FEEL SOME THINK

When I Grow Up I Want To Be An Artist: tales of sustaining art practice in Sydney

2011-05-27T20:20:00.000+10:00

When I Grow Up I Want To Be An Artist: tales of sustaining art practice in Sydney: "Each year, Performing Artists, Visual Artists, producers and curators graduate from schools and educational institutions around Sydney to discover the sometimes harsh reality of being an artist in this city. As part of Creative Sydney’s fringe program, Queen Street Studio presents When I Grow Up I Want To Be An Artist, an interactive panel e ..."

If you could see you

2011-05-26T21:40:00.000+10:00

Into the Labyrinth

2011-05-24T16:51:00.001+10:00

FST

2011-05-24T16:50:00.000+10:00

Free Wei Wei campaign Chinatown

2011-05-24T16:48:00.001+10:00

Work at gallery 8 Fabrication

2011-05-24T16:45:00.002+10:00

Alaska

2011-05-24T15:09:00.002+10:00

FST V KLEENEX

2010-08-07T23:31:00.001+10:00

You bet.

2010-08-02T15:47:00.000+10:00

FST v Taxi Sign

2010-07-31T20:09:00.001+10:00

Show us your politics Exhibition next week featuring FST

2010-07-26T22:21:00.001+10:00

Show Us Your Politics: 3rd August – 14th August 2010

Opens 5-7.30pm Tuesday 2nd August

Curated by Camilla Tully.

Art Revolt! Creative comments on sexism, racism, homophobia, genderphobia, patriarchy, institutions, capitalism, corporations and environmental destruction!

Art to inspire, annoy, educate and empower! ‘To be truly radical is to make hope possible rather than despair convincing’.

Kudos Gallery

Wednesday – Friday 11-6pm Saturday 11-4pm

+61 2 9326 0034

6 Napier Street Paddington NSW 2021 Australia

FST V IPAD

2010-07-25T21:32:00.000+10:00

FST V FASHION WEEK

2010-07-25T21:31:00.000+10:00

FST V Dr LEWINNS

2010-07-25T21:13:00.000+10:00

FST V JIL SANDER

2010-07-25T21:08:00.001+10:00

FST V CALVIN K

2010-07-25T21:04:00.000+10:00

FST V RUSTY

2010-07-25T21:01:00.000+10:00

Plano Texas Heroin Awareness Posters.

2010-07-25T20:57:00.000+10:00

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plano,_Texas

(M)ICE

2010-07-25T20:54:00.001+10:00

FRUIT(ION)

2010-07-25T20:53:00.000+10:00

...please.

2010-07-25T20:52:00.000+10:00

FST V CBANK (WITH THE HELP OF A DRUNK BYSTANDER)

2010-07-25T20:38:00.002+10:00

a 22 Sec film about All's song "She's my Ex".

2010-07-24T23:25:00.000+10:00

FST V FINANCIAL REVIEW ROUND 3

2010-07-24T18:42:00.002+10:00

FST V FINANCIAL REVIEW ROUND 2

2010-07-24T18:40:00.002+10:00

FST V FINANCIAL REVIEW ROUND 1

2010-06-13T20:28:00.002+10:00

Australian Film industry? Oy Vey!

2009-02-02T21:10:00.002+11:00

Arty types in Australia are always going on about what is wrong with the Australian film industry. This video store in New York sets it out pretty clearly...

The Most positive building in the world.

2008-08-24T14:29:00.001+10:00

Loyal FST reader and Bon Vivant, Sarah, lives in the most positive building in the world. Everything is always looking up.

Where's Ronald? or When animals attack

2008-07-21T20:11:00.003+10:00

Loyal FST reader Justin sent through this snap of Mc Donalds Kings Cross at 5AM. Obviously there are some major health issues going on.

Thanks for all your emails asking me to do some posts. My life has disappeared into a black hole for the last couple of months but I am back.

This photo is amazing and worthy as my come back post.

Thanks for reading FST...

Florent a great DYEner.

2008-04-04T07:18:00.002+11:00

Classic New York Diner and perennial favourite of F.S.T, Florent is closing at the end of June. This place was dishing out memorable nights when its Meat Packing district locale was an urban wasteland compared to its over-hyped current status. Matthew Barney, Diane Von Furstenburg and Jerry Seinfeld all love this place, as do the loyal locals who arrive for food 24/7. Worth a trip over just to say good bye!

Street HeART

2008-04-02T16:47:00.002+11:00

You come across a little randomly placed stencil like this sweet bird and all is well with the world. It helps if your companion has cute red shoes to hammer home the utter cuteness of the moment....

rEEL in horror!

2008-04-02T16:38:00.006+11:00

There is a mystery at hand Sleuths! How do the Eels return to the ponds at Sydney's beautiful Botanic Gardens after every time the ponds are drained? Could it be true that they sliver across land from the harbour into the ponds? If you are in the area check these guys out. Truly gross/fascinating! As for Eels eating ducklings...Jesus!

