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.”

Review: Snakeface - Oberon for Rave Magazine

SNAKEFACE – Oberon
(Arrest Records)


Ensemble cast star in thriller shot in the Blue Mountains

Snakeface is comprised of members from indie bands Jonathan Boulet and Parades, but that doesn’t mean their sound will necessarily please fans of the aforementioned. Oberon, their second album, is grounded in hardcore and punk, but there’s a mess of influences rearing their heads. It’s self-described as ‘weird and evil shit’, which makes me think I’m not supposed to find this half-hour affair as enjoyable as I do. Sorry. Oberon pits short, gritty, politically charged stretches against interludes of composure to foster an effective  (and rare) sense of balance. Lyrics like “occupy and rebel” and “stop pretending this doesn’t exist” are given a savage delivery that sidesteps the regular trap of affected rage for something with actual guts. Oberon was named for the Blue Mountains spot where it was recorded; I like to think of the superbly ineffable final track, Singularity, twanging across the mountaintops and waking far-flung neighbours from their naps.

ANNA ANGEL

Interview: Daniel Weetman for Rave Magazine

Ahh, The Black Seeds. So enjoyable - and such nice lads. Read online here.

DANIEL WEETMAN of THE BLACK SEEDS tells ANNA ANGEL that listening to their records doesn’t do them justice.

 New Zealand reggae mainstays The Black Seeds know where their strengths lie.

Even before dropping their fifth studio album Dust And Dirt in April, they’d packed up and shipped out on the mammoth world tour that will soon bring them to Brisbane. If over 140 shows in four months followed by a packed summer festival season seems like a lot, it is. But there’s little chance the boys will be burnt out by the time they touch down on our shores, according to vocalist and percussionist Daniel Weetman.

 “As long as you’re not overindulging too much in things that can make you a little more tired than usual,” Weetman says with a small laugh, “I think you can handle it.”

They could probably get away with a few benders, but the eight-piece know the value of their reputation for consistently high-energy and immersive sets.

“There’s a lot of people still in New Zealand that haven’t heard The Black Seeds, and even people that work for radio stations and media, but I can tell you that if these people came to a show they’d be more impressed by the band, because live, it’s something else,” Weetman says. “The album isn’t the full picture, and we know that. I don’t think we can just go out there and play the sounds; we’re a band that really wants to get people dancing.”

Why I'm still watching Glee, or Review: Glee Graduation Album for Rave Magazine

Published in the latest Rave. My love for Glee is now public for the first time since they totally and utterly jumped the shark. 

Goodbye McKinley High; Auto-Tune forever

When my entire grade willingly formed a ‘circle hug’ to Green Day’s Good Riddance for three inexplicable minutes at the end of our year 12 formal, we didn’t know the shame would bind us forever. If Glee had existed when we left school, their cloying cover would almost certainly have been our first choice. You don’t need Vitamin C’s Graduation at the drama class farewell party when you can sob as Chris Colfer performs vocal gymnastics to the tune of Madonna’s I’ll Remember. Don’t think of this as set of overproduced reprisals of some of the most sentimental ‘life change’ tracks of all time, even though that’s essentially what it is. See it as a wonderfully terrible gift. Give it to the next youth at the bus stop whose faraway eyes suggest they’re in want of a dream. Give it to yourself and laugh scornfully at populist culture until suddenly you’re crying because everything was easy when you were seventeen; for God’s sake get your life together. If you’re still following the shenanigans of Mr Schue and his merry band of fit-togethers – and yes I am, guilt free – you can catch these tracks as they’re tentatively linked into the plot line. A handful of the numbers will come to light in the season finale, but it only takes an amateur sleuth to pick up the musical cues. School’s Out, but It’s Not the End because these kids will be Forever Young. Bless their eager hearts. 

**

ANNA ANGEL

Review: Sigur Ros - Valtari for Rave Magazine

Read it online here, or in the latest issue. 

