debate issue 5, 2011

issue 5 2011

the rise of fantasy sports

www.ausm.org.nz

facebook stalking

street harassment

ten songs worse than friday

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issue 05 2011

ISSUE 05 2011 5 Editorial 6 Letters 8 Photos 9 Creative Corner 10 News 12 Sport

Scott Moyes looks at the popularity of fantasy sport

on the cover Photography

by Derek Chuan

editor

all rights reserved.

Samantha McQueen samantha.mcqueen@aut.ac.nz

designers

Deanne Antao Nonavee Dale

sub-editor

Alisha Lewis

contributors

Vaughan Alderson | AuSM | Jo Barker | Jessica Beresford | Craig Bullock | Nureete Burnie | Ben Campion | Matthew Cattin | Derek Chuan | Alicia Crocket | Elesha Edmonds | Jess Etheridge | Robert Fennell | Red Fox | Jen Houltham | Melissa Low | Kotiro Maori | Joshua Martin | Ben Matthews | Katie Montgomerie | Scott Moyes | Ashleigh Muir | Heather Rutherford | Moksha Shah | Katherine Tetzlaff | Rosie Tuck

advertising contact

Kate Campbell kate.campbell@aut.ac.nz

This publication is entitled to the full protection given by the Copyright Act 1994 (“the Act”) to the holders of the copyright, being AUCKLAND STUDENT MOVEMENT AT AUCKLAND UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY INCORPORATED (“AuSM”). Reproduction, storage or display of any part of this publication by any process, electronic or otherwise (except for the educational purposes specified in the Act) without express permission is a break of the copyright of the publisher and will be prosecuted accordingly. Inquiries seeking permission to reproduce should be addressed to AuSM.

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Material contained in this publication does not necessarily represent the views or opinions of AuSM, its advertisers, contributors, PMP Print or its subsidiaries.

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13 How To/Recipe 14 AuSM Update 15 National’s Recession 16 Hone Harawira – Where To From Here?

16 Bureaucracy, My Bar Mitzvah 17 From Depression To Ironman 18 Facebook Stalking

Matthew Cattin and Elesha Edmonds look at the innocence of Facebook stalking

20 Say What?

21 Why Big Day Out Sucks

Nureete Burnie wishes New Zealand’s music scene was bigger

22 Top 10 Worst Songs debate looks at 10 songs worse than Friday

23 Rebecca Black 24 History of NZ Hip Hop

Joshua Martin looks at the short history of New Zealand hip hop

25 Columns 26 Agony Aunt/Word of the Week 27 Suggestions/Horoscopes 28 Fashion

Heather Rutherford interviews AUT fashion alum Blaire Archibald on life outside uni

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29 What Are You Wearing 29 Plight of the Hair Horn 30 Reviews

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Write now or forever hold your pen.

debate is looking for awesome contributors for 2011.

If you are a news hound, sports nut, political guru, pop culture fanatic, columnist, reviewer, feature writer, camera happy, cover designer, cartoonist, general know-it-all or astrologer get in touch.

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For more info on how you can get involved with debate, email Samantha at debate@aut.ac.nz or pop into the AuSM office for a chat

issue 05 2011

directory reception

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’ve never been a big 3 News watcher. I’ve caught the odd new cast when flatmates are watching and I follow a couple of the more prominent reporters on Twitter, but if the remote is in my hand, I’m always going to willingly flick to channel one. It’s a tradition thing; my family always watched One News while we were having dinner and when I was younger, I had a bit of a fascination with Judy Bailey (or rather, Judy Bailey’s former One News pay check). Plus, they seem to win big at the media awards every year, so they must be half decent, right?

Now, I know I said last week that I wasn’t going to have another quake-related editorial, but something I saw during 3 News last week while cooking which got me fuming. Some of you may already know what I’m talking about.

There’s an ad TV 3 has been pedalling over the past two weeks. It’s a blue screen split into two smaller ones, representing TV One and TV 3. During the six hour timeline, TV One’s screen is black, bar for a sentence saying it is playing scheduled programming. On TV 3’s side, there are images of news readers, debris and a giant wave. Yes, TV 3 were giving themselves an in-your-face pat on the back for their speed in covering the Japan earthquake that hit little more than three weeks ago.

What got me really worked up about this petty “I’m better than you” war that TV 3 started is that they don’t even have the resources and numbers behind them to continue should TV One retaliate (and they haven’t so far). Without sounding like I’m sensationalising all the devastation, One News has been on top of their game when it has come to reporting on the earthquakes that have been happening in Christchurch. On September 4, 2010, they had continuous coverage of the damage from the earthquake from the early hours in the morning. TV 3, which had their newsroom damaged, decided to run with a 90 minute bulletin at 6pm instead. The number of people that tuned into their show at 6pm? 307,390. The number of people that were watching One News? 902,490. You didn’t see TVNZ making an ad about that. But you did see Mike McRoberts and Rachel Smalley, reporters for TV 3, hate on their station on Twitter for not having continuous coverage.

We’re not a large country and any industry, particularly one as high profile as the media, shouldn’t go around bagging their rivals, particularly when they’ll probably jump ship to them later in life. Hilary Barry is a former TVNZ reporter and also does the morning show on Radio Live with Marcus Lush. Petra Bagust was telling TV 3 viewers what bad shit we were ingesting into our bodies before Paul Henry was fired and Pippa got preggo. Joanna Hunkin used to write for the entertainment section of the Herald and is now over at TVNZ and David Farrier has his fingers in so many pies it’s hard to know where his loyalty lies. There’s only a handful of news networks, national newspapers and radio shows, and even less of the niche publications, and I’m sure they all keep tabs on every move the big hitters make (and if not, there’s always the internet – bless).

Which brings me, in a roundabout way, to the two opinions on Facebook stalking that features in this week’s magazine (pg 18-19)? We may think it’s just a bit of harmless fun, finding out what our ex-boyfriend or BFF is up to these days, but if you can access them so easily, what makes you think your future employers can’t?

And perhaps TV 3 should revisit a lesson from their mothers where “if you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all”.

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Letter of the week wins two movie tickets for Event Cinemas!

Letter of the week: Hi Samantha, I’m emailing in regards to Ben Matthews article entitled “Smoking: Is it our Future?” (Issue 3 2011).

I have never written a letter to the editor, never even thought about it, but I took great offence to this article and the authors assumption that smokers have no regards for surrounding people.

I am a smoker (currently in the process of quitting), I have been a smoker on and off for years. I am very aware of the people around me when I light up a cigarette, I respect “no smoking” signs around campus and other public places and I ALWAYS put cigarette butts in the bin. Would he prefer we smoke in the classrooms or go outside? There simply is no option for smokers. I am very conscious of people around me, whether they are smoking or not, and it makes me very uncomfortable when I smoke around others that don’t. What are my options?? Give up...? Well I’m giving it a good try, but until I do, smoking outside is the best I can do.

To finish off saying “ignorance is bliss” is simply a kick in the guts. I would not put myself into a category of “ignorant” people, however I am a smoker. A comment like this is a gross generalisation, and offensive.

To say that “lighting up a cigarette in front of me can be the most selfish act someone can do” is ridiculous.... Really? The most selfish thing?

By the time students get to University, they are no longer children. How did they get to uni? Most likely on the bus or train, did the people they walked past on Queen Street influence them into smoking. Who exactly is the “we” Ben was referring to when he says “we are meant to be role models for them (students)” I didn’t sign up to be a role model, I wouldn’t encourage others to smoke but I also wouldn’t expect them to take it up because they saw me smoking in between classes.

I hope that Bens opinions were exagerated for the purpose of the article, and he himself wouldn’t be ignorant enough to lump all smokers together in the same category.

Carmen Buckley AUT’s response to “An open letter to Auckland University of Technology management, staff and students” by Rory Finnemore published in debate issue 1, 2011.

Dear Rory, Thank you for your letter published in debate magazine.

AUT aims to protect the health of our students, staff and visitors with a pragmatic smoke-free policy across our four campuses and residential complexes.

Along with 100% smoke-free buildings and indoor areas, AUT has designated some specific outdoor areas as non-smoking. Generally these localised smoking bans cover enclosed spaces or areas of high foot traffic, where accumulated second-hand smoke is unpleasant and potentially could become a health hazard. For example, there are sign-posted smoking bans in front of the WE lecture theatres at City Campus, because it is a covered area with high foot traffic before and after classes.

AUT has adopted this approach instead of a blanket smoking ban or designated smoking areas.

The idea of moving to a non-smoking campus has been mooted before but there are some issues

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debate letters policy: Letters need to make it into debate’s mailbox before Wednesday, 3pm each week for the following issue.

You must give us your name when submitting letters to be eligible for letter of the week, but you can use a pseudonym for publication if you wish. Any letters longer than 250 words may be subjected to editing. Spelling and grammar will not be corrected. The editor reserves the right to decline without explanation. Most importantly, the views contained on the letters page do not necessarily represent the views of AuSM. Send your letters to debate@aut.ac.nz or if you want to kick it old school, PO Box 6116, Wellesley St, Auckland.

that have prevented us from doing so. A blanket smoking ban or designated smoking areas would likely move smokers onto public footpaths, street fronts or into a small spaces, and such bans are difficult to implement because much of the AUT campuses are dissected by areas of public land, such as streets, where students may smoke freely.

We rely on students, as adults, to be considerate of others, the same as in any other public space.

We welcome feedback on any other areas that have high foot traffic, are semi-enclosed or for any other reason would benefit from being smoke-free.

If students have suggestions or feedback, please email me Tiffany White Tel: 09 921 9241 Email: tiffany.white@aut.ac.nz In addition, we aim to promote health on campus by providing free quit smoking support through AUT’s health services. Any smoker who is ready to quit can contact Health, Counselling and Wellbeing on (09) 921 9992 - City and Manukau Campus or (09) 921 9998 - North Shore Campus for an appointment, or contact Quitline on 0800 778 778 or www.quit.org.nz We welcome feedback on how our approach is working and we continue to review our policies in this area.

I understand that Japan seems very far away from us so we don’t seem so emotionally connected to what’s happening, and also because it happened soon after the Christchurch earthquake, we don’t feel like we can really do anything as we are still trying to help out everyone down in Christchurch.

It’s sad how big world news like this don’t really affect us for long. There are 9000 people dead and 13,000 people still missing. Whole towns have been wiped off the map and thousands of children have been orphaned. Spare a thought and a prayer for any of the Japanese students/neighbours/people you know or even don’t know - maybe they no longer have a home to go to or a family member or friend is still missing. Their lives may have changed forever without you even realising.

A. Garcia

What is it that first years don’t get about being quiet in the library? They invade the study floors in groups and just continue to use their outdoor voices. I’m actually pretty sure they may have never been in libraries before. Things overheard, “Man, there’s so many books here!” and “How do you get books out?” I’m not hating on all first years, just the incompetent ones. Here’s hoping that whilst you may not know how to get books out, you do know Dear Debate, how to pick up a copy of debate from a rack and I wonder whether I am raising this issue because it read this. generally is disrespectful, if it annoys me or perhaps Chur as I am getting older I am starting to notice this Tombo stuff more and more.

AUT is a great University, I always recommend it Last week there was an article posted about to others who don’t go to it (those buggers at AU ‘popular’ site tumblr. especially!). I have been really impressed by the TUMBLR WILL GIVE YOUR COMPUTER amount of students who are friendly and are well VIRUSES. mannered. There are some however, that are not.

STAY AWAY UNLESS YOU WANT YOUR The issues that I want to raise are thus; PRETTY LITTLE MAC TO BE DESTROYED. Sometimes I have classes in WT tower. It is That is all. generally frustrating when waiting patiently for Red Fox your lift when people charge through from the back of the line and steal the space that is rightly yours Dear Debate, from you. It is astonishing how often older and Thank-you for publishing the article ‘Lady Gaga: disabled people are left hanging because Person ‘A’ Pop’s Nightingale’ in your fourth issue. can’t stand waiting in line like everoyne else.

I wholeheartedly agree that when I too think Please don’t sniff throughout lectures. Its hard of an artist that has shaped our generation, Gaga enough paying attention in some of them and when is who springs to mind. Everyone else is just a people are sniffing (some who have a cold and some manufactured representation of what the music who don’t) it gets more and industry wants to see, regardless of whether or more difficult to concentrate and certainly not the artist will acknowledge this. As far as the increases blood pressure. Please, just blow your nose criticisms surrounding her “stealing” from the likes if you need to. I’d rather you made one loud and of Bowie, Warhol etc,it should also be noted that snotty handkerchief blow then hearing you snort maybe this is what our generation needed to see. through the whole class.

Don’t get me wrong, stealing isn’t the way to go, This is not a rant, nor a moan, although it however reinterpreting what someone else has done certainly does look like it since I have been reading and making it relevant to our generation is fantastic over it. Its just nice for people to have manners now to witness. and then. I know we are young (some of us) and are Perhaps she is also trying to remind us of students, but a University without these few things messages from past era’s. The considerations of self would make life a whole lot better. As I said, AUT is belief which we see in the lyrics of ‘Born This Way’ a place I really enjoy being. Lets keep it that way have received a lot of comparisons to Madonna’s Regards, ‘Express Yourself’ but is this necessarily a bad the Noticer thing? In an image obsessed culture I think Gaga is amazing for having the courage to reinforce this RE: the editorial in debate, issue 4. message for a new audience, inspiring people of all I have to agree with you Sam, it’s sad how only ages for many years to come, much like past icons a week after the Japanese earthquake/tsunami have done. happened everyone is much more focused on other Regards, things like this new friday song and Rebecca Black. Sophie P issue 05 2011

RNZ 1229

2011 marks 100 years of radio in New Zealand. Create a design for a radio that captures any aspect of New Zealand culture from the last 100 years. The best design will be brought to life by top New Zealand model makers and exhibited at Auckland Art Gallery. Visit SOUNDSLIKEUS.CO.NZ to find out more. www.ausm.org.nz

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issue 05 2011

You tell me over and over that this world can be good But sadly this world we live in, isn’t what it should Bad people live like kings among their bad deeds And the good are scored for any wrong doings You say grow hard so you will never get hurt Don’t let the poison in To let it break you down You cannot be blind to this world If you wish to walk around Take in the knowledge of what the curl wish to do Baby but never let them change you Moksha Shah Your Advice

Soo Park Untitled

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Select one pair of glasses from the $199 range or above and you are entitled to receive 30% off the total price.* That’s 30% off the frame, lenses and any extra options you choose. Book an eye test with one of our friendly Specsavers staff to check the health of your eyes.

