Among all the vibrant, busy magazine covers shouting at you to buy them on the news stand, don’t you think it’s this one that will catch your eye? Certainly Kidman’s gaze is compelling; but so is the empty space and the gravity of the headline.

It’s a great lesson in the impact of de-emphasising in an over-emphasised environment.

Ben has recently spent time in Afghanistan with Australian troops. He spoke of the trauma, the fear, and the damaging psychological repercussions of the war on our young soldiers. It was a very moving interview and I expect we’ll see some amazing work from Ben Quilty as a result of his experiences with the diggers.

In life there are people who say ‘yes’ a lot. They tend to get things done, achieve things, move forward. Then there are people who say ‘no’ a lot. They’re the bottlenecks, the brick walls, the cliff faces, the black holes, the chain-draggers.

Our conscience tends to have a voice that chats to us in our head. It’s important that the little internal voice which says ‘yes’ is louder and stronger than the voice that murmurs ‘no’. That negative voice can have far reaching effects for your confidence, resilience and experience. Imagine a life with no adventures, no surprises. That’s the life of ‘no’.

So today I thought I’d urge you to say ‘yes’ to something. Grab an opportunity and run away with it.

According to Böhm, “… what is missing in most of the images used in this field is a convincing and inspiring connection to our real lives”. “Everything is either highly technical studio photography or excessively idealised settings that you can’t trust anymore – empty images showing representative interiors full of status symbols.”

In these fictional films he gives us a glimpse into the lives of people living and functioning with pieces of beautiful Vitra furniture. Nice work.

Whenever I see the name Edith Head in the titles, I know to expect fabulous costumes. I had a scout around and found these wonderful sketches by Edith Head for Grace Kelly’s costumes in Rear Window. I just love that Kelly looks a million dollars in every scene, while Jimmy Stewart sits about in his pyjamas.

Edith Head won eight Oscars for her costume design work: making her – a designer – Hollywood’s most decorated female star.

Hong Kong Accelerate from Spot On Idea on Vimeo.

To me Williams is a beautiful link between ‘European’ Australian landscape painting and Indigenous Australian art (see Rover Thomas).

We can’t wait to see this exhibition in Melbourne (7 April – 22 July 2012).

Upwey landscape, 1965-66 © Estate of Fred Williams

Strath Creek Falls VII, 1979 © Estate of Fred Williams

So, on the theme of nice bridges, here’s some amazing pics from the rainforests of the Indian state of Meghalaya. These forest bridges have been fashioned by villagers from vines and tree roots which create a solid latticework. The structures can be strong enough to support fifty people and some are 500 years old. The area gets tonnes of rainfall each year, and these natural bridges never rot because they’re actually living tree roots.

Wonderful aren’t they?

© Rex Features

© Rex Features

This story of transcendent love set in the last days of the Song Dynasty is often compared to Romeo and Juliette. There’s gardens, dreams, death, exhumation, resurrection, imprisonment and of course eventual happiness. A classic of Chinese literature, it was written by 汤显祖 (Tang Xianzu) and is usually presented as a 20-hour long opera. (Boy, I’d need a cushion for that).

Meanwhile, here’s an illustration titled The Peony Pavilion by Chinese artist, 夏达 (Xia Da).