debate ISSUE 19 | AUGUST 2015 ISSUE 21 | SEPTEMBER 2015
CREDITS EDITOR Laurien Barks laurien.barks@aut.ac.nz SUB-EDITORS Matthew Cattin Amelia Petrovich Julie Cleaver DESIGNERS Ramina Rai CONTRIBUTORS Matthew Cattin, Julie Cleaver, Aisha Hall, Kieran Bennett, Amelia Petrovich, Shivan, Sakmira Kakh, Reegan Hill, Nicole Hunt, Shivani Rajan, Romulus Swanney, Anita Tranter, Ethan Sills, Māyā, Logan Gubb, Tyler Hinde
CONTENTS Pg 3 Editor’s Letter
Pg 23 The Write Way
ADVERTISING Harriet Smythe hsmythe@aut.ac.nz
Pg 5 SRC Sez
Pg 24 Reality’s Slap
Pg 6 What’s up, Phoenix Foundation?
Pg 28 Why You Shouldn’t Care About the TPPA.
Contributions can be sent to
Pg 8 Anna Coddington and Lips
Pg 30 3am Thoughts
Pg 9 Cool Shit
Pg 31 Every Quiet Person Needs A Loud Person
Pg 10 Why Seeing Poverty Made Me Less Empathetic
Pg 32 Nothing to Flag About
Pg 13 The New York Addiction
Pg 33 Wales Rider
Pg 14 Heeeeere’s Jacki!
Pg 34 Opening Doors
Pg 15 In Short
Pg 35 Recipe
Pg 16 Driving Whinge Stinge
Pg 36 Reviews
Pg 18 That Fashion Passion
Pg 38 Puzzles
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sponse from those of an opposing view. Understandably so. People have opinions, and I’m all about discussing these topics from every angle.
Nicole Arbour
EDITOR’S LETTER Welcome back! I hope the break treated everyone kindly! It’s the homestretch to summer now, folks, and I don’t know about you, but my body is so ready. I didn’t realize how ready it was until a co-worker of mine came into the office this morning and exclaimed “You look so pale! Are you sick!?” No, that’s just my vanilla face. Or, you know, my The Grudge face. My clear gelatin face? Whatever you want to call it, I’m ready to stop dodging rain clouds, and sprint full tilt into summer. In other news, I was scrolling through the internet last week, and let me tell you, I came across a gem of a video. Ms Nicole Arbour’s video to be exact. You may have seen it, you may have been one of the lucky few who didn’t. Unfortunately I watched in horror, as this woman unapologetically fat-shamed the living daylights out of people who are considered medically obese. Let it be known that she was not shaming people with a “specific health condition” or a “little extra cushion for the pushin’” (why does that phrase even exist?), just people who were overweight to a degree she deemed unacceptable, and without a reason given by a member of the medical community. Because that makes shaming better. I’m well aware that a lot of my beef with the world lies under the heading of ‘Body Issues’. I’ve addressed these kinds of topics in Debate a number of times, and I’m very open about everything society is doing wrong in this department. But the horrific damage that this video is doing to an already messed up societal belief is not even my biggest qualm in all of this. Body, eating, triggering issues aside - this video makes my chest tighten with extreme frustration. Where, oh where, has compassion gone?! The response to this video was pretty instantaneous, and the loudest to respond were those with an understanding (or at least a willingness to understand) of why this video was wrong (thank the Lord). However, as expected, there was a lot of re-
But that doesn’t excuse the nature of Arbour’s video, or her flippant response to the backlash. I understand that comedians are constantly pushing for edge and shock value in their routines, and while I might think a topic is inappropriate for comedy, I’m not about to go around raining on parades about it unless I can see a very real issue. In fact, I don’t actually have a huge problem with the concept of people formulating jokes around weight. It’s most definitely not my thing, I always wind up feeling a little uncomfortable around them, but I’m not about to get angry at the comedic industry for failing to wrap their audiences up in cotton wool. Usually this kind of humour is presented self-deprecatingly, on occasion it’s not, but as long as they’re jokes being told with respect (within the blurry moral boundaries of the industry), I’m not going to get up in arms about it. Arbour’s routine isn’t tactful, though. It’s cutting, malicious, and incredibly ignorant. She states that overweight people should be shamed, and that she’ll sleep okay at night knowing she’s said this because she’s really only looking out for the wellbeing of people she believes are unhealthy. I can’t get too angry at her, because I think she genuinely believes she’s saying the right, ‘tough love’ things, but my golly! When you remove the ‘justifying’ adjectives of the message she’s portraying, all you’re left with is “people should be shamed”. If that doesn’t summarize the root of prejudice and inequality, I don’t know what does. The fact that she thinks a single word slapped onto the front of that phrase transforms it into an acceptable statement reeks of ignorance. That single adjective is consistently being recycled and reshaped. It’s taken inherent forms: “black”, “homosexual”, “female”, as well as these, broadly-defined ‘controllable’ forms. When will we get the message that no descriptive word is ever going to make that sentence okay? When will we get the message that whether we believe a person can change their circumstances or not, that sentence is not okay? That sentence doesn’t discriminate, it doesn’t pick and choose the people who ‘need’ to hear it, over the people who should be shielded from it at all costs. That sentence, while it may hold the potential to motivate some (though I have no idea who), also wields the potential for depression and suicide. That’s a big gamble, especially considering there are so many other ways to tackle this (and any) issue without sweeping through indiscriminately. It is possible to not understand something without attacking it. It is possible to respect the fact that there are things you will never grasp the full depth of. That’s compassion, and I think we could do with more of it. Have a great week, folks! Laurien 3
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SRC SEZ
Librarian of the Week
Suhasini Gazula Education
Hai, Namaste! By Fakaanaua Hakalo Tapu mo e ‘Afio ‘a e Ta’ehāmai, fakatulou atu mo e laione ‘o mala’ekulá, mo e lupe ‘oku kapa he tauá. Tulou mo ha’a vavanga mo e ha’a poto, kau hūfanga atu ‘I he kolosi fakalavá, pea ‘oku ou kole keu fakamalumalu atu ‘i he ngaahi tala fakatapu kotoapē ‘oku fa’a fakatapua ‘i he mala’é ni, ka e ‘atā mu’a mo e ki’i motu’a tu’a ni ke fakamonū hoku koloa. Hello everyone, and welcome back from the mid-break semester. I hope everyone had a blast of a holiday. This week is Tongan Language Week, and I hope you will enjoy learning a few Tongan phrases. Mālō e lelei – Hello! Fēfē hake? – How are you? Saipē mālō – I’m fine thank you! Being on the Student Representative Council this year, and carrying out the responsibilities of the Culture and Society Representative has been an extreme honour and privilege for me. There are some goals I really focus on while doing my role. One is for students to have a healthy learning environment, and another is for students to have inner beauty. The Culture and Society faculty never faced difficulties, but the students in this faculty show how far a beautiful and sweet personality enhances a place. It is God’s desire that we be fruitful in carrying any responsibilities given to others. If we are, their lives might be transformed as ours were. The Culture and Society faculty is guided by four core values, or in Tongan, the faa’i kavei koula. All of which combine to ensure a generous and genuine welcome to visitors. I wish to acknowledge my thanks to all of the students of Culture and Society for all their hard work, and for cooperating with me. And another thank you to my SRC colleagues for their spirit of unity in ensuring that ‘TO THE BEST’ is implemented everywhere at AUT. Malo ‘aupito mo e tu’a ‘ofa atu Faka’anaua Ki Peteli Hakalo
I am Suhasini Gazula. I am one of the Liaison Librarians for the Faculty of Culture and Society. I have a Master’s degree in Education as well as an MPhil (Science) and an MLIS (Master of Library and Information Studies). I have 14 years of work experience at AUT Library, in various roles, and I now work as Liaison Librarian for Education. I am based at North Campus, but I also visit the South and City Campuses. Education covers many areas including early childhood, primary, tertiary, Steiner, Montessori, Pasifika, and educational research. Please check my subject guides - a wealth of information is available for your use. The main focus of my role is to provide effective support to AUT students, staff and researchers to help you achieve your educational goals. I can help you with: •
constructing a search strategy for your research topic
•
finding books or journal articles
•
using EndNote
•
research consultations
If you need any help with your research, please get in touch with me by email or phone to set up a one-on-one research consultation. I believe that there is no such thing as a ‘small’ or ‘silly’ question. Every question counts, and can lead to good research. All the best for your study here at AUT. Sushasini Gazula Liaison Librarian
sgazula@aut.ac.nz 921 9999 ext 7343 North Campus Library, Room AL110
5
T H E P H O E N I X F O U N D AT I O N Interview by Matthew Cattin When I consider Kiwiana, I think Four Square, I think pohutukawaspangled towns, and I think The Phoenix Foundation. Perhaps it’s their inclusion in Taika Waititi’s Kiwi classics Eagle vs Shark and Boy that created the sonic connection in my mind, but I can’t separate the two, and I don’t want to. Listening to Pot on a summer’s drive up the coast, or Hitchcock when I have an awkward crush, well, it’s just a special thing. With album number five Give Up Your Dreams just released, The Phoenix Foundation have continued their consistent trend of keeping critics and fans happy. Lively, rhythmic, and more Kiwi than your nan’s pav recipe, it’s just a rollicking good time. Ahead of their national tour in September and October, founding member Luke Buda caught up with Debate to spin a yarn about the new record, craft beer and dad bods.
