Blaire 12 by Blaire Magazine

BLAIRE

blaire April 2014

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CONTENTS 6. Papa Vs Pretty 12. Music Reviews 14. Beaty Heart 18. Young Revolutionaries/Oz Apparel 22. Schapelle Corby Debate 26. Lucien Graetz Photography 36. Did Hollywood Kill Heath Ledger? 40. Film Reviews 42. Nip & Tuck 44. The Knockout Game 46. A Childâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Nightmare 48. Phone Sexxx Rated

Papa vs Pretty

IF YOU HAVEN’T HEARD OF PAPA VS PRETTY, THEN WHERE THE HELL HAVE YOU BEEN HIDING FOR THE LAST COUPLE OF YEARS? THE AUSTRALIAN FOUR-PIECE ROCK BAND HAVE AN ARIA NOMINATION UNDER THEIR BELT AND TWO SUCCESSFUL ALBUMS. THEIR RECENT RELEASE, WHITE DEER PARK IS KILLING IT. WE CHATTED TO DRUMMER TOM MYERS.

irst of all, I just want to say thank you for squeezing us into your busy schedule. I know things are pretty hectic for you guys at the moment. Do you guys get much time off at all to just relax and unwind?

comfortable and then get ready to go. We’ve got a little festival date on the 29th of March at The Hills are Alive in Victoria so that will be really great as well. We can get ourselves primed and ready so looking forward to that.

No, thank you. Um, we get a little bit. Right now the promo schedule and everything like that has been pretty kind to us. We are taking two weeks off from our last gig, which was the Secret Garden show in Sydney. Generally, we like to work pretty hard. We’re pretty stringent on rehearsals and general band stuff. We try to keep our heads in the game. But it is always nice to step away from that even if it is only for like one or two weeks. Even now, as we’re getting to the end of our two weeks off, I’m chomping at the chance to get back and stuck into the tours and rehearsals and get back to it.

There’s a little bit of a difference between this tour and the last one and that is obviously the addition of a fourth band member – Luke Liang (guitar and keyboard). Why did you guys decide to do that?

First of all, Luke joining the band was probably one of the best decisions that we’ve ever made. Thomas was writing furiously. He was in one of his writing periods – actually he’s always in a constant writing period. He was coming up with some stuff and bringing it to Gus and I at rehearsals or sending it through over the internet and we would be filling out our parts. We noticed that he had been The Australia tour starts in a couple of weeks. writing more, enough for four parts and enough How have you been preparing for it? for an extra guitar. It gave him a bit more leeway as well, especially with his performance as well Yeah that’s right. It goes until about the 5th of May. as ours onstage. It gives us a little more leeway to This is kind of rare, I have my diary in front of me go out and concentrate on our parts. Luke is the so I can tell you right now, that we start on the 3rd glue. He’s like the glue man in our band. He’s a of April and finish on the 5th of May. Basically, phenomenal player and he’s so savvy. I’m so into we’ve just been doing rehearsals. We did a couple him [laughs]. But look, it was the best thing ever of shows earlier on where we played the second and we haven’t looked back since. He’s such an album in full. That was really, really good especial- integral member of the band now. It has changed ly for this tour coming up. You know, playing the our sound as well and I think that’s a good thing. If album in full and gauging crowd reactions to each we can incorporate other people’s ideas and input, song is kind of helpful when you’re going to go out especially people like Luke then I think things will there and do a big tour like the one coming up you continue to go well for us. want to be nailing the set and I think that was very beneficial for us. But yeah, we will just get back Your music has this ability to take the words and into rehearsals probably a bit later on this week the melody and relate it to the individual listenjust to nut out the set make sure we’re all feeling ing and their story. How much of the music > 7

stems from personal experience, either as individuals or as a band? Lyrically, the themes on the album are a mix of everything. There isn’t a specific theme like we had for the first album. The first one was about the arc of a relationship and this one is about everything in between. It could be different musings on different people or social situations or anything like that but it’s more of a collection of songs that don’t necessarily fit together in one theme. The main thing that people hopefully take from this is the emotion. If it evokes an emotion in you, then that’s great. It means that we’re doing our jobs. We’re lucky to have people enjoying it and we’re lucky to be doing it as well. You guys were nominated for an ARIA for Best Rock Album in 2011 for United in Isolation. How was that? Was it weird being placed on the same level as some really cool artists? It was fucking weird, man! It was really strange. We went to the nominations ceremony that they have in Sydney and we weren’t expecting anything. Sure enough, we got nominated for Best Rock and it was an amazing experience. We were really happy to be nominated and it was quite humbling as well. We were only eighteen or nineteen years old at the time and it was kind of crazy to look around and go ‘Wow’. It was a really humbling experience and it was great to be nominated. Just to be in the same category as bands like Jebediah or The Living End. That was a weird experience. Like I said, it was incredibly humbling and extremely cool. Your new album White Deer Park is out. How has it evolved from United in Isolation? The addition of Luke was a massive, massive change. It just meant that we had a little more to play with. He plays the keyboard as well so that added something different. There was a bit more focus on melody and harmony and we tried to 8

hone in on that in this record. What you hear is the result of eighteen months of rehearsals, four days a week for about eight hours a day. We were just trying to be the tightest live band, and get back to the basics. We just wanted to enjoy playing a room together and enjoying being together. I mean we always did, but there’s more of a focus on that with this album. It is a combination of us rehearsing our arses off and writing, workshopping and cutting the songs that we weren’t into. The first album was just a collection of songs that we had ready to go and all we had to do was get in the studio and get it recorded. The first album took sixteen days to finish whereas the second album took over three months so it was a little bit more of a conscientious effort to make sure things were right. I’m not saying that the first album wasn’t right at all. It was a whirlwind, it was awesome! But the second album we really tried to focus in. Apparently, you guys had 80 or so songs and you had to cull that down to just enough for the album. What was that process like? There was a bit over 80 songs actually. Basically, we learned all the songs, played them as a band and then we whittled that down to just 25. If any one of us wasn’t into the song we got rid of the song. If only one of us wasn’t into it at all, then it was cut. It was a pretty ruthless process and there’s still a bunch of really great songs that didn’t make the album but that’s cool. It was very inclusive and equal way of formatting and getting the album together. Are you holding onto the other songs for future albums or are they gone for good? No, we won’t put them on future albums but we will hold onto them. Maybe for something down the track. Who knows. With both of our albums we’ve released a little accompanying EP of some of the early, early demos of the album called Memoirs From a Bedroom. So we have Volume 1 and >

Volume 2 just came out with the record. There’s a few on there that are just really embryonic from the early stages of the demo. I’d love to revisit some of the older songs now but now that we’ve been playing pretty solidly for the last two years, I’d like to see where they’re at. But that would be for fun. What is your personal favourite song on the album? They’re all my babies, I love them all. To play live, I really like ‘To Do’. ‘To Do’ is a really good one and I also really like ‘Suburban Joan of Arc’. It has a really cool, pop-y sort of sound but it has grunt to it and I really did that. They are probably my favourites. I’m not sure how much control you have over your social media pages but the other day, there was quite a number of Charles Bukowski quotes being posted on your Twitter page. Is that an indication of the variety of inspirations you guys have? Yeah we post on our social media sites. And it definitely is an indication of our inspirations. There is a huge array of different things that we use. By the way, those quotes were posted by Thomas Rawle. He was probably on a massive trip of looking at certain people in history. He does that often. He essentially writes all our lyrics and he draws a lot if inspiration from random places, like philosophy. Daniel Paul Schreber is a really huge person that he’s drawn inspiration from. That sort of was the basis of ‘Dementia Praecox’ which was the last song on our album. Go look up Daniel Paul Shcreber cause it’s a trip, man. It’s a total trip. But there’s a lot of different inspiration, even musically, we all draw it from different sides and genres of music. Gus and Luke have a jazz background and Gus is also classically trained. But we all have our own individual tastes which I think really helps when we all come together.