Over 50 stores now open in New Zealand, visit specsavers.co.nz to find your local store. *Not available in combination with any other offer including 2 pairs for 1 low price. Offer valid Monday to Friday 9-5pm. Discount does not apply to eye examination. Offer valid upon presentation of current tertiary student card. www.ausm.org.nz © 2010 Specsavers Optical Group · SMART_SPE2161/AUT/M.

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North shore students pissed off at parking prices

by Vaughan Alderson

North Shore students that use AUT’s campus shuttle bus are outraged at the introduction of $300 per semester charge a semester at the Poenamo car park.

AUT students with a permit have parked at the Poenamo for free until the start of this semester. But the park is now pay and display, at either $2 per hour or $5 a day, equating to $300 per semester for most full-time students.

Students are fuming with the lack of communication from AUT’s parking and transport department, not finding out about the change until the first Monday of semester when they arrived at the car park.

“I didn’t know the car park was pay and display until I turned up and saw the sign on the first day,” said Hillcrest-based art and design student Joanna Cass.

AUT have stated that the change is an attempt to help students make environmentally-friendly choices when travelling to the car park.

“Price is a determining factor in making travel

choices so it was decided to extend pay and display to the Poenamo in 2011 to encourage people to make more sustainable transport choices,” explained general services administration manager Kevin Hodges.

The campus shuttle is still the cheapest way to travel to university for many AUT students, with a free service between the Poenamo and the North Shore campus and a subsidised fare of $2.50 per ride to the City and Manukau campuses.

However, many car park users, like communications student Ciara Pratt, are shocked with the expense they did not know they had to budget for and have simply changed their parking habits.

“It’s another added expense which we haven’t had to deal with for the last two years. The hard thing is turning up and seeing the car park is empty because nobody is willing to pay for it.

“I park on the road now,” she said.

STUDENTS SWAP THEIR BODIES FOR CASH IN “GUINEA PIG TRIALS”

by Jessica Beresford

A growing number of Auckland students are participating in clinical trials as an alternative means of income to help fund their education.

There has always been a big market in America and the United Kingdom for people, especially students, who for a high pay cheque become ‘guinea pigs’ to trial medications potentially risky to their health.

Medical research is growing within New Zealand because “it is a cost effective market to do trials in”, says Jamie Mannion of getparticipants.com.

Students could expect to earn up to $1600 for a four-to-five day trial.

These trials are for new medications where they “haven’t had the chance to see what the drug does yet”, says Mannion.

In order to be eligible for clinical trials at getparticipants.com, you have to be over 18 and have an average BMI and resting heart rate. If the participant is on certain types of medication they could be ruled out of the trial and recreational drug use is not allowed.

Mannion says the potential side effects of the trials are similar to those felt with allergies, such as nausea and skin rashes.

Blair Escott, a third year University of Auckland student, has done a few trials to earn extra money while he has been studying.

He says the effort required is minimal compared with any other part-time job.

One of the trials Escott participated in required electrocardiography, where a current was run through his body via electrodes attached to his chest, wrists and ankles, monitoring the electrical activity of his heart.

Escott says the process was painless.

All of the trials must go through an ethics committee before they can be tested on humans, which ensures the health and safety of the participants and also that they are well informed about what they are testing.

Student loans possible Target in 2011 Budget

by Vaughan Alderson

Student loans might become a target for budget cuts this year as the government makes plans to repair earthquake-damaged Christchurch.

Prime Minister John Key said in a recent press conference that the government is considering all their options for the new budget, including popular schemes such as student loans and Kiwi Saver.

Up to $800 million will be cut from the current budget as a new budget is planned that makes no allowances for new spending.

Only health and education sectors will see increases in government spending this year.

On student loans, Key said the government might look at further tightening the margins around who can apply for a loan.

Finance minister Bill English supports the prime minister, saying that options must be kept open.

“It’s necessary to look at all of our options and it would be unwise to rule anything out at this stage,” says English.

Labour finance spokesperson David Cunliffe has criticised National’s position, calling the move radical and dangerous.

“Trying to balance the government’s budget and throwing the rest of the economy deeper into recession is no recipe for success. We have to have a budget that allows New Zealanders to invest, to employ, to get back to work and in that way of course revenues follow to the crown when the growth rate picks up,” he told Radio New Zealand.

Key defended the government’s plans, claiming that costs need to be lowered in order to avoid a credit rating downgrade from international rating agencies and higher interest rates.

Programmes like Kiwi Saver, Whanau Ora and Working for Families have also not been ruled out for budget cuts.

The 2011 New Zealand budget will not be confirmed until May 19.

Summer brings sun, sand… and wasps

by Rosie Tuck

Aucklanders are feeling the sting after the warmest summer in 30 years has led to an outbreak in the number of wasps.

Founder of pest-control company Fumetech Nigel Stevenson says wasp numbers are up this year due to warmer temperatures.

“Summer started earlier this year and has lasted for a longer period.”

Stevenson is experiencing 15 per cent more wasp related calls than previous years.

Auckland Museum entomology curator John Early says the warmer weather causes wasps to breed faster.

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“This is because they are cold blooded creatures and their body temperature is the same as the outside air. So when it is warmer the metabolic activity in their bodies speeds up.”

Auckland University entomologist Dr Jacqueline Beggs says there are four species of wasps in New Zealand, all of which are resident in Auckland.

Pest controllers often find wasp nests in the eves, roof and wall cavities of homes as this provides nice warm and dry protection for them to make their nests.

Pest control technician Lloyd Carpenter says he has found a nest as “large as two and a half black rubbish bags”.

“A large nest can hold between 10,000 to 20,000 wasps.

“If you happen to upset a wasp nest in any way by running over it with the lawn mower, call in the professionals.”

Some people pour petrol on the nest, this can cause them to get “very agro” and they can chase you for up to a kilometre. issue 05 2011

Students stitched up by debt

by Rosie Tuck

An AUT fashion student works four days a week plus needs weekly help from her parents to pay for course-related costs.

Rachel Bergersen says fashion course-related costs are huge because students are expected to buy materials weekly.

Bergersen says it is difficult for students because “there is always something you need to buy”.

“I have to borrow money weekly from my parents.”

Green Party tertiary spokesperson Gareth Hughes says student courserelated costs have not been updated in nearly 20 years.

“Course related-costs should be increased to $1500 to reflect inflation,” says Hughes.

He says the course-related costs component of the student loan scheme has not changed since 1992, meanwhile costs have rocketed.

“It is unrealistic and unfair to expect students to equip themselves to study for the same amount as students in 1992.”

Hughes says the reality on the ground is that students are paying for their course-related costs through overdrafts, loans from friends, family and the bank.

“Students are struggling under the debt and burden,” he says.

Tertiary education minister Steven Joyce says that New Zealand taxpayers already make a big investment in tertiary education by world standards.

“Given the current economic climate we are not looking to extend this any further.”

But Hughes says the minister is avoiding the issue of students doing “more with less”.

Hughes says the National led government has bailed out finance and media companies with hundreds of millions of dollars.

“The minister could make it a little bit easier by using the government’s ability to borrow cheaply to just update the loan amount and to keep track of inflation,” he says.

Flu vaccine now available for AUT students The 2011 flu vaccine is now available for AUT students on campus.

Students can receive the vaccination for $11 (PHO-enrolled students) or $26 (nonenrolled and international students) at Health, Counselling and Wellbeing. Some may be eligible to get the vaccination free.

“It doesn’t matter how fit and healthy you are, the flu is just as likely to affect you,” says Health, Counselling and Wellbeing practice manager Stella McFarlane.

“It causes epidemics every year during the winter months, with one in five people getting the flu.”

Influenza is a severe and sometimes lifethreatening infection, usually striking from May to September.

The virus is spread through the air through infected people sneezing, coughing, sharing utensils or from surfaces they have touched such as shared textbooks or computers.

“Immunity can take up to two weeks to develop after the vaccination so to get protected during winter, you need to get vaccinated now,” McFarlane says.

She says the most common concern about the vaccine is about contracting the flu, but she says it is not possible to get the flu from the seasonal

influenza vaccine, which is made using a World Health Organisation method.

Students can make an appointment with Health, Counselling and Wellbeing by phoning 09 921 9992 (City campus) or 09 921 9998 (North Shore campus). Manukau campus students are welcome at either centre. You must wait 20 minutes after the vaccination.

The influenza vaccine is a prescription medicine, so make sure you talk with the nurse or your doctor about the benefits, possible risks and side effects. You can also visit the website www.fightflu.co.nz for more information.

4. What are the three colours on the flag of Ireland?

8. Apple pulled an application from its app store last week after it claimed to “cure” what?

1. Which American morning television show did Chris Brown allegedly have a meltdown backstage on last week?

a) b) c) d)

a) b) c) d)

a) b) c) d)

5. What city in Australia is Chifley College, the school where Casey Heynes body slammed his bully last week?

2. What party does Darren Hughes, an MP currently under police investigation, belong to? a) b) c) d)

Labour National New Zealand First Act

3. Dame Elizabeth Taylor died last week of congestive heart failure. For what movie did she receive her first Academy Award nomination? a) b) c) d)

Cat on a Hot Tin Roof Suddenly, Last Summer Raintree County Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? www.ausm.org.nz

a) b) c) d)

Brisbane Melbourne Sydney Perth

Cancer Arthritis Blindness Homosexuality

9. Who is the number two men’s tennis player in the world currently? a) b) c) d)

Rafael Nadal Roger Federer Andy Murray Novak Djokovic

6. Who is the captain of the Auckland Blues?

10. How many steps are there to the top of the Empire State Building?

a) b) c) d)

a) b) c) d)

Keven Mealamu Ali Williams Tony Woodcock Anthony Boric

1690 1860 1970 2020

7. Who wrote Jane Eyre? a) b) c) d)

Jane Austen Emily Bronte Charlotte Bronte Emily Dickinson

Answers: B, A, C, D, C, A, C, D, D, B

Live with Regis and Kelly Good Morning America The Today Show Daybreak

Red, White and Green Yellow, White and Blue Orange, Yellow and Green Orange White and Green

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by Scott Moyes

Who would want to be a coach? If your team wins, you’re overshadowed by the individual efforts of the players. If they lose, the media turns its missiles on the bloke that didn’t teach them enough. Job stability just isn’t part of your vocabulary, unless you’re of the Gordon Tietjens mould. Your hair goes grey before you can shout ‘offside’ and your life expectancy is determined by the bounce of a ball. So who would want to be a coach? Well, quite a lot of people actually.

Fantasy sport gives your average Joe the opportunity to put into practice everything he shouts at the TV from the safety of his armchair.

It seems to be the future of sporting fandom. It provides its audience with a hands-on perspective of the game, with statistics and variables they were previously oblivious to. It’s a simple idea. Most sporting codes have a similar way of running these competitions. You go online, and as the coach of your team, you carefully select players you’re tipping to flourish during the season, usually within some type of salary cap. That team’s efforts are then calculated by the player’s statistics. For example, you get points for every goal they score or metre they run. It’s extremely addictive. Before long you’re watching the game and making tallies in your head of who’s scored what and who you wish you’d drafted in weeks ago.

The thing that strikes me about fantasy sport is how it appeals to all areas of the demographic. Obviously you’re going to have an advantage if you know the sport particularly well, though you don’t have to be Einstein to get involved. There is a considerable amount of chance in sport. The seasoned sports addict might select the player with 100 test caps, only for them to get injured in the fifth minute of the game. On the other hand, five-year-old Lucy from down the road might have picked the nobody that’s coming off the bench to replace him, just because he has a cool name.

There can be no doubt that the growth of the internet has helped the promotion of fantasy sport. Ten years ago we couldn’t dream of having interactive online competitions amongst hundreds of thousands of people around the world. Giving us unprecedented access to every statistic and angle that the game has to offer, we can compare ourselves with all the other average Joe’s around the world on an equal platform.

Though with all this extra information now available, at what stage does fantasy sport begin to become our reality?

12.

On FOX sports if you’re watching live coverage of the rugby league, you now get live updates of how many fantasy points certain players are scoring. Gone are the days where TV coverage will tell you how many tries they’ve scored or goals they’ve kicked. Now we are told of the theoretical value of someone who may or may not be in your theoretical sports team. What use is this information to the old codger who has followed the sport since the Stone Age who just wants to know the young fellow’s name?

There simply has to be a divide between the real game and the one being played on your computer at home. The most important things in sport cannot be measured by statistics. I could have the most valuable player in all of fantasyland because he makes 50 tackles every match. Is this to say he’s more valuable than the bloke who makes just one tackle, though it is the one that stops the try that wins the game for his team?

What use is the winger that scores all the tries without the man inside him passing the ball?

It reminds me of the first auction there ever was for the Indian Premiere League a few years ago. The cash-happy owners of these franchises are effectively their own fantasy cricket coaches the way they buy and sell players like toys. Andrew Symonds was deemed a million dollar man because he could bash the ball into the stands. However his Australian captain, Ricky Ponting, who has 29 ODI and 39 test centuries, wasn’t even worth a third of that. Andrew Symonds doesn’t have the opportunity to belt the ball into a new dimension if Ricky Ponting hasn’t set up the innings in the earlier stages of the match. The better player?

The one that still plays the game.

However, as long as we don’t get to the stage where players are fixing matches to alter their fantasy points, the concept is a fantastic one. It will attract a new generation of fans and help them interact with the game on a level unknown to their ancestors. Just don’t tell Nana your fantasy involves 30 men, a ball and the internet.

issue 05 2011

by Alicia Crocket

HOW TO COOK

Apricot chicken is a New Zealand classic. You can choose to buy a pre-prepared sauce OR you can save money and use either of these recipes which you can adjust to suit your taste buds. Here are two very different apricot chicken recipes, one is super simple and easy to make in small quantities. The other is a more substantial one-pot meal that will please the harshest critic. Both these recipes work well with boneless chicken or pieces.