Listening to your new record, it sounds like you had a lot of fun recording it is that accurate? Yes. For some reason when we were tracking Fandango, it seemed quite stressful and intense, and then we worked on it for another YEAR, whereas this was mostly good vibes. We were set up at the Car Club which is our own space and that meant there was no time or financial pressure. The band line up at the moment is great as everyone is totally open to trying any crazy idea, even if it is to radically change something we have been working on for ages, like Playing Dead. We completely rearranged it after months of work. Someone said, “I don’t think I like this very much like this.” And so we went, “okay, let’s change it.” That kind of non-precious attitude is conducive to good creative flow. Good creative flow promotes fun and healthy liver function.
If Give Up Your Dreams was on Tinder, what would its bio read? I’m old fat and disappointed, but I know how to party. There is a lot more immediacy in GUYD than in Fandango. Was this a conscious decision? Yes very much so. Fandango was often described as a “slow burner” in reviews and I got a bit sick of that. So we wanted to do something that was exciting upon first listen. You released album packages with pillowcases and sleep masks. What was the deal? Basically you have to work really hard to get people interested in actually buying the music in physical form. So it’s incentive city… You’d hope that people would just buy a record because they think the music is cool but...
school. They are fans of the band and we are fans of their beer. In case you don’t know, they are constantly creating crazy new beers with a Heston Blumenthal-like abandon… They have embraced the Give Up Your Dreams philosophy and are going to make a classic NZ Draught… NZ’s finest Craft Draught.
That kind of non-precious attitude
is
conducive
to good creative flow. Good
creative
promotes
fun
flow and
healthy liver function.
When you’re producing an album, do you take reviews on board or do you block your ears and do your own thing? I am always interested in people’s opinions but I’ll take them or leave them. I think getting some constructive critique is a healthy thing. I think I’m pretty good at sifting through what people have said and finding what is pertinent to me or not, but maybe some of the other guys find that annoying or confusing. However with this album we were very much on our own mission. We were trying to take this somewhere else and at first, even the band wasn’t sure where that was or how we felt about it, so I think maybe we got a bit insular. You’re about to embark on a national tour. Do you still get the same kick out of gigging in NZ as you did when you started? Sure. One of the things I’m most proud about is that we are constantly improving and always thinking about how to improve as a live act. So it’s always exciting to go out and sort of…
lift, or surprise people or something. I just wish we could play heaps more gigs in NZ and go to places like Barrytown and Stewart Island but it’s hard to make that work financially, unfortunately. You’ve collaborated with Taika Waititi on quite a few projects, his and your own – how did this relationship begin? And have you got anything in the works you can tell us about? Well you know Wellington is small. We had mutual friends. I was working in a movie theatre and he came in one day and I happened to have a demo CD of some soundtrack demos and he happened to be already thinking about getting us to do Eagle vs Shark and it just started from there. Hopefully we can continue to work on his films cause they’re GREAT.
You’re working on a craft beer – what can beer drinkers expect when they crack a Phoenix Foundation? The Garage Project is my local brewery. Sometimes I park in their car park when I’m picking up my kids from
Is it frustrating when people focus on your dad bods rather than your art? I love my dad bod. I love myself so much. All the time… Anyway… I dunno there was a time when I would feel pissed off if I read something like “the beard and cardigan look is so last year,” instead of anything about the music but these days I kinda don’t give a shit. Whether you’ve given up on your dreams, or you’re still working towards them, what are they? To be able to pay the bills. What’s the secret to staying together for so long? And furthermore, consistently being fabulous in the eyes of critics and fans? Staying together… I guess the secret was we never got much hype or success. This sounds kinda anti-intuitive but it means that we just slowly built a fan base by mumbling along in our own way. As for the “fabulous” bit, I’d say one of the most important things in any creative endeavour is no complacency and knowing what’s good or not. We have six people in the band and any one of them can sometimes say “I think this is shit,” and then we talk about it and try something different. We are ever vigilant! 7
ANNA CODDINGTON & LIPS
STEPH: Exploring New Zealand and playing Anna’s awesome songs is going to be killer. FEN: I’m really looking forward to visiting the South Island – I’ve never been and I’ve heard there’s a lot of dope ass majesty down there. Have you already planned what highlights you’re going to hit up in each New Zealand city you perform in? What are they? ANNA: I’m really looking forward to Wanaka, it’s one of the most beautiful towns in New Zealand in my opinion. STEPH & FEN: I’m looking forward to Oamaru! I love old buildings and there are tonne down there! We’re also looking forward to hitting up some bowling alleys!! (Fen says Steph is the best person to ever go bowling with).
What are your guilty pleasures? ANNA: I don’t feel guilty about most of my pleasures. I eat a LOT of chocolate and I never feel guilty about that. I have some musical guilty pleasures, which include Nick Jonas’s Jealous and all of Taylor Swift’s new songs.
How did this performance partnership come to be? Whose idea was it to tour together?
If you had to summarize your tour in three song titles (yours or other artists’) what would you say?
ANNA: I invited Steph over to my house to play some keyboards on a new song that I was working on, and we got talking about touring and she said LIPS really wanted to tour NZ as they’d never toured at home before. I hadn’t been on the road for a couple of years and so offered to help organise their tour as they live in NYC… (and secretly I wanted to do it with them)!
ANNA: All Night Long – Lionel Richie Fun Fun Fun – Beach Boys Pop Music - M
FEN: Crack cocaine. LOL jokes… Coffee.
STEPH: Moves Like Jagger – Maroon 5 Girls Just Wanna Have Fun – Cyndi Lauper Dance Magic Dance – David Bowie
ANNA: I just hope people come out and grab tickets so they get the free downloads of our songs. We’ve put together such a great show, it’s gonna be a lotta fun!
STEPH: I secretly really wanted to tour with Anna but was a bit nervous to ask her about it. Fortunately we both had the same “secret” idea and eventually realised we wanted to tour together, so now we are!
What are you looking forward to most with this tour?
As far as the future, I’ve got a new album coming out early next year – can’t wait for you to hear it!
ANNA: Playing live shows and playing LIPS songs, which I really love, and playing the Tuning Fork, which I’ve not played before! It’s such a great venue.
STEPH: Whiskey and patterns.
Any final words about the tour/what you’ve got planned for the future?
STEPH & FEN: Same! Except not Anna’s it’s our own album. But we think you’ll be sad if you don’t come to our September shows, so you should buy tickets!
COOL SHIT
T H E U LT I M AT E T R AV E L I S T More than 40 years in the making, Ultimate Travelist is Lonely Planet’s first definitive wish-list of the 500 most thrilling, memorable and interesting places in the world – ranked in order of brilliance! This fabulous compilation normally retails at $36.99, but Debate has a copy to give away for free! Simply Facebook message us with your name, campus, and the answer to the following question. First one to get the right answer wins! “Name three of the nine New Zealand sites that have made it into the Ultimate Travelist’s top 500 list.”
PUMPED TO JUMP
WE GOT BUNS, HUN
Debate has 3 passes to Auckland’s JUMP Trampoline Park! We’re losing it, because that sounds like one heck of a great time! Jump, bounce, do super mega awesome backflips, and generally have the best hour of your life with a couple of your friends. All you need to do is Facebook message us your name, campus, and your best trampoline pun.
Burger buns, that is. Debate is pretty much prepared to set y’all up with free burgers for life. This week we’ve got a variety pack of vouchers and coupons to give away for Maccas and Burger King so you always have food to suit your mood. Email lbarks@aut.ac.nz with your name, campus, and an attached picture of your ‘bucket list burger’ – one you’ve never tried, but would inhale if you got the chance.
facebook.com/ausmdebate
9
WHY SEEING POVERTY MADE ME LESS E M PAT H E T I C
Julie Cleaver | Illustration by Tyler Hinde
Sometimes it’s hard to feel empathy for situations we can’t see. Most people wouldn’t buy Nikes if the sweatshop they were made in was across their road and they had to watch children slave away, day and night. But surprisingly, this wasn’t the case for me. Seeing poverty actually hardened my crust and made me less empathetic- at least for a while. My interest in developing countries was conceived in primary school, when World Vision came and gave a presentation to us in the hall. They put on a video featuring some B-grade New Zealand celebrity (I think it was Brooke Fraser) going to Africa, seeing poverty and being forever changed by her experience. I still remember sitting there with my legs crossed, arms folded, and face soaking in tears. I knew from that moment that I would go to a developing country and do my best to help. Fast forward to year thirteen, the end of my schooling career. It was that time when everyone was asking, “so, what are you doing next year?” and I had absolutely no idea. But deep down, I knew I wanted to do something to help the greater good, just like eight-year-old Julie. Then when I was in the travel section of the school library (a place most confused young people end up in), I came across a book about Cambodia. I had never heard of this country, so curiously, I picked it up and I flicked through pages. Images of triangle hats in green rice fields, Buddhist monks wondering around ancient temples, and smiling children wearing only rags beamed out at me. The pictures sparked my imagination and found a home in my heart instantly. I was no longer lost. I knew what I wanted to do next year, and that was volunteering in Cambodia.
When I first told people about my plan, I surprisingly met a lot of resistance, especially from my parents. Having been a Vietnam War protester in the 70s, my mum wanted me to avoid Southeast Asia like Ebola. Some of my friends also thought my plan sounded a bit out there. Now that I’m a few years older and in the ‘travelling age’, going to Southeast Asia seems more normal to me than the name John Smith. Every third person you meet has a totally unique story about their two-week escapade in Thailand (please, tell me more about your full moon party, trip to the Tiger-cruelty place, encounters with lady-boys and how you went to that island where The Beach was filmed!). Btw, if your name is John Smith and you have been on that exact adventure, I am sorry to have picked on you twice.
