The 'D' word!

There seems to be so much confusion on when a date is an actual 'date'. Maybe confusion is not the right word, maybe it is hesitation and maybe it is pride that have seen the 'D' word move into a similar realm to the 'L' word. When I refer to the 'D' word, I of course mean 'D' for date. Insanely, just like the L word, we seem to fear using it. Heaven forbid we say it out loud and it isn't returned!

Many a conversation has been had with my friends over the definition of a date. I defined it as being a meeting between two or more people (I am trying to be open minded here!), that like each other, are attracted to each other in some way and  want to see if something more intimate than a friendship will come of things. Obviously a blind date is a little different as there is no attraction to draw the parties together to begin with, but the aim is similarly to see if something more intimate than a friendship will occur.

A date (as stated in a previous blog post) is  where we 'get to know each other' through conversation.
It is an opportunity to highlight how amazing each person is, and to convince the other person that we are worth seeing again. It is also our opportunity to decide if we want to spend more time with the other person.


How does a date differ from a catch up?

I am glad you asked! A catch up is what I do with friends. It is a continuation of sorts, a continuation of meeting, of conversation and of friendship. Do I even need to point out that there are no romantic or sexual feelings between myself and my friends?  Let me be clear. My life is not a Hollywood movie, in which everyone knows my best friend and I are meant for each other and it is only after some significant event that we realise that we loved each other all along and then are together for the rest of our lives.... Chances are no one elses life is like this.. well the majority of us.. and the reason is.. our lives are real and not some Hollywood film plot written with the aim to bring momentarily happiness into the lives of the unhappily single, or unhappily partnered.



One person I dated famously argued that we had not gone on any dates, but had just 'caught up' a few times. His definition of a date was that if both parties meet and AFTER meeting decided that they were interested in meeting again to see what happens, then it was called a 'date'. Crazy stuff yeah?
I pointed out that this doesn't work with a 'blind date' i.e. it is only a blind date if after meeting both parties decide that they were interested in meeting again to see what happens... My ex-date begrudgingly saw my point and conceded defeat! And yes, now says that we went on a couple of dates.

What is so wrong with using the 'D' word? Are our own egos so fragile that we will only use it if the other person likes us enough to want to see us again? Is the 'D' word fast becoming the new 'L' word, and possibly soon to over take it? Are we now tentatively trying to suss out if the other person will respond in kind before we dare use the 'D'  word ourselves? Perhaps the word is getting stuck in our throats as we struggle to say it, as we struggle to commit to something, to the word, to the concept and to the idea of a possible new emotional beginning.

Maybe the D word is fast becoming the new L word, but I am going to do all I can to make my dates more accountable and to get them to overcome their fears and commit!, if only to the concept!

and back to pick the car up.

A couple of weeks back, I blogged about how my car  'Stacey' had died so far from home. A week later it had been repaired and ready to be picked up. Unfortunately the mechanic was not open on weekends and was 120-130 kms away. I had no choice but to leave work at lunch time on a Friday, to catch a train into town and then a train out to the country. I ran to make all my connections and was a bit puffed... but I had thought ahead to bring along my camera along so that I could take some photos along the way... here they are:


Waiting for the train to leave the city:

Photos from a moving train:

 

The car had finally been collected. I headed home with no delay, but as it was still light, I couldn't help but pull over to take a few quick photos:

Stacey is now home, as am I.. but whether she will be allowed out to go on further country drives remains to be seen. Mind you, there is always the country train.

All photographs copyright matthew schiavello 2013.

The Good, The Bad and the ugly- July 2013

The Good:

Yes, well... we have all heard about it, some of us have gone to it and in case you do not know, it is still on for a couple more days until the 17th of July!   Yes, I am talking about the group exhibition I am in,  'Together Again with more Friends', at Steps Gallery (62 Lygon St, South Carlton, Victoria, Australia). Daily from 11am until 5pm.

I will be manning the gallery this Sunday if you want to pop in and say hello.

I am humbled to have sold over half of my pieces! So get down and see what all the fuss is about! A huge thanks to all that helped out at the opening, especially my mates Dean and Eduardo, their help really made the day a success!

Here are a couple of photos of some of my art work and I, taken by the fabulous Ric!

 Ever the serious artists...... actually the truth is, I just never smile for the camera.

The Bad:  Hipstergeddon!!!!

Yep, last Monday, Northcote, Thornbury and some other (not so cool) suburbs, had a major power black out for 6 or so hours, lasting until just after midnight! In my area, we did not even have street lights or traffic lights! It was very eerie. Being Northside and being a hipster haven... twitter went mad and here are some of the tweets that I thought to be humorous!

