Articles: Living Vegan and Viva La Vegan!

So I wrote an article on compassionate travel for the last Living Vegan magazine, outlining how to be a tourist without exploiting our furry friends. I don't have a scan just yet, but you can pick up the magazine here. I will have an op-ed in the forthcoming issue, too.

I have also begun writing on animal and environmental issues for Viva La Vegan! So far I have looked at super-trawlers and the fishing industry, why animal activists hate your pets (hint: they don't), and how animal cruelty went retro. Fun times are being had by all!

I haven't had as much time for freelancing as I would like, and have had to turn down a few great opportunities for personal reasons. With fingers crossed, I am getting back into the swing of things now, and have a few tricks up my sleeve, yet.

Interview: Ben Ely for Rave Magazine

Lovely guy, great concept and style, lovely venue. This should be a quality exhibit, me thinks. 

Regurgitator’s Ben Ely tells Anna Angel making art gives his ears a break, but just might drive him bonkers.

Most of us start the day with coffee or a shower to perk us up before work. Musician and artist Ben Ely finds himself in the freezing art studio out the back of his Melbourne home before he’s even fully lucid. Ely, best known for his musical projects like Pangaea and Brisbane-born alt-rock mainstay Regurgitator, says that’s when he does his best work. It’s not hard to imagine his paintings as inspired by a dream state, given the bizarre touches he lends even to his bands’ cover art. For his latest exhibition at Fortitude Valley’s Lust for Life, Ely says he’s been painting a life-long obsession: games – both of the computer and board variety.

“The first time I ever saw a Space Invaders machine was in a caravan park in Yamba, and it blew me away that you could move the joystick and the little alien and spaceship would move,” he says.

While there's an identifiable sense of ‘80s nostalgia in the pick of video games inspiring Ely’s new collection (he likes the simplicity of their design and soundtracks) his taste in board games ranges from wacky 18^th century creations to strategy classic Risk. That being said, Ely's inspiration to create his own playable art has spurred by more than just Pacman and dice.

 “I had a break up last year, and ‘Game Over!’ is kind of the idea of that as well, how people play games in love and life,” he says.

The only parallel Ely draws between his art and music is a bent toward nostalgia in both, but he says if his paintings were songs they’d be pretty catchy.

 “My art’s pretty low brow; it’s quick and immediate and that’s how I like it,” he says. “Kind of like a pop song you know; short and cheap.”

Interview: Cirque Du Soleil's Ovo for Rave Magazine

Roll up, roll up! Cirque are coming back to town. For Rave Magazine.

Ovo, the newest Cirque Du Soleil spectacular to fly into Brisbane, is a light-hearted love story swarming with energy. Artistic director Marjon Van Grunsven tells Anna Angel it’s a bug’s life for the cast and crew.

The sun rises, and an ecosystem of insects begins to stir. Into their midst enters a stranger carrying a large and mysterious egg. So begins this unique production from Montreal’s celebrated Cirque Du Soleil. Ovo might be the 25^th production from these masters of contemporary circus, but Brazilian dancer and choreographer Deborah Colker is their first female creator and director. Her production, which opened in 2009, is one of only a few Cirque show to maintain an overarching narrative.

 “It’s very sweet and simple to follow for young children, but also for older people and middle-aged people, and it’s just so pleasant and happy,” Ovo’s artistic director Marjon Van Grunsven says.

The family-friendly story, which sees a ladybug fall in love with a fly, is secondary to the main inspiration for the piece: movement. From the pulsating rhythmic music, to the flexible, adjustable costumes, every aspect of the show celebrates the distinctive and fascinating motion of the insect world.

Ovo has all the breath taking acts you might expect, but each adopts a creepy-crawly persona that befits their style of movement. Foot jugglers become hard-working ants, a team of scarabs perform a Russian swing act, an aerial duo transform into graceful butterflies, crickets leap and bound off an eight-metre vertical wall, and a spider dangles dangerously from a slackwire web.

Under Van Grunsven’s guidance, the performers shed their human mannerisms entirely.

“The way [Deborah Colker] works is very much the way I work as well, which is to inspire each and every individual on that stage to dive into the role of their particular insect,” she says. “Let’s take a cricket; we wanted them to study the movement of the cricket by watching films and photos, and going out in nature and watching them for real.”

