definatalie.com » Brisbane

Outsiders and octopuseseses.

Natalie — Sun, 16 Oct 2011 07:21:29 +0000

A photo of the Brisbane CBD from across the river, with the Riverside Expressway looping over the mangroves on North Quay.

Nick and I headed up to attend TEDx Brisbane yesterday, and as we drove into the city we both felt a bit sad that we aren’t still living there. The whole day was a little weird and overwhelming for me, feeling like a bit of an odd bod amongst a crowd of people I thought were there to listen to new ideas… but for some reason the vibe was off at TEDx this year. Maybe it was me, maybe I’ve romanticised last year’s inaugural event, but I just didn’t get a lot of what people were putting down.

[Warning: there's an animated gif at the end of this post]

A photo of the audience in the hall for TEDx Brisbane.

Despite having lots of feelings and not knowing what to do with them, there were standouts for me. The unrestrained enthusiasm of Edward Harran as he spoke about being feeling at home on the internet as well as his own inner internet, having access to such a stimulating and exciting amount of information and its potential for unlocking creativity in people. I started using the internet in 1995 and immediately recognised it as an exciting tool for learning, but at the same time realised that the learning I would undertake would rarely be formally recognised. The separation of IRL and URL still exists 16 years later, and Harran noted this frustration too. His talk made me feel like I wasn’t alone in being excited and awed by being able to access, learn, share and collaborate however I felt like the point sailed clear over many heads in the audience.

My favourite talk was by Hazel Dooney, the only female speaker I saw (granted I left at lunch, with two more women speakers to go… good work organisers…) and an Australian artist I’ve followed online over the past few years. Her writing is blunt, brutally honest, confessional and sometimes cutting but as Dooney’s soft voice introduced itself I was pretty surprised. I thought she’d sound harder. Many tweeters using the #tedxbrisbane hashtag roundly condemned Dooney reading from a clipboard, emphatically tearing off pages and dropping them on the stage as she was finished with them. What they utterly failed to comprehend was her ability to make you remember her, she may as well have ripped off post-it notes and stuck one with her name on every head in the crowd. Hazel Dooney has been representing herself as an artist, sticking it to the traditional gallery system, over the last few years AND she’s been doing an exceptional job of it by marketing herself online, communicating with her collectors directly. It was inspiring to see her speak in the flesh, and has firmed my resolve to run my own art practice by my rules.

Like I said, I left after lunch because I was quite overwhelmed by everything. We sat for too long, there were too many people, the walls were closing in, and I just wasn’t into most of the talks. I’d been looking forward to hearing from Eva Cox, but since she was the very last speaker I figured I’d be well over it by then. Nick and I went away from the crowd of suits and jerks (yeah, sorry attendees) to have a quiet moment and ended up taking some silly photos. It was just what we needed, some time alone to laugh and muck up.

A photo of me sitting down on the edge of a garden bed at State Library, holding an iPhone in one hand and a coffee in another.

A photo of me leaning against a railing with the Brisbane River and CBD behind me. I'm wearing a white t-shirt, a skirt with octopus tentacles, red tights and boots.

On Friday night I made this skirt from the Octopus Sweets fabric I’ve been hoarding for months, and trimmed it with some lace I bought at the Carrara Markets another sum of months ago. It’s super fun to wear! I put on some red teggings that Re/Dress sent me in the morning because it looked like it was going to be cold and stormy, but as you can see… the day turned out to be gloriously sunny and sweaty.

Top: City Chic
Skirt: Made by me
Teggings: Re/Dress
Boots: Evans
Necklace: Re/Dress
Sunnies: Giant Vintage

A photo of Nick wearing a black Beatles t-shirt with black shorts and beige slip ons. He leans against a green wall.

An outfit photo of me in front of a green wall.

A photo of the back of me looking over the river to the city with my arms outstretched.

A photo of Nick stroking his missing beard :(

Another photo of me in front of a brown wall, gesturing indescribably.

Yet another outfit photo, holding my octopus sweets skirt out.

So, in conclusion, if the organisers of TEDx Brisbane (or any other TEDx) want to contact me to talk about fat embodiment and activism, blogging and finding community online… I’m available. I’m pretty sure my ideas are worth sharing and they’ll be more exciting/ stimulating/ controversial than another white dude talking about urban planning. YAWN.

An animated gif of me prancing towards the camera.

Photos from Slut Walk Brisbane.

Natalie — Sat, 28 May 2011 07:52:10 +0000

Slut is a word I have a difficult experience with. I’ve been called a slut just because I walked past someone. I’ve been called a slut because I turned someone down. A few of my friends have said similar, and at the Brisbane Slut Walk I attended today one of the organisers also echoed this sentiment. It’s actually one of the reasons why the protests are so important to a lot of people.

In our Australian culture we may seem to be swimming in sex but there is a huge stigma attached to it. Many second wave feminists claim pornification and sexualisation lead to sexual abuse, but this hurtful theory dismisses the sexual agency human beings have a right to. Police and other government agencies also point the finger of blame at victims, asking them what they did or wore or said to bait assault. Instead we need to turn the finger around and point it at rapists and abusers.