Hokie Pokie

2008-02-19T15:39:00.002+11:00

A lot of cynics say that the NSW State Government isn't doing enough to discourage problem gambling. They obviously haven't seen these helpful signs placed in pokie rooms. Two at once! Are you fuckin' kidding me?

Passion for fashion?

2008-01-24T11:49:00.000+11:00

I spied these two fashionistas lugging tons of stuff to a fashion show in the rocks. They were dolled up to the nines and had to make about twenty trips back to a European car that was crammed with shit.Glamorous stuff indeed. No wonder fashion types are always having tantrums and storming out of rooms. They work like coal miners...

Bada Bing Bada boom

2008-01-17T14:32:00.000+11:00

The guys at new K.X. strip club Bada Bing have got a new dress code plaque. Note the last refusal of entry pertaining to Bikie PARAFANALIA as opposed to PARAPHERNALIA.
Now, the law says if you own a bar you can't let Bikies in. Even if you just suspect them of being involved in a 1% Gang. Oh and no thongs, unless of course you are stripping...

Mc Drunk

2008-01-17T14:16:00.000+11:00

When I was young, one of my first after school jobs was at Mc Donald's Kings Cross. Back then it was a crazy Junkie infested hell hole and Mc Donalds was the Junkie food of choice. They should have made that film supersize me about a junkie who eats nothing but Mc Donalds and Heroin. We used to have to keep the sugar, napkins and straws behind the counter to keep the junkies from stealing them. The other night I visited the golden arches and shot this snap of two young lasses chowing down on some burgers and a cheap bottle of Champagne. The stuff hang over dreams are made of...Note how 21st Cent these girls are. They are talking to each other whilst eating, drinking and making a phone call. Multi Tasking.

Kings Cross mini movie.

2008-01-17T13:56:00.000+11:00

This is a small film I made about smoking in Kings Cross. Check it out if you have 3 minutes up your sleeve.

Mile High

2008-01-16T19:40:00.000+11:00

I'm doing a new play down at the OLD FITZ in Wooloomooloo called Mile High. It's written and directed by Byron Kaye and stars Megan Alston and my good self. It's on for a little while so if you are in the area... Sorry for the self promotion but I promise more posts about strange signs soon.
Cheers

Vale Troy

2008-01-08T13:06:00.000+11:00

This is the first part of a two part tribute made by Australian director Richard Lowenstein about his longtime friend and collaborator Troy Davies. Troy was a true kings cross character and died last year after an extremely long battle with HIV/AIDS. These films are no picnic but show an artistic community in the early eighties in full flight. Great footage of Michael Hutchence behind the scenes on Lowenstein's film "Dogs in Space". Looks like an insane but creatively dense period. Sad but worth a look...

Stop in the name of (lost) junkie Love!

2008-01-04T16:01:00.000+11:00

This notice posted on Darlinghurst Rd is bizzare but also kinda sad. If you click on the photo you'll be able to read it. Basically it's from a woman who is dumping shit on her former lover. Letting people know he's a Junkie and a thief. Obviously a sordid sad tale. What's strange is that she was inspired to make this sign. fascinating. Sad.

Hook Line and Sinker

2008-01-04T15:52:00.000+11:00

When I was a kid I remember hearing the word hooker in an American movie and wondering why Australia's biggest real estate agency was called L.J Hooker after the word for a prostitute.

Now I'm older and know that it was just a co-incidence. Then I saw this SOLD sign. Tell me the photo of the house doesn't look like the kinda place a hooker might turn tricks?

I have now decided that the real estate agency IS actually run by hookers. They obviously sold this place as a favour to a colleague.

As seen in Glebe.

No Ball.

2007-12-19T16:14:00.000+11:00

If you scroll back through the previous posts of this blog you'll notice several themes. One thing is a pro-feminist agenda and two a hatred of people who put up signs with the little tabs but don't take one off themselves. These dickheads managed to piss me off on both counts. They want a woman to serve them beer all day at the cricket. I hope she spikes their drinks, steals their money and which ever team they support, loses emphatically.

Oh when the Shark bites...

2007-12-14T16:24:00.000+11:00

This is not a set up. This guy was waiting for a bus with a shark head sculpture like it was the most natural thing in the damm world. That's some street art people.

Not Kosher.

2007-12-14T16:21:00.001+11:00

This sandwich store in Nth Sydney wanted to advertise their BACON and Egg rolls. Fine. They wanted to let people know this was a special by highlighting the fact using stars. Fine. But Stars of David?

Xmas Excess.

2007-12-14T16:19:00.000+11:00

I want to know who put the X in INXS. Merry Christmas from FST!

Pour Tous...