video. Why do you think it is important for you guys to be sharing this sort of stuff with your fans? I think it is really important for people to engage with the issues that are major in Australia and around the world. There seems to be a culture now where people are saying, ‘Oh, no one talks about it so whatever.’ It’s almost like a laziness. But us sharing this stuff is almost like a call to decency. That is basically the way we look at it. We just want people to be informed about the right things. Because they can make a difference. Everyone can make a difference. We all can. So we want to make sure that the people that are around us and follow us and are into us are informed. It’s important, especially in this day and age because there is a lot of shit going on. That’s super impressive. Okay, now for some fun. If you could choose one genre of music and rid it from existence forever, which one would it be and why? This is hard! I love all of it! Honestly, I listen to everything. I’ll listen to a disco record and then throw on some far-west African. Shit, what do I not like? I don’t know. Look, maybe some of those musical theatre numbers, ‘cause those I could deal without. But don’t get me wrong, I think some of them are fucking brilliant. But some are very theatric. I like theatrics. I mean I love Queen, but yeah. Shit, I’ll probably be at the next screening or the next play. That’s just how I operate. I’ll be like, ‘Oh yeah, musical theatre! Musical theatre! Wow, this is great.’ You are the drummer so you are at the back of the stage when you perform. Do you ever get lonely back there by yourself?

No! The guys always come up and say hello. I really like it up the back there. It is kind of nice. I can see how things are unfolding and if Thomas You guys often bring major issues to light on has his shirt tucked into his underwear or someyour social media, such as the Great Barrier Reef thing, I can see that and sort it out.

Now I’m going to fire some questions at you and you just need to use the name of one of the band members as the answer.

It’s got to be the front man. Let’s just say that.

You’re going to incriminate me, I can feel it. Alright go on.

Me, of course. What do you reckon? Nah, I reckon we’re all fucking funny. I don’t know if it’s just me saying it but I reckon we should run a radio show after this. Some of the tour jokes we have are hilarious. We all bounce off each other pretty well. The best thing about our band is that it’s all just so much fun. We’re all characters. It makes touring really interesting and fun.

Most annoying? Um, it depends on what time of the day. The mornings its Thomas because you can never get him going. We need to be on a tight schedule and you can never fucking get him up [laughs]. That’s the only thing annoying about him on tour. The rest of it is a fucking breeze. Who is most likely to embarrass themselves on stage? Oh me! Definitely. Have you seen the faces I pull. They’re fucking stupid. Yeah, it would be me. I reckon I’ve been really, really close to falling off my drum stool a lot. I’ve been close. I just get really into it and forget what the fuck I’m doing and loosing my seating. Who gets the most female attention?

Who’s the funniest?

Who parties the hardest? It’s got to be the drummer, right? I wonder who that is? [laughs] No, look we all have a drink afterwards. Let’s just say that. We all have a go. Nothing too crazy. We all have shit to do the next morning. Where do you hope the band will be in the next couple of years? I just hope to still be doing it and hopefully we can go overseas a bit more as well. I hope we are still playing our shows with the same passion we have for it now. That would be an absolute dream.

MONICA JANKOWSKI 11

MUSIC REVIEWS SARAH LONG

BOMBAY BICYCLE CLUB SO LONG, SEE YOU TOMORROW London four-piece Bombay Bicycle Club are back and are sticking to their comfort zone. So Long, See You Tomorrow is a return to the dance-rock anthems that they’re already known for, this time introducing electronic sounds to help you get up and dance around. Unfortunately, the band haven’t really broadened their horizons and developed on their previous album, which was released over two years ago. They’ve almost produced the exact same thing. People have mentioned that the lack of anything new is unfulfilling. My personal opinion, as someone who hasn’t yet been introduced to their previous music (except for a few songs), is that I kind of like this album. Yes it might be another indie-electro sound produced by this band, but they do it well. And they’re a lot of fun to listen to.

THE HOLIDAYS REAL FEEL The Holidays have released their second album three years after their debut. While the album is somewhat similar to their first Post Paradise, the new record has so much more to offer. It’s a good thing, considering they have spent years sound-searching. The band now has the technical skills and creative scope to write new songs. The sounds bounce around the record in a floating state, pulling you up and away as you listen. My favourite song would have to be ‘All Time High’, as it lures you in straight away. The most intriguing song of the bunch would have to be ‘Voice Drifting’, it has layers of different and weird sounds.

PAPA VS PRETTY WHITE DEER PARK Papa Vs Pretty and pretty damn cool they are! We had the opportunity to sit down with Tom and not only are the band producing some great tracks out of their album White Deer Park, they’re also bloody hilarious! So here we are reviewing their cheeky little number.The music featured on the bands second album delivers rather a nostalgic experience, going back to an era when indie rock was kicking some serious butt. There are 14 tracks on the album in which each song fulfilling you with progressive melodies and thoughtful lyrics. I personally loved ‘My Life Is Yours’ and ‘Smother’. Well done, boys. Keep up the solid work.

FOSTER THE PEOPLE SUPERMODEL Wow! I have been waiting for this album since the release of their debut album Torches back in 2011! I fell in love with Foster The People before they could even make it into their third song. Mark Foster must be the happiest unit alive, because I have never ever had music make me feel so good. With the release now the second album Supermodel, they have done it again, opening with their first track ‘Are You What You Want To Be’. It instantaneously puts your happy feet on and makes you want to get up and dance or hug people and tell them you love them. Supermodel captures the essence of textured vocals, breezy synths, poppy beats and a huge smiley face.13

Beaty

Heart

ACCENTS; CHECK. ORIGINALLY PRODUCED VIDEO AND ALBUM ARTWORK; CHECK. KILLER BEATS; CHECK. SOUTH LONDONERS, BEATY HEART ARE SENDING SHOCKWAVES THROUGH OUR SOULS. THE THREE-PIECE BAND CREATE A PERCUSSIVE SOUND THAT IS UNIQUE, YET WONDERFULLY FAMILIAR. WE SPOKE TO DRUMMER, CHARLIE ABOUT THE MUSIC, THE INSPIRATIONS AND THE JOURNEY SO FAR.

L 14

et’s go back to the beginning. How did the band start?