Tweets courtesy of The Flack

-Van Badham @vanbadham: OMG WHAT INSTA FILTER DO YOU USE IN A BLACKOUT?! #hipstergeddon

-Johan @johanson_anders: Is it raining soy-substitute blood yet in Thornbury? #hipstergeddon

-Joey JoJo Jr Shabado @Straffo: It’s quiet now, #hipstergeddon. This is merely while they fashion their flat iPhones & iPads into crude weapons to use in the coming attack.

-Gordon Knight @KankiKnight: Knog lights being distributed to yarn bombers to keep their crucial work going #hipstergeddon

-Lol @wordhappylol: Relief for #hipstergeddon victims as free replacement beanies are handed out at a secret pop-up laneway location

-Timothy Zeven @Zevensoft: I let my iPhone battery die as a sign of solidarity to those in Northcote #hipstergeddon

-Alli Campbell @CampbellAlli: Hipsters attempting to cross the blackout border. Met by placards reading “GO BACK TO WHERE YOU CAME FROM” #hipstergeddon

-Marc Clancy @clangaz: iPhone battery 2% If I don’t make it through the night tell my naturopath I love him. #hipstergeddon

-Benjamin Solah @benjaminsolah: iPhone nearly dead. Don’t think I’ll make it. Promise to publish my zine about fixies posthumously #hipstergeddon

-Joseph Miller @joffotron: My brothers and sisters still in the grip of the #hipstergeddon, as your batteries die, your voices may be silent but you are not forgotten.



Do Hipsters watch Q & A? these tweets suggest so....

-Mike Nicholson @Mikey_Nicholson: How could #hipstergeddon happen the same night as @TurnbullMalcolm is on #qanda?!? THE TERRORISTS HAVE WON.

-AlBay @AlisterBayston: If #qanda is broadcast but Northcote is in #blackout, does anybody see it? #hipstergeddon #ifatreefalls

-Declan Fay @declanf: Northern suburbs filled with high pitched desperate screams, as residents cry their #qanda tweets into darkness. #hipstergeddon

Lastly, The Hearld Sun newspaper lead their story on the power outage with: "ELECTRICITY became too mainstream for Melbourne hipsters last night."




The Ugly: Referring to oneself in the third person.

My work place has a 'back entrance' to a local cafe, which sees everyone from my quite large workplace, funnel in for coffees and food all day long.. a cash cow, if there ever was one....Recently, as I walked through the special entrance to the cafe to order a much needed morning coffee, I spied a work colleague, intimately holding hands with some new man and looking all googly eyes at him... I stared in disbelief as I walked past them and thought, I get this is a public cafe, but it is one used by work and 90% of the clientele are work people......seriously, is this appropriate? (rhetorical question!).

Anyway, on my way back through, Jane (lets just call her that), saw me and things went a little like this:

Jane, smiling broadly - 'oh, Hi!'

Me, Glaring and putting on a forced smile and a furrowed brow 'Hi'

Jane - 'This is my new man..... ' she said as she gazed off into space...

Me puzzled, but with brow still furrowed, 'Didn't you just break up with someone, like... 2 days ago?
(Do I need to state that I was direct?)

Jane- 'yeah.....Jane is so happy right now' (yes that is right, she referred to herself in the third person!)

Me , quick as a whip and angry as all hell 'DID YOU JUST REFER TO YOURSELF IN THE THIRD PERSON?

Jane, still smiling idiotically... 'yes'...

Me, shaking my head disapprovingly from side to side, as my eyes almost popped themselves out of my head in anger- 'THAT HAS TO STOP! THAT IS NOT OK!'

At which point I turned on my heels and furiously stormed back off to work.

I don't know what was worse, referring to herself in the third person, or being all lovey-dovey in a space which is practically a work cafe... and doing it whilst surrounded by single people! who want to be in a relationship, but are tragically still single....... and yes, matthew is talking about matthew!



Photographs copyright Ric 2013, Art works copyright matthew schiavello 2013

New exhibition!!!!!

If you have been living under a rock, you may not be aware that I am part of a group show starting this Sunday. All of Melbourne will hopefully be turning out this Sunday from 2pm till 6pm at Steps Gallery (62 Lygon St, South Carlton, Victoria, Australia).

An early flyer concept, with a piece of mine: 'g.rd#144':

Getting ready for the show. A fellow artist assists me with hanging my works:

What to expect:
Varying styles of art from six different artists. Photography, Sculpture, water colours, pastels and painting.

From me: I have 20 X 30 inch framed photographs, 12 X 18 inch framed photographs as well as some handmade (by myself) blank photocards, all for sale, or just to savor visually.

Hand made cards you ask?


Yes!  I have scored, folded, pasted, stamped and made some lovely handmade cards of the images from the exhibition. Very exclusive ,very limited and very reasonably priced!

Sneak peek:

I hope to see you there.

regards
matthew schiavello.

All images copyright of matthew schiavello 2013.