You should look up Christian psychedelia on Google

Rather than attempt to talk about my month in Paris or the film that is underway about the trip to Sicily with my friend and her family, I'm going to tell you what's cool.

Christian psychedelic is cool.

Let me tell you about my purchases at this shop on Rue de Belleville.  It was this Chinese two-dollar type shop, but it wasn't particularly two dollar.  In the bottom of the window, an image caught my eye.  A few days later I knew I had to buy it, so I returned in the snow and bought a couple of these Jesus pictures.  When you look at the picture from different angles, you see a different image.  I shall upload a picture another time.  I was spending so long deciding which images to get and the shop dude went to the back to get me more and kept showing them to me.  Then after I paid, I walked out and then this Chinese dude who was standing outside the shop was yelling at me in Chinese and I didn't understand and I thought he was talking to the shop woman and probs saying how weird I was.  But then I realised.

Oh yeah, and they had a wooden backing and gold-painted frame, and even though they were made of that processed wood, I had to declare at Australian customs.

In continuation of my in-depth details of places around the world, I shall tell you about this random place in Paris.  I went there because I wanted to eat pho and looked on the internet and found there was this place called Dong Huong, which apparently is the best as it was recommended on Lonely Planet website.  But, dude, the service!  Everyone else was served quickly.  I had to get their attention to come to take my order, my food took ages, which it shouldn't have since it was a bowl of soup, and they took ages to clean the bowl away eventhough I indicated it to them, and then I had to keep getting their attention and asking for the bill.  And it took ages.  And then I had to wait for my change.  Chicken pho is often not the best option, but I thought I would get it because I prefer it to beef and because they had a special northern selection and chicken pho is a northern thing.  It wasn't the best option, but then again, I didn't eat anything else there.  Also, as it was considered a well kept secret, those who consider it a secret were there. Id est, White People.  But it wasn't all bad!! It was pretty cheap and authentic and didn't taste of MSG.

So, this road was called Rue Louis Bonnet, and there is actually an exit from Belleville station directly on to it.  Which is good.  Because you come out and then you are on this street full of Vietnamese restaurants.  What I noticed were several Vietnamese sandwich bars, which I have not seen in Australia.

The second time I went to this part of the 11th, I went to have pho at Restaurant Tin Tin, which I recommend.  Also, they had a small portion option, which made me very happy because then it means I can almost finish my serve.  On the menu they also had all this other cool looking food and cha kway teow pictures and it actually looked not just authentic but delectable.  And the ambience was better.  

Then, in the snow, I went back to buy the Jesus pictures from Rue de Belleville.  One crosses from the Vietnamese street - Rue Louis Bonnet over Blvd de Belleville to Rue de Belleville.  Here are some pictures of some random stuff from that part of the 20th.  It was really weird because it was a bit of a Chinatown on this one street, but not in a trendy way.  And there were these vans with graffiti on them, and people selling vegetables and the streets were lined with Chinese men in black jackets and smoking while it snowed.  And then up the road it became more middle eastern. 

The not so good pho ga. Also, I feel weird when I eat egg and chicken in the same dish.

I think I have discovered that the claim that you are can't get good Asian food in Paris and its ghettos is not true.  "Restaurant Asiatique - pho, Thai food and sushi" is not the be all and end all.

So what does this have to do with Christian coolness?  Ahh, you may have noticed in my pictures some Christian stuff that was randomly in the 20th jut after the Chinese restaurants.

Weird and cool right?

So, Christian psychededelic.  This does not mean wearing bracelets with virgin marys from Sportsgirl.  Since when was that a thing.  You've got to have guts to do that ironically, like, you've got to be the type who can do the whole feigned post-ironic thing.

This look is wearing rosaries that are meant to be on the wall or in your pocket, as necklaces.  Yep.  Also, here's some music I'm into:

1. I don't want to go into depth about how saying how this music makes me feel cool to be Australian when I gets totes aggro about people feeling "proud to be Australian".  But seriously, an Australian Catholic nun made this music in the 1960s:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7uvZPIE6f-s

2. This Singapore 1960s group called October Cherries (or the Surfers, before they changed to October Cherries) is way cool, just like in that "Jesus was was cool" song.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ijo8e5FoFjU

That's it for now.  

