2024 right here right now 2024

WHY YES! Of course you can support my advocacy work and shower me with gifts of LPs and assist musicians simultaneously, here’s my Bandcamp wishlist

WORK: Recently my workplace decided to go through a restructure, so my career as a university librarian is a bit iffy. I’ve been working in libraries for around 8 years now, but maybe it’s time for a change… What will I do when I grow up? Funeral guide, doom metal vocalist, high-end escort? Probably just a funeral guide, but - WATCH THIS SPACE…

RANDO: I did one of those 16 Personalities tests, I’m a Campaigner (ENFP-T) apparently, not sure what to do with this information, but it sounds pretty spot on… “As an ENFP (Campaigner), you are a vibrant force of enthusiasm, creativity, and idealism. Your mind is a constant whirlwind of ideas and possibilities, each more exciting than the last. You approach life with an infectious energy that draws others to you, your charisma and genuine interest in people making you a natural connector and inspirational force. Your curiosity knows no bounds, and you have an insatiable appetite for new experiences and perspectives. This openness, combined with your vivid imagination, allows you to see potential and opportunity where others might not. You’re not just a dreamer, though – you’re a dreamer with a mission, driven by a deep-seated desire to make the world a better place.”

ART: My live radio show DEAD AIR Mondays 10-11 am AEST 94.9MainFM has been receiving some accolades which makes me very happy :) All current episodes have their own page on this website yay: DEAD AIR episodes If you’d like to revisit or listen to earlier DEAD AIR episodes you can find all past episodes (1-48) on my MixCloud page here - DEAD AIR episodes 1-48.

PRESENTATIONS: Over two Thursdays in December at MPavilion, Melbourne, I was one of the 15 facilitators present for Expiry D8: a meeting place for liberating conversations and inspiring new attitudes about death-care. Where death doulas, industry advocates and artists met to talk about end-of-life, contemporary memorialisation, funerary rites and rituals.

In June, I was invited to present my practice and to join a panel at the Open House Melbourne event ‘Time Immemorial’ for the Six Feet Under: Design + Death weekend symposium at Bunurong Memorial Park and the National Gallery of Victoria. I also presented - ‘DEAD AIR: Art, Death and Community Radio’ at the CDAS (Centre for Death and Society, University of Bath) ‘Death and Communities’ online conference.

WRITING: My story was recently featured in issue no.46 of That’s Life! magazine, it’s a change to be in a mainstream mag. I love the idea that someone will pick up a copy in a waiting room, or at the airport, and read about what I’m doing in my deathie world! Other glossies I’ve been interviewed for include the printed Peppermint Magazine (issue 58, Winter 2023) and the Bendigo Magazine (issue 48, Spring 2017). I also had an article published in the 2024 Winter edition of The Art of Healing magazine.

TRIPS: Excitingly I attended the Sydney Festival of Death and Dying on 16-17 November. I attended one in Melbourne a few years back, and some of the workshops were quite radical. The festival has a heavy creative and performance focus alongside some practical information sharing, this year’s was another phenomenal event.

MUSIC: Seeing live music is one of my joys, and our little town (population 9000) has so many incredible venues we’re so lucky to have such a vibrant music scene in Castlemaine. If you’re ever here, check out who’s playing at the Bridge Hotel, Theatre Royal, Taproom (Shedshaker Brewery), Red Hill Hotel, and Trash Cult further up the road in Eaglehawk. Live music in country Vic woop! You can support Australian artists by buying their music on Bandcamp, especially my fave Castlemaine bands K5 and DEAD and internationally acclaimed Anthony Pateras x