9 by Shane Acker

9 is a computer animated short film by Shane Acker released in 2005 as a student project. Tim Burton saw the film and was so impressed by its artistic vision that he went on to produce an almost feature-length adaptation called 9 (2009), directed by Acker and distributed by Focus Features.

9 is a sentient rag doll who appears to be the last of his kind, living in the ruins of a decaying, post-apocalyptic Earth. He is first seen making simple constructs out of detritus - a swinging armature of scrap metal, an upright book with string tied around it, and a dummy rag doll full of tar, though the purpose behind these things is unclear.

Hunting 9 relentlessly is the Cat Beast, a mechanical monster wearing a cat's skull for a head. It appears to be guided by a small glowing talisman which it holds in its claws.

Sitting quietly, 9 stares into the mirrored surface of his own strange talisman and has a flashback...

Once he searched the ruins with 5, an older, grumpy, one-eyed rag doll. They gathered useful bits and pieces and stored them in the cloth linings of their own skin. With 9's help, 5 was able to salvage a lightbulb and operate it using pieces of wire. 5 gave the functional bulb to 9 for safe-keeping.

Almost immediately after, 5 drew the mirrored talisman from inside his chest. It glowed green, warning of danger. 5 gave the talisman to 9 then pushed him into cover. Extending a homemade folding spear, 5 stepped out to confront the threat. But the Cat Beast circled behind him and snatched him up with a metal pincer, shearing off his right arm. Though he struggled, 5 could not break free, and the Cat Beast sucked 5's soul out through his mouth using its talisman. Horrified, 9 escaped in panic, almost giving away his location to the Cat Beast by scraping the light bulb against a rock.

9 is woken from the memory by the warning green glow of the mirrored talisman. Taking the light bulb, which he has attached to the end of a staff, 9 flees into a ruined house. The Cat Beast follows and we see that it has not just taken the other rag dolls' souls: it also wears their numbered skins like a garment. The number 5 shows prominently on its back.

i am Yoour Social Media Guru

This could offend you if your are either working as a social media consultant or are offended by course language.

Machinima Visual Sounds

Burning Life 08
A machinima featuring many of the artists work from Burning Life 08, the virtual equivalent of the Burning Man festival, which is held in Second Life every year. More information here : http://burninglife.secondlife.com/


The Born Again Pagans
Live performance of "The Born Again Pagans" filmed on October 8, 2009 in Second Life®

More info about The Born Again Pagans at http://www.myspace.com/thebornagainpagans

To find out more about Sound'r visit http://www.soundr.net

Memories of Byron

In 1989 at the age of 20 I hitchhiked the 200kms to Byron Bay, Australia from my university town of Toowoomba.



I and my friend Ben were on our way to see Canned Heat. We had about sixty dollars between us and a bag of good dreams. We got to Byron Bay and spent the days hanging out in the park or on the beach. We discovered that the main members of Canned Heat were all dead (Wilson and Hite). As well tickets to see them were thirty dollars each. Way too much for us. So we slept in the park along with a group of art students from Brisbane (among others) and spent our days just hanging out in the street or on the beach. We met a German sitar player named Sangeet, who played in the street and lived in his station wagon. Hours were spent free listening to his drone and tones.

We ate once a day, a vegetarian burger from the same organic cafe at midday. We spent two weeks in Byron, until the money ran out and we hitched home. It was a turning point in my life, I am just not sure in which direction.

Sabar, African drums (Gambia)

Amazing drumming and dancing from Gambia in Stockholm.

MELVINS - A History Of Bad Men (Norway, 2007)

Light up and sit back. Gaia is screaming.

John Lee Hooker

Live 1965 At American Folk Blues Festival


John Lee Hooker - It Serves Me Right to Suffer


John Lee Hooker - Mercy Blues (1948)

John Lee Hooker (August 22, 1917 – June 21, 2001) was an African American singer-songwriter and blues guitarist, born in Coahoma County near Clarksdale, Mississippi. Hooker began his life as the son of a sharecropper, Will Moore, and rose to prominence performing his own unique style of what was originally closest to Delta blues. He developed a half-spoken style that was his trademark. Though similar to the early Delta blues, his music was rhythmically free. John Lee Hooker could be said to embody his own unique genre of the blues, often incorporating the boogie-woogie piano style and a driving rhythm into his masterful and idiosyncratic blues guitar and singing. His best known songs include "Boogie Chillen" (1948) and "Boom Boom" (1962).

Hooker's life experiences were chronicled by several scholars and often read like a classic case study in the racism of the music industry, although he eventually rose to prominence with memorable songs and influence on a generation of musicians.

Derek Jarman - William Burroughs - Pirate Tape

1982, UK, 15 minutes, Color

Original soundtrack: Psychic TV

Cast: William S. Burroughs

Production: James Mackay

Originally filmed on Super 8, reprocessed 'skip frame' shots of William Burroughs in London are accompanied by a looped repetition of him uttering a single phrase.

Mari Boine

Mari Boine, previously known as Mari Boine Persen, is a Norwegian Sami musician known for having added jazz and rock to the yoiks of her native people. Boine (born 8 November 1956 in Finnmark, Norway) grew up amid the Laestadian Christian movement as well as amidst discrimination against her people. She was asked to perform at the 1994 Winter Olympics in Lillehammer, but refused because she perceived the invitation as an attempt to bring a token minority to the ceremonies. Gula Gula (first released by Iđut, 1989, later re-released by Real World) was her breakthrough release, and she continued to record popular albums throughout the 1990s.

Stone Roses

Begging You

Close your eyes and shake your head...its 1994 again and everything is alive. From the cells in your toenails to the faces in the sky.....


Live in Blackpool 1989.