2007-11-27T18:22:00.001+11:00

Great new little store in deepest darkest Roslyn street Kings X. Fantastic to see fashion returning to the Cross in droves. Pour Tous has a range of designers including Peg Leg NYC, CDG and Marc Jacobs on its way!

Bravo.

Hi Ho Quik(Silver)

2007-11-21T17:41:00.000+11:00

For once the ad guys get it right. Talk about interactive! Wonder how these babies work with public liability insurance?
For the full deal check out- http://www.elmanco.com/2007/11/13/skate-guerrilla/

Thanks to loyal FST reader LG for the link.

In Bloom

2007-10-30T11:47:00.000+11:00

I've never been a flower guy. I despise gardening shows and spend most of my time in a concrete urban environment. The tree featured in this post is a Jacaranda and it grows these great purple flowers this time of year that drop and cover the street in a beatutiful purple carpet. Walking by the water the other day I saw this tree and got the whole "gardening thing" for a moment...

J.C is Cumming. Look busy.

2007-10-30T11:44:00.000+11:00

The great thing about camera phones is you can catch these gems and share them with the world. This guy's van is covered in graffiti about happiness. This line rocked my world. His name is Bogdan and he's a plumber...

Perez Sayz...

2007-10-17T20:42:00.000+10:00

Gay-Latino-celebrity-superstar-blogger Perez Hilton just posted on a huge story going on down under- The arrest of Ben Cousins, Australian Rules Football star. It is alleged that Ben was pulled over by the PoPo for driving erratically. Then he was allegedly found in the possession of drugs. Hilton was more interested in B.C's arrest video which featured the buff star bare chested. It appears he went driving (high and badly) without a shirt...After a history of off field incidents it seems that his career is over, Cousins' that is, not Hilton...

My open bar

2007-10-17T17:03:00.000+10:00

If you live in the States or are planning a visit- myopenbar.com is a must. Full of events with free booze in L.A. N.Y.C and more.
It's not just for cheapskates. Most of the events are worth checking out regardless of the free booze. This would be great for those Sydney art student types who plan their weeks around openings just so they can get crazy drunk on cheap white wine, sleep with the wrong person and make a performance piece about it.

Chair way to voyeur heaven

2007-10-17T13:40:00.000+10:00

Older model Sydney trains have a strange spatial alignment. They include one seat at either side of the carriage that is all by itself. It is favoured by people not wanting to have contact with others and people like myself who enjoy its pure, voyeuristic opportunity. This applies only to the single chair facing the public. The voyeur sits down and travels back first into space and is able to observe Sydney commuters in all their bizarre minutia. Here's to the single chair, henceforth known as 'The Throne'.

Sign of the (China Town) times?

2007-10-17T13:35:00.000+10:00

As seen in China town...These guys placed a sign (presumably looking for sales assistants) and inadvertently revealed what all retailers would love to do, cut all the marketing shop-window-dressing crap and tell it like it is. Buy our stuff!

Poho-ho

2007-10-17T13:27:00.000+10:00

A few years back when boutique florist Poho opened, the neighbourhood heralded it as a welcome addition to Macleay st Kings Cross and an obvious sign of gentrification in the area. It's right at the top of what people are calling the 'Paris End' of Kings Cross. Florist=Civilisation.
The good people at Poho are extending this idea by embracing the bus stop bench out the front of the store, surrounding it with their beautiful/expensive wares.

Riot

2007-09-20T00:00:00.000+10:00

One of my favourite bands is Scotland's Jesus and Mary Chain. This link is to a you-tube from a television story on the band and a subsequent riot after a gig in London. The fashions were great. I wish someone had done a DIG style doco on JAMC. They were as far out as Brian Jonestown Massacre. In these days the band were rumoured to have discovered crack. check out a uber cool Bobby Gillespie at the end. You-tube seems to be a great source for finding musical rarities. As an endnote, JAMC played one of the worst gigs I've ever been to... but their albums!

http://youtube.com/watch?v=hclcrEpui64

Bahborhee Man

2007-09-19T16:32:00.000+10:00

F.S.T. has featured a few posts about strange Korean culture. Kings Cross has a sizeable population of Koreans including my former tobacconist. Lach, a reader of F.S.T. got in touch to let me know about yet another weird Korean quirk. It appears that Flashing (Men wearing raincoats and nothing else, exposing themselves to young women) is a serious problem in Korea. What is hilarious though, is the term Koreans use for these men. Bahborhee Man. Or Burberry Man based on the established British clothier and their famous rain coats.

French DO

2007-09-13T22:46:00.000+10:00

Face book is screwing with my blogging. That was until I ran across these guys on F.B. They list their hobbies as " Over dressing and being arrogant". They are a raging example of a DO in Vice Magazine terms. They are French, 19 and D.J...

This American strife!

