Loving Hating

There are some seriously hideous clothes out there. Some clothing styles, I'm convinced, are made and worn simply to be hated by others. There can be no other explanation. Surely. Like gladiator sandals, and jumpsuits, and gypsy pants and those horrendous MC Hammer pantaloons that made fashion-conscious people the world over faint out of disbelief.

Why on earth are people wearing these items? It's all well and good to wear such things to a dress up party, particularly if that party is themed with something along the lines of "I can't believe you wore that hideous piece of crap!" But why am I seeing such items out and about in the general public. They're at large and it's our responsibility to do something about it.

Get on it. Hammer-time!

Teevee Taught

Recently I've been looking into a film comparison of the original and the Tim Burton remake of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and I've been looking at it from the angle of a horror film rather than a children's movie. It's creepy. Really creepy. In the first movie you never see the children or their guardians again after they are sucked, dragged, zapped and poked into dangerous machinery and/or incinerators. Fun.

And with my intense viewing of the movies I have come to my overall favourite. Mike Teevee. He is rude, obnoxious, brilliantly clever and just a little bit plastic. Go and watch the more recent version of the movie and pay special attention to the words in the song that is enthusiastically performed by oompa-loompas. It's cutting. Chop chop.

Hideously Lovely

These chairs are just awful. So much so that I want one. Just a few gaudy tea-towels, a little Bernina action and hey presto! You've got yourself one horrendous heirloom. Get comfy.

Summer Love

The other day I strolled into Elwood, a store that I've for some reason never been all that interested in. That's all changed. And I love their website. But not as much as I'm loving the clothes I bought.

As my friends will know I've started a 3-times-a-week personal training program and as such I've decided that I'm allowed to start wearing tank tops - something I've never really allowed myself to wear for fear of looking skinny and silly like a popsicle stick with a wrapper blowing about it. But that's all changed, and Elwood's tanks fit wonderfully. Check the entire store out here.

Awesomeness

Are you what is generally described as 'awesome' by the people in your life, (that includes the man at the service station that always compliments you on your hair)? Really? Well there's a lot more to being awesome than you may think.

Being awesome requires skills developed over time, scale and complexity. This sounds rather in depth does it not? Well if you feel like fine-tuning your own awesomeness or simply just finding out a bit about the history and grassroots of awesomeness that you've so well implemented in your own life, check out A New Theory of Awesomeness and Miracles which attempts to explain the unexplainable through inspirational quotes, carefully selected pages from books and a green felt tip pen. I enjoyed it. I think I even improved my level of awesome. Perhaps.

Enjoy.

Deer Me

This is really strange. Dillie is a deer pet. A house-trained deer that makes everyone in the Butera household awfully cheery, Dillie has apparently become quite comfortable under a tiled roof. She's more than conquered the bed and seems to have made friends with an over-sized black poodle. Really. Check it all out here. And go and befriend a wild animal, tame it, and feed it Cheezels. And maybe even let it sleep on the end of your bed.

Now On Facebook

Curiouser Than Usual now has an official page on Facebook so if you're online and you're a fan of the page click 'like' on this link.

Children Colliding

Children Collide, if you haven't heard, are a very cool Australian rock band that you can punch-dance to in your attic. The other day a friend of mine told me that Children Collide were making a film clip in Melbourne and that they were asking fans to be in it.

I was in it.

Here are a few shots from behind the scenes of the shooting of My Eagle's film clip which you can also watch by clicking just here.

Behind The Seen

You know those great moments when you're checking out a magazine website and then, before you realise it, you see yourself staring back at you from the corner of a photo you didn't know was taken? Well I did just the other day. You can check it out yourself here. It was when I was on the Darwin Deez shoot for SPOOK Magazine. Although I look a bit creepy in the background of a few of them, please ignore that. I'm sure it was just creative concentration. Let's just say it was.

Springtime Garden Party For 1

Last weekend it was stunning weather, 26 and sunny all day. I got my banana lounge out and read some more Tender is the Night with a huge bottle of Evian and Kitty Daisy & Lewis on the iPod. So good. Here's a few images I took with the old iPhone, and with a little help from my Lo-Mob app I downloaded a while ago I've made them just a little bit vintage. Springtime is garden time so go get out there. A Long Island Iced Tea wouldn't hurt either.