Images of triangle hats in green rice fields, Buddhist monks wondering around ancient temples, and smiling children wearing only rags beamed out at me. But despite how foreign Southeast Asia was to my circle back then, and despite my mother nearly having a mental breakdown, my plans didn’t change. My mind was made, and that was that. I worked long, tiresome shifts as a lifeguard, researched all the necessary injections and pills I needed, and booked my flights online. First stop in the southeast: Ho Chi Minh City. 11
When I crossed the border from Vietnam into Cambodia, the first thing I felt was an incredible sense of accomplishment. “I told you,” was the saying dancing around my head, “I told you all I’d do it.” After that childish moment, I noticed the dust. It was everywhere: blowing behind vehicles, stuck to the bottom of feet, and settled on the Cambodian faces. It was the dust of a tropical country in the dry season, and also the dust of destruction: a substance that lingers in the air of a country and settles on the expressions on people’s faces. Incase you are like me and weren’t taught about Pol Pot in history class, I’ll fill you in. In the 1970s Pol Pot became the leader of The Khmer Rouge-a communist party in Cambodia that was disgustingly cruel. Focused on creating a classless, working society, The Khmer Rouge turned Cambodia into a labor camp. They killed everybody and anybody who got in the way of their vision, including the educated, too young or old to work, religious leaders, Vietnamese, citydwellers or civil servants. In total, 1.5 million people died, but some estimate the number to be even higher. That’s over an eighth of the entire Cambodian population. Bizarrely, the US and China supported Cambodia at this time, and it was Vietnam who put an end to all the madness. Unjustly, hardly any of the leaders of The Khmer Rouge were caught, including Pol Pot. This evil dictator died peacefully in his sleep in 1998 and was never punished for his crimes against humanity. When I went to Cambodia, I visited the mass graves, saw the tree that The Khmer Rouge used to whack babies against (as bullets were too expensive), and walked through a tall memorial building, filled with skulls. On top of that, I witnessed the lasting
destruction of The Khmer Rouge: begging children, deformed old people and desperation on every tan face I encountered. You know how people say, “in developing countries they have nothing, yet they’re so much happier than us”, yeah, that’s not true. They have nothing. No food, no home, no future, zilch, and they are not happy. They are sad and starving.
What I saw was outrageous,
shocking, and
terrible, but like
violence or sex on TV, the more you
see it, the less you notice it.
Volunteering in an orphanage for three weeks exposed me to even more poverty. The children went to a very basic school, had hardly any entertainment, and had little hope of going to university or getting a good job. They experienced all the same problems we go through: relationship issues, boredom, and loneliness, yet they also had hundreds more on top of that. Some of the kids had at least one parent, however they could not afford to look after them. Apparently one mother had been working for years to save up the equivalent of 400 New Zealand dollars, just to have enough money for a place to live and food to eat for her and her children. That’s less than what most people here make in a week, and she had been saving for years.
What I saw was outrageous, shocking, and terrible, but like violence or sex on TV, the more you see it, the less you notice it. Plus, coming from a sheltered upbringing, I had to cope with all the sadness around me in some way, and to do so, I grew cold. I ignored beggars on the street, grew resentful towards the naughty children at the orphanage, and tried to haggle people selling merchandise on the street to cut the best deal for myself. And I regret it massively. I forgot that beggars weren’t trying to scam me. If they had better things to do than sit on the street and look miserable, I’m sure they would be doing it. I forgot to consider that the children at the orphanage would have to grow up without a mother or a father and how hard that must be. And I forgot that paying an extra dollar for some elephant pants meant nothing to me, but a lot to the seller. Basically I forgot to be human amongst all the inhumane things that were going on around me. Looking back I would do things a lot differently. I would refuse to let seeing poverty turn me into a heartless bitch and do my best to help others when I could. I would think of ways I could make a difference, rather than grow angry at my insignificant impact. But most importantly, I would have tried harder to keep that sweet, tearyeyed little girl inside of me alive. Disconnecting from our inner child may make us less scared of the dark, but it also cuts us off from feeling genuine compassion and care for strangers; and I would happily walk inside a monster-filled closet to help a fellow earth-dweller.
NEW YORK ADDICTION Aisha Hall New York is not a city, it’s a world, and as crazy as that sounds it’s true. Eight million people stuffed in tiny shoebox apartments, with dreams so big the walls are almost bursting with ambition. 8000 restaurants so you can eat anything you want, at any time you want. 250 Starbucks throughout the five boroughs, New York has the most coffee. Subways that run 24/7. Time Out even says that New Yorkers live longer than almost anyone on the planet, their oldest person being a 113-year-old woman. It’s almost entirely too hard to put into words how this place makes you feel. There is something about the combination of old brick buildings and towering, shiny skyscrapers that create a kind of magic that cannot be ignored. When I arrived in New York, within 24 hours of being there I felt like I was home. It was like I had arrived and New York had opened its arms for me, welcoming me to the family and telling me, “don’t worry, you’re home now”. It was like an old friend, something so familiar but unrecognizable at the same time. I felt a certain freedom while I was there, given it was Pride and everyone was definitely riding the rainbow buzz. It still felt like a strange liberty was flooding the streets. There was an independence that each person carried with them, which is something I have never noticed here. New Yorkers know themselves, and know what they want. It’s inspiring and ever so slightly intimidating when you see a guy with purple dreads and an expensive suit walking past you. This is a city where people never give up. There is something incredible about the diversity of the people as well. You get on a subway and there is one of every kind of person packed on there with you, doing the same thing at the same time. It’s a feeling of unity, even if you are stuffed in a hurtling underground bullet. It’s easy to fall in love with a place you’ve never been to. It’s harder to have to leave it again. It’s like saying I love you, but I have to go. New York is addictive, whether you have been or not, almost every second person has a thing for New York, and rightly so. Not only is it home of the musical, which they do better than anyone else in the world, it is also home of pizza power; and I can tell you now there is literally nothing like a slice of New York pizza. New York is also the home of dreamers, achievers, and innovators, people who have a vision and chase it. Sitting on the rooftop deck of the Upper East Side apartment I was staying in, staring at the skyline of these incredible buildings, it felt like everything was possible. You feel like you can accomplish anything, you feel like you need to be the best person you can be for New York. Yes it is expensive and chaotic a lot of the time, but the good outweighs the bad. There is an air of excitement as you are walking the streets; there is always something new and fresh to be discovered. It is entirely random and completely invigorating, the energy is always up. It is a crazy place with crazier people from all walks of life, the epicenter of so many different colliding worlds. Fashion, politics, art, finance; it’s more than just ethnic diversity, but professional diversity too. People who want to help you get where you want to be. And although I am not there now, I am waiting to go back, and I know New York is waiting too. 13
HEEEERE’S JAC KI! Illustration by Logan Gubb | Interview by Laurien Barks
Having recently celebrated her 20th anniversary working at AuSM, Debate thought it’d be swell to sit down and get to know Jacki Robb a little bit better. AuSM’s lovely North Shore Campus Student Information Officer was more than happy to let us feature her, so had a quick chat to Laurien about AuSM, some of her favs, and creative home remedies for y’all to try. So you’ve been working on the AuSM team for 20 years! That’s amazing. Can you tell us a bit about your career(s) before AuSM came along? While my daughter was growing up I had a part-time job renting out TVs to hospital patients, lots of people contact. What are the three biggest changes you’ve seen within AUT in the last 20 years? 1) Changing from a technical institute to a University. 2) The student’s association changing from compulsory membership to voluntary membership. 3) So many things are now online which once were handled by front line staff. What’s kept you coming back, year in and year out? Lovely students, great part time job with a very good employer.
We also hear that you’re quite the expert when it comes to home remedies. What kind of quick fixes can you recommend for common ailments? • Best ever window cleaner – white vinegar in water and then dry with newspaper. • Congestion from a cold – inhale ‘good old Vicks’ in boiling water with head covered by a towel. • For removing smells on clothes or carpet etc. sprinkle with baking soda and brush off. • Great make0up remover and moisturiser – coconut oil. • Sore feet – soak in Epsom salts dissolved in warm water. What’s your favourite: Book? The Millennium Trilogy by Steig Larsson Film? Les Miserables Treat? Chocolate Way to spend a Sunday? Brunch with family or friends and a walk on a West Coast beach. Music genre? I like a wide range of music from Dusty Springfield to Lorde and Sam Smith Memory? Horse riding when I was young. Last but not least, what’s the best advice you have for the 20-somethings reading this? Enjoy every day, respect yourself and treat every glass as half full.
IN SHORT
N AT I O N A L B LO C K S R E F U G E E S B A S E D O N CO U C H B E D S Prime Minister John Key was firm in his stance that there was just not enough fold out couches to accommodate everyone.
Kieran Bennett The National Party announced this week that it will be gearing the party to block any and all emergency bills put forward by opposition parties that would increase the intake of refugees based on the number of couch beds owned by the nation.
As the refugee crisis in Europe reaches breaking point, opposition parties have begun to propose emergency bills that would allow the country to, for this year, take in more refugees. However Mr Key has been strong in his opposition to this, saying that there just is nowhere for everyone to sleep. In a statement released to press, Mr Key was quoted as saying “Good Lord no, the guest room is a mess and there just aren’t enough fold out couches. Obviously I won’t be giving up my own bed, and they won’t be sleeping on the floor, guess they
Opposition parties have been quick to condemn the move. Greens Co-leader James Shaw lashed out, saying that refugees would have been happy with just a normal couch while Labour leader Andrew Little promised not only more fold out couches, but also to leave the hall light on just in case they needed the loo late at night. A spokesperson on behalf of the refugees said that any kind of couch would be great so long as it didn’t explode.
can’t stay”.
