Where's the party at?

Wellingtonian Floyd Morgan was looking for ideas for a house-warming theme when he came across the latest craze sweeping America: the paint party. Imagine dumping litres upon litres of fluorescent paint on a rave, where partygoers are dressed entirely in white. That’s the concept in a nutshell. Simple, primal and a lot of fun, paint parties are catching on locally with events being held in Wellington, Dunedin, Christchurch and Auckland. But when it comes to future plans, Morgan remains tightlipped—you’ll have to join the Facebook page to stay in the loop.

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One you won’t want to miss

Speaking of parties, here’s one you’re definitely invited to. The good guys at Webstock have been planning for 2011 since, well, the day Webstock 2010 ended, and they’ll be launching the next event on September 23. To celebrate the occasion they’re holding a Webstock Mini featuring the usual mix of great speakers, great company and plenty of booze—to say nothing of unveiling the 2011 lineup. Oh, and giving away two tickets to the main conference; you’ll need to be at the launch party to be in the running for these. So click here for more info and to register.

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Epic Eru

To celebrate the release of Eru Dangerspiel’s Great News For The Modern Man CD and DVD (NZ’s first 5.1 surround sound DVD), the band is playing two epic concerts this October. Led by Riki Gooch from TrinityRoots and loaded with a who’s who of NZ musicians including members of Fat Freddy’s Drop, Opensouls and Dimmer, the group will perform at the Auckland Town Hall (October 8) and Wellington Town Hall (October 9). It should be a spectacular show, and limited numbers of tickets are on sale now. But it’s someone’s lucky day; thanks to Loop, we have a double pass up for grabs. Email editor@idealog.co.nz and tell us the name of one other musician in the band by September 30 (don’t forget to specify which show you’re after).

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A fresh perspective

It was probably inevitable that someone would find humour in the disastrous Gulf oil spill, but beauty? Still, if anyone was going to see it, it was Canadian photographer Edward Burtynysky, who’s famous for his work documenting the impact of the oil industry on natural landscapes. These newly released aerial shots of the catastrophe are on display at the Nicholas Metivier Gallery in Toronto this month.

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Ninja warrior

Well, that didn’t take long. Some Taiwanese animators have already posted a parody after a false news report did the rounds earlier this week about Steve Jobs attempting to smuggle ninja throwing stars. Here’s how it might have looked if the whole thing really did happen.

The sack that gives back

We may have luxuries like heated toilet seats and 3D televisions, but there are far too many countries whose inhabitants want for basic necessities like clean water. Many charities send supplies to developing nations in humble sacks, and three Korean industrial designers have come up with a way to get even more out of the bags. Once emptied, they can double as water purifiers, and really earn the name “Life Sack”.

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A roof over your head

As much as some would like to sweep the issue of homelessness under the rug, this isn’t a problem that’s simply going to disappear. Lifewise is calling on business leaders to spend a night roughing it and help bring an end to homelessness through a massive fundraising effort. What’s involved: Basically, sign up, create a profile, and Lifewise will start encouraging donors to back you.  Mike Hutcheson (Idealog’s very own Tangible Media director, formerly of Saatchi) has already thrown his hat in the ring, but if you can’t take part then why not nominate someone else or sponsor a participant?

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Tools for success

Creative entrepreneurs might do well to take note of CoLab’s latest series of four workshops, to be held in the first weekend of October. Run by CoLab in association with international keynote speaker and XMediaLab mentor Helen Baxter from Mohawk Media, they’ll teach you to take your art online and to grow a sustainable business. Get started by learning about free online tools that make up the ultimate Business Management Toolkit, and wrap up with the Social Media Masterclass. Email coordinator Katrina Bell to register or see the website for more details.

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Reclaiming the highway

Earlier this month the world’s largest graffiti (3,500 square metres to be precise) was completed in Brazil, and this video offers a little insight into the process. The project was designed to revitalise the area and turn the highway into a tourist hotspot. And like all good art, it tells a story; this mural focuses on fighting the violation of children and teenager’s rights.

Quote of the week

I decided the only way we would get the numbers we were after was to make a video of painted people having fun and get it to go viral.

— Floyd Morgan on promoting the phenomenon of paint parties