Kitten of Doom

Some hipster jokes

•March 30, 2011 • Leave a Comment

Courtesy of a friend’s facebook page…

How many hipsters does it take to change a lightbulb?

Some obscure number, you’ve probably never heard of it.

How many hipsters does it take to change a lightbulb?

Who cares? The lightbulb was better before it changed.

How many hipsters does it take to change a lightbulb?

*sigh* I have this joke on limited edition vinyl.

Reply: “I liked the first lightbulb, it sounded so much better before it sold out and went mainstream.

Another reply: “Not sure how many, but one thing I do know, they will LOVE the new radiohead album..”

x K

Posted in Random shiz
Tags: hipster, how many does it take to change a lightbulb, jokes, radiohead

James Reka ‘Down Low, Too Slow’ at Backwoods

•March 27, 2011 • Leave a Comment

Went along to a second exhibition opening last week, James Reka‘s Down Low, Too Slow at Backwoods Gallery in Collingwood.

Along with painting murals around the Collingwood and Fitzroy areas with the other Everfresh guys, Reka is also a successful solo artist.

Reka’s show was “…an exploration of the inner child within us all”, and painted in a finer style to his usual work.

My favourite is the one in the first photo. I am, unfortunately, too poor to buy anything. As per usual.

Down Low Too Slow runs until April 3rd.

x Kitten of Doom

Posted in Artyness, Collingwood, Things I see
Tags: Backwoods Gallery, Collingwood, Down Low Too Slow, Everfresh, reka, street art

Drew Funk ‘Black Linings’ at No Vacancy

•March 25, 2011 • 1 Comment

Last night was the opening night of Drew Funk‘s Black Linings exhibition – his first solo exhibition.

This show was a bit of a departure from Drew’s usual works. Not a dragon in sight! Plenty of fish though, and they were accompanied by lots of other little creatures – bunnies, geckos, frogs, snakes.

Soooooo cute. I want them all. Many were sold by the time I got to there just after 7.

Drew, it’s my birthday tomorrow, can you draw me a bunny? 😀

There were even real fish.

Drew looked schmicko in a suit. Excuse the terrible quality of the photo. iPhone all the way. I am getting the flu and it was an effort to even get to the show, let alone lug an SLR along with me.

Black Linings runs until April 3rd; get on down to No Vacancy at QV in the city to check it out.

x Kitten of Doom

Posted in Artyness, Melbourne CBD, Things I see
Tags: Black Linings, Drew Funk, Drew Yeoh, Melbourne, No Vacancy, street art

More pics from Sunday’s urbexpedition

•March 22, 2011 • 4 Comments

There are more pics here.

x KoD

Posted in Melbourne misc suburbs, Things I see, Urban exploration
Tags: 2011, abandoned building, California Hotel, derelict, Hawthorn, Melbourne, Motel Hell

Hipstamatic postcards from California Hotel

•March 21, 2011 • 6 Comments

“Ho-Cal”, as I have affectionately dubbed it.

California Hotel, in Hawthorn, was built on the site of the Barkly train station, which closed in 1957. The hotel closed it’s doors in April 2008, and has gradually been vandalised and graffitied since then.

Thorney Properties bought the motel in 2007, and were expected to start redeveloping the following year, but the site remains derelict. There were plans to build an 82-room aged care facility on the site, but I don’t know what is happening with it now. This is the most recent report I could find, but this was a year-and-a-half ago.

Unfortunately I only got around to visiting this once-prime urbex spot yesterday. Some of my flickr contacts took some great photos in 2009 when it wasn’t so trashed. I wish I’d known about it back then, before the original hotel wall murals were painted over.

Check out TigTab’s photos of the California Hotel, particular the before-and-after collage.

Also this wonderful photo of a woman on her honeymoon standing in front of the swimming pool in 1964, from museumvictoria.com.au:

photograph by Konstantinos Papadimitropoulos, from Museums Victoria site.

I’ll post some SLR shots soon.

x Kitten of Doom

Posted in Melbourne misc suburbs, Things I see, Urban exploration
Tags: abandoned building, California Hotel, derelict, graffiti, Hawthorn Melbourne, Motel Hell, TigTab, Urban exploration

Postcards from Golden Plains

•March 19, 2011 • 1 Comment

My first Golden Plains. Was pretty excited. I hadn’t been to Golden Plains OR Meredith Music Festival before (MMF is also on this year’s agenda).

Saw many good bands, including Graveyard Train, Best Coast, Belle & Sebastian, Imelda May, Airborne (“Shiiiraaaaaazzz from the Baarooosssssaaaaa Vaaaalllllllleeeeeeeeeyyy!!!!), Architecture in Helsinki and more.

Other highlights include: riding the Meredith Eye, dressing up in bad formal wear, using Cookie’s excellent 5D Mark II, Jerry’s vegie burgers (I ate four!), awesome sunny weather, giant cans of German beer (left over from the group’s last adventure to Meredith), and superb company.

Posted in Muzak, Things I see
Tags: ferris wheel, Golden Plains, Graveyard Train, Jerry's vegie burgers, Meredith, Meredith Eye, music festival

New music I’m loving right now – Good vs Evil

•March 17, 2011 • Leave a Comment

Good vs Evil. Comprised of DJ Matik and Jack Weaving.

: “Good” refers to the music; “evil” refers to the boys. Maybe.

Matik (also known as Steve Mowat) is a Berlin-based music producer. Weaving is the frontman of Dukes of Windsor. They met after Dukes relocated to Berlin. Sparks flew (presumably). Good vs Evil was the resulting baby.

They have released two songs online so far, which you can download from SoundCloud. They are extremely catchy and have been on high rotation on my ipod. I am keeping my eagle eyes on their facebook page – which promises their debut EP out on iTunes in April – for new tracks.

x Kitten of Doom

Posted in Muzak
Tags: DJ Matik, Dukes of Windsor, Good vs Evil, Jack Weaving

Argus building

•March 16, 2011 • 9 Comments

I really love this building. I haven’t been inside it – yet (some of my flickr contacts have, and they have taken some amazing photos).

The Argus was originally home to a Melbourne newspaper named – wait for it – The Argus. In recent years, the building was purchased by La Trobe university to be converted into a city campus, but this development never eventuated. Apparently this was due to the presence of asbestos inside the building.

Walking Melbourne says “In 2004, La Trobe University purchased the building with the view of restoring it and use it as a CBD campus. The plans included completing the clock tower of the original design. However the costs of renovating the building and removing asbestos proved too high and the university sold the building late in 2008.”

I’ve always thought it would be so awesome if the Argus was my house! Imagine sitting on that corner balcony watching the sun rise over the city!

For now, though, the Argus sits abandoned; ignored by the business hordes as they make their way through the city each day. It would be lovely to see her restored.

x Kitten of Doom

Posted in Melbourne CBD, Things I see
Tags: abandoned building, Argus, asbestos, derelict, La Trobe, Melbourne, Victoria

New sietta album soon!

•February 11, 2011 • Leave a Comment

Highly anticipated by us enlightened folks, the new sietta album is due out in May.

James and Caiti are down from ~~sunny~~ stormy Darwin to put the finishing touches on their first major release, and have presently finished nine tracks, with another three or four to appear on the album.

Their first video, for Silence, was released last year. Check it out here. Caiti still has her dreads in this one.

If you are in Adelaide you can catch them at Fuse Festival next week, 16th to the 18th of Feb.

Have to get me a sietta singlet!

x Kitten of Doom

PS. I really like fish.