SMC3 is experimenting with different colours and more abstract images and installation. Winged creatures, tattooed monsters and classic cartoon characters, holding their weapon of choice or his trademark bottle of poison…

This is SMC3’s first solo show since 2006. Since then, he has participated in over 2 dozen group shows in Sydney and Melbourne. SMC3 is also experimenting with the idea of repetition seen in the pop art movement, but now has become an important part of the identity of street art. The same characters repeated in the streets all over the city. Same marks, to help identify the author of those images, repeat, loop.

What: Vagabonds boneyard by SMC3
Where: Oh Really Gallery
Address: 55 Enmore Road, Newtown
When: 9th September to 16th September 2009

TIME Australia magazine and Customs House have partnered to produce a photographic and multimedia exhibition that pays tribute to Michael Jackson’s life and legacy.

The exhibition is held for 29 days, coinciding with what would have been Michael Jackson’s 51st birthday on Saturday, August 29 and his burial day which is scheduled for Thursday, September 3. Free of charge and open to
the public, all are welcome to both commemorate his death and celebrate his life.

Images from TIME’s Special Commemorative Edition, which was editorially created within 36 hours of his death, are the main showcase in Red Room, Customs House. These poignant and compelling images trace the timeline of a superior entertainer— from child prodigy to international superstar— and are coupled with the text of TIME writers and contributors as well as quotes from those near and dear to him.

To celebrate the life and legacy of a truly inspirational entertainer, sound, light and moving images are employed in a multimedia display to accompany the framed exhibition pieces. DVD anthologies will play and computer kiosks will allow guests to visit TIME.com and see their vast archive of Michael Jackson articles, videos and much more.

What: Michael Jackson: Prodigy to Superstar
Where: Red Room, Ground Level, Customs House
When: Until the 27th September 2009
Cost: Free

To follow up on last weeks bumper mix GLOVES handed us, BangGang 12inches continues their weekly podcast series leading up to the release of their very first BangGang 12inches Compilation this October. This week, baby faced killer Cassian delivers a mind-melting mix that delves deep into the freshest of the fresh, the deepest of the deep and the technoist of the techno. Cassian is the latest Bang Gang 12s signing and makes the synth-heavy feelgood party jammers that have been banned in over 5 countries and counting. After remixing the likes of Bag Raiders, Damn Arms and Empire of the Sun, this bad-boy will drop a single (along with jaws) later in the year.

For the unschooled, Bang Gang 12s is the who’s who of rave caves from across Australia and around the globe, with KIM, Bag Raiders, ZZZ, Shazam, Hey Today, The Lowbrows and Like Woah! All fronting up with the goods time after time, simultaneously setting dance floors and hearts on fire with their own brand of digi-intelligence and tech-yes. What better way to honor the glamour of Bang Gang 12s than to name and shame them with their very own compilation?

The second episode in the BangGang 12s presents mini mix series comes from Sydney wunderkid, Cassian. Not only is a fine keyboard dude, daggerer and all round nightclub cavilier but he has put together a fine lil mix for you…for free! One coming every week until the release of the CD in early October!

The internet has just turned 40 years old.  In 1969, computers sending data between two California universities set the stage for the Internet, which became a household word in the 1990s and is now a part of everyone’s lives!

What would the 21st century be without computers? In 1969 two computers passed test data through a 15-foot gray cable. Stanford Research Institute joined the fledging ARPANET network a month later; UC Santa Barbara and the University of Utah joined by year’s end, and the internet was born.

In the 70s, the silicon chip became the basis of a new generation of computerised devices. Following the silicon chip, came games and e-mail, creating a social and industrial revolution. The Internet didn’t become a household word until the 90s, though, when Lee, a British physicist invented the Web and service providers connected millions of people for the first time, it grew to be the phenomenon it is today!

With the great evolvement of the World Wide Web and computers, everyone is waiting to see what the next generation of communication and gaming devices will look like.

The Australian government is spending A$20 million on creating a new Australian brand… well, where to begin such a task?

As New South Wales talk back radio man Leon Delaney says in his blog, it’s close to mission impossible. “Just what is the Australian national “identity”? How is it characterised? We have such a diverse range of cultures and ethnic groups intrinsically tied up in the Australian experience that we can’t even pick out a national costume for our Miss Universe entrants to wear on the catwalk. Should our new brand image highlight our indigenous heritage, our colonial and convict history, our cultural, sporting, and scientific achievements, or somehow attempt to incorporate them all?”