2007-08-30T23:42:00.000+10:00

The subject of this mini doco from the awesome This American Life series is a hot dog stand in Chicago called "Weiner Circle".
My brother told me about this place. Basically, you can go in there and yell whatever you want at the staff and it's fine. And by whatever I mean WHATEVER. This is a fascinating slice of Americana in the racially segregated city of Chicago...watch it Mother Fucker. Watch it...

How's my drinking?

2007-08-28T13:56:00.000+10:00

Whenever I hit the turps I never realise I'm drunk until I catch a glimpse of myself in the mirror. I am always staggered at how drunk I look. I usually start talking to myself. "Dude, you are drunk!" That is why this warning notice posted on the mirrors of the Tilbury Hotel's bathrooms is so perfect.

Just when you think all is lost...

2007-08-27T16:13:00.001+10:00

After my previous post "Boo Zoo" I was beginning to lose faith in the young women of today's political assertiveness until I found this classic example of street level feminist advertising defacement. The ad was drawn in chalk for a back packers in Kings X and done in the Hentai style of Japanese soft core porn cartoons. The defacer has written FUCK PATRIARCHY on the ad.

Boo Zoo

2007-08-15T14:52:00.001+10:00

I went to University in the early 90's. The Wimins group on my campus were extremely active. It was the summer of Riot Grrl. Teams of passionate women roamed around Sydney defacing sexist advertising. Political correctness was everywhere. "He OR She" or even "She or He" came into the vernacular. They called it a second wave of Feminism...

A decade later I spy this poster for a men's magazine. The poster features a competition to "win your girlfriend a boob job". Ten years or so ago the Riot Grrls I knew would have torn this magazines editor a new arse-hole. Instead, silence...

Surely this is going too far? I am scanning the horizon but the ocean seems flat. Where is the next wave?

Maizon my son, Maizon...

2007-08-14T00:55:00.000+10:00

Interesting little furniture shop just opened off Oxford St Darlinghurst on Crown St ( Wooloomooloo side) called MAIZON. It's run by an affable English Geezer who threw in a job in I.T and pursued his dream of making furniture. His stuff is great. Nice outdoor tables, coffee tables and even beds. The kicker is they are all reasonably priced ( very unusual for Sydney). If you are thinking of making a trek out to Ikea stop by and see this bloke first. After all, we all have dreams, this bloke is going for his...

cl-ASS-y MAN

2007-08-13T14:00:00.000+10:00

Working, as I do, around the Quay area of Sydney, one gets to see all manner of unusual fashions on the hordes of tourists that descend on the area each day. Italians with bizzare Euro Trash clothes and Invicta back packs, Germans in sandals and socks and this guy...ASS MAN? I like the female form as much as the next guy but...Hope this guy visits Oxford St during his visit. Oh Brother!

Warhol San

2007-08-09T00:02:00.000+10:00

I once did a strange TV ad for Japan but Andy Warhol's Ad for video tapes trumps mine in the bizzare stakes...

Five year b-old art..

2007-08-07T15:20:00.000+10:00

This store was selling this strange ink based painting system. You paint on it and then it fades and is ready for your next work. I was having a cigarette out the front. Moments before, this had a shitty peace symbol painted on it. It faded and then a five year old girl came along and did this. Super cool. Just as quickly, it faded...

I'll be your MIRAH...

2007-08-07T15:12:00.000+10:00

One of the great things about travelling is the bizarre synchronicity that seems to happen. Whilst in Portland the missus and I stumbled across a band listing site that featured one of our favourite acts MIRAH playing in Portland that very night. We went along to the gig which was a fund raiser for an all girls summer rock camp. The room was filled with ten year old campers, their mums and a horde of 40+ year old lesbians...It was a fantastic night. Mirah is an anomaly. A female singer-songwriter who bucks all the obvious clichés and delivers heartbreakingly good music. Check her out sometime. She's on the K record label out of Olympia...

We're on a MISSION from...

2007-08-01T00:48:00.000+10:00

San Fran is an interesting city. By interesting, I mean infested with bums and a sense of danger along with the tackiest gay area I have ever seen in any town, but there is still stuff to love...Like the Mission, an area home to amazing mural art and the world's best Burritos. I missed these so much when I got back that I went around to my local Mexican to try and recreate the experience, to no avail.

Blue Oyster Cut...

2007-07-28T16:46:00.000+10:00

You are a young adventurous man from Australia who loves oysters. You have pride in your nation's molluscs and you are in Seattle. You want to do a little compare and contrast with the pacific north west's famed fare. You go to the fish markets to buy a dozen, but then find out they can't sell them shucked. You give the salty guy behind the counter a wink as he hands you a rusty oyster knife. You go out to the car-park followed by your panic stricken wife and although you've never opened an oyster before, you work it out. In the process you nearly sever the suicide vein in your wrist 1000 times but remain determined. From the moment one of these beauties slides down your throat you realise it was all worth it.

Reid between the lines.

