Stan bin laden - 70K (reprise)

As I promised in the original Free 70K blog, here is a link to the Herald Sun article that illuminates in more detail, the “taskforce” and international search for Melbourne Super-Villain “Stan”

Littlerach

Dendonedid Presents:
Rach, Rach Rach Little Rach...ive not mentioned her enough on this here blog. When i first met her i was told she was the door-bitch. She was the best god damn door bitch a beautiful little punkrockroom could have. Rach rocked...and rocks and knows all about rock but yet little about geology...but that doesnt even begin to scratch at the surface of the femme-enigma that is lil Rach. Talk to her about rock. Talk to her about punk...about punk attitude...about how it can save your life. Like it saved mine!

RACH RACH RACH RACH RACH LilRach!

Go and talk to her via the seminal Mess+Noise neighbourhood

Quickly before she makes me take this down ;->









Listening to: Placebo - running up that hill

Island That Time Forgot

Here’s a quick reminder to check out Adam Ford’s inspired Monkey Punch Dinosaur site.
Whilst using this plug as an opportunity to show off a great pic of mine that didn’t make the site because of the strict “punching” requirements. As I emailed Adam
“I don't suppose it would help if I explained that in MMA-pro-fighting terms that the monkey has assumed a position that is called ‘the mount’ (true story;-) and is pursuing a side to
side punching tactic known as ‘ground and pound’
...heheeheh except its not working and he's gonna get eaten…shhh”


...go on what are you waiting for?! Make one of your own and send it in! Go to it!

PS- Island That Time Forgot - Special thanks to Rich,Karen and Ollie for production, set design, casting and on site catering!

Little Grey Car

Last week I completed a Philosophy short course at CAE. The course was superbly taught by a gentleman named Sam Gates. “Without chalk-and-talk or lectures students must engage with the issues themselves, evaluating philosophically important arguments while advancing their own opinions” Mr Gates had an engaging style that brought forward classic modes of thought, that could be simultaneously examined and applied within the context of day-to-day & modern life situations. There are several philosophy short courses being taught by Sam Gates at CAE Melbourne and if you get the opportunity I highly recommend signing up for one of them.

A couple of weeks into the course I told the class a story about when I was 5 years old and I had this little grey Matchbox car that I was using in an experiment that involved digging a small hole and then burying the car and then waiting a while and then digging it up again to see if it was still there. I did this several times and each time, surprise surprise, the car was still there (hey I was 5 all right!) finally however I dug the hole and the car was not there. I frantically dug around the area, searched through the small piles of sand that I had excavated, dug through, pushed the sand around, went away, came back, dug and searched and pushed sand around, but the car was gone…gone and never to be seen again. It was a big moment for me, and I have often thought of it since. Why’d I tell this story? I think I told it because the class was discussing notions of certainty, which would make sense since the course was subtitled Quest for Certainty
At the end of my final class a fellow student named Viki (spelling?) approached me and lifted up my hand. She put her hand over mine smiling sagely as she placed something in it. I looked down and it was a little grey car. She explained to me how she and her family had discussed my story and had thought it would be an appropriate gesture to find a little grey car of about the right historical age and present it to me as a gift. Furthermore Viki explained to me how the family had meditated on the object, empowering it with positive energy that I could take with me and use as inspiration in my coming university adult entry exam. They put a lot of thought into which little car they felt was the right one to get for me, even, as Vicki told me, having a little argument about
Needless to say I was floored. It was such an unexpected and kind gesture. I was very much moved. I Felt like I’d received some kind of class merit or peers award. So I’d like to thank Viki and her family, her kids Isabel and Orion and her husband (afraid I can’t recall his name), for their thoughtful gesture.
I will be taking the little grey car into the STAT exam with me.