Article: Anchored in Tradition for Vintage Affair

I wrote a piece on the resurgence of traditional American style tattooing in Australia for the second issue of Vintage Affair magazine last year, and it has now been released!

Step right up and see the incredible tattooed lady! Held captive and tattooed every day for a year, she lives to tell her amazing tale!

Nineteenth century crowds flocked to circus ‘freak shows’ to marvel at the tattooed performers, who often invented fantastical tales to accompany their head-to-toe ink. By the turn of the twentieth century, the ancient practice had already become – in Western cultures and especially across the USA – a rite of passage for servicemen, sailors, jailbirds and circus folk. The style and iconography developed by artists of the era formed the backbone of the emergent tattoo culture up until the 1970s.

Some blame Janis Joplin for inspiring a rebellious generation to go under the gun and seek out designs that spoke to them, not their grandfathers. Forty years on, Kat Von D and her merry crew of reality spin-offs are credited with inciting a new wave of tattoo aficionados. This time around, our society’s infatuation with bygone eras and simpler times has ensured the old guard of tattooing got its own back. 

Traditional American designs were a staple of the Australian tattoo culture when pioneer artists like Melbourne’s John ‘Johnny Dollar’ Entwistle opened up shop, before eventually giving way to Japanese, tribal and contemporary styles. Nowadays, traditional and neo-traditional designs are so highly sought after many artists consider it a fad.  The designs are characterised by thick lines, bold colours and the classic iconography that once graced the walls of tattoo parlours everywhere. While there is a large interest in vintage flash today, these images held a different significance for the original wearers. Sailors earned a bluebird on the chest after 5,000 miles at sea, with the ever-popular mirrored bluebirds reserved for those who had doubled that. A pin-up girl design could keep you company when deployed at war, a flag or memorial would remind you of home.

Article: 'Sailing for Trash' for Run Rabbit Magazine

The second issue of Run, Rabbit magazine is coming together a treat. Here's a post I wrote for the blog since I can't reveal any of the main event yet. I am thrilled by the talent of all the contributors on board for this one, and I can't wait to share it with the world.

I come from a thrifty family. Our motto was always ‘one man’s trash is another man’s treasure’ – it may as well have been inscribed on our family crest. Growing up, Saturday morning meant trawling the Weekend Shopper for garage sale listings within an hour’s distance from our house. We’d each take a few dollars and high hopes of what we might uncover in a stranger’s carport.

When I was eight or nine, I found toys others had outgrown for only fifty cents. They were always cherished more because I felt I’d rescued them from a mess of unwanted junk. Later, as a self-conscious teen, I’d be scared to get out of the car in case I saw someone I knew from school. I was quickly lured out with the promise of cheap vintage finds my mother’s hawk eye often spotted. Some weekends were more lucrative than others, but it didn’t matter if we came home empty handed. It was the nature of the hunt.

Now, some five years since I last garage sailed with my family, the seas seem to have dried up. Driving through the Brisbane suburbs neighbouring my own, there’s a distinct lack of tatty cardboard signs advertising ‘MEGA BARGAINS’ and sausage sizzles. Is it because we can now list any unwanted bits and bobs on Gumtree or eBay without much hassle? Are we less inclined to invite strangers into our personal space – even if it’s just the front lawn or garage?

Feature: 'Ethical Ink' for Living Vegan

I've got a featuring outline how to get a tattoo done sans animal products in the latest issue of Living Vegan Magazine. I was also charged with the task of testing and comparing chocolate biscuits. It was very onerous, as  I'm sure you can imagine.

I haven't got my hands on a copy yet, but I'll put some scans up soon.

Feature: ''It's not the end of the world' for The Isthmus

Here's an apocalypse-themed fun piece I wrote for The Isthmus. What role do you play in end-times?

You can read it online here.

It's not the end of the world

By Anna Angel

I’m a big a Robert Frost fan as they come (at least, in any country where his poetry isn’t included in the national curriculum). I have his words tattooed on me, and I think he would have been a damn clever sort. But even I can admit his take on the apocalypse may have been a bit narrow.

Some say the world will end in fire;

Some say in ice.

From what I’ve tasted of desire

I hold with those who favour fire.

But if it had to perish twice,

I think I know enough of hate

To say that for destruction ice

Is also great

And would suffice.