I attended the Slut Walk because I believe all people deserve sexual agency, and that victims are never to blame for their assaults. It is never a victim’s fault. I think that our society’s failure to dismantle rape culture needs to be called out. We have a right to wear what we want to, and go places we like and have consensual sex with anyone. I especially think that consent in sex is essential. I demand that our education system educates children about sex and healthy relationships. This is why I marched.

I recognise that the Slut Walk concept has many problematic aspects. I recognise that I have privileges (white, middle class, western, cisgendered and being in a hetero relationship) that mean I can’t begin to understand what other people have experienced. I want to learn more, and if people want to speak I will listen. I want to give voice to victims of sexual assault who are for AND/ OR against the Slut Walk concept. If you would like to contribute a guest post, please let me know – natalie at definatalie dot com. Anonymity will be respected.

Here are some pictures from Brisbane’s Slut Walk today.

An outfit photo of Nick, fat and bearded, wearing a green polo under a maroon argyle vest with jeans and a flat cap.

An outfit photo of Zoe who is fat and pale skinned with silver hair wearing a black dress and cardigan with leggings and a green scarf.

A photo of Sonya who is pale skinned with short black hair wearing a black top with pointy shoulders and a brown and black patterned skirt. Her bag is tan and she wears black tights with shiny oxford shoes.

A photo of Rex, wearing a dark faery-like outfit sitting in a blue wheel chair, reaching out to spank her husband creature who has a gleeful look on his face.

A photo of someone in the crowd, the back of their tshirt says "Reject rape".

A photo of me standing and holding a sign that says "It's not my fault. Just don't rape."

A photo of one of the Brisbane organisers of Slut Walk standing on a bench and speaking to the crowd.

A photo of Alan McKee speaking to the crowd. Tiara stands to the left, preparing to speak.

A photo of Tiara speaking to the crowd. Her sign reads "This is what I wore when I was raped. I still did not ask for it."

A photo of Fiona Patten, leader of the Australian Sex Party, talking to the crowd.

A photo of the back of my short blonde head, I shaved up the sides this morning.

A photo taken from behind the Slut Walk march down Edward Street.

A photo looking towards the marchers. One sign sticks out and it says "Ask. Listen. Respect."

Up on the hill

Natalie — Thu, 12 Aug 2010 06:35:59 +0000

Wednesday was an Ekka (the Royal Show) holiday for most Briswegians and I wanted to get out of the house for a little while because working at home is great and all but sometimes you want to do stuff outside!

We went up to the top of Mt Coot-tha. That’s Brisbane! I wish you could see the river weaving through the buildings but the angle isn’t quite right I guess. Can we move the mountain a few kilometres that way please?

It’d been raining in the morning but then suddenly this glorious day happened. It was pretty much a perfect Brisbane winter day, even a little bit colder than usual! (It’s a sub-tropical city… winter is very mild here.) There were lots of people visiting the look out, lucky it was such a nice afternoon!

I was wearing clothes, as I am wont to do. I had unknowingly coordinated in grey, black and purple.

Top – Evans
Skirt – DIY
Cardigan – Big W (thanks Mum!)
Scarf – made by Sheila, my other Mum!
Tights – City Chic
Shoes – Crocs
Sunnies – Karen Walker
Bag – Dangerfield

Oh and I got a new hair cut! It’s very very short on the left side of my head! It’s ok, I asked for it to be that way :)

I made this skirt the same way I made the black fringed skirt but I doubled over the fringing to form loops!

I love afternoon sun coming through trees, it’s the best.

Stones Corner Yarnbombing

Natalie — Sat, 22 May 2010 07:57:50 +0000

Today Nick and I toddled down to Stones Corner to hang out with some friends who were in the area, and I was excited to see that the area had been yarnbombed. I knew there was a yarnbombing event coming up (psst, go here and confirm your attendance!) but I didn’t know that the bombing had begun already!

Here’s the story of the Stones Corner Yarnbombers:

We are a protest group who are reclaiming our space at Stones Corner. We are reacting against the government’s resumption of houses along the outbound side of Old Cleveland Rd to build a busway. We have lost friends and neighbours and as MY house is right next to the construction, our house is on the chopping block. We just want to stay strong and fight our way through it as we love where we live and we are raising our little family and don’t want to leave.

From a community point of view we also wanted to put up our art to show our support for the shops as over the last few years there has been a pretty steady decline. We just want to make some beautiful things that people can look at. We want you to touch them, adjust them, respect them coz we made them for you :)

Zoe is pretending she’s a lickle bird in the nest obviously!

See the rest under the cut!

Want to know more about yarnbombing? Check out yarnbombing.com too!

‘sup Brisbane

Natalie — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 22:50:53 +0000

I am in Melbourne this week, but I wanted to show you some photos I took of Brisbane last week. Despite all its problems and complete lack of love for anything cultural that isn’t state funded, Brisbane is my home town and I can’t help but feel sentimental about it.

