Self-Assessment

To me, my revised review is much more creative and engaging. The revised review explains the object outside of the design discipline (what it says about the world) much more clearer and precisely, because it uses rhetorical questions to create a scene and allows the audience to dwell in the thought expressed. On demonstrating my own opinions, I was able to further emphasise the positive and negative aspects of the design in relation to the 'fundamental teachings of industrial design' as I have learnt it for the past three years. The more relaxed tone suggested by my peers allows me to engage not only designers or academics, but a wider range of audiences.

Design Criticism Take 2

Philippe Starck
WW Stool 1990

A dark, cold empty office on the 42nd floor of a prestigious corporate building. It’s late and everyone has left to be greeted by their husbands or wives at home. You sit there, alone, staring at the three hundred dollar computer screen and think: Kill me, kill me now. If only everyone could escape from the banal-ness that is: everyday working life. But wait, you hear a sound. Something’s coming and it’s coming fast. It is what can only be described as the indescribable. It’s daunting, striking, flamboyant and outrageous. It smothers you with its richness, its honesty and its transcendence. You dare to turn around and have a look, and there you see it. Under a spotlight you see an indistinguishable silhouette, an array of shadows and shades confuse you. What is it? It’s a plant. No, it’s an alien. Preposterous. It welcomes you, it excites you, it takes you to another world among worlds and you can only sit there and thank it for taking you away, even for a moment, from your quiet desperation.

It’s Philippe Starck’s WW Stool. It intimidates, it provokes, it excites. It imagines. It sweeps you off your feet to a whirlwind journey of creativity, fantasy and adventure. German film director Wim Wenders couldn’t have imagined his inspiration would have been the nourishment Starck needed to create such a masterpiece. On first glace, it is obvious this is a work done by the Philippe Starck – the anthropomorphic forms, organic minimalism and elongated horn shape deems it so. The organic form of the stool is whimsical in nature and flows down like water, twisting irreverently like vines, only to stretch out to three legs like roots of a plant, stabilising the form onto the ground and giving it life.

Gazing at this odd piece of furniture, I realise there is much more to it than meets the eye. Okay, it’s a good way to start a conversation and to show off (if you’re elite enough) how much money you’re able to spend on a stool. The object itself provides a means to escape into fantasy – perhaps into the twisted and ingenious mind of its designer, Philippe Starck, and ponder: what was he thinking? What was he trying to achieve in making such a piece? Personally, I find beauty in its organic simplicity, and the way it is able to stir controversy and stimulate thought. It is, to me, a social symbol of the barrier between strangers – the barrier of silence.

Why is it that we don’t smile to people who join us in elevators, or start a conversation with the person behind us in a queue? We find telemarketers and salespeople annoying, and yearn for silence (or at least to be left alone). Though if it weren’t for a single gesture of gratitude, a smile, or a wave, I would not know anyone outside of my own family today. Without starting a conversation, I would have never met my first love, my best friend, or my teachers. It is this honesty, truth, and drive to determine personal worth that draws us towards each other – the need for someone to be there, to listen to, to have a conversation with, to share ideas – This is a humanist concept that replaces sheer beauty with goodness, a concept Starck pursued in his works (designboom 2005).

However, there is always a dark side to us all. The little Lucifer that taints our good name, our conscience, our inner-being, our design. The fault of the WW Stool is of course, in its design. So it establishes a good social perspective when it comes to the need for human interaction between persons, but how does it work as an actual stool? The WW Stool is technically used as a bar stool, where the foot rest appears like a ‘thorn’ protruding from this ‘living plant’. The technique of sand-blasting aluminium allows the material’s fluidity to be encapsulated by the sinuous structure of the stool. So once again, there is beauty not only in the aesthetics and the concept, but also in the manufacture of the stool.