Robert Frost – ‘Fire and Ice’

Sure, there’s those who point the finger at fire, and ice hasn’t gotten off scot-free. But what about alien invasion, nuclear annihilation, the Rapture, Mayan prediction or freak cosmic accident? Luckily for the pessimistic and end-day curious amongst us, pop culture has picked up where Frost left off. In fact, we’ve become a little obsessed.

Feature: 'The Golden Era (terms and conditions apply)' for The Isthmus

Here's another piece I wrote in August for The Isthmus, discussing our cultural obsession with 'retro' in light of our actual past. I really enjoyed exploring the issues surrounding this one. 


You can read it online here.


The Golden Era (terms and conditions apply)


By Anna Angel

“You were definitely born in the wrong decade,” a friend says as if it is fact. Sure, I wear vintage clothing, collect retro oddities and have been seen at gigs doing the twist. But I couldn’t agree with rockabilly queen Imelda May when she told British press “the ‘50s were better in every way”. I’m grateful not to have grown up in Australia in the first half of the 20^th century. Why? My childhood epilepsy – then widely misunderstood – would probably have landed me in a psychiatric institution, such as this one, for a lack of better treatment options, as might my struggles with anxiety and depression. While that’s an uncomfortable thought, prospects would have been positively bleak if I had of been Aboriginal, gay or a non-European migrant. As morbidly hilarious as 1950s anti-gay propaganda and relics of the societal oppression of women may seem now, these were hardly ‘simpler’ times for many members of society. I set out to discover why we idealise elements of the past such as music, fashion and dinner table decorum and glaze over the glaring injustices.

Feature: 'Fear and Carbon in Canberra' for The Isthmus

In my final semester of uni I worked on a collection of articles for a new intelligent pop culture journal called The Isthmus, a project headed by Stephen Harrington. I also acted as online editor, subbing and workshopping all articles before publication. It was a fantastic experience and the team was made up almost exclusively of fun, creative pop culture enthusiasts. 

I've held off posting them until now because there's been a few kinks with the site meaning it never properly launched. I'm like a kid holding up finger painting: 'look, mummy, look what I did!' I just can't wait. 

So, here's a research/opinion piece I wrote in late July on the heated carbon tax debate - before it was passed. You can read it online here. 

Fear and Loathing in Canberra: a savage journey into the heart of Australian politics

By Anna Angel

There is nothing to fear but fear itself, except the pricing of carbon, that is. The debate over the proposed carbon tax has divided the nation like nothing since the introduction of the GST. Tony Abbott advised his party members to keep the argument ‘civil’ only moments before they called on a national rally in Canberra to “maintain the rage”. “We don’t want our country reduced to two warring camps,” he said.  Sorry, Tony, but it might be a little late for that. Rhetoric and commentary from both sides of the war on carbon have been nothing less than hysterical since the pricing scheme was introduced in July.  In this all-out screaming match, fear mongering is the favoured tack.  We are presented with an apparently impossible choice: implement the tax and our families will go hungry,

fail to do so and eventually, our families will go hungry. Whichever side of the fence you’re on, heavy spin from politicians and media alike aims to ensure you’re not left sitting on it.

Run, Rabbit Issue 1

This is what we made.
There's been a really positive response so far, and I'm so impressed with the contributions that came my way. What could be better than working with creative, inspiring people on an exciting and rewarding project?
Read all about it at www.runrabbitmagazine.com.
If you think you, or someone you know, might be interested in contributing to the next issue, here's what we're looking for:

Feature: 'New Year's Peeve' for Biscuit Magazine Issue 15

I really hate fireworks.

Read the article online here. 

Let’s try a little experiment. I want you to picture a New Year’s Eve memory. Just go with the first that comes to mind. While we’re sharing, here’s mine. It was 2009, at one to midnight on the last day of December. At that moment, I stopped throwing up on a stranger’s porch and was swept up in the romantic New Year’s Eve kiss I’d been hoping for. Whether that anecdote is somewhat sweet or wholly revolting depends on your point of view. What’s a given is New Year’s Eve ending in disappointing laced with regret wrapped in vomit. You’ll have a better take-home memory of ringing in 2012 if you save yourself the jacked up taxi fares and fall asleep at 10:30pm watching re-runs of Jersey Shore. ‘But, Anna’, you say, ‘I’ve never thrown up on my own shoes’. Fine, fancy pants. Here’s a few perfectly valid reasons to boycott the celebrations.