Lots of people seem to like this photo, because I mean who doesn’t like a grown-up ferris wheel? I’m a bit grumpy that it has to be branded with the Channel 7 logo though. And it’s expensive (I’ve not been for a ride yet because it doesn’t seem worth it!)

I don’t want to be one of those Brisbane-born creatives that are afflicted with the Brisbane Cringe, but I think I may have to betray my city in the next few years. I am sad that I don’t know how to make it better, maybe when I’m older I’ll have enough experience and wisdom to feel up to taking on the task.

Stop Internet Censorship

Natalie — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 13:50:04 +0000

Nick and I are campaigning against the “clean feed” under the banner of Stop Internet Censorship. One of the reasons for forming this blog is to support fortnightly meetings, so those who are concerned about the clean feed and the impact it will have can discuss the issues at hand and how to better solve them as a community.

Nick has organised a meeting on Monday December 21 at Room Z-205 at QUT Gardens Point campus. The room will open at 7:15pm with the meeting to begin at 7:30pm.

“There has been too much talk and not enough action. The plan of this meeting is to not only discuss the filter and what impacts it will have on us, but to look at how we can work together to bring awareness to others. Ultimately the goal is to have this stopped before it is even put into place.”

If you are in Brisbane, check out the facebook event here.

If you are from interstate and want to talk to Nick about setting up blogs on stopinternetcensorship.org for other cities to use, he’s on twitter as @NicholasPerkins or you can leave a comment on one of his posts on stopinternetcensorship.org.

The “clean feed” is a slippery slope to a place where human rights are surely eroded, and it will NOT solve the issue of child pornography and its distribution.

Anyone for brains?

Natalie — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 21:57:53 +0000

Sunday was Z-day: the day of the undead, The Brisbane Zombie Walk. If you were in the CBD you may have seen the shuffling gait of the rotting hoards raising money (and the deceased) for the Brain Foundation. The day was organised by the lovely Cara, and I would have gone had I not been feeling rather undead and bed stricken :(

Instead, I leave you with these fantastic photos taken by Nic Suzor!

SWEET ZOMBIE JESUS!

A Fanta Sky

Natalie — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 03:31:04 +0000

Yesterday a huge dust storm covered the eastern side of Australia, thanks to winds picking up most of the drought-stricken inland and dumping it all over us. Yay Australia! I went out on a few little walks to take photos, but had to stay inside in the afternoon because the dust was making it very hard to breathe.

This is what it was like at 10:30am – the skyline is typically clearly visible on a normal day.

At 12:30pm – no skyline for you!

Hello dustocalypse!

Today it seems to have cleared completely, but we still have a bit of dust inside our house :(

Do you love where you live?

Natalie — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 08:24:05 +0000

I’ve been incredibly busy working AND playing in the last few weeks, and I’ve come to the conclusion (like I always do) that Brisbane is a fantastic city with so much going on. Growing up here, I’ve heard all the snide “big country town” references and watched friends and family move interstate and overseas to find their glory, but in my lifetime I’ve witnessed the city mature into a vibrant hub of creative activity. I want to be a part of Brisbane’s flurry of creativity, and invest back into the city that has invested a lot in me.

People who moan about there being nothing to do and no opportunity haven’t really opened their eyes, in my humble opinion. Just by grabbing any one of the free street press (mX, Rave, Scene, Time Off, Tsunami…) you’ll have access to any number of free and low priced events, and if you have an internet connection you can be even more plugged in with the fantastic Brisbane Creative Industries monthly events list!

Just in the space of one weekend I went to Brisbane Twestival, an all ages fundraiser with burlesque, cupcakes and bands; a talk by erotica authors at the Brisbane Writers Festival; saw incredible fireworks; and enjoyed a Chris Isaak concert under the stars. I feel so fortunate to be able to say that I am completely exhausted from all the fantastic things I did on the weekend.

I might grumble in summer when Brisbane’s cloying humidity drapes over me like a wet flannelette, but generally I love living here. Nick and I have discussed moving down to Melbourne, and at the beginning of the year we were seriously considering making the move for 2010, but I just don’t think I can bring myself to do it. My family and friends are all here, and I’m beginning to carve a niche for myself (slowly, with a butter knife!) too. To move to Melbourne would mean starting again socially and professionally, and as many artists flock to Melbourne… I mightn’t even get a look in! While I love Melbourne, it’s not my city and it’s not a city that’s undergoing rapid cultural growth like Brisbane. So I’ll stay here and reinvest my time and passions into the people and the city that have nurtured me!

Do you love where you live? If you could live anywhere… where would it be?

I am the most polite guest ever

Natalie — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 19:01:19 +0000

I did a guest post on nicolejensen.com, about the Semi-Permanent Brisbane conference. I’ve gone into more detail than I did in my own recap of the event, raving about the good stuff and ~~ranting about~~, I mean suggesting fixes for some of the bugs.

Nicole blogs about event management and other issues within her own particular geekdoms – do check her out!