Oot-Fray Oops-Lay

The adorable Toucan Sam was born in 1963 and has been giving children early morning sugar highs ever since. Well, not just children. Adults too. Like me. I actually treat myself to a box of this totally unnaturally fruity cereal every holidays. It's fun and makes me feel just a little bit naughty. My secret is having it with apple juice not milk - a much better combination. I'm sure you'd agree. Treat your inner child to a big of colourful sugary mischief. Yum.

Record Collection

I've found a fun album that rings true to both my secret love of 1950s one hit wonders and the new electro synth noise I keep hearing on the radio. It's Mark Ronson's new album Record Collection and it's a little bit brilliant. I especially like 'Introducing The Business', 'The Bike Song' and 'The Night Last Night'. That last song reminds me of Panic! At The Disco's album Pretty. Odd. which is also a fun take on rockabilly twang and folk beats. Get listening and get grooving. In front of the bathroom mirror. With a hairbrush for a microphone. Or even just in line at the 12 items or less section of your local supermarket. Do it.

Two Dimensional Fun

There's nothing better than fun in the sun and this 4x4 inch print is titled just that, 'Fun in the Sun'. I found it on Etsy and it's by elgoboart. There's plenty more where that came from so check out their store here. But there's plenty of fun to be had in the sun so I best be heading out onto my deck to sip a Long Island Iced Tea on a banana-lounge before the weather changes.

Salmon on Toast

I've decided salmon (and salmon-like colours) are making a comeback. I still have a watermelon shirt from a few years ago and I think it might be time to bring it back. Perhaps with a little pale blue and tanned leather? The outfits shown here are from Spurr and the rest of the Spring 2010 collection is certainly worth a look, even if only to help you put a few already existing pieces of clothing lurking in your wardrobe into some smart combinations. Have fun. Think salmon.

Happiness

This works. Happiness depends on your outlook and it often comes to whether you want to be happy or not. This is of course over-simplified and doesn't apply to everyone for whatever reason, but I thought it shows that happiness does require effort on your part if it's going to be a part of your outlook.

What do you think? Are you happy? If not, change something. Help someone with their shopping, start jogging regularly, get a new book to read, sit in the sun everyday, drink more water, write a book, begin a diary, eat better, join a sporting team, get a massage, or make a blog. Plenty of things to change if you feel like a little happiness-perk. Just in time for summer too. Get happy!

Monster Children

Do you like skateboards for the simple fact that they look like fun and have great graphic work, although you can't actually ride one? Do you like to drink Corona beer when you want to feel like you're sitting on a middle-american beach under a palm? Do you wish you could surf? Do you have a secret obsession with Skate3 on Xbox and then tell all of your friends you're learning to actually skate? I do. And I thus love Monster Children. And thus I just bought the newest edition and I'm loving every cutting-edge page.

In this edition (No. 28) you'll find out what's in Ari Marcopoulis' bag, the ten things that Taylor Steele hates, all about shark hunting in the North Atlantic, a bit about The Crocodiles music life, and lots of other fun and alternative tidbits. Go out and grab yourself a copy and check out the website while you're there.

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Booty Juggler

In the many misspent hours of my university lectures I discovered something that is so fun and so pirate-related I want to quit my real job and join a crew of dastardly seafaring men and plunder gold-carrying trade ships and set up a comfortable island cove hut of my very own every time I play.

It's called Booty Juggler and it is just that. You are an octopus and your job is to juggle the various "booty" that fall from the salty sky: a pistol, a dead fish, a treasure map, a telescope, etc. Get juggling now and start enjoying the watery fun.

Get Your Glasses On

Photo: Compliments Sam Clements

I'm introducing you to the sunglasses and eyewear of spring (southern hemisphere), which will become the ones you will want to buy. I have a weakness for luxury items and my growing sunglasses collection is certainly not in anyway immune to this.