2007-07-27T11:00:00.000+10:00

Rupert Reid, a good friend of F.S.T is doing a gig in Kings X.
The show is on the 31st of July @ 7:30 PM at the fabulous BAR ME. Come along and check it out. Rupe is a great singer songwriter who sings songs about lost love, pretty girls walking by, meeting new girls, basically lots of songs about girls all done with a rye sense of humour. Also,the ladies tell me he's easy on the eyes too...Check him out on My Space /rupertreid

Seminal Seattle.

2007-07-27T10:42:00.000+10:00

Are you as sick as I am of clubs that only let in Catholic Seamen? What's wrong with other faith's seamen. Surely seamen are the same regardless of which God they believe in...You get the idea. As seen in Seattle ( which by the way is a great town). Stayed at the Ace hotel. Check it out if you ever head there. Also visited the Experience Music Project, Big corp museum but with great collections on Hendrix, Riot Grrl, Grunge and the Pacific Northwest's hip hop scene including Sir Mix a Lot. Who knew? Seattle got back yo!

Tranny Man

2007-07-19T23:22:00.000+10:00

I just got back from a trip to the States and collected a plethora of great shots of the obscure, including this amazingly named transmission repair shop in Oregon...

Sign of the times?

2007-05-30T18:08:00.000+10:00

The reason why Wars start is that everyone assumes that everyone else thinks like them. When someone does something that doesn't fit with their world view they assume that it's an attack... This person has made up an ad for a car space in Kings Cross. Fine. I don't even mind that they thumb tacked it to a tree. They even did the handy tabs at the bottom so you can take their number with you. Fine. I myself have made these signs in the past. Fine. BUT... I ALWAYS ripped one (at least) of the little tags off myself when I erected the sign as if to demonstrate SOME INTEREST. It's basic marketing and yet this person of integrity does the direct opposite...

These boots are made for gawking...

2007-05-30T18:05:00.001+10:00

Now that Mother's Day has passed in Australia, all the bargains start coming out to play. Personally, I'll wait until these babies hit 50% off. As seen on Darlinghurst Rd Kings Cross.

Cunning.

2007-05-06T21:05:00.000+10:00

When I was a kid, barbers used to have photos of dashing gents with various haircuts so that you didn't have to describe your hairstyle, just point to it. This guy is sort of doing the same thing. By placing a sticker on his car that depicts a sex act he wants to engage in, he hopes that women (who would also like to engage in the act) will pull him over, point at the sticker and thus ask for mutual oral pleasure. He HOPES...

Welcome to OZ

2007-05-06T20:56:00.000+10:00

The Circular Quay area of Sydney is the heart of Sydney's tourist action. Just across from the Opera House and basically under the Harbour Bridge. The gent in this photo obviously didn't get the memo. Now, every city has homeless people and we at FST feel genuinely sorry for them but do they have to spend their days in an area inundated with tourists WEARING A TSHIRT THAT SAYS AUSTRALIA? Talk about ironic photo ops for jaded tourists...

V. Old

2007-04-02T08:33:00.000+10:00

The missus and I spent Saturday at the V FESTIVAL in Sydney, a corp rock fest hosted by Virgin (Mobile Phones, Airlines, Music, Self help books). It had been a while since we had ventured out to a festival but couldn't resist the chance to see the Pixies, New York Dolls (pictured) Pet Shop Boys etc. The name V was apt as the experience reminded us of that 80's T.V show of the same name. Indeed, we felt like aliens had taken over in the form of obnoxious 16-25 year olds. Gen Y as they are termed. Thousands of youth strutted around texting whilst wearing fluro T-shirts, Ksubi jeans, and Rayban Wayfarers. The missus and I were left questioning the youth of today and doing a little compare and contrast with our memories of 10 years ago.

The music was great, amazing sound. The New York Dolls killed speculation that they are a retro novelty act, Phoenix were awesome and the Pixies sublime! What was interesting was how much of the music was either older bands or very retro in feel (Gnarles Barkley) Indeed, it felt like the youth of today had hi-jacked all that was good about the past, mixed it up with fashion that mocked our childhood and somewhere along the line missed the point(presumably whilst they were texting someone).

I guess that's what getting old is about...

Guess who don't sue OR I love "Booze" all.

2007-03-30T00:13:00.000+10:00

Which high profile boxer/former world champ/bad boy did I just see get arrested for (allegedly) high range drink driving?
He was driving a Bentley no less...Pretty sure this is a feel some think world exclusive. When bad shit happens in the cross read it here first folks...This happened about nine minutes ago...

Vice Ice Baby

2007-03-20T16:36:00.000+11:00

I don't know how those skinny, hipster, sexually ambiguous photo hounds for VICE magazine do it, sneaking up on unsuspecting victims of fashion and taking clear photos that perfectly depict their crimes. This guy was wearing a 1991 Vanilla Ice TOUR T-shirt! Like it was the most natural thing in the world. Perhaps I panicked at the opportunity but here is the evidence. The odd thing is how much those same skinny, hipster, sexually ambiguous vicesters would covet a T-shirt like this for its (thankfully) rarity and irony level.

