Be sure to check out the photos from it by pressing on the thumbnail.

It’s a good ride if you like to ride your mtb up a hill for long periods of time.  You do a lot of it on this ride.  However, the variety of bush and terrain you ride over make it worth it.  Venturing into alpine regions, you couldn’t do this ride in the middle of winter without being ready to ride over quite a bit of snow I dare say.  But in Spring it would be great!  Wild flowers galore.    

We did it in April and on a warm day and we were fine.  However, darkness falls pretty quickly, so we tried to get away as early as possible.  (well 11am was as early as possible… I swear!)

I won’t go over the route in detail, the link at the top there is good for that, and photos are good for seeing the type of bush and terrain you’ll see.  Although, my camera run out of batteries (and because I couldn’d find the spare) I didn’t get any photos of the lower part of ride which gets back into more lush Australian bush as it descends back down towards the lake.  No photos either of the ordeals we were to face at the end.

That’s if you notice the view… the decent is an adrenalin filled experience.  Just be careful as there are some bad sections of ruts which can bite you quickly if you’re not in full control when you hit them. 

Anyway, that’s not the main part of this story.  The main point is that you need a boat to get back across to where you start the ride.  I know this because we made the mistake of thinking we didn’t need a boat!  We figured we could make our way back up the Snowy River until we found a place to cross… well, that’s easier said then done.. actually, I still don’t know if it’s even possible? 

For starters, trying to get our bikes around the banks of the lake is very difficult at times as fields of large boulders block the path across the sandy banks at regular intervals… this really slows progress and it’s no fun dragging bikes across boulders wearing bike shoes!  One slip means a fall over several meters of boulders before landing in the drink! 

Now let’s say you did go across all the boulders, next you have to go up one side of the river and then back down the other.  Except, that means going pass a large pumping station on the muddy river shore.  I don’t know what potential risk they pose… but the signs made it clear they didn’t want people near there.  So, even if it would be ok to scurry past, being spotted trudging through the area might cause a few headaches of it’s own. 

In the end we got lucky.  A friendly boat owner on the other-side was willing to put his coffee down and jump in his boat to help us over.  If he didn’t help us, it would have been a very long day indeed!  As it was, I only got back to the car just as night fell.

For the next little while you can see the details of our ride here.  But if that link is no longer alive… just search for rides in the Kalkite region.  You’ll probably find a couple in the same area. 

This is just a hunch, but it seems that many companies like Microsoft have a major flaw in their thinking.  They don’t seem to spend any time looking outside their own 4 walls when thinking about where they should be heading and the future direction of their customers.  The problem is they get blinkered into their own heritage-derived way of thinking.  I’ll exaggerate this but, I can imagine someone at MS asking their staff “how can we make Windows better?”  When maybe they should be asking “How can we make Windows into want our customers want?”   In a nutshell, I think the concept of a perfect Operating System has changed over the years as our use of technology and computers have also changed.  The problem is that MS is still pursuing the same perfect OS it first imagined probably back in about 1990 if not earlier. 

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Over the last month or two I’ve been following the rapid developments in web based applications, mobile devices and a bunch of other things, (PC audio – go Asus, down with Creative!) plus the numerous rambling thoughts that keep bouncing through my brain.  Finally, I think I can distil all that stuff into this post.  I don’t promise it’s all going to fit together nicely; well… maybe?  General topic – The Future!!  My favourite.

As is always, I like thinking about future potential – of all things.  Where does that come from?  Well, one thing that drives me is probably my dislike of work.  Not that I actually dislike my work (when I first realised I disliked work, I quickly discovered the first step is to make it something you like doing, so…)  I’m just always looking for ways of making it easier and more enjoyable.  I mean it just struck me that there was a time that technological advances were aimed at a world wide desire to reduce labour; humans play while robots work!  Remember that?  I know that in a reality, that’s really a dream that would be a disaster.  But surely we could have expected that technology would influence things in that direction at least a little bit?  Naturally, what has happened is that we get more done in same time rather than same done in less time.

Oh well, that was just a little picture of where my thought processes grow from.  So where do they go to from there?

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(more…)

Well anyway, it’s a song about a couple who’ve had to escape, she’s ‘knocked up’ and they’re “taking off in the Coupe Deville, she’s buckled up on navy”.  It opens the album and set you up for the new Kings of Leon as you shall now know them.  Not so much Kentucky you’re thinking.  Quiet and careful the music cuts in gently, Caleb’s voice is relaxed and missing some of the twang & shrill you might have been used to.  To be honest this is the first album of there’s I’ve listen to in full. But I’ve loved their music on the radio from day one.

click it to see it big!