Feature: 'Kids on the Street' for Voiceworks Issue 86

The spring issue of youth journal Voiceworks, themed 'V' is out now. It features a piece I wrote on the changing educative goals of children's television and, in particular, that crazy phenomenon known as Sesame Street. I'll post up a scan when I get my hands on a copy, but for now - go out and buy it!

Here's a little sample:
"There’s a bear in there, and a chair as well. There are people with games, and if you grew up in Australia within the last 45 years you’ve probably heard the stories they have to tell. I spent my early childhood poorly recreating Benita and the Playschool gang’s craft projects with Clag glue and whatever I could get my hands on; family heirlooms, clothes or insects. Playschool holds the honour of longest-running Australian children’s program, second across all genres only to Four Corners, so I’d hazard a guess that my home wasn’t the only one unintentionally vandalised in afternoon creative frenzies. Nearing a half-century of air-time is no mean feat, and the gang have bought themselves a facelift to celebrate. The ABC re-launched the show’s iconic opening number with a more ‘modern’ sound in July, along with a shiny new interactive website. Then there’s the American educational revolution three years Big Ted’s junior. Can you tell me how to get, how to get to Sesame Street? The average five-year-old from Brooklyn, Cairns or Bangalore could. They might tell you the fictional street is ambiguously set in New York, with speculation pointing to Manhattan’s west side. This Muppet empire now stretches to over 120 countries and has been a part of an estimated 80 million children’s early lives. It answers an impressive number of pub trivia questions such as ‘Which television show has received the most Emmy Awards?’ but it’s biggest achievement has to be staying on-air long enough to see its first viewers retire."

Review: BIGSOUND Live Part 1 for Mood of Monk

Read the original coverage here. I also shot and live tweeted the event; it was an awful lot of fun. 

“Is this the end or is it just beginning,” they sang and it felt right.

As Inland Sea wrapped up their opening spot at BIGSOUND’s live showcase in Brisbane’s Fortitude Valley, it signalled the start of something big – for the night and for the talented young acts that would fill it.BIGSOUND is an industry conference that exists to talk about music and the people that make it. For those throwing themselves into the conversation, it’s a long and fulfilling three days. For two of those days, when the sun goes down, Australia and New Zealand’s up-and-comers emerge for show and tell.It’s a variety show for industry types, a block party across Brisbane’s entertainment precinct, and a heartening display of genuine talent. I know every crumb in every corner of The Valley, but I’ve rarely seen it as full of energy as it was last night. There are weekends where the streets groan under the sheer weight of people, where the music is oppressively loud and sweat hangs heavy in the air. What BIGSOUND brought was a true celebration of things to come, and a crowd united in a love of music.

Run, Rabbit

I've been a little quiet on the freelancing front and this is why: I've been working on a little magazine called Run, Rabbit that will be launching online in December. I'm getting so excited at the quality and range of pitches coming through from talented folk not just from Brisbane, but from around the country and the world. It will be quite a bit of work to get going, but it never feels like it when your heart is behind a project.

Run, Rabbit will cross culture with compassion, craft and creativity with community. I haven't been able to find anything quite like what I want to achieve: something that speaks to my playful side, but also makes me think, engaging me in issues larger than myself without compromising on intelligence or patronising me. Something that doesn't then try to sell me something or tell me how to do my hair this month. So, I decided to make it myself. No products, no fashion, no beauty, no god damn celebrities, no hipster-snobbery or intellectual elitism. Just ordinary people with extraordinary ideas or talent, thought-provoking pieces sharing space with the silly and the mundane. Writers who share their beliefs, thoughts and experiences without trying so damn hard to seem irreverent. This is what I want to read, and I don't think I'm the only one.

To follow Run, Rabbit's progress, visit www.runrabbitmagazine.tumblr.com or find us on Facebook or Twitter.

Feature: 'Parks to put the roses in your cheeks' for The Courier Mail

16 September 2011

Vital escapes in busy cities, our world-class green spaces give us plenty of fresh reasons to play and relax, writes Anna Angel.

A BREATH of fresh air does a world of good, so get a few lungsful tomorrow, on World Parks Day.

