Vegan Chocolate Cake Recipe..

Calm down, this cake is amazing even though it's Vegan.

A good friend of mine, Kate made this for me a couple of weeks ago as she knows I cannot eat dairy (Lactose Intolerant, and cutting out animal products in my diet). It was simply fantastic. Thanks Kate.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups plain flour
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1/4 cup cocoa
• 1 tbsn coffee
  
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon vanilla essence
• 1 teaspoon distilled white vinegar
• 1 cup water

Preparation method

1. Preheat oven to 180 C. Lightly grease one 23cmx13cm loaf pan.
2. Sift together the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda and salt into a bowl. Add the coffee, oil, vanilla, vinegar and water. Mix together until smooth
3. Pour into prepared pan and bake in preheated oven for 45 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool.

You can use rice flour or something other than wheat.

The Wolfman..

The Wolfman in HD

Skate and Create..

East Coast Discoveries..

Story By Tim Baker

Photos By John Witzig

Bob McTavish and his buddies were so keen to chase down a cyclone swell, driving north from Sydney back in ’62, they refused to stop even for calls of nature. “We had a hole in the floor and you’d push the carpet back and piss through a hole in the floor,” Bob laughs.

This was the golden era of the great east coast road trip, when a new discovery, another classic point break might lie around every bend in the road or at the end of every dirt track.

“The whole road trip thing started in my era. Everyone was in surf clubs and going to one beach, and that kept everyone locked up in the ’50s,” Bob says. “It started in the ’60s. I was at Coolangatta in 1960 and I met Bob Cooper, Laurie Short and Joe Larkin, and they had just driven up from Sydney and they had found Angourie on the way up. I was stoked to meet traveling surfers. I’d done the Noosa to Coolangatta trip but when I met those guys who had driven up from Sydney I thought that was really cool.”

Bob didn’t even own a car until 1965, yet during ’62 and ’63 he reckons he did the run between Sydney and Noosa 24 times.

“I bummed rides all through ’62 and ’63,” he says. “Anyone going north from Sydney I’d bum a ride, and anyone heading south from Noosa I’d bum a ride... I’d shape a bit then go on a trip and have lots of adventures.”

That mad dash north in ’62, as floodwaters rose all around them, still stands as one the most memorable. “John Mantle had a 1948 Ford single skinner, the classic 1960s surf car. Me and John and Russell Hughes were all working for Scott Dillon in Brookvale. There was a cyclone heading down the coast so we all jumped in and headed up to meet it. You had to get ferries across all the rivers in those days, and the floodwaters were rising. We were doing head dips out the side of the cars, all through Maclean we were doing head dips for 20 minutes.”


They caught the last ferry across the mighty Clarence River, near Yamba, before they shut the ferry and the river broke its banks.

Bob and The Pass

Somewhere between the Clarence and Richmond Rivers, traveling 110km per hour in pitch dark they hit waist deep water and aquaplaned for 100 metres before the car gradually slowed and sank. “We had to get out and push the stinking car out of the water, dry out the ignition and then drive on,” Bob remembers.

But the rewards would proved worth it. “We got to Byron Bay at some weird time in the middle of the night, and the next morning the Pass was off its head, just the three of us out, no-one else surfing. We had mental Pass and then moved on to Kirra.”

After 50 years of east coast road trips, that one still sets the benchmark.

These early road trips were Spartan affairs, characterised by little money or provisions and sometimes desperate measures to make ends meet. “A lot of the guys used to milk cars [siphon petrol] to get home. We heard of one gas station that left its pumps unlocked, just south of Taree, and word got around so we’d all stop there to fill up in the middle of the night,” Bob says. “I was a bread and bananas man. In Coffs Harbour every surfer would break off a bunch of bananas on their way through.”

Grom and Dog tagging along

Local bakeries and a few generous fishermen sharing their catch provided the rest of their diet. At Angourie, surfers could stay in an old concrete bunker, a deserted ammunition store left over from the disused quarry, for 20 cents a night. It was overseen by local character Alex Campbell, who called it “Wavers’ Inn,” provided firewood and woke his guests each morning with a surf report.