Being a student of Industrial Design however, I must take into account the problems the design has on the fundamental teachings of industrial design. In industrial design, we are taught that everything we design, to the smallest detail, must have a purpose. Semantics is crucial, as it determines the difference between a good design and a bad design. We are taught from day one that a design that makes a user feel ignorant is a bad design. In theory, a well-designed product would not require instructions because semantics and aesthetics would provide all the instructions the user needs. So in relation to semantics and aesthetics, it could be argued that the WW Stool is not an effective design, as it does not say to the user ‘sit here’. Instead, it is a semi-work of art that pushes away the user, to instead stand and look and converse about it, rather than welcome him.

I believe the essence of industrial design is to create useful, innovative products and systems that enhance the quality of life in the present with a regard for the future. Sustainability is crucial in industrial design, because we are taught to design from cradle-to-cradle: a manifesto created by William McDonough that calls for the “transformation of human industry through ecologically intelligent design” (McDonough, 2005). The fact that the stool is made from aluminium makes it recyclable, so in this respect, it is designed well.

The industrial design discipline aims at designing innovative, functional products for the purpose of enhancing the quality and state of life. I set Starck's WW Stool apart from other competing trends and products because it takes into account not only innovation or utilitarianism, but also art, beauty, and the need for elaborate, extravagancy in our everyday lives. Starck's unique style is at the forefront of contemporary design.

I squirm around in my $60 office chair from OfficeWorks, crack my neck and continue typing. Here calls for ergonomics. When designing anything, anything at all, there will always be a need to address ergonomics. How will a person get into that dress, will she be able to breathe, or only in small intervals? Does a reader need to lean two centimetres from the book to read its text? A product needs to take into account long and short periods of use, and how it will affect the user. Unfortunately I don’t own a WW Stool myself, but I must point out it doesn’t seem welcoming nor comfortable. The lack of ergonomic consideration is very much what I would call an industrial condemnation.

Starck believed in emotional bonds between a design and its user. A romantic approach, that gives objects a necessity to not only be functional, but also “attractive, to give pleasure to the person using it” (Brunel 2006). In the context of its creation (for Wim Wenders’ fantasy office), Starck designed the WW Stool to define the idea of “a stool as a sculptural and growing form which resembles the roots of a living plant” (McDermott, 1999). Just by analysing his work, I can’t but help assume that Starck is very much an imaginative explorer of design who isn’t afraid of breaking trends and trying new things. After all, he did design the interior of an apartment for a French president (Francois Mitterand in 1982), but then later decided to design a pair of thongs for Puma in 2005. Is this man unstoppable?

The WW Stool emulates all that is missing in totally functional industrial design – an emotion, a story, a means of stimulating imagination and ideas. Perhaps Starck saw the need for human interaction, not only between the user and the object, but also between users themselves, with each other.

The stool acts as a barrier-breaker in the sense that it embodies the mid-way between object and masterpiece; it encourages functional design and simultaneously inspires thought and opinion. In essence, it breaks the awkward conversation barrier between people and gives them something interesting to talk about.

I look around my room and wish I had a WW Stool. To touch, to feel, to experience the majesty of something so elite, fundamental yet simple and striking. To see, to escape into, the fantasy it permeates into its surroundings.

Kill me, kill me now.

References

• Brunel, N. 2006, Philippe Starck, Leader in French design, French Ministry of Foreign Affairs, viewed 25 June 2006, [http://www.diplomatie.gouv.fr/en/france_159/label-france_2554/label-france-issues_2555/label-france-no.-46_3691/feature-creative-arts-very-much-alive_3692/philippe-starck-leader-in-french-design_4953.html]
• designboom 2006, Philippe Starck, designboom, viewed 25 June 2006, [http://www.designboom.com/eng/interview/starck.html]
• McDermott, C. 1999, Design Museum: 20th Century Design, Carlton Books Ltd. (p140)
• Wikipedia 2006, Philippe Starck, Wikipedia Foundation Inc., viewed 25 June 2005, [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philippe_Starck]
• McDonough, W. 2005, Cradle to Cradle, William McDonough, viewed 27 June 2005, [http://www.mcdonough.com/cradle_to_cradle.htm]
• Wikipedia 2006, Aesthetics, Wikipedia Foundation Inc., viewed 27 June 2005, [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aesthetics]

