I have been completely remiss in letting you know about the new Leeloo exhibition, Disband! Considering that I am a part of it, and I drew the poster illustration, I ought to smack my own wrist.

Here’s a bit of info on the show – if you’re in Sydney you must go check it out!

Do you like sneak peeks? If you don’t, you’re S-O-L folks, this is one of the pieces I am probably going to show in Disband. Probably… because I have quite a few ideas and I’m still working it all out!

Big thank you to Renee and Angela, they are wonderful, creative and generous people and I’m so proud to be part of this show!

Here’s a facebook event page, go and RSVP right now :D

I was asked to take part in Tribal Theatre’s opening night exhibition on March 11 at the old Dendy theatre and jumped at the chance to show my work alongside a number of rad Brisbane artists including: Ellen Stapleton, Clarissa Bones, Bel Johnstone and S.J O’Connor. There will also be short films shown throughout the evening.

If you want to come along, make sure you send an email to Sam and claim a ticket as they’re very, very limited.

Yep, the government is still planning to install mandatory internet censorship and I’m still flaming angry about it. Nick and I are part of StopInternetCensorship.org and we’re having a BBQ in Orleigh Park on Australia Day to chat with supporters and other likely chaps about our campaign against the internet filter.

If you can’t make it on Tuesday, there is a handy dandy ACTION page with some things you can do to make your opposition to the internet filter felt by the government. There’s also a Stop Internet Censorship wiki where you can contribute your ideas and discuss ways of protesting.

As part of my own personal protest against mandatory internet filtering I will be taking part in The Great Australian Internet Blackout. This means that from January 25-29 this blog, and all the other sites I run, will be going black to demonstrate against Australian internet censorship. My sites will be available – to browse as usual you’ll just need to close the blackout box. I hope this doesn’t cause too much inconvenience but I wanted to contribute, as a website owner and blogger, to a cause that is close to my heart. If you run a website or a blog and want to demonstrate against the mandatory internet filter, here are instructions on how to black your site out. I hope you do participate, because it means vastly increased visibility and the chance of informing people who perhaps aren’t as internetty as you!

The blacklist will contain material that isn’t even illegal, and you can bet it will also contain content that the government wants to suppress (e.g: political dissent!) Internet censorship affects me as a web content producer, and you as a web content consumer; moreover, it affects us as Australians and constituents with a right to a transparent government.

Nic Suzor, chair of Electronic Frontiers Australia.

Discussion about what action we should take next was plentiful!

Andrew Bartlett adding his ideas to the forum.

Cameron Reilly gave a great talk on how the government is employing propaganda to win over the media and the population.

Some things I took from the meeting: we need to utilise our creative people and create a sticky and viral, online AND offline campaign that employs advertising techniques to offset the government’s propaganda (ie: if you are against the filter you are a pervert and you support child porn and abuse); we need to highlight that the government is introducing mandatory censorship as a tool of power to strike out dissenting opinion, NOT to protect children; and we need to be a political force without leaning on partisan support as the filter has opponents within the government and in the opposing parties. Our protesting will not be taken to the streets with placards, as this will further isolate the mainstream majority. We will undertake education in small groups, targeting parents and community groups in real life situations (one idea is to set up a booth at sporting events and Australia Day BBQs.) We need to convince the media and the mainstream majority that the millions of dollars spent on the mandatory filter every year would be better spent on education for parents and communities and funding our police in the undercover operations they already carry out on peer 2 peer networks as they bring down child porn rings.

If you object to mandatory censorship, please write letters to your local sitting members, members of the Liberal Party including the shadow Communications Minister Tony Smith, as well as Senator Stephen Conroy. Letter writing is taken seriously, and while you might get a standard response do not feel as if your correspondence was disregarded! Here’s the page on how you can take action from nocleanfeed.com with links to contact details. If are not Australian you can still help! If you have the desire, please send letters to Senator Conroy. It’s important that this government is aware that their mandatory censorship and lack of transparency is not going unnoticed by citizens in other countries.

If you want to help Stop Internet Censorship, please get in contact with your ideas or your skills. We’re holding the next meeting on Monday January 4 2010.

You can grab a button for your blog from my flickr, or use one of the logos (1, 2) under a CC license.

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.

Today I went to the Brisbane Finders Keepers markets on a whim, despite being apprehensive about being amongst such talent and gorgeous knick knackery. I got this vintage dress in the mail last week, so I decided to seize the day (and the overcast weather) and wear it out before it gets really really hot. “Nana chic” really appeals to me so I am very glad to have another dress that I can wear with my pewter patent “Nana shoes” (even though they give me blisters!) I’m squinting in the photo because I thought my sunglasses completely wrong for the outfit, thus you get this furrowed brow!

