Issues news

Whether it's a fixed-gear parked outside the Shakespeare hotel; a stylish Amici resting in the corner of an ad-execs office or a shiny new Chanel riding around in my dreams: bikes are certainly all over the show in Sydney at the moment. In early 2007 the city of sydney put forth a proposal that would see cycling as transport increased by 500% by 2017. Obviously, this aim can only be achieved if cyclists can ride without fear of, you know, dying and the council's first attempt at ensuring this will be with the Bourke street bicycle route. When completed the proposed route will provide a handy wee passageway through the inner east; starting from Woolloomooloo, winding through Surry Hills and Redfern and finishing up in the inner-west suburb of Zetland. The first part of the track will be built later this year with completion expected in time for summer. You can learn more about the route here or by attending one of the local meetings being held this Saturday

Obviously by now you are all familiar with the name Cyclone Nargis; that of the natural disaster that almost three weeks ago ripped Burma to shreds and left over 133.000 dead and even more homeless. In response to the tragedy, thousands of individuals, organisations and companies have come on board and made donations towards relief and rehabilitation efforts ( you too can do so here). One such organisation is None of Us Are Free; a website that brings together the worlds top creatives and artists to raise funds and awareness for important  international campaigns. In light of the Burma situation they recruited top Ogilvy and Mather advertising creative, Carl Leblond, to create the above video. It's quite mesmerizing and not only addresses the cyclone but the suffering the (inherently peace-loving) people of Eastern Burma have long received at the hands of the country's military.

The folks at Louis Vuitton sure are very protective of that LV monogram. Remember them last year giving Britney Spears the slap-in-the-face we all wanted to when they sued her for using a car with an - omg - fake LV cherry blossom interior in one of her music videos? Well, Mr Marc Jacobs and crew have got the handles of their Speedy bags in a twist again; this time though I'm less inclined to feel any sympathy for them. Danish art student and activist, Nadia Plesner, is being sued by the iconic luxury goods company for depicting one of it's popular Takashi Murakami handbags on a t-shirt. The handbag in question happens to be held, along with a pink-clad chihuahua, by a malnourished african child next to the words "Simple Lives". Plesner was one of a group of designers who designed t-shirts to raise awareness of the violence in Darfur, hers was based around the media's obsession with show business over real global issues. Of their decision to sue, Louis Vuitton reps claim that "The issue is important because it directly impacts the brand on which our company has been built and which we must protect". Hmmm, diplomatic, with just a hint of arrogance.

Before anyone even knew who John Mayer was, I was his biggest fan. The small minority of people that did know of him, only thought of him as the lanky loser who sang about girls' bodies being 'wonderlands'. John Mayer was my hidden obsession, my way of understanding things, he was the man I met as a trembling 17 year old, gob-smacked that this man with beautiful lips and big brown eyes had actually held my hand and kissed my cheek.
So, as you can imagine, seeing him now on the front cover of trash mags with headlines screaming 'John calls Jess fat' and 'John Mayer kisses Perez Hilton', really kinda sucks. I started to hate him and I started to believe all of his amazing songs and lyrical conversations were just lies. Fame had gobbled him up. It wasn't until this morning that I remembered he had a blog. I logged on and read an entry that made me see him as the person I once believed him to be.
He connects and operates in a world like no other. He has the ability to make us all feel equal to him, he lets us know that it's okay to feel insecure and scared sometimes.
Here's a bit of what he has to say:
"This is about the girl in her bedroom who poses in front of the camera she's awkwardly holding in her outstretched hand. She'll take a hundred photos until coming up with one she's happy with, which inevitably looks nothing like her, and after she's done poring over images of herself, will post one on her myspace page and then write something like " I don't give a f*ck what you think about me."
Go here to read his whole blog. I really do recommend it. It will leave you feeling a little more sure about yourself. A little more satisfied that we're all insecure in some way, even if we rarely show it or we eventually give way to denial. Listening to his song Clarity, may also add to the mood.

Happy World Vegetarian Week!   

Forget grease-laden drumsticks that go right to your thighs and nasty nuggets made of tortured chicken bits —nothing says “yum” like a veggie burger with the works! If you‘re not already living la vida vegan, take the opportunity during World Vegetarian Week (May 19-25) to give vegetarianism a try.

Need some food for thought? Consider these facts: Vegetarians save the lives of more than 100 animals per year, and are on average, 10 to 20 pounds lighter than meat eaters.   Many vegetarians report that after cutting meat out of their diets, they feel better, have clearer skin, and have more energy.

Plus, all the cool kids are doing it. Considering Missy Higgins, JD Fortune, Kisschasy’s Darren Cordeux, and rocker Xavier Rudd (check out what this didgeridoo-playing dude has to say about going veg here ), are all vegetarian, you’ll be in good company.    

Convinced? Good. Switching to a plant-based diet is as easy as Chocolate Tofu Pie . Check out these tips and these recipes and you’ll be a bonafide Veg Head in no time!

Move on over Nimbin – NSW has a new green capital and thy name be Blair Athol. Last night, local police (who by now are no doubt looking forward to a ripper of a bonfire) made a 1.8 million cannabis bust in the south-western suburb - the third such yield in a week. You may remember that on Monday some industrious hydroponist lost 700 plants with a total street value of around 4 million (not that he was concerned with that – they were, of course, all for “personal use”). Yesterday another raid uncovered 300 plants on a property in the same street; this one worth about 1.5 mil. It’s said that many of the tip-offs came from concerned neighbours, to which I say, what ever happened to a sense of community? Anyway, police are not saying whether the incidents are linked but either way, it would seen that gated communities are the new bushlands and remote farms - just like on Weeds!

Bitchiness has always being a problem for girls but now it seems to be getting out of control! Gossip is an issue that crosses generations but I’m sure the surge in popularity of Gossip Girl has only helped the process of glorifying gossip.

The Sydney magazine industry was, and still is, in turmoil with the blog 4inchheelsonly, exposing the ‘supposed’ dirty secrets of these mags. Maghag, as the blogger refers to herself, has already provoked heated debate about beauty editors and their freebies, as well as the realities of work experience and retrieving bananas for editors. Obviously inspired by these people, a person called Jane Smith has popped up on my Facebook friends. Suddenly, all hell broke loose in my university course. Jane uncovered (and I use that term loosely) gossip snippets about all the different year levels and exposed love interests, sexuality issues and unrequited love. At the start it was funny, you could have a little giggle like ‘Oh My God, did they really kiss?’ and ‘Oh, I saw that as well and thought it was interesting’ but then things took a turn for the worse and people were accused of being Jane and malicious gossip was spread. It wasn’t funny anymore. After a few weeks rest, Jane has arisen from the ashes again with more goss, and who knows where it is going to go now?

Psychologists and www experts always go on and on about the dangers of cyber bullying and I personally think the rise of ‘gossip blogs’ could be the next nasty thing on the ‘net. Teenage girls are so tech-savvy now and blogs could easily be started, ruining friendships and reputations through lies. I don’t know what can be done to stop it. Any ideas?