Bob reckons most of the major surf discoveries were made during that magical five year window from 1960 to ’65. Surfing World founder and pioneer surf movie maker Bob Evans was leading the charge, Bob says, shooting his first films up and down the east coast during 1960 and ’61. Bob Evans’ brother Dick, a bodysurfer, discovered Angourie in 1960, soon making it a mandatory stop-off on any east coast run.
But McTavish wasn’t far behind them. “I was on the road a year or two later. Surfers were few and far between. I found Noosa in ’59 but no-one believed me until about ’63.”

Main Beach - Noosa back in the day

Floodwaters played a part in another of his most memorable surfing experiences, when he was stranded at Noosa during an epic swell and no other surfers could get in. “We had incredible Nationals for 10 days, when the road was blocked due to flooding. I rang Bill Wallace [Bob’s boss at the time] and said, ‘We’re stuck. We can’t get back.’ He said, ‘How’s the surf?’ And we said, ‘Eight foot and perfect,’ and it had been like that for 10 days. Bill closed up his factory and moved to Noosa in ’64 and he’s been there ever since.”

Bob reckons they always thought there’d be many more classic points lying undiscovered along the east coast. “We always thought there would be more Angouries and Crescents. We used to go down every little dirt road, but most of the discoveries were made by ’64 or ’65.”

When Bob eventually settled in Byron Bay in ’68, he and George Greenough took the search one step further when they hired a Cessna and flew from Lismore to Coffs Harbour, scouring the coast for undiscovered breaks. The footage can be seen in Greenough’s classic movie, “Innermost Limits of Pure Fun,” but despite a few prospects no more Angouries were uncovered. Soon after, Bob undertook a similar aerial survey north from Noosa looking for surf and spotted the waves of Double Island Point and Fraser Island, but also “millions of sharks. We stopped counting at 400.”

Noosa

These days, Bob is as enamoured as ever by the east coast road trip, though his tactics have changed somewhat. “Today you’ve just got to look a bit harder. The first thing I look for is uncrowded waves, the second thing is quality,” he explains. “I’ve got beach permits from here to Kempsey Shire, and drive along the beach looking for spots.”

Bob and his wife still head south of Byron most weekends in search of empty waves, and time doesn’t seem to have dulled his sense of adventure. “Heading south from Byron, it’s Hallelujah. We leave Sunday morning, just my wife and I, and come back Tuesday. I still love it, and my wife surfs too. You’ve just got to be a bit careful four-wheel driving on the beach. I nearly got caught by tidal surges north of Port Macquarie a while ago... The dunes were eroding with the swell, and I was going at high speed, having to time it between the sets, to drive on the wet sand but not get caught by the surges. I was freaking, I thought I was going to lose my car. But I still surf heaps of empty waves. It’s still very much alive.”

I am reminded of a conversation I had a while ago with a Gold Coast surfing elder, maligning the lack of adventure among today’s younger generation. “If there isn’t a car park in front of it and a McDonalds across the road, they’re not going to surf it.”

I run this one by Bob. “That’s great,” he laughs. “Keeps the crowd all in one place.”
If I have half the sparkle in my eye, the spring in my step, the infectious energy in my conversation as this man when I am his age, I will know I have lived well.

Waitin' around to Die..

One of the greatest American songwriters - Townes Van Zandt.

I've only recently got stuck into Townes' music after only hearing a handful of his songs. I wish I had delved deeper, earlier. He is simply amazing.

Work and Sunny Days..

Ok, so work has gone from the best job in the world, challenging, working with some amazing people, working on dream projects, massive growth, prospects of moving to Switzerland and creating some priceless artworks for my folio; to absolutely NO work (still getting paid) for 5 weeks straight. It's all to do with greed in Management which sux. I have not been asked to do anything... nothing! I've been trying to keep busy with freelance work, movies, tunes, online games but there's only so much one can do sitting in an office by themselves.

