The Thousands

You have a really nice bag whoever you are. You are missing one thing though; a gigantic matching ice cream. We found it for you on a street near a swimming pool that is just past Pooraka. On this side of Pooraka we found a cafe that does breakfasts and dresses and grad shows everywhere, sexy caves and cheap tuxedos, pretty Gorman jewellery and women of letters.

Cover photo by Stephanie Lyall. Bring some to the yard. Send yours to daniel@rightanglestudio.com.au.

When I was in primary school (with Michaela McGuire, no less) the principal issued us all with bumper stickers that said ‘Women Can Do Anything’. It would be wrong to say that this slogan inspired me or set the course for my adult life, but maybe it did have an impact on some of us. I like to see women get together and do something meaningful that is not centred around sewing or craft or yummy mummies or kitty cats. If you had trouble pinning down exactly what Women of Letters is, it's none of the above. It's a book: that’s concrete proof that women can do anything.

Curated by Marieke Hardy and Michaela McGuire, Women of Letters: Reviving the Lost Art of Correspondence is a collection of letters penned by some of our most famous female writers, artists, celebrities and creatives. Ironically, some letters are even signed with rather masculine names like Paul, Tim and Jake. Then you've got the letters from your Ben Salters and Ben Laws and other such 'males'. This chick fest just became a little more PC (the guys are just there to make us ladies look better).

An exercise in catharsis, every letter is addressed to a concept rather than a person, like ‘To the night I’d rather forget’ and ‘To the moment it all fell apart’. They are reflective, thoughtful, some a bit self-conscious and most involve some element of self-directed derogatory humour. If you needed a reason to love them any more, all royalties for the book go to Edgar's Mission Animal Rescue Shelter. Go girls.

Some meditation experiences are fronted by a chump who thinks he can coax you into saying "Ohm" for an hour because he's decked out in fisherman pants. DIY meditation is about channelling self-improvised concentration, from the inside out. The only exterior should be sound and that's why music is key.

Siberia and New Planes have released a meditation sound track on cassette, the sides A and B representing the duality of life - the Ying and Yang. Fifteen tracks melt from deep to high pitched electronic drones, to overlaid samples, to tribal chimes, to field recordings and a focus on rhythm, heartbeats and breathing. The result is an ambient soundscape, where essential calm planes throughout. Bass-heavy, dub-ish 'Slip Time' by Young Magic is not your average musing, syncopated and slow. Whereas Quiet Evenings' 'Breeze' is light and airy - exactly what’s expected and that’s not a bad thing. A definite sound-summit is the Erik Omen offering 'Tneibma'. A very simple and quiet track, super-spacious and beautiful - as is Hochman’s 'Natural Cover'. Either could be put on repeat for an hour to get the same thoughtful effect.

There are so many people involved in this one - Daniel Stricker, Erik Omen, Hi God People, Jonathan Hochman (Holy Balm), Deep Magic (Sun Araw), The School of Radiant Living, Deep Magic, Rites Wild, Young Magic, Bum Creek, FORCES, the list goes on. The cassette draws upon a peaceful li'l community happening around us, with people exhibiting their own sounds to guide others.

Look here buddy, how much did you pay for that chequered shirt that looks like it cost $9 but you really paid top dollar? How much did you pay for those warped jeans? How much did you pay for that stupid blazer? Actually the blazer ain't that bad.

Did you know for all that money you wasted on looking like a slob you could have bought a TUXEDO!?

That's right, tuxedos are actually not too expensive and they never go out of style. Imagine going out on the town in a tuxedo? You could stand next to the 'funny guy' wearing the ironic tuxedo t-shirt and walk all over his face! It ain't him getting laid tonight, IT'S YOU!

So head on over to Cheap Tux and buy up! But be warned, if you get one with a tail take off the jacket before you sit down on the toilet or it will take a dip in the poo water.  And remember to play it safe when you get lucky, hang up your jacket and pants so they ain't all crushed in the morning.

John Madden’s Nazi-hunting spy thriller recalls the aphorism, “The past is a foreign country: they do things differently there.” The Debt intertwines two stories: a Mossad operation in 1966 East Berlin to arrest the ‘Surgeon of Birkenau’ (a wonderfully malevolent Jesper Christensen); and a postscript, 30 years later, in which the three Israeli agents must finally pay their mission’s ‘debt’.

This narrative’s power depends on conveying lingering guilt and a lasting desire for atonement… but speaking of Atonement, that film had much more convincing casting. It isn’t merely implausible that Sam Worthington somehow morphs into Ciaran Hinds, Marton Csokas into Tom Wilkinson and Jessica Chastain into Helen Mirren – it corrodes The Debt’s crucial relationship between past and present. So, while Mirren is compelling as central character Rachel Singer, Chastain’s scenes don’t seem to inform hers.

The ’60s story is more intriguing. Apart from the satisfying Bondian cocktail of guns, scissor holds, subterfuge and sexual tension, the young spies flounder as their cunning captive unerringly probes their weaknesses. Worthington can’t do an Israeli accent at all, but nonetheless he embodies a simultaneous stolidity and vulnerability that makes him both the team’s weakest link and its moral compass.

So it's that time of year again. Kmart is decked out in green and red, more cops, drink specials at Dan Murphy's, mall overpopulation... yes that's right, it's graduate show time!

So, what is a grad show? It's when all of your friends who have been at art/design/architecture school for three years or longer (constantly annoying you to BUY THEIR ART and populate their openings) get together to host an official collective graduating exhibition with wine and cheer to boot.