Apricot Chicken (adapted from a New Zealand Woman’s Weekly recipe)

by Alicia Crocket Without a doubt, if you can convince your flatmates to cook as a team then you’ll save both money and effort on the food front. But sometimes that isn’t an option, so if you do cook your own meals, it doesn’t mean you have to limit yourself to baked beans or tuna on toast every night. Here are some ways that you can save money and eat well.

Joe Bloggs, meet the freezer:

As a solo cooker, you need to develop a long-lasting relationship with your freezer. In your freezer you can split up meat packs into single serves. If it’s cheaper, buy larger packs of meat at the supermarket, then when you get home split the pack up and wrap single serves with glad wrap or zip lock bags and freeze ready for another night. Cooking just one serve of food can be difficult – it’s definitely a skill I don’t have – so I cook enough for two or four meals and then freeze leftovers so I can have them another night.

Invest in plastic containers:

Plastic microwave safe containers can be used to store the aforementioned leftovers for freezing. They can also be used to put some of your dinner aside for your lunch the next day. It can be challenging for one person to get through a loaf of bread before it goes stale, sure you can freeze it, but it’s not quite as good defrosted. So save the frozen bread to make toast when you’re home and have leftovers when you’re at uni. In most of the

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student lounges and in the eating area on the North Shore campus you’ll find microwaves where you can heat up your leftovers. You’ll be the envy of all your friends who are sitting there with their peanut butter sandwiches.

Don’t ignore the veges:

Vegetables should make up half of your plate at every meal. If you have veges every dinner time then you shouldn’t have any problems with using them up each week.

Plan your meals and veges to make sure that you use up your vegetables quickly. For example, use a capsicum over two nights, first night make a stirfry and the next night put the rest in some pasta sauce. If you don’t think that you’ll use a whole broccoli or cauli, then buy frozen instead of fresh and just use them as you need them. Frozen peas and beans are also great for the solo cook.

Just because you’re cooking for one doesn’t mean that you have to be boring or resort to a life of frozen meals. You still can have lots of variety on a budget, just freeze what you can, when you need to, and have awesome leftovers for those nights you can’t be bothered cooking. And a varied diet is essential for a happy and healthy body and mind. So say goodbye to those nasty aches and pains by using some of these activities and tips.

Serves 2. Dairy free, Gluten free if use GF soy sauce Cost per serve: $2.21 by itself, $2.34 with rice

Ingredients 1 chicken breast, chopped OR chicken pieces for two people 2 cloves garlic crushed, OR 2 tsps minced garlic 2 tsps soy sauce 1 tsp sweet chilli sauce 1x 400g can halved apricots in juice Directions 1. Preheat oven to 210°C 2. Place chicken into an oven proof dish. If you’re using boned pieces remove the chicken skin first 3. Mix together soy sauce, sweet chilli sauce and garlic and pour over the chicken 4. Drain the apricots, saving ¼ of the juice. Spread the apricot halves over the chicken and add the apricot juice 5. Cook for 15 minutes for chicken breast pieces or 30 minutes for boned pieces. Check chicken is cooked all the way through before serving.

Apricot and Ginger Chicken

Serves 3. Dairy free, gluten free if use GF stock Cost per serve: $2.41 by itself, $2.54 with rice, $2.60 with potatoes

Ingredients ½ cup dried apricots 1 Tbsp oil 1 cup mixed chopped veges (capsicum, mushrooms, peas, pumpkin etc) 1 chicken breast, chopped OR chicken pieces for two people 1 onion, sliced 2 cloves garlic, crushed OR 2 tsps minced garlic 1 ½ Tbsps fresh ginger, take off the skin and grate 1 tsp lemon zest 1 ½ Tbsp fresh thyme OR 1 tsp dried thyme Juice of ½ a lemon 1x 400g can halved apricots, drained 1 cup hot water mixed with 1 tsp stock powder Directions 1. Put dried apricots into a bowl and cover with hot water. Leave to soak 2.Prepare veges and chicken 3. Heat oil in fry pan and sauté onion and garlic with the thyme. When clear add the cup of chopped vegetables and cook for a few minutes 4. Remove vegetables from the pan and add the chicken to brown 5. Add remaining ingredients and the vegetables back into the pan 6.Simmer for 10-15 minutes. Note: If you are doing this with chicken pieces you can simmer for longer 7. Put the mixture into a casserole dish and cook in the oven for 30 minutes 8.If you want the sauce thicker, mix 1 tsp cornflour with a little water and add to the simmering sauce stirring until it boils and thickens

13.

AuSM Advocacy At AUT students have the right to be treated with respect and fairness during their time here. If, however you feel that you have not been treated in an appropriate manner, AUT has official procedures for dealing with complaints, harrassment and disputes concerning assessment.

AuSM is able to assist students in accessing and following these procedures.

Note: 1. Students can receive representation and support from AuSM at all levels in these processes.

2. Students can receive support from a Harassment Prevention Contact where the complaint is about harassment.

3. The objective of these procedures is to resolve concerns at the lowest level possible.

4. One or more of these processes may be used where appropriate on a case-by-case basis.

IS IT A GENERAL COMPLAINT?

A complaint about: - a staff member - the quality of service provided - inadequate facilities - any other matter of concern not covered above

IS IT AN ACADEMIC ASSESSMENT ISSUE?

IS IT A HARASSMENT?

If the complaint is about harassment by a staff member or fellow student, you should use the Harassment Prevention Programme.

Do you feel that you are being harassed of bullied because of your: gender marital status religious belief colour/race ethnic/national origin disability

See the AuSM Liaison Team for assistance.

Dissatisfied with a result in an assessment/paper?

If you disagree with the mark for an assessment, promptly apply for a reconsideration (there may be a fee)

age political opinion employment status family/status sexual orientation

If you don’t agree with the result of a paper, you can appeal on limited grounds.

See www.aut.ac.nz/student_services/harassment

See the AuSM Liaison Team for assistance.

See a trained Harassment Prevention Contact who can deal with your concern confidentially and offer support and advice.

Raise the matter with the person responsible for providing the service, or, if that is inappropriate, with the programme leader or service manager.

A list of contacts can be obtained from AuSM offices.

See programme leader or service manager if issue is not resolved initially.

Satisfied?

No further action.

If further official action is required, your case will be referred to the case manager who will arrange an investigation.

If the issue has not resolved to your satisfaction, arrange to see the Head of Department or faculty registrar.

If you are still not satisfied, make a formal written complaint to the AUT Academic Registrar, whose decision is final.

Or cold water?

AuSM provides cold filtered water at the City campus office so you can fill your water bottles.

On the North Shore, you can buy an AuSM water bottle for $1 and refill your bottles in the kitchen.

Win a VIP Paintball session for you and 10 mates Post your Orientation pics on our Facebook page.

Whoever gets the most likes wins!

Shuttle Bus – Manukau update We received some reports that the shuttle bus service to Manukau was at capacity. AUT told us that Tuesdays were a particularly busy day and a larger bus has been put on the route to cater for

14.

See your faculty and programme handbooks for details on how to do this.

Appeal result of paper within 14 days of final results being made available to you.

There are two grounds: 1. Material Irregularity 2. Additional Information See www.ausm.org.nz

Investigation is carried out and decision reached.

Get into hot water A few students have emailed us asking where they can get hot water for noodles, tea and coffee, especially around the library area (City campus).

We contacted facilities to ask about this and they recommend students use the student lounge areas as they are equipped with hot water systems and microwaves. The nearest student lounge to the library is likely to be WH or WB or postgraduate facilities on WA6. The new WG precinct will have student kitchenette facilities that will also satisfy this request to more people.

Apply for a reconsideration in writing, within the time specified.

Case considered by Faculty Appeals Committee.

demand. They have also assured us that patronage is being monitored constantly and will be changed to address demand where necessary.

AuSM free fitness classes City campus gym: Tuesdays and Thursdays, Yoga at 5.30pm North Shore campus gym: Mondays, Yoga Mix at 5pm; Thursdays, Taibo at 5pm; and Fridays, Yoga at 7am Bring your ID card for entry.

Just relax You can borrow an AuSM bean bag from our Manukau office anytime, just drop in with your ID. Join the Puppy Pack!

The Royal New Zealand Foundation of the Blind are looking for volunteers to collect in their community for the annual Red Puppy Appeal on April 1 and 2.

To become a RNZFB guide dog, puppies train for two years and pass 55 different tests. The RNZFB receives no government funding for guide dog services so every dollar collected during the appeal counts. Email streetappeal@rnzfb.org.nz or phone 0800 120 254 if you can help for a few hours.

issue 05 2011

by Katherine Tetzlaff “National’s recession.” It’s a little maxim coined by the Labour Party that has been bouncing around the house quite a lot recently, more so now that Budget 2011 is sitting in the forefront of everyone’s minds. Surely the worldwide recession is not being blamed on the National Party? Well no, not exactly. The recession is now, apparently, a ‘doubledipping’ recession. I must apologise to the reader that this is not the sexy kind of double-dipping that involves a proclivity for both sexes; it is unfortunately the boring economic type.

Apparently there have been not one, but two recessions.

The worldwide and globally impacting one, and the one apparently caused by the mishandling of the budget and mismanagement of the country by the current National government. Labour pipes up with the usual barrage of financial issues, National raised GST, but National responds, “but we gave tax cuts” and Labour retorts “National only raised minimum wage by 25c per hour, hardly keeping up with inflation”. And National’s response to these allegations? “Well we are just cleaning up Labour’s mess.” Ah, that old one, blame the guy before you. It works every time. And this is when the term “National’s recession” is bought into the debate. One thinks this little gem will be at the forefront of Labour’s campaign come mid-year when the electioneering of both parties goes full throttle and the gloves really come off.

What is missing in this healthy debate of the house is an actual plan. Both sides seem content in blaming each other for the state of the nation and no doubt spending all night coining catchy little phrases like the one mentioned above.

The reality of parliament these days is that it is a faceoff between the blue guy and the red guy. They have gotten lazy, falling back on the laurels of their predecessors, using backdoor tactics to delay bills, blaming, fighting and loudly and arrogantly interjecting in each other’s debate time. This has been extremely evident recently with the readings of the Marine and Coastal Area (Takutai Moana) Bill, where Hone Harawira (and it must be pointed out I am in no way endorsing anything this rogue MP brings to the table) presented an extremely interesting and well considered

debate on the Bill, yet Paul Quinn and Tau Henare would hardly let the man speak.

Also we have Act’s Hilary Calvert, no doubt acting under the instruction of her party, who is vocally opposed to this Bill, submitted a wide range of ridiculous amendments to the Bill – 15 pages in total – as a deliberate stalling tactic.

In it she asked that the Bill name every marine mammal, from whale to narwhal, in an attempt to disrupt the natural course of law making in this country.

Hone, himself not squeaky clean in it all, proceeded to cast his vote in Te Reo, causing uproar from Act over the accuracy and trustworthiness of the interpretation of what he actually said, so much so that my hero, speaker Lockwood Smith, had to return to the house to calm the little guys and gals down. Hilary Calvert then went on to claim tikanga was an Alice in Wonderland word, in reference to the nonsense speaking Red Queen.

Some think she went too far with this one, did a Paul Henry, or for us oldies, “jumped the shark”, but for anyone who makes a habit of watching the debates on this Bill on Parliament TV she was only reflecting the current state of the house. They are all doing it, but only the ones the media wish to crucify make it into the mainstream. It is a school yard, sitting under the watchful (and curiously attractive) eye of the speaker, which has gone just a little bit feral, with biting and spitting and prolific bullying, all because of the introduction of a Bill which has just as much support as it does dissent.

One is however appreciative that our politicians haven’t yet sunk to the depths evident elsewhere. Anecdotal evidence available from Google suggests that in the Ukraine parliamentary sessions can become… exciting. Eggs are thrown, smoke bombs flung, hair is pulled and fisticuffs disturb proceedings. An essential piece of equipment in the debating chamber is an umbrella, useful for deflecting missiles of one variety or another thrown by the nation’s representatives.

What is missing in this healthy debate of the house is an actual plan.

This Week (March 28-April 1) MONDAY

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FRIDAY

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Hone Harawira – Where to from here?

by Kotiro Maori New Zealand ‘rebel’ politician Hone Harawira has been in the news a lot lately. He has never been one to shy away from what is really on his mind. Since leaving the Maori Party last month after saying that the Maori Party leaders are too friendly with National, Harawira is now an independent MP. The question now is where to from here for Hone?

Hone became an elected member of the Maori Party in 2005 when he won the seat for the Te Tai Tokerau electorate. In the past few weeks he has left the party and is now an independent MP for Te Reo Motuhake o Te Tai Tokerau. Poor Hone, he has had a lot to live up to. The Harawira whanau are an outspoken, proud lot. Most of us were probably in primary school and didn’t give a toss about politics when Hone’s mother, Titewhai, was causing controversy of her own. She will go down in New Zealand history as the woman who made Helen Clark cry on Waitangi Day. I doubt that even Hone’s colonialist comment about the “white motherfuckers raping our lands” really beats that.

Hone’s intelligence was on full display recently. This was shown on March 9 when he made a passionate speech to Parliament about why he opposed the government’s proposed Marine and Coastal Area Bill but failed to turn up to the vote. Come on Hone, why would you not turn up to vote on an issue that helped to

by Robert Fennell

16.

cause the rift between you and your old party?

Hone’s opinion on the mistake: “Shame! Dumb!

Doh!” Agreed.

“The downside of being in government with National is having to put up with all the antiworker, anti-beneficiary and anti-environment (and therefore anti-Maori) legislation that comes as a natural consequence of having a right-wing government.” This comment was made in Hone’s article about the cosy relationship the Maori Party has with National.