As for the picture, ‘laboured’ might be one word.  It was one for me that always seemed better in the sketches I did.  I think I got it there in the end, but at times I was ready to start over.  (Even after writing this I went back and worked it some more!)  Obviously the lyric up there “on navy” just caught my attention and I couldn’t get this image out my head.  It’s really quite sad, leaving everything behind and not know what they’re going to do next, they’ve only got each other.  “I’m a ghost and I don’t think I quite know where we’re gonna go..”  There’s an amount of emotion in there which I wish I could get more of into the picture. Maybe after a sleep I’ll add a little something to kick it up a bit. I’m really thinking about washing the whole thing with water.

Well, that’s exactly what I did! umm almost…  I didn’t ‘wash’ it as such, just sprayed it with water mist then bushed a bit of black ink here and there.  I decided the harshness of the pastel was not in keeping with the song.  It had to be softer and denser at the same time, which the water has done to some extent.  I think I’m a bit happier with it now.

Now, more importantly, have a listen to the song here (it’s a live version, recorded at Reading) and tell me what you think?  I’ll probably put it up on eBay sometime soon, but if you want it before I get around to doing that…  just drop me $20 and you can have it now!  (who? The first person to make a comment to that effect, that’s who!)

Track 2 - Charmer coming soon!

In light of that I’ve changed my plans a bit.  What occurred to me is that the local library borrows out CD’s.  Now; to listen to those it costs me nothing!  Hence, this time I only have to break even to cover the expense of this silly venture.  Cool hey?  I’m going to find a way to sell art for a dollar if it kills me.  Well $3 actually, what with eBay fees n’ all.

What I was delighted to see in the library was the latest (and greatest) Kings of Leon CD.  Wow.  You know they say this thing is good… but no, it actually bloody well is!  Really 

The Kings of Leon hit a sweet spot for rock with me… a taste that was probably born in me with the Black Crows (and the Doors maybe before that) and since then I’ve always craved new things to play in that area of my head.  The Ground Components are probably in there as well and now these guys as well.

So anyway, here starts weeks of listening to Because of the Times.  In order of track listing, I think this time. 

But this one has been harder to work out that the Daft Punk thing.  It turns out having lyrics to draw on, that span more than 10 characters makes the process sometimes really difficult.  For one thing there are definitely stories in those songs, and some of them are not easy to figure out.  The last thing I want to do is a picture that goes hard up against the grain of the song/music because I got it all around the wrong way.  (Yes I know that doesn’t really matter – but it matters to me).  Some of the lyric websites really stuff up the lyrics as well.  That annoys me in the same way.  At least the standard is not very high when trying to listen to these songs.  Actually, I did read that even the guys in the band were getting the lyrics wrong, Caleb (the lead singer) really slurs out the words as he sings.  After that, he decided to try singing a little more clearly on subsequent recordings.  I can hear him ok on this one, but still…

So I do have a majority of them figured out.   What I do is listen to the songs and draw little sketches to get the basis for an idea out quickly.  I did this with Human After All, doing them ahead of time lets the idea really sink in, but maybe this time I’m going to take it… one picture at a time.  Some work like that easily and some not.  For instance Ragoo is just giving me a lot of white paper; Black Thumbnail, Trunk and Camaro as well… The Runner too.  Maybe I’ll just take those ones more on feel and not bother with the imagery so much?  Feel free to make suggestions with any of the songs though. 

So stay tuned for the first track Knocked up off Because of the Times by the Kings of Leon. 

You know there are some pretty nasty reviews out there of this album.  In my finding tracks off the net to link to, I came across a few.  The basis of the criticism is that Daft Punk have done so much better in the past, their standards are higher and they should be held up to that.  Well, I’m no expert on that, I don’t in fact have Homework, for example.  But on the other hand I can still judge this one on merits alone… and on merits alone, it’s pretty damn good!  The simple fact I can listen to this over and over (to what essentially are very repetitive tracks) tells me the music does something right, either that or I’m a bit strange in the head.  What I actually love is that on each listen I hear a new crevice in the sound, the layering and distortion is changing subtly and constantly which actually takes several listens to pick up on.  Ok that might be a sign right there that I’ve been sent crazy by this music!  But comparing this to where I thought I was going to be after possibly listing to this album a 100 times, well… I’ll put it this way:  I’m not going to listen to it again for quite a while, but I will listen to it again…. at some stage! 