NEW ZEAL AND FL AG TO BE L ARGE SLICE OF WHITE BREAD Kieran Bennett
Following controversy around the final four flag designs, the flag selection committee has reconvened in an emergency session and made a rush decision, altering New Zealand’s flag ahead of the referendum. New Zealand’s flag, effective immediately, is to be replaced with a large piece of white bread. Over the last few months, a select, over-qualified panel of experts have been debating over the final designs to put forward for New Zealand’s flag. The 26 million dollar referendum has been described as a variety of things. From a ‘necessary step in the development of our culture’, to ‘kind of like shitting on a burning pile of money’, the redesign of the flag has been divisive. However, last week when the pool of designs was narrowed down from 41 to 4, the flag selection committee had hoped that the process would gain more favour and the designs selected would encourage the public to rally behind the process. The flag selection committee did not, however, take into account the fact that they had chosen the four worst designs possible from the pool. The combination of obscene images, bad poetry and Nazi symbols were somehow unpopular with the public, and rioting soon followed. Now, in an attempt to placate the public, the flag selection committee has come forward, overridden the referendum, and made the New Zealand flag a large slice of Country Soft white toast bread. In a statement released to the public, the committee said that they hoped that everyone was “pretty okay” with the new flag and that they felt a piece of inoffensive, plain white bread exemplified “what it means to be a New Zealander”. When questioned as to what that meant, the committee formed into a sub-committee in order to formulate the least offensive response. A petition to have laser beams shooting out of the bread has already reached 5000 signatures in several hours.
DRIVING WHINGE STINGE Amelia Petrovich | Illustration by Logan Gubb It would be easy to think that not being able to The more I learn about people and the way the
whinge about driving and car things is a problem
world works, the more I’ve come to believe that
that wouldn’t crop up much, but when you’re a
it' s annoyance which unites us. There is nothing
non-driver, an aggravating paradox occurs. You
people like more than a good whinge; it gives you
see, because you can’t drive, you end up spending
something to fill the silence with and allows you to
a lot more time being driven around by those who
connect with equally whingey, distraught humans.
can, who in turn choose to whine to you more
So, needless to say, being somehow unable to
because you’re both in a car and you specifically
participate in any given whinge is more than a bit
are a non-driver (as rare as a unicorn). You’re quite
distressing.
literally forcing yourself into situations that require you to come face-to-face with the fact that you
Whinging is also sometimes a local affair- as in; there
have nothing to whinge about. It’s lame.
are different whinges for different places. One of the most common whinges I hear in Auckland is the
In that case, perhaps it’s time to take a firm hold
jam-packed, bumper to bumper traffic that sits and
of my own human need to whinge. Maybe now is
festers every evening about five o’clock…
the time to go sit my Learner’s License! I mean, I still don’t actually care; I live in the city and walk
…and there lies my problem.
everywhere anyway. But if I went and did that then I could whinge about heaps of relevant things, right?
I can’t drive, therefore I can’t whinge.
I could whinge about how expensive the test is, how shit driving lessons are, or even the crazy long
I know what you’re thinking, “what a responsible
waiting list to sit the remaining tests. It would be a
and motivated young person! Twenty-one years
plethora of whinge! A whinge-thora.
of age and still without a single L-plate, she’s contributing to the reduction of greenhouse gasses
Then again, I’ve done pretty damn well creating
and freeing up space on our nation’s motor ways.
this whinge all on my own.
A credit to society-we should all learn from her.” In a way you’re not wrong, I am a pretty cool human,
What could be better to whinge about than your
but believe it or not, being unable to drive isn’t
self-inflicted ineligibility to whinge? This is probably
always as amazing as it sounds.
the real reason I still can’t drive if I’m completely honest; I just have way too much fun chatting and
I mean, primarily what happens is it decreases
whining about the whole ordeal. So fear not fellow
the amount of things I can whinge about. I have
non-drivers (the possible two there are still left out
no qualms, personally, with the amount of cars on
there), you don’t have to be pressured into taking
the road at peak-hour on a Friday night, nor do I
tests and learning skills, join me in the land of blissful
agonize over the price of unleaded diesel rocket
ignorance and non-participation. There’s enough
fuel or whatever you people fill your travel machines
whinge for all of us!
with. But that kind of thing makes for crappy conversation, nobody wants an anti-whinge.
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THAT FASHION PA S S I O N Laurien and Shivan hit up this year’s New Zealand Fashion Week to bring y’all the inside scoop on some of the up and coming trends. Well, actually…Shivan did that… Laurien just went along and tried to keep lipstick off her teeth. Images by Shivan. Ah Fashion Week. For a gal who shops for clothes by getting her mother to send her snap chats of sweaters while she sits at home, I’ve sure been to my fair share of New Zealand Fashion Weeks. And they never fail to wow, in one way or another. Back in 2011 and 2012, I was amongst the ‘backstagers’ at this cray cray event. Nonstop, 12 to 15 hour days for most - it’s a wonder the majority of people make it out alive. There’s teams sprinting their way through twentyminute set changes that most would struggle to complete in a couple hours. There’s makeup and hair artists on their feet, unable to use the toilet or feed themselves for hours on end (as confirmed by the “wee now or you’ll be fucked” I overheard as I wandered through the crowds). There’s models sporting anywhere from one to six or seven different looks in a day – scalps literally bleeding from the constant combing, pulling, and clipping, and pores clogging from the constant application of gloppy schmoop on their faces – resulting in split ends and acne breakouts that they still manage to make look freaking glam. There’s dressers that work for free to get some insight into the industry, and
if you thought that fetching coffee during your unpaid internship was bad let me tell you, you had it good. These young ladies are constantly being exposed to bare bits in their face as they attempt to help pull stockings onto a model, bad attitudes if they make a mistake, and many a nipple smacking them in the face as they try to simultaneously pull a shirt over their model and shove her toward the runway. Granted that might not sound too shabby to some people, but when you’re as sleep deprived and pressured as these ladies, a rogue nip isn’t as appealing as it sounds. Having only ever experienced the craziness that goes into putting this week together, I didn’t really know what to expect when it was time to attend as a guest. I had nothing to worry about. No job to do, no one to help, no backstage cameras and random preppy interviewer to dodge…I simply walked into one hella classy event centre, helped myself to a complimentary beverage (cold tea in a jar that made me feel like I had the insides of a goddess), and watched the show. For someone who doesn’t know chiffon from taffeta, I was sure able to appreciate fashion on a bigger scale than I ever have.
I suppose being backstage amongst it, you have better things to worry about. When you lack the general draw to fashion, you tend not to appreciate what exactly you’re showcasing. Sitting still and examining the garments for twenty minutes with nothing else to think about except what was in front of me was incredibly interesting! I was noticing the work of the hair and makeup artists, appreciating how intricate their detailing was. I was noticing the fabrics and shapes and common themes of the clothes. I was appreciating the styling and accessorizing. It’s a cool form of art that I’ve never really gotten amongst – only prepped and showcased. Knowing the amount of work each person put into those shows; knowing that the ratio of prep to spotlight time was unfathomably high really helped me enjoy my audience experience.
I’m not about to become a fashionista anytime soon, but I can definitely see and understand the draw people have to it. It’s an art, it’s an exhibition of hard work – it’s a giant production, shining spotlight on some of New Zealand’s finest talents. And that’s pretty darn cool. That being said, I can appreciate all I like, I can’t exactly put a finger on the specifics of my admiration. That’s why I got Shivan and his keen eye on board. He’s got the photos, the insight, the reviews, and the general fashion expert take on NZFW 2015. Have a look at what he had to say about a few of his top shows.
WINTER BLUES, GREYS AND FLORALS The tables have turned. As predicted, next year (winter 2016) we will be seeing more bold colours and florals. This year at New Zealand Fashion Week we saw designers like Hailwood switching it up with bold prints, embellishments, and solid pops of colours. It’s going to be a colourful winter next year. It was a little out of body to see florals down this year’s runway. We saw florals for not only everyday apparels, but for weddings and couture gowns too. It can get quite confusing how to style these amazing floral looks for our winter, but I would recommended layering these beautiful pieces, and try going for darker florals rather than light.
Ditch the ditsy print and bring blooms into the third dimension. Try going for textures and patterns that really stand out. Fringe is coming back this year, and mixing and matching different prints with different textiles will really help bring a twist to your wardrobe. Down the runway we also saw the usual black, white, and greys, however these pieces were tailored and structured to make a statement. I would recommend trying to match these statement looks with some florals to help bring these winter looks into summer.
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WHITE-HOODED B A N D I T S This time it was the guys’ turn to walk down that runway. Apart from the immaculately fitted suits, New Zealand designers really pushed the boundaries for men’s fashion this year. White-Hooded Bandits walked the runways; white was a dominant colour palate this year’s fall season. Designer’s like Miromoda, Jordan Holiday, and Slaeve took a minimalistic approach in their designing. Heavy puffer fitted looks, and cool cotton materials were in abundance for the fall season. Designers pushed boundaries by incorporating a minimal roughed skirt look for guys on the runway, and structured hoods.