Surely Hone would have known that before agreeing to be a part of a party that formed a coalition with this government? I also don’t believe that workers and beneficiaries belong together in the same category seeing as how the point of someone being on a benefit is that they aren’t working. Hone didn’t have this view before the Maori Party went into coalition with National; in fact he was looking forward to working with them. Part of his 2005 candidate profile included how he believed that Maori shouldn’t have faith in the Labour Party anymore.

However Hone’s passion and commitment to all things Maori impresses me. He led the hikoi protesting the 2004 Foreshore and Seabed Act. This event was the birth of the Maori Party. He has participated in other protests, such as Ngati Whatua’s occupation of Bastion Point and the 1981 Springbok tour. He has

a strong commitment to the education of Maori by chairing many committees. He was even protesting as an Auckland University student when he led He Taua, a group aimed at eliminating racism. Sometimes this group was extreme in its actions. In 1979 the group assaulted some engineering students who were doing a vile rendition of the haka.

So where to from here for Hone? First he will lead a campaign to win his Te Tai Tokerau electorate later this year. Hopefully he will manage to make the third reading and vote of the Marine and Coastal Area Bill. A few colourful comments will be chucked in the mix, highlighted by the media to escalate tension between him and his former party. We definitely haven’t seen the last of Hone.

When I was a young lad, I asked an older male when was the first time he realised he was a man.

I wanted to know whether there was a definitive point where one day boys were pimply-faced, hormone-crazed, voice breakers, and the next they had sprouted full beards and spent most of their time talking about the state of the economy.

He told me it was when he signed an official legal document.

Now I’m leaving the shores of adolescence myself and the only thing that seems markedly different is the massive increase in forms I have to fill out. I can’t move for paperwork, I’m tripping over contracts and invoices wherever I turn. I don’t dare to speak without having it signed off first, initials here...here...and signature here.

So is this really it? Is our rite of passage into adulthood just a series of legal documents we have to fill out? This has me particularly worried as the more I move into this system, the more I realise how completely ludicrous it is, and how little it reflects reality.

Nobody fills out forms correctly; it’s not in their best interest to. Everybody fudges the results, rounds the figures up, embellishes and exaggerates the truth. It’s like when you are asked to self report your height and weight. You know with near certainty exactly what the number is, but you convince yourself it’s a bit of a grey area and shoot for a figure that appeals to you more.

If this is what people can do when it’s just about their size, think about how much they would be willing to tweak the data when its money involved.

So does this bureaucratic BS have a starting point? The more I think about it the more I come to the conclusion that the dividing line is very blurred. The last few years of my college life all

feel like a preparation for this world, just not in the way that was intended by my teachers.

There is a worry that our school system is flawed, that the focus is too much on passing instead of learning, and that in doing so perhaps we create a nation of test takers – people who know how to give the right answer but not how to really comprehend and apply that knowledge. The worry is that this does not prepare them for the “real world”. In that case then, I believe the worry is completely misplaced. If schools are teaching kids the test-taker mentality, than once they leave school they’ll be completely qualified for the adult world of bureaucracy.

Here our little test takers can apply their skills to become form filler-outers. I think they’ll do just fine, if not excel at it.

So where does this leave us you might ask? Nobody likes filling out forms, but we have to because it keeps the wheels in motion. I agree, and I’m not suggesting a huge upheaval of bureaucracy –a violent revolution where everyone takes to the streets to burn effigies of tax men.

No, to be honest this is the same thing you’ve heard a million times before - a young adult’s lament for the passing of his childhood. I’m technically an adult now and it’s just not quite what I expected. I have no real beard to speak of for starters, and the economy still mystifies me.

And when I sign my name on an official document, far from feeling like I’ve joined the league of adulthood, I just feel like a child, scribbling over a piece of paper that has no real meaning or relevance to me. issue issue05 052011 2011

A 3.8km swim, a 180km bike ride and then to finish off, a 42km marathon. Yes, that’s right, I am going to be doing the 2012 New Zealand Ironman in Taupo. Some have pretty much said I have a screw loose and maybe I do to be taking on this massive challenge but I feel like I am doing it for a great cause. I will be raising money for the New Zealand Mental Health Foundation.

Just a little bit about me to begin with. I am from Hamilton, but don’t let that put you off reading my story. I am 32 and started studying physiotherapy at AUT last July after the business that I owned went pear shaped. I should also warn you this is the first time I have ever written anything that has been published, English was never my strongest subject at school. To be honest, I went to school to play sport and eat lunch! So forgive me if I waffle a little but I just want people to know that if you suffer depression that there is a light at the end of the tunnel.

It has been around five years now since I was first diagnosed with depression. Through those years there have been ups and downs that have ruined relationships and put strains on friendships. I would lock myself in my room for days on end, not wanting to face the outside world. One of the lowest points was when I ruined my mum’s 60th birthday. To add to things, a friend committed suicide a couple of years ago and I saw firsthand how this affects family and friends. I can say that I have been to that place where I thought there is no point in carrying on . If I am truthful, the only reason I didn’t harm myself was because I saw what my friend’s family had to endure the few days after his death.

This brings me to the present and the reason I wanting to do Ironman. It was about the same time that John Kirwan came out and said that he had suffered depression, and that doing exercise or activity a few days a week made him feel better, that I started to get off the couch to do things. To hear someone that you looked up to as a child say that he suffered from depression took some of the stigma away that can be attached when diagnosed with depression. I know this may sound cheesy and it probably is but those advertisements that JK did have saved my life.

I bought myself some shoes and started to get out running a couple of days a week. I was surprised that after just a couple of days I started to feel different – better – about myself. I started to like what I saw in the mirror. Not that anything had physically changed in two days but it was just something inside; when I was at my lowest I would look in the mirror and see a shell of a person looking back at me.

I also bought myself a road bike and started riding three or four times a week. And all the time I was feeling better about myself inside and out. I didn’t have a clue about the science behind it but I just knew that when I trained I felt better, and if I didn’t do something for more than a few days I would start to slide again.

During this time I also went to a psychologist and found that talking to someone definitely helped lift the dark cloud that I felt was following me around.

One in five New Zealanders will experience mental illness every year. Mental illness not only affects the person diagnosed but family, friends and work colleagues as well. The Mental Health Foundation looks to help as many people it can each year and I want to let people know about the great work that it does. I also feel fundraising for them is the least I can do, because if it weren’t for groups like the New Zealand Mental Health Foundation I don’t know where I would be these days.

And what better way to fundraise and raise awareness than by doing one of the things – exercise – that turned my life around? Since the 2012 Ironman is more than a year away, I will be training/competing in a marathon, the tough guy and gal challenge, the 192km K2 cycle challenge race and two half Ironmans before stepping up to the start line in April next year.

It will be a tough year but it will be extremely rewarding. We all know someone with a mental illness and it will be a great way to show your support. Yes I am fundraising for what I believe to a great cause but I believe that I have succeeded if I hear that just one person has turned their life around and decided to take on the depression like I did and come out the other side.

by Craig Bullock

If you would like to donate money to Craig’s cause or find out more about the events he is tackling on the way, check out www.fundraiseonline/CraigBulloch/.

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issue 04 20

17.

V IE W G IR L’ S

A

by Elesha Edmonds

It all started with an innocent virtual ‘poke’ and overnight I became a virtual stalker.

I identified this outrageous addiction when I found myself searching a lead character in a production I had watched the night before. My mouse moved up to the “add as friend” button, the link that was to merge our two worlds, make us lifelong friends and perhaps lovers. As my mind transported me to a world of weddings and children, I faced the reality that this person had no idea I existed.

The definition of a ‘friend’ on the social networking site, Facebook, has never been entirely defined. Are they supposed to be real friends? Friends of friends? Friends of friends of friends?

People you’ve never really met but who sound interesting? People who go to uni with you? The overuse of the word “friend” on Facebook seems to have everyone confused. On Facebook, “friend” is the name of someone who is linked to your profile – they can see your information and you can see theirs. But this application has little bearing on real friendships. Genuine friends are still the friends who you actually spend time with, who write letters or cards and who actually care about you. Are we unwisely confusing the two?

My mum once asked me, in the hype of discussion, how I determined who was or was not my friend on Facebook.

I defined my Facebook ‘friends’ as ones who I had conversed with, at least once, and had some form of mutual relationship. From primary school buddies and exchange students to family friends and camp leaders, Facebook has allowed me to access a variety of over 300 million people.

But the definition of a ‘friend’ must be different for those people who have more than 1,000 Facebook friends.

18.

Who knows 1,000 people well enough to call them friends? Who cares about 1,000 people enough to want to read about what is “on their mind”, keep track of the events attended, birthdays celebrated and how many animals they have on Farmville?

And yet, here I am checking my Facebook page every day just to update and bore a group of people with what I have been doing. I’ve had those days where I’ve wasted more time on Facebook than I should have, blaming it for my own procrastination. I accept ‘friend requests’ from people I only vaguely knew existed. Trying to avoid any commitment would mean that the invitation would stay there, like a mug-shot of guilt every time I visited my profile. What was my personal objective when I signed up to this addictive digital network? To gather friends and like-minded perverts into a cult-like cluster of shared love? To amplify my own ego and go giddy with unknown faces and unusual names, peering into the lives of strangers and allowing them to peer back? Honestly, I never really had an exact plan (or escape plan) because finding and making friends online using Facebook has almost become a rite of passage to being accepted.

Frankly, it’s messing me up a little. There should really be some kind of warning on the network’s sign-up page: “may cause intense rush of homesickness, may contain images that are upsetting. Beware of daydreaming, or lateral thinking.

Excess use may cause a laxative effect.” But those warnings would not be adequate because the biggest risk on Facebook is finding out who your friends really are. This is a part of Facebook no one seems to want to talk about. A recent article in the Wall Street Journal highlighted Facebook’s ability to ruin friendships, claiming that it limits communication to typing and encourages people to share far too much information with their poor, unsuspecting friends. Unsuspecting ‘friends’ can be the targets of many dangers, which questions how well we really know our ‘friends’. I would like to think that my Facebook friends are exactly who they say they are. But

the thought that sick stalkers could perhaps be posing as my friends is a bad dream that I try to neglect.

Virtual stalkers and scammers are not something that can be denied as one of the biggest dangers of using Facebook.

These criminals are quickly realising that posing as another person is a foolproof way to get around the ageold trust issue that can ruin a good crime.

The potential dangers of Facebook were evident in May last year when an Australian woman was murdered by two men who she had gone to meet, after befriending them on Facebook.

In October 2009 Englishman Peter Chapman, a convicted double rapist, posed as a young man called Peter Cartwright on Facebook, adding a young 17-year-old girl named Ashleigh Hall. He spent time grooming Ashleigh on Facebook before the pair exchanged phone numbers and agreed to meet.

Ashleigh was raped and suffocated by Chapman, who dumped her body in a field.

Are you the next unsuspecting ‘friend’ to be targeted? I may have very well been when I went to add my potential lover. This man could have been a stalker or a scammer who would have been willing to accept my ‘friend request’ in the hope for something more than friendship. You would never see me telling a stranger where I lived, although here I was in the process of revealing my life to a complete foreigner.

Finding and making friends online using social network sites such as Facebook has become a phenomenon of people in the pursuit for cyberspace popularity. But it has also developed into a phenomenon of people being innocently followed stalked by stalkers who have been allowed access into our lives. We are empowering them with our trust by allowing them to be our ‘friends’. But who can really define the difference between a virtual-world friend and real-life stalker?

Do not underestimate the dangers of making ‘friends’.

issue 05 2011

V IE W S G U Y’ A

by Matthew Cattin

Facebook stalking. It’s funny to listen how shamelessly this term is used in conversation. People eagerly bragging about how stealthily they are able to infiltrate the lives of people they don’t know. I once overheard a girl proudly telling her friends how she stalked down a boy with no information but his hair colour and his ex-girlfriend’s school. I was both amazed and repulsed.

Stalking has become a strange art form, like tracking wild deer. It is a hobby and a favourite past time of many and too often I have heard the words “what did we do before Facebook?”

It is a difficult topic to cover and I’m not trying to claim any moral ground in this article. As far as internet stalking goes, I am one of the worst. Sometimes I get so lost following my mouse, I end up on a complete stranger’s page - and I’m talking a ‘no mutual friends’ kind of stranger. That’s when I know I have had enough.

I don’t feel good about my stalking habits. It’s not something I am proud of and I don’t feel the need to brag about it like some. It is just too easy to temporary lose yourself in the lives of others. Perhaps voyeurism is human nature. That nagging urge to know what other people are doing. But what I find interesting is the complete comfort and, at times pride people treat the subject with, when essentially, it isn’t much different to eavesdropping, spying and generally being nosey.

I don’t think anybody with a Facebook can resist the temptation to stalk. It just puzzles me why society is so blasé about it. It’s pretty much the same as regular stalking, just on a different medium. It’s strange the things that people have no problem doing on the internet, but would shy away from in the real world.

Behind a screen, you can hide. Nobody to watch you peering through photos or conversations. You can poke who you want, ‘like’ what you want and look at what you want, and most importantly, become invisible.

Being invisible is the common stalker’s dream and it gets me wondering… If the human race had the power of invisibility, would we all be stalkers? And if everybody were stalkers, would stalking exist? I think the reason Facebook stalking is no biggie is that literally everyone does it. Even your mum. You know something has become socially acceptable when mums everywhere are jumping on the band wagon.

I bet legit stalkers were ecstatic with the social networking revolution. They can sit in a comfy chair,

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blinds down, nose to the screen, doing what stalkers do best, all without leaving the comfort of their sweaty apartments. It’s that easy. But that is precisely the problem. The ease of internet stalking has turned every innocent into a raging web predator. And Facebook seems to know this. Stalking leads to friend requests and friend requests lead to growth and popularity. So of course the geeks behind the scenes want to make stalking as easy as possible. They even suggest new people you can stalk. Ain’t that nice?

I’m sure most of you have given your mate’s new love interest a good once over check-up on Facebook. You know… Just to check if they were decent. And it’s all good right? You can totally get away with saying “hey man I Facebook stalked your new girl last night. She’s not half bad.” There’ll be fist bumps and giggles. If you remove the word ‘Facebook’ from the sentence, it’s amazing how quickly it adopts a sinister tone. But really, apart from the medium, what is the difference?

