Diaries news

You've heard of Pimp My Ride but what about MTV's latest project, Pimp My Kettle? Oh, yes yes yes, pretty much exactly what it sounds like, Pimp My Kettle sees the humble Kambrook transformed by local artists such Ed Woodly, Ben Frost and Jeremyville; turning them from humble work-horse to star of the kitchen. The finished products can viewed on the website, where the public can also vote for their favourite model - as you can see from the above pic, some of them are quite spec-tac. If you can see one of these beauties next to your Smeg refridgerator and Starck juicer, you'll be glad to hear that they'll soon be up for grabs. On September nine those tea-lovers at MTV are throwing an auction at their Sydney studio. Hosted by VJ Darren McMullen, the auction will see jugs flying everwhere; with all proceeds from tricked-out-kettle sales going directly to Sydney charity, Youth off the Streets. Never has a cuppa sounded so good!

So here I am in South America, loving absolutely everything about the place except for its notorious machismo culture. This awkward combination of chivalry and chauvinism forces me to suppress my feminist reflexes and bite my tongue on a daily basis - "piropos" (flirtatious comments made by men on the street that at times verge on sexual harrassment) are a part of everyday life here and the only way to deal with it is to feign ignorance or indifference. My local girlfriends tell me they hate it too, and wish men were "more civilised" like they supposedly are in countries where gender equality supposedly reigns.

So imagine my disgust when upon checking up on the latest news from home I read this report of Mt Isa Mayor John Moloney calling for - and I quote - "beauty disadvantaged" women to move to his town where they would be assured of finding a male partner (the gender imbalance there is about 5 blokes to 1 sheila). He proudly proclaims that Mt Isa is a place where "ugly ducklings can flourish into beautiful swans" - of course, no mention is made of the appearance of their potential suitors. I'm not sure what exactly he hoped to achieve by making such comments - somehow I doubt there are now thousands of ladies falling over themselves to move north and make it with a miner - but I guess it reminded me that just because it's not quite so visible on the streets doesn't mean that latent sexism doesn't exist in our society, even within the official ranks of government.

I do hope that someone back home is beating the drum about this!

It's not often we see a sporty glamour girl (that does not play tennis). So, the minute a pretty bird comes onto the scene our media gobbles them up and turns them into instant celebrities. The sponsors go wild, teenage boys' jaws drop and bam – they become overnight millionaires!  Don't get me wrong, I do think Steph Rice is quite the pretty type – but how many of the general population would be able to name the three other girls that won gold in the swimming relay final? Hmm, just what I thought.  Human's are so shallow – but sex sells right?

I received a certificate in the mail yesterday that is probably my greatest achievement yet.  Actually, make that ever. It beats “participation” ribbons in school athletics and “encouragement” awards for sticking with piano lessons through the hard times of destroying that song that ice cream trucks play. I got an award for turning twenty-one. Pretty sweet. I didn’t even have to do anything or even give anything my best shot and fail miserably. Somehow my local member of council knew and congratulated me on my mean feat. I know probably hundreds of other people turned 21 on that same day and they all got letters too… but hey, a certificate is a certificate. And when you are used to your family celebrating the fact you finished races without passing out, you cling to what you got.

Ah yes, I’ve finally made it! Made what, you may ask? What slice of journey have I embarked upon that has me screaming from the highest University tower? I’ve made it to the last semester of my Uni degree.

Like many others, I’ll be graduating from 3 gruelling years come Dec 08’. Well, my 3 years studying a communications degree are hardly anything compared to a massive 7 year law degree or something to that degree (pardon the pathetic and confusing pun).

Anyway, what I’m trying to get at is, although I’ll be feeling massive elation to have tackled such a fun and challenging beast, where will I be left at the end of it? I’ve had a brief taste of the 8-6 (forget 9-5) workforce, and can’t say it was particularly inspiring. So where does this leave me? If you don’t want to head straight into some form of torturous full-time work, what else is there?

It’s easy to fantasise about that amazingly-sweet job description that’s a perfect fit (and that you’d be happy working 7-7 in), but where the hell can you find it? How many rhetorical questions can I ask before I annoy the bejesus out of you, and get to the bottom of this career-fear-inducing predicament?

Perhaps I just need to accept the fact that it’s going to be rocky ride, and that’s all part of the experience. Of course I’m excited for my future, and am happy to grasp any opportunity that comes my way, but how can anyone really prepare themselves for something they’re so unsure about? I’m just hoping there will come a time when I can pinpoint what I want in my future, and what area is going to be great for me.

Anyone else suffering similar symptoms, or am I alone in this sickening career phobia syndrome?

On Wednesday me and Billy went down to 10 Anniversary Party for 303 Gallery.
Thurston Moore was spinning some tunes, mostly noise music which some people like but mostly not.
After the noise, the Virgins played.
Kirstin Dunst was there and she looked lovely, actually it was a lot of good looking peeps there, my eyes were tripping all over the place.
All in all it was a cheerful event, with hotdogs, ice cream and drinks.
Then on thursday our wolfpack went down to our second Mollusk barbeque.
I have written about Mollusk Surf shop on my other blog.
But to keep you updated it's "the" surf shop, on Metropolitan and River street in Brooklyn.
They have the greatest selection of hand shaped boards, rad tee's for grownups (big kids) and kid's, Birdwell shorts, bikini's and books.
Also they are a very friendly bunch that throws barbeque every two weeks or so, veggie and meat feast, projecting surf and skate movies on the gas tank across the street.
Oh yeez, it's totally sweet!
We also had a little drawing session at the Secret Project Robot, the gallery next door to Mollusk, that is founded upon that art should be fun, who can resist that!

Oh dear, oh dear!
Its been along time since last, a whole year in fact! I admit, I've been a bad, bad blogger, yeez I have. But now I will make it up to you my dear treasure and I've been practicing too!
Since a month back I've started my own blog, http://fannybostromscuriosities.blogspot.com/
It' been so much fun to write and share all the wonderfulness of the world and the inter-web. I also had my first solo show, "PICNIC", at 31 Grand Gallery from May 29th to June 29th. It was a total riot! So much fun and so much work!
If you want to check out some of the art work from the show, you can see it here,
http://www.31grand.com/ So I've been a busy bee, like a mad scientist, working away in my bushwick laboratory. On my off days this summer I've taken up surfing, I even got my own board, purple with three yellow fishes on it, a girls gotta look good, even in the big blue!
And it was actually Rockaway, our ghetto surfing spot, I wanted to talk about.
At first look the neighborhood is a bit dog eared, but there are some beautiful spots, cute little wooden houses, with gardens full of gnomes and hammocks.
Get off at beach 90 and walk two blocks to Boarders surf shop, rent a board for 25 bucks.
Then slip into something more comfortable(or less if you are getting into a wetsuit) and walk two blocks down to the beach. Remember to put plenty of sunblock though, its pretty easy to go home looking like a cooked lobster.
Talking about seafood, a taco shop has just open there as well, good idea since it's not a lot of snacky places around that hood, so you can fill up on fish tacos after the swim.
And don't forget to get a shaved coconut ice, they are delicious!
So go on sweet summer bums, lean back, do the rockaway!