So I have been sneaky and going on extended breaks (3hrs+) to play golf, chill in the sun, play basketball and well not even turn up to work at all. No one notices, I leave my computer on in my office. No one ever comes in so no one ever knows I'm gone. Not that sneaky is it.

Yesterday I went surfing for 3 hrs and caught some fun waves, today I am doing the same. The weather is just too good. 33 degrees in Winter WTF? Surf is small but I'm getting paid for this shit and I'm not at work so who cares.

So really it has gone from the best job future wise to the best job lifestyle wise.

It can't last forever so I'm lapping it up while I can.

Photo: Shield (Straddie last week)

Not enough Ladies, too many Mans..

Flight of the Conchords

Crack Fox..

My favourite thing in this world, The Mighty Boosh. Make sure you check out the Radio Series, where it all began.

YOU are a part-time slave..

No one should ever work.

Work is the source of nearly all the misery in the world. Almost all the evil you'd care to name comes from working or from living in a world designed for work. In order to stop suffering, we have to stop working.

That doesn't mean we have to stop doing things. It does mean creating a new way of life based on play; in other words, a creative and fun revolution.

I call for a collective adventure in generalized joy and freely interdependent exuberance. I'm not saying we need more time for sheer sloth and slack because we have had more of that than we ever have had before.

The alternative to work isn't just idleness. And no I'm not promoting leisure. Leisure is non-work for the sake of work. Leisure is the time spent recovering from work, and in the frenzied but hopeless attempt to forget about work many people return from vacations so beat that they look forward to returning to work so they can rest up. The main difference between work and leisure is that at work at least you get paid for your alienation and enervation.

My minimum definition of work is forced labor, that is, compulsory production. Both elements are essential. Work is production enforced by economic or political means, by the carrot or the stick.

Work is never done for its own sake; it's done on account of some product or output that somebody else gets out of it. This is what work necessarily is. To define it is to despise it.

This is the real world of work: a world of bureaucratic blundering, of sexual harassment and discrimination, of bonehead bosses exploiting and scapegoating their subordinates who—by any rational-technical criteria - should be calling the shots.

Work makes a mockery of freedom. You find the same sort of hierarchy and discipline in an office or factory as you do in a prison or a monastery.

A worker is a part-time slave. The boss says when to show up, when to leave, and what to do in the meantime. He tells you how much work to do and how fast. He is free to carry his control to humiliating extremes, regulating, if he feels like it, the clothes you wear or how often you go to the bathroom.

You are what you do. If you do boring, stupid, monotonous work, chances are you'll end up boring, stupid and monotonous. We are so close to the world of work that we can't see what it does to us.

Work turns people into stultified submissives. Socrates said that manual laborers make bad friends and bad citizens because they have no time to fulfil the responsibilities of friendship and citizenship. He was right. Because of work, no matter what we do we keep looking at our watches. The only thing "free" about so-called free time is that it doesn't cost the boss anything. Free time is mostly devoted to getting ready for work, going to work, returning from work, and recovering from work.

Hunters and gatherers work less than we do; leisure is abundant, and there is a greater amount of sleep in the daytime.

The understandings of the greater part of men are necessarily formed by their ordinary employments. The man whose life is spent in performing a few simple operations . . . has no occasion to exert his understanding . . . He generally becomes as stupid and ignorant as it is possible for a human creature to become.

Governments deal out occupations as a measure to assure public order.

Under a system of permanent festivities, we will witness the Golden Age of the dilettante which will put the Renaissance to shame. There won't be any more jobs, just things to do and people to do them. Haha brilliant

Things should be done that need to be done not just for ourselves but for each other in order to create an equal community an equal world. Self sustainability is a key role that we should undertake. Growing our own food not hopping in our cars and driving to Woolies to pick up some produce.

If we play our cards right, we can all get more out of life.

No one should ever work.

Workers of the world. . . relax!

Now I just have to work out how to pull this off, I'll keep you posted..

GODBOWL, praise the LORD..

A church in Brisbane has built a bowl for kids to skate...thinking they will go to church and believe in God. Suckers.

Every Tuesday night.

Pieta Confetti..

face:ecaf's blog

Artwork by Pieta Dickson

Gas Vans..