Whether you fancy a cheap and adventurous camping weekend in a national park, a romantic picnic on the foredunes, or a family barbecue in a city park, the choice across Queensland is limitless.

David Clarke, CEO of Australia and New Zealand's leading parks organisation, Parks Forum, says healthy parks lead to healthy communities.

``Not only do they contribute to physical health, but also to mental health: exposure to the natural world is therapeutic,'' he says.

Queensland University of Technology community space expert Dr Gillian Lawson says councils recognise the importance of harnessing our natural blessings. ``We've got a strong tradition of sporting groups using parks, but not of a diverse range of physical activities that are much more widely accessible than a cricket match,'' Dr Lawson says.

But she praised Brisbane and Gold Coast councils for providing locals with fresh reasons pull out the picnic hampers.

One example is Brisbane City Council's LIVE arts program, which will see parks across the city play host to a mix of free music events throughout September.

Another is the city's Active Parks series with free and low-cost activities in more than 50 of the city's parks. The program varies throughout the week and comes alive on weekends.

Column: 'Have your say' for The Courier Mail's Village Green

I wrote this earlier in the year, but it's funny, it seems all the more fitting that it was published now.

Anna Angel, Clayfield


AMONG the few early childhood memories I can recall is a family trip to Melbourne. As a kid from Nambour, the number of people shoving their way through the city centre floored me. On every intersection there were figures standing among the commotion, calling out. Mum seemed to be the only one who stopped. When I asked why nobody else saw them, she said it was because a lot of people aren't very nice. That's certainly turned out to be true. I just wish I didn't turn out to be one of them.

We're all guilty of compassion fatigue. This year especially, SES volunteers would have it something chronic, and a devastating sequence of natural disasters has stretched most of our donation budgets. We've all crossed the road to avoid someone wielding a clipboard, lest it's another damn charity. One thing we're supposed to be very good at as adults is being practical. We don't give away all our time or possessions and we no longer don a cape and try to fly (not often, anyway). But if you asked the five-year-old version of yourself whether they like who you've become, you're probably not going to like the answer.

Even if you're a pretty decent sort, we as ``grown-ups'' are boring, we make compromises and we can be awfully mean. I barely qualify as an adult in most cultures and I've already upset mini-me. I stared blankly past a homeless woman who asked politely for some change last week, because it was easier than meeting her eye. A handful of Hollywood movies centre on the premise of rediscovering your younger self but not many make for bearable viewing. It is interesting, though, to consider how differently we'd react at a crossroad if mature concerns such as money and duty didn't drive us. If you think your life would be much the same, congratulations.

In a year that's been as disaster-ridden as this one, there has never been a better time to step back and view the world through eyes that haven't yet learnt not to see. We can't regress to a naive mindset and damn the consequences, even if we want to. But we can promise our younger selves to do small things daily to please them, or to consider them in life's big decisions. And when the time comes for me to have kids of my own, I hope they'll forgive me for being such a bloody grown-up.

Column: 'The Chivalry Code - he says she says' for Biscuit Magazine

For the August issue of Biscuit Magazine, which you can read the lovely pages of here. This will be a regular feature that should be a lot of fun!

 

 

Chivalry committed suicide in an existential crisis a few years before the turn of the century. He couldn’t stop thinking back to the days he was respected among men and valued by women, wondering what his place was in this brave new world. He is survived by generations of men, unsure of how to navigate the courting phase of a relationship without him as a guide. 

Feature: 'Til It's Gone' - Biscuit Magazine

For issue 10, read online.

Another glossy silver sticker and a tally mark on the back jacket; I was in the lead. ‘Bucket lists’ of things to do, see or taste in your lifetime are meant as more of a guide than a red flag to a wasted life. When my partner and I discovered 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die in 2008 we took the challenge to heart. That holiday we read our way through scores of classics, marking them with colour-coded stickers. The phase eventually passed, but a few weeks ago I rediscovered the list. I can’t recall ever reading Dostoevsky’s Crime and Punishment, but there it was – my trademark silver dot beside the title. It seems I was so concerned with adding notches to my bookcase that I didn’t even make time to enjoy the conquest. Certainly, people are capable of extraordinary feats and insights when faced with their own mortality, but (sorry, Tolstoy) I don’t think skimming over War and Peace counts among them.