The Medium is the Massage.

2007-03-20T13:01:00.000+11:00

A while back I decided to hit one of those ubiquitous cheap massage places that populate the main street of Kings Cross. Just as I was about to lie down and receive some work on a sore shoulder I spied this sign. Point 5 Alarmed me. "Dislocation should be treated chiefly with Taxis"

So if these guys dislocate my shoulder their only response would be to call me a cab. Is this because my arm would be inoperable and I therefore would be unable to flag one myself?

Check out some of the other wacky rules these guys have...

Con-spiracy?

2007-03-20T12:36:00.000+11:00

Converse has unleashed a stencil ad campaign on the streets on Kings Cross. Within a week though, a dedicated defacer stencilled up a response. (See before and after photo) the irony is that the company that did the original used paint that would wash off in a couple of weeks, one wonders if the Ad Terrorist was as considerate? Regardless, a dialogue has been created...

Broken Back Packer.

2007-03-13T18:27:00.000+11:00

"I still haven't found what I'm looking for..." U2

Screw you Bono, I just did. After years of watching with amazement at the hordes of back packers who descend on my environs with enormous back packs, I found it. The mother of all ridiculously large backpacks. It has always astounded me that someone would want to travel around the world carrying a huge, heavy, dirty backpack on their back. Surely the world of backpacking is the natural domain for the phrase "pack light". But everyday I see travellers with inappropriately oversized bags. But this was different. This was the Moby Dick, the Grand Canyon, the holy grail of Back Packs. When I asked its owner, a Swede, why his pack was so big, he replied that he had "bought a lot of shit in Thailand". I didn't ask what, partly to be discreet but also because it was obvious. Sven had smuggled back a fucking baby elephant and was planning on raising him in Stockholm after sleeping with some loose Australian chicks Down Under.

I hope this photo does it justice. I know it doesn't. It blocked out the sun, such was its size I tell you...

Graf Down Unda Style.

2007-03-07T23:16:00.000+11:00

There is a type of Graf style popular with young Indigenous people in Australia that I thought I might share with you. It has a lot of conventional touches that you see all over the world like the use of nicknames (Del-Del etc) and the crown but also always features a little depiction of the Aboriginal flag and is either "someone loves someone" or in this case 3 people just marking out that they hung out somewhere. I've always seen these growing up but the other day found myself fascinated by it...

ICE ONE MATE

2007-03-06T12:52:00.000+11:00

You run a convenience store in Kings Cross, an area in the grip of an ICE or U.S-"Meth" drug plague. You sell frozen water in the shape of cubes which is commonly also known as ICE. You want people to know you have this service. Do you worry about the double meaning? Do you worry that deluded ICE freaks might try and take you up on the offer? No! You MS word up this baby and display it proudly. If the tweakers do come in looking to score, who knows, you might be able to sell them an energy drink or a four dollar apple...

Yogi Bare...Or Now I wanna be your (downward facing) dog!

2007-02-25T14:18:00.000+11:00

I want to make it clear that this guy is not leading a class. He has just decided to do his Yoga in the middle of the busiest city thoroughfare in Sydney during the lunch time rush. Perhaps it's an elaborate test of his mental strength to concentrate under extreme distraction of maybe he is just very proud of his flexibility. Regardless he is, as my father in law would say- A WANKER.

Back-Packer Modification.

2007-02-25T14:10:00.000+11:00

There is a culture amongst Back Packers to Australia of modifying their vans with custom paint jobs. Usually a Swedish flag or a union jack. These charming gents adorned their trusty shagging wagon with the pictured slogan. Classy boys. Sure to get loads of action.

Tango and Hash.

2007-02-25T14:03:00.000+11:00

Another great development in the rejuvenation of once drug ravaged Roslyn street Kings Cross is a new monthly Tango night. When you see sweet couples dancing under the stars on a balmy Sydney night it warms away all the urban cynicism that builds up in you and remember what life is about.

The Dope on Floyd..

2007-02-08T02:07:00.000+11:00

Sorry to go sports posting crazy but...

PARIS (AP) — The French Anti-Doping Agency will rule Thursday whether to ban Floyd Landis from racing in France for up to two years after his positive doping test at the 2006 Tour de France.

This story has gone quiet for a while. I like many cycling fans was very pissed off after watching a month of cycling to have the winner declared a cheat. However, I do know that it's a sport dominated by drugs... Several Australian riders were looking good for the title until pretty boy Floyd went crazy in the Alps and blew everyone away after nearly dying the day before.

Don't try this at home...

