I tweet! @chelsea_hunter Tumblr (3.0; @chelseawrites)http://chelseahunter.com/The time is nigh… Now that the basil is coming good I plan on serving these with the...http://chelseahunter.com/post/241943042http://chelseahunter.com/post/241943042Fri, 13 Nov 2009 10:47:00 +1100<object width="400" height="336"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/-J4GPnmYy_0&rel=0&egm=0&showinfo=0&fs=1"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/-J4GPnmYy_0&rel=0&egm=0&showinfo=0&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="400" height="336" allowFullScreen="true" wmode="transparent"></embed></object><br/><br/><p>The year Ryan Adams released <i>Gold</i>, was the year my musical taste changed direction quite dramatically. I embraced alt.country with fevour and thought I’d be a Ryan Adams devotee for life. After <i>Love is Hel</i><i>l</i> parts 1 &2, however, I stopped listening to him. His record-releasing binge wasn’t always about quality output and rather than spend time sifting through all the tracks, panning for the gold, as it were, I just moved on.</p> <p>I caught this BBC session by chance on ABC2, however, and I think I may have returned to the fold. Ryan Adams + Cardinals = strike it rich!*</p> <p>*I may have been watching a lot of Deadwood recently.</p>http://chelseahunter.com/post/236749812http://chelseahunter.com/post/236749812Sun, 08 Nov 2009 17:52:52 +1100I’ve only grown one strawberry so far (despite having two plants), but I think number two may...http://chelseahunter.com/post/222610750http://chelseahunter.com/post/222610750Sun, 25 Oct 2009 19:14:07 +1100“I went on what the movie advertisements refer to as a roaring rampage of revenge. I roared....http://chelseahunter.com/post/222608441http://chelseahunter.com/post/222608441Sun, 25 Oct 2009 19:09:26 +1100The first bunch of cherry tomatoes are growing to an impressive size. Just wish they’d ripen...http://chelseahunter.com/post/222604405http://chelseahunter.com/post/222604405Sun, 25 Oct 2009 19:01:26 +1100Welcome, darling little berry. You are undoubtedly the world’s ugliest, loveliest strawberry...http://chelseahunter.com/post/207303081http://chelseahunter.com/post/207303081Thu, 08 Oct 2009 15:52:00 +1100The acreageThe first signs of success … and of a summer that will probably be remembered for its bounty...http://chelseahunter.com/post/204029061http://chelseahunter.com/post/204029061Sun, 04 Oct 2009 18:29:45 +1100<object width="400" height="336"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/VuCF0Y0TfCg&rel=0&egm=0&showinfo=0&fs=1"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/VuCF0Y0TfCg&rel=0&egm=0&showinfo=0&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="400" height="336" allowFullScreen="true" wmode="transparent"></embed></object><br/><br/><p>Jarvis Cocker - Songbook</p> <p>Curled up on the couch this morning with fruit toast and a cup of tea, Organic Gardening book in my lap, rain sprinkling outside - conditions could not have been more perfect to watch Jarvis Cocker talking about the process of songwriting.</p> <p>I know it’s not very rock’n’roll, but Jarvis and English Breakfast just seem to go together.</p> <p>I particularly liked what he had to say about songwriting at the end: “I think the beauty of songwriting is the fact that if you are prepared to throw yourself into it, any human being could do that. And that’s what I appreciate when I listen to songs; that another human being did that thing, and it came from nothing. One minute they were sitting in the living room having a cup of coffee and the next minute they picked up a guitar and they wrote something where there was nothing before. That’s kind of a miraculous event to me. That’s what keeps me doing it because it’s nice to have little miraculous events in your life, innit?”</p> <p>It reminded me of what Elizabeth Gilbert had to say about creativity in her TED talk, that it doesn’t help to think of people possessing creative genius, but rather that “creativity” or “genius” it something outside all of us, accessible by all of us. What it takes to link up with it, though, is hard work, or, as she put it, turning up. Keep turning up at your desk and writing your words, painting your pictures or whatever and your genius is likely to turn up as well and together you can create a little “miraculous event”.</p> <p>Ahh Jarvis, bless. Such a lovely way to look at creativity.