Somewhere between lapping up Sigur Rós frontman Jónsi Birgisson’s triumphant solo efforts and replaying 2008’s Með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust on desperate nights, I had begun to believe we’d heard the last from this Icelandic dream quartet. Yes, their sixth studio release was very nearly abandoned, but Valtari – which translates to ‘steamroller’ – is finally tangible. The bulk of the record stems from pre-recorded material; orphaned musical tangents and tracks that outgrew the projects that birthed them. Wherever they were once hiding, these eight tracks together form a striking and cohesive work. Valtari is certainly more minimal than we’ve heard Sigur Rós before. You could almost put it in the ‘ambient’ box, given the floating soundscapes and chilling stillness of Varðeldur and the title track, amongst others. Yet Valtari doesn’t feel lacking for its subtlety. Each layer is given due time to resonate, acting in harmony with Birgisson’s falsetto instead of pushing against it. There are the characteristic breakdowns and flashes of joyous frenzy, but they, too, feel more refined. Google-translating the titles and lyrics of any Sigur Rós track is risky, given their penchant for mixing their invented ‘Hopelandic’ with Icelandic. On the mercifully easy-to-translate finale Fjögur Piano (yep, ‘Four Piano’), the notes hang in the air by a single thread, before weaving into a fittingly haunting end. This steamroller doesn’t hit all at once. It moves gently, sweeping you up inch by inch before knocking the wind out of you.

Review: Wes Willenbring 'Weapons Reference Manual' for Rave Magazine

View online here.

Thankfully, San Franciscan ambient musician Wes Willenbring doesn’t produce the kind of limply ethereal sounds you once meditated to that time you were trying to be more spiritual. On this, his third release, Willenbring wrests his raw guitar work together with distorting effects and chilling piano to create a record that’s more 'layered aural dreamscape' than 'soundtrack to Ikea catalogue'. Tracks like People Disappear Everyday wax and wane, with deeply immersive silences and striking instrumental work that jolts you back to consciousness. Short, achingly melancholic numbers pepper the highlight tracks. Most are just long enough to lose yourself in but Quaaludes presents fifteen minutes of humming guitar, melting uneasily into a hypnotic composition of warped effects. These soundscapes are tightly constructed but fluid enough that Weapons Reference Manual feels like a choose-your-own-adventure record; there’s undeniable emotion behind the dramatic scores and haunting static interludes, but what it evokes is up to you.

Review: The Mars Volta 'Noctourniquet' for Rave Magazine

This just in. That is, in Rave Magazine issue 1033.

Navigating The Mars Volta’s variety of prog-rock has never been simple; their breadcrumb trail of soundscapes and cryptic lyrics inevitably strays off course. The question is whether to go along for the ride on this, their sixth studio release.

Noctourniquet is a blazing riposte from a band often accused of self-indulgence, and of having reached their peak. These 13 tracks present some of the most accessible in the band’s catalogue, yet their many layers and melodic tangents may be still too dizzying for many of their critics. Coming in at just over an hour, this is a tighter and less frantic mind trip than long-time listeners will be used to.

Cedric Bixler-Zavala’s sprawling banshee vocals command both structured rock numbers like Aegis, and dreamier moments such as Empty Vessels Make the Loudest Sound. Never one to be outshone, guitarist Omar Rodriguez Lopez owns the rhythmic waves of lead single, The Malkin Jewel and the fire-slinging Molochwalker. Ambient nods to ‘70s prog-rock (In Absentia) and synth-heavy numbers (Whip Hand) melt into softly quivering lullabies (Trinkets Pale of Moon). Overall, you get the sense this record is their unique interpretation of the expression ‘less is more’.

Standing slightly askew beside neatly packaged, made-for-iTunes anthems, TMV have made another puzzle worth taking the time to piece together. If Rodriguez Lopez et al. lost you years ago, this record may not be different enough to win you back. For the unacquainted, ambivalent and fans alike, Noctourniquet begs to be heard – hallucinogens not necessary.

Four stars. 

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: '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."

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.

Updates and inspirations: The Isthmus, moving on, and so on and so forth

This semester (my last!) I am working within a team on an intelligent online pop culture journal called The Isthmus. I've put my hand up to be editor, so I'll be work-shopping ideas, producing general content and subbing as well as contributing. I'm so grateful for another chance to work with talented, interesting people on a project close to my heart while I remain a student.

The FPS site is about to be taken over, and it will be interesting to see where they take it this year. I don't want to get too misty-eyed about it - it's on to the next one for me - but I'll be posting up some screen grabs of the pages and designs so there's a record of the work we did last year. I'm also eagerly awaiting some exciting bylines upcoming this September. I have written again for the next issue of Voiceworks, and have put together a feature on one of my pet loves - traditional tattooing - for the second issue of Vintage Affair zine. All in all it September is always a great time of year, especially if you live where I do. The weather is nice, Brisbane Festival and Big Sound (which I should be reporting on) are both upcoming and I just got my business cards in the mail, making me, for all intents and purposes, an actual human being. Hooray!

