If you are in the market for a new bong, pipe, rolling papers or other smoking paraphernalia, check out OzBongs.com.au, a brand new Australian online store with an awesome product range and great prices.
They a great range of Australian made and European imported borosilicate glass (Pyrex) bongs, glass hookahs & a vaporiser.
Island Vibe Festival on Stradbroke Island is back again in 2010 with another cultural feast on offer. Last year we experienced an amazing array of music, dance and art all in the beautiful island climate and vibe. The focus on indigenous culture is always an important part of the experience, and the overall context is family friendly and full of good energy.
Last year’s highlights included Mista Savonah, a Melbourne-based reggae band playing authentic, yet innovative music with a variety of talented vocalists. They will be returning for 2010, one of the best reggae band’s I’ve seen from Australia. We also witnessed Chali Tuna, former Jurassic Five mc, with his live band last year which was easily the most incredible show of the fest.
This year we look forward to seeing Groundation, a reggae band from California, as well as the return of Mista Savonah and the Nomad. Opiuo will be huge out there, with his massive glitch sounds, and we look forward to seeing NZ vocalists King Kapisi and Ladi 6.
It’s always good to book early for this festival, especially camping. It is truly a wonderful experience, one of the greatest festivals in Australia for vibe and setting.
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One of the biggest annual music festivals in Australia is not too far away. StickyPoint will be covering this year’s Bluesfest, April 1st – 5th (easter Weekend) 2010.
From the source:
“Australia’s most awarded and internationally renowned festival officially will be held at its permanent new home – at the Tyagarah Tea Tree farm just off the Pacific Highway, 12 minutes north of Byron Bay.
Festival goers should also note that the new and updated playing schedule is now online, and one day tickets are now also on sale – just visit www.bluesfest.com.au to see it all.
Bluesfest 2010 looks forward to welcoming patrons on its own land – and will accommodate approximately 6,500 campers! The very spacious and natural environment is right next to the festival grounds and will include a general store, showers and toilets.
The festival itself will feature more space, more music, more stalls, and more areas to chill out, but is all about keeping in the Bluesfest tradition, which is about creating an environmentally sound, peaceful, relaxed and happy home for everyone. Regular shuttle buses will be included to and from the festival into Byron Bay, Mullumbimby and surrounding towns.”
Headliners include: Jack Johnson, Crowded House, John Butler Trio, The Fray, Jools Holland & His Rhythm and Blues Orchestra, Taj Mahal, John Mayall Matisyahu, Angus & Julia StoneDonavon Frankenreiter, Ozomatli, Galactic, A.L.O (Animal Liberation Orchestra), Matt Costa, Buddy Guy, Roger Hodgson from Supertramp, Gipsy Kings, Orquesta Buena Vista Social Club®, Jeff Beck and many many many more….
Just want to give a heads up on some upcoming music events well-worth checking out. We covered Island Vibe festival on Stradbroke island last year, and it was such a solid event. Great music, artwork and family-friendly vibe. The lineup this year looks sweet- they’ve just confirmed Chali 2na with a live band- sounds like good fun out there. The fest is the last weekend of October, check it out at islandvibe.com.au.
Also look out for Shapeshifter on tour in September. These guys are a live drumnbass outfit from New Zealand- definitely know how to play tight, fast and loud. They’re playing Byron Sept 9, Gold Coast Sept 10 and Brisbane Sept 11. Check out nicheproductions.com.au for more info.
Check out this tour over the next few weeks featuring De la Soul w/ live band, Cut Chemist and MC Dres:
DE LA SOUL have earned themselves a huge following in Australia and internationally since the release of their ground-breaking debut album ‘3 Feet High and Rising’ in 1989. We last saw the good-time guys in early 2008, but this time they’re splashing out and coming with a 10-piece band, made up of seasoned players from across the USA, handpicked by DE LA SOUL.
Cut Chemist, one of hip hop’s most influential DJ’s, has been confirmed as a special guest for the tour, performing in a never before seen, 3 piece live format featuring vocals from Hymnal, custom visuals, decks and fx. Cut’s profile as a member of Ozomatli, dj and producer for legendary hip hop live outfit Jurassic 5 and frequent collaborator with fellow turntablist DJ Shadow steps up to the next level as he takes his unique cut & scratch audio visual presentation to the following shows:
DE LA SOUL 2009 Australian Tour
Sunday, April 26 – METRO CITY – Perth
Friday, May 1 – THE ESPLANADE HOTEL – Melbourne
Saturday, May 2 – GROOVIN THE MOO FESTIVAL – Lou Lister Park, Townsville
Sunday, May – 3 BRISBANE Tivoli – Brisbane
Tuesday, May 5 – METRO THEATRE – Sydney
Friday, May 8 – THE SHORES COMPLEX – Adelaide
Saturday, May 9 – GROOVIN THE MOO FESTIVAL – Newcastle Showgrounds, Newcastle
Tuesday, May 12 – SFBH – Wellington
Wednesday, May 13 – LAKE KAWANA CENTER – Queenstown
Thursday, May 14 – THE BEDFORD – Christchurch
Friday, May 15 – THE POWER STATION – Auckland
Saturday, May 16 – GROOVIN THE MOO FESTIVAL – Bendigo Show Grounds, Bendigo
The Spin Trim competition was recently drawn, and a winner selected. We have notified said winner, who has chosen to remain anonymous. They did have this to say though:
“Wow, I’m in shock.. I have never won anything before in my life and have been wanting one of these awesome machines ever since I’d heard about them. I never dreamed this would happen, thank you so very much to everyone involved. Keep up the great work with the magazine by the way!”
