Few pleasures so great as discovering a new artist you know is going to matter to you. Researching a thesis on ambient art and did just that - and he's been composing right under my nose on the Room 40 label. Proving that ambient art need not only be pacifying 'furniture', here is the ferocious and beautiful 'Flowstone' by Rafael Irissari.

Britain has a strange ability for producing the 'last sane man in the world' type, going as far back, at least, as G.K. Chesterton, and probably to Marlowe. We have nothing like David Mitchell in Australia. We have a few fine comics: the uniquely talented John Doyle (Roy Slaven), Sam Pang and "Charles Barrington" to name three. But, like I say, we have nothing like David Mitchell ... I am a man who voted for Bob Brown every time he had the chance (and would do so again), yet it dismays me to see how predictably "left wing" and "irreverent" our artists and comics are, as though they swallow a left-wing pill every morning to make sure they don't fall out of line with the other members of the club. Mitchell is a real contrarian ... a real thinker ... and a truly funny man ... hell, a genius ... check this out!

And This ...

And this ...

And this one just for laughs ... for all the writers