10 reasons why you should be excited about Bali in 2012

Rock Bar. Cocktail. Sunset. Indian Ocean. Nuff said.

This guy wasn't so lucky, but our motorbike expedition will take us to local scenic sights, off the beaten track where the only place we crash is a local-only secret beach.

Long before Whale Rider was made, Yvonne Mackay directed a little movie about a spiritual relationship between a turtle and an indigenous child called the Silent One.  While the movie featured a rare white turtle and the main character was deaf and mute, you can snorkel as loud as you want with your own Hawksbill turtle in the Gili Isles.




She just may be Bali's answer to Lady Gaga and you'll need to mine her experience for advice.  The Bali Classic Culture Centre will be teaching us how to get down to the gamelan.

Forget Silvertop - taxi drivers don't come any more handsome than this steed! Gili Trawangan doesn't have any motorised vehicles and Mr Ed here is your only choice for getting home after a big sesh on the juice.  The island only has 5 bars but they all cooperate by hosting one big party each, on their pre-assigned day to ensure they share the tourists throughout the week.

What better place to wash away that hangover and sinful residue than at these ancient mineral pools in Purta Tirta Empul.  Just as well there are 13 taps feeding that sizeable pool.

Ku-de-ta. Fingers crossed we arrive in time for one of their special events as their production standards are second to none.  This was their Alice in Wonderland 10th Birthday party entrance.

The luxury villa and plunge pool before our inaugural house-party.

$18.60AUD can buy you a pair of over & under red socks from sockhop or a one hour massage at Spa Hati in Ubud.

The only time you'll need to roll up your sleeves - Anika Balinese Cooking Class.  The reward? 10 Balinese dishes including Green Pancakes with Coconut and Balinese gado-gado.

Bowling for Columbine. Bowling for the Apocalypse.

Much has changed since the last post.  Bin laden has been found and killed.  Prince William has bagged a wife.  My car can now move without a blow job.

Its no secret to those I know that I've recently indulged in more than a few sessions of self pity. 

"i'm tired of blowing", "its draining my bank", "ive been punished enough"

Well on the weekend those whingeing sobs were silenced to a whisper.  

Florence and I volunteered on Saturday morning to help run a social function organised by the DSVClub 21 at Rockstar Bowling in Melbourne Central. 

It seemed silly to dwell on my own drink-driving restrictions after meeting a group of young adults whose physical restrictions will not disappear after a magistrate says so.

It's interesting to note that despite these physical restrictions of the Club 21 members, *Milly still managed to smash my bowling score.  And for the record, yes I was trying. Milly's secret lies in her unique style of delivery.  I think she works at Chunky Move?

Each member had some interesting idiosyncrasies, like an action hero.  There was strong-man *Thor who warned all those present, "I am powerful".  There was *Thunderbolt, who (initially had doubters like myself wondering if he was ever going to release the ball), made sure that each release came at ya with a crack of thunder (and a weakened internal structural wall). 

And then there was *Storm. 

Storm just couldn't put those bowling shoes on and had a precipitous break down and burst into tears.  It wasn't until I turned around and saw them, that I understood why.  They were tacky, fluro and so worn-through that I was confused about which hole to put her foot through.  It seemed odd that her pair were so dire when I loved my red and blue lace-ups so much that I would happily wear them both at a bowling lane and a laneway bar.

Prada released a pair of men's black bowling shoes with toggle closures in 2000, (that my dear friend Robert still wears today), along with the now ubiquitous woman's bowling bag that first launched Prada's stronghold on the international designer shoe market. 

Some more recent examples of bowling-inspired design are these mens shoes by Opening Ceremony with an interesting juxtaposition of flannel wool and leather materials.

Here is a more conservative spin on the bowling theme from Opening Ceremony.

During our bowling session, there were some interesting 80's music videos and advertisements played out on the plasma screens, dangling above each bowling lane. 

One memorable image included a Mayan Doomsday calendar, counting down from 152 days, when the apocalypse will spell d.e.a.t.h. to us all.

If the mayans are to be believed, i'm interested to hear what you have on your bucket lists?

At the top of my list is writing the next blog...

the EDITer .

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

*names have been changed to protect the identity of the Club21 members.

Nothing lost. Nothing gained.

