“Mum, where does SPAM come from?”

by AnJi B
It is her first ever written and illustrated children’s book and it has already caused quite a stir in the literary world. Ruby Roth’s That’s Why We Don’t Eat Animals: A Book About Vegans, Vegetarians and all Living Things is a candid account of the emotional lives of animals and the effect that eating animals has on the environment and endangered species.
Many haters believe the subject matter and beautifully constructed illustrations may be too dark and haunting for its puerile readers. I think it is a wonderful opportunity to start educating these future revolutionists about conscious consumerism and have the CEO’s of the meat and dairy industry shaking in their oversized, overpaid booties.

Pushka

by AnJi B
It smells like Pushka with an r. One of many of Melbourne’s hidden little hobbit lands within its many laneways within the city. Pass junkie territory, rubbish bin scapes and various hobbit doors and you will find this hole in the wall espresso bar staring out at you from a great beam of light, and the intoxicating smell of India, bagels and really good coffee penetrate your nostrils like a bombay sapphire hangover.
Try the bagel with thick lashings of avocado and vegemite with a fresh off the press latte presented with a kitschy spoon that could have been stolen from your grandmas spoon collection.
This place has got some cred and also functions as a bar and art space with cheap beer!
20 Presgrave Place, Melbourne 0408 173 892
Get there from Howie Place running between Collins and Little Collins Street

The Dirty Thirties

by AnJi B

There is a smell in the air. The smell of coming-of-age and un-certainty. The off, hot stale breathe of old peeps, coupled with the responsibility of having a mortgage and 2.1 children, linger over my shoulder ascertaining its predominance in my life for the next 50 years to come.

Society has reprimanded me for life now that I have hit that unforgiving age of 20-10, and I should make haste with baby making and put forth the seeds that were sown in my twenties and harvest them into the successful wife, mother, daughter and career making woman with a suit and shoulder pads that I have been bred to be. It is time to renounce the once bare-foot child who ate snails from the backyard and take risks on the stock market not risks of the heart.

Is this what we really want?

The 30’s should be a time to reassess the past 10 years of hormonal and alcohol-induced chaos, and regain a sense of originality and Zen. There shouldn’t be this mass induced hysteria towards becoming a ‘serious’ citizen of society whilst losing sight of our wildest childhood dreams of becoming a rock star. It will pass. Every 29.5 years Saturn will return back to the same position it was in at the time of your birth. Astrologists call this Saturn Return

So everything you considered important in your twenties has actually turned out to be complete superfluous bollocks and it’s time to embrace that person you lost in transit so long ago. Turning 30 is about making time to rid ourselves of outdated ideas and initiate spiritual growth and prosperity.

Yes, this is the year I turn 30 and I cannot tell you how relieved I am to see the back of some of the most tumultuous years of my life (and some of the best times mind you.) There is a sense of wonderment in knowing that this is just the beginning of a truly amazing voyage.
So in celebration of my ‘rite of passage,’ here are 10 things to do AFTER your big Dirty Thirty:

1: Travel to different countries in search of the ultimate festival. Celebrate the colour of the Day of the Dead festival all over Mexico and the States during November, or volunteer at the Burning Man
Festival in the Nevada desert during August/September.
2: Go dumpster diving for some treasure and make friends while you do it
3: Catalogue your life into a coffee table book
4: Make “High Fidelity” mix tapes with your own personal choice of bad 80s rock ballads and send them to all your friends
5: Go on a naturist holiday! What better way to celebrate the new you by getting nude in public!
6: Learn a language like Icelandic or Mongolian and drop it into conversations with your friends. They will be amazed!
7: Volunteer locally or abroad and help someone else to help yourself
8: Read The Dice Man. It could change the way you live your life.
9: Enlighten your being and join an ashram
10: Never say never.

Midnight Juggernauts : Into the Galaxy

Another kickarse Australian band ….. Midnight Juggernauts, wow… amazing.I’m chilling at home, doing some work, then I need some quick fast energy, put their tracks on, Shadows or even better Into the Galaxy, ever so cool. There is something amazing going on in the land of Oz, Empire of the Sun, Pnau, Midnight Juggernauts, brilliant, pure genius. I really wish they were coming to London, to brighten up my dark, mysterious winters, come on boys, you know you wanna !

more about "Midnight Juggernauts : Into the Galaxy", posted with vodpod

Origami Tea – What To Take To a Tea Party 2

By Zoe Keogh
Russian designer Nathalia Ponomareva’s origami Green Berry teabags are beautiful! The idea is that as the tea infuses the bird unfolds or folds?? I’m not sure pretty porcelain tea cups would work with this temporary/drinkable design object. I think you would need a large glass so to admire it for as long as possible!