Actually, no it is not.  You need to know the difference between true Indie Christian coolness and the taste of the congregation/masses.  Here are acceptable types of Christian music for Indies:  Anything that is not modern, id est, not "Worship Music", Christian pop or hip trendy church stuff.  Hymns and old stuff are fine.  Thee sixties is always great because it's a way progressive period.

Playlists

Why am I typing?  I got up at the crack of dawn to type up an assignment, worked on it during my free period, skipped a class to work on it, and spent all lunch on it as well. Do I want RSI or whatever?

As soon as you hear that someone's made a playlist, you know that guy knows his stuff and is, hence, an Indie.  But what drives the Indie to create a playlist?  The key is in the words "Indie" and "create".  As you surely know, Indies have this innate sense of creativity and this compels them to do creative things, like, all the time.  There's no mundane in the Indie's life - music listening is fancy.

Throughout an Indie's life, they have moods, experiences, awakenings and phases.  How great would it be if your life had a soundtrack.  Frankly, that wouldn't really work out because seeing as there is not a god picking the songs for you, you will be needing hindsight to do this.  This is because the music needs to be reflective of you and your experiences.  Each time you're feeling a certain way, you can scream your heart out to those certain songs that give the message that you need to get through this experience.  Bring them back to their youth or whatever, help you in your time of trial.  Madonna is an artist who really helps people along.  I'm not an expert.

Another reason for creating playlists is to at least get some cudos for coolness when you're felling bitter about your lack of soundtrack to life.

Yet another cause to create them is that once you've put the time and energy into creating a playlist, you've set the mood for your work and so you're able to carry through with one idea for longer.  Otherwise you'd totally not be focused because you'd be being carried off by other creative ideas.

In Stuff White People Like, Christian Lander caps locks the word "warning" and then writes:  "Indie music is perhaps the most dangerous subject you can discuss with white people.  One false move and you will lose their respect and admiration forever."  (What would you say if I told you I listen to the BeeGees nearly everyday?)  To a great extent, you can redeem yourself if one bad song is on a list of great songs.  One song doesn't define your taste.  It's part of a collection of tracks.  And when you're in the mood...

Some people are using 8tracks.  You can make, like a piece of art to go with your playlist.  The thing is that these days, people are making not just playlists to go with their moods but also mood boards etc.  So, like, Indies are being creative all the time.  When you post an 8tracks playlist of your creation, you're bringing it all together.

Good old iTunes.  Take a screenshot of your playlist and Wall post it someone on Facebook.  Aside form the fact that it gets your taste out there, it's a really considerate thing to do for someone because seeing as music is the closest thing to your soul and you are SHARING IT WITH SOMEONE, like, wow, man.  Also, they are LETTING YOU JUDGE THEM and their life experiences based on their tastes.

If you're only going to take one thing away from this blog post, let it be this:  People who upload playlists to Facebook are totally selfless. And you should take advantage of it.  However, you are indebted to the person who shares their soul out to you and who could possibly be CHANGING YOUR LIFE.  Remember this forever.  If you wouldn't plagiarise in your essays, then you shouldn't take on someone else's taste as your own without proper referencing.

I'll Be There For You!!

Here is a list of some of what has been going around in my mind the past couple of days:

1. Television Shows
2. Alter Egos (haha, I'm thinking about the ones I used to look at on the Daria website!)
3. Whether one can successfully liken TV characters to dishes at Yum Cha.

Of these three, I should like to talk about Number One. And in particular, the degree of catchiness and effectiveness of the theme-song. (Are they even called theme-songs? You know, the song that plays with the title! Title-song?)

