The Red Violin

Hermes - JDM Media

A lot has happened in the days since my last post so bear with me.

So first of all, within the last week I took a trip to the Melbourne Arts Centre with Agathe, my new friend from France. I'll let the pictures do the talking, so I don't have to right too much.

Invisible protesters (left), Statue of something (right)

He with the nose that size (left)

Hannuman's  dad (right)

Sausage dog (left), Painting by painter (right)

Man he can (left), Man with Swag (right)

Agathe

This is Agathe. Close your eyes and imagine a french person. Imagine what they would be interested in, what music they would like, what movies they would watch, etc. The person you just imagined is Agathe.

I met her when I used to work for the Wilderness Society when my unmatchable good looks and charm squeezed a number out of her. Next thing you know we're admiring art together. That's the most logical next step after getting a girls number, right?

Anyway in other news my week of joblessness seems to be coming to an end. Suddenly I have three interviews, two for restaurants and one to be a school photographer. I really hope I can get the school photography job, it would look amazing on my CV. 

Also, I started writing reviews for a club/bar website in Australia. With enough effort I should be able to weasel my way into places for free. I wrote my first review the other day. I'll end this with the link. 

www.barsandnightclubs.com.au/melbourne/melbourne-cbd/red-violin-cocktail-bar/

-James

A day without electricity

Desolation - JDM Media

 "A day without power makes the whole world sour." -Nobody

You know the saying money doesn't grow on trees. Well neither does power apparently.

Actually, other than being true, that saying doesn't really make sense. If money did grow on trees then banks would just monopolize the money tree then we'd still be in the same boat. 'Cause the mans like that. The man does what he wants, especially with the money trees.

So all that to say I lost power yesterday because whoever lived here before took their name off the contract. The power guy didn't come until 6 yesterday so I spent the day phoneless.

You never actually realize how many things require electricity until you're forced to spend a day without it. Even the clicker that ignites the stove stopped working so we had to use the more primitive lighter technique to cook our omelettes. Suddenly battery life became a permanent worry, as the end of the battery was the end of convenience.

Computers are great until you can only use them for 20 minutes. Problem is you get flustered because you're trying to organize your thoughts and get all the necessary things done before it starves to death. Next thing you know you're sitting in front of a black screen recovering from a hypnotic Facebook news feed.

Once it came back though, everything was back to normal. I could charge my phone, reconnect to the world and end my existential crisis.

Max

This is Max.

He's the old tenant and was our room mate for a few days. Although his name was not on the electricity and it was someone else who canceled it, he is the closest link I have to the culprit and have therefore decided to blame him for the power out.





This is Andreanne

She was a victim of the power out, along with four of my other room mates.

We were forced to turn to powerless entertainment like talking and guitar.







And this is my reaction.

Utter devastation.

- James

A cozy Christmas

Writing - JDM Media

It's really weird seeing Christmas decorations in the shops when it's 27 degrees outside.

The second Halloween ended, most convenience stores went on an overnight restocking rampage replacing their Halloween decorations with Santas, snowmen and Christmas trees.

Thing is, my brain has a hard time registering what's going. In my head, my expectations of Christmas weather take over my system and I actually begin to feel cold. My mind automatically associates the decorations with the environment I'm used to, and my body gives me signals.

Isn't that insane?

Other people have told me they feel this too so it's not just me. It's amazing how we can become so attached to things that our body feels what we're used to rather than what's actually around us. Sensations course through us when the catalyst is in our minds.

This phenomena reminds me of something in a book I'm reading. The Game by Neil Strauss is a personal account of a man who becomes part of a society of pickup artists. During his adventure he learns a kind of hypnosis called anchoring.

When a man is trying to seduce a woman he can attempt to anchor certain feeling to himself. For example, the man could ask the woman to describe the last time she felt attracted to someone. In doing so, she will feel the feeling as she remembers her last crush. This acts as a way to force an emotional response from the girl in his presence.