THE STYLISH WIFE OF A 70S R O C K S TA R : L U C I L L A G R AY It was day two of fashion week and I was still trying to wrap my head around this fashion industry I threw myself into. It was an off-site show at King-size Studio’s for Lucilla Gray. It was a great morning; I was sipping on tea outside the studio with our editor, Laurien, and every few minutes the guests started to multiply. The energy outside the studio started to build, and I knew I was in for something special. Then, out of nowhere, the grey steel garage opened and the darkness inside the studio lit up. Inside was a vision of pure ethereal psychedelic heaven, the Lucilla Gray show began. Standing was an army of women, each to me represented a different version of what a stylish wife of a 70s rock star would wear. That woman that everybody knew and stared at when she walked down the street, that woman everybody wanted to be. A forward look, yet one that had elements of the 70s present; a look that was attainable, but in the right hands would be lethal. Lucilla Gray, to me, showed every aspect of this fictional woman and what she would wear sipping at brunch in the day, attending a concert watching her husband backstage, and what she would wear shopping out for organics. Her collection really took me to another place. The collection ranged from psychedelic prints to strong colours, accenting beautiful white silhouettes. Clean, white, long flowing sleeves created for a 70s vibe that really was a breath of fresh air during fashion week. Certain looks more delicate and feminine, whilst some strong and bold. My favourite look was the sheer yellow top paired with a pair of beautiful silk metallic pants. Lucilla Gray was one of my top picks for New Zealand Fashion Week. The designs, the set, the execution was really visionary.
PUT A RING ON IT I was a little reluctant going into the Wedding Show at New Zealand Fashion Week. I guess it’s because I have never really been the marriage type. I don’t see myself ever getting married, and to be honest, I don’t really believe in the concept of marriage. However, I tried my best to not give that away, because the last thing I would want to have on my hands was a mob of bridezilla’s convincing me about the idea of marriage. My friend and I were kind of on the same page walking into the Wedding Show at New Zealand Fashion Week, she too vowed to never get married. Lights dimmed and the show began. The first look that came down the runway was a beautiful chiffon, ivory white, couture wedding gown; I looked over to my friend and saw her jaw drop. I could slowly see in her eyes that she didn’t care what it took, but she wanted to wear that dress. If it meant she had to get married, she would. I would admit, it was an ethereal feel to the show; they had beautiful silhouettes of satin and chiffon dancing up and down the runway. I understood that the focal point of a ceremony was not to testify your love for one another in front of your friends and family in a civil union, or to vow to spend your life with the other person. This show had me convinced that the focal point of a ceremony is so that women could wear these extravagant weddings gowns on their special day. I saw in every woman’s eye, the desire to get married for the one and only purpose of wearing these beautiful couture gowns down their runway. Talking to a few married women after the show, they were convinced they would need to divorce their husbands and re-marry them just for the opportunity to wear one of these beautiful gowns down the aisle. Overall it was a classic wedding show, beautiful long white gowns, heavy embellishments and beautiful couture work.
N Y C A E S T H E T I C Cool, calm and New York - three words to describe Sean Kelly’s collection showcased at this year’s New Zealand Fashion Week. Sitting and waiting for the show to begin, there was this air of anticipation, people were expecting big from this designer and winner of Project Runway. From the runway emerged tall rectangular mirror structures, this set the mood for the night. Without a warning came the first look down the runway, then along came an army of women. Clean lines and pastel colours set the tone for the first few looks. Sean took staple designs, but played with their silhouettes. Extended blouses, oversize suits, metallic fabrics paired with pastel colours really enforced that New York aesthetic of cool and calm. Shifting from his previous collection of fringe, he incorporated feathers and fishnet-style risqué looks into his collections. Overall it was a strong look that merged modern and classic cohesively. 21
WHAT'S IN YOUR HANDBAG?
Kiwi women are carrying hundreds of dollars’ worth of beauty products in their handbags at any time, with some toting more than $3,500.00 worth of cosmetics around daily, a new study has revealed. Of the 1041 women surveyed by New Zealand’s largest beauty product review site, Beautyreview.co.nz, $361.00 was the average value of make-up being carried around, while at least one respondent had a staggering $3,570.00 worth of cosmetics in her handbag alone. So what products exactly are women spending their dollars on? Beauty Review, which houses more than 80,000 independent cosmetic reviews, has unveiled the mystery and we’re here to break it down for you. By The Numbers - 97 % carry a minimum of one lipstick or gloss and 30 % carry four or more. - 88 % have at least one mascara in their bag. - 81 % carry a perfume or fragrance.
- 77 % rely on application brushes over fingers and more than 31% are carting around four or more brushes. - The most expensive single item carried by a recipient was a $250.00 fragrance. - More than 30 respondents revealed they have more than $1000.00 worth of products in their hand bag. - The most expensive contents of a single make-up bag totalled a staggering $3,570.00. It seems you can fit your entire life inside the right handbag - or at the very least, a lot of make-up! Who is Beauty Review? Founded in 2013 Beauty Review is now New Zealand’s largest online pre-purchase beauty guide (beautyreview. co.nz) with more than 80,000 independent cosmetic reviews offering consumers an inside opinion before they buy a product. Collating everything to do with beauty in one place, Beauty Review is the ultimate site for makeup lovers.
THE
WRITE WAY Body Building Samira Kakh, AUT Doctoral Candidate, School of Language and Culture “There’s no connection between your sentences!”, “This is a very short/ long paragraph!”, “This paragraph contains too many ideas”…do these comments sound familiar to you? Writing body paragraphs has always been an onerous activity for many of us. But, there are thousands of prolific writers out there, who produce efficient paragraphs easily. How do they write so quickly and expertly? Do you know why some books and articles have been read and sold millions of times and others have only gotten the chance to be read by a handful of stranger readers (I say “stranger reader” because we can always ask our loved ones to kindly take a look at our hotfrom-the-oven masterpieces!)?
A piece of writing is pretty much like a human body. Sentences in writing are like muscles in a human body. How clearly we write our sentences is like the blood flowing in the veins to keep muscles alive. How we connect our sentences together is like tendons that connect muscles to bones. That is how the body of writing is generally formed. Just like a human body, writing has other vital organs too (e.g., brain, heart, kidneys, etc.). But let’s talk about them another time. For now, I’d like to draw your attention to the skeleton. Now, what is a writing skeleton? The writing skeleton is the main story, argument, explanation, or description that the piece you are writing is supposed to deliver. Aaaand, those connected bones that gradually form the backbone are the small arguments and ideas you are presenting in the form of paragraphs.
Image by See-Ming Lee
Without any doubt, you know that paragraphs are made of sentences. But, did you know that good writers place specific sentences in strategic positions in their paragraphs to make their texts easy-to-follow and enjoyable for their readers? So, if you or a reader of yours (including your teachers/lecturers) have told you that your ideas, arguments and/ or paragraphs were not connected, then maybe your text is suffering from back pain or a slipped disk! Here, it is wise to analyze whether your writing has a normal and healthy skeleton and muscles are arranged and connected properly and seamlessly. Don’t be scared if you find you have a limp or deformed body! You are the God of your writing! You can fix it! Worst case scenario, you may want to re-create it! What’s remaining is figuring out how to develop your own writing strategies. Try to figure out how good writers arrange ideas, how deeply or briefly they explain these ideas, what resources they use to support and justify their ideas and explanations, how they sum up their paragraphs, and bring about smooth
transition from one paragraph to the other. To find answers to these questions, you may want to take a look at some texts written by distinguished authors. Discovering the writing strategies of other writers may help you to formulate your own writing strategies. You may also decide to use their strategies for a while to arrange the different pieces of your writing puzzle, before coming up with your authentic writing strategies. So, next time you find yourself demurring about how to write body paragraphs, don’t idle away! Take a look at some sample body paragraphs, then try to build the body of what you are writing with all the bones, muscles, veins and tendons. Pay close attention to your skeleton backbone, because it provides a strong base and connection to your paragraphs, and don’t forget to sit up tall when writing!
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REALITY'S SLAP Matthew Cattin | Image by Fe Llya During the last elections, I was absolutely convinced a change was gonna come. My Facebook feed was alive with fired up individuals, rooting for a change in government. The environment was passionately discussed, figures were shared, condemning news surfaced… and yet when it came to election night, I watched the telly like a man betrayed by his favourite sports team. How could I have been so wrong? As it turns out, I had been living in a little wee bubble of ignorance. I had been exposed to nothing but likeminded friends, and as a result, felt like the whole nation was afire with my own ideals. To be honest, I have felt the same about rape culture. You see, I hang out with nice people. I spend my time mingling with respectful individuals, who would never suggest a woman was asking for it, until she uttered the words, “yo, I’m asking for it”. I rarely go to town and I guess I just don’t get out much. And because of my limited exposure, I underestimated the size of the problem. A few weekends ago, I ended up hanging out with a friend at an Auckland hostel. Pre-town drinks were happening, and for the first time in a long time, I experienced first hand the ugly problem that is rape culture in New Zealand. A group of lads, perhaps 10 strong, were enjoying a boisterous session of drinks and house music. Enter girl into their midst. She was kneeling on a couch, back to the group, talking to her friends when SLAP. It wasn’t playful. It was full force, palm to bum contact - probably enough to bruise, from a complete stranger. She turned around to give them a telling off, but it was all just a game to them. They laughed it off, blamed each other, because ha ha harassment is super lol amiright? It happened a few more times before she changed seats, and later in the night, one of the culprits had a bit of an argument with us.
“She was asking for it,” he says. “Waving her arse in our faces.” Drunk and adamant of his right to her body (because it happened to be within his arm’s reach), it became quickly apparent there was no point in arguing with this callous individual. He was set in his asshole ways, and nothing short of professional help, or a few years’ life experience, was going to change him. For me, this was a rare experience. It shook me up. And to understand that it happens all the bloody time absolutely makes my blood boil. I wish I knew what made boys act this way, but honestly I just don’t understand it. At all. Is it MTV’s fault? Is it a cycle of abuse, handed down father to son? Is it genetic? Is it GE foods? Computer games? Donald Trump? I just don’t know.