But there are two sides to every story. I don’t think that even the slimiest of Facebook stalkers deserve to bear the full brunt of the blame, especially when the candy is eagerly dangled in front of them. Can it even be called stalking when the information is put there for the purpose of being seen? People seem to have the mindset that Facebook isn’t a public domain and as virtual as it seems, it is all too real. It isn’t a private world void of consequence, it’s a public domain and should be treated as such. But oh it’s such a friendly website! It’s all good if I upload some photos of me in my bikini! Change the website and BAM! Soft pornography. Assuming the readership is sane, I think it’s safe to say most girls wouldn’t walk through their local mall pasting their bikini shots on the walls. Yet, on Facebook, it is everywhere.

As much as I would like to, it’s hard to condone Facebook stalking. Sure it’s an invasion of privacy. Sure it’s a little sad to be sitting at home clicking your way through people’s lives. But darn it is intriguing! It’s a 24/7 show, starring your friends, acquaintances and the odd stranger. The plot? Life. The friendships and the enemies, the relationships and the breakups, the exhibitionists and the ‘un-taggers’, the real and the fake.

It’s all there. How do I know?

I’ve been told…

19.

The comments are constant and the problem is serious.

Whether it’s a wolf-whistle or a string of lewd remarks, almost all women are affected by some form of street-harassment. In some countries it is called eve-teasing while in others it is referred to as public sexual harassment. Whatever the term, the issue is universal.

From a young age, often as early as puberty, around 80 per cent of women face at least occasional harassing attention in public places from male strangers. Some women face it every day. It can range from physically harmless leering, whistles, honks and nasty comments to even more insulting and threatening behaviour such as vulgar sexual comments or gestures, flashing and stalking.

People often disregard basic street harassment as merely annoying or funny. Some even see it as flattering; after all, an appreciative whistle is a good thing, right? But this kind of acceptance allows the men in question to believe their behaviour is alright, possibly even appreciated.

This can lead to more serious illegal harassment including public masturbation, physical assault and rape.

Too often the seriousness of the situation is downplayed; comments are written off as an annoyance or a compliment. Yet the fact remains, girls shouldn’t grow up thinking that cat-calling, groping and being belittled by unknown men comes part in parcel with being a woman.

After years of degrading comments and intimidating behaviour, women are now using their own voices to call out for an end to street harassment. In fact, March 20 was significant for a reason other than Ken Ring’s ‘prediction’ – it was International Anti-Street Harassment Day; a day dedicated to the aim of making public places safer and more welcoming for women. There have also been websites developed in aid of the anti-street harassment movement. Websites and blogs such as hollaback.org, stopstreetharassment.com and streetharassment.wordpress.com all highlight the reality and danger of street harassment.

poster-woman for the anti-street harassment movement. Kearl chose the issue of street harassment for her thesis and became so involved in the topic that she was inspired to create a blog around it, speak to a range of media organisations about the problem and eventually write a book - Stop Street Harassment; Making Public Spaces Safe and Welcoming for Women.

In a survey conducted by Kearl, some interesting facts about the effects of street harassment were revealed. Out of the 900 people who took part, 800 of which were women, their responses were broken down into

by Alisha Lewis sub-categories of how they felt when faced with various forms of street harassment. The results varied depending on the type of harassment. In A lot of people are hugely unaware of how the case of a wolf-whistle, 62 per cent of women prevalent this problem is within society – I felt annoyed, 40 per cent were angry, 26 per mean, come on; New Zealand isn’t like that, cent were insulted, 12 per cent were scared and right? Yet how many of you, having spotted only 8 per cent were flattered. A huge portion of a group of intimidating looking men while the women had experienced at least one truly walking home alone, have crossed to the other frightening form of harassment. Seventy-five side of the road, changed route or pretended per cent had been followed by an unknown to be talking on your cell phone while walking man in public. Out of these women, 68 per cent past? felt scared, 43 per cent were angry, 17 per cent And how did you feel when that car full of were annoyed and 10 per cent were insulted. No boys raced past and yelled obscenities out the flattery there. Go figure. window?

Street harassment is truly more than just a Such occurrences are actually so common minor annoyance. It effects social interaction, that New Zealand’s own problem with the way women view men, and most street harassment recently came under the importantly, it affects a staggering 50 per cent international spotlight. While in the country of our population. Isn’t that enough to get us to filming the animated film Yogi Bear, American sit up and take note? Yet the reason it has been actress Anna Faris was reportedly stunned socially permitted, or perhaps ‘overlooked’ for so by the disgusting behaviour of Kiwi men. long, comes down to our basic roots of gender Headlines bearing the words ‘vulgar New inequality. We may have come a long way since Zealand men’ were splashed over international the suffragette movement but women are still tabloids. It definitely wasn’t a good look for us, but Faris was not exaggerating when she relayed fighting for equality – within both a professional and social environment. the story to press in America.

Street harassment is not only a product of “I was walking home from a concert one time… I’ve got my backpack on, I’ve got my heels gender inequality but it also impedes equality as it means women are unable to enter public on. There was a carload of guys – they were in places with the same freedom as men. This their 40s – and they said, ‘Fuck you, asshole’.

Three minutes later, a car full of men said ‘show problem may not be as pronounced in New Zealand, but in many other countries women me your tits, you stupid bitch’.” almost always assess their surroundings It’s demeaning and embarrassing to have wherever they go and are forced to avoid being something like this happen to you, yet Anna’s out after dark. comments highlight an important aspect Luckily we live in a democratic country where or street harassment. It’s not just teenage freedom of speech is not only accepted, it is hooligans racing around in souped-up Subarus, or wolf-whistling road workers and truck drivers encouraged. Yet as with all rights, there are who are the perpetrators. It’s all kinds of men, of always those who abuse the system. In some all ages – even the suited up businessman on his middle-eastern nations, men would be arrested for making sexually suggestive or offensive way home after Friday night drinks. comments. I’m not saying that we should take I’m not saying all men are rude, vulgar street this extreme. Freedom of speech is a basic harassers but I am saying that this seems to be human right and vital component of democracy. an epidemic. It’s been around for years, and However, perhaps while the most common just like no one tolerates racist or homophobic forms of street harassment may not be illegal, comments anymore, sexism needs to be society should treat them as though they are. stamped out too. It’s time to act.

So, listen up ladies – and men. Encourage And women finally are taking action. One dialogue on the topic. Let’s not single men out woman in particular is Holly Kearl, the for being the perpetrators but instead let’s get them involved in taking a stand. And guys, think about how you may be encouraging street harassment without even realising it (yes, I’m talking to you, guy in the ‘FBI: Female Body Inspector’ t-shirt).

Even if you aren’t the one making the comments – or the one receiving them – it’s time to stop playing the innocent bystander card.

It’s time to speak up, and speak out.

“Hey there sexy.”

“Show us some skin.”

“Girl, you make me wanna…”

20.

issue 05 2011

Those of you that are not first years may recognise me as the chick who use to write the metal column.

Regular readers of that column will no doubt realise that I think the whole New Zealand music scene and industry is balls compared to overseas. My particular target this time is the lack of proper music festivals in New Zealand.

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Day Out.” This is where I tell you that you are wrong, so very wrong. My background being in the metal world, I’ll use some examples that I know. Wacken Open Air is the biggest open air metal festival in the world and attracts fans from over 20 countries. All 70,000 tickets sell out more than 200 days in advance of the actual show. All the bands at the festival fall under either the hard rock or heavy metal umbrella.

While that is an extreme example, I can take another example from across the ditch; the Soundwave festival which encompasses various genres of rock, metal and punk. Despite being a relative newcomer to the annual festival circuit in Australia, the crowd numbers have been around 40,000 per show (this included two sold out shows in Brisbane and Melbourne), while in 2010 BDO managed around 56,000 per show.

Not bad for a festival targeting one specific audience compared to the wide genre range of BDO. The final point I want to make about Big Day Out’s failures is the price. One hundred and 50 dollars plus booking fee for a one day

by Nureete Burnie festival. Compare that to something like SXSW in America, where you can buy a five day music pass for US$595. That’s about US$119 per day.

Or if like me you prefer the heavier side of music, a full three day ticket to Wacken Open Air including camping could set you back about As the title say, Big Day Out sucks and it is NZ$270. Or to compare to Soundwave again, disappointing that this is the only real festival that was NZ$200 for a line-up that included of note to take place in New Zealand that Iron Maiden ($150 for their New Zealand show), features overseas acts. Holding big events like this in New Zealand is always going to an issue. Slayer ($90 for their New Zealand show) and Queens of the Stone Age ($80 for their New Bands seem unwilling to make the three hour Zealand show). Yes, yes, it costs a lot to get journey from Sydney (despite the fact they bands out here; it is an endemic problem for will make the five hour journey to Perth) and when they do it’s normally at an extremely high New Zealand. But maybe someone needs to look at not offering these bands large amounts price. You could use this reason to say that the promoters of the festival are doing the best they of money, especially if they’re already going to be touring Australia. Many of the bigger bands can and it’s the artists fault for charging too already think of New Zealand as just another much or not wanting to come. Although that stop on their Australia tour, so why do we seems a bit unfair, as bands do actually need to need to sell our right arm in order to pay to get approached by a promoter first before they see them? will usually come to a country.

In my opinion BDO works well in Australia You could also say some of the fault lies because it has the population to support with the New Zealand public. A few years ago someone else tried to get a festival going by the multiple different genre festivals, but in New Zealand where it is the only festival of name of ‘Rock2WGTN’ but the turnout was significance, it offers us an overpriced array of so poor that they operated at a loss. I went to bands, of which you probably only want to see that festival and it was freaking awesome and about five. As much as we would like to think would go again given the chance. It wasn’t like we can, there are just some things we can’t it was a no name line up either. KISS and Alice Cooper headlined day one and Ozzy Osbourne do like Australia does, and music festivals are one of them. Splitting Big Day Out into maybe headlined day two. Those are proper large three or four smaller genre specific festivals overseas festival type headline acts that would have been sold out anywhere else. So how come with a much smaller price tag makes a lot of sense to me. That way you won’t have me in New Zealand they struggled to even get half elbowing you in the back while you’re watching capacity?

Bjork so I can get into a good position for Rage “Oh!” I hear you say. “But that festival was only hard rock bands, of course it’s not going to Against the Machine.

That and it needs more Iron Maiden. get the turnout of a mixed genre festival like Big

21.

10 Stars are Blind – Paris Hilton

Stars may be blind but wow, I wished my ears were deaf when this came out. Like Rebecca Black, the heiress most likely paid her way into her music ‘career’. I’d stick to your day job Paris. Wait, what is your day job?

9 I don’t want you back – Eamon

Remember this guy? He sang about a heartbreaking breakup, a relationship full of deception, how truly hurt he was and how he didn’t think he could ever forgive this woman for breaking his heart. All this was summed up with classic lines such as, “Fuck all those kisses they didn’t mean jack. Fuck you, you hoe, I don’t want you back.”

Heart wrenching.

8 We Like to Party – Vengaboys

These guys were like the 90s version of The Black Eyed Peas. We get it, you “like to party”. We hear you, “the Venga bus is coming”. Thanks for the heads up, gives us enough time to get the hell away from anywhere this song might be playing.

Rebecca Black: a name that will haunt us, and the entire music industry, forever.

Or at least until the next “worst song in music history” is released.

Because as much as lyrical gems such as “Tomorrow is Saturday, and Sunday comes afterwards” truly do seem to be the final nails in the coffin of an industry which has realised that milking the tween cash-cow is more lucrative then producing good music, Rebecca Black’s song is not the worst thing we’ve been inflicted with.

Let’s take a walk down memory lane and revisit some truly terrible moments in music history.

7 Ooh Stick You – Daphne and Celeste

Another 90s classic. If not valued for its lyrical prowess, at least the song did provide people with some handy comebacks such as “your mama, your daddy, your greasy, greasy grandmammy” and, “up your butt with a coconut”.

It even gave us a fascinating insight into the minds of the artists as we follow their stream of consciousness, “Ping-pong, why am I saying ping-pong? Ping-pong, ping-pong, ping-pong. Whatever, whatever, whatever!”.

6 Lip Gloss– Lil Mama

Hip hop’s version of Rebecca Black in terms of lyrics – “my lip gloss be poppin’, I’m standin’ at my locker, and all the boys be stoppin’” – general annoyingness and video clips featuring kids acting like they’re a lot older.

5 Every song ever written - Nickelback

Nickelback stands alone because really, how do you choose? They all sound exactly the same anyway. I present to you, a general mishmash of terrible.

4 Crazy Frog – “Axel F.”

They really should have stuck with this song’s original title: The Annoying Thing. Much more fitting. This remix of the theme song for Beverly Hills Cop, featuring annoying noises made by some Swedish dudes, not only dominated cell phone ringtones but also the singles chart. Radio station The Edge even used it as a form of torture – a woman was made to stay inside a caravan for seven days listening to this song non-stop in order to win a prize.

3 Schnappi – Gniee World

“Schni Schna Schnappi!” A by-product of the temporary insanity of the Crazy Frog era, Schnappi das kleine krokodil is a German children’s cartoon character and the bane of many people’s existence in 2005. The introductory song became a viral hit and was soon topping charts all over the world – including New Zealand. What were we thinking?

2 Time of My Life (Dirty bit) and My Humps – The Black Eyed Peas

So many to choose from with this band but these two really stuck out as being completely awful. One butchers a classic song while the other – well, it repeats the words “my humps” over and over again and also includes the words “my lovely lady lumps”, so it basically just butchers humanity.

1 Achy Breaky Heart - Billy Ray Cyrus

Billy Ray Cyrus is a sadist. He must be. It’s obvious he loves inflicting pain on the rest of the world. First through the hillbilly mess that was Achy Breaky Heart and now he’s reaching out from the afterlife of his dead career to torture us all through his daughter Miley. He was also largely responsible for bringing us the mullet. Yes, definitely a sadist.