Australian Story on the ABC recently screened a story on Paul De Gelder, an Australian Navy diver who was left as a double amputee (right hand and right leg) after a shark attacked him during a training exercise in the Sydney harbour in February 2009. 

In a display of crocodile dundee-style bravado, Paul escaped after punching the shark with his left hand until the shark let go and swam away.

But, before you start researching the address of the local shark-defence boxing class, help is on its way.

An Australian manufacturer has produced a navy-approved Shark-Shield which emits electric pulses that can create muscle spasms to a sharks nose, from up to 8m away.  Sharks have electro-receptors in their snout which they use to sense and hunt other fish who produce very small electrical impulses.  The Shark Shield can also be fitted to surfboards.  I'll keep that in mind, next time I visit Bells Beach.

This is essentially a fashion blog, so I started to think about clothing designers that consider people like De Gelder whose body-types are sans body-parts.  I've lost count of the number of protests 'average' women make about fashion designers not catering to their body shape. I wonder how amputees like De Gelder would contribute to the debate?  I'm almost certain they would make able-bodied complaints such as "the skirt makes my legs look fat and short" seem redundant.

One designer to start considering those with missing limbs was Alexander McQueen, when he produced an intricately hand-carved wooden pair of legs for US double amputee paralympian, Aimee Mullins. 

In 1999 he cast Mullins to open his spring/summer collection simply entitled No. 13.  The collection featured a heavy amount of wooden materials used in sculptural skirts, neck pieces, chest plates and of course, Aimee's wooden lasts'. 

The fashion show notes on McQueens reference points for the No.13 collection are thin on the ground, so I've taken creative licence to write my own.  In the west, 13 is often seen as an unlucky number.  How many times have we all used the expression knock on wood in reference to avoid tempting fate?  McQueen provided enough wood in that collection to provide a nice contrast to that unlucky 13.  Unfortunately not quite enough to bring him back from the dead. (May he R.I.P)

In Aimee Mullins case, what better reference could McQueen make to being unlucky No. 13, than using an amputee model?  

Mcqueens real talent for fashion design lies in the subversion and contrast of polar opposite ideas.  At a very basic level, his collection explorers the familiar fashion theme of beautiful-ugly by turning (what some would call) an 'ugly' body-type (i.e missing limb) and replacing it with something even more beautiful than the original.  He turned the macarbe, into the desirable. He took a practical, functional object such as a prosthetic leg and turned it into a piece of art. 

It did however, raise questions about other reasons why he may have used Aimee and her wooden legs.  Some accused him of making light of her missing limbs by decorating her legs with exquisite flower detail.  I also began to think about how the inclusion of the leg in the fashion show could highlight the commodification of body parts, which fuel the illegal international black market organ trade in kidneys and hearts (it should be noted, however, that Aimees legs were never for sale).

But while I'm a huge a fan of McQueens wooden legs and designers that create genuinely beautiful and functional fashion for amputees, I hope that any future design falls on the right side of  tasteful.  In this logo-obsessed world of modern fashion that we currently live in, logomania and amputee fashion has the capacity to fall into the wrong hands (or legs).

What are your thoughts?

the  EDITer.

I dream of pogonology

Originating from the Greek word for beard - pogon - pogonology is the study of beards.  Before you scoff at the idea, research pogonologists are now employed by major producers of cosmetic products including Estee Lauder, Clinique etc.  I mean, who else deserves the credit for saving our skin every time we rub shaving balm into our pores?  Well polognologists and the rabbits, and the mice and the.....

Ancient greeks believed a beard was the sign of sexual prowess and the spartans would shave off a portion to punish a weak soldier.  Having a fairly hairless face myself, I imagine I would have been a dating pariah. 

I think the greeks were on to something though.  I've always associated a good beard with masculinity.  Science has now advanced to reinforce that theory.  Beard growth is linked to the stimulation of hair follicles in the area by dihydrotestosterone, which is produced from testosterone.  Testosterone.  Man fuel.

The irony of dihydrotestostorone is that it also promotes balding and it's been found that levels vary from season to season.  Scientists have proven that beards grow faster in summer. 