Last night on SBS there was a program that traced the family history of talk show host Jerry Springer, through Poland, Germany, Czechoslovakia and England during the second World War. Through his research he uncovered various atrocities against his family due to the hands of the Nazis including Gas Vans, the precursor to Gas Chambers such as the ones used at Auschwitz.

During WWII, the German SS invented a new device for murdering civilians, by gassing them in specially altered vans, called Gas Vans. The Nazis used poison gas to murder millions of human beings whom they deemed undesirable.

More on Gas Vans.

Waiting for the Great Leap Forwards..

Someone who has had a huge impact on my life is the political socialist English singer/songwriter, Billy Bragg. He toured in 2008 and I said to myself I would meet this man and share a yarn and a beer. I remained positive and was lucky enough to do so after his gig in Byron Bay after he signed a copy of his vinyl EP for me. This is probably one of the greatest days I have experienced and the words he spoke to me will remain with me forever.

The Miami Model..

Human Need Not Corporate Greed. An insight into the FTAA summit (Free Trade Area of the Americas) in Miami 2003.

Mind Field..

Mind Field - AWS latest film.

Black Sails in the Sunrise..

This weekend brought new adventures by the way of offshore fishing with my brother and a good friend. Our vessel being a 14 foot, 20 year old fibreglass boat with a 2 stroke outboard. None the less we were determined to hit the seas and enjoy this amazing weather that we have been so lucky to have and hopefully catch ourselves some dinner. Well I didn't really mind if we didn't catch anything as I rarely eat meat, I was more interested in capturing the day on film. What a day it turned out to be.


The above photos were taken outside my house at 5:25am, a beautifully clear sunrise and glassy waters. What else could we ask for?
As we exited the spit seaway our timing was perfect. The sun was just starting to rise. How I managed to capture it, is unknown as our captain was pushing our boat to it's limits as we hauled towards 24 fathoms, two stroke exhaust gases bellowing from the outboard.
These photos almost made my trip worthwhile.

I didn't even get to cast a line as I started to feel the affects of sea sickness. I decided to just sit and take in the sun as the others fished away, concentrating on the horizon. It only took about 15 minutes of us sitting still before I started to spew overboard. It is an absolutely horrible feeling and one that cannot be cured. It wouldn't have helped that I didn't eat dinner or breakfast and drunk beers, scotch, port, malibu and vodka the night before either. Would it?

Anyway, this continued for 4 hours as the boys struggled to catch a thing. I was in hell. Enough was enough and I asked skipper to head back. They were happy too, as they were again dissapointed with the over fished Gold Coast Pacific ocean.
Next time, I will be sure to have a full stomach and pack some kwells.

New Dinosaur Jr Filmclip..

Les Paul Dies - 13th August 2009..

Inventor of the sold body guitar and Greatest Guitar ever made, Les Paul dies on 13th August 2009. RIP.

The Corporation..

The Corporation is today's dominant institution, creating great wealth but also great harm. This 26 award-winning documentary examines the nature, evolution, impacts and future of the modern business corporation and the increasing role it plays in society and our everyday lives.

Earthlings..

Joaquin Phoenix's powerful documentary about the relationship between nature, animals, and humankind. Guaranteed to make you think.

Getting Away from it All..

The need to feel free, totally free from; laws, hierarchy, work, rules, constraints, media, consumption, bright lights and bullshit is something that is growing ever strong in my life. Living in a city with a million people makes feeling free quite difficult. There is always someone/something watching, keeping me in my place, keeping me the same as you.

There are a few things that allow me to feel free, giving me the ability to totally forget the mundane life, that is my life; surfing, camping, sailing, trailbike riding and to a lesser extent music, friends, painting and beer. Getting away from it all, and saying fuck everything lets get outta here keeps me chugging and gets me through the lethargic work week.

The surf can offer pure solace and freedom, nothings stopping me or holding me back when I’m in the ocean – or is there? There’s no rules to the ocean, it’s raw, dangerous and fun. But surfing on the Gold Coast can become extremely frustrating especially, when everyone is planning on going to the same beach as you, cutting you off on waves and being arrogant and careless. Dog owners’ letting their animals shit all over the beach.