“In the abstract world…unalterable truths, before this world I knew all forms and when I was born into this world, (what I did) what I do is that I recognize these forms that I have already known…before this world when I knew all forms…” – Fragment from my
in-class notes. (From a Plato dialogue I think. I include it as it ran down in my notes, because a lot was happening at that moment and how it fell onto my page is in its own way quite beautiful and hints at the larger idea in a poetic light. Don’t you think? ;-)

Listening to: Laura Jean - I'm a rabbit I'm a fox

FREE 70K

For those Melbournians or anyone familiar with the prolific (often difficult access and high altitude) graffiti of Stan & Bonez and the rest of the 70K crew, who have recently been the subject of an international taskforce, with most members having been arrested and facing prison…I saw this on the weekend Clifton Hill Station & Hoddle streets and thought it worth a mention. Looks like the Free 70K campaign has begun!
Still trying to find an online link to the most recent Herald Sun article dated 01/09/06.
here is a link that mirrors a previous article from The Sun earlier in the year.

Monkey Punch Dinosaur

G’day g’day! I’m very sorry dear visitors that I have been such a force of absence these past months. The sad truth is that during this time I have composed several blogs in my head, but have not got around to posting them. But anyhoo I’m back now and here’s why:

I have an entry at the fantastic Monkey Punch Dinosaur website so please check it out.

…and stay tuned for some retrospective blogs in the coming weeks.

Peace on yer.


Listening to: Chinese Rocks – the Ramones version and the Heartbreakers one…back2back double play roCK!

Good Friday

Here are some photos I took on Good Friday whilst walking around Fitzroy/Collingwood. I was going to show the street art pics, but I like the building shot as well, and in it's way I believe it is a related branch...part of what we like referring to as Accidental Art and the like. I will probably throw some more pics from this day up on MySpace.com, so check em out "by yourself or enjoy them with a friend"

Listening to: Arcade Fire, The Walkmen & rare instrumental version of 'Dosed' by RHCP

Blood Tests

(Sub title: “Tough Love” The prequel)

Recently for the first time in my life I had blood tests to test for every conceivable STD, HIV or any other similar neo-zoom dweebie hazards such as the Hep gang.

I recently arrived in Melbourne for a working adventure (*Perhaps more on this at a later juncture) and had to call a doctor in WA to get the results. I controlled the fear fairly well. You’ve got to “let go” I guess. The courage to ignore that which you cannot change or affect…it goes something like that doesn’t it?
Anyhow It was a nerve wracking few minutes as the receptionist placed me on hold to fetch the results and inform me that it was all good.
How good is that? Over the years I have done many risky things, and I’m a bit fortunate I guess…so if you ever did stupid things with Den…well at least for my part (ooh err) its all good! (Motions to the sky, praying or just taking a deep breath? it is unclear)



Listening to: Faker, Bluebottle Kiss and The Cure

Hey Hey My My

- This follows on nice from the previous blog entry. The 5th of April was the 12th anniversary of Kurt Cobain’s death.


There’s a good little write up here,
that comes from a Washington radio station called KXRO. As an additional side-note It also mentions that it was the 4th anniversary of Layne Staley’s (Alice In Chains) death, who I had forgotten died on the 5th of April also. Anyhoo…I’ve been in Melbourne doin a lot of walking and getting around on trams and trains, headphones in, volume up, soaking up the atmos of grey-london-antipodes, listening to “From The Muddy Banks Of The Whishkah.”

“New rock is the old rock rolling”

Lagged me to my Mum

Talking to my Mum it has just emerged that one of my old friends, and I WILL find out WHO, made some passing comment to my Mum about 8-10 years ago that, and I quote “Denny’s been into some heavy shit”
hehehe sounds like I was in a badass crew with a heavy rep doin jobs and chunks of time! ;-)
The Fuck.
Weak as piss whoever you are…weak as piss.

To make sense for my other readers, at the time the person was referring to my drug taking adventures in the underworld.
Lagged me out to my Mum. Didn’t even “Tough Love” me, or organise a freakin intervention (not that I needed one) …and we all saw how successfully “TL” worked with Kurt Cobain (Bless)

“Its kicking on to 12 years now, and still no sign of Mr Mojo rising!”