We were all actually friends from school. So we’ve known each other for about ten years or so. It was when we moved to college that we started jamming our ideas. We had played in bands before but we knew that we wanted to try something slightly different. So it kind of evolved from that really. It started with rhythms and little bits of samples and we had begun creating these demos. It evolved from there to songs and eventually into

a band format. But at the same time, it’s more of a collaborate, collective idea, I suppose. We’ve been going for three years now, so we’re definitely at the point where we feel like a real band. So yeah, that’s our back story. Were you all drummers for the separate bands you had been a part of? We started as a four-piece and there’s three of us now. But at the start, three of us were drummers. That was a bit of a nightmare really. That

contributed to the crafting of the sound and it being so percussive. But yeah, it’s just three of us now and James and I are drummers by trade. So sometimes, we swap around or play drums at the same time. So it was kind of conflicting at first because there was quite a lot of drums going on. It definitely contributed to making our sound what it is today.

The Brits are completely taking over the music scene in Australia. In every genre, there is someone smashing it. You’ve got everyone from One Direction, to The Vaccines, Two Door Cinema Club as well as the classics making comebacks – Arctic Monkeys, The Rolling Stones for example. What do you think it is about you guys that we Aussies can’t get enough of?

Like you said, percussion is a major part of your music and the rhythm is integral to your style. Who are your musical inspirations, either as a band or individually?

Oh god, I couldn’t tell you. It’s certainly not our good looks. I don’t know, man. You should tell me. The thing is, there are so many Australian bands that I’m loving at the moment. There’s some really good stuff. Tame Impala are obviously amazing. I Well, we listen to quite a lot of African music love those guys. There’s a band called Young Magic actually. There is this amazing guy called Awesome who have members that originate from Australia. Tapes of Africa. It is this awesome set of cassettes We didn’t play with them but we kinda hung out that this guy has collected from all around the with them in New York. We played with them continent and we really love that kind of West previously in the UK though. We also play with a African stuff. But our inspirations span massiveband called CK. They’re awesome too. They’re a ly from The Beach Boys to contemporary music. couple of my favourites at the moment. So maybe, There’s this new guy called Mo Kolours from we’re all just sick of our own kind. London and we really dig him. But yeah, there’s a wide range. What’s the best thing about having a career in the music industry? Your single ‘Kanute’s Coming Round’ and the album Mixed Blessings are about to be dropped Certainly not the money. It’s being able to play in Australia. How does that make you feel? Are your music to people and for it to be received all you nervous at all? over the place. I think the chance to do that is a real privilege. Playing live is my favourite part of it. Well, I can’t believe it really. It’s been quite a long road for us and I’m massively excited, obviousAs I mentioned, Mixed Blessings is coming out ly. To have a record out, it’s a dream really. We’re in May here in Australia. What can we expect to really privileged to not only have a record out but hear on that? to be able to play it to people as well. It is massively humbling that people get involved in the world For us it’s bookended our development as a band that we are trying to create. It’s cool that people are so far. We set out to make this warm pocket of coming to see us play and buying our music. We’re slightly warped pop-songs. It’s certainly like a really excited and hopefully we will be coming journey of our stuff. down to Australia sometime this year. We’re over the moon. Nervous? Well, I mean, yeah! It’s only How was the process for you guys, getting the natural to be. We’re pretty nervous about how a album together? body of work so close to you is received. But we’re really happy with it, so I’m nervous, but I’m just The way we work is kind of like a constant retaking it as it comes really and the excitement just development and re-working of ideas which > takes over the nerves.

stick around for ages. Quite a few of the songs on the album have taken many different forms and are just completely different now to how they were originally. There’s one in particular, which is called ‘Get the Girls’. That song was written in five minutes. It’s something that has been reoccurring again and again. We kind of like, keep referencing it and it has been translated across a number of formats. It’s been done across a choir, acoustically in a live show and has eventually ended as this wall of sound, I suppose, on the record. That track in particular sums up the way we work, I think. A lot of the tracks on the album were like that. There’s a couple that came together last minute. You guys also make your own artwork for the album covers and the videos. Is this created simultaneously with the music, or does one happen before the other? Yeah! We kind of think it is nice to have as much control over this world that we are trying to create as we can. We’ve always wanted to develop the visual side of things alongside the music. We try and do all that in-house to create a full spectrum. 16

To be honest, we usually create the artwork after the music is done. There has been times when the music and the art have been done together and that works really nicely. There’s some tracks that were created before and that allowed for us to brainstorm what we could match to it visually, for the videos and the album covers. We could also create an identity for the songs in doing this. I’d like to say it was all developed alongside each other and it was all seamless, but its almost a more natural way of working, to do it one after the other. Right now, you are literally touring the UK and Europe. You’ve done some dates already. Any memorable moments so far? Yeah that’s right. We’re actually touring with a band called Jungle. We did a show the other night in Birmingham. They’re awesome guys. We’re off to Europe in April to do some shows around there and we have plans to go further and ‘down under’. There’s so many memorable moments, so many! We played a show at a place called Coco, which is a really massive theatre in Camden recently. It was the biggest venue we had played to date and it was

really busy. It was really memorable because everything fell into place and it felt like we were doing it as a proper band. A slightly more interesting one would probably be collaborating with the ‘Roundhouse Choir’. They’re based in North London. We re-orchestrated loads of our songs across a 30-piece choir and performed a one-off show. That was a really special kind of moment. There’s been so many other memorable ones though, from big shows to more intimate ones.

they’re amazing. They are about 60-odd and they collaborated with Sun Araw. They did an album with him last year, so they’re kind of crazy guys and I think I’d choose them. It would be such a culture clash and I just think it would be really interesting to like see how they work. You can just tell that they’ve got soul and it would be really inspiring to be around. They have these incredible, silky voices that would put me in a trance and could spur something in myself. Weird answer [laughs].

You say you’re planning to come ‘down under’. Just how good is your Aussie slang? What do you Which one of you is the most likely to... think these slang terms mean? Get arrested? Bottle-o: James. That is the parlour for working out your stomach. A work-out parlour. Any stories there you could tell us? Nothing I could tell you there [laughs]. Budgie Smuggler: Isn’t that when someone’s pants are too tight? Embarrass themselves on stage? Definitely me actually! If I say I’m going to chuck a sickie? It means you are going to throw your vomit over Tip the waiter? your teacher. Our live member, Pat. Dog’s Breakfast: That’s like a bloody mess.

Keep you laughing all night? Josh, definitely.

Maccas: I don’t know, but it sounds like some sort of illegal contraband.

Be last to leave the party? Again, Josh. Believe anything you say? That’s hard! I’d probably say James. Sorry James [laughs].

Drongo: Drongo? An exotic drink that you can only have after 8pm. I’ll have to write some of these down for when we come over to Australia. I’ll have to learn Fall in Love? some. Ummm, James. He’ll love it.

If you could choose one band or musician to Describe Beaty Heart in three words. collaborate with on a track or even just jam with, who would it be and why? Joyous, Rambunctious, Tropical. Last year, we saw this act called The Congos. They are this old, dub group. It’s four male singers and

MONICA JANKOWSKI

Young

Revolutionaries With its rich street-culture, Melbourne has always been a destination for creative types, and this is reflected through the city’s local clothing labels. Unfortunately, in a world dominated by big business and imported mass produced clothing, these local threads aren’t always readily discoverable to local consumers. When faced with this problem, Ben Thorn, a 21 year-old University student from Melbourne, decided to create what is known today as Oz Apparel. Initially an Instagram page showcasing local labels from Melbourne, the page now showcases local brands Australia-wide, and is growing an impressive following of locals keen on to get their hands on fresh homegrown threads. With a website, online shop, and plenty of other projects well underway at Oz Apparel, now is an exciting time for lovers of the Australian streetwear scene. If it is not already, Oz Apparel is quickly becoming known as a premier destination for local labels, bringing together all the Australian street labels you don’t know yet but will soon. Watch this space.

irstly, how did this idea come about?