The song has the lyrics “we are human after all, much in common after all” repetited over and over.  Just on that, many people have the lyrics as “… flesh uncovered after all”.  Not that either makes a whole lot of sense, but I swear it says “much in common” or “flesh in common” it’s made harder by the humming… “mmmmmmflesh in common”???  mmmuch ?? 

click it to see it bigger

Moving on… I thought about including in the picture, images of the two Daft Punk guys, ‘in’ and ‘out’ of robot uniform.  But I’m not entirely sure the song is from their own point of view.  Actually, I’m not entirely sure where they’re coming from if not their own point of view, but that seems a bit too simple.  Maybe they have discovered that through the middle of the eletronic means of making the sounds the way they do, the human element is still undeniable… and not hidden by the electronic machines??  But I thought I would be more sure of that than I am.  So I decided to go with my own imagination.  What I imagined were little robots, or even just little people behind masks.  In fact I did have the Ned Kelly mask of Sidney Nolan’s fame in my head from the recent show, and the music applies to him (Ned) quite well too.  So I crossed the two ideas together; they are robots which are human, maybe not with the fearsome history of Ned Kelly, but definitely a product of a difficult past - a predicament.  And wanting     needing to be treated with a human touch, which in turn will reveal the human in them otherwise hidden.  Doesn’t that sound nice! 

That little bit of emotion I’ve tried to get in the eyes, wide open which I hope are asking for help or for understanding.  That’s really the sum of this one, everything else is just helping that happen.  The masked robots/people are growing out of pots, they’re stuck in their past you see which makes them seem confined as well.  Simple bodies; yes, are very ‘cross’ like.  There’s an element of that sort of saving here as well.  The colours are just nice to have all around.  They’re sort of bringing in the musical aspect of the song and the rest of the album.  I tried to include aspects from all the other pictures in this one, but didn’t stick too the idea too hard and fast.  Finally, the song has one short clear tone sound “ploop” all alone in the middle.  Not sure what it’s doing there?  But I also put a little blue dot in the picture to capture that, that’s the concept after all. 

You’ve read about it, now listen to it here via this youtube clip of the electroma film they did.   

The listing on eBay is here starting at $3, and by all accounts you will definitely be able to buy it for that.  (which someone did - yay for them!!)  Only 2 (now 3) so far have sold on eBay, the rest were passed in for a dollar!  So… I’m going to have to change my policy of listing on eBay, it’s just too expensive when you don’t actually sell the item.

Back-lit with a gentle piano sequence, a catchy little tune plucks out with funky soul over the top.  Soft vocals in the background, this is really easy listening.  Still, it fits in well with the rest of the album and is easily as hypnotic as the rest.

press it to see it big!

The picture for this one, was really born out of the stream of images that ran through my head as it played.  I didn’t try to think of anything and just let the tones percolate my mind (even as I type!).  So you might have just guessed that coffee came to mind!  Breakfast and Sunday mornings.  The track is so tranquil, still pools of water as well, but that idea manifest itself as a still life, and that’s what I got.  A table, coffee, eggs, plates a couple of random things.  Now, I don’t know where the strange idea of perspective came from in the picture, but I let it slide all over the place as you can see.  I suppose the idea was to make the picture more dreamlike, different rooms beside each other with impossible connections and hallways where they shouldn’t be, you’ve had those dreams.  Dreamlike is the other way to describe this song.

So that’s about it for this one, came pretty easily.  The colours are again from the dreamlike state of the song all pastels and so on.

You can listen to the track here on youtube.  It’s a pretty cool video that someone made for it.  Except it looks like the video was really meant to go with the track Human after all, don’t you think?

The picture is here on ebay to buy as usual…  and for just $3!  That’s enough to cover the listing fees you see, if it actually sells that is.  Which turns out doesn’t always happen! 

At one stage I was considering doing this whole album in black and white.  To me the beats are clean, cut and sharp, which goes well with clean and clear black and white.  It’s probably on this track where I let that aspect to the music show through the most.  It’s also the rawest picture so far.  You see, the album was done in the same way.  It was recorded in 3 weeks as far as I know with very little polishing, just straight in there making the music. 

