If you are travelling into the city on a Sunday and if you are looking for something interesting to do, make sure you check out the Domain philosophers.

Perched atop of fruit and cardboard boxes at the top of the Domain Park across from the Art Gallery of New South Wales, these Philosophers  are willing to impart their knowledge to whomever is willing to listen.

Broken into two sides, seemingly right and left wing, by the footpath that runs through them, these men (yes, there are no ladies here) seem to never tire of hearing their own voices.

The divide between the two groups reminds me of Israel and Palestine, as on one side you have the right wing self proclaimed “Domain Philosopher” who is quick to rattle off random facts about Aristocracy, Newtons Theory of Relativity (I tried to ask him if he meant Matthew Newtons role in Underbelly, but he wasn’t having a bar of it) and to why the private school system is the only system that people can learn from.

On the other side of the walkway, you have the resident Science Guru who claims he has invented a language that is far superior to anything else currently being used and that Alien life-forces regularly visit him, and a group of fervently religious fellows, one of whom who asks the question did god cause the bushfires? I didn’t get a chance to ask him, because I wasn’t game to go near him seeing he has a green rope cordoning off his workspace on the grass. Who knows what magic might happen if you step inside it, or maybe it’s a safeguard for the public as it stops one from being sprayed with saliva from his sermons.

One could spend hours here just listening to or arguing with these men, as they never seem to skip a beat. Why not have a look see, and if you get bored you can always go and take a visit to the art gallery.

Article by Daine Nagas

As the West is bracing for a recession in response to the credit crunch, the superstitious market gurus are looking to fashion fables as indicators of the uncertain future.

(more…)

I’m sure almost all of you would be on a mailing list of some sort, it’s unavoidable these days. It is the no-brainer PR tool of our era. When most people spend their working day sending and receiving, the easiest way for websites to target their market directly by getting you when you’re guard is down at the counter of your favourite store or at the door of a nightclub. It seems harmless enough at the time to scribble down your email address, but in fact you are soliciting a potential floodgate.Here in Australia, we have a adopted a law based on an American model.

The Spam Act of 2003 states that companies or websites using mailing lists are obliged to address specifics such as: –

- Consent – must obtain proof of consent to contact the recipient

- Identify – include accurate information to identify the website/organisation as the authorised sender of the message in the email

- Unsubscribe – email messages must have a functional unsubscribe facility allowing recipients to permanently opt out of the list at any time.

Now, as long as I can easily unsubscribe at any time I have no issue being signed up to a mailing list. What really is annoying is when you have no way to unsubscribe or the mailing list breaks and then all sort of nonsense happens. This was the case last week with a mailing list for a methodical NY Street label. Their email list broke and all of a sudden every reply back was sent to everyone on the mailing list so it has become one big email orgy and so far it hasn’t occurred to anyone controlling it to shut it off.

I have had the pleasure of experiencing this in the past when the sender was too cheap to use a third party web based emailer for sending out e-flyers. The result is a million people asking to be unsubscribed and telling everyone else not to reply all.

I suppose these things happen, but there are A LOT of Australian small businesses and designers who fall into the same trap out of ignorance. This may well be a cheaper option, but you run the risk of breaking the law (OK, so who cares?) or alienating the exact people you are trying to win over which is far worse a crime!

- David Goldberg – article provided by Design Federation

Morris Dilemma, how the mighty have fallen.

The Pope comes to Sydney and the NSW Government (look for votes) decide to create a “New regulation giving police and emergency service workers the power to stop behaviour that causes annoyance or inconvenience to participants in a World Youth Day event,” according to a New South Wales state government publication. Anyone who does not comply could face a $5,300 fine.

“Wearing an anti-Catholic t-shirt, handing out condoms and even riding a skateboard could incur the penalty.”

Anyone in Sydney who has been to the art gallery knows that The Domain is a haven for young skaters getting their jump on, and this also happens to be right near St Mary’s Cathedral, which will be one of the centre points of the celebrations for World Youth Day.

Imagine riding a skateboard through The Domain, wearing a silly t-shirt, carrying The God Delusion under one arm and a condom in your pocket. I mean, isn’t that what most kids of today do anyhow (besides The God Delusion maybe, swap that for a Ralph mag or something and it’s pretty close I would say)?

So what does that mean for the majority of us? It means we can’t wear whatever the f*ck we like because we may cop a hefty fine.

Nice one Morris.

-David Goldberg.

We wanted to touch base with you all & keep you up to date on the latest at Two Flat Whites. We have been fortunate to have so many wonderful writers write an article or two for the site. If you want to check out the articles written by our network of Australian writers then just check out the “mindless banter” section on Two Flat Whites.

Two Flat Whites now has over 120,000 readers every month & this is growing at a rapid rate. We have had lots of feedback from many regular readers commenting on the articles written by you. This part of the website is proving to be a winner for all our readers.

We would love for you all to consider writing an article or two or become a regular contributor to the site. It’s very easy to submit the article, just email through your article in a word document (attaching a photo if you wish, but not necessary), 3-4 paragraphs in length & we will post it on Two Flat Whites for all to view. We will make special mention of the author. This is a wonderful chance for young emerging writers or established writers to continue to showcase your work!

Our network focuses on:-

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We would be happy to receive an article on just about any topic including but not limited too: -

· News/ current events of today
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Discovering, promoting & nurturing Australian talent!