Here are some that came to my mind quickly:

1. Postman Pat: 360 degrees for having left such a strong impression. If I were to temporarily lose my memory, it would be one of the first things to come back;
2. Dance Academy: Sadly I can only say 270 degrees. This is because the song fails to capture the historic vibe of Sydney, which one does, in fact, feel when watching the street scenes;
3. Summer in Transylvania: Guys, there isn't a second season. This is a cause for sadness. This show has one of my all-time favourite theme-songs! But should I give it 360 degrees when the title page looks kind of homemade? This show cracks me up - every episode Summer was looking for some romance and a chance to get popular;
4. Dead Gorgeous: This is what I call a good, wholesome television show for big-kids. The theme-song is catchy but, look, take this from a fan, the song is too uncool - it's actually more uncool than the show itself.
5. Daria: I haven't watched this show in years. If I had a recording of Mystik Spiral's song, I'd play it everyday. 360 degrees.
6. Friends: 360 degrees. It's truly got a special place in today's culture. Question - what would happen if one went to a busy public place and blasted out a recording of "I'll Be There For You"?
7. Community: is to be awarded zero degrees/F grade for it's theme-song. Nice attempt at one, either you actually don't have one or it is just so unmemorable that I can't remember it. (I remember the paper-folding, though)

On an aside - Dubstep music. It kind of reflects how modern culture is so influenced by TV shows and video games that they have become inseparable with modern identity. 

And then now something that has come to the population from the media is  being sent back into the media.

Is this ironic?

Another aside - ALERT - the TV show on ABC 3 called The Assistants. It is possibly the most appalling show that channel airs. You know all those things people call inappropriate for children's shows and in very poor taste? The Assistants takes it to the next level and portrays these bad values in a good light. I have only seen one episode and I was shocked. If you are interested in this cause, you should only have to read a synopsis. 

Eight New Year's Resolutions of and IndieChild

1. Take More Photos: Everything around you makes for a great photo. It's just a matter of taking the photo. I need to take time to see the world I live in through a lens. This means not only the interesting shapes of the world but also relationships between people I know, and people I don't know. Every time I see my friends, we make memories. I don't want to grow old and forget. I dream to be an old person with heaps of photos who can bore kids with them (jokes, they wouldn't be bored, they'll be in awe of what my friends and I did in 2012).
2. Clear Out my Wardrobe: I just have so many things that aren't worth keeping, so many things that just don't work with me. And the less clutter I have in my life, the more 'zen' I feel and just so much more creative.
3. Blog More Often: I mustn't let great stuff pass by that I can share with my fans. Also, like my photography (which often appears on my blog), my Blog is a huge creative outlet for me. I feel really ill when I can't release the creativity that builds up/brews within me. Once I've put myself out there (ie being published to the world), I start feeling really inspired and the juices of creativity start to flood back in. I'm really looking forward to your comments!
4. Stand Up For Myself More: This is a really important resolution for me. I'm too nice to everyone, even people I don't like. And what happens is I get walked all over. I need to always get my point across and stop being walked all over by everyone. 
5. Go On a Road Trip: I've always really wanted to go on one and I think I need to because they're such an important part of growing up and finding who you are. Normally, when you're driving around town, you have no thoughts. But not on a Road Trip. it's a perfectly designed time for figuring out things about myself - I select the music (maybe I'll also jam in the back) and I may or may not know which roads I'll be taking across this vast country.
6. Devote More Time to my Music: This resolution is really important to me. Music is not just a huge creative outlet for me, but working on it makes you better at it. Music makes us truly human, it connects us. And part of standing up for myself means not being afraid of people judging my own compositions. Music is great because it's in both time with others and time spent by myself.
7. Laugh More and Have Great Times: Spending every moment I can with my friends ensures this. Who doesn't want to have a good life? There are so many funny things out there, such as funny websites. I've really got to incorporate fun stuff into everything I do. It shouldn't be too hard if you've got a) a funny bone and b) can see potential.
8. Redecorate my Room: Their bedroom is where teens can really let it all out - their feelings, their personal style and their creativity. I really want to make my bedroom totally me, I mean, I'm not going to be a teenager forever! I'm really inspired by being a teen. The room really needs to be an explosion of "me". All sorts of childhood and thriftshop trinkets have stories and I feel a connection with them. And I find that crap chucked/strewn across my room really inspires me. I'll just wake up and see all this stuff which really gets me in the frame of mind for my day (before even doing my glam-rock makeup!)