To follow up there's plenty of things you can do to reinforce that feeling and link it to yourself. You can tell the girl to channel that desire into an object then put it in her pocket. Every time she sees the object, she'll remember the feeling and the person who gave it to her. Those sneaky pickup artists. tee hee.

So to put what I'm saying about the temperature in perspective, it's supposed to be 28 degrees today and summer really only just started. We're going to end up having a barbecue for Christmas.

Today, me and Cameron are going down among the Christmas stalls and train stations to try and suck a little of Melbourne's change. I'll be playing guitar and he'll be playing harmonica. Lets hope we can get enough money for a subway!

On another note, I saw this the other day.

Business Baby

This is business baby.

Business baby was very frustrated with his mother when she wanted to put her Iphone back in her bag.

Business baby is boss, so business baby gave her a good talking to and she gave him the phone.

Business baby spent the rest of the tram ride checking his assets and discussing with various business partners an action plan to avoid losing wealth during the economic down fall.

Business baby has recently suffered loses in Rome, Madrid and Athens.

After his nap, I'm sure business baby will have the answers.

- James (I don't even get my own jokes)

Who needs a job when you've got a guitar

From the bridge - JDM Media

I lost my job yesterday.

Boo, says the negative Nancy who becomes depressed and resentful in situations such as this. But not I, my friends, not I.

You see, I've realized that sales, especially on the street, isn't that great at all. Whether its fundraising or trying to sell John the gutter man's high end gutter servicing specials, you always feel a bit sleezy doing it. The main reason is simple, you basically have to convince yourself that what you're doing is good for both you and the customer.

Sometimes the little realities click in and it takes a lot of energy to keep yourself sell, sell, selling away. No matter how good your cause is, it's hard to keep your sales goals in mind when your real life goals are so far removed from what you're doing.

Head space is the key to sales. If you can brainwash yourself into making the job everything you want it to be, you can make a killing. If you begin to realize you'd rather be writing or playing guitar or drawing, your day will come down because your I-want-to-be-here vibes will escape your body language. Then, no one wants to talk to you.

I was like that, going out to different spots around Melbourne basically begging for environment money when I would rather out photographing the wilderness or actually protesting something.

But that's city life I guess. I just know there is something good out there for me. I'm going to check other job sights and take a look for writing and photography gigs. There must be stuff. I'm in Melbourne.

One thing that does bring my day up no matter what us seeing children smile. Kids are so innocent and ready to soak up the world around them. It's so sad when parents won't come talk about the environment with their kids because they're teaching them to not care.

Seb - JDM Media

The PotP on the left is Seb.

On the last day of work for St Lazare Day Camp last summer I went around taking pictures of everyone. At some point I was doing an Indian war dance underneath the gazebo at Bedard park, and Seb came to join in. Eventually I started taking pictures, and just a chance moment resulted in one of the best pictures I've taken of a person. I mean look at that smile.

Having worked with kids, I find you begin to understand how much kids soak in from the world around them. Being a parent is such an important task. It really is sad when I see parents with their kids acting rudely, because it will become part of their children.

I need to find a job doing what I want to do. Cut throat sales is a game I don't want to be a part of and fundraising is too much pleading for my taste. I need to be out there writing stories, playing music and just being myself. I'll try selling my pictures on the street. Someone also told me about a sight where you can do it. I think ill join tonight. The more I have going the better my chances.

I bought a guitar the other day from the Swap Shop in Melbourne. It was a great little store tucked away in the student part of town near the university. I walked in and couldn't wait to get my fingers on a guitar. I saw some classical guitars advertised for $200 each. I took one down and started to play. To say they were only $200 they really did sing beautifully. I couldn't believe my luck, they were in the price range.

You see, when you buy a guitar you don't ever just buy I guitar. If I only want to spend $300, the guitar itself will be $200 then you'll buy a case, capo, pedal, picks and everything else you could possibly need to make it work. So, after choosing the guitar I asked how much all that other jazz was. He just threw it in for free.

I got a guitar, case, capo and 6 picks for $200. Even in Canada that's a good deal.