Blog Review

Inspiration vs. Theft: The Thin Gray Line
By Nick Finck
Published on September 29, 1999
Posted on the Digital Web Magazine

Nick Finck is a successful web designer and developer, who is also publisher of online design magazine, Digital Web Magazine. The article in which the designer argues the difference between inspiration and theft (in relation to web design) is well constructed and somewhat objective. Finck uses references to actual designers who have had experience with ‘theft’ of codes and designs from their own sites, and who have legally fought against such crimes. For this reason, I believe Finck to be criticising from the 4th stage of King and Kitchener’s Levels of Reflective Judgement. Being a web designer himself, it is difficult for Finck to be wholly impartial, though he uses quotes and evidence from others that back up his claims of where the ‘thin gray line’ actually is. He uses such references and quotes ingeniously to reinforce his stance of inspiration being one thing, and theft something much more sinister.

According to Attoe, design criticism should have the function of an ‘evolutionary bias’, where it is ‘forward-looking’ and seeks to change the future and understanding of things, rather than to merely intimidate the artist. In this respect, Finck generalises the idea of inspiration vs. theft and defines the definition of ‘inspiration’ itself. Here he uses interpretive criticism that would steer readers into the idea that true skill lies behind a designer’s creativity and artistry, rather than from stealing. Finck uses examples of designers and their designs to provide a background for what the issue is about, and who it affects. This use of descriptive criticism informs the reader about the problem, the context, severity and seriousness of it in hopes to give readers a greater understanding of web design.

Finck proposes his version of where the ‘thing gray line’ lies: “at the point in the design process when your need to be creative, and the process of becoming so is crossed with a lack of originality”. The entire article is aimed at designers, namely graphic and web designers, and lacks the broadness Poynor argues it should have “the fact that they address and serve a professional audience of designers must inherently limit their ability to criticize their subject matter”. According to Poynor, a true critical journalist needs to engage with the moment and provide a conscious critical position that looks at and understands some aspect of the world. Because Finck does not relate his article to much of the world today (outside of design), it hinders the impact of his article. Although Finck uses references to back up claims and give authority to his argument, his blog is in essence targeted at designers and does not give a thorough insight into his vision of the world. Nevertheless, on writing the blog, Finck brings up a precarious subject that all web designers should be aware of and spurs the reader to think what his/her understanding of ‘inspiration’ really is.



The effect of style in design
By Ty Leetau
Published in 2001
Posted in Design Is Kinky

Leetau’s response to the effect of style in design in the Design is Kinky website (Theory section) is highly subjective and personal. It uses no citations nor makes references to outside sources to back up his claims and ideas. For this reason Leetau is very much criticising from the pre-reflective First Stage of King and Kitchener’s Levels of Reflective Judgement. Leetau uses an analogy to backup his stance and ideas:

“A young carpenter builds a house. It is a great house and people like it. Soon, others want a house just like it. Different knobs, faucets and tile, but the exact same house. After some time, the carpenter has built hundreds of these houses and has grown very efficient in doing so. He can now build one in half the time as the first one took. So, is he a great carpenter? What if someone approached him to build a completely new house. Could he do it?”

The use of rhetorical questions allows the audience to really think about what Leetau is asking – something they may have never even thought about, and on asking the audience, it allows them to develop a better understanding of the issue. He further relates design to popular music, and states that some artists stand the test of time whilst others come and go (remember the Venga Boys or Spice Girls?). Leetau explains that this is because some artists have been in a “perpetual state of reinvention”, the key to staying interesting and fresh to the public.