Terminally-ill fifteen-year-old Alice Pyne saw an outpouring of support when she posted her ‘bucket list’ online last month. Her blog gained media attention almost overnight, and already thousands of dollars have been donated to charities on her behalf, and businesses have stepped up to help fulfil her wishes. The UK teenager recognizes some of her goals (such as travelling to Kenya) will never be achieved, but the simplicity of most of her dreams is positively moving. Simple things many would take for granted, or even bemoan, are for her a source of hope and fulfilment. Sure, we think it would be nice to have a family portrait taken, to go whale watching, or perhaps stay in a caravan, but life always seems to get in the way. Until, of course, it doesn’t. Alice’s story seems to have struck a chord because she’s realised so young something it takes most of us a lifetime to learn.

While our neighbours in Christchurch are facing one disaster after another, Japan is struggling to come to terms with their biggest catastrophe since the Hiroshima bombings, four months after the first tremors hit. When the survivors are finally able to rebuild their lives, many will choose radically different foundations. Around a quarter of disaster victims experience what’s known as post-traumatic growth – positive changes following adversity. This isn’t to say their suffering is lessened, but that they foster a renewed sense of purpose, spirituality and a greater appreciation of their life and relationships. Perhaps this explains CNN reports that the number of people seeking partnership and marriage in Japan has dramatically increased since the March 11 disasters, creating a sharp spike in sales of engagement and wedding rings. Bride-to-be Maki Maruta was quoted as saying “the disasters reminded me the importance of family. It’s so important to have someone who is precious to you.”

UK researcher Laura Blackie recently conducted a study where she asked participants to reflect on their own death and monitored their behaviours. She concluded in Psychological Science that thoughts of mortality, “can be one of the best gifts we have in life, motivating us to embrace life and embrace goals that are important to us”. But often when we’re isolated from disaster, it’s easy for that inspiration to disappear as quickly as the channel is changed to Bargain Hunt repeats.

In the process of writing this article I almost lost my Grandma who, up until that point, hadn’t been on speaking terms with most of my immediate family for reasons I still struggle to comprehend. Differences were put aside on the hospital bed, but now she’s been given the clear bill of health the hostility rages on. While the scare seemed to shake them into a temporary realisation that life is much too short to hold grudges, they’ve been given more time and so, more time to be stubborn. Perhaps it is this same logic that sees many of us put off our biggest aspirations day after day, assuming we always have tomorrow. But if you didn’t, what would you have done differently today?

Feature: 'Go for it!' for The Courier-Mail

Published June 10.

Doing improvisation makes you get up, have fun and be in the moment, radio journalist Natalie Bochenski, 30, of Spring Hill, tells Anna Angel.

I DID ballet and dance as a young girl. When I was a teenager that progressed into theatre and I've been involved with impro since the late '90s.

Acting and theatre is my hobby. I'm a journalist by trade and a lot of the time I do straight politics.

You'd be surprised at how much cross-over there is. I won't be at Parliament and bust out some improvised sketch, but I can be at impro and throw in a political joke.

While I still do a lot of scripted theatre, impro is a wonderful outlet. You're tapping into the imagination we all had as kids, but we're told as adults we're not allowed to have any more because we have to be sensible.

Feature: 'Attack of the superhero' for The Courier-Mail

8 June 2011

There's something about men in tights, writes Anna Angel.

GREEN Lantern Corps, the intergalactic police squad, fights some of the universe's nastiest villains, but will struggle to topple Marvel's heroes at the box office.

DC's much-loved comic series Green Lantern opens on June 17 in a live-action, 3-D adaptation starring Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively.

The timing lands it in a battle for movie-goers' dollars with Marvel's mutant prequel X-Men: First Class, which has been called the thinking man's superhero movie, and Captain America's live-action debut on July 28.

It's also fresh on the heels of Marvel's portrayal of Thor, god of thunder, which won over the fans despite being labelled a ``Shakespearean epic for nerds''.

The marketing team behind Green Lantern, which centres on a test pilot bestowed with a mystical green ring and responsibility for keeping universal peace, have all claws out. Two trailers for the Warner Bros production have gone viral.

With the third Batman movie, The Dark Knight Rises, and Avengers set for release next year, comic fans can expect this standoff to get even bloodier.