In other news, Cameron and I are underway with the fire dancing video. We have a working title "The night sings," and have had various photography sections. The picture up top is from the bridge last night and those below are Cameron firdancing on it.

Circle of fire (left), Dancing on the bridge (top right), Duet (middle right), Fire foot (bottom right) - All shots JDM Media

Blog photos never quite place the way you want them to.

Anyway, we had a bit of a scare when Cameron's dance summoned a ghost. Look at the top of the flames. It's there.

Ghost in the flames - JDM Media

I'm also working on poster styles for this kind of thing. Cameron wants to start a campaign on one of those fundraising sites so that he can get his buskers permit and perform on the street. I was thinking of making posters in the style below. Tell me what you think.

Black flames - JDM Media

There would be writing below the picture obviously. I kind of like the selective color effect though.

- James

Cameron Koala

Cameron Koala - JDM Media

I'll keep this one short. 

Cameron decided that today was the day to really take the whole Wilderness Defender thing to a whole new level. The old "How are you (response no)?" line wasn't having the effect we wanted it to. We needed more bazaz and some jazz hand action so Cameron got in a tree. I would then ask people on the street if they wanted Cameron to lose his home. Cameron would then shout out facts about nature to passabys.

Although it seemed like a good idea, I think actual stops decreased significantly with this stunt. Although our execution was perfect, something about Cameron classic, satyr like face surprising people from above was scaring them away.

Once he got down, singing the environmental blues did not help us get more conversations. Neither did asking people how they felt about same sex marriage among turtles. Why don't people have opinions on pressing global debates? 

Anyway! Completely unrelated picture of the post time. 

Cards from the balcony - JDM Media

This is a shot from the balcony I took while playing cards. That's our street, full of cars and potential for mischief.

It really is a beautiful place to live and the sky is often beautiful. I wish we weren't down the hill though, so I could see more of it. 

All in all, this picture doesn't mean too much, just that I live in a wonderful place and I have not been displaced by strife.

The refutrees have. This is another of Cameron's inventions. Refutrees are groups of trees that have lost their home due to war or famine. Please help by sponsoring a refutree today and make the world a better place for people, wildlife, trees and native fauna. 

- James

The day the sun burnt me

Armeneh (I think you spell it like that) and Rozin fundraising very enthusiastically - JDM Media

Eric, who I am traveling with and is often mistaken as my brother even though he is NOT wrote an interesting blog post about monopolies in super markets.

You'll find the article here: http://wavesofoz.blogspot.com.au/

He is right when he says me and Cameron care a lot about the subject. I mean, for one I'm really tired of someone who isn't me getting all the trains and charging me 200 fu*king monies every time I land on one. I mean, come on, they're pretty much everywhere on the board and they don't even take me anywhere. I just land on it with my car (So I don't even need to catch the train) and have to give my two hard earned 100 money notes I JUST got from passing go to some deck (I'm picking up the New Zealand accent) with all the trains.

Also, real monopolies are pretty bad too.

Right now at Coles, everything that is made by Coles is about 25% cheaper than the other companies. Why? probably because Coles wants their brand bought. Makes sense, but if Coles are both the distributor and the producer, then they can push all other companies out of the market with their ridonculosly low prices. I mean, Coles isn't the only supermarket around, but if Coles becomes a store of Coles brand and everyone is going to Coles because it's so cheap, then all Coles is going to do is continue to make food cheaper and cheaper. They'll be able to do whatever they want, and they'll be our sole source.

Probably not going to happen anytime soon, and the aware people in the world will start growing their own stuff, but extremes are more fun to talk about.

So anyway, today I went to a remembrance day festival with the team. The team being Tom. There was a moment of silence at 11 a.m. that nobody announced so everyone forgot. Kind of against the point. Anyway I got 2 sign ups, 1 call back and a French girls number. Over all it was a pretty good day, other than the fact that I am sun burnt.

My God does the sun hit you here. There is absoluteness no middle ground when it comes to sun burns. It's like I'm either white as a snow flake or red as a sun burnt penguin in that joke about being red all over. My skin is all crusty and I just want to be encased in a vat of vaseline.