Of the five girls I spoke to, four had received unwelcome physical contact, and all five had been in positions where they feared for their safety in the company of men. What can we do in light of a problem so deeprooted in people’s psyche? How can we change such an adamant sense of entitlement? How can we move forward from this? Because as positive as my Facebook feed and my close circle seems, this problem is so very real. It can be the hardest thing in the world to stand up to a group of lads. And honestly, I could have done a better job myself on that night. There’s the risk of physical confrontation, of making the situation worse, of looking like the fun police. But if you can be a big enough person to make the victim feel like they aren’t alone, then that’s pretty damn cool.
Since I have been living in my own happy bubble, I decided to ask five girl friends for their thoughts on rape culture in New Zealand. I chose five intelligent, sensible, respectful friends, all of whom I had never spoken to about the subject matter. Their responses shocked me, angered me, and to be honest broke my heart a little. Reading a blog post about rape culture is one thing, but hearing your friends’ stories first hand is a whole new kettle of fish. Of the five girls I spoke to, four had received unwelcome physical contact, and all five had been in positions where they feared for their safety in the company of men. I will share with you below a few quotes. “I can't recall the number of times my ass has been grabbed without my permission. Generally it has happened at gigs, music festivals or when dancing with friends - always in the dark. Each time I’ve felt violated and my cheeks clench,” – Jess. “In clubs, on the street, by friends who think that sharing a bed means they can shove their hand up my top, and by both men and women since I was about 13,” – Hannah. “Plenty of "accidental" bum grabs during a night out. One guy did it on the street without the cover of a busy club,” – Erica. “I am very fortunate in that I have never received unwanted or unwarranted physical touch, as I'm aware it's more common than many of us think. However, I do think there is also a connection between this and unwanted verbal or gestural interactions that can produce the same discomforts or feelings of physical sickness and fear that come with anything unwanted or uninvited with that threshold of personal space,” – Emma. Pissed off was an understatement for how I was feeling hearing these accounts, and then a friend whom I have absolutely adored, respected and shared many adventures with for years and years dropped a bombshell on me that broke my heart.
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Rape culture: “She was asking for it,” he says. “Waving her arse in our faces.” “I was raped by a friend in my second year of uni. He'd come round to my place to watch movies. We drank a bit of alcohol and he crashed in my bed. I woke up and he was inside of me, and I was so fucking terrified I didn't move for about five minutes. Then I got up, went outside and smoked an entire pack of cigarettes on my balcony at 5am, and stayed out there till he left. And the worst part is that "friend" probably doesn't think he did anything wrong. He didn't hold me down, didn't beat me, didn't stop me when I left. Because of rape culture he thinks that what he did was hot and spontaneous. That same man texted me six months later when I was dating my new boyfriend and forgetting, "down to fuck?" I have told three people in my life, and two said, "yeah but that's not really rape,” and the third had also been raped.” This happened to one of the strongest, most badass, and fun-loving people I have ever met – and I take my hat off to her bravery in sharing her story with me, and y’all. My happy bubble of ignorance has officially been popped. I challenge anybody who doesn’t believe rape culture exists in New Zealand to ask five girls what they have experienced – I guarantee there will be at least five stories waiting for them. Girls should not have to stand with their backs to the wall when they go out. They should not have to be practiced in the art of deflection. They should not have to spin around to confront a hand in the dark. They should not have to feel unsafe. These are sisters, daughters, cousins, friends, and it's happening to so many of them. Whether it’s an unwanted physical advance, a verbal exchange, or even our celebrities behaving badly, the culture is alive and well, and the women I spoke to unanimously agreed.
“Experiences with rape culture are often dismissed, unreported, downplayed or ignored when they do happen. But I think a clear example is this recent thing with Dom Harvey totally inappropriately screenshotting Chrystal Chenery caught in a revealing move as she was dancing, and then sexualising it to project that it was intentional or she was 'showing whoever what they were missing'. She received so much backlash from Kiwis defending Dom in saying that she was 'asking for it', when in the first place he sexualised the whole scenario, as if he had the right to project her body in that light,” – Emma. “I've heard rape jokes told in offices and actually laughed at. If I go out for a walk, my mother tells me not to wear my headphones and to make sure my dog is not wearing his muzzle so he can protect me. When we heard Bill Cosby’s rape allegations, nine out of ten people I spoke to blamed the women. None of that is normal, none of it is okay, and all of it attributes to rape culture,” - Hannah “Victim blaming, rape jokes and debate around 'legitimate rape' still happen. 2014 seemed to be the year of rape culture discussion in the media due to the 'Roast Busters' scandal but discussion only gets us so far. In my experience it's like racism - it unfortunately seems to be a shit part of NZ society that won't fuck off,” – Jess. For balance, I also spoke to five male friends. None have experienced unwanted physical advances. None have feared for their safety in the company of males or females. Three agreed New Zealand has a rape culture problem. And there were no stories, but that’s not to say they don’t exist. Reaching out to my friend group on this subject turned out to be one of the hardest things I have done for an article, but it was incredibly eye-opening. To those I spoke to, thank you so much for sharing. I hope your words spark thought and conversation.
Anywhere Anytime
library.aut.ac.nz
27
Why you shouldn’t care a b o u t t h e T P PA Julie Cleaver Illustration by Tyler Hinde There’s nothing more annoying than listening to intellectual douche-bags rant on about politics. Keep your opinions to yourself, I always say, because nobody gives a shit about politics. I don’t care about what the government does. They seem to be running the country fine and even if they weren’t, I have no say in what happens anyway. I especially don’t care about the TPPA, whatever that stupid acronym even means. When I’m watching the newsaka waiting for Shortland Street to start- I always hear old people bang on about some trade agreement or something. It really annoys me because those grey-haired geezers with hideous fashion don’t realise that literally no one gives a fuck. I’m so outraged by how much coverage it gets that I decided to write a list about why you too shouldn’t care about the TPPA. 1. I’LL STILL BE ABLE TO BUY STUFF Although I don’t care about politics, I do have some interests, my main one being shopping! When the iPhone 7 comes out, I’m going to sell my 6 and get it. It looks so much better. Anyway, the person on TV said that the TPPA will ban parallel importing, apparently making ordinary products more expensive for New Zealander’s. But that doesn’t really worry me because Daddy pays for everything anyway. #daddyslittleprincess
2. IT’S NOT LIKE ANYONE IS GOING TO DIE
4. I’M NOT EVEN INNOVATIVE ANYWAY
Whenever there’s a problem I ask myself, ‘is anyone going to die from this?’ and if the answer is no, then surely it can’t be that bad. So even though signing the TPPA will make medicines more expensive for the New Zealand pharmaceutical company, PHARMAC, in turn making medicine cost more for people, I’m pretty sure no lives will be at risk. People may not be able to afford medicines for cancer treatment, but still… John Key said it would be fine, and he never lies.
The TPPA is going to force New Zealand to have stricter intellectual property laws. This is apparently some massive tragedy because it will limit innovation and freedom of speech. Personally, I’ve never been that creative so this doesn’t really bother me. I think I speak for everyone when I say MEH.
People may not be able to afford medicines for cancer treatment, but still… John Key said it would be fine, and he never lies. 3. IT WON’T AFFECT ME I’m yet to see how this stupid trade agreement will affect me in any way. Apparently overseas companies will be able to sue the New Zealand government if we have laws in place that effect their profitability. That’s kind of a shame I guess. I live in Takapuna and I love walking my doggie along the waterfront, and if a company sues the New Zealand government for a law we have against polluting the sea and won, then that would be gross. My beach selfies would not be as pretty if the water was all black. Oh well, I don’t go swimming anyway so it won’t really affect me that much.
5. BLOW MY WHISTLE BITCH Don’t worry guys, there’s heaps of positive stuff about this agreement as well! Like how journalists or ‘whistle blowers’ are finally going to have to keep quiet- yay! This is because signing the TPPA will force NZ to have stricter laws and punishments around leaking confidential information. You know what that means? Less Nicky Hager (who is actually a man, ikr?!) and more Mike McRoberts (the sexiest man alive omgomgomg). The massive book with all the information about the TPPA in it is like the ‘Burn Book’ from Mean Girls. It was supposed to be kept a secret, but some loud mouth just had to let everybody know. I say keep it hidden. Keep doing all the negotiations in private and you know what, don’t even bother telling us if and when it gets signed. Like that girl who no one caught in the group therapy session: NO ONE CARES. If you too don’t give a shit about the TPPA, please do not sign the petition against it on the Action Station website.
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I became a bit of a wanker, which roughly coincided with my decision to take Photography as an NCEA subject. If you too were an idiot and took an art subject in high school, you’ll know how soul consuming it is. You breathe, speak and live your portfolio every second of the day, emerging into the world after you graduate as a self-inflated and slightly dazed hipster. This is exactly what happened to me, hence use of the
3 AM THOUGHTS
phrase ‘visual euphemism’. I still don’t know how legitimate it is in terms of, you know, a phrase that makes sense, but I always used it to describe something nasty that on close inspection was actually quite innocent (though in retrospect, this is kind of the total opposite to what a ‘euphemism’ usually is). In my portfolio days, this
3:00am, Friday 4th September Thought: ‘Why do adults always need visual euphemism for dope-ass kid phones?’
meant pools of entrails and blood that were actually just crushed berries. More recently, this has meant leather-clad vigilante types who complain about the government but when it comes to the
Amelia Petrovich | Image by Mish Sukharev
crunch, aren’t prepared to vote. All talk and no follow-through, basically.
When I first devised the idea of a
innovation of a shower thought. To the
Debate column constructed solely from
untrained eye, it looks pretty useless. Or
The second thing that this muddled
early morning thoughts, I was pretty
maybe its useless to every eye, I’m not
3am musing brings up is the subject of
sure the result would be spectacular. A
sure right now.