I’ve literally only been doing this for a few months. To be honest I never really expected it to blow up I’ve always loved good clothing, especiallike it has. In terms of where I want to take Oz ly street wear, and I’d started to notice there was Apparel, I have so many ideas. Things like retailsome quality stuff being made here in Melbourne. ing, to bringing out my own label, and even to The more I looked, the more I realised Melbourne things past just clothing, supporting other local is sitting on a gold mine of undiscovered local talents like DJ’s, musicians and artists. Sometimes clothing talent. But I really had to look hard to find I need to slow myself down and just remember quality local stuff, and it bothered me that there to focus on one thing at a time, but five years is a were awesome threads out there, but people didn’t pretty long time. At the moment I’m just taking it really know about them. So basically I decided to one day at a time and seeing where it takes me. make an Instagram page showcasing good local labels, and it just kind of took off from there. Why do you want to help young, local designers? Did anyone inspire you to create this idea? Or are you running solo? I’m pretty much running solo at the moment. There’s a few things I’ve been getting help with, like getting a website set up and logos designed, but essentially its just me. How long have you been doing this for? Where can you see yourself with Oz Apparel in five years?

I think people really do want to get behind the local designers, because they’re making clothing that people can really relate to. The only problem is there’s not enough awareness that there’s some awesome stuff being made in our own backyard that rivals anything from overseas. There’s so much talent within our own city, and I’m not just talking in terms of clothing, but also things like music and other creative spaces. I think it’s really important to support local talent, because these guys are what give our city its > 19

uniqueness, and they really reflect the whole vibe of the city. Melbourne has such a great culture and feel, something that really gets reflected in the clothing these local guys are putting out there.

What are some of the trends that you can see coming into the Melbourne scene at the moment?

So what can we see in the near future? Are there any cool events that you’ll be sponsoring/hosting?

I see a big US influence, especially with the commercialization of rap and hip-hop culture. You take a store like Culture Kings, and they’re absolutely killing it right now because they’ve tapped into the US side of things at the perfect time. But I also think Melbourne is getting to a point where we’re generating our own trends. That in itself is pretty exciting because I feel like we’re right on the crest of a wave that is about to break in terms of Melbourne fashion.

I think there are so many different trends in Have you had the opportunity to meet some cool Melbourne and that’s what makes it such a unique people so far? If so, who? place in terms of fashion and streetwear. From my viewpoint, I’m loving the move towards tall Yeah, just all the guys who run their own labels, apparel, and some of the headwear – from snapthey’re all really down to earth and just focused on backs, to five-panels, to bucket hats. Who would bringing out cool stuff. Its great to be working with have thought five years ago bucket hats would be people who are really inspired to produce quality cool. But that’s what great about the local clothing goods, and really put their heart into their work. scene and its designers, they take something I love how these guys are doing it and its their boring and make it awesome. passion, rather than for the money. It makes the end result so much more real and authentic, and I What country do you think currently influences think that’s what people are looking for. Melbourne fashion?

I’ve been speaking to a few labels and artists, we’re looking at getting some warehouse parties going, just supporting the local, with local labels, DJ’s and artists. There’s enough interest, so once I get some time that’s going to be something I start to seriously look at. So we heard that you’re interested in starting your own label. When will we be seeing this happen? Yeah that’s definitely something I want to do. I’m actually planning it all at the moment. Having Oz Apparel has really given me the platform to do it, and bring together all the styles I really like into the one label. It’s been a bit of a ride, sourcing suppliers and materials, and getting designs done. Just everything that comes with it is an experience. Plus it helps me to understand a bit more of how the local scene works from a different perspective 20

What are you currently wearing? A bright red Mambo onesie. I walked past it the other night, and for $30 its probably the most underrated piece of clothing I’ve ever owned. I could live in it. What item of clothing can you not live without? I definitely could not live without my collection of Snapbacks. They’re more important to me than oxygen. I’ve got about 20 that I’m constantly cycling through. Currently the Chicago Bulls

Mitchell & Ness is my favourite but I’ll probably have a new number one in a week or so.

to every single Facebook user - you couldn’t get a better promoter. Secondly I’d get Kanye, he would surely bring something interesting to the table. If you were to host an event and you could pick Last but definitely not least, would be Will Sparks. three people (dead or alive) to help you The dude can definitely spin a tune, would have organise/run it, who would you choose and why? the place jumping. That is a tough one. First, I’d take Mark Zuckerberg. He could just put out a group invite

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THE SCHAPELLE CORBY DEBATE SHOULD SHE BE PAID FOR HER STORY?

YES

chapelle Corby has been living in captivity for the past nine years. She is a convicted felon, but one who, for the entire almost-decade has maintained her innocence. If she is innocent, or if she genuinely believes she is, her ordeal would have been pretty unimaginably horrific. Still, even if she isn’t innocent and knows she isn’t, nobody wants to spend nine years in jail. Kerobokan prison, where Schapelle was, is notoriously uncomfortable for its prisoners, many of whom are on death row. Her life, it’s fair to say, has been hellish. Then of course, there’s her celebrity status. How many hours of coverage, how much focus on her personal life, her prison times, her trial, her family, has been going on for the past nine years? We witnessed the moment her sentence was announced, we watched her rejected pleas to shorten the prison term, and, of course, we watched documented footage of her eventual spiral into depression. And now, after all this, Schapelle has been offered a supposed $2 million to tell her full story on television. As her audience, after so many years of soaking up this story and tuning in and judging her and talking about her, who are we really, to then decide what she gets for a story we’ve demanded to know the in’s and out’s of for a decade? Maybe the $2 million, inflated as it seems, is a symbol of our own unrestrained need to know what was going on. Doesn’t it speak to us, this sum that we can’t believe is being offered? Why do so many of us think the story hasn’t earned something? Our 22

disdain is toward the individual getting this money, which many of us say she didn’t earn and was instead given it despite being a convicted felon. But I don’t think that’s the issue. Look at the decade-spanning tale itself. Don’t we want the story? Don’t we feel we deserve to know everything that happened, from the teller who lived it? Shouldn’t a sum be paid for this story? We Australians have a tremendously personal relationship with Schapelle. The familiar story of the young, beach-loving girl who heads over to Bali – a popular Aussie holiday destination – looking for a good time, then the unthinkable (but always feared) happens, ruins her life, and it spans out in the most public way it could. I think partly we wanted to know everything because we knew it could’ve happened to us. What if that story was never told? It would be an injustice. But the moment Schapelle is offered compensation to tell the story, we respond with outrage, all over the media and throughout our nation’s public. Suddenly Schapelle Corby isn’t our friend or our Australian symbol. She’s a convicted felon who’s getting undeserved money. Did we expect she go through all of this, on television, for us, for free? Isn’t that unfair? And aren’t we being unfair now, demanding she not have the money? It seems our indirect, voyeuristic involvement has led us to believe we have a say in the result of Schapelle’s conviction. But we don’t. We’ve always been observers. As we’ve observed her awful life, we should observe the money paid for the story we demanded.