But nothing quite compares to catching that perfect wave, only then do I really appreciate what I have and realise where I live is actually a beautiful place…I just wish that people could be more courteous and share the beach equally and responsibly.

12 months or so ago, I started to get into trail bike riding. Previously I had cast aspersions toward “moto dudes” and judged them as being bogans and whatever else. It was only when I decided to go on a few trail rides did I learn that just about all riders I came across where generous, thoughtful and helpful people with similar outlooks as myself. The need to get away being the key desire of most riders. There’s no bullshit with riders, everyone looks after each other, give tips, offer new trails and places to ride, notify when police are around and even offer to use their bikes. Unlike surfing or other sports, there is a unity as everyone wishes to share the land and experiences equally. There’s no animosity, bullshit or crews and there’s always a helping hand if something goes wrong.

The landscape that I have traversed over the last year is something I could never have seen, on foot or any other method of transport. The need to get away from it all, took me there. This land truly is beautiful and it is only when you get away from the hustle and bustle, can you truly appreciate it. From lush waterfalls and rainforests to harsh cliffs, rock formations and amazing vistas, seeing it whilst on two wheels is truly amazing. Not to mention the exhilaration of motorbike riding itself.

But yet again I have been punished by our law and police for experiencing and having fun in my backyard. Police officers who have said and I quote “Look around cunt, there is no one around to see what I can do to you!” have bullied and thrown their authority around to try and keep me from enjoying this land. They had no rights that day and later let me off as I hadn’t broken any laws. I ride a legal, road registered bike which makes it easier to get away if I am in a situation which is breaking the law, which I often am as there are only two places on the entire Gold Coast which are legal.

In July 09 there was a raid on some land which many riders often use, several people got arrested but we got away thanks to a horse rider who was also riding on the land (her and her horse were also asked to leave or get arrested). We have been told on several occasions that we are destroying the land, I’m not saying that we don’t create a change in the environment but we certainly respect and look after it. What we later found out is that this very land is to be subdivided into 50 000 blocks by Delfin or Stockland or some bullshit organisation. So not only will it be totally destroyed, leaving nothing but street lights, scum and duplexes but we cannot ride there and enjoy what it has to offer - after them telling us we are destroying the land.


As humans of this earth, we owe it to ourselves and to this earth to spend time in the great outdoors. Unfortunately in modern society, most people forget about the wilderness opting for a day at the shops or TV. It’s easier, takes less effort and more convenient than taking a bush walk into the mountains. It's also too easy to become so dependent on technology to get through the day that we almost can't survive without it.


There are so many amazing places in this part of the world, break free and escape from the bright lights, you will feel the difference it can make on your life.

Avoid the trail (but be aware where you are) and create your own.

The Contents of Your Daily Life..

How many hours a day do you spend in front of a television screen? A computer screen? Behind an automobile windscreen? All three screens combined? What are you being screened from? How much of your life comes at you through a screen, vicariously?

Is watching things as exciting as doing things? Do you have enough time to do all the things that you want to? Do you have enough energy to? Why? And how many hours a day do you sleep? How are you affected by standardized time, designed solely to synchronize your movements with those of millions of other people? How long do you ever go without knowing what time it is? Who or what controls your minutes and hours? The minutes and hours that add up to your life? Are you saving time? Saving it up for what?

Can you put a value on a beautiful day, when the birds are singing and people are walking around together? How many dollars an hour does it take to pay you to stay inside and sell things or file papers? What can you get later that will make up for this day of your life?

How are you affected by being in crowds, by being surrounded by anonymous masses? Do you find yourself blocking your emotional responses to other human beings? And who prepares your meals? Do you ever eat by yourself? Do you ever eat standing up? How much do you know about what you eat and where it comes from? How much do you trust it?

What are we deprived of by labor-saving devices? By thought-saving devices? How are you affected by the requirements of efficiency, which place value on the product rather than the process, on the future rather than the present, the present moment that is getting shorter and shorter as we speed faster and faster into the future? What are we speeding towards? Are we saving time? Saving it up for what?