Think round. If you don't trust me go and ask Tom Ford. He'll tell you. The rounder the better. Plus the next time someone says, "Will you just have a look round for me darling" you'll say, "Sure thing sweets, I already am!"

It's not just the completely round frames either, you can just have a hint o' roundness. Feel free to angle-grinder the un-rounded corners of your current sunglasses down until you're satisfied. If not, check out Tom Ford's current line here.

Pastel Country.

Nancy Cawdrey is no relation to Nancy Drew unfortunately but she is an artist, and a very good one at that. My personal favourite is her pastel rendition of a group of eucalyptus trees. It's both emotive and reflective, and carries with it an air of pastoral warmth. Enjoy her other art here.

Know It All

After I splurged on the not-so-necessary-but-really-fun-to-wear-around-the-place Native American feather headdress on eBay the other day I started to look around for something else to buy, maybe something a little more sensible? Something that'll make me smarter?

And there it was on Etsy: the No. 2 Know It All Pencil Set. At only $11.00 USD it was a steal and it was lvingly posted all the way from sunny Los Angeles. Now I know all sorts of things.

Simple Imagery

On my happy wandering of the wonderful world of the internet I discovered a blog I think you all need to have a gander of. It's called Simple Observations and it's just that, simple observations of things you'd miss if you didn't have an eye for detail.

As you all know this blog is devoted to all things curious and some of these photos are just that. They're bright, quirky, and have odd yet endearing subject matter. Go and check it out here and start seeing the unnoticeable.

Roll Up

Your pants. Are they to the floor? Are they touching your shoes? Oh dear. How very last season of you. It's all about rolled up pants at the moment my fellow so reach down and roll one up. Maybe even both would be a good idea.

It's very Preppy. It's even more comfortable. No longer will your poor legs become stifled, they instead will have a gentle breeze envelop their ankles at all times. How nice. Get ready for summer and roll up, roll up! If you don't believe me, check it out here.

Learn To Be Oh So Preppy

Just the other day I was with two delightful friends of mine and we had just descended from Rooftop Bar which is right at the top of Curtain House on Swanston St. in Melbourne and on the way down we came across a curious little bookshop.

I'm a book hoarder and I read voraciously so I thought a look in there would be perfect. Well, I found a book I just had to have. It's called 'True Prep' by Lisa Birnbach and Chip Kidd and it is now my complete guide to being one well dressed and ultra-Preppy individual; even if I wasn't born into the Updike family.

It shows the reader how to select loafers, what to wear on casual fridays at work, how to interact with various family members, what to make of you're invited to a fabulous garden party, and a do-it-yourself eulogy kit. Yes this is one of those cradle-to-the-grave books you simply must have. They even have a website. Have a look here.

It'll make you fabulous.

Favourite Collections

I have this innate sense of collecting things. I like lots of different styles and eras and I occasionally come across something I think "will do perfectly" and I get it, take it home, and never see it again. Well, that's not entirely true. It sits there and will occasionally get the spotlight of a prominent bookcase shelf or desk corner, but it's really hard to display these little collections without turning your space into a regular secondhand garage-sale antique junkyard. But I found someone who has conquered the problem. With a blog.

Lisa Congdon, a delightful lady who lives in sunny San Francisco, has developed a blog called A Collection A Day where she photographs or illustrates a collection of her favourite collections once per day, 365 days for all of 2010. I love this idea, although I'm not sure I've got quite enough collections for that. But it's a great blog, one I know you'll love.

So go have a look and make a collection of something in your room. It's addictive.

Shooting Darwin Deez

SPOOK Magazine recently ran a competition in which readers could submit a design concept for a photo shoot with Darwin Deez. I'm already a huge fan of the band and Darwin himself and it was my pleasure to be asked by the magazine to come on the day and assist the process.

The shoot will be in the next edition of SPOOK, which will be out later this month and I can't wait to see them. But for all of my wonderful curiouserthanusual readers here's a sneak-peek into what you can expect and a little behind-the-scenes shots. Enjoy.

This is Darwin and I. Yes. I'm actually there.