da Scriffles

Every year I make a Christmas print. They make nice icons.

This year I thought it might be nice to take some of the wonderful drawings my nieces have on their fridge and turn them into Christmas pillow slip prints.

What do you think of the result? Do you think they'll recognize them?

Couldn't resist my own composition though - the squashed bug and the koala wolverine.

Two days work. Made extras to sell at the West End markets for $15. If you're in Brisbane and you want one.

Just look for the jam lady - that's my mum. She's got a new batch of marmalade and apricot jam too.

In helping a couple of Brisbane filmmakers to set up social media accounts and prepare their social media marketing strategy for their short film, Akiva, they devised this flow chart. 

As if synced, writer-director Katrina Graham and producer Eliot Rifkin both took up their pens to understand the process of posting.

So perhaps it will help others as well. I found it interesting because I understand why I love Posterous blogging so much: it posts everywhere. 

It also made it clear why I don't like Facebook so much: it doesn't post anywhere. Monopoly: thy name is Facebook.

 

 

 

 

"One needs a fast flowing river to avoid the corrupt air produced by stagnation." _ Leonardo da Vinci

Perhaps the Murray-Darling River slow death is a fit icon for our times - stagnation is a killjoy.

The poor old river system which "flows" through four states and feeds the food bowl of Australia has suffered from salination, been choked by algae blooms, almost stopped flowing entirely until the recent rains and now this issue of humanity releasing its grip enough to let the river flow is a HUGE, huge issue in Australia.

We should be thankful that we do not have economic stagnation - zero growth - just like the United States. Or worse face bankruptcy like Greece, Portugal and Spain.

But what about cultural stagnation? I think we can honestly say that we do not have political stagnation given recent election results.

Still, there is much fear and fear is a big reason for cultural stagnation - institutional culture, school culture, artistic culture ... you add your twist if you want...

I seem to go through my life at the moment flabbergasted by the stagnation of culture at all levels of society - but this blog is inspired particularly by the stagnation (no, failure) of service culture.

It's a radical really: low service standards existing beside a rampaging consumer culture.

Consumer culture rages down the canyon of our lives like water in a gutter in storm season. Can you see the billowing purple-green clouds containing hail?

People talk about a two-speed economy - the mining states booming versus stagnation in the non-mining states. Supposedly mining states like Queensland have an unfair advantage.

It certainly doesn't feel like it in Brisbane where the streets are clogged with traffic, the bills go up and multiply while the jobs don't really seem to be flowing freely any more.

I found government statistics predict hail season in the mining states which have drawn labour away from the non-mining states but have had a significant cost of living or CPI rise as a result of prosperity. 

Yes, it creates employment but eventually when you can't find people to fill positions in mining and non-mining states ( there are labour shortages everywhere ).

Big department stores like David Jones and Big W are like ghost towns - the staff are like ghosts you can't find them anywhere. 

I stood at Big W's "service" station for 15 minutes and pressed the red button several times before giving up on the weekend. 

Today, I tried to get my motor mower repaired. The local guy is booked to January. There's a 10-day turnaround at the place in nearby Springwood.

And if you want to set your graduating child up in a surefire business - have them train as a pooch groomer because they are booked up a month in advance. HUGE shortage: never mind nurses, plumbers, doctors, electricians ...  

Is a fearful, closed-door policy for a small Australia sustainable? Reading these stats, it seems not. Sure this report isn't the latest but I defy you to argue that a stagnation in innovative thinking and action will not lead to "sustainable growth". It'll be like Brisbane the capital city of a mining state which is now choked by traffic, formerly known as Australia's "most livable city".

Is Australia going to like Big W and David Jones stores in future? People standing around waiting...

Oh there are so many ways to slice this sticky Pavlova but perhaps we need a Lamington instead, huh?

Thank God Jamie Oliver is in town!

Found five-year-old character studies I made in 2005 as I developed concepts for my book. 

I did a writing course in Sydney at the time with a creativity expert from the States who teaches people to use art, music and movement to find your characters - how they move, how they speak, what they look like. It's all part of making it real - rather than an idea in your head. Boolissimo never made it into the book. But I can't let the girl character go yet - even though she's been tossed for the moment. BTW, Basil was a beloved member of the family for 10 years. He used to listen to me sing the score of Les Mis a cappella as we worked in the garden. He hated bum notes and rock'n'roll.

Never used iMovie before - so easy! 

A frog has moved into my neighbourhood along with a two storm birds.

So I'm wondering what happens when some developer up the road starts up the bulldozer to turn farms into a housing estate on a road that can't cope with the traffic already?

Ah, the human touch.  

Rain.            Humans.

Frogs.          Frogs.

Croak.          Croak.

We don't let each other sing - so what the heck are singing frogs in this equation?

When was the last time you saw a film which summed up the human touch?

Have you ever seen Jean de Florette?  

Inspire a frog to sing? Bah! Frogs don't sing, do they? You might like the sequel Manon des Sources.

 

Stopped at a red light on my way home from work today I looked over at the back of a ute and noticed something interesting.

Did you know that downunder, a whipper snipper has a heart shape? Who would've thought eh?

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