The use of analogies allows Leetau to create a scene that the audience can relate to, while at the same time getting his point across – here Leetau uses interpretive criticism (Attoe) to hopefully influence the audience to see as he does. He provides a different perspective, through analogies, of seeing the function/purpose of a ‘good’ designer. Leetau unfortunately does not acknowledge his prejudice, being a web designer himself, and it is important to note that Leetau is encouraging designers to “Set trends then abandon them” because for him, this is what the designer is all about – evolution, reinvention and exploration. In doing so, in encouraging change and a better future, Leetau does what a critic should do (according to Attoe) focuses “on how events in the present can teach us better how to handle the future”.

Rather than ‘puncturing myths’ (Poynor states “to be critical involves not taking things for granted, being sceptical, questioning what’s there, exposing limitations, taking issue, advancing a contrary view, puncturing myths”), Leetau makes a point in one of his analogies by highlighting what makes a good designer. The moving forward or evolution of a designer must come with experience and experimentation, as opposed to applying the same style to everything he creates. Leetau’s article is effective because it caters to a wide range of audiences (rather that just designers) because of the analogies he uses to evidence his claims – they are based on things a wider range of audiences are able to understand and relate to.

References

• Attoe, W., Methods of Criticism and Response to Criticism, viewed 27 June 2006, [http://www.jstor.org/view/01492993/ap050005/05a00090/0]
• Finck, N. 1999, Inspiration vs. Theft: The Thin Gray Line, Digital Web Magazine, viewed 26 June 2006, [http://www.digital-web.com/articles/inspiration_vs_theft/]
• Leetau, T. 2001, The Effect of Style in Design, Design is Kinky, viewed 27 June 2006, [http://www.designiskinky.net/theory/theory6.html]
• Poynor, R. 2001, The Time for Being Against, Looking Closer: AIGA Conference, viewed 27 June 2006, [http://www.aiga.org/resources/Content/2/1/7/documents/poynor_lecture.pdf]
• King and Kitchener's Reflective Judgement Readings:
  http://missouri.edu/~wood/rjstages/rjstages.html
  http://umich.edu/~refjudg/index.html
  http://dhc.ucdavis.edu/fh/aa/king.html

Taste Regimes Response

In response to “Should the government be spending more or less funding on tax relief, sport, the arts, the environment?” Justin was accurate in his response that yes, I wouldn’t mind at all if we all got some tax relief and received a little money back, though there are more important things the Government should be spending money on. The fact that Justin himself lives in (sort of) the South-West of Sydney, I believe he sees the problems I see as well. Here it is obvious that in accordance with Bourdieu’s taste regime theory, Justin is able to relate to my stance because he too is affected by the social culture associated with the west. For this reason I believe both Justin and I have a prejudice towards living in the west, and we acknowledge the need for assistance from the Government to make it a safer place.

Robby too was accurate in stating I would like to live in Hawaii one day. This is obvious because I mentioned I liked ‘postcard sunsets’ and nice beaches. Krystian was quite accurate in his response to whether I play or watch sport, in that I don’t play much sport at all, nor do I watch it. He picked up on that I am very a social person and am very laid back and relaxed because I ‘appreciate postcard sunsets’. I believe Krystian to be into his sports (he mentioned playing squash and watching tennis and soccer), so perhaps it is this contrast in our tastes that interested him, and my stance on sports was obvious in my complete dismissal of the question and not mentioning it once in any of my answers.

I believe it is an important lesson to learn that assumptions based on a mere 10 questions does not reveal a lot about a person, it tells us about where one would like to travel to or if they watch movies, though it neglects to take into account their personality or inner thoughts. Answering these taste regime questions allows us to give a little information about ourselves without actually talking about who we are as a person. The desire to escape to nice beaches doesn’t make me a surfie-chick who loves the sun (I hate hot weather), nor does living in the south-west make me a dole-bludger on welfare or street wise (a common misconception that intensely annoys me). I believe this exercise is used to demonstrate how we often make assumptions on people we don’t know, and we use our own prejudices to make calculated guesses on what a person is about, and in my case, Justin, Robby and Krystian guessed correctly.

