Today is my 7th-last day of employ at this establishment.
After which, free to be a full-time artist for at least 5 months!!!!! Once I finish here I will have eleven days to erase all traces of my existence before departure. Then a week in Shanghai, from where I have a sneaking suspicion I am not going to be able to access my weblog. So whilst I may appear to disappear, I will be sure to resume regular contribution once I have settled in the Way of Nor in early September, held on a taut string between the Equator and the Arctic Circle, East of the newborn United Police State.
Wishing you all a proliferation of and participation in goodness, generosity, kindness, diversity, sustainability.
Farvel, på gjensyn.

Lucy McKenzie's impression of Brian Ferry in his country manor

Ah, so, Brian Eno has rejoined Roxy Music for the recording of a new studio album. Manor a Manor...

Thanks for the super party, Christopher

Komm Eins, Komm Alles zum Party

Bohemian Knights, Castle Mice and Manthrax will be performing at the birthday celebrations of Christopher Hill tomorrow (Saturday) night. So, friends of acquaintances of Chris, I dare say you will all be welcomed with open arms to this Bacchanalian Winter warmer. Starts early, around 8.
Performances to be followed by some dance with the Black Devil et al.

In response to this post - indeed, what is going on in the minds of so many contemporary book-cover designers? Accompany me, if you will, in examining the evolution of the cover-design for Robert W Chambers' The King in Yellow.

Beautiful...


[Not The King in Yellow but such a great cover it has to go in anyway]


Gloriously sinister...


Stylized, but in a good way...


Bastardization of the last one, but doing its own thing with the design...


Superb...


Boring and just frigging ugly.

Is it just that my brain is able to romanticize the older ones, freed as they are from their immediate influences and original contexts? Or is the advance of late Capitalism manifesting truly, indisputably ugly design, as a telltale sign of its own inherent ugliness? Perhaps it is symptomatic of corporate publishing houses losing touch; there are plenty of brilliant designers out there. But evidently they are not making it past the person sitting at their desk saying "we want somthing...slick, and contemporary...it is going to have a matte varnish on the cover", or else they are not able to resist tinkering with tacky plugins in photoshop.

Like of the day: Bath taps which can be turned on and off with your toes.
Dislike of the day: Any farce ending with '8'.

My bike blending seamlessly, stick insect-like, with its environs.

I wish it was

Live8 on The Wrong Side of Capitalism.

...the Great Compression continues...

Half Price Public Transport

It's great, the public transport service in Melbourne have finally decided to compensate us for all the service failures, price rises and decline in efficiency since privatization, and have introduced this deal where you can buy a concession ticket and get off half-way. Cool! So if I'm going to St Kilda I can get off in the city, and if I decide in the end that I don't want to go all the way there, well, I've gotten to the city for half price, right?