starbucks trend...

It just occurred to me that Starbucks (or any other chain cafe) has not seen fit to open in the greater KX area. Why? It's the most densely populated area in Australia, has a broad demographic with an ever growing yuppie base and yet no Starbucks et al...
Is this because KX has an established coffee scene with numerous great cafes? Has KX found the antidote to corporate cafe invasion. Are we impermeable? Not for long I fear...

Please be a joke...

You've given up on your dream of becoming a poet and decide to study something practical. Beauty therapy seems like a good option right? Chicks are always getting stuff done to themselves. You do the three day course and then what? You need to hone your mad skills. You make up this classy flyer and wait for the ladies to come pouring in...
As seen on Elizabeth Street Surry Hills-

FAN DEATH

Recently, after spending a sleepless night trolling through Wikipedia, I came across the concept of "Fan Death". Basically, it's a culturally specific phobia, prevalent among Koreans, that states that sleeping with a fan on can cause a vortex and suck all the air out of the room. According to the legend, victims basically suffocate. Kings Cross has a pretty sizeable Korean population, so to check this out, I asked my buddy at the local Korean BBQ joint and he confirmed it. He was surprised that Australians didn't share the phobia. It appears to be some kind of bizzare urban legend that has taken hold, or is it? Summer is just around the corner...

WIKI FAN DEATH

WK INTERACT

New York based street artist WK interact has a great site. This is a photo of my good self with one of his pieces in lower Manhattan. Check out the DVD section of his site to get an idea of how he goes about taking care of business....
WK INTERACT

GLUE SOCIETY @ SXS

Sydney based creative collective "The Glue Society" have made a foray into sculpture at the current Sculpture by the Sea. Their work "Hot with a chance of a late storm", was undoubtedly the punters favorite. The G.S have also done work for Nike, ABC2, Virgin...Their website is one of the best I've seen.

GLUE SOCIETY

photo S.M.H

BUM TAG.

Every individual has freedom of expression in their choice of graffiti tags but this writer's nom de plume is ridiculous. "BUM SEX" (right)appears to be very active in the lower Paddington, Rushcutters Bay area of Sydney. B.S apparently enjoys tagging walls, garbage bins and even my very hetro mechanics' roller door. Meanwhile, KILL PIXIE (left)continues to produce outstanding work throughout Sydney. Best examples are at the Wall cafe in Surry Hills, the Waterloo skate park and on the Harbour Bridge approach ramp heading north. K.P was also recently involved in a group show at the Monster Children gallery.Check him out on My Space...

Jackson in Kings Cross Drag Queen Stalker's Sights...

It's being reported in British newspapers that Michael Jackson has a stalker, but not just any stalker,a Drag Queen stalker from Kings Cross Sydney!

A source tells the Daily Star, "This person has been plaguing his life and has sent some seriously dodgy letters.They are from a man who works as a drag queen in the seedy King's Cross area of Sydney"

Needless to say, I am not this man. Although I do live in "the seedy King's Cross area of Sydney"

New York Doll of a rental.

NEW YORK DOLL (2005)- Documentary.
This Sundance hit is available to rent on DVD at the moment and I can't recommend it highly enough. It traces the story of Arthur Kane, ex-bassist for seminal (if under appreciated) NY Proto punk band The New York Dolls. Following a dramatic split from the band some thirty years ago, Arthur falls on hard times and leads a semi-transient life in L.A. This is until he starts to hear that his old band might be getting back together...
I don't want to spoil any of the strange twists and turns this doco takes but it is a fantastic story of redemption of almost biblical proportions. One comment I read about it was that if this were a fictional film no one would believe it. A good test of a great doco.
Immediately accessible, whether or not you've even heard of the N.Y.D.

Andy Warhol's Magazine POP quiz.

Gawker links to a Smoking gun find- The Pop Culture test prospective employees of INTERVIEW magazine have to undertake. It lists prominent people by name and you have to respond with their field. I was OK with Muccia Prada and Douglas Copeland but had never heard of Polly Melon, Billy Norwich or Peter Lynch....See how you go.

TSG

Adrienne Shelly case gets strange.

Actress Adrienne Shelly was found dead in her New York office last week. Authorities first thought that she had hung herself but now police have arrested a 29-year-old worker who had renovated her apartment, Diego Pilko, for her murder. Shelly is best remembered for her role in Hal Hartley's film TRUST (1990).

Short Bus - You didn't hear this from me.

John Cameron Mitchell's (of Hedwig fame) new film SHORTBUS has just opened. The film deals with a group of sexually ambiguous New Yorkers wrestling with intimacy in the post 9/11 era. Short Bus was developed with the cast over a two year period. To say that Short Bus is "racy" is an understatement. It features some of the most graphic sex scenes ever to grace celluloid. Including a flexible gent who doesn't require anyone else to have a good night in. It's the kind of film that you are scared to recommend to people for fear that it will permanently alter their opinion of you. But if you're a grown up and are interested in being challenged check it out. You didn't hear about it from me.

Terror in the Cross.

I'm all for renovating the Kings Cross train station but this is a little extreme...
It appears that some Sydney newspapers have been reporting that a terrorist plot to blow up Kings Cross train station has been thwarted with the arrest of two terrorist siblings in Yemen. However, NSW counter terrorism commander Nick Kaldas stated that the story is a "Beat up". (See SMH link) It appears that it wasn't the two terrorist brothers who planned to blow up the K.X train station but another fanatical terrorist. Very reassuring.

To further reassure us that the NSW police are prepared he stated, "There is no need for alarm. As they say, you don't learn to dance on the day of the wedding, so we exercise [with all counter terrorism agencies] regularly."- cops dancing with cops is a scary image.

I feel this will not deter most Cross folk from enjoying one of the tangible benefits of living in K.X, a two minute train ride to the city. I for one won't be backing down and taking the frustratingly, meandering 311 bus- life's too short.

S.M.H