Feature: 'Always room for write stuff' for The Courier Mail

Always room for write stuff
Anna Angel

Weekend writers' groups and workshops are ideal for being exposed to new ideas and networks, writes Anna Angel

ARE you a closet scribbler or a weekend pen-wielder? They say writing is a solitary profession, but don't quit your day job and retreat to the mountains just yet.

Whether or not you've put pen to paper in years or fancy yourself the next Agatha Christie, Nick Earls or J. K. Rowling, there's a workshop or writers' support group for you.

If there isn't, then start one yourself, says Nancy Cox-Milliner, who formed Writers of Seville more than 10 years ago.

``There was a real need for groups running on the weekend,'' she says. ``People who work during the week don't want to meet at night because that's their writing time.''

Now several writers' groups meet across Queensland at weekends. Most are open to all writers, while some cater to those who dabble in genres such as crime, romance or poetry.

Brisbane fantasy writer Marianne de Pierres co-formed Vision Writers more than 15 years ago. Open to writers of fantasy, sci-fi and speculative fiction, de Pierres says the group's ranks constantly replenish.

``People find it so exhilarating to know there are other people out there interested in the same thing they are,'' she says.

For Sarah Gory of Queensland Writers' Centre, a group's main benefit is fostering a sense of community and support.

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.

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.

Feature: 'Roll up in your soles' for The Courier Mail

Written for The Courier-Mail's Friday liftout, CM2. Also published online.

Barefoot bowls is a perfect way to have a good time with your mates, so kick off your shoes and have a go at this game of concentration and technique, writes Anna Angel

IF THERE'S a better way to spend a Sunday afternoon than with a few drinks in the sun, and some friendly competition between mates, I'd like to hear about it.

Barefoot bowls, lawn bowls' younger and less uptight cousin, is winning over Queenslanders young and old.

In a successful bid to breathe new life into the sport, bowls clubs across the state have kicked off their shoes - literally - and shaken off a stigma of the game known as ``old man's marbles''.

Brisbane clubs have been bowled over by how popular their combination of cheap food, drinks and entertainment is with those in their teens through to late 40s.

Feature: 'Girl power on screen' for The Courier-Mail

30 May 2011

Big-screen comedy Bridesmaids has been praised for avoiding stereotypes, writes Anna Angel

WOMEN in comedy, with the exception of all-rounder Tina Fey, seem to be always the bridesmaid, never the belly-laugh inducing brides.

Finally, a raunchy wedding comedy from producer Judd Apatow is proving there's more than one smart, funny woman on the big screen.

Bridesmaids has all the trappings and toilet humour of Apatow films such as Knocked Up and The 40-Year-Old Virgin but is written and led by women.

Co-writer Kristen Wiig, of Saturday Night Live fame, stars as Annie, an out-of-luck maid of honour navigating her best friend's wedding with a crew of kooky bridesmaids, including Australia's Rose Byrne.

Critics have praised the film for its genuine depiction of female friendships in a genre content to simply pit a loveable sap against a maniacal bridezilla and call it a day.

The ``chick-flick for dudes'' smashed box-office expectations during its opening weekend in the US, suggesting audiences are ready to toss the pallid bouquet of bridal rom-coms usually on offer.

Opening on June 16 across Australia, Bridesmaids just might dethrone the royals for wedding of the year.

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

27 May 2011

The Courier-Mail

46

Taking up roller derby and adopting the fishnet-clad alter ego of Dan Sin Queen turned 39-year-old Herston-based web content producer 's life around, she tells Anna Angel

I WENT to my first game with my job, to write about it. I thought it was bizarre, like wrestling.

The only idea I had of it was from the '70s. I came home thinking, ``It's the best thing in the world, I want to do that!''

I started talking to one of the girls from Northern Brisbane Rollers on Twitter and she suggested I try out.

I was full of excuses. I said, ``I have a full-time job and two kids.'' She said, ``So do I.''

I thought I was too old. When I told her I was 38, she said, ``So am I. What else have you got?''

When the next tryout for ``fresh meat'' came around in July last year there were no excuses left.