TOM BENSLEY

he issue of Schapelle Corby’s alleged $2 million offer from Channel Seven has been the bread and butter of Australia’s media since news of her release broke. Of greater importance is how presenting her story (for the millionth time) will affect her freedom. The Proceeds of Crime act has dealt with the Corby family in the past and will have no issues garnishing that $2 million should Channel Seven ever come through with the cash, so the issue of the exorbitant payment is nothing the government can’t fix. The bigger issue the Corby’s face is what will become of their daughter should an interview take place at all. Schapelle and her entire clan have been warned against disobeying the conditions of her parole. If they cock it up there is no Australian department that can swoop in and undo the damage, yet the parole issue received just a fraction of the spotlight. Is it right that Indonesia can send her back to gaol just for telling her story? Damn straight it is, I say. Despite the risks and the generous warnings afforded to them by the Indonesian authorities, it would appear the prospect of a major parole breach is of little importance to the Corby family. Mercedes, working on the

assumption that it’s easier to apologise than to ask permission, carried out her media interview on March 2 with 100% understanding that she was gambling with her sister’s freedom. Going against advice that it would be in Corby’s best interests to avoid public assertions of innocence throughout her parole period, Mercedes ridiculed the Indonesian legal system and insulted the integrity of Indonesian officials; a move that put an already pissed off Indonesia on the defensive. For Schapelle, avoiding actions that disturb the peace is a major condition of her parole, and earning millionaire status on the coattails of her conviction is an unequivocal blood boiler, in a country where approximately half the population languish at or below the national poverty line of about $AU20 per month. Undeterred, the Corby family persist; sharing private details of Schapelle’s mental and physical state while indiscriminately throwing around allegations of corruption, illustrating just how little these verminous bogans regard the wellbeing of their lucrative meal ticket. Here’s a novel idea the Corby matriarch, Roseleigh Rose, might consider for future reference; instead of inviting Channel Seven to > 23

share in the vulgarity of your indulgences from the comfort of your home while your daughter is overwhelmed by an army of media, why not physically show up for the most important day of her life and provide some actual support for the woman? Rather than making a priority of covering her face to protect the seven-figure deal you made for exclusivity, why not take measures to defuse the hysteria before shit gets out of hand to protect the emotional wellbeing of your beloved family member? And finally, why not make it easier for your loved one to avoid returning to gaol by not putting her at risk of violating her parole with your foolish rhetoric? Crazy ideas, but I like to think anyone with a degree of emotional intelligence is capable of taking such measures to protect the ones they love. It should be noted that the potential for Schapelle’s rearrest is not a freedom of speech issue; for a decade the Corby’s have had unfiltered access to the Australian media, who will do

anything to satiate the bottom feeders which populate the realms of Australia’s lowest common denominator. Unless anything that family have to add holds cultural importance to the collective consciousness of the Australian public, there is absolutely no grounds to the claim that her freedom of speech is being inhibited by either the Australian Federal Police, Indonesian officials or the conditions of her parole. If she provokes the public in Indonesia as a result of her or her family’s actions, then she has broken the conditions of her early release and she goes back to gaol. It’s not rocket science.

GEMMA DAVIES

Lucien Graetz

I used to take photos of babies. Not in a creepy way, but at a small boutique studio that specialised in it. Th where a half-hour shoot would have to sell for a few grand before you saw any commission on it. This wa though. People love their kids and if you take a pretty picture with nice light of their kid looking cute the mind (and open their wallet). I learnt a lot, I just didn’t enjoy it. Now I don’t do that, I do the opposite. Street photography for me is everything that my previous jo ing the fact that I don’t get paid for it. Still, I prefer it this way. These are some photos from an untitled se on based on the colour red. My name is Lucien Graetz, I have recently moved to the Internet and have a website in the works. I have a blog named after a religious cult that opened an enormous church where I grew up, exclusivebre 26com and can be found @lucewillis.

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DID

HOLLYWOOD

KILL HEATH LEDGER?

bout a month ago, I woke up to the news that one of the most brilliant actors of the last two decades, Phillip Seymour Hoffman, had passed away from a drug addiction. Found with a syringe in his left arm and bags of heroin lying around on the floor of his New York City apartment, the final moments of Hoffman’s life somehow seem to taint and contradict the image I’ve always had of the man as a person – a man who always seemed so quiet, reserved, sensible and well-behaved. One thing that struck me about Hoffman’s death was that it was so familiar. His final fall from grace was so reminiscent of those of other great talents before him. Talents like John Belushi, Chris Farley, Dorothy Dandridge, River Phoenix, Whitney Houston, Corey Monteith and three of my favourites; Marilyn Monroe, Judy Garland and Heath Ledger – legends who all died in the same shocking, yet unsurprising way… alone and surrounded by drugs in a final fall from grace. One final taint of such a perfect image. Another interesting thing is that all of these deaths have been put down to being ‘accidental’. The only one which has really ever been argued as being a suicide was Monroe’s. With these and many other Hollywood stars finding similarly fateful end – whether it be James Dean, Grace Kelly and Paul Walker’s deaths in automotive accidents, assumed drowning of Natalie Wood, Elvis’ on-the-toilet-whilst-reading-a-book heart-attack or the accidental death of Bruce Lee whilst filming The Crow – we often wonder, is it Hollywood that has truly killed all of our favourite stars? Well, I personally think every star’s story is different. Clearly, not every Hollywood actor has fallen into a depression or addiction or died under tragic or bizarre instances. When you look at it, most stars lead long, healthy and happy lives. Child star Shirley Temple, who only recently died at the age of 85, is a great example of that. Really, it’s a matter of circumstance and a matter of personal history.

The death of Marilyn Monroe has been continually debated since the day she was found alone on her bed in 1962 at the age of 36. Did she suicide? Was she murdered? Did she accidentally overdose? It’s an question we’ll never have an answer to. However, what we do know is that her death was not wholly caused by her involvement in Hollywood. Sure, her mild-abuse of the studio system in her much-loathed status as a sex symbol and her pursuits of absolute perfection and being taken seriously probably weighed in on her death, but the fact is that Monroe was a life-long sufferer of depression – an infliction which ran in her family, leading both her great grandfather and uncle to suicide and placing her mother, grandmother and even herself in mental institution during their lives. Pressures of Hollywood couldn’t have helped her disease, but the fact is, it was always there even before Hollywood entered the picture. Regardless, the pressure the film industry puts on certain individuals can often be too much, leading to reckless behavior or into dark periods of their life. For Elvis, Ledger and Garland this was particularly true, all having died due to pressures of the industry. For Elvis it was a cross between bad management, a love for food and an total abuse of power, for Ledger it was the character of The Joker (we’ll get to this in a minute) and for Garland it was a spiraling depression set on by abuse from the Hollywood system which controlled her life from a very young age – in fact, Garland was controlled so heavily that in 1942 (when she was only 20 years old) the heads of the MGM film studio forced her to have an abortion to hold up her ‘good-girl’ image. And although she gave birth two three other children throughout her life, the forced abortion haunted her for the remainder of her life. A life tainted by severe depression and substance abuse. Back to Ledger. Ledger’s death, I think, is an interesting case. Much like Seymour Hoffman, Ledger was always a guy who seemed like he had a bit of a dark side. He was dark, brooding and >