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issue 05 2011

by Ben Matthews

For the past week or so, I have been trying to come up with a thought provoking article for this week’s issue of debate, but I have been having difficulties trying coming up with anything. However, an idea literally fell out of the sky. Okay, so it wasn’t literally and I should have allowed Microsoft word to correct the word literally to lethally, as it sums pretty much what I am about to write.

For those who haven’t heard about it yet, what I am about to write about is the song Friday by Rebecca Black. To sum it up, the song Friday has been called the worst song ever written. Rebecca Black is a 13-year-old rich kid, whose parents have pretty much paid a record company (who claim to be an indie label but I doubt that) so that they can write a song for their daughter and record her singing it. And as an added bonus, they made her a music video clip to go along with the song. But what seemed like innocent fun has turn into an internet phenomenon. Her song has gained over 20 million hits already on YouTube, and I am sure it will rise even more. But regardless of how many hits her song has got, the reason I have mentioned this god awful song is because it represents everything that is wrong with the music industry at the moment.

Let’s look at the song itself. The song is meant to be written by two adults. However, how can someone take themselves seriously writing lyrics like, “tomorrow is Saturday/ Sunday comes afterwards / I don’t want this weekend to end”. How could they let a 13-year-old kid sing the song? The lyrics to this song are just plain stupid. But most songs on the radio at the moment are also stupid. Let’s look at the word “party”. With the majority of songs on the radio classed as dance music, partying and having a great time is pretty much the main theme to every song. But to go to extremes of Friday is unthinkable. I mean, two of its catchiest lines are “partying, partying, yeah/ partying, partying, yeah/ fun, fun, fun, fun”. Anyone could write a song that awful without having to be paid large sums of money.

But it’s not just the song that is the problem; it’s also the way it has been recorded. Like most pop songs today, this song has been put through auto-tune. Correction: this song has been butchered through auto-tune. Because of

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this, Rebecca Black sounds like some kind of robot, programmed to sing, instead of a 13-yearold girl. Auto-tune should be banned. I am sick and tired of artist using it just to make sure that their vocals is spot on. Have we become this perfected? And would people seriously rather listen to robots without any emotions at all?

Where have all the Bob Dylans in this world gone? Music is not just about being good at singing, it’s more than that. And the backing track, I could do that on my computer, and do it just as good within an hour or so.

But the foundation that holds this song together is the music video. From the very beginning, with crappy animation, you know that it’s gonna be a crap song. When the music video starts with the singer waking up, you should just give up there and then. However, they continued making the video, with the girl coming of her house and waving at her friends, who are driving in a convertible. This raises the question; if they are 13, isn’t driving a car illegal?

However, seeming that the rest of the song is illogical, it doesn’t really matter if they are allowed to drive or not. But the best worst part of the video is during the bridge, where some random rapper comes in and raps about being in the front seat or being in the back seat.

I have to feel sorry for the girl; I don’t think she wanted this type of fame. Yes, it is most girls’ dream to become famous, but when it happens for real, reality is very different from

what Hollywood wants you to believe. I think programs such as American Idol and X Factor are to blame for this, people assume you become famous overnight. However, a lot of the artists that have stood the test of time had to work for their fame. The Beatles played for two years to crowds of drunken sailors before anyone started to take any notice of them and they are regarded as the greatest band of all time. I find most overnight successes tend to only last for a few months or so before the novelty starts to wear off.

For Rebecca Black, I feel as if she has been exploited. No record company would get the artist to sing an obviously crap song without an agenda and I am also sure Rebecca Black realised the song was crap before recording, only to go with it because she knew her parents had paid these people good money to write the song. Now she is stuck in a nightmare. The record company will get millions of dollars from her and she has been opened to the world of internet from cyber attacks. I am a firm believer that kids should not be thrown into the spotlight at such a young age.

Maybe I should stop ranting, especially about crappy pop music sang by a spoilt 13-year-old girl.

23.

Hip hop, you don’t

stop

by Joshua Martin New Zealand has become a place where you can’t walk down a street, or into a mall, without catching an improvised performance from some energetic young person shaking their hips, nodding their heads, tapping their toes or dropping down and getting their metaphorical eagle on. We have become a nation where dancing is no longer an act confined to the safety of a mirror in one’s bedroom, nor to the hallowed halls of an old theatre. Indeed, this art form has done as Lil’ Kim suggested in the 2004 film, You Got Served, and has “take(n) it to the streets”.

The development of hip hop dance (otherwise referred to as urban, fusion or street dance) in New Zealand has been swift and unrelenting.

We could attribute the success of this genre to many people and many dance crews, and in fact, there are great debates about who really started the movement here in New Zealand.

Prestige Dance Crew are perhaps the best known founders of hip hop here in New Zealand. They formed out of a desire to dance, despite the social stigma that was attached to males dancing. In 2006, they returned home from the Hip Hop International dance championships over in Los Angeles, with a silver medal- the first medal received by any New Zealand hip hop dance team on the international stage. As a result of this honour, not only did they put our country on the map for hip hop dance, but they also started the ball rolling on a movement, excuse the pun, that has inundated New Zealand since. From here there was spawned many other all male dance crews, mixed dance crews, and an inundation of dance crews full stop. One of the more notable members of this team is New Zealand rnb music star, J Williams.

AUT has had the privilege of seeing some of their own students participate in shaping the hip hop dance scene here and abroad, including Byron Borja and Jed Bonnevie from the crowd

24.

favourite Odyssey Dance Crew. This team uses a blend of b-boying, isolation, reggaeton, locking and new school choreography. Allister Salaivao, choreographer for Prestige Dance Crew says Odyssey is made up of strong and persistent dancers.

“They’ve always entered competitions and whether they achieve the top spot or not, they continue to stay strong and keep going as a crew. I think that is a great value and a perfect example of what makes a great team”.

Another student hip hopper is communications student Elana Kluner, who is a member of the all girls dance troop, Monroe.

This team brings their own style of feminism and elegance to the hip hop dance world. Then there are AUT students Vani Toelau and Kamy Mam from all male dance crew Nameless. They have created a team that has a strength that lies in tight choreography, creative formations and perfect synchronization.

Nameless was created and helmed by AUT international business major Joe Ling who, since leaving the crew a year ago, has formed a new team of young men called Sound Vision.

Their aim is to take the hip hop dance scene even further than where it’s been so far by providing affordable dance classes, creating conceptual videos for YouTube and by continuing to personally up skill in this genre.

Aspirations that have already begun to bear fruit within the dance scene through running regular Wednesday dance classes at TAPAC for an unheard of $5 per person.

However, it doesn’t stop there, Joe Ling as part of his final semester, has approached international dance company Movement Lifestyle, which is based in San Francisco, to intern under a gaggle of some of the world’s top and most well respected hip hop dancers, choreographers and business people including Keone Madrid, Mari Martin, Jeka Jane, Vinh Nguyen as well as internet sensation

and founder of Movement Lifestyle, Shaun Evaristo. Ling’s goal is to develop not only as a businessman, but also as a dancer and a member of the New Zealand hip hop scene.

“I want to go and up skill, and become a stronger dancer and businessman, but on completion of my internship, I want to bring back the knowledge I’ve gained and reinvest it back into the dance scene back here.”

This noble goal is one that is sure to leave a legacy behind him both here and abroad.

However, a new breed of legend has arisen in the form of all female dance crew ReQuest.

They have two gold medals from Hip Hop International under their belts, and a style of hip hop that has been masterfully crafted by Creative Director and Leader, Parris Goebel. In an attempt to step into a realm no other New Zealand team has tread before, they hopped a plane to Los Angeles, where successfully gained one of ten spots from a nationwide audition process, to star in the sixth season of MTV’s hit TV show, Randy Jackson Presents- America’s Best Dance Crew.

With choreographers travelling the world and dancers taking on the who’s who of the international dance scene, it is fair to say that New Zealanders are not only legends within film, music and rugby, but indeed brand new legends of hip hop dance.

When asked what he thought of hip hop dance, Prime Minister John Key answered the question by taking Prestige Dance Crew with him on a trip to the Pacific Islands in 2009 in acknowledgement of the important role hip hop has come to play in youth culture, “hip hop represents the culture of what New Zealand youth are passionate about nowadays”.

For a country that has only been doing hip hop dance for a miniscule amount of time, New Zealand has left its mark on the world as a force to be reckoned with, and a country that refuses to be upstaged.

issue 05 2011

by Ashleigh Muir Craft doesn’t always go according to plan. I think it is very important to realise before you start that the final product might not turn out exactly as you had planned. Sometimes, when you follow the instructions what you end up with doesn’t quite look like the picture.

But never fear. That is the nature of craft and as long as you expect it, you can deal with it when it turns up.

This week, while scouring the internet for ideas I came across wine glass charms. They were very cute, handmade with beads and already formed perfect circles. Needless to say Spotlight did not stock these perfect circles. So I picked up some beading wire, some pretty beads and headed on my way.

The idea of a wine glass charms, is to individualise each wine glass.

You will no longer find yourself asking your friends, “is this your wine glass or mine?”. This, I always find, is particularly helpful as the night wears on.

This project requires six or eight distinctive beads, or ribbons depending on how many wine glasses you have. You can do this by following the same pattern but use different colours or you can make each charm completely individual.

I quickly learnt that the beading wire was too thin and malleable. It moved far too easily and wasn’t really suited to the project. So there I was, having a minor freak out trying to work out how I was going to make these wine glass charms. The answer? Paperclips. I kid you not.

Unfold paperclips so they are as straight as you can make them, and then curve them around something about the right size. Glue sticks, cellotape rolls or pill bottles are all great for this. Thread your beads onto the circular paperclips. Using needle-nose pliers bend the very tips of each end away so that when pushed together they hook onto one another.

This final touch is all thanks to my mum. I had tried other ways of closing the wine charms but none seemed to be working. It was my mum who suggested making a hook out of the ends. When things aren’t going quite according to plan, it is often best to walk away for a while and come back. Show someone else and explain what isn’t working. They might have an idea that will solve all of your problems.

Craft is definitely not an exact science. I like to think of instructions as general guidelines. Use them to get a vague idea of what you are going to do. A lot of the fun of craft is making it up as you go along, learning what works and what doesn’t. You should be inspired by someone else’s idea and make your own version.

Don’t be worried if your project doesn’t turn out perfect. Craft has character, so if your wine glass charms are not perfect circles, embrace their uniqueness and be proud of your work.

Perfection is boring anyway.

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by Jess Etheridge As four strong, female icons of the 90s/early 00s traipsed through the desert during 2010 in their very best Gucci and Chanel outfits, making jokes about their hoo-hoos, millions of people around the world let out a communal sigh. Should the Sex and the City franchise have even been touched after it was laid to rest, for what fans believed, forever in 2004? Yeah, the first one was pretty good and considering I have never watched the television show in my life, I did enjoy it, but the sequel left many critics and fans fuming. Should something so sacred and important to women in the 1990s have been given the film treatment?

Other perfectly created and significant shows spring to mind, such as Friends and Arrested Development, as well as shows which found niche audiences but weren’t such consistent big hits, like Veronica Mars and Gilmore Girls. Long after they’ve finished and the actors have moved onto (mostly) better projects, the rumour mill gets people buzzing about reliving their favourite show just one last time.

Friends is certainly a show I would love to see on the big screen, however where would it pick up? Ten years later? What would the film centre around? So many questions that need answering! All the actors are at a point in their lives where they need something big and could probably do with the money. It’s surprising that the one who has been most successful is Courtney Cox Arquette.

She set herself up with the Scream series during the 90s, which a new installation to the series will be released later this year, tried her hand at a couple of different TV shows – Dirt being the most outthere role she’s probably ever had – and has now found some solid comedic ground with Cougar Town. It doesn’t hurt that she’s in a high profile relationship and is still best friends with Jennifer Aniston, who has had the worst luck with both films and her romantic life - poor woman. The rest of the cast? They’ve done alright for themselves but even though Lisa Kudrow does a great job in Easy A, the hysterical high-pitched talking and rabbiting on still reminds everyone of Phoebe.

The whole mystery surrounding the Arrested Development saga has been interesting to watch. The film has been on, then it’s off, then the cast say they’re in but the writers don’t know what they’re doing, etc. There’s been a lot of uncertainty to say the least. However I think if this film were to happen it would be a really good introduction for people who have never seen the show before. I wasn’t the biggest fan but I could definitely give it a go considering just how many people want it to happen. It’s a funny, witty, intelligent comedy show with really clever writers who could probably handle writing a full-length feature film script.

The major issue, which was so prominent in Sex and the City 2, is some writers just do not know how to handle writing for film, compared for writing for the small screen. How do you make a film which is around 90 minutes long funny while holding together a strong story line at the same time? When characters such as Ross, Rachel, Monica, Chandler, Joey and Phoebe are considered international treasures, the pressure is definitely on the writers to do them justice.

Oh and Samantha (you know, the editor) just informed me that 24 has been green lit for a film. As Phoebe would say: This is brand new information!!!

25.

Now that’s what I call

horoscopes Volume Five Now Hating

The price of New Zealand broadband

You would think that, seeing it’s one of the biggest communication methods in New Zealand, we’d have competitive broadband prices, but no, we’re still stuck paying astronomical prices to get basic broadband.

If you live in a flat of four and each of you watch two streamed episodes of on demand television (because students don’t pirate of course) then over a month you will use almost 13GBs. And that’s not including all the Facebook stalking, YouTube watching and Skyping. Oh, and studying as well. And since internet is already ridiculously slow compared to other parts of the world (or even at uni) you’re forced into getting a phone line you don’t want, and are paying upwards of $95 a month, depending on what provider you’re with. Here’s a thought telco giants: spend less time creating ridiculously large text bundles and either cut the cost of broadband or make it worth paying triple figures for.

Now Reading

Pride and Prejudice

While today’s teenage generation are falling head over heads for characters that are technically dead, you don’t have to fall into the trap. Put down your Twilight or your Nicholas Sparks romance and get into one of the original romance novels – Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. You can rent out a copy at the library (yeah, they still exist) or shell out $13 for one of those hipster-looking orange Penguin paperbacks. It deals with everything: love, marriage, society, morality and Jane Austen even manages to inject some humour into it as well. You’ll be smarter and more cultured for reading it and will finally be able to appreciate Jane Austen references. Plus, it’s a lot easier to read than Wuthering Heights, which has got to be one of the most depressing stories of all time.