‘dope-ass kid phones’. I love that my
mind so sleepy and uninhibited could
go-to adjective was ‘dope-ass’ first
surely unlock loads of complex truths
It seems pretty aggressive, obviously
of all, but maybe more importantly
that a self-conscious one couldn’t. I
upon being wrenched from my sleep
it’s now making me consider children
imagined being insightful, wise, and a
cycle I was passionately mad at these
with phones and whether or not that’s
bit imaginative…
‘adults’ and their need to somehow
something I’m cool with. I think whilst
disguise
phones’,
I’m not in total opposition to it, I don’t
…I wasn’t prepared for this level of
whatever they are. Try as I might though,
really see the necessity. Who are you
incoherence.
I really can’t remember what this whole
going to be texting little buddy? Your
sentence is meant to mean altogether-
kindy mates? Do kids even go to kindy
so I’m going to break it down a bit.
anymore, or has kindergarten been
This thought, which I confidently typed
‘dope-ass
kid
into my phone at 3:00am exactly,
replaced with an internet chat room? Is
makes absolutely no fucking sense to
The first section that stands out to me
there a Tinder for under five year olds?
me now. It surpasses the absurdity of a
is the term ‘visual euphemism’. This is a
So many important questions… but they
drunk thought and entirely misses the
wanky phrase that I’ve used ever since
aren’t these ones.
EVERY QUIET PERSON NEEDS A LOUD PERSON
Reegan Hill I have a friend who talks complete and utter rubbish for what
I don't even really remember when I first met him, I know it was
seems to be 99 percent of the time. I’ve actually named him
at the start of uni last year, but I can't recall introductions (I'm
King of all Shit Talkers – the name is even in my phone. He’s
like that with a lot of people), but suddenly he was around
also under the delusion that he’s my favourite topic.
more and more. He was in a few of my classes and we started to become friends. He's got that ability loud people have to
But really, what he is, is a kind, light-hearted and loyal friend.
pull others out of their shell and basically force them to interact
I’ve never really met anyone like him before, and I mean
with others when they really want to sit in the back and hide.
that in a good way. I’m not one of those people who have hundreds of followers on Instagram or Facebook. I like to
Every quiet person needs a loud person. As a quiet person, I
be alone, have few friends, but the ones I do have, they’re
found myself talking to others more. I was making more friends
hopefully for life.
because there was a loud person around to take most of the
This friend of mine, he’s a very loud and confident person, he
attention. Sure he’s embarrassing most of the time, I’m pretty
seems to know where he wants to go in life and how he’s
sure my face is permanently bright red whenever he’s talking.
going to get there. But how well do we really know our friends?
But that’s the beauty of having a loud friend. They pull you
Now, I’m not trying to make you doubt your friendships or
into the world. Just like quiet friends bring others back down to
anything like that. What I’m trying to do is make you see them
earth. It’s a reality check for both sides. I was pulled way past
for the gold that they are. There are a lot of people who
my comfort zone at his 21st party, but I had fun and he cared
have childhood friends, people they’ve known since starting
enough to make sure I was doing okay.
school, they’ve grown up together and share a special bond no one can recreate. Then there are the other people; the
I’m sure if my friend didn’t have quiet people around him,
ones like me.
he’d go a little crazy. Even though he’s loud and boisterous and never seemed to do any work when I was in class with
They’re the ones who find it hard to maintain friendships with
him, he’s actually smart, kind and respectful. Though when
people because everyone is changing all the time; they’re
people first meet him, I'm positive they underestimate him.
quiet and reserved, letting others lead the popularity chase.
Because I did the same thing.
But that doesn’t count them out. Everyone needs their quiet, reserved friend, like everyone needs their loud boisterous friend.
31
NOTHING TO FLAG ABOUT Nicole Hunt
John Key likes ferns, so we hope you guys like ferns too. The top four alternate flag designs have now been announced and the choices have left me with the same bitter disappointment I get after eating a sausage roll for lunch. Three out of four of these designs feature our prized silver fern, with and without the Southern Cross. The other one seems like a stiff attempt to include a more cultural option, but with the worst design possible to make sure that we stick to the ferns.
We’ve evolved from the society that once shamelessly oppressed our indigenous people, and incorporating a flag that we can all identify with will serve as another step towards equality for all. It will also provide us with a more defining identity or ‘brand’ during sporting events. Cool.
New Zealanders have been asked to participate in a two-part referendum to determine the fate of our flag. In November we’ll be asked to rank the four flag alternatives in order of preference. In March next year we’ll then be asked to choose between the current New Zealand flag and the most popular alternate design.
people, and incorporating a
Okay... [In passive aggressive girlfriend tone] I just find it funny how we’re given the choice to vote on a new flag, but have no say on the fate of our troops, the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement or the lengthy list of other issues that will have a far more profound effect on us than a flag change ever could. What I find even funnier are the top four designs. These were chosen by a panel of 12 New Zealanders ‘from all walks of life’. Somehow they all happened to share Key’s adoration of ferns and have really only given us two choices – fern or bad koru design. There were so many beautiful and innovative options in the shortlisted top 40, yet they hand this to us. You had one job. I was actually excited about the possibility of a new design, however, we’re left to nitpick over Key’s lackluster favourites. It’s like walking us into a shoe store with infinite possibilities and telling us we can either have the red crocs or the blue crocs. Or some Sketchers. I’m not strictly against a flag change. The Union Jack is archaic and doesn’t reflect the state of today’s diverse nation. It also dismisses the presence and unique identity of our Māori, and reminds us of the blood shed during our colonization.
We’ve
evolved
from
the
society that once shamelessly oppressed
our
indigenous
flag that we can all identify with will serve as another step towards equality for all.
My problem is that I cannot get past the 26 million dollar price tag on that new flag. This price includes paying for the publicity blitz around the new designs and the two referendums. I want a flag change, but I don’t want it that bad. More money from taxpayers will also be needed to replace flags, military uniforms, and Key’s underwear and shower curtains. Because there is a possibility that our current flag will be kept, that initial 26 million may even be spent in vain. Whilst the nationwide campaign for a new flag is in full swing, it’s important to look past what our government is trying to sway in front of our faces. There are countless other issues going on around us, yet for some reason Key has been pushing this one extra hard. When there are kids still living in damp housing conditions, going to school hungry, and homeless people are still perusing the streets, spending that money on a flag just doesn’t seem to add up. Perhaps Key’s pursuit of a new flag is merely a vanity project to uphold his legacy as our prime minister. If so, I hope we vote to keep our current flag in and Key sews his fern flags together and hides under it in shame for the remainder of his term.
Shivani Rajan Hey guys! I’m Vani. I’m currently in my second year of Communications and for the remaining Debate issues this year, I’ll be sharing my exchange adventure at Cardiff University with you guys. In all honesty, I didn’t know anything about Wales before this opportunity came up. As a kid, I remember singing that song for elastics in primary school that went something like “England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales… Inside, outside, twist and out!” Anyone else with me? So for a very long time, that was as far as my expertise on Wales went. And then more recently, I vividly remember my first time watching Wales compete in the RWC 2011 and thinking that was a weird as name to have for a country. I never imagined that a few years down the track, I’d be getting ready to spend five months studying, living and learning the ways of that very country… As well as experiencing the RWC 2015! Anyway, each issue I’ll be writing about something relevant I discovered during my week on exchange. To start off, I thought I’d dedicate this first column to the always-relevant topic of dollar dollar billz. After spending half my time this year living off five dollar meals from Maccas and convincing myself eating wasn’t really necessary the other half of the time, I can finally say I have made the financial requirements for this trip… BARELY.
Preparing for this exchange has required a lot of time and quite a few sacrifices; organizing fundraisers, passing on social events (but with people who are thankfully very understanding), staying home on my days off work and getting into the habit of thinking “Can I really afford that?” while standing in front of the confectionary section at Countdown. But a few days ago, after talking about this bugging issue with a good friend, she told me “Vani, you may be broke in terms of money but soon you will be rich in experience and memories.” Hearing her words gave me a new perspective and reminded me why I signed up for this exchange in the first place. It made me realise that when I’m much older, I won’t look back on this point in my life and wish I had chosen to be a ballin’ 20 year old student who stayed in the safety zone of her hometown. I’ll be wishing I had taken the opportunity to step outside my comfort zone, experienced a once in a lifetime opportunity, and grabbed this exchange with both hands. Now that my flight is quickly approaching and everything is finally falling into place, I’m already certain I have made the right decision and that my sacrifices will be well worth the next six months. With my family’s support behind me and last minute catch ups all around, I’m feeling very, very ready. Next time, I will be sure to write about my two twelve-hour flights, and about my first few days in the UK! LEGGO!!!