Dress – beesipea on etsy
Shoes – Roberto Figini
Belt – Yours Clothing
Bag – Satchi

You might notice I look slightly shorn on one side… After agonising over this hairstyle for a month or so I decided to go ahead with it. Most of my friends know I care approximately naught for what other people think about what I do with my body and I’m pretty sure it’s a hairstyle that divides opinion, but I’m really enjoying it so far!

My favourite stalls from the Finders Keepers Brisbane markets included:

• Kim Wallace of Udessi – lovely ceramics pressed with doilies and pieces of lace.
• Cherrymorris – an accessory label featuring these fantastic cast pewter pieces.
• Miss Amy Lane – very whimsical millinery that I was completely drooling over. Had I the money, I would commission a top hat for my husband because it would look so awesome on him!
• Lola & Bailey – jewellery designers who have created pieces I have lusted after for years! I actually bought a Dial D necklace today, and I’m already planning outfits around it!

My new Lola & Bailey necklace! ♥

I also went past the Leeloo stall but I was too shy to go up and say hello. I’m such a fool! I could have let Angela know that my Once Upon piece might be a day late, as I posted it on Friday. Nick thinks I’m totally silly for not introducing myself!

I’m glad I went to the markets, but I do feel like I ought to be stepping my game up a bit – to use an oft abused phrase! I have so many ideas but I just don’t know how to even begin to start manufacturing things… so I end up making a huge amount of prototypes and then store them away somewhere, or give them away to my loved ones. I keep thinking “if only I had enough money to do x” or “if I had enough capital I could set up a store” and I always trip myself up over details and get so overwhelmed that I keep my plans on a shelf. Next year I am going to start creating as much as possible, and putting those things up for sale straight away without worrying about creating a whole stable of products first. The most important thing is to at least start selling things in order to build up a bunch of money I can do even more fabulous things with. It’s exciting and scary, and I’ll probably need your moral support!

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!

Tomorrow night the Brisbane Twestival will be held at Joshua Levi Galleries and I’ve donated this mysterious package to be auctioned off, with proceeds from the auction (and indeed the whole night) going to the Inspire Foundation.

The Inspire Foundation was established in 1996 in direct response to Australia’s then escalating rates of youth suicide.

We combine technology with the direct involvement of young people to deliver innovative and practical online programs that prevent youth suicide and improve young people’s mental health and wellbeing.

Our mission is to help millions of young people lead happier lives.

Awesome cause, right?!

As for my package, the contents aren’t that mysterious :P I’m auctioning off one of my frankie doodles, and I’ve included a note on a postcard (as well as my card!) If you’ve got nothing else to do tomorrow night, and you want to listen to some local bands and buy some local art – go to the Joshua Levi Galleries and get a ticket on the door. It’s only $18!

There’ll be lollies and cupcakes too!

I was watching the triple j hottest 100 of all time on rage just before, and Thriller came on. You know I’m a massive Michael Jackson fan, and they played the WHOLE mini movie from beginning to credits! When I was a kid I would try to dance along to it, but it’s pretty intense choreography so mostly all my sisters and I did was the lurchy hand movement from side to side (picture relevant!) I was trying to dance along to the clip and failing miserably, so after it ended I rushed to google to ask Dr Internet for a cure to my Thriller choreo blues.

I found Thrill the World, a world-wide mob of zombies dancing to Thriller at the same time everywhere on earth – and now I’m totally obsessed with the idea of doing it in Brisbane. Gather the hordes to stomp, shuffle ha slide and booty swim!

You can learn how to do all the choreography from the instructional videos. Now… where’s the most awesome place we can lurch, shuffle and drop our limbs? I’d love to do it at South Bank, ha!

There’s a Brisbane group on facebook. If we abide by the Guiness World Records rules, we could possibly beat Toronto’s record of 62 undead Thriller dancers set in 2006.

Start learning the moves, and join a horde near you STAT!

On Saturday I went to the Equal Love rally to march in support of same-sex marriage. I went to support this key human right for all people, even though I am privileged insofar that my relationship is legally recorded as a marriage. The government and religion should have little to do with each other, and much MUCH less to do with dictating who can love who. Recognising same-sex marriage will not harm my marriage to Nick, nor will it destroy society; in fact I might be so bold as to venture that it can only do GOOD! People will feel less anxiety when it comes to talking about their relationships; more children will grow up in loving homes with parents that are in a legally recognised couple; and who can argue that love is bad? Surely you’d have to have fairy floss for brains.

Brisbane Tweeps for Equality by David Jackmanson

If you support love (and you’re Australian!) please make a submission to the Senate enquiry into the Marriage Equality Amendment Bill 2009. The last bill was rejected because the anti marriage equality groups pulled more numbers than the pro same-sex marriage groups even though the last Galaxy poll declared that a majority of Australians support same-sex marriage. The other side has mobilised and they are a minority – why are you sitting on your arse waiting for other people to pitch in? Go make a submission to the Senate enquiry online now!