That’s pretty much the same way I approached this.  I was frantic!  So the rotating inward spiral popped into my head.  I started with that in Prussian blue right from the tube, then another one the other way.  I added gold paint as well.  Although, maybe I should have picked something else to go there.  I wanted it to grate with your eyes, but it rather worked to calm things down… never mind.  Next, eyes are always something that I associate with these type of themes, so in go a few.  Extra spirals.  Finally, I don’t want your eyes to stop moving, I want them to be moved around and around, here and there.  The music definitely is frantic and angry.  So I don’t know if they work, but black squares and extra ink were worked over the top in an effort to busy it up and keep you moving around the picture in a frantic way.   The last step was to blur up the exterior, mess it up, making the middle stand out at the same time.  But the technique to be used was the other reason for this.  Spraying water all over and around the edge was in effect washing the picture!  Ironically, the washing has the effect of making it messy, but that was the effect I was after, so…  

Now lets see if I can find an interesting version of the track somewhere!  How about this fan’s video for the song, not a remix though.

It is also here on ebay for $3!

When I first listened to the album in full, (to quickly jot down ideas for each song) I didn’t really have any images in my mind for this one, just wavy layered bands of colour.  Almost like a cloud.  As I sat down to do it however, it grew slightly and I couldn’t disassociate Mark Rothko form what I was imagining.  So the cloud of colour grew into separate bands of colour.  In fact I took a few days to eventually finish this one as I kept coming back to it and going over it again and again with a new layer of colour until I finally had the colours as right as I could get them.  It wasn’t until the very end that I added the orange outline.  In fact where I work I have a orange ‘feature wall’ (meaning it was painted a different colour than all the rest - not exactly what you would call a ’feature’ really.  A real feature wall would have all sorts of things, a built in library, climbing wall section, taps where cold drinks would come out of, a pet feeding station, a range of the latest magazines, your email, some sculptures … and so on).

So anyway, I realised the orange wall was actually working very well with the picture so I stuck it in there as well.

click the image to see it bigger

The other thing to note is this was probably the only song on the album which I left on repeat while doing the picture and I never felt the urge to stop it.  I try to do with all of the songs, but understandably they drive me nuts after about the 6th time round and I rip the ear phones out of my head moments before I loose my mind.  It never happend with this one!

So here it is anyway.  Hope you like it. 

And here it is on ebay as well.  This time starting at $3 since my listing fees are about that and the first couple of these sold for $1 only which means I’m about $2 behind.  I don’t mind giving them away, but I can’t afford to buy them away!!  Ok so this one didn’t sell either.  If you want it just drop me $20 and I’ll send it to you.

I’ve only got a few moments before this song stops playing.  Hmmm, to be honest, at this stage this song is not gelling well with where my mind is at right now.  But don’t worry, it was at the time I did the picture!  Right now though, it’s a Daft Punk song that is not really catching me with it’s hypnotic beats.  It’s probably even slightly annoying right now. 

Ahh the big gritty bass kicks in and saves it to some extent… yet again.  (Maybe it’s the gloss spray I’ve just used messin with my head giving me a headache?) 

I’ve found this remixed version Television Rules The Nation (Roccanova Remix)  Not much of remix really (Sorry Roccanova whoever you are?) much like the original, a bit faster, bigger beat with a couple extra bits.

Lyrics - “Television rules the nation”  Over and over.  In some ways that’s good for me, lets my mind wonder to imagine as freely as possible the images that go with this.  But all I could get stuck in my head was the view of back-of-heads and back of seats.  I was thinking of all the people that sit invisibly in the suburbs watching TV.  Again one of these things, if it were done in the open…  I mean if we had glass walls, and drove around the suburbs at night, it might be a bit disturbing to look into soo many homes and see sooo many people siting stationary looking at their lovely looking TV’s.  I imagine someone from another time would wonder if we all turn into zombies at night.  I guess people reading books look like zombies as well, maybe they would wonder when they started making books so large?

click to see it bigger!

So I put all those people into the same picture.  I didn’t really try to catch the scale of my thoughts, ie. millions of us sitting there (wasting time), I’ve got just a handful instead.  Then I stuck the TV at the top, I didn’t make it pretty since it’s better if an ugly TV rules the nation.  As I write this and look at the figure at the bottom, I realise that some extra thoughts were going through my mind when I actually did the picture.  The figure there as the human in need of help, but only we’re all looking the other way, looking at the TV and they get no help.  Sort of an obvious concept, but don’t you wonder, while we’re so busy watching TV, what aren’t we seeing right behind us that we ought to be doing instead?  So she’s there at the bottom representing that, the more needy things that are going unnoticed. (If you do in fact suspect you have a dying person behind your couch… please don’t hesitate in doing something about it!!) 

As usual it’s on eBay for a dollar!  Here…  and now it’s not.  Didn’t sell either!  A bit of a trend here.  So if you want it, $20 and it’s yours… just send me a message or whatever.