33
OPENING DOORS Romulus Swanney
What’s the point of being a volunteer? To open doors…sometimes literally. You get told what to do, and you follow for the sake of getting a good reference at the end of it all. You climb mountains, dive a thousand feet below, and swing a home run. And for what? Financially, nothing. That’s the beauty of a volunteer. You can’t put a dollar sign on their work because they’ve sacrificed time and probably money to help those in need. They do what they do because they know that somewhere along the line, they’ve made someone else’s day. However, it’s not all warm and fuzzies. It can be frustrating at times; the worst thing about being a volunteer is not knowing what you’re supposed to be doing. I can remember once telling a Master’s student to cut a tree down using hedge-trimmers. Let’s just say we both learned two things that day: what hedge-trimmers are actually used for, and how to cut a tree down. Another time I told a group of students that the study rooms in the level six library were sound proof, and yes, they actually started yelling out random things. Perhaps one of my biggest “What am I doing?” moments, though, was when I had to do a campus tour. It was my second semester at AUT and I didn’t even know what the “quad” was. Having absolutely no idea where to take these design students, I decided to just walk around the whole city campus and only stop at a place with large signage so I could make up random things, “that’s Piko, they make some really good food that meets the student budget”. I only learned now that I had totally lied to these poor new souls. Despite it all, I sure had fun, and hope they did too after that two-hour campus tour. As a volunteer, you have to learn to have fun with whatever task you are given. Otherwise you’ll just lose interest, and it won’t be worth your while. The greatest thing about being a volunteer is meeting new people. Different ages, cultures, personalities - the conversations are the best. Talking to international students has been my favourite. I’ve really learned how to smile, nod, and laugh every now and then, because despite trying my absolute best, sometimes I haven’t got any idea of what they’re trying to tell me. But on a serious note, the feeling of making someone smile and knowing that they appreciate what you’ve done for them is priceless. I’d like to thank the AuSM Volunteers for your amazing contribution this year, the free feeds, events, promotions have never been better. We’ve had some good laughs, great times, and plenty of deep conversations that definitely didn’t make me cry. All the best for the semester.
Zucchini Patties Preparation time: 10 minutes Cooking time: 20 minutes • • • • • • • •
2 cups grated zucchini 2 eggs beaten ¼ cup chopped onion ½ cup all-purpose flour ½ cup grated parmesan cheese ½ cup shredded mozzarella cheese Salt to taste 2 tbsp vegetable oil
In a medium bowl, combine the zucchini, eggs, onion, flour, parmesan cheese, mozzarella cheese, and salt. Stir well enough to distribute ingredients evenly. Heat a small amount of oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Drop zucchini mixture by heaping tablespoonfuls, and cook for a few minutes on each side until golden. Recipe from allrecipes.com
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17.
WHAT'S GOOD? MR. ROBOT
In an attempt to keep my brain as far from the frying pan as possible, I have refrained from watching TV for many years. I don’t know who Khaleesi is (I had to Google her name to get it right), or why Suits is making my friends want to become lawyers. I don’t watch TV. I don’t like TV, or I didn’t, until I stumbled upon Mr. Robot (literally, I tripped up when walking into the lounge and my flat mates were just starting episode one). Mr. Robot is an insanely clever series that follows Elliot, a hacking genius who hates consumerism with a burning intensity. Elliot uses his tech skills to revolutionize the world and destroy the invisible hand of consumerism that rules us all. There are so many interesting sub-plots and themes in Mr. Robot, like drugs, death, mental health and infidelity. It’s a bold series. It takes risks and surprises you. Unlike the incestuous and ‘what, another main character has died?!’ surprises I constantly hear about.
Created by Sam Esmail Starring Rami Malek, Carly Chaikin, Portia Doubleday
Reviewed by Julie Cleaver
THE MAN FROM UNCLE
Mr. Robot can be rather ambiguous and intellectual at times, so it’s sure to wean out the Transformer-loving crowd. But if you enjoy television that doesn’t treat you like a grown three-year-old, I highly suggest getting amongst Mr. Robot. It’s hard-hitting and absolutely brilliant. Julie Cleaver is not legally responsible if anyone fails an assignment due to excessive watching of Mr. Robot.
The Man from UNCLE from by mistake. A remake of the 60s television series, the plot follows CIA agent, Napoleon Solo, and KGB underdog, Illya Kuryakin, as they are forced to go undercover together and stop a nuclear bomb blah blah blah exotic location blah blah blah protect the pretty girl blah blah blah car chases blah blah blah they save the day, the end. I’m probably being a tad mean. The movie is not awful; it’s not well crafted at all, and I’m quite annoyed I paid money for this, but it can be quite fun. Henry Cavill and Armie Hammer are great in their roles, and Elizabeth Debicki makes a great scene stealer as the villainous Victoria Vinciguerra. It is also fairly stylish and well shot, with some stand out comedy moments.
Directed by Guy Ritchie Starring Henry Cavill, Armie Hammer, Alicia Vikander Reviewed by Ethan Sills I am a big fan of Guy Ritchie’s Sherlock Holmes movies: the action, the mystery, the chemistry between Holmes and Watson, everything about it manages to work. Ritchie unfortunately decided to make a third in his series, one set in the 1960s, where the plot has moved to Italy, the lead characters have changed nationalities, and they called it
Unfortunately, the movie seems to think the audience are complete idiots, as they have to spell out every plot point to make sure even a toddler can understand what’s going on. It’s like Ritchie seems to be making another Holmes movie, reusing the flashback styled exposition from the first two, but to a worse effect here. They make everything so obvious it is almost painful, and then by explaining it they are really just driving the knife in. Entertaining leads and a touch of style can only go so far where the plot is so pitiful. The movie ends with a fizz rather than the intended bang, making for a pleasant but mind numbing two hour watch. Ultimately, it really is just, well, blah.
THE SPOTTED PIG
The Maniel and I took some friends out for a well-deserved dinner a few Saturdays ago at The Spotted Pig. As the little corner-dwelling mouse I am, I was initially terrified of the gigantic building looming before us. Visions of wasted young people standing shoulder to shoulder, inhaling French fries and beer, vanished the instant we walked through the door. Greeting us was a beautiful, soft, golden glow falling through the gorgeous, woven hanging lights, and the sound of relaxing dub; not too loud, not too quiet. The hosts were down-to earth and friendly, extremely natural – it felt as if you were visiting an old friend, such was the ease of their casual, youthful way of address.
224 Symonds Street Restaurant Reviewed by Anita Tranter
SENSE 8
Starring Aml Ameen, Doona Bae, Jamie Clayton Reviewed by Aisha Hall
I wasn’t sure what to expect from this show, all that the trailer told me was that it was about eight telepathic strangers, and honestly that was enough to hook me. I certainly did not realize that after barely three episodes I would be so emotionally invested! The Sensates were brought together by a violent vision of a woman, and began to seek out what it meant, in doing so, an organization begins to hunt them down, with the intent of capturing them and infiltrating their cluster to destroy them. I’m really fond of Netflix Original Shows, they are definitely at the top of the list for being good at pushing the boundaries in terms of television, and this show did not fail at doing that.
There wasn’t much on the menu, so we decided to pick a few entrees and eat Tapa-style. Though many of the entrees might be seen on any given menu, the food was prepared and served beautifully. Tangy spices were the flavour theme, not over-done, not hot, but just to salivating perfection. I highly recommend the pureed peas, a disgusting-sounding dipping sauce which I was adverse to try because it was green, but which ended up being the highlight of my meal. The meal was served timely, no cranky faces at our table. Wines by the glass were 15 dollars each (at least) but the entire meal was excellent value for money (95 dollars for two including wine and dessert). If you are a poor student (like myself) wanting to splash out for a birthday or impress a lover, this is an ideal venue without the à la carte prices.
This intense thriller really broke the mold and set high stakes for any upcoming shows. From the international cast; which they actually used actors and actresses from the countries they were shooting in, to the international settings, to the impressive LGBTQI+ representation, the whole thing feels very progressive even for this day and age. One of the things I enjoyed the most about this series was the highly creative intersection of these characters’ stories. While sometimes the plot can be slightly illogical, there was an entire theme of global connectivity in this series that the characters brought along with their intimate emotional and physical connection. I was absolutely captivated by the authenticity of these characters, the diversity and realism of their situations and challenges they faced. It seemed impossible that a show could successfully have eight main characters that the audience could identify with and really care about, but it happened. They did it. Created by the Wachowski’s, the cinematography is slick, and their whacky and inventive approach to cinema is strongly felt throughout the show. They have some insanely good fight scenes balanced by some equally touching moments between the Sensates. There are so many different elements of this show to enjoy; there really is something for everyone. I highly recommend watching this show. And fear not, there will be a second season. 37
CHEESE DREAMS
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ACROSS 1 Frost (say) result of freezing point in Labrador (say) (4) 3 Baby's fat, soppy about standing? Not so (5) 7 Gold earrings for live-in nannies? (2,5) 9 Support is supplied during Fall (9) 11/26 Composer of "Prelude" and "The Fireman Likes Dancing" (9,9) 12 Acquire "Landfall" extract for Kevin, a 1 across (7) 13 "Poetic Depth" by Sam Cook (5) 14 Bill from male escort agency? (7) 15 He had a plum job, once (6) 17 Badinage (with the N crossed out) for James, a 1 across (6) 21 Article about narration (7) 23 Take off – from here? (5) 25 Hone tips from the unusual water-rush (7) 26 See 11 28 I'm a soldier – not one to like certain types of numbers, friends, or dragons (9) 29 Carelessly stacked a 1 across (1,1,5) 30 Exploratory vessel heading east to a 1 across (5) 31 Infection caught in first year (4)
DOWN 1 Basic political issue: scheme number 11? (5) 2 Discourse at length to one who lives abroad? Not right (9) 3 Menu of fare with fillet (5,4) 4 Church leader, prudish, at ease initially (7) 5 Submit to the crop? (5) 6 Uniform, electrically charged lines (6) 8 "It's all about the vibes," laments a Rolling Stone to audience (7) 9 My tea's brewed to be spicy (6) 10 Blair disheartened Mr McEwan and hence Mr Turner, a 1 across (5) 16 I entrance marshal with fruit (9) 18 Element obtained from nacre is unstable (7) 19 Portray soldier and leader (not unconscious) (9) 20 With heavy steps, endure entering Cyprus (6) 21 Original measurements reverse conflict following a minor matter (3,4) 22 Thanks follow article from letter from abroad (5) 24 Decline to scrap (6) 25 The second offer secures one taker (5) 27 Artful tactic of a 25 down? (5) 39
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