2007-02-08T01:31:00.000+11:00

Speaking of emerging urban sports (see post on Fixed Gears below) comes PARKOUR or free running. This has been around for a while but is getting a lot of attention thanks to a scene in the new Bond film. This video has the craziest athleticism I have ever seen. Please check it out. It defies physics...

Fixed Gear....

2007-02-08T00:36:00.000+11:00

This is a promo for a new film that looks at San Fran's FIXED GEAR bike scene. F.G bikes are basically modified track bikes (no brakes) that are used on the street. To slow down, the rider has to place pressure on the pedals that unlike normal bikes don't coast, always spinning. I had a go on one of these babies a while back and they are very hard to ride. Very popular in the states and getting a following in OZ from the bike courier contingent and beyond. There is a very developed fashion and scene surrounding these bikes...

When Irish eyes are smoiling...

2007-01-25T15:43:00.000+11:00

Something to warm the cockles of my heart...
Whilst catching the train home from the city today, I watched a group of Irish backpackers sitting across from me. I was bemused by their incomprehensible Cork accents. When the driver announced over the loud speaker "Next stop Kings Cross" they all cheered, anticipating their big night out. At this moment I realised, my neighbourhood is like a Disneyland for drunks...

Strummer.

2007-01-24T20:13:00.000+11:00

It's strange how the world works. I would have never picked J. Strummer as one of my fashion icons. I like the Clash as much as the next guy, and appreciate his political stance but he's never been a huge guiding light in my life...until I came across this mural in the East Village. I realised at this moment that my hair and sun-glass choice (which haven't changed since the early 90's) is completely derivative of him or perhaps the guy he copied it off. My Kasbah was rocked.

nIce Berg.

2007-01-24T18:15:00.000+11:00

Holy Shit. Look at this. Str8 of PSFK.com comes...A giant inflatable $9,000 ice berg! This has absolutely nothing to do with the vague "themes" of this blog but man alive, look at this!

Black Flag!

2007-01-23T17:19:00.000+11:00

A furore is developing down under. The organisers of the country's biggest music festival, The Big Day Out, have banned the display of Australian flags at their upcoming Sydney concert. This has created outrage from both sides of politics and has led to bills outlawing restrictions on displaying the flag and desecration. The rock concert organisers took this step after last years race riots at Cronulla beach in Sydney's south, where 1000's of young Australians with Anglo-Celtic heritage picketed the suburb to prevent other young Australians of Middle Eastern background from visiting the beach. This triggered days of revenge attacks and a huge national embarrassment. Many of the people at the beach that day prominently displayed Australian flags and paraphernalia(see photo) as if to say "We are Australians, you are not". There has been a subtle but growing sense of nationalism amongst Australia's young which certainly wasn't around when I was a teenager. It's getting a little scary. This is in part due to a very conservative government and events like the Bali bombing.
I'm proud to be Australian but as a Republican (anti Monarchy not Pro Bush) am not a fan of a flag that has a large Union Jack in the corner. Strangely I would never think to take any flag to a concert, a sporting event perhaps but a concert? Unless of course the said concert was a Kiss concert then perhaps a Kiss army flag would be appropriate. Perhaps...

A Slice, my kingdom for a Slice!

2007-01-22T14:33:00.000+11:00

Sydney in summer is a beautiful place. One thing is missing. A simple slice of Pizza, found on nearly every corner in Manhattan. My favourite, hands down is Di Fara Pizza. Food explorers Joel and Mitch (pictured with random girl) took me out to this hidden gem in deepest darkest Brooklyn a couple of years ago. For 40 years this place has been pumping out great Pizza. We of course got several full pies. They place fresh herbs, grown on the window sill, right onto their pies. Majestic. Sydney just doesn't do good simple Pizza, and Pizza by the slice is a total rarity. Why? Australia invented Penicillin and the black box flight recorder. How hard is it to build or even import an oven big enough to produce NYC style pizza?

DiFara Pizza
1424 Ave. J, Brooklyn, NY 11230
at E. 15th St.
718-258-1367

Cross roads and spirit boundries.

2007-01-22T13:58:00.000+11:00

A controversy has been brewing in Sydney's Bondi. The area, which features an odd mix of backpackers, professional party people and Orthodox Jewry, is debating whether or not to install motion sensor lights so that Orthodox Jewish people can cross roads safely on the Sabbath and not contradict halacha law by pushing the cross button. The Jewish community, are themselves, debating whether or not activating a motion sensor is just as bad as pushing a button. meanwhile the Anti-Semites are up in arms. "My taxes going to this etc etc."

This kind of controversy is not new. A similar storm in a tea cup raged with the local council granting permission to build a "Spirit Wall" or Eruv around this area. The wall, made up of existing walls, power lines etc is an invisible boundary in which Orthodox Jews are allowed to practise activities on the Sabbath that they normally wouldn't be able to do.An Eruv is simply a practical method of denoting the area within which carrying objects and pushing strollers & wheelchairs is permitted on Shabbat.