Adelaide College of the Arts starts this year's run with its show I Was Here on Wednesday night. Then UniSA swings into gear with 6 shows for 13 courses, spanning all styles of fixed gear bicycle and unkempt facial hair, starting in late November. Finally, Adelaide Central holds its grad show on December 17 in Norwood.

In all seriousness, these shows are a wonderful way to celebrate our city's up and coming artists and to see what we're in for – the best of these kids will become the core of the local (and hopefully national and international) industry in the next few years. Attend to drink the free wine and support your graduating friends, but eat as many of the snacks as you can fit into your mouth - because they are generally gone before the wine and are needed to sustain you throughout the night.

If summer hasn't hit you around the bits where skin rubs on skin yet, you'll be feeling it from now on. Girls, its muggy! Take off your layers and let loose the linens. But for those questioning how to add a bit of zhoozh to what will be a season of undeniably short, pared-back and minimal outfits, the way forward is to accessorise with fruity colour.

Gorman have got one of Australia's best emerging designers under their cinch belt at the moment. Accessories designer Sara Bailes has returned from working as Karen Walker's right-hand woman, creating the IT jewellery of the last four seasons - and her latest offerings as part of Gorman's new team are simple and chic adornments for summer.

These hand made necklaces, cuffs and charms are playfully abstracted and the bold colour ways mean they work well with a strong coloured outfit or as stand-alone pieces on top of a beige sack-o-potatoes dress. Heck, wear it with a swimsuit. But if the weather keeps going this way, the only thing I'm going to be wearing is sunscreen and a bird necklace.

Shopping makes me hungry. There's something about searching through racks of vintage dresses that gives me cravings for cupcakes and coffee. Or maybe it's just that I skip on the much needed big breakfast to prepare myself for a day of op-shop hunting. In any case, I think I might have found the place of my dreams.

What A Treat Cafe & Recycled Clothing is a vintage store that is ALSO a cafe. You’ll find this place in an adorable old shopfront in Croydon, within a string of old shopfronts just waiting to be gentrified like its cousin, Elizabeth Street. There’s outdoor seating, all-day breakfast (my favourite kind of breakfast), good coffee and a big lunch menu. It’s fitted out with 50s and 60s furniture and collectables, as well as new art and vintage clothing. They also post their vintage wares on Facebook, for those not living on the Westside.

The Port Willunga caves have a cool shade. In summer this shade is good for: Dehydration. Reckless youth. Making out in the semi dark. Cigarettes when it's 40 degrees outside but you're still addicted to nicotine, ssshhhhiiiiiiiiiiiit. Drinking beer. Just drinking liquids in general. Eating food because there is less sand in the caves than the actual sand sand. Not getting sunburnt. Making a beach gang base camp just like teenagers do in movies. Hiding if you don’t have friends. <3 <3 cave graffiti. Catching your breath after swimming near the SWEET REEF. Saying “best summer eva” a bunch of times. Nick cave.

But caves too, just like the black part of the Yin and Yang, are not perfect. Watch out for: Kids. Families. Anyone with zinc on their face. Syringes. Used condoms. Beach weddings. Vom. Stepping on smashed Jim Beam bottles in the car park. Nick Cave.

Powerful, ear shattering, energising, room shaking, music royalty. Yes, with careers spanning over 40 years, Sly and The Family Stone are arguably one of the most influential bands in the world of sing songs. And whilst the elusive Sly who is said to be currently living in the back of a van won't be joining the band, I'm pretty sure there's going to be enough of their game-changing sound to go around for y'all. Oh, Chicago's Hypnotic Brass Ensemble are playing too. A bit of the old, a bit of the new. And a whole lot of groove. Yus.

Are you one of the few people in the world who doesn't want to move to Berlin right now? No, probably not. Stupid question, sorry. Well Wasp Summer lived the dream, and now she's back and is all up in your Grace Emily grills with her sweet folky tunes and, no doubt, a myriad of 'so I played this show in Kreuzberg...' and 'I'd just gotten home from this party on the U-Bahn...' anecdotes. Jealous yet? Well wait until you see musical geniuses Naomi (Gold Bloom) and Pat (Like Leaves) play solo sets in support. Avoid like the plague if you're feeling a little green-eyed.

Kids doing skids. People eating pigs. Riders drinking ciders. Sounds like a pretty good time, right? It's not even at night! There will be no fights. Oh what a delight. Am I right? Keep your shorts on tight. I could go on forever but I won't. I don't. This is the second ever Bike Dorks, which is basically a bunch of cyclo-hoons in a warehouse enjoying themselves.  This time it's going to have sik jumps for trix, things you can win, some alcohol, musics, and even stuff made out of pork to eat. Sounds pretty nice. Deux thumbs up!

These jeans are cheap and they look good. No jean porn about it. Japanese selvage denim? Nup. Hand sewn zip? Absolutely not. Customisable stitching? Cut the crap. They are just cheap and they look great, which is probably what most of the young people wearing them are like.

Ziggy Denim's latest collection has just dropped in stores in time for summer. If you need a pair of pants for festivals, parks and the general activity of the silly season, get some.

Burnt oranges! Classic blues. Yellow! Denim. Deep reds. And you can get most of them in full pant or shorts versions. Damn it, just look how much cheap fun you can have wearing them! They're all $90 or less. It's probably a public pool those models are in and they didn't even pay an entry fee.

You can get these Ziggys at a shop near you. Or, thanks to the mysterious Mr Z, you might win a pair today (girls or guys, your choice). To enter, just answer the following question.