tous vos cliches

Head scarves have been around god knows how long and same with turbans. Timeless pieces. What we should not fail to think about are the different types. There are gypsy ones, pirate ones, religious ones, Queen Elizabeth II ones, cancer sufferer ones, babushka ones, Paris Hilton ones, fifties ones like Audrey Hepburn ones and Grace Kelly ones, and of course "ethnic" ones, the list goes on. I've been a wearer of the Grace Kelly in my past. Let's just say many people with good taste have worn headbands/scarves/turbans and many people with bad taste have as well. Today, there are people who think the fifties was the ultimately ideal decade and try to make their 21st Century life into a 1950s one.

In my search for images for this blog post, I've noticed that Elizabeth Taylor is the queen of the headscarves.

Enough of the Elizabeth Taylor pictures, Billie!

Take note as I talk about the alternative headband/scarf, the topic of this blog post. The original one worn by modern alternatives is the one you see hippies wearing at markets. I bought one of those long ones that you scrunch up, but I wear it as a tube top. Unlike the Paris Hilton Band, these alternative ones actually hold back your hair and protect the ears from the cold. This makes them ideal for outdoor ventures. I've seen this great picture on Facebook of friends on school camp wearing those Indie bands that scrunch up with flannel tops. Where one must tread carefully is when experimenting with the second Indiest style. This is the headband turban like Ashley Olsen wears. The ready-sewn-together  "silk" band that gives, as Americans would say, that "Oriental" vibe is quite inferior to the home-knitted variety or the nice silk scarf tied around the head.

An example of the essence of the alternative headband/scarf and its wearer? Well, take a look at Zaz singing Je Veux with her strong voice. Get the message.

I'm starting a new section of the blog called "Dear Billie" (how creative am I?), which is where you can ask me a question and I might answer it publicly. I'm starting it off by asking myself a question and answering it, so that you get what it's all about if you haven't encountered this sort of column/post before. The beauty of it is that the readers don't have to know your true identity unless I sell it or anything.

Dear Billie,

I don't really know what to say so I'm just gonna say a lot.
I've always been ahead of the trends. Other people are copying me and that's the thing, they aren't giving me credit.
Like, I don't want to be rude or anything, but I was in to the Beatles before every other Tom, Dick or Harry. And they never tell their friends that they first heard about them from me. Also, I liked the Beatles before they got on to iTunes.
I have always been into vintage stuff and the sixties and I have always known who Adolf Hitler was and about Ralph Lauren.
Maybe people don't always know that I know things, like, is it because I have not been walking around in one of those t-shirts with the big polo symbol?

People don't appreciate what I appreciate. Seriously guys, you have a lot to thank Ralph Lauren for.
Sometimes I have a great idea and don't do it or I have a great idea and do it and get "dissed" by the public. And then five years later (seriously), everyone's doing it, even the popular people. 
Is it just me or...oh my god! I'm getting all chocking up over this. Oh my god! I just remembered how when I was little, kids copied the way I tied by shoelaces with bunny ears. And then they all denied it being first done by me.
Please tell me what's wrong. In the past twelve months alone, people have copied these things about me:

1. Wearing Doc Martens with a floral dress;
2. Taking photos with soft lighting. I was using Vaseline or thing cloth on the lens, but people are using this online programme...?;
3. Dip-dying. When I first did it, everyone thought it was called tie-dying;
4. Liking their mother's old clothes. Dude, and they all hated their mothers before!;
5. Reblogging on Tumblr. Seriously! I was the first to reblog!!!!!!!

And now people are calling things "Indie". But I feel they don't actually "get" Indie stuff. It's as though suddenly everything I liked has now got a label because it just so happens that my taste is "Indie". Only it wasn't called that back then, it was just me.

xoxo Your Only Fan, Australian teen, 2011

Dear You're only a fan so after I reply, don't reply.

