Cockatoo Island Outpost Exhibition

We have previously mentioned Cockatoo Island in one of our previous posts but this time we were headed over to the famous island for Exhibition Outpost. Outpost is an exhibition for local graffiti artists/urban art which transformed the industrial island into a large outdoor art gallery from November 4^th – December 11^th.

Most of the artist are relatively unknown in the main stream world with the exception of an artist called Banksy, who maintained underground status for years until exploding on the scene back in 2007 where Adam and I first saw one of his exhibitions in NYC.

Here are some great pictures of the day.

Keeping it Dry in July...

Last year we arrived in Australia in November, the month of Movember, if you remember. Well, looks like the Aussies have done it again. Dedicate a whole month to something, that is.

Here in Australia, July is referred to as “Dry July.” This is because during the month of July people commit not to drink alcohol for the entire month in order to raise money for people living with cancer. It was started back in 2008 with just over 1,000 participants and now in 2011 it attracts over 9,500 participants and has raised almost $3.5 million. Dry July is not only about not drinking alcohol, its about clearing your head and making a difference. Get healthy, challenge yourself, encourage positive change and a healthy attitude to alcohol consumption.


This initiative was a surprising discovery in a country that drinks heavily. One of our friends said to us shortly after moving to Australia, "Remember how much you drank junior year of college? The best part of Australia is you'll drink that much the rest of your life."

My co-worker, among many, has signed up and already begun raising money for a good cause.  After the work weeks we have been having I can only wish her the best of luck. You can see her profile here.

As I sit here on the airplane flying to L.A., we have decided not to participate this year since we are taking our first trip back to The United States together since moving here last November. We have lots of celebrating to do and thought maybe we could do dry August but it doesn’t have the same ring to it.

I love the idea of a whole country coming together with something fun to raise money for a charity. Is this something we could introduce back home? Anyone  interested?

Want some cheese with your wine?

What a great Saturday here in Sydney! Yesterday morning I started off my weekend swimming laps at Bondi Pool. It was so beautiful and everyone was out in full force. Adam eventually came to meet up and then we went to the beach to lay out for a bit. Ahhhhh!

After the beach we met up with a couple friends, Charles and Steve, at Hyde Park where the NSW Wine Festival was being held. It's 2 days of tasting wines and eating food from various wineries around NSW. Adam and I each bought a $5 glass and then five $4 tickets. Each ticket got you a 60 ml tasting from any of the many booths, but most booths also offered two 30 ml tastings.

We ended up tasting wine from Canberra, Hunter, Mudgee, Southern Highlands, Shoalhaven and Cowra region. Some were better than others. My favorite was the Semillon from Hunter and my least favorite was the Shiraz from Canberra (it tasted like pepper).

The event started to wrap up at 6pm so we headed to dinner followed by a cool party in Darlinghurst. Happy Saturday!

TROPFEST 2011

Just last night we went to the annual Tropfest Short Film Festival here in Sydney.  Turns out its the largest short film festival in the world and other than Sydney it is held in only ONE other place... New York City!! (yeah baby yeah!)

With thousands of films submitted only 16 were chosen to exhibit at the festival last night. Held in The Domain, we headed over with chairs, blanket, food and wine in hand to claim our turf. We arrived around 5pm and friends trickled in over the next couple hours. The show began at 8pm and wrapped up around 11pm. Here are some pictures from the event.

Some films were better than others but all were quite entertaining for one reason or another. My personal favorite ended up being the winner. It's called Animal Beatbox and I am sure you will enjoy it as well. Check it out but please note you might be chanting the words for the rest of your day.

Dogs and Cats and Dogs and Cats and Dogs and Cats and Dogs and Cats

Sydney Flugtag

If I told you to get a few friends together and spend every waking moment you're not in work building a flying contraption, and then I told you to chuck it off a building and throw yourself off after it, you'd probably say that's not a very good idea.

In fact this idea is so good it has been institutionalized by the fine folks over at Red Bull, who have been hosting Flugtag, an annual celebration of building shit that won't fly, since 1991. The first was held in Vienna, Austria and it changes location every year. It just happened to be taking place in Sydney a week after we landed.

The rules are simple: Anyone can enter. The contraption cannot be motor powered. It must meet size and weight limits determined by each location. There can only be one pilot and three crew. You must launch your machine off of a 30 foot high tower into some body of water, which in our case was the Sydney harbor. It must float. It helps to drink heavily prior to your turn.

Entrants are judged based on distance they fly, creativity, and showmanship. Most people worked the "creativity" angle and entered things that ignored basic laws of aerodynamics, such as "Don't make it shaped like a pint of beer" and "Don't make it shaped like a pirate ship."

The team that won for distance did decide to follow these rules, but they also had an unfair advantage: they were all students at an aeronautical college.... We only got a few photos because it was so packed, but you can check 'em out below.