Nothing of any substance, just a cryptic note under a door or a whispered guilt breathing in a corner…
Lagged me out to my Mum was all one had to offer…
Weak As Piss!
You know who you are!

…hehehe that was fun…I’m so hard ;-)

Listening to: Bloc Party
Reading: Valis - Phillip K.Dick

Drive-Thru Dragon Fly

When I opened the Bottlo on Sunday morning an enormous Dragonfly blew across the ground in a curlicue of leaves and other detritus. I carefully picked it out and put it up on the desk. It seemed to exhale and it straightened itself out and we sat together quietly for a few moments while it died. I put it in a plastic money bag. By the time I got it home that evening, much of the bright tigerish yellow gold bands around its tail had faded. I scanned it… so that it in part lives on in digitized recollection of its brief but brightened glory.


“If you were designing an organism to look after life in our lonely cosmos, to monitor where it is going and keep track of where it has been, you wouldn’t choose human beings for the job. But…we have been chosen, by fate or providence or whatever you wish to call it. As far as we can tell, we are the best there is. We may be all there is. It’s an unnerving thought, we may be the living universe’s supreme achievement and it’s worst nightmare simultaneously.” - Bill Bryson 'A Short History Of Nearly Everything'

Shit Sandwich

One of my regulars in the Bentley bottlo is this priceless old character called Tommy.

I was telling him recently that we were thinking about organising a social cricket game, and perhaps he might be interested in joining in. He instantly replied:

“You know me mate… I’ll be in anything but a shit sandwich! And that’s only cause’ I don’t like bread! ”

**lol**

Tommy >>>

Heavy Product

I meant to give a shout out to my old mate Adam Ford ages ago.
So better late than never I suppose.

Adam is an excellent writer and diligent advocate of literary expression. His debut novel Man Bites Dog was published by Allen & Unwin in 2003. In 2004 it won Best Designed Young Adult Book in the Australian Publishing Association Awards, and last year was runner up in the 2005 One Book, One Brisbane award.



Recently Adam chucked up a street art photo of mine on his website.
He is collecting photos of the work of a mysterious sticker artist. See extract from Adam's site below:

Heavy Product Gallery
Outside the wind has picked up. A solitary guy with a canvas satchel strapped to his back and a skateboard tucked under his arm walks past. He pats the side of the pub with one hand and strolls on. I notice that he’s left something behind where he touched the wall. Gina comes out and locks the door behind her.
“Oh, shit,” I say, nudging Gina. She looks to where I’m pointing.
Just underneath the blackboard announcing next week’s gigs is a Heavy Product sticker.
“That wasn’t there before, was it?”
“What?”
“The sticker, for fuck’s sake.”
“Oh. No. No, it wasn’t.”
“It’s him, then. We’ve found him!”

Though Steve and Gina are fictional characters, the mysterious individual who places "This Is A Heavy Product" stickers on flat surfaces all over Melbourne is all too real. Below are some of the more recent sightings. If you have spotted one of the tell-tale markings left by this mysterious individual, we'd love it if you took a photo and sent it in, so it can become part of this ongoing divination project. Or if you can't be arsed traipsing out camera in hand, you could drop us a quick email and let us know where you saw it and maybe we'll go out ourselves. All contributors to the gallery will receive an exclusive Adam Ford Zine-and-Other-Stuff Pack (tm).


Check out Adam’s site at:
http://www.labyrinth.net.au/~adamford/index.html


Reading:
Illusions - Richard Bach

Listening To:
Music Vs Physics

South Perth foreshore

Heres some photos I took down on the South Perth foreshore last night.

Hugh Ford (The Magic Cowboy)

This is a pic of an excellent work called "Walkers" by my good mate Hugh Ford. If you really like it you might fancy youself as some sort of art collector and want to buy it. Well your too late as it has already been sold!
Check out Hugh Ford's blog FOREVER APE at : http://magicowboy.blogspot.com/

and dorfens

How do you feel now? You’ve got to remember these things as best you can….long after they’re gone. Because in a way, that’s far more important than the ‘High’. The accurate and more still, meaningful recollection of ‘The Moment’. What it meant, how you got there…how you get there again.