Biennale of Sydney 2006 - Review

Liza Ryan
Untitled (something tells me she didn’t look back) 2006
Light jet prints, graphite, collage, 396.2 x 213.4cm courtesy of the artist and GRIFFIN Contemporary, Santa Monica

Biennale of Sydney: A panel from her display, Untitled 2006

[1]
Born in 1965 in Norfolk, USA, Liza Ryan was influenced by her mother who was a poet, and who taught her the “non-linear way to describe the hard-to-describe” (Biennale Handbook, 2006). Here, her artistic photographic skills were to develop and Ryan was to use the creative strategies of poetry to illustrate what cannot be put into words.

Ryan’s subject matter in all her photographs displayed in the Art Gallery of New South Wales for the Biennale of Sydney 2006 are those of nature and the human body. Individually, they are still images of disembodied persons and nature, though as a whole, Ryan links all that is natural and human together to create a narrative. Ryan attempts to portray memory in a two dimensional form, and because she recognises the equivocal nature of memory, she merges nature and humans to make them almost indistinguishable. By using details and powerful imagery of light, shadows, textures and colour, Ryan is able to “locate the scene in time and space” (Biennale Handbook, 2006).

In her past and present works (she has had six solo exhibitions at GRIFFIN Contemporary, Santa Monica) Ryan has focused on the intricacy of nature and the human body, and transcending the interplay between the two in her photographs. She draws on the surface of her photographs with graphite to create “intimate fusions between the human body and nature” (GRIFFIN, 2006). This effect allows audiences to see, only when they’re close enough, the distinction and relationship of images Ryan sees in her memories.

Past Work: Below Me Treetops and a Crow (detail) 2004

[2]
On first glance of Ryan’s work it appears to be a collection of disjointed images of random things. There is no order and the photographs are too small to notice individually. They appear to be manipulated photographs of trees and unusual body parts. However, one overwhelming thing strikes an audience – the bold colours, shadows and contrast is coherent throughout all the images. It is this artistry in capturing light, shades and colour that will bring one to take a closer look to examine the images.

One must take a close look to Ryan’s work to discover the true nature of what she is trying to achieve. The connection between the human body and nature, the metamorphosis from the physical to the fantastical – the story the images tell about the past, present and future. Ryan creates a narrative in her work that does indeed read like a poem, it is disjointed and cannot be read linearly. The detail of “the way someone’s hair falls across their ear, or the intensity and colour of the light” (Biennale Handbook, 2006) provides a story; things not usually remembered when they happen, but by capturing such imagery in her photographs – by capturing that single moment – Ryan emulates a memory in a particular time and space “In my memories I always remember the light” (Biennale Handbook, 2006). The overlay of graphite that connects one photograph to another for example “a delicate vine drawn onto a bare torso seems to intertwine with and extend the subject’s own network of veins” (GRIFFIN, 2006) is crucial in making the metamorphosis real; what Ryan sees in her images she makes it clear to audiences in this way.

References

• artnet 2006, Liza Ryan, artnet Worldwide Corporation, viewed 25 June 2006, [http://www.artnet.com/artist/14731/liza-ryan.html]
• Biennale of Sydney Free Handbook download it here
• Godt-Cleary Projects Las Vegas, Events, C-G Arts, viewed 25 June 2006, [http://www.gcarts-lv.com/events.htm]
• GRIFFIN 2006, 2006 Liza Ryan/Leon Golub, GRIFFIN Contemporary, viewed 24 June 2006, [http://www.griffinla.com/Default.aspx?tabid=112]
• Zones of Contact - Biennale of Sydney, Liza Ryan, Biennale of Sydney, viewed 26 June 2006, [http://www.bos2006.com/]

Design Criticism

Philippe Starck
WW Stool 1990

French designer Philippe Starck designed the WW Stool in 1990 for German film director Wim Wenders as part of a fantasy office environment. Starck’s well-known style of anthropomorphic forms is reiterated in this sculptural-like piece. The organic form of the stool is whimsical in nature and flows down like water, twisting irreverently like vines, only to stretch out to three legs like roots of a plant, stabilising the form onto the ground and giving it life. The organic minimalism and elongated horn shape is somewhat a trademark of the radical designer, who not only designs intricate and elaborate works, but also attempts to design objects that can be mass produced for the general public (Wikipedia 2006). The WW Stool is technically used as a bar stool, where the foot rest appears like a ‘thorn’ protruding from this ‘living plant’. The technique of sand-blasting aluminium allows the material’s fluidity to be encapsulated by the sinuous structure of the stool.