Stilt people

Now that last sentence brings us to an even future removed tid bit I just discovered. The more typed Google search with vaseline in it is "vaseline as lube."

So on that point, if we keep eating Coles brands we may end up as blue stilt people.

Oh yeh, and this is Jeremy.

Jeremy - JDM Media

- James

Tools and creations

Sometime in 1882, Friedrich Nietzsche bought a typewriter—a Malling-Hansen Writing Ball, to be precise. His vision was failing, and keeping his eyes focused on a page had become exhausting and painful, often bringing on crushing headaches. He had been forced to curtail his writing, and he feared that he would soon have to give it up. The typewriter rescued him, at least for a time. Once he had mastered touch-typing, he was able to write with his eyes closed, using only the tips of his fingers. Words could once again flow from his mind to the page.

But the machine had a subtler effect on his work. One of Nietzsche’s friends, a composer, noticed a change in the style of his writing. His already terse prose had become even tighter, more telegraphic. “Perhaps you will through this instrument even take to a new idiom,” the friend wrote in a letter, noting that, in his own work, his “‘thoughts’ in music and language often depend on the quality of pen and paper.” - Nicholas Carr, Is Google Making us Stupid, www.theatlantic.com


After writing yesterdays blog I noticed my writing changes when I'm using my phone rather than my computer. It's funny, because anyone who writes using different devices sees change in style depending on the tool. The outcome of our work is so closely entwined to the with the way we create it, that I often wonder how much of it is actually effected.

I read the above paragraphs in an article by Nicholas Carr titled "Is Google Making us Stupid" in my English class in my last year of CEGEP. It was one of the most interesting articles I'd ever read and made many good points on both sides of the modern day cybernetic laziness discussion. I'll say no more, and I suggest you all read it.

When I write with my phone rather than a keyboard I find my thoughts fleeting. I cannot stay on one topic at a time and my sentences become extremely concise. What would be whole sections of text become single paragraphs, and what would be paragraphs become sentences. Whether this is down to the ADD of smart phones or the environments I'm in when I use them I don't know, but the pure form of my style is skewed.

I've always used keyboards to write. So I'm very used to that style. But what is the true form of my style? I have no idea. If writing on a smart phone while I'm on the train makes me write so differently, then how much does a keyboard change how I express myself? Also, does this apply to other things?

Lets see

Photography - I take more meaningful pictures with a DSLR than a cellphone.
Settlers of Catan - Depending which version of the game I'm playing, I'll play differently.

Flawless transition

Catan - JDM Media

So Eric, Cameron and I all love playing a board game called Settlers of Catan. It's a game where you need to make your civilization better than everyone else's. If you like having spare time and not losing chunks of your day, do not try it. You will instantly be hooked.

We've gotten to the point playing that we make important decisions based on the outcome of a game. I won my room in the house because of Catan, and slowly I believe we are depending on Catan for major life decisions. We should probably stop, but it is so God damn addictive.

We're also starting to make our own rules up, and I fear this is not for the best. It's starting with stuff like trade routes giving players advantages and exploration becoming a part of the game. I'm worried we might end up applying rules that involve real life commitments, like earning victory points through loans or the farming of real wheat to build game board cities. It seems like an unrealistic concern, but I'm sure that's what they said about Hitler after the Beer Hall Putsch. Look where that got us.

Now that I think about it, after Hitler was arrested he wrote Mein Kampf. I wonder how it different it would have been if, instead of pen and paper, he'd used his HTC smartphone.

- James

To laser tag

Rainy Train - JDM Media

Damn it's hard to take a decent picture everyday.

Having been a journalist, I'm used.to tight deadlines and stuff like that, but its so important I don't let myself get lazy.

Problem is my eye sometimes gets a little tired. My ability to find moments of photographic possibility begins to wane. Throwing myself in the deep end will force me to find little tricks.

I had the same problem with writing a few months ago. I'd just end up in a state of complete block. Now I can write forever, assuming I'm well fed.I just have to find myself with the camera too.