Interestingly the White House is enclosed in a D.C Eruv. More ammo for the conspiracists/racists.

One group that is sure to love auto crossing lights is Bondi's oft forgotten OCD population, rejoicing that they don't have to touch another germ infested cross walk button.

Whale Tail?

2007-01-20T13:20:00.000+11:00

Whilst delving into Robin's mysterious Jean under suit case (see below) I came across a ref to a phrase that was foreign to me. WHALE TAIL. This may be a regional anomaly as the word has not yet come to Australia, but never the less, it is intruiging... Wikipedia writes-

"Whale tail is a derogatory phrase that many people have referred to since the late 1990s when thongs became trendy in fashion. The reference is used when the appearance of the waistband of a thong or g-string above the waistline of low-rise pants, shorts, or a skirt creating a shape resembling a whale's tail. It should be noted that the appearance of a whale tail is not always unintentional.
The word was selected by American Dialect Society (a group of linguists, editors and academics) in January 2006 as the "most creative word" of 2005 (beating out "muffin top", the bulge of flesh hanging over the top of low-rise jeans.)"

Recently, Australia was exposed to the phrase "turkey slapping" ( Slapping someone on the head with your flaccid penis) when two male contestants on Australian Big Brother T.S'd a female contestant who later filed Sexual Harassment charges and lead to the Australian Prime Minister calling for the show to be banned ( apparently he wanted it replaced by continuos showings of Nazi Propaganda films.)

Denim Detective needed....

2007-01-20T12:53:00.000+11:00

Robin from the East Village N.Y.C, a loyal reader of F.S.T ( And Buddy), has sent me an interesting photo and quandary. He writes-
"Hey Seb, As I read your blog, I've come to think of you as a resident expert on social oddities around town. This summer I had a peculiar experience I was hoping you might be able to explain. On the walk to work one warm morning, I was following a perfectly normal looking chap (i.e. not homeless or crazy) who was wearing a normal business outfit of dress pants, collared shirt and jacket. Except that i noticed what appeared to be jeans sticking out of the bottom of his dress pants. Could it be that he's wearing ratty old jeans UNDER his nice dress pants? Why would someone do such a thing? Could it be more comfortable than it looks? I ended up following him for 3 blocks out of my way before I could take this photo for future investigation. Have I stumbled upon some sort of social anomaly? Or should I start thinking of doubling up my wardrobe as well?"
thx.
Robin

I'm going to open this case up to you, dear readers and compile solutions to this riddle. First of all, we can rule out warmth as an explanation, as Robin stated that this phenomenon occurred "This Summer" and on a "warm morning". Secondly, the subject is carrying a bag, which rules out that he didn't have anywhere to carry the offending jeans. Perhaps he has some form of Vestiphobia- Fear of clothing. He can't handle the feel of suits against his skin and has to wear denim underneath as a buffer. perhaps he also has a secret fetish towards denim A.K.A Jeans fetishism. Wikipedia has an article on J.F that states that "J.F is a sexual fetish relating to jeans or denim, particularly worn by women but also by men. It can also involve printed or electronic material with jeans being worn". Or lastly he works a boring corp job and wears these babies underneath to remind him that he is still a rock god and just working for the man until his big break comes along...Intriguing, thanks Robin. Readers?

Smoko Bro? No? Art Deco decanter perhaps?

2007-01-19T17:00:00.000+11:00

The bottom end of Roslyn street Kings Cross was, a year ago, a wasteland patrolled by pot dealers and the destitute. Now, this mini area is undergoing a boom. There are currently 3 little antique stores, a health consultancy, a funky hairdresser and the ever present Piccolo Bar (since 1950!). These shops were nearly all vacant. Good to see. It's not rivalling Sydney's Antique strip of Queen street just yet but it is a positive development to a forgotten little corner. The public space facing these shops is also being used for monthly tango nights. Of Course, the bums are still there, as are the dealers. At least now they have something to look at.

Junk in the trunk? Nein Danke!

2007-01-16T18:46:00.000+11:00

When driving through the streets of Paddington I always check out the street treasures disposed on the side of the road. This haul was a massive disappointment. (1) Ergonomic chair/stool and (1) mid Nineties CD tower. My how the IPOD has put those towers out of biz. Who needs to show off their massive "Simple Minds" collection anymore? As for the ergo chair, these babies were never going to stand the test of time. Finding these two obsolete articles together was a score. The picture would have been complete with the presence of an Ab-Roller, a copy of the Atkins diet book and club lock....

The last of the....

2007-01-16T18:41:00.000+11:00

As seen on the streets of Kings X, a replica of the Police pursuit car from Mad Max(Road Warrior). Dr George Miller has his office in the Cross perhaps these guys were paying him a visit. Max Rockatansky must rank as one of the great hero names...