The WW Stool is constructed using lacquered aluminium, and was put into production by design house Vitra in 1992. The design is very much a part of contemporary design, and challenges the utilitarian stance of many industrial designs of today. Because however, the stool was designed for a specific person and purpose, it could be argued that it is more of a sculptural piece of artwork created for a client, rather than something designed for everyday use that blends into the background. For this reason it is obvious why the stool isn’t so efficient in ‘sitting people up’, as opposed to being a centrepiece that is indeed a conversation starter.

Starck believed in emotional bonds between a design and its user. A romantic approach, that gives objects a necessity to not only be functional, but also “attractive, to give pleasure to the person using it” (Brunel 2006). Here he gives reason for why his designs are not always as practical as their industrial design competitors. In the context of its creation (for Wim Wenders’ fantasy office), Starck designed the WW Stool to define the idea of “a stool as a sculptural and growing form which resembles the roots of a living plant” (McDermott, 1999). Starck’s stance on industrial design is obvious through the aesthetics of the WW Stool. He is very much an imaginative explorer of design who isn’t afraid of breaking trends and trying new things; from designing the interior of apartments for French presidents (Francois Mitterand in 1982) to a pair of thongs for Puma in 2005.





Before criticising the WW Stool, one must realise the purpose of the design to begin with. Indeed, it is over-designed and the lack of ergonomic consideration is very much an industrial condemnation. The manufacture of such an object puts the stool in a high-end market that can only be purchased by the elite; an ironic twist as Starck claims to focus on designs for the masses (designboom 2005).

Nevertheless, the stool’s eccentric style is of a nature that can be excused as it may not be purposeful in the bar or living room, though in a cultural or design context, it can be seen as a breakthrough (or break away) from mainstream industrial design, as it blurs the boundaries between design and art. The stool can be viewed in a humanist approach, that illustrates a fundamental acknowledgement in conjuring emotions, creating conversation, and the need for intelligence and happiness, as opposed to mere beauty “which is a cultural concept” (designboom 2005). The WW Stool emulates all that is missing in totally functional industrial design – an emotion, a story, a means of stimulating imagination and ideas. Perhaps Starck saw the need for human interaction, not only between the user and the object, but also between users themselves, with each other.

Starck wishes to replace beauty with goodness (designboom 2005), a humanist concept that recognises the need for society to search for truth and realise personal worth. The stool acts as a barrier-breaker in the sense that it embodies the mid-way between object and masterpiece; it encourages functional design and simultaneously inspires thought and opinion. In essence, it breaks the awkward conversation barrier between people and gives them something interesting to talk about.





References

• Brunel, N. 2006, Philippe Starck, Leader in French design, French Ministry of Foreign Affairs, viewed 25 June 2006, [http://www.diplomatie.gouv.fr/en/france_159/label-france_2554/label-france-issues_2555/label-france-no.-46_3691/feature-creative-arts-very-much-alive_3692/philippe-starck-leader-in-french-design_4953.html]
• designboom 2006, Philippe Starck, designboom, viewed 25 June 2006, [http://www.designboom.com/eng/interview/starck.html]
• McDermott, C. 1999, Design Museum: 20th Century Design, Carlton Books Ltd. (p140)
• Wikipedia 2006, Philippe Starck, Wikipedia Foundation Inc., viewed 25 June 2005, [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philippe_Starck]

Taste Test

1. Favourite Television Show in the last 2 years. How many hours television do you watch a week?
   
   This is embarassing. FAMILY GUY. I watch way too much TV, at least... maybe 10 or 12 hours a week, up to 7 hours of that being the news. This number of hours will jump by HOURS during the holidays, I'm ashamed to say how many (DVDs count as television?).
   