How are you affected by being moved around in prescribed paths, in elevators, buses, subways, escalators, on highways and sidewalks? By moving, working, and living in two- and three-dimensional grids? How are you affected by being organized, immobilized, and scheduled rather than wandering, roaming freely and spontaneously? Scavenging? (Shoplifting?) How much freedom of movement do you have--freedom to move through space, to move as far as you want, in new and unexplored directions?

And how are you affected by waiting? Waiting in line, waiting in traffic, waiting to eat, waiting for the bus, waiting to urinate--learning to punish and ignore your spontaneous urges? How are you affected by holding back your desires? By sexual repression, by the delay or denial of pleasure, starting in childhood, along with the suppression of everything in you that is spontaneous, everything that evidences your wild nature, your membership in the animal kingdom? Is pleasure dangerous?

Could danger be joyous? Do you ever need to see the sky? (Can you see many stars in it any more?) Do you ever need to see water, leaves, foliage, animals? Glinting, glimmering, moving? Is that why you have a pet, an aquarium, houseplants? Or are television and video your glinting, glimmering, moving? How much of your life comes at you through a screen, vicariously? If your life was made into a movie, would you watch it? How do you feel in situations of enforced passivity?

How are you affected by a non-stop assault of symbolic communication--audio, visual, print, billboard, video, radio, robotic voices--as you wander through a forest of signs? What are they urging upon you? Do you ever need solitude, quiet, contemplation? Do you remember it? Thinking on your own, rather than reacting to stimuli? Is it hard to look away?

Is looking away the very thing that is not permitted? Where can you go to find silence and solitude? Not white noise, but pure silence? Not loneliness, but gentle solitude? How often have you stopped to ask yourself questions like these? Do you find yourself committing acts of symbolic violence? Do you ever feel lonely in a way that words cannot even express? Do you sometimes feel yourself ready to LOSE CONTROL?

White Sharks Tales..

White Sharks Tales.. as told by Captain Ahab.

The strength of capitalism lies in its ability to make us be still. Where there is stillness, there is the danger of being chained down. It slips upon you like a thief in the night, tip-toeing past your defenses. It first appears in many guises—careers, expectations, degrees, promises… parents, neighbors, children, employees, students, rent, mortgages, plans that we never had a say in and futures that aren’t ours to possess. Yes, the capitalist thief moves quietly in the night, and the thief is efficient. The thief takes everything, and leaves you nothing but a shell, a cheap imitation of the life you really want. Nevertheless—the landbarons, however nefarious, cannot pillage the houseless.

More.

The Domestication of Man – by Alcohol..

Enkidu, a shaggy, unkempt, almost bestial primitive man, who ate grass
and could milk wild animals, wanted to test his strength against Gilgamesh,
the God-King. Gilgamesh sent a prostitute to Enkidu to learn of his strengths
and weaknesses.

Enkidu enjoyed a week with her during which she taught him of civilization. Enkidu knew not what bread was, nor had he learned to drink beer. She spoke unto Enkidu: “Eat the bread now, it belongs to life. Drink also beer, as it is the custom of the land.”

Enkidu drank seven cups of beer and his heart soared. In this condition he washed himself and became a civilized being.

– The first written narrative of civilization, the Epic of Gilgamesh written in 3000 BC, describes the domestication of Enkidu the Primitive by means of beer.

Shit booger Stevie..

Nah, this guy can shred..check out his vid

Australian Bodyboarding Stevie Middlemiss

Darkside Skateboards - Aaron Kearney..

Aaron Kearney new footage from Darkside skate shop on Vimeo.

Widow The Sea @ Nightlife..

Widow the Sea performing Emergence AD Live @ Nightlife 26/7/09 www.myspace.com/widowthesea

Filmed by Rhys Butters

The Matador @ Nightlife..

The Matador performing Eclipse Live @ Nightlife 5/8/09
www.myspace.com/thematadornoise

Filmed by Rhys Butters

Gold Coast Shredders..

