Quote for Today: The Sound of Electric Guitar

"There's only one thing better than the sound of an electric guitar, and that's the sound of two electric guitars." - Johnny Marr

Friday Five: New York Theme

Last weekend we were invited to a 40th birthday party. The theme was New York. We're not big fans of this penchant for fancy dress (I have a theory about it - and tattoos - which I won't expound as it will merely offend those friends who do like it - and tattoos) but we are fans of the birthday boy, so we went along as The Ramones.

This is partly because we like them and partly because we're lazy. It wasn't difficult to find leather jackets from the Salvation Army, dirty old jeans and fake converse shoes. We got a wig for Him Outdoors and I just didn't wash my hair for a week to get that lank and greasy look. No, you'll be pleased to hear, there are no photos.

His original idea was to go in a cardoard box with '3 o'clock x 3 o'clock; noon x noon' inscribed upon it. He was going to be Times Square. I wasn't keen on this plan, because I feared someone might introduce me as the square root. We also considered going as Occupy Wall Street protesters, but we don't know the other party guests and didn't want to risk political rants. Plus, it's difficult to drink with a dollar bill taped to your mouth - priorities, people!

Most of the men went as gangsters and most of the women went as molls. There were a lot of suits with fedoras and dresses with strappy heels. After that, these were the most popular outfits.

5 New York Dress Up Outfits:

1. Baseball/ basketball players/ fans (chucking on a Yankees cap requires minimum effort)
2. Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany's - people who had never even seen the film (let alone read the book) were sporting a little black dress, fake pearls and tiara, and an up-do
3. A couple came as Seinfeld characters, Christine and Kramer. Having never watched Seinfeld I thought they were Annie and a random homeless dude
4. The statue of liberty - long green bridesmaid's frock, foam headgear and a torch - sweet!
5. King Kong and Fae Wray - genius, if a trifle hot for the guy

My Newest Favourite Thing: Enlighten Canberra

You can tell this is my newest favourite thing because I took hundreds of photographs. I haven't put all of them here, but there are quite a lot.

I have mentioned before that I find Canberra's public buildings a bit dull and uniform. This, however, makes them ideal canvases for the festival 'Enlighten'. It lasts for a week and images are projected onto their surfaces to bring the buildings to life. The projection artists are Betty Holdsworth, David Sequeira, Eleanor Gates-Stuart, Martin Ollman, and Houl.

The images change every 30 seconds or so and last from when it gets dark until 11pm. We strolled around the parliamentary triangle on a balmy evening and were entertained and quite enlightened. First up, the National Library.

These images are among my favourites, with the pictures of Walter Burley and Marion Mahony Griffin alongside their designs for Australia's capital city and photographs of the realisation of these designs. Of course this is particularly apt as Canberra is busy celebrating its centenary.

The National Portrait Gallery also had some interesting artwork shape-shifting on its outer walls.

The National Gallery of Australia is currently showing an exhibition of works by Toulouse-Lautrec. During this week, many of those works are projected onto the front of the building and they look equally remarkable inside and out. They overwhelm in their entirety and stun in their detail.

Ain't that a kick in the head!

These images projected onto Old Parliament House are among my favourite. Surely the word 'enlighten' on a government body building is an audacious statement? The graffiti art is a bold move too.

My Dysfunctional Family!

And this is Questacon, the National Science and Technology Centre.