   
2. What sort of camera do you have? What do you take pictures of: events, friends and relatives, things I find interesting, beautiful things?
   
   I have a Sony Cyber-shot DSC-P150 7.2 mega pixel Camera. It is my pride and joy and I take it anywhere and everywhere important to me. I mostly use it to take photos of my friends and family in special (and every-day) occassions; people say I have a photo fetish but it's oh-so-much-more than that. I love taking random photos of people when they're not posing, only because it captures the moment of things (rather than the plastic pose of big smiles and hugs) - I take a photo of 'beautiful' things often, and sometimes some not-so-beautiful things that still capture the moment (hint: 21st house parties)
   
   
   
3. What sort of car would you like to drive? How often would you get under the bonnet of that car?
   
   I don't know too much about cars! My Lancer GLi is fine for now, though I saw an Evo the other day that I thought was not too shabby. Other cars I wouldn't mind getting behind the wheel of (if I could drive manual) include an RX8, Hummer, Escalade, and a Chrysler 300C. I would never get under the bonnet of the car because I wouldn't know what to do with it.
   
   
   
4. Do you play a musical instrument? Which?
   
   I can play Mary Had a Little Lamb on the piano quite well. Unfortunately that's as far as my musical abilities takes me (I can play it on the phone too!). I have a great appreciation and love for music, though I can't do it myself - I sing when I have to (and get embarassed quite easily when I do).
   
   
5. List your most favourite and least favourite type of music?
   
   I go through my phases, but lately my favourite's been:
   - Happy Hardcore
   - Hardstyle
   - RnB/Hip Hop
   - Old Skool
   - Breaks
   - Rock/Emo (not sure what to call it... YC, SOTY, TDG, The Used, Hawthorne Heights etc)
   
   Least Favourite:
   - Classical
   - Country
   - Techno
   - Heavy Metal
   - Pop
   
   
6. Which of the following would you visit or attend at least twice a year: art galleries, museums, public lectures, public libraries, political meetings, demonstrations or rallies?
   
   Art galleries and museums because they invoke thought and emotions that inspire, shock and educate. Maybe public libraries because I have to.
   
   
7. List 4 films you have seen in the last year, from favourite to least favourite, and indicate how you saw them (cinema, video/dvd rental, video/dvd owned, pay TV, free-to-air TV)?
   
   Hostel - Cinema
   Saw II - DVD
   V for Vendetta - Cinema
   Story of Ricky - DVD
   
   
8. What is your favourite sport or game to play? What is your favourite sport or game to watch?
   
   
9. Where would you like to travel to (apart from to friends or relatives)?
   
   Somewhere secluded with nice beaches where I can find the typical 'postcard' sunset everyday of the year. And Amsterdam.
   
   
10. What is your primary source of news? To what extent to do you take an interest in the news
    
    Television. I am most interested in news that affects me directly, such as local violence, street crimes, riots, drug busts (South-West, the friendliest place in Sydney).
    
    
11. Should the government be spending more or less funding on: tax relief, sport, the arts, the environment.
    
    
12. Which country are you from? Could you live in a country other than where you were raised for the rest of your life?
    
    
13. Where do you tend to meet your friends: at each other’s homes, shopping centres, pubs or clubs, cafes and restaurants, parks or exercising?
    
    All of the above. I like a little variety, too much socialising in one place bores me, so I like taking my friends out and doing something different every now and again. The best and most sentimental of places to socialise is at someone's home because there's no need for dressing up or worrying about strangers - everyone is themselves and enjoying eachother's company.

/confession: I have both a blogger and flickr account, I didn't put my hand up when Cameron asked because I didn't want him to ask me something.