Metro - JDM Media

Police catching fare evader

I'm in the metro and funny thing is I got a good picture idea as I wrote the paragraph above.

Anyway today was pretty boring up to this point. Most people just weren't interested in talking. Two Chinese girls told me I was good looking today though. :)

Right now I'm getting ready to go to some unlimited lazer tag. Pre drinks at my place, you're all invited.

Double rainbow

On my way to the lazer tag I saw a girl struggling with the police. 5 officers had to take her in after an intense case of fair invasion. She shouted "go catch real criminals!" As she was taken away. She had a good point.

Fuck you system

I finally found a good post for 1st world anarchists. Fuck you system.

There was also a double rainbow.

- James

How to become an expert

Opportunity - JDM Media

I have a theory that if I just walk around playing ukulele everywhere I should eventually be an expert.

Think about it. Countless hours of subliminal practice will keep my fingers moving so much that eventually it'll backfire and people will think I have a tickle fetish.

But that made me think. So much of what we're good at is down to opportunity.

Movement - JDM Media

Sure there are some talented people in the world, but without access to their respective talent tools they would not have developed their skills. I'm not good at horse back riding because I was never around horses. I'm not good at motocross because I never had a bike.

But at the same time we have so many choices. I never practiced drawing when I had the chance. I didn't get good at soccer or interpretive dance. So what I'm good at isn't just about access, it also about determination.

Does talent really exists at all or is it just a mixture of opportunity and determination? Are some people naturally tuned to do certain things?

Once a man said to a pianist, you must be so thankful to have such a talent. The pianist replied yes, and I grow more thankful with each hour of practice.

I think anyone can do anything if they really put their mind to it. The determination factor shouldn't be an issue. If you want to learn to do something, then you should do it.

Opportunity, however, is a much harder egg to crack. Opportunity isn't always something we can create. Lack of opportunity can hold us back and even destroy us.

Today I bought a woman breakfast. She was three months pregnant and her boyfriend had left her on the side of the street. She had no money, no where to live and nothing to eat. Her name was Rebecca.

The sky I see - JDM Media

I talked to her when I took her to the cafe near where I was working. She said that her parents had died when she was very young. She'd been put in foster care at a very young age. I wondered what opportunities she hadn't had, and what opportunities she hadn't created that led her to the streets of Melbourne.

I wish I'd done more to help her.

Later I also talked to a guy called Shem. He tried to convince me that the world is flat. He was also quite concerned with judgement day. He was fun. I signed him up.

On my way home, a guy in the train station gave me a lolly pop. My faith in humanity was instantly restored.

Warrior - JDM Media

When to fly - JDM Media

When I got home I started taking pictures of the birds in the park beside my house. They were so small and moved so fast that the only choice I had was high ISO and manual focus. It made them really hard to photograph.

Watching birds is often inspiring. They are born with wings and sore. Humans don't have that liberty. We have to find our wings.

- James

The people that are no today

Picture yourself - JDM Media

The people that are no are always the worst to talk to.

It was my third shift today as a Wilderness Defender Campaigner. Slowly, talking to strangers on the street is getting easier. I try to open as best I can and sometimes you get some interesting conversations.

The Uk and I

My ukulele is a real ice breaker. I don't know whether people just truth strange men with ukuleles or if the music is hypnotic, but either way it works. Among being answered no when asking "How are you today?" I was invited to a ukulele gathering and told that China was the example the whole world should follow environmentally. I'll admit that I don't know anything about Chinese environmental policies but it did remind me of something I think of a lot.

If humanity continues along the path it is going, cutting down our ancient forests and poisoning our oceans, the future cannot be a bright one. It is already pretty bleak as it is, with so many problems coming to the point of irreversible damage.

For one, over population of the globe will eventually lead to food shortages, resource shortages and mass unrest across the globe. The world will become unable to sustain us and natures population control mechanisms will come into play. Either we'll face a world wide pandemic or war.

The environmental problem, having passed the point of no return, is beginning to show its teeth. With natural disasters increasing in both ferocity and frequency, who knows what the world will throw at us in the next decade. Hurricane Sandy is a good example, but I'm sure more is to come.