kind of intense. But the strange thing is, Ledger was always a happy guy. But everything turned pear-shaped when he took on the role of The Joker for 2008’s Batman film The Dark Knight. During this time playing the sadistic serial-killer who dresses up as a clown and terrorizes Gotham City, Ledger and wife Michelle Williams split up – which definitely couldn’t have helped his mind-frame. Ledger was what we call a Method actor. A Method actor is basically an actor who will go to all lengths to create the perfect performance. This means, they really put themselves into the mind-set of their character any way they can, both on and off screen – often creating bizarre parallels between their real selves and the character and drawing on similar events in their own lives, skewing the lines between reality and fiction. Three-time Academy Award winner Daniel Day Lewis, in fact, is so well known for Method acting that he will not break out of a character for the entire period he is shooting any given movie – both on set and off. This has caused various actors to drop out of films with him, finding him too intense, and assumedly causing difficulties in his 38

home life… imagine living with Abraham Lincoln for a year. The problem with Method acting is that it is extremely dangerous. Los Angeles’ esteemed acting school, The Actors Studio, known for producing such actors as James Dean, Marilyn Monroe and Marlon Brando, was famous for teaching the Method, with all of their alumni mastering the art. The problem is, as easy as it is to teach how to break into a character using the Method, it’s difficult, and almost impossible to teach how to break out of it. A classic Hollywood anecdote about the filming of 1976’s Marathon Man goes like this: playing a man on the run, Method actor Dustin Hoffman kept himself up for three whole days straight, not sleeping once, to film a scene where his character had… you guessed it… not slept for three days. On arrival to set, disheveled and looking like an absolute exhausted mess, veteran actor Laurence Olivier looked to him and quipped a line something along the lines of, ‘try acting, dear boy… it’s much easier.’ For Ledger, acting probably would have been much easier. It’s rumored that to get into the

character of The Joker, Ledger would spend days in his apartment, locked in and alone. He would also keep himself up at night, taking long, late walks in the dark and gloomy Central Park by himself. Allegedly, Ledger also kept a notebook of newspaper clippings of murders and other tragedies that he believed the Joker would find funny, which he then looked at long enough that he too would find them funny. You could just imagine what kind of pressure this put on Ledger’s life and what kind of toll it took on it. Imagine what he was doing to his mind – just so he could put on the perfect performance. So perfect it won him a posthumous Academy Award. Jack Nicholson, who had previously played The Joker in Tim Burton’s 1989 Batman film has also stated that he found difficulty playing the ‘dangerous’ role. One which led him to taking sleeping pills which caused him to have sleep walking fits – waking one morning behind the wheel of his car without any memory of having driven anywhere. Ledger is definitely a good example of a man who’s life was ruined by the pressures of Hollywood. Garland too. However, most of the

others who have died young can hardly have their deaths blamed on the Hollywood system. I mean, we can’t really blame Grace Kelly’s car accident on Hollywood (she had retired from acting and since become the actual, real-life Princess of Monaco by then), likewise the similar deaths of James Dean and Paul Walker, two men who lived fast and died young. Sure, their success in Hollywood lead them to afford their fancy cars – but that’s all. So, next time a celebrity dies under such awful circumstances. The next time your favourite actor dies surrounded by pills or alcohol bottles, think about what they’ve been through in their lives – not just what they’ve been through in the short period time that they’ve been an actor. Remember, the Hollywood system isn’t what it used to be – you won’t see 20th Century Fox forcing Jennifer Lawrence to have an abortion. And also remember the 85-year-old Shirley Temple Black dyeing peacefully surrounded by loved-ones after a long and illustrious career and life. Just think of the amount of celebrities who have lived on, despite all the pressures. Hollywood doesn’t always kill the ones we love to watch, history does.

DAVE LEE

FILM REVIEWS KEVIN HE

WOLF CREEK 2 Greg Mclean (writer/director) seemed to have an inkling of what audiences wanted: more Mick Taylor, played by veteran Aussie actor John Jarratt, Mick was easily the most interesting and best part of the original Wolf Creek. Here he is given the privilege of being the main character and almost acts as a protagonist (certainly the opening scene suggests his killings were righteous). Unfortunately, sometime halfway through raping a tourist and executing an old lady with a shotgun did I realise how utterly deplorable and disgusting this film had become. With no apparent motive or humanity revealed, Mclean had turned Taylor into a parody of himself: nonstop clichĂŠs and never seeming to be able to shut up, with continuous one-liners and quips that land completely inappropriately. Props have to go to Ryan Corr playing the protagonist, forced to carry nearly the entire film himself, he does an admirable job.

OLDBOY Another American remake of a beloved cult foreign film. How could it go wrong? As it seems… everywhere. From Spike Lee’s refusal to step out from behind the shadow of the original to his utterly disgraceful treatment of artists involved in the marketing, the film is appropriately bloody and dark but completely fails to live up to the original. Brolin is a fine actor, and his work here is fairly good, but otherwise it doesn’t distract from the lack of originality or attempt to differ from its predecessor. The hammer scene in the original was both iconic and culturally relevant to the setting, but in the remake it makes absolutely no sense as it is set in America, and comes off as a blatant shoehorning-in of a timeless scene. Another pointless, useless remake to ignore.

300: RISE OF AN EMPIRE 300 was a decent action title made out of a graphic novel, equal parts campy and corny, but suitably coherent and quite thrilling. The sequel unfortunately manages to miss the mark on what made the first memorable, with the lack of Snyder’s direction undermining what made the first such a spectacular feast for the sense. Here it’s just a boring gore fest with an overabundance of terrible CGI and strangely juxtaposed T&A thrown in. While Gerard Butler’s last 12 or so films have been utter failures, he is missed here, as the new lead (Sullivan Stapleton) is beyond awful. Eva Green manages to be the film’s saving grace, playing the role of Artemisia, Green absolutely loses herself in the role and is absolutely magnificent, it’s just a shame she couldn’t be in a better film. I would say she alone is worth watching an otherwise unremarkable sequel.

THE RAID Nearing the release of the sequel sometime later in March, it seemed fitting to revisit the first Raid; a simplistic action movie with a plot that doesn’t exist, yet somehow manages to be one of the best action movies of this generation. Set entirely in a high rise building, the film revolves around Rama (Iko Uwais, delivery person now turned into action movie star), a rookie officer being pretty much the only one left standing and the only person capable of disabling the drug lord in charge of the building, whilst fighting through hundreds of henchmen. While most films tend to have many breaks between action scenes, The Raid is literally action scene following action scene, and each manages to top the other in spectacular ways. Gareth Evans manages to direct with finesse and his attempts to bring the art of Silat to mainstream audiences is done well.