In almost every suburb there is at least one hair dressing salon or barber, because lets face it, nearly every one has hair that needs an occasional cut. People may have grown up with their hairdresser or they may even cut their own hair, but finding a decent hair dresser isn’t as easy as it would seem.

Having been told about Obcest Hair Artists from a friend I decided to go and check them out to see what all the fuss was about. Located in Guildford & run by raving Manly fan Nabil Laoulach, Obcest Hair Artists is the perfect place to get your hair cut. They offer the complete service for women from cuts, blow-dries, perms, dyes, etc but the added benefit for us blokes is that Nabil is a guy who loves his footy as much as he loves cutting hair.

Usually I sat bored or made idle chit chat with previous barbers I have had and never look forward to the experience at all, as appose to a lot of women who love spending 1hr in a salon getting the works. But that has all changed for me since going to Obcest Hair because now I get a fantastic haircut and also a good yarn. Even though I hate the Manly team with a passion, I could almost have a soft spot for them after getting my hair cut from Nabil – ok, maybe not!

Obcest Hair Artists (OHA)
121 Military Road, Guildford.
Ph: 02 9632 6444

- Liam Gibbs

Two Flat Whites celebrates its first birthday this month! Many of our friends have got behind us & have donated prizes for our ‘Mega Month of May Giveaways’. Over the month of May, starting this weekend, we will have lots of prizes to giveaway to our loyal Two Flat Whites readers. So watch this space!

‘Two Flat Whites’ is a network for Fashion, Design, Music, Art, Film, Food, Lifestyle, the Community, Writing and Small Business. Our network focuses on upcoming events and hard hitting interviews.

If you would like to be interviewed, further showcase your work or advise us of an upcoming event, we’ll help you get the word out there! With over 100,000 visitors every month this is the place to be – why not join the revolution!

We also have writing opportunities on the site. Anything from fashion, design, music, entertainment, politics, food, film, news of the day & just about anything in between! So if you would like to write an article, shoot us an email. You will find the details at Two Flat Whites.

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Happy Birthday Two Flat Whites!

Two Flat Whites – Discovering, promoting & nurturing Australian talent!

Is it best to be a dreamer or is it best to be a doer? Actually, it is helpful to be both.

In all great creations, the idealistic exists with the pragmatic in elegant proportions. A dream is of little value unless you put action into it, and action won’t get you very far unless there is meaningful purpose behind it.
Allow yourself to dream grand, magnificent dreams that express the deepest essence of who you are. Then let those dreams pull you steadily through the practical, nuts-and-bolts work of making them real.

Work through each day with diligence and persistence, doing what there is to be done. And as you do, stay close to the dreamer that always lives within you. As a dreamer, you can envision a world and a life with no limits. As a doer, you can focus on something that has never existed before and make it real.

Let your most treasured dreams focus your actions and let your actions express your dreams. Be both a dreamer and a doer, and dive deeply into the multifaceted treasure that is your life. Have your say by submitting a comment or emailing Two Flat Whites.

Now, I am yet to see a proper news article on this written by reputable news outlet, but this is the internet so anything can be seen as real.

So the story is this. A man named Guillermo Habacuc Vargas, allegedly exists, and allegedly did an art installation where he tied up a stray dog as Art and it died. What his alleged point was, is that there are thousands of dogs around Costa Rica dying every day and nobody cares.

Now first off, I am a dog lover, I have a dog, and it’s like a best friend.
So I should be appalled and shocked at this. I should call for this man to be murdered the same way that poor dog died. I should help organise a lynch mob to hunt this evil demon down and string him up.

In the event that this story is true, I will raise my hand and say yes I think it is awful, it was cruel like life is, and that the dog was poor and defenceless and the man had no right to torture it for arts sake, I will raise my hand and say, this is not art. Guillermo Habacuc Vargas could have taken photos of stray dogs, he could have filmed them, and he could have done all sorts of other things that would have conveyed the same message without degrading the living and the dying.

But will you raise your hands and say, people die in Iraq everyday for a war on oil, or hundreds of people die making the shoes you wear, the gold around your neck or coffee you drink, yet you are more likely to get upset and outraged about a stray dog dying in a gallery.

We consumers are as much to blame about this as this alleged artist is. Check out the full article here.

- Written by David Goldberg.

I have always questioned the need for shocking imagery in art. What drives an artist to create works that have no purpose other than to shock? In addition to being offensive, a lot of this work is awfully crafted – badly photographed (with too many light room effects) poorly drawn or painted, montage images which seem to be always smeared onto cheap canvas, or big ugly “statues”.

What leads someone to create these works?

Perhaps the artist is not very skilled, and he or she requires a way to stand out from the crowd, Or the artist is lazy and not willing to put time and energy into something of value,So this leads these types of artists to reach for lowest common denominator. SEX

Just because something sells for a million dollars, doesn’t mean that its any good, for example, look no further than Jeff Koons, he sells like nothing else, but is a cheesy grinned ‘artist’ who produces rubbish. Just look at his ‘Made in Heaven’ series, which is nothing more than bad porn. OMG, Jeff, your art is so shocking and fascinating, its amazing! Please, can you tell us how to take photos of our members entering a porn stars arse?!?!

(a Jim Klutz super original)

Blatantly sexual art for no other reason than to shock just reeks of I want my 15 seconds of fame and I’ll do a Brittany Spears if I need to. Shock art – or pornography art, is not art – it is merely generic, pointless shit which serves only to reinforce the naivety and laziness of the ‘artist’.

Art worth looking at should take time and energy to create.