Darkside Skateboards

Gold Coast shredders from Darkside skate shop on Vimeo.

Mini movie edited by Julian Lee.
Featuring: Jimmy Roche, Julian Lee, Jesse Noonan & Pat Dandy

Nihilist Manifesto is..

Ramblings, thoughts and things that interest me..

The Hidden Massacre..

An Italian director (through RAI TV) has created a film about the military's use of White Phosphorus called The Hidden Massacre well worth watching to get an idea of what Israel’s use in Gaza of this chemical weapon is likely producing now.

The USA used this weapon against Fallujah in Iraq and Israel and has used it previously in Lebanon. Nothing much has changed since the US used napalm against the Vietnamese.

Undead Creatures following orders..

Anarchists use democracy—but we don’t let democracy use us. For us, the first and last matter is always the needs and feelings of the individuals involved—any system to address them is provisional at best. We don’t try to force ourselves into the confines of any establisthed procedures—we apply procedures to the extent that they serve human needs, and discard them past that point. Seriously, what should come first—our systems, or us? We cooperate or coexist with others, including other life forms, whenever it’s possible. But we don’t prize consensus, let alone The Rule of Law, above our own values and dreams—when we can’t come to an agreement, we go our own ways, rather than limiting each other. In extreme cases, when others refuse to acknowledge our needs or persist in doing unconscionable, harmful things, we intercede by whatever means are necessary— not on behalf of Justice or revenge, but simply to represent our own interests. We see laws as nothing more than the shadows of our predecessors’ customs, lengthened by the years to seem more wise than our own judgment.

They persist as undead creatures, imposing unnatural stipulations upon us that do not enable justice, but only interfere with it—while at the same time estranging us from it, framing it as something we cannot carry out without arcane formalities and judges’ wigs. These laws, having multiplied and atrophied over time, are now so alien and inscrutable that a priest class of lawyers makes a living off the rest of us as astrologers of the stars our well meaning ancestors set in precarious orbit. The man who insists that justice can only be maintained by the rule of law is the same one who appears on the witness stand at the war crime tribunal swearing he was only following orders. There’s no Justice—it’s just us. Anarchist economies are radically different from other economies. Anarchists not only conduct their transactions differently, but trade in an entirely different currency— one which is not convertible into the kind of assets for which capitalists compete and communists draft Five Year Plans.

Capitalists, socialists, communists exchange products; anarchists interchange assistance, inspiration, loyalty. Capitalist, socialist, communist economies make human interactions into commodities: policing, medical care, education, even sexual relations become services that are bought and sold. Anarchist economies, focusing above all on the needs and desires of the individuals involved, transform products back into social relations: the communal experience of gardening or dumpster diving or playing music, the excitement and self-righteous high of stealing from a supermarket or squatting a building. The typical economic interaction in capitalist relations is the sale; in anarchist economics, it is the gift. - Crimethinc.

We are always for the war..

We were always for the war, and we will always be for the war – and our war is not the same as the hate-mongering wars of any religious fanatic or any foul government. We are for the war which we fight every day when we struggle to live and die with dignity, in harmony with the earth and each other. Our war is being waged by all those who suffer under the thumb of this insane world order, by all those who realize that we have nothing left to lose control over – and our own lives to gain.

"A scoundrel’s worst
fear is a society without
money: for in such a
society he would only get
the respect he deserves."

Our war is a war without borders or flags, without clear enemies or predefined objectives. Capitalism, authority, domination are all more tendencies than specific individuals or buildings—although over the millennia these tendencies have manifested themselves to a dangerous degree in certain people and institutions, even ourselves sometimes. We must first acknowledge this in order to fight back.

Self Sufficiency and starting a veggie garden..

I have had a passion for cooking since I was a young kid; always wanting to experiment with different flavours, ingredients and spices. I think it comes down to the "Typical Aussie" meals and lack of nutrition from the meat and 2 veg that was fed to me during adolescence.. however I was always grateful for the food - thanks Mum.

