The Dust Palace is home to Sam Hamilton and Eve Gordon, experimental film and music artists who've performed and been based in Brisbane and Auckland. The site highlights their past and future projects and festival works.

http://www.thedustpalace.co.nz

Cross St Studios is an artist-run space, organized by young artists. It acts as a hub for networking as to nurture an emerging artist community. Cross St Studios will function as a platform for encouraging professional practices. It is an incubator for ideas that can be easily generated, executed and exhibited. Our emphasis is on creating the freedom to experiment with unconventional ideas and presenting them to a public audience.

http://www.crossstreetstudios.com

The necks workshop / solo performances

The Necks FREE workshop and solo performances.

This Thursday the 28th of February Chris Abraham, Tony Buck, and Lloyd Swanton from Australian group, The Necks will host a workshop presented by vitamin s in association with alt music and the audio foundation.

The workshop will begin at 7 p.m. at the silo theatre, - (lower Greys Ave - Auckland city(and yes, the Bar will be open)) - and following the workshop Chris, Tony, and Lloyd will perform a number of solos.

This is a great opportunity to get an insight into the process of improvisation and performance both as a collective and as individuals.

The format for the vitamin s workshops offers all those who attend the chance not only benefit from the host's presentation, but also have the chance to play, interact, discuss and get feedback drawing from their knowledge and experience. These workshops are very much a dialogue between all those who attend.

I was checking out the NZ Audio Foundation website again today and came across a link from an email on the AF-l about funding from Damian from Frey. it's an interesting argument. I think Australia is similar to New Zealand in this way, but also at a glance I think New Zealanders have the creative support advantage over the Australians, or so it seemed to me at least, as they have MANY! support organisations helping the artists. will have to do some more research to see if my assumptions are founded.

For those of you in Auckland over this weekend

As part of the Cross St Carnival
http://www.crossstreetcarnival.com/

The Audio Foundation presents the first AF CD Shop!
complete with badges...

We are selling on behalf and all profits will of course go back to the artists.

In stock we have:

* Lovely Midget
* Sci Hi and Audible 3
* PseudoArcana artists
* Alastair Galbraith
* CMR artists - including Richard Francis latest work
* CLaudia artists
* Nigel Wright
* Rosy Parlane
* Pumice
* Adam Willets
* Crude
* Agitated Radio Pilot
* Spacething stock

today's drive from Auckland to Shelley Beach, South Head, and my favourite, Bethells Beach, then back through the Waitakere ranges. 13/05/2007, Auckland, New Zealand

gps / kmz tracks from google earth attached

I can't stop buying books. I really need to but just haven't been able to manage it. I forgot to bring my library card to Auckland and Parsons Books was having a sale so I couldn't resist. last time I bought a book there it cost $150 - this time I bought 4 books for less than $150 so, at least I'm getting better value for money now. I'll probably be hit with excess baggage costs though...

Nam June Paik: Global Groove 2004
- this is a great collection of Nam June Paik's works and writings and includes some letters to John Cage.

did I mention that Brisbane's new GOMA - Gallery of Modern Art, has one of his video pieces "TV Cello" on display.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/aliak_com/tags/namjunepaik/

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Relational Aesthetics by Nicolas Bourriaud

- I haven't started this one properly yet, but it looks like it'll be an interesting essay. it's based on a collection of editorial entries from "Documents sur l'Art" magazine that were first published in 1992.

amazon.com book page

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"How to look at a painting" by Justin Paton

- Justin Paton is speaking at the upcoming Auckland Writers and Readers Festival, and he's a NZ author so I thought I'd give it a try. I haven't started it yet though.

amazon.com page

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Dark Fiber: Tracking Critical Internet Culture (Electronic Culture: History, Theory, and Practice) by Geert Lovink
- I've read many of Geert Lovink's writings on various maillists and website publications such as Sarai Reader so I thought I'd take a read of his book on Internet Culture.

amazon.com book page

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The Bone People by Keri Hume
- this wasn't from Parsons but I bought it last time I left Auckland and read most on the plane back to Sydney then finished it whilst I was there. amazing characters - they haunt you for a while afterwards. I still think of them now and then. a really simple story, about the lives of a couple of families in NZ. Keri Hume won the Booker Prize for this book in the early 90s and since I tend to enjoy reading Booker Prize winning books I thought I'd try an earlier one as I've mostly only read more recent winning titles. well worth the read!

amazon.com book page (though my copy has a different cover image so is probably a different edition)

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this one's a magazine, but it was priced like a book and has been capturing my attention as much as a book, so..

Archis VOLUME magazine - Issue 2006 # 4
- it's an architecture magazine but includes articles about projects & urban issues from around the world as well as upcoming conferences and calls for works / request for comments about certain global issues.

http://www.archis.org/

http://www.c-lab.columbia.edu/

amazon page

Auckland Festival '07 - 9-25th March 2007
http://www.aucklandfestival.co.nz/

Auckland drive to Bethells Beach

gps data - saved 22 March 2006

Auckland, New Zealand 04/12/2005 - needs adjustment!

click here or on the image to play the quicktime movie

Robin Fox performed live @ Artspace in Auckland on 18/02/2006.

this is a recording in three parts of his performance

http://www.aliak.com/node/2227 has some other documentation of the night

http://www.audiofoundation.org.nz

click here or on the image to play the quicktime movie

here's a slideshow video of a trip to Bethells Beach, not far from Auckland, New Zealand. 19/02/2006.

it's my favourite Auckland beach - dark, volcanic sand that sparkles in the sun. it's one of those raw untouched beaches where the sand dunes are still untouched, though erosion has started on them. like the beaches in QLD when we used to go as kids.

music is "Relaxin' with Cherry" by Kid Loco

click here or on the image to play the quicktime movie

mhfs, Sean Kerr, Robin Fox performed live @ Artspace in Auckland on 18/02/2006.

this is a slideshow video of some photos taken on the night

http://www.aliak.com/node/2227 has some other documentation of the night

http://www.audiofoundation.org.nz/

music in the video is "Reel Life" by Cinematic Orchestra

Groove Guide is a free mini-mag / street press in New Zealand.

Published by Real Groovy Promotions
PO Box 91285
Auckland

Listing enquiries :
Gemma Dickinson
info@grooveguide.co.nz

Editor / Designer :

Plains performance at the wine cellar, Auckland, 04/03/2006

click on the image to goto the video player page

Plains performance at the wine cellar, Auckland, 04/03/2006

Plains performance @ the wine cellar, 04/03/2006 - 4 of 6

click on the image to goto the video player page

Plains performance at the wine cellar, Auckland 04/03/2006 - part 3 of 6

click on the image to goto the video player page

Plains performance at the wine cellar, Auckland 04/03/2006 - part 3 of 6

Plains performance at the wine cellar, Auckland 04/03/2006 - part 2 of 6

click on the image to goto the video player page

Plains performance at the wine cellar, Auckland 04/03/2006

click on the image to goto the video player page