Read more here.

Presenting works produced in Pine Street’s Outreach programs throughout 2009, this exhibition features both 2D and 3D artworks, from painting, drawing and printmaking to ceramics, mosaics, jewellery and multi-media.

The artworks are created by people from some of the most disadvantaged groups in our community, including people with mental and physical disabilities, people from non-English speaking backgrounds, people who are homeless, recovering from addiction, living with HIV, and those leaving rehabilitation and correctional centres.

Organisations participating in the Outreach programs include Bloke’s Business, The Bridge, CARITAS, Glebe House, Glebe Art Group, Guthrie House, House With No Steps, Northcott Ceramics, Northcott Painting & Drawing, Open Access Ceramics, Open Access Charcoal Drawing, Ozanam Learning Centre, Women & Families Affected by HIV.

When: 2 – 12 September 2009
Where: Carriageworks Foyer, 245 Wilson Street, Eveleigh.
Time: Monday to Friday 9.00am – 5.00pm, Saturday 9.00am – 1.00pm.
Launch: 3.30pm, Thursday 3 September at the Carriageworks.
Cost: Free

The 2009 Sydney Underground Film Festival will take place from Thursday 10 September to Sunday 13 September at Sydney’s popular underground haunt, The Factory Theatre.

The Sydney Underground Film Festival provides a platform for exhibition, exposure and critical discussion and is organised by a committed group of filmmakers, who understand the need for a sustainable and thriving alternative film culture. The organisers are devoted to renewing local interest in independent and experimental film as part of an international underground film culture.

The festival will only program unique, quality independent films that transgress the status quo and challenge the conservative conventions of filmmaking. The festival aims to change an engrained culture of cinematic complacency and revitalize an enthusiasm for cinema.

Described as “like a young version of Augie March crossed with The Shins” (Faster Louder), Oh Mercy’s style is consistently difficult to pin down. What is certain is that, while they cite classic rock’n'roll and folk influences, the songwriting partnership of Alexander Gow and Thomas Savage creates music unmistakably of their own style. Gow and Savage, the duo at the heart of Melbourne four-piece Oh Mercy, blend evocative and intelligent lyricism with a strong pop sensibility on their debut album Privileged Woes, showcasing the depth of the young songwriters’ polished pop brilliance.

Following on from their successful debut EP In The Nude For Love, Privileged Woes was recorded in the spare room; the size of a single bed, by Myles Wootton – the band literally had to put the mattress against the wall to record. After touring continuously for 12 months supporting many other great Australian musicians, Oh Mercy is currently on their own National tour in support of their new album. The group is made up of Alexander Gow on guitar and vocals, Thomas Savage playing guitar and piano, Eliza Lam is on bass and Angus Tarnawsky percussion.

Privileged Woes features the current radio singles Seemed Like A Good Idea and Lay Everything On Me; with the third single to be announced, Get You Back. Privileged Woes is out now. So what are you waiting for, get your copy and check out tour dates right here!

The Overload Poetry Festival is a 10 day celebration of Melbourne’s thriving poetry scene which has been running since 2002. From 4-13 September 2009, the festival will showcase leading Australian and international poets and provide a platform for emerging poets. The festival aims to reach out to the wider community with the message that poetry is for everybody to enjoy and to nurture emerging and existing local poets. The idea is simple: a festival which mixes readings, special events such as slams, workshops, book/CD launches, tributes, multi-art nights and showcases.

This year’s festival is taking the spoken word to a whole new level, with poetry slammers, hip-hop artists and experimental forms of poetry gracing the stages of Melbourne’s watering holes and cultural hubs. The festival is embracing technology to bring an international flavour. Thanks to Skype, the festival will feature a live slam competition, pitting Overload’s poetry prowess against the best of the Bristol Poetry Festival. The winner receives an all expenses paid trip to the other festival.

Overload Poetry Festival is the only festival in Australia to be based around regular poetry haunts such as The Spinning Room, Dan O’Connell’s and Dantes, with around 40 readings across Melbourne annually. Other venues include the Northcote Social Club, NGV Australia, ACMI, Glitch Bar, Blue Velvet, ET’s Hotel and the Carlton Courthouse Theatre. A full festival program is available at http://www.overloadpoetry.org/programme.

We were scouting the web and found this, the Venn diagram showing the psychological forces at work among users of social networking tools — a new shirt from the comedy geniuses at Despair, Inc.