Some variations to the traditional Greek beard include the:


 

Van-dyk Beard (Goatee accompanied
 with a moustache)

 

















 

Soul Patch (small patch of hair below the
lower lip but above the chin)







 

Verdi Beard (short beard with rounded bottom,
slightly shaven cheeks and prominent moustache)



My dear friend Florence swears by meards (men with beards) and believes "cave men had beards, they were strong, good providers.  Its a sign of masculinity" .  It should be noted that flo's father also sports a generous beard.

 

However, not all beards are created equal, and the old saying, "just because you can, doesnt mean you should", could be adopted more liberally.

What do you think?



Brad Pitt




When testosterone > estrogen

For those that have managed to get it right, look no further than this beard-worship blog - hot guys with beards. 

And for those of you lucky enough to have a beard at all, put yourself to the test at this years world beard and moustache championships. You'll be up against this beautiful team from USA, the last international champions from 2009.



Bear Team USA 2009



the EDITer.

"my what big teeth you have grandma....."

Last night Veronica & I saw Red Riding Hood.  The very moody, modern version from director Catherine Hardwicke (Twilight).  Catherine had her cinematic signature all over it.  Unrequited love.  Sexually frustrated teenagers. A dramatic love triangle. There were also a few very 'painful' scenes including an attempt at creating sexual tension on the dance floor/village square between Peter the woodsman and Valerie (Amanda Seyfried) with pseudo lesbian overtones. 

I'll be interested to hear who your wolf guess is and i'll admit, my choice was severely misguided.



 












In the movie, grandma, played by Julie Christie, creates the red riding hood for Valerie as a  present for her impending marriage to Henry (Max Irons).  Obviously it wasn't just any ordinary red riding hood.  There were several shots of the red hood and accompanying train being blown across the pure white mountain snow during a dream sequence montage.  All 15m of it. 

The hoodie has been around since the Middle ages when Catholic monks would use them as part of their religious costume over their tunic, well before it became the staple uniform of african-americans in the 1970s. 

Here are some interesting, more recent examples of modern hoodies, courtesy of:


Womens Rick Owens Drkdshdw Black Hoodie



  


Womens Grey Drkshdw hoodie

 



Oak NYC Hoodie



I came across this odd use of a particularly controversial appropriation of the hoodie - the KKK hoodie.  I'm embarrassed to report this culprit was from New Zealand.  Paraparaumu to be exact.



National Hoodie Day



Paraparaumu-Raumati Community Board deputy chairman Dale Evans decided to wear this hoodie to draw attention at the monthly meeting of the Kaipiti District Council to a bore water problem. 


Evans decided to steal the slogan used by the NZ Youth Week for it's inaugural Hoodie Day on 30 May 2010, designed as a vehicle for NZers to show support for it's young people.

Needless to say, Evans was roasted for his prank and there has been no mention if the bore water situation has improved.

the EDITer

   

Shade for the shade-y

 

Group cover shot - Vogue Australia April 2005
(L-R, Florence, EDITer, Veronica, Kate) 



 

Shoot Location: 229 Chapel St, Prahran, VIC 3181

I shot quite a few 'Vogue' covers at this location that year.  I guess I always felt at home, the other models seemed to be friendly and I remember the lighting was always flattering.

The shoot often took place at the early hours of Sunday morning (7am), so the photographer could get the best morning light. We all know how unforgiving morning light can be.

 

So, if I was to do the shoot again, I'd make sure I had a pair of these champs, on hand.  Let me present to you, the world's first hands-free eye-shades.



Jeremy Scott x Linda Farrow 2010



or how about these superhero peekers...  

 

Linda Farrow x Berhard Wilhelm



but for a more discreet approach, these will do just fine... 

Super - Andrea Francis

I think the last time I had an opportunity to wear any of the models above, Saddam Hussein began trial at the Iraqi Special Tribunal and the boho gypsy skirt was the new 7-11.  

 

I live by the mantra - if you're gonna do something, do it till it hurts.  Here is my night of nights:

dream gig:

Track - All my friends

venue:



Boom Boom Room - NYC



drink of choice:

PB & J

Made with Makers Mark, crème de framboise, strawberry vermouth and sparkling rosé. Pinenut fog (made with liquid nitrogen) is poured into the jam jar containing the liquid is poured the pinenut. The lid of the jar is then closed to allow the flavoured fog to infuse the drink for a while.

walking home afterwards:

Tell me about your ultimate night out.

the EDITer