Den's Top Ten Films 2005

As part of my ongoing list therapy (boy I’m never gonna get tired of that piece of personalia) here is my first blog regarding the top ten films I saw in the year. I started this list a couple of years ago, mainly as a nerdy celebration for me and my fellow film loving mates to enjoy.

I don’t feel like my viewing in 2005 has matched the stellar heights of 2004. With the likes of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Lost In Translation, Kill Bill 2, and Return of The King to name but four from last years list. I would however have to mention the Aussie contingent. Last year there wasn’t one Australian film in my top ten, (or even amongst the fourteen films on my short list). This year there are four. 2005 was undoubtedly an excellent year for the Australian film industry.

2005
1. The Aviator
2. Look Both Ways
3. Riding Giants
4. The Proposition
5. Little Fish
6. Sin City
7. The Weeping Camel *
8. Narnia LWW
9. Hitchhikers Guide
10.The Magician

*As in last years list, I made the decision to include a film, The Weeping Camel, that was released 30/9/04 in Australia (26/2/04 U.S), because I didn’t see this film until February 2005 and it was a significant part of my cinema going experience for the year. Interestingly this film is listed on IMDB as a joint German and Mongolian production. It was first shown to a cinema public at the Toronto Film Festival all the way back in September 2003. It made its debut in Germany 8/1/2004 and there is no listing for Mongolia. Guess I should look into this further, but I have no idea what Mongolia has in the way of cinema infrastructure. My mum was there in 2002, I should ask her what she thinks :-)

All other films on this list were released in Australia sometime in 2005.

As an example of how complicated things can get in listology, Stacy Peralta’s film Riding Giants made limited release in the US in July 2004, but didn’t get released in Australia until March 2005.

Listening to: Triple J

Energy Cannot Be Destroyed

I was going to make some big song and dance out of my return, but instead I’ve just decided to get the ball rolling again with this wee blurt about exercise, stuff and gunk.

Once you attain a certain level of fitness it becomes easy to forget how far you’ve come. As of writing this I have just completed my first boxing for fitness session for 2006. Prior to this it has been quite a lay off for me. In October I flew to Melbourne to work at the Spring Carnival for Advertising Associates, (but that’s another story), I ended staying in Melbourne for over six weeks. Whilst I was there I struggled to maintain a regular training program. I did a B4F class immediately upon my return to Perth, in which I was good and strong, but had clearly lost some endurance. Then I came down with a bizarre flu-like lurgy that ended up being viral conjunctivitis. It made my right eye puss up and close over, my nose bleed, my chest congest, threatened to turn into bronchitis threatened to never go away and generally beat the crap out of me for over two weeks.
So now I am taking a moment to reflect on where I have come from, how far I have come and how badly I want to resume progress on this journey to fitness.

I got onto this talking jag because tonight when the heat was on I was shocked to feel how weak I had become. On several occasions I actually had to stop during the circuit. I felt weaker than the first time I ever attempted this B4F circuit. Amazing sensation, but thinking about it now, it probably shocked me more because I have rarely been sick since about August 2003, (I know this because it was about six months before I quit cigarettes), when I had my final bout of severe bronchitis. And because I haven’t had to train back to form from being sick, since this whole campaign of transformation began some nineteen months ago.
I keep thinking of a scene in the M.Night Shyamalan film Unbreakable, when the character David played by Bruce Willis asks his wife “Do you remember me getting sick?” It goes on because she can’t recall a specific occasion and neither can he.

My old buddy Max Flory is fond of pointing out how many stories and novels could be condensed down to their first and/or last paragraphs…even last lines, without them losing their principle meanings. So it is with that in mind that I finish with:

It still surprises me how much the physical training battle is a mental one.


The First law of thermodynamics = Energy cannot be created or destroyed; only changed from one form to another.
(Also called the law of conservation of energy)


Listening To:
Bluebottle Kiss - Patient