VISUAL SPIKES

Ben Peek, guest-blogging



This is an image of the High School I went too. Nice spikes, yeah?

I'm glad that Anna Tambour posted her images of Australia, because it gives you a nice juxtaposition to my ones of urban decay. I'm fascinated by urban landscape, and while it's entirely my world, Anna's is an important one in regards to Australia. Still, I wish I had the ability to upload sound for you guys. The thing you're missing is the sound of birds--the soft murmur of life in the background of urban and rural living that, sadly, all images lack.

The High School I went too was really quite shit, you know. It was called Pendle Hill High, and the year after I left, it was listed as a disadvantaged school. Like most public schools Pendle Hill didn't have to be underfunded, but since it lacked any sway whatsoever, it was left to rot. I went up there a week or so back to walk and photograph it out of general amusement and my then plan for VanderWorld blogging (which has since changed, hey, have you picked that up? It's becoming a lot more like my normal blog, just with a focus on images). Anyhow, when I went there, around the school were all these signs telling me that public education was worth the investment. It was as if the entire school had turned into a beggar and was sitting on the side of the road with a cardboard sign, asking for cash.

(Ben Peek writes stuff. He has a novel called Black Sheep coming out next year. He wrote 'Dream of a Russian Princess'-- Jeff's Evil Monkey: Hey, you know what I like? Ben: I'm so afraid to ask. Jeff's Evil Monkey: Blenders. Ben: ... Jeff's Evil Monkey: You can blend anything. Ben: You're talking about people, aren't you? Jeff's Evil Monkey: Babies, actually.)