Funnily enough, the reason for these problems is mainly due to the greed of the rich and society's insatiable thirst for money. Yet, even our economies are failing as the PIGS become more dependent on neighboring countries to pick up debts and help support them. Soon the entire world will feel the full force of the economic crisis, just another problem for new leaders to worry about.

Jokers in the night - JDM Media

I took the picture (right) during a protest against the Quebec Liberal Parties attempt to raise tuition fees earlier this year. Although I wasn't really behind the cause, I was behind the students will to stand up for what they believed in. I had attended the school a few years before and I could never have imagined myself or any of my peers actually doing anything as powerful as this. Inside the crowd it didn't matter what I believed, only that I was part an unstoppable force.

For the good of everyone I hope my dark prophecy is wrong, but tides are turning. Our generation is going to live through one of the most interesting times in human history. We're facing threats from every angle and it is up to the creativity and compassion of the young to make the world a better place. I believe we can do it.

Everyday I stand outside campaigning for nature I realize that the young who have little money are more willing to give than the mature and rich. No wonder the world is so backwards.

Hopelessness won't help us. But, I seems so many people fall into a narrow minded routine devoid of guilty. More than ever it is obvious that problems do not lie in the material, but in the minds of people.

I walked down to the bridge near my house at Sunset today. Night always makes me pensive.

Words - JDM Media

Set at the bridge - JDM Media

 It really inspires me when I see others working hard to get something done in the world. It lifts me when I talk to someone on the streets that already knows about environmental issues or has something to say about politics. That's what we need, awareness and drive.

The people that are no don't care. They don't even care enough to answer my question properly. What can you do other than shake your head and hope the next face will at least smile.

When it comes to my concerns, Cameron's face says it all.

Concerned Citizen

- James

The Melbourne Cup

The Elephant Monster - JDM Media

Every year Melbourne gets a public holiday so that everyone can dress up and go to the races. Since I am a poor traveler and not a Melbournite (or Melbournian or whatever) I was both too poor and too unaware to take part. Because of this, I thought going into to town would be the best way to go 'cause during such a big event I assumed there would be lots going on.

I was wrong.

I don't know what it was, but I think the rain just forced everyone indoors which made the day far less eventful than it should have been. However, we still managed to make the most of it and had a pint in the Asian beer cafe. It was really nice with sofa and stuff to just lounge around on. I tried to get a good picture, then Eric moved.

We also went exploring Melbourne's vast maze of graffiti laden streets and found another bar at the end of one. The only half decent pictures I got today were there, other than the one above. That was just in a parking lot we passed.

Graffiti Alley Pictures - JDM Media

So, we made our way home after being disappointed with the weather and the Melbourne cup. I said I would make sushi. We got everything we needed and my flat mate suggested I make the sushi rice with his rice cooker. I thought it would work, but for the second time today I was wrong.

I attempted to make sushi which just resulted in soggy pieces of scrunched up sea weed with rice and sliced vegetables stuck to it. To save myself I poured the rice into some bowls, put the vegetables in fancy positions then played the meal off as sushi acting as if nothing was wrong. I think no one noticed. Enough soya sauce makes anything sushi.

Anyway, today's walks down graffiti alleys reminded me of some surfer dudes we met a few days ago. They were coming down from the Gold Coast in a camper van they hired out from Wicked. Here's the Potp (Picture of the post).

Surfer Camper Van - JDM Media

Basically we found them in a parking lot. Disregarding all we'd been taught as children, we got in when they asked us if we wanted to chill. We had a pretty good conversation (or yarn as Cameron calls it) until they found out about Cameron's talent with fire poi. Luckily, the kerosene was just around the corner.

Me and Cameron went back to the hostel room and bought down his poi and a container of highly flammable liquid (very un-suspiciously) and went back to the surfers. That's where I came up with the idea to make a mini fire dance video. I got some shots and the surfers oohed at the flames.

I'm not sure how much they remember of the evening. Actually, I don't know how much they remember ever.

- James