Sometimes the world just isn't ready for things. Perhaps similar to your case, Mahayana Buddhists believe that during the Buddha's life, people were not ready for the deeper truths of the Mahayana Doctrine. Just remember, if you're ready but they aren't, it's okay. This is called wisdom. I think it's hard to be the right guy at the right time. But hey, look, it'll all come together. Jesus lead a difficult life but this was part of a bigger plan which we can now see. And we, the ones who nailed him to the cross, can now love and appreciate him.
I think there are several paths you can choose from for success.

1. Be assertive about your style. This will be positive if people already like you because you will become known and admired for your style and you will become famous. I don't think Plan One will really work if people don't already like you because they will not want to look like you and you will never be given credit. (I'm guessing people already like you if they follow your style);
2. You stop being Indie. I don't think people in Australia are into steampunk nor "popular music/culture", so that's always an option;
3. Do as my Year Eight Latin teacher told those who finished their work quickly and accurately, which is to sit back and feel/look smug.

Whatever. You go girl! Whatever you do, show the world your taste and creativity - don't confine it to your Moleskine Notebook! I think people on the Internet will get you, like they got Tavi Gevinson. Maybe you should get a blog like me.

Sincerely,

Billie

P.S. When I first described Indie style to mum, she was like what the hell, Doc Martens with a floral dress is a "classic look". ("What the hell" is the look I got off her face, not what she really thought/said).

P.S.S I think you should watch this episode of Lizzie McGuire where Gordo's retro style is ripped off by everyone at school 

A Satisfying Sunday

Dude, I've been dying since my parents put dynamic lifter and blood 'n' bone in the garden. Sore, choking throat...

Anyway, last Sunday, I went to the fete day for the radio station ArtSound. There was a whole room full of LPs, CDs and cassettes. And by the time I'd finished packing up a box of stuff to buy, the whole box cost me just two dollars. This pristine condition Francoise Hardy record was my BARGAIN BUY!

The others I bought because they had what I thought were funny covers at the time (but not in retrospect). I haven't listened to any of them.

How does she get her hair so perfect?

No comment

I'm getting really into the curved square

I actually like this one. It's got the right amount of pretension. 

the back - Is his name actually "Bob Dyland"?

Classic font for records! Definitely the colours of tranquility...

Maybe if I listened to this music I would understand the relevance of the image on the front

Hit Hits - seriously?

Why do they look like they're dying? Maybe it's a Virgin Suicides thing I don't get...

There was a lot of Hawaiian music

The back of Guava Jam

I actually like this one. I suddenly got this flash of a rookiemag photoshoot because of the rock and the girl's angle

Look at how the man is looking at those flowers in his hand!

the back

lowercase font - never ceases to be Indie

The new Indie way to do your eyebrows. At first I thought the one on her left was her eyelashes, though.

The Kingdom of Spain

Ah, hello to the many readers who follow my blog! Hahaha. Anyway, since quite a while back I’ve been wanting to do a pilgrim walk through Spain. Wouldn’t that be so interesting? And a few days ago I watched Anthony Bourdain’s No Reservations trip to Spain and I was thinking about Spain again. Hahaha. I know, Whiter Shades of Pale by Christian Lander has a chapter about the show. I realised a bit of hilarious hypocrisy in that episode – so, this Anthony Bourdain guy is tired of the whole nouvelle cuisine scene and is searching for something different, a bit more down to earth. Buhe was praising Spain as the place to go for the latest in food exploration, indulgence and study! Hahaha. I’m just linking to a page I think is quite inspiring and creative (read: ‘creative’ is an indie attribute) which I found on the internet. It’s an interactive metro map of the Spanish Indie music scene. Unfortunately I didn’t know how to show the map on this page so you’ll have to follow the link.

http://graficos.lainformacion.com/arte-cultura-y-espectaculos/musica-rock-and-roll/el-mapa-de-metro-del-indie-espanol_W8ZtXUdjluWQOpQ8EWz8m6/

Billie.