Through working on a farm for several years and learning how to grow my own food I decided to create my own garden at home and grow the herbs, spices and vegetables that I loved so much.

I thought the task would be difficult, labour intensive and time consuming, it was anything but that. To start my garden, I planted; Chillis, Rosemary, Oregano, Basil, Thyme, Corriander, Cucumber, Chives, Tomato, Pumpkin, Zucchini, Rocket, Mix Lettuce, Corn, Spring Onion, Onion, Garlic, Ginger and a few other vegetables.

The area needed to grow this amount of food was only approx 6m x 6m only and the time took to complete the garden was only a few hours. All I did was dig a 10cm deep, 6m x 6m section out of the lawn and filled it with compost, potting mix and any other scraps and nutritious soil and fed it with a bit of water and organic fertiliser. Then, simply put in the seeds and plants and it was done.

All that has to be done after this is water it a couple of times a week and watch the thing grow. It's amazing how much one seed can produce.

There's a kind of ruggered independence and pride in creating your own source of food. It's rewarding, peaceful and above all the produce tastes 100x better than any chemically sprayed, hydroponic, over priced food available. Organically produced veggies can be up to 200% more nutritious than that found at your local Woolworths.

There is a million and one reasons why trying to be self sufficient is a good idea. Who knows, we might have to be in ten years time.

We've forgotten how beautiful plants can be and it's a joy that you don't have to pay for.

I want a kind of personal autonomy and to be at least 75% self sufficient in the food I consume.

I think one of the reasons I love it so much is that while I have a natural desire to progress and move forward, I still have a deep love for nature. It's another small outlet to get back to nature, in the midst of the hustle and bustle.

Investigation into Photography begins..

Photography has always been something I have planned on learning but rather than learning through a course I wish to teach myself. I want to learn photography through personal mistakes and victories alone. I think this will take a long time but it's something that I want to achieve. I want to create my own style. Here is my first attempt at shooting a live gig at Nightlife on the Gold Coast with bands The Matador and Widow The Sea. Light was a major issue I had to contend with, I wanted to capture the intensity and vividness of their set. I struggled big time.

No longer to be poisoned by civilization he flees..

There comes a point to which one must analyze, reevaluate and take in what is truly occurring in their lives and their world around them. It may take something extreme to allow this evaluation and self-reflection to occur. For me it has been several events of late that have brought on my personal reflection. Almost all aspects of my life have had a major shift toward the negative (or so I would have thought if not for the reflection).

I have spent most of my life building my career and wealth for a "brighter future". This brighter future consisted of mostly material belongings. A nice house, cars and enough money so sustain my greed basically. I was consumed by consuming. I am designed to consume. I am told to consume, so I did so at a ridiculous rate, as do most of our society.

My future was extremely bright as I saw it. An amazing job, an amazing partner, money, cars and motorbikes and enough shit to keep any person blind to what was actually occurring. Greed and unnecessary spending. The thought of this was always in the back of my mind. I have held these beliefs quite high but over the past few years they have slipped away behind the wasted dollar signs.

The point at which I decided to leave all of this behind occurred when my dream job become quite unstable due to management becoming extremely greedy and money hungry as it so happened. So called best friends stabbing each other in the back for more power as the business became rapidly successful. I have worked for these people (and became very close friends) since the businesses inception and helped build it to what it is today, one of Australia's fastest growing and successful start up brands. To see my hard work go down the drain for pure greed has further shaped my beliefs and strengthened my feelings toward money, power and societies greed in general.

At first I was devastated but I am thankful this situation came about as it gave me the opportunity to sit back and take everything in and to evaluate to what extent I was living my life. Heading straight down the same path as these greedy monsters.

There's much we can do without.

I don't think totally abandoning bourgeois culture will solve this problem however much can be improved and I intend on doing so in my personal life.

It will be a grand adventure. A rejection of hierarchy, power, greed and status. I am casting myself out of the general community and testing my deepest, strongest beliefs.

Surely I can do something more with my life than work to consume and be bound by rules thrown upon us since birth? I can see past this, by reevaluating life, I now can see the truth or at least what I believe truth to be.