</p>http://chelseahunter.com/post/203017728http://chelseahunter.com/post/203017728Sat, 03 Oct 2009 12:06:59 +1000Saturday Morning Video I’m drinking 14-year-old Krug while wearing trackie pants … ‘cause that’s...http://chelseahunter.com/post/198188555http://chelseahunter.com/post/198188555Sun, 27 Sep 2009 19:43:00 +1000 You know you’re in for a ride when the book you’re reading opens the second chapter with this...http://chelseahunter.com/post/198167329http://chelseahunter.com/post/198167329Sun, 27 Sep 2009 18:57:18 +1000Book report<object width="400" height="336"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/Tj_Nlm0871E&rel=0&egm=0&showinfo=0&fs=1"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/Tj_Nlm0871E&rel=0&egm=0&showinfo=0&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="400" height="336" allowFullScreen="true" wmode="transparent"></embed></object><br/><br/><p>I guess I can see why Empire of the Sun are often described as “Australian weird pop duo”, but it strikes me as being lazy, uninspired journalism to fall back on such a phrase. I remember seeing their video for Walking on a Dream a few months ago, alongside Sarah Blasko’s <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QX1RgyCl1Xs" target="_blank">All I Want</a> and another Australian group’s latest video (it’s bugging me that I can’t remember what it was) and thinking, “Fantastic! Australia’s creative future is safe.”</p> <p>The video clips were unique, had a strong vision, were put together in an incredibly polished way (which is not always the case as Oz music vid budgets aren’t often impressive), employed imaginative visual and narrative themes (Hungarian gypsy, anyone?) and were captivating to watch. It got me so excited that there was a section of the Australian music community who were doing their own thing and, more to the point, were doing it well and were being lauded for it.</p> <p>The tall poppy syndrome has felled many acts but these guys have done such a great job at exploring their own creativity that it seems they’ve managed to escape the axe - and that makes me so very, very glad. I’ve no doubt that not only will they continue to do so, but they’re highly likely to influence the next crop of bands and artists to follow, giving them the courage to push boundaries and be bold in their art.</p> <p>When this attitude appears more regularly I hope we will no longer read the word “weird” to describe Empire of the Sun, but rather “bold” or even “genius”. I’d be happy with that.</p>http://chelseahunter.com/post/197129753http://chelseahunter.com/post/197129753Sat, 26 Sep 2009 13:32:26 +1000Saturday Morning VideoThis is what a balcony garden looks like in Bondi; small, cramped, barely enough sun but full of...http://chelseahunter.com/post/191565573http://chelseahunter.com/post/191565573Sat, 19 Sep 2009 16:19:06 +1000More pics of Rotorua, because I just can’t stop looking at them. We sailed around Lake...http://chelseahunter.com/post/190084405http://chelseahunter.com/post/190084405Thu, 17 Sep 2009 19:37:00 +1000 Holidays are all about doing something different. Me? I ate eel. Yes, eel. Slimy, gross-looking,...http://chelseahunter.com/post/189891512http://chelseahunter.com/post/189891512Thu, 17 Sep 2009 13:26:00 +1000 For four days I woke up to this stunning view and now I think a bit of post-holidays blues have...http://chelseahunter.com/post/189890060http://chelseahunter.com/post/189890060Thu, 17 Sep 2009 13:24:41 +1000“It’s more like grace, not earned but bestowed.” A blogger writing about the...http://chelseahunter.com/post/182620853http://chelseahunter.com/post/182620853Tue, 08 Sep 2009 16:04:36 +1000<img src="http://30.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_kpjmcj84821qzjidxo1_500.jpg"/><br/><br/><p>Where the families go on a sunny Sunday.</p> <p>A whole new world was opened up to us this morning when we met some friends for a catch up at a local park/playground. It was like a kid market. You could just stroll along and choose which child you wanted to take home with you. ;) We saw Russell Crowe playing with his two sons, which was incredibly sweet. It’s not every day you see am Oscar winner at the swings.</p>http://chelseahunter.com/post/181057609http://chelseahunter.com/post/181057609Sun, 06 Sep 2009 19:27:46 +1000<img src="http://26.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_kpjm0deLrj1qzjidxo1_500.jpg"/><br/><br/><p>Our 5th anniversary, celebrated at Bistro Moncur. We spent ages discussing the iconic mural, then rolled home with bellies full of duck, veal, butter and wine. Ahh, the French!</p>http://chelseahunter.com/post/181054694http://chelseahunter.com/post/181054694Sun, 06 Sep 2009 19:17:54 +1000A colleague emailed me this morning and said, “Enjoying the Friday feeling?” and yeah, I am.I have a...http://chelseahunter.com/post/173497358http://chelseahunter.com/post/173497358Fri, 28 Aug 2009 13:27:00 +1000 I’ve been heading over to sites like TEDblog, NYTimes etc and using them as an intellectual palate...http://chelseahunter.com/post/173488989http://chelseahunter.com/post/173488989Fri, 28 Aug 2009 13:15:08 +1000