Make sure you rent out the BBC miniseries after you’ve finished and droll over Colin Firth as Mr Darcy. Just don’t get out the Keira Knightley film, because that is just bad.

Now Catching Up Harry Potter

There’s still more than 100 days until the final part of the wizarding phenomenon but now’s the time to start the epic recap of the seven books and seven films that have defined our generation.

Organise a Harry Potter movie night each week with your friends and marvel (or laugh) at how young DanRad and co used to be.

Bonus points for any themed parties.

Now Watching

Nick Pitera’s Disney Medley

I can’t say much about this YouTube video except to say that if you are a Disney fiend (like myself) you will love this medley that YouTube star Nick Pitera has put together. Search for the almost nine minute medley and be amazed. Remember, he’s not lip-syncing. At all.

ARIES (March 21-April 19)

Respond to all questions this week with quotes from Mean Girls. When in doubt, resort to the classic “that is so fetch”.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20)

You need some new undies. Not a prediction, just a fact.

GEMINI (May 21-June 21)

Remember, the early bird may get the worm but the partying night owl gets a thermonuclear butter chicken pie.

CANCER (June 22-July 22)

Ke$ha is not a style icon. Repeat, Ke$ha is not a style icon.

LEO (July 23-August 22)

The stars sense magic in your sign this week. This can only mean two things; Harry Potter is real or you’re going to have an awkward encounter with a magician. Hope for the former.

VIRGO (August 23-September 22)

Stay away from corn, spinach and multigrain bread this week. You know why.

LIBRA (September 23-October 23)

Practice your runway walk by downloading the Top Model theme song and playing it at full volume while you’re strutting around campus.

SCORPIO (October 24-November 21)

The stars are watching you closely this week. Make sure you’re closing the blinds when you sleep.

SAGITTARIUS (November22-Dec21)

Make it your mission this week to get someone famous to reply to you on Twitter. New Zealand “celebs” don’t count.

CAPRICORN (December 22-January 19) Channel your inner granny and take up knitting, baking and lawn bowls. Do them all while wearing leather.

AQUARIUS (January 20-Febuary 18)

Start working on your sprint speed, because the stars see a close encounter with the assignment drop box this week.

PISCES (Febuary 19-March 20)

This week, use all your internet credit to YouTube videos of animals dancing. You won’t regret it.

If you think you’re on the pulse with what’s happening in Auckland, email debate@aut.ac.nz with your own Suggestions for Volume Six.

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issue 05 2011

Dear Agony Aunt This Agony Aunt column is brought to you by the team at Health, Counselling and Wellbeing. If you have a question you would like answered email debate@aut.ac.nz and put Agony Aunt as the subject or drop it in to the Health, Counselling and Wellbeing office.

Dear Agony Aunt

Is it true that you can’t get pregnant if you have sex on you period?

From Not Sure

Dear Not Sure

No, you CAN get pregnant if you have sex while you are having your period. Sperm can live for up to seven days inside your body. You may release an egg (ovulate) very soon after your period and if there are some sperm hanging around from previous sex there is a chance they will fertilise your egg resulting in a pregnancy. Don’t risk it, use a condom every time.

by Katie Montgomerie Hello all, I hope you’re ready for another long week! I firmly believe that uni students have a hard life. Not only are we at uni all week but we have to fit in time for a part-time job and still have time for some hard partying on weekends!

And yet again UrbanDictionary.com doesn’t fail to provide me with appropriate words that all students should know in order to explain our complicated lives.

Pillow Lust

The feeling that uni students experience when they have had an exceptionally long week and are so exhausted that the idea of their face hitting their pillow sounds so utterly fantastic, it’s almost sexual.

Example “Oh dude, it’s been such a long week. I’ve got pillow lust, and I’ve got it bad!”

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I think I masturbate too much; I am beginning to think there might be something wrong with me. I feel good when I’m doing it but really bad after like I’m doing something really dirty. I know it’s natural to masturbate so why do I feel so guilty? I think it is getting worse as it’s on my mind all the time. I am a 20-year-old male in my first year at uni.

Do you think I could have an addiction? I don’t have many friends and sometimes I feel lonely. Maybe I need to get out more. What do you think?

From X?

Dear X

I think you just answered your own question. You sound as if you are spending too much time on your own. There is nothing wrong with masturbation; it’s a perfectly natural thing to do and you should not feel guilty or dirty. I think you need to make an effort to get out and about more and make some new friends. You will probably find once you are socialising and filling your mind with other things then you will probably feel the urge to masturbate less frequently. It’s easy to become self-absorbed if you are spending most of your time on your own. Start by having a look at the AuSM website, getting involved in some of their activities is a great way to make new friends.

(s) of the week with UrbanDictionary.com Pillow lust can often be followed by something I’m sure all students will recognise...

Sleep Brain

This is the evil part of your brain that activates in mornings and tries to trick you into sleeping in. It often attempts to fool you into thinking you have already woken up. It does this by making you dream that you have already got up and are getting ready for university.

Example “I’m sorry I missed the tutorial this morning!

I think sleep brain turned off my alarm this morning cause I don’t remember doing it!”

You can almost always tell the people who have experienced sleep brain, especially in the 8am classes. They’re the ones who rush in with a wild look in their eyes and often have mismatched socks. Although our next word and sleep brain can often correlate, it is also handy in identifying the students who fall asleep in particularly boring lecture

Sleep Creases

The marks on your face after you have been sleeping on a textured surface such as; a desk, textbook, pens and pencils and those pillow cases with lacy crap on them.

Example “I saw Suzie coming out of the lecture with sleep creases all over her cheek and I knew (insert really boring lecturer’s name here) must have been on the podium today.”

Although all students will experience these three things at some stage in their time at uni, I’m experiencing a particularly bad bout of pillow lust right now. So that’s all for now, see ya next week!

27.

by Heather Rutherford After the strenuous life of university, many of us cannot wait to get into the “real world”. We leave with our degree, ready to take on life and start earning some real money. Unfortunately, for many of us with this dream, it is often not long after university that reality hits us square in the face. Sadly, in New Zealand this general rule of after-uni life is doubly true if you wish to pursue a career in fashion. Very few of us get “lucky breaks” and most have to slog it out for years before getting anywhere. Former AUT student Blaire Archibald completed his honours in fashion design last year and has since then been faced with that daunting open road that we all, inevitably, will face one day soon. Unlike most of us however, Blaire has a few rare cards up his sleeve. To name just a few, he is undeniably talented, has one of those personalities that everyone just warms to, he is incredibly motivated and hard working and is fiercely intelligent on top of all that. And if you were to look at his fashion accomplishments so far, you could even argue that he has already in fact, had a successful and full career. With numerous magazines interested in him (he even got a mention in the prestigious iD magazine; we were all really jealous!), a stockist for his menswear line already lined up and even showing in New Zealand Fashion Week - what more could you ask for really? In my opinion Blaire’s most important personal attribute, and the one that will ensure his success, is his perseverance. Very few of us have it (as much as we would like to think we do) but for those who do, the opportunities are endless. It is because of this that we are all really sure we have an amazing success story in the making on our hands with Blaire Archibald. I asked him a few questions about the reality he has faced since making his foray into the “real world”.

How have you found branching out into the ‘real world’ after fashion school?

It’s been rather difficult. I was aware of the limitations in work in the industry while I was still studying so I guess I was somewhat prepared to look for work but it has still been a struggle because I am persistent to work in menswear despite how small the market is. I’m preparing to move to Melbourne in the coming weeks and the availability of work there is much greater.

How are you endeavouring to push yourself and career in the fashion industry forward?

It becomes quite a shock to leave the regularity of university and be unsure about where to go from there. A website has been something I’ve talked about for a long time and it is finally under construction and will be ready by the end of the month. Creating projects for yourself is really important because it provides the incentive to keep working on your skills as a designer, despite no longer being amongst the studio environment that university provides. I also have my range from fashion week stocked in a store in the city and have generated clients as a result which circulates more work. It sounds rather obvious but the key is to take it upon yourself to get people aware of your work and present it with great integrity and enthusiasm.

How have you found the New Zealand fashion industry as a whole?

It is always a difficult thing to consider for me because I am intrigued by the space there is for new designers in New Zealand, particularly in menswear, but at the same time it is a struggle to get financial backing and mentoring to help get that talent off the ground. Personally I’ve found people very receptive to what I do, but they do believe my work has such a strong European influence that it will take some time for it find a place within the New Zealand industry. It is very gratifying to know there are a small number of people who invest in my clothes but I would like to travel before I decide where I would like to be placed as a designer.

Keep an eye out for this guy in the future.

All of us who have seen his work are highly anticipating his expansion in the New Zealand menswear fashion scene to breathe a bit of fresh air, fun, and creativity into it. New Zealand fashion will be a much better place for it!

Fall Collection 2010

Blaire Archibald Pour Homme

28.

issue 05 2011

Kate Reeves Diploma in Early Childhood Teaching Everything from dressmart

by Red Fox

www.ausm.org.nz

Sangho Ha Bachelor of Fashion Design (second year) Hat: Mm6 Cardigan: Workshop Jeans: Street

Nadine Laburada Bachelor of Fashion Design (second year) Everything from Topshop

Let us take a moment.

Glance around at the people sitting nearest you.

If you are in a crowded place, I guarantee you’ll see one of them. If not, I’m sure you’ll know what I’m talking about in a minute.

It sits perched, like some kind of bizarre horn. It wobbles like a bobble-head dog when she talks. It probably couldn’t be sitting any higher on her head.

It’s hideous.

Have you guessed yet?

I am talking, dear students, about the HIGH BUN. Okay. Straight up. What is with the high bun craze that has swept AUT like some kind of virus? Why are girls suddenly putting their hair so high up on top of their head it’s in danger of falling off?

I get that it’s convenient. You wake up in the morning, stuff your hair into a bun and leave your house with a heavy bag and your mind on assessments. Cool. I understand that kind of bun. I do it myself sometimes.

But it’s this new, precision type bun that makes me want to take a pair of hedge clippers to uni and cut off every single one I see. Delicately wrapped and positioned on the verge of the forehead, girls at AUT bobble about, happily sporting a hair-horn.

Perhaps the high-bun is a status symbol. Perhaps the girl with the highest bun has the most power. Or the biggest ego. Or the biggest dedication to fashion. Whatever the reason, the bottom line is, high buns look stupid. Seriously.

But it’s not just girls at AUT sporting the hair-horns. I see them everywhere in the streets.

In schools. Shopping malls. It even appears that the hair-horn virus has spread further south, invading places like Hamilton (which seriously doesn’t need any more kinds of ‘diseases’, if you catch my drift).

Then there’s what I like to call ‘The Trifector’ – the ultimate combination, if you will. That is, girls with 1) the hair-horn, 2) black Converse high tops and 3) a Kathmandu puffer jacket.

Occasionally there is a variation of one and two. She might have ugg boots or a side pony instead. Either way, I think it’s safe to say you know what I’m talking about.

I understand that it’s a trend. Fashion. But there comes a point when you start to look like a clone. Start to become just one drop in an ocean of puffer jackets. Of course there’s more to a person than just their hair-horn. But come on, accept the truth.

High buns are fucking gross.

29.

My Wedding and Other Secrets Directed by Roseanne Liang

with a Chinese female grocer. But there is an underlying truth that in reality, both cultures Film Review by Melissa Low (A) can still fail to understand and accept one another, something which was interesting to showcase to a multicultural audience.

The only flaw I find with this movie is the lack of screen-time some of the secondary characters got. James’s flatmates Neil (also known as big-haired Cash Convertors guy) and Tom were two really entertaining comedy characters that I wished had more to say throughout the film. Same with Emily’s sister, There was one word that ran through my mind Susan, who had an interesting back-story, but through most of this movie: Awkward. The not much said about her current situation characters are awkward and the situations are through the film. Also, Eric, Emily’s filmmaking awkward, but it is this awkwardness that gives ‘frenemy,’ gets a drastic haircut in the middle of the movie its strengths, making it a captivating the film where his hair goes from a long Kurt and charming Kiwi romantic comedy.

Cobain hairstyle to a short hipster cut. When Directed and co-written by Kiwi Chinese he had reappeared in the middle of the story, I Roseanne Liang, this film is based on her own didn’t recognise what character he was, which complicated cross-cultural love story that was had me momentarily distracted. originally showcased in the 2005 documentary, Ultimately, My Wedding and Other Secrets Banana in a Nutshell. Set in Auckland, the provides a new take to the merging cultures character Emily (Michelle Ang) is an ambitious of the European and Chinese that hasn’t but geeky film student with large nerdy glasses previously been seen in a New Zealand feature and a dream to make a spectacular Kung film. Though the storyline of complicated Fu feature film. Liang’s real life husband is relationships is not something new to cinema, recreated as the white and nerdy, cereal-loving Roseanne Liang’s true life story brings a fresh, James (Go Girls’ Matt Whelan). Put these two funny tale in a familiar Kiwi setting. For a true characters together and it becomes an awkward love story, this is a story that shows love in its situation where both of them “don’t know how truest form. to kiss” but quickly fall into love.

Both unfortunately were unprepared for Red Riding Hood the reality that Emily’s traditional Hong Kong Directed by Catherine Hardwicke immigrant parents (played by Kenneth Tsang and Cheng Pei Pei) would disapprove of Emily’s Film Review by Samantha McQueen (D) relationship with a man who wasn’t Chinese.

Emily, with fears of becoming disowned, pulls James into a Romeo and Juliet romance, trying desperately hard to hide their relationship and still remain the obedient Chinese daughter. But as Emily’s plans to keep everyone happy end up pushing them away, she beings to realise that there is a deeper meaning to love she had not Don’t be fooled by the sinister trailer; Red seen before.