NIP & TUCK WHEN DID PLASTIC SURGERY, BOOB JOBS AND BOTOX ESCAPE THE LITTLE BOX OF SECRETS WE NEVER TALKED ABOUT, TO BECOME A MASSIVE FIXTURE IN OUR EVERYDAY LIVES?

t seems to me that we can never escape it; headlines are often about looking younger, finding skincare secrets and how to get that perfect gym body. When we do read an article about a woman loving her curves, we can’t help but wonder how long it will be until she is on the cover of said magazine proclaiming to the world how she shed her weight. What’s worse is that this need and want to look like a perfect human being has not sprung up overnight. Instead it crept into our lives slowly until it firmly planted itself, and the idea of this image of perfection instilled itself in our minds. To most it doesn’t seem worrying, as everyone has had that image during a time in their life that they strived to be like. However it has become something we now need to worry about. It hit me first through television and through the very people we strive so desperately to be like and look like; celebrities. Oprah had confessed on her master class that when she first started her career, her producer had told her to get cosmetic surgery because her nose was too wide and her eyes were too far apart. I was livid, as what right did he have to tell a person to change their appearance? Then I stumbled upon the second dilemma. What expectation have we placed upon people about having to look a certain way, that one thinks there is no other option than to suggest plastic surgery? However, I believe I have solved the mystery and have determined why we have 42

decided to resort to such measures in order to look younger and be prettier, it’s all one big vicious cycle and it happens like this: 1. We see an image of a celebrity on a magazine, that celebrity is often re-touched and is a wildly inaccurate portrayal of their real form. 2. Because celebrities and the fashion culture are so firmly embedded into our lives, we strive to look as flawless as they look on the red carpet or a magazine cover. 3. Once we have one procedure, we think a few more wouldn’t hurt. 4. Then a few years pass and you’re face has started to show some signs of aging, and you think that because celebrities always age gracefully with the help of a medical team, so will you. 5. There is now pressure on the celebrity to keep up their appearance because it’s what you demand of them, so they have a few more procedures. 6. They then appear on a magazine cover and the cycle starts once again. In fact, Cameron Diaz recently stated that we have become a society that has not enabled women to age gracefully, ‘Our culture is obsessed with not growing into who you were really meant to be.’

She told Oprah about the issue of aging adding that ‘it’s almost as if we have failed if we don’t remain 25 for the rest of our lives and we don’t give ourselves permission to age gracefully.’ Truer words could never have been spoken. Somehow we have escaped the ideas that our society was once funded on and the notion of beauty being only skin deep has escaped us. Now, as people we are judged solely on our appearance. The notion that ‘it’s what’s on the inside that counts’ has been wedged out by mainstream media trying to force this notion of perfection down our throats. All though it did start with the media, they are not wholly to blame, as we as a society have taken this idea and run with it. Looking good and having that perfect stomach and box gap is now a prerequisite to being a human. We have changed our ideas of what makes someone happy with themselves and

with their appearance. It’s no longer about loving who you are; it’s about having others love how you look. There must be a way to stop this focus on body image. It all seems so hard to think about a change, but all it comes down to is the attitudes we place on ourselves and others and trying to change those ideals. Most importantly I hate to think that we will all end up with nothing but our plastic surgery holding us tight at night, I would rather list my achievements and the things I am proud of, than end up like those real housewife women who think it is okay to proudly proclaim, ‘Never come between a woman and her plastic surgeon.’ It’s a fine line to draw, but there needs to be a way to stop this focus on body image in our society. In the end I want to love myself for who I really am, not for who I want to be based on what other people think.

ISABELLA VAN SCHAIK

THE KNOCKOUT GAME UNSUSPECTING VICTIMS LEFT UNCONCIOUS OR DEAD THANKS TO VIOLENT NEW GAME.

here is talk over in the United States about a new game called ‘knockout’. There doesn’t seem to be many rules to the apparent game other than just walking up to an unsuspecting victim and hitting them in the head. Whether or not these types of attacks are organized, and where they originated, is unclear. The media, as they often tend to do, can spin the facts around. A series of king-hit attacks across the US may have been linked to the ‘knockout’ game, or it might have been an unrelated series of events. Labeling these same series of attacks as ‘the knockout game’ could have possibly been the reason behind them: copycat attacks. We only have to look at the recent ‘Neknominate’ craze to see that people will engage in risk taking behavior if they think that everyone else is doing it. To sensationalise a possible trend in attacks as rabid teenagers competing to outdo each other by brutalizing a complete stranger can muddy the waters and distract from the real question – what is it that is causing young people, in Australia and around the world, to engage in these kinds of behaviours? Criminal attacks for money, for example, have a clear result in mind. The attacker walks away with what they can steal from the victim. Walking up behind someone and king-hitting them doesn’t seem to have any kind of result or gain. Members of the media are quick to say that these kinds of attacks are an emulation of what young men are exposed to from a young age. 44

Video game series Grand Theft Auto has frequently been identified as a negative influence. Scientists are divided over whether or not there is a correlation between violence in the media and aggressive behavior in teenagers. While the debate is divided about the influence of the media there is a consensus that one of the main reasons behind these kinds of attacks is the adrenaline rush felt by the perpetrators. Paul Boxer, a psychology professor at Rutgers University, commented on the recent string of attacks in the US saying, ‘You’ve got some impressionable kids, already with a propensity for violence who could be affected by this,’ he said. ‘But not because they are hoping to hurt somebody, it’s more about risk taking, and new, different and exciting ways of getting into trouble.’ We can see a similar result with other behaviors, speeding for example. The king-hit, however is one of the extremes. In Australia, the problem is exacerbated by one thing in particular – alcohol. When young men are plied with booze, the smallest altercation can quickly explode. Across the country different state governments have implemented different policies in attempt to reduce alcohol-fueled violence to varying degrees of success. The most recent of which was New South Wales on February 24, who brought in some particularly strict new laws. Within in the Sydney CBD/Entertainment precinct, 1.30am lockouts and 3am last drink laws

have been applied. The sale of takeaway alcohol has also been restricted after 10pm in that same area. The families of violence victims have celebrated the rules but have also pointed out that the laws against these kinds of violent assaults are still too lenient. Others however have criticised the new rules, feeling that they infringes on their personal rights, and that the vast majority of people enjoy alcohol responsibly and therefore shouldn’t be punished for the behavior of a select few. While there is a lot of talk about whether or not these are suitable punishments for people who commit these types of attacks, there isn’t the same kind of interest in understanding why these kinds of things happen. The government and the media in NSW were spun into a flurry trying to re-label the ‘king-hit’ and call it ‘the coward punch’. These seems like a waste of energy to me. What is more important than rebranding a word is focusing on

public education so that these types of attacks are never committed. Young men shouldn’t commit acts of violence because they’re scared of being branded a ‘coward’, they should avoid those types of behaviours because they recognise that violence is unacceptable. It would be more productive to spend the time and money with boys at a young age – setting them up with a positive behaviours for the rest of their lives. Education always proves to be a better solutions to punishment, and if we really care about stopping the king-hit attacks, we need to focus on nurturing young men to be better equipped to deal with their emotions, particularly under the influence of alcohol – we owe it to the victims.

