You're viewing the classic version of The Blackmail which was in use from July 2009 until August 2011. The latest version of The Blackmail is now here.
At last, after many a dead-end and wild goose chase, I have finally laid my hands upon the perfect faux-leopard coat of my dreams. I will fess-up, rather sheepishly, that this is the first faux-fur I have ever owned. I know, it’s criminal, but I’ve always turned my nose up at the poly-pelts and phony pony skins. Not only because the inflammable synthetics present a serious health hazard when navigating your path ‘twixt the maze of hot-oil radiators in Winter months (let’s do our very best to avoid the Wicked Witches final melting moments, shall we?), but also because the acrid acetate, aside from looking less than desirable, doesn’t necessarily provide a sustainable solution to the unmentionable alternative – the artificial processing of all this synthetic madness still results in significant chemical wastage and environmental damage. Only adding to the burden on our dearest Mother Nature.
Well, luckily for us, there has never been a trendier time for designers to climb aboard the PETA bandwagon, forcing the industry into some titillating new developments on the animal-friendly faux front. Everyone’s favourite eco-activist Stella McCartney, has developed startlingly silky fur mimicry fashioned from dense whirls of hand tufted yarns. Akin to this are the Rodarte sisters’ chaotic shag pile sweaters, and fashion houses are united in pushing the boundaries in treating hi-twist cotton, wool and mohair blended yarns with developments in starchy resin coating and dip dyeing depth simulators. The jury is still out on whether wearing vintage gets the A-OK, but I’ll steer clear of that ethical can of worms for now…
Check back each Thursday for more on the fashion world from Billy Bride
Finding it hard to get your hands on a copy of Mountain Fold Music Journal? Well you’re in luck! The kind humans at Byron Bay’s Teeluxe store are offering to post it to you for free! Yeah that’s right, FREE!!! Craig fom Teeluxe says ‘I really like Mountain Fold and a lot of people just can’t get it, so we are happy to offer it for free!’ Click here to get yourself a copy and see what else Teeluxe have on offer!
I have been meaning to make a pie for some time. Pie feels like the perfect winter dish, it’s crowd pleasing and delicious. So a few Saturdays ago I had a few birds over and made my very first pie, a chicken and leek pie. Though I was only cooking for six, there was enough pie for about 26 and inevitably I was eating chook pie, lunch and dinner for the next week. Don’t get me wrong, the pie was nothing but a success, but sometimes enough is enough.
Another wondrous recipe for bird pie can be found here…
Since then I have been referred by an English man to Partridges. Now the only partridge I’ve ever heard of is the one in a pear tree. These birds are not found in Australia unfortunately, but more commonly their home is North America, Europe, Asia, Africa and the Middle East – basically everywhere but here. So if you live in the rest of the world, I thought, what a nice winged creature they’d be to put in a pie – smaller than the pheasant but larger than the quail.
Another delicious taste of what is to come every Wednesday from CC Bakes
Issue Two cover star Kill Pixie is back on home soil for an eagerly awaited show with the USA’s Cleon Peterson. With both artists garnering significant attention in North America and Europe with their eminently collectable works, shows down under might just become few and far between. Don’t miss out!
The Mirror Stage opens this Thursday, August 21 at Sydney’s Monster Children Gallery from 6pm and runs until September 17.
Film and TV piracy has never been more controversial, with more finger pointing going on than you can poke a stick at, one man has a vision. James Cameron sees a future with three dimensions, in much higher resolution than real life, where everyone abuses wheatgrass all day. Whether or not James Cameron is actually addicted to wheatgrass is irrelevant, but his new film Avatar could mark a turning point in the history of cinema. For the last decade or so he’s developed this new camera called the Pace Fusion which operates on the same principle as human eyes. Watch this clip to check it out. The film depicts a future war between Earth and a distant alien planet Pandora which is rich with natural resources. Aussie Sam Worthington plays a wheelchair-bound soldier who defects and fights with the ten foot tall blue Pandorians. I guess it’s possible that Avatar could flop, but so far Cameron’s films have grossed $1,146,947,310, so wheatgrass or not, my money’s on him. The movie comes out December 18, 12 years to the day from the release date of Titanic.
Avatar is due for release in December. Watch out for the trailer online from August 21. More images & clips…
Those who attended the Mountain Fold Music Journal launch at Black & Blue last night clearly understand where the good times are at! This weekend it lands on you Melbourne! Saturday evening sees MFMJ’s launch at Utopian Slumps and features live performances by Snawklor, Repairs & Free Choice Duo (Live) as well as everyone’s favourite DJ Nervous Jack. Pump up da volume!
Saturday August 15, 7pm-11pm Utopian Slumps 25 Easey St. Collingwood
They might be on a world tour right now but we can still get a little Canyons through the magic of mail order online. Canyons new 12″ is available now from the DFA online store or if you prefer to do things the old fashioned way you can wait until it hits stores on August 25.
Nothing mends a broken heart like a USD$12,000 custom-made Chanel ‘City’ bicycle – or so says Courtney Cox who splashed out on the two-wheeled wonder to fill the Brad-Pitt-shaped hole left in Jennifer Aniston back in Summer ’08. Now the rest of us might find the hefty price tag hard to stomach without the colossal heartbreak to rationalise rarefied retail therapy, but I’m sure we can dream up some very similar pretext for wanton fiscal abandonment…
For instance, the Gucci ‘Cruiser’ would certainly spare our weary atmosphere a tonne or two of carbon monoxide contamination – can you put a price tag on that? And, if we were to ride our Hermes/Batavus to and from work each day we would surely save on personal training and pilates fees (looking into the long-term). The Fendi ‘Abici Amante Donna’ is almost like a teeny tiny home away from home – why you can just pack your worldly belongings away in the twin fur saddlebags and set-off upon a spiritual sabbatical, needing nothing more than your custom fit GPS, and trademark Selleria leather thermos to service your dietary needs (and store a little of the ol’ liquid courage for when times get tough, as they so often do on sabbatical).
But if selling your soul to the Devil for a bit of steel and rubber isn’t really what you signed up for, check the chic (and cheap) rides available from The Mud Factory, Pashley, Velorbis, The Flying Pigeon or Acne x Bianchi. Classic, enchanting, and won’t bust the budget.
Check back each Thursday for more on the fashion world from Billy Bride
I read an article recently about what people eat when they’re alone. The premise was that when people eat with others or are cooking for others, they tend to think about what the others would like to eat, as well as themselves, and come to a settlement of sorts. However, when they are alone, there is no compromising and they eat exactly what they want. Some people got nostalgic, some people gorged on their favourite biscuits, some people ate really plainly, or really badly. For me, I think it is usually more a matter of eating what I have in the cupboards, but the other night, when eating alone, I realised exactly what I wanted to make and eat, and no one was going to tell me any different. Only thing was, it’s wasn’t weird or exciting, it was actually kind of boring.