Riding Hood is just another bad overdramatic This film is filled with so many different teenage love story relying too heavily on snowconflicts as it deals with the issues of love, capped mountains and Amanda Seyfried’s doe relationships, families and ambition. Ang and eyes to hold this “fairytale” together.

Whelan portray their respective characters This “modern” take on the classic tale sees with great comedic personalities, entertaining us transported to the medieval village of the audience through their range of odd and Daggerhorn, a town known for its legend, awkward mannerisms. However, when the rather than name. Ms Hood is Valerie story does get serious, their frustrations on screen feel so painfully personal that audiences (Seyfried), who is thrust into the heroine role when her older sister is slain by a werewolf, can’t help but sympathise, relate and feel who has come out of a 20 year retirement to emotional at their situations. start slaying villagers again during the blood There are also many references to the cross-cultural differences between Pakeha and moon. After a small group of male villagers fail to kill the wolf, the big guns are called in, in the Chinese. At times it is very comedic, such as form of Father Solomon (Gary Oldman) who James’s disturbed encounter with a cooked wears silver nails and has previous experience chicken head, or his Mandarin conversations

30.

with the mythical beasts. Like previous fantasies, the killer wolf spends his days disguised as a villager and Valerie spends the next few days believing it could be anyone from the creepy, bug-eyed neighbour to one of her duelling loves, childhood sweetheart Peter (Shiloh Fernandez) or the rich suitor, Henry (Max Irons). Yes, Valerie is torn between the guy that’s all wrong for her and the guy her parents approve of. Sound familiar?

Director Catherine Hardwicke made her first mistake by choosing a film adaption with similar themes to Twilight as her film follow up. Her second mistake is making Red Riding Hood look almost identical. Sweeping camera angles over snow-topped, pine tree mountains?

Check. A blue-tinted colour hue? Check. Shaky, distracting, handheld camera techniques contrasted with panning scenery shots? Check.

Foreboding voiceovers by the heroine? Check.

An innocent animal captured? Check. Billy Burke playing the father of the heroine? Check.

The only differences between this fantasy “horror” and the former is that the male leads are not nearly as appealing on the eye. It’s a shame really, because her directorial debut, Thirteen, showcases the grungy, independent style she keeps trying to replicate in the blockbusters.

Amanda Seyfried (Dear John, Mamma Mia!) is the only thing keeping this film from being a straight-to-DVD release – and that’s not saying much. She’s certainly the prettiest girl in the village and has perfect “my, what big eyes you have” (a line painfully used in David Johnson’s script), but there’s nothing spectacular about her performance. It seems all the theatrics are left to Gary Oldman, who doesn’t just dip a toe into the melodrama, but dives straight in to try and pull this film out of the plodding fantasy soap that it’s become. It doesn’t work. Neither does the dreadlocked, carb-loving version of the grandmother Julie Christie tries to pull off.

You can painfully see what has tried to be created with Red Riding Hood. But everyone, except for Hardwicke, seems to realise the ridiculousness of the whole get up and delivers their lines like they’re the reluctant sacrifice for Hardwicke’s career.

Britney Spears Femme Fatale

Album Review by Samantha McQueen (B-)

issue 05 2011

Those expecting an album filled with sweet Britney ballads and bubblegum pop tunes will be disappointed with Femme Fatale, her seventh studio album. In fact, she’s almost abandoned the pop genre altogether with this album, well and truly descending into the Euro-electro dance genre.

The album starts off on a high, opening with Till The World Ends, an in-your-face dance anthem that will be one of 2011’s power songs.

Written by pop trash princess Ke$ha, the opening track on Femme Fatale sounds like they’ve invaded a European night club, placed Britney in the centre of the dance floor and let the thousands of drunken revellers worship her with glow sticks and waves of electro synths.

Her voice, normally nasally and saccharine, dominates the verses and bridges, before letting the star of the song, the swelling sea of house beats, take over the track. You can also hear Ke$ha’s distinctive influence, particularly in the song’s intro.

It’s certainly better than the album’s first single, Hold It Against Me, which takes listeners on a butchered trip down the history of dance music. There is a heavy bass line, trance-like bridges and a mainstream dubstep instrumental. It’s one of the stronger songs on the album, but Till The World Ends would have definitely made a louder voice than this single.

Still, points for its catchy lyrics and hooks – a lot of the tracks have warped Britney’s voice so much it’s hard to even make out the lyrics of some songs.

Producers Max Martin (who is responsible for Britney’s first three studio albums) and Dr Luke (who co-produced Circus) have heavily relied on effects to showcase this album. On several tracks, including How I Roll and Seal With A Kiss (both so-so songs), Britney’s voice is morphed into a robotic shell of its former self. Drop Dead Gorgeous is the worst auto-tune offender, making a ordinary dance track unlistenable.

I don’t know what guest singer Sabi sounds like in real life, but I sure hope it’s better than what’s on display on this track.

While most of Femme Fatale’s tracks reference sex and partying, Britney still gets a chance to sing about something real. Criminal has some of the most dark and emotionally honest lyrics on the album, like “He lies, he bluffs, he’s unreliable/He is a sucker with a gun”. Her voice is at its most unedited here (which isn’t saying there isn’t the hint of auto-tune), but unfortunately it ebbs along, rather than rising and soaring with emotion. And let’s not even talk about the recorder interlude that pops up more than once.

Femme Fatale is not Britney’s best work to date, but it’s also not her worst. She’s taken a

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chance at other genres and when it’s worked, like in Till The World Ends and I Wanna Go, it makes your heart – and feet – beat for Britney. It’s just a shame some of her classic style has been lost in the process.

Olly Murs Olly Murs

Album Review by Ben Matthews

expectations. His album is an enjoyable listen and would be suited for a relaxing weekend morning when you don’t want do anything but cool down and ponder.

Sherpa

Pretty Cool Optical Illusions (A-)

Although I’m usually not interested in mainstream music, I decided to give this album a try. My first impression was that it was going to be cliché pop album, and the fact that Olly Murs came runner up on X Factor in Great Britain worsened my fears about the album. However, I decided to listen to it and surprisingly, I actually liked the album. (Thanks to Fletch and Vaughan on The Edge for giving the album to my sister as a prize, or else I wouldn’t have reviewed it.)

I have to admit, Olly Murs is very talented. The self-titled album tackles a few genres during its duration, from rock music to reggae to ballads.

The album starts off with the rocker Change Is Gonna Come, which grabs your attention with his soulful vocals. Thinking of Me and Busy features reggae beats with catchy vocals, with the song Busy sounding very similar to the song Billionaire by Bruno Mars and Travie McCoy, which highlights Olly Murs’ bluesy style. I Blame Hollywood features bouncy piano and catchier vocals. The ballads, Ask Me To Stay and Heart On My Sleeves, are a nice addition, featuring Olly Murs’ soulful vocals to a piano and violins. Hold On is a poppy song where the vocals are catchy and gets into your head. Accidental is another bluesy rnb inspired song, with more reggae beats.

Finally, Please Don’t Let Me Go, a song that has been played quite a lot on the radio, is a cool laidback reggae song. It is not surprise that it went to number one on the British pop chart.

Lyric wise, the album mainly deals mainly with love and heartbreak, something you would expect from most mainstream music. However, unlike other artists at this current moment, Olly Murs’ lyrics don’t feel cliché. Everything seems to flow together well, as if he has put thought into the words that feature in his songs. Personally, I like the lyrics to Hold On, reflecting him as a good role model on the younger generation that are going to listen to his stuff.

In conclusion, Olly Murs is a pretty good debut album. It serves its purpose and it makes you want more. He has definitely exceeded

EP Review by Ben Matthews

(A-)

Local indie favourite Sherpa has returned with their second EP. Although it has been over a year since their last release, it was worth the wait. You can tell the band has grown up since their last release. Not only are they sharper as a group, but Earl Ho, their front-man, has improved in his song-writing skills. They don’t seem to be bothered now trying to force that number one hit, instead letting everything flow together.

Their first EP, I’m Sparkler, was a disappointment. Not only did it not live up to their demo, but it also felt overproduced. But that might have been due to them having only just left high school at the time. Now that they have gained a few more years of experience, it shows in their music. The new EP sounds more raw, more natural and more mature.

The album begins with an insane solo from Ho, before he begins singing in his whiny vocals; this time it’s an advantage whereas during the last EP his vocals became annoying after a while. The first track, Personal Destiny, is a short one, which moves onto the next song, Answer Machine.

Batman Through A Telescope sounds like a song which The Vines could have written, a psychedelic grungy song, something that would have been a hit in the early 90s. Cool Fool is an extremely raw song in which the band lets loose. The song sounds like some weird cow punk song with Ho’s whinny vocals coming in full play again. The album ends with another catchy pop song, Lol Wut. All in all, Sherpa have seemed to have learned from the the mistakes they made in their last EP. Pretty Cool Optical Illusions might not be perfect (the EP does feel a bit too short), but it is a worthwhile listen. And with the announcement of debut album, hopefully Sherpa will step up their game even more, and give us an album that is truly awesome.

31.

32.

issue 05 2011

Spot the Difference

Name Phone # suckerpunch.pdf Email Campus

1

22/03/11

Correctly identify the five differences in the two photos then circle them and drop your entry into your nearest AuSM office, or the box on the side of the red debate stands, or post to debate PO Box 6116 Wellesley St before 12pm Thursday. What’s up for grabs? Two “squawk burgers” vouchers for Velvet Burger on Fort St, Auckland CBD. Congratulations to last week’s winner: Scott Campbell, City campus!

11:43 AM

DOUBLE in-season passes!

Close your eyes. Open your mind. You will be unprepared.

Sucker Punch is an epic action fantasy that takes us into the vivid imagination of a young girl whose dream world provides the ultimate escape from her darker reality. Unrestrained by the boundaries of time and place, she is free to go where her mind takes her, and her incredible adventures blur the lines between what’s real and what is imaginary.

To enter, email debate at debate@aut.ac.nz with “Sucker Punch” in the subject line.

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RATING:M (CONTAINS VIOLENCE)

33.

Erica Donald

Bachelor of Communications

What are your thoughts on student loans changes being a possibility in the 2011 Budget?

I think they should just keep them the way they are cause without them we’re all screwed How many Super Rugby games have you watched this year?

None What’s the most badass thing you’ve done as a student?

I survived the Christchurch earthquake Which television character would you most like to befriend or date in real life?

Oh god, this is a good one. I probably would like to be friends with Lily on How I Met Your Mother because she’s awesome Would you rather be the fastest runner on earth or be able to fly, but only at a maximum speed of 10km/h?

Fly, definitely fly. Running’s too original

Abby Doyle-Lissetts

Bachelor of Communications

What are your thoughts on student loans changes being a possibility in the 2011 Budget?

I think they’re good the way they are How many Super Rugby games have you watched this year?

None What’s the most badass thing you’ve done as a student?

I slept in and didn’t go to class. Not very badass Which television character would you most like to befriend or date in real life?

Dan off Gossip Girl to date and befriend Chandler off Friends Would you rather be the fastest runner on earth or be able to fly, but only at a maximum speed of 10km/h?

Flying because we have the facilities

Astad Kapadia

Bachelor of Engineering

What are your thoughts on student loans changes being a possibility in the 2011 Budget?

It’s good because it motivates you to study harder How many Super Rugby games have you watched this year?

Five What’s the most badass thing you’ve done as a student?

Nothing, I’m a good boy Which television character would you most like to befriend or date in real life?

Be friends with Batman – that’d be awesome!

Would you rather be the fastest runner on earth or be able to fly, but only at a maximum speed of 10km/h?

Fastest runner

Max Hodgkinson

Bachelor of Graphic Design

What are your thoughts on student loans changes being a possibility in the 2011 Budget?

I’m not a fan of them to be honest How many Super Rugby games have you watched this year?

Two What’s the most badass thing you’ve done as a student?

Cut in line for the free feed Which television character would you most like to befriend or date in real life?

Sophie McKay Would you rather be the fastest runner on earth or be able to fly, but only at a maximum speed of 10km/h?

Fly

Watchout for debate around campus - you 34.could be the next micro-celeb!

Jordan Stent

Bachelor of Graphic Design

What are your thoughts on student loans changes being a possibility in the 2011 Budget?

Mel Kassian Pretty opposed to them, being a student and Bachelor of Spatial Design all How many Super Rugby games have you What are your thoughts on student loans changes being watched this year? a possibility in the 2011 Budget?

One, I guess I don’t have a student loan because I have a scholarship What’s the most badass thing you’ve done as How many Super Rugby games have you watched this a student? year?

In all honesty I haven’t done anything as a Zero, I don’t have time to watch that student yet, I haven’t even cut in line What’s the most badass thing you’ve done as a student?

Which television character would you most Got drunk at a lawyer’s firm when no one was there like to befriend or date in real life?

Which television character would you most like to Ruby from Home and Away to date of course befriend or date in real life?

Would you rather be the fastest runner I would really like to hang with Joey Tribbiani off on earth or be able to fly, but only at a Friends, that’d be awesome maximum speed of 10km/h?

Would you rather be the fastest runner on earth or be Fly able to fly, but only at a maximum speed of 10km/h?

If I was like Superman speed, like could run down to the bottom of the South Island in 10 minutes, then running issue 05 2011

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35.

Huge range of hospitality equipment at city campus store Chef’s Jacket Assorted Sizes $56.69

Student Price

Henckels 4 Star Boning Knife

$51.02 each

$185.49

Student Price

$166.94 each 30cm Sharpening Steel $28.89

Student Price

$26.00 each

French Sealed 300mm Stainless Steel Whisk $18.59

Student Price

$16.73 each

Specials available while stocks last. All prices NETT - no further discounts apply.

AUT City Campus AUT Akoranga Campus 55 Wellesley Street East, Auckland City 90 Akoranga Drive, Northcote Tel: 366 4550 Fax: 366 4570 Tel: 489 6105 Fax: 489 7453 Email: aut.city@ubsbooks.co.nz Email: aut.akoranga@ubsbooks.co.nz Web: www.ubsbooks.co.nz Open Monday to Friday or shop securely online 24/7 issue 05 2011 36.