No worries Anonymous winner, we hope you have a lot of fun with this machine.
We also have the great news that Issue 6 of StickyPoint is not far away. As a sneak peak, here is a look at the cover so you know what you are looking for on the shelves.
The up-coming issue of StickyPoint is centred around medicinal use of cannabis. Dr John Jiggens has an interesting story on the history of cannabis as a medicine, looking into the works of Dr William Brook O’Shaughnessy and the understanding and emergence of the Central-Asian Cannabis Indica.  We also have a story from Treating Yourself editor Marco Renda, detailing his trials & tribulations of being a certified medical cannabis user in Canada.
On top of that, we have an excellent interview with Speech (one of the main members of the soulful Arrested Development), an interview with Adelaide-based hip-hop duo the Roach Scholars as well as our featured artists and a tonne of budshots.
To kick off the festive season, today we are starting a competition giveaway…. with 1st prize a brand spankin’ new Spin Trim.
The Spin Trim is a gentle and effortless hand operated leaf trimming machine, which we had to see to believe. We were amazed at its effeciency despite how simplistic the machine appears to be… and the quality of the end result is simply awesome. No more seized up scissors and white knuckles. No more pain-staking hours of cut, cut, cuttity cut.
Competition is open to all Australians, entries close March 10th 2009. To enter, complete the simple form below… that’s it! Entry limited to 1 entry per person.
StickyPoint Issue 6 will be hitting the shelves in the new year.
Recently in Malaysia, a Saudi Arabian student was sentenced to a total of 15 years in prison and 13 strokes of the rotan (caning) across 2 charges of cannabis possession. Muhamed Tariq Abualjadeil, 21, was found to have cannabis in his possession at the entry to the Cyber Heights Villa in Sepang, Malaysia on the November 18th, 2006.
Tariq was initially charged with drug trafficking, which carries a mandatory death sentence, despite Tariq denying ownership of the cannabis and claiming that the cannabis was for medical purposes.
Tariq’s lawyer pleaded that Tariq was caught up with the wrong people, and was otherwise a good student, studying business computing at a private college at the time of his arrest. A week ago, the prosecution offered Tariq the reduced charge of drug possession, which he initially accepted. However, Tariq then changed his mind, claiming “I don’t want to plead guilty to these two charges. I was not involved in thisâ€.
Tariq’s lawyer then threatened to quit the case unless he cooperated and accepted the reduced charge. Tariq accepted these charges and pleaded guilty a couple of days ago; the first charge for possession of 2.57kg of cannabis (12 years prison and 3 strokes of the rotan) and the second charge for possession of 43.5g of cannabis (3 years prison and 10 strokes of the rotan). Both sentences will run concurrently, backdated to his original arrest in November 2006.
What doesn’t seem to be clear in this case is why there were 2 separate charges for possession of the same substance. Is it possible that Tariq possibly had the small 43.5g (1.5 ounces) of cannabis in his pocket for his own personal supply? Could the 2.57kg (5.6 pounds / 90 ounces) have been a legitimate medicinal supply?
Regardless of what the motives behind the possession were, does a young man in the prime of his life deserve to sit behind bars for the next 10 years of his life and be caned 13 times for a first-time cannabis charge(s)?
What are your thoughts on this sentencing? Does this sentence only seem outrageous because we have rather relaxed cannabis laws compared to Malaysia and other south-east Asian nations?
Sources:
“12 years for Saudi student having cannabis” – New Straits Times – 09/12/08
“Lawyer threatens to quit over Saudi’s plea” – New Straits Times – 04/12/08
It was recently brought to our attention by Pete in Townsville that when he searched the StickyPoint store locator for shops in Queensland, none of the stores listed were stocking the magazine. First up, BIG APOLOGIES to anyone in Queensland who has been unable to find a store listed on that page… as an oversight inside the office here, there should be no stores listed for any Queensland post code.
The reason behind this is that StickyPoint was given a Category 1 Restricted (R18+) by the OFLC (Office of Film and Literature Classification), and by Queensland state laws, that means StickyPoint is not allowed for distribution / sale in the sunny state. Unfortunately our hands are tied by these laws, and it seems to be yet another case of unfair censorship.
We genuinely apologise for the inconvenience caused to any of Queensland readers, we wish we could change the laws or the rating we were given. However, there are online stores that do stock our magazine and ship Australia-wide, so…
Our apologies again Pete, keep an eye on your mailbox in the coming week…
Whatsup! I cover music events for Stickypoint, and thought it was about time to start talking tunes on this site. I’ll be posting news, reviews, interviews and various opinions about quality music events in Oz, and artists worldwide who are blowing it up. I’d love to hear your opinions on the content, or music stuff you’ve read about in the mag- let’s make this a dope discussion!
Let’s start with some fatty links:
Check back in the coming weeks for exclusive reviews & interviews.