SPENCER HADLOW

A CHILD’S NIGHTMARE MIA FRANCISCO STEPS INTO THE SHOCKING WORLD OF CHILD SEX TRAFFICKING AND THE CRUSADE TO END IT.

y first understanding of child sex trafficking occurred when I was back in high school. I was in the library during an English class and unlike many of my fellow studious classmates who were all engrossed in textbooks, their mobiles or Myspace, I wandered off to find something interesting to read. Amongst the Tim Winton novels I came across the Herald Sun that had been wedged between two books. I pulled it out and caught a glimpse of the front-page news. It was an enlarged photograph of little Madeleine McCann with her big doe-eyes. The caption above her head caused my heart to sound in my ears. It had been several weeks after the initial kidnapping of Madeleine and although they were yet to completely uncover the truth behind her disappearance, this article was implying that Madeleine had been taken for sexual purposes. I struggled to swallow as I came to realise what that meant. I needed to sit down on the carpet as I took a minute to comprehend what

‘sexual purposes’ entailed for a child like Madeleine; for children all over the world who had been kidnapped. It didn’t just signify that a monstrous paedophile had taken this innocent victim for his own sick and twisted enjoyment. No, this was even more horrifying, if that’s possible. I read on to discover that these children were probably better off dead than alive to experience the nightmarish hell that was forced upon them by evil adults. Three-year-old Madeleine and millions of other unassuming children are stolen not only from their parents but from their freedom, their safety, their entirely happy and comfortable worlds, to be thrown into paedophile rings, prostitution, human slavery and many more atrocities. In this particular article I have chosen to focus on child sex trafficking/prostitution because it is one of the biggest dark truths that takes place around the world… including my own Mother Country, Australia.

Trafficking of children involves such appalling happenings including the recruitment, transportation, transferring, harbouring and receipt of children, just for the disgusting purpose of exploiting them. Child sex trafficking occurs absolutely anywhere, and I mean anywhere. In 2008 the United Nations reported nearly 2.5million people from 127 different countries were being trafficked into 137 countries around the world. A third of those people were children. In a lot of cases, children are kidnapped from their families and forced into being sexual objects for adults. This terrible ordeal involves countless and painful outcomes such as prostitution, child pornography and forced marriages. In 2010, it was reported that Thailand and Brazil were considered to have the worst records of child sex trafficking. Specifically, Thailand has two patterns in terms of trafficked children that are used for sex. The older pattern is where a child is recruited from a village (usually one swamped

in poverty) to a larger town, where the child (more often than not a young girl) is forced into the sex industry. What is even more harrowing than that â&#x20AC;&#x201C; as if it could get any worse â&#x20AC;&#x201C; every so often she is transported to a foreign country. It makes me so miserable just thinking about a harmless little girl, stolen from her family, her home, and her soft toys and pushed into a nightmare of an existence.Thankfully, there are hundreds of thousands of crusaders, like the United Nations, that are raising awareness about the horrors of this crazy and unjust reality for children. If you would like to learn more about the dreadful underground sex world of child sex trafficking then do your research â&#x20AC;&#x201C; there are organisations that you can help to make a difference.

MIA FRANCISCO 47

Cheeky Chapters

PHONE SEXXX RATED

‘

abes I’m horny,’ he breathed heavily into the phone. ‘Well fuck, that’s convenient timing babes. Vibey isn’t charged and I’m still in my sweaty sports gear.’ I said. ‘Tell me more…’ he responded. From then on, I knew he was being serious.

Erghh. Shit! I’m really not good at this. I took a deep breath, took my clothes off and slipped under my bed covers. ‘Babes what are you doing?’ Good question Sarah, I thought. It was a safe start and gave him the chance to take the initiative. I was a crumbling ball of mess, biting my pillow in hope that I could come up with some sexy sentences. All I could think The last time I had attempted at phone sex about was the word ‘moist’ and ‘penetrawas in year eight and I tried to convince my tion’ and trust me; I was as dry as a fucking boyfriend of the time that I really wanted to desert down there. sit in a hot spa and play with his willy. I’m He responds… ‘I’m laying on my not sure why that was going to turn him bed naked babes, and I’m really hard.’ on, like why the fuck a spa? It was my very Ahhhh shit. Momentarily I had gone bright sexually-advanced friend who told me that red, like he had turkey slapped me in the it works like a treat. Well I can assure you face with his stick of hardness. I couldn’t that it didn’t. His response? ‘What? Why do deal. It was too funny. I had to pull myself you want to touch my penis in a spa?’ My together and play along with it. He then response? ‘Because its warm and slippery, goes, ‘What are you doing babe?’ I was just like my vagina?’ curled up in a ball with an aching body, We sat there in a minute of silence, thinking about how badly I was craving in remembrance of the most awkward chocolate. But I couldn’t say that! phone sex conversation to go down in ‘I’m thinking about the first time history. I told him my phone line was that we had sex and how I couldn’t get cutting out and I hung up on him. It was enough of your penis. It still gives me the first and last time that I was to ever goose-bumps, thinking about that night.’ I attempt stupid phone sex again. responded. Nailed it. Reminiscing on times So when I had my babes on the that we have already had sex make the best other line telling me he was horny, my stories. heart sunk. At first I giggled, but then I ‘Really babe? I love being inside of stopped, I didn’t want him to think I was you. Next time we see each other, my penis laughing at him. I was actually laughing isn’t going to leave your vagina.’ He said. at the fact that I was fucking terrified of He asked me to send him photos, but I talking dirty, in case I said something made him go first. When I received the along the lines of having a huge gaping photo, I started giggling again. I had seen hole, ready to suck everything in… what? his penis a million times; I had no idea

what I was laughing at. I wanted to tell him that I felt like a raging porn star sending and receiving these photos, but that would have probably only turned him on more. As my photos began getting kinkier, so did his. I started getting into this. I told him that I missed his fingers rubbing up against me, while he was inside of me and he said he missed me playing with his balls. We were both finally at breaking point where this needed to end. So I suggested videos. We both got off the phone and spent two minutes filming ourselves, before calling each other and sending them. Slight dilemma, I had a pimple on my arse. And even though I wasn’t filming that area, I had to maneuver the camera so it was on a ‘sexy angle’ and that meant, arse showing. For the first time, I had my butt cheeks in the mirror, while I was massaging foundation into them. I added a sexy bronzed glow and then glossed my rim hole, ha just kidding… But the foundation part was legit. I didn’t want some bulbous red lump on my homemade porn. While we sat on the phone watching the videos, he kept saying ‘babes, fuck me.’ It was actually really hot hearing him get turned on by a video of me. It gave me the biggest rush. I told him that I was going to play with myself while watching his video and that I want him to do the same and so we did. It literally only took me thirty seconds until I was done and dusted, but he was still going, so I pretended to make sex sounds (without sounding too much like a dying animal) to get his gears grinding, before I heard a massive explosion of satisfaction. He was done. He instantly returned to a normal conversation, like nothing had even happened. I was still lying there giving myself high fives, for owning this shit! Bring on the phone sex. I had honestly just felt like I had finally cleared first base in high school. And he had no idea that I was a rookie to any of this. Well not until he reads this article.

In this day and age, it actually never even occurred to me that phone sex still existed. After all, we now have the technology of Skype where we can practically rub our bits on the screen and let our juices virtually combine. We are also technologically advanced enough to buy gadgets in which we attach to all our kinky spots and press buttons, to send vibrations into each other. So I never actually thought that phone sex could rear its sexual head and actually provide two people who are unable to have sex, pure pleasure and satisfaction. But boy did it prove me wrong. Of course there have been some slight alterations, such as the up-to-date technology of videos and photos, but the creativity in sharing stories was still at the forefront. However in stating all of the above, we are now dealing with the implications of sharing sexually explicit files amongst one another, because at the end of the day it is unfortunately considered porn and it does unfortunately place us in vulnerable positions, where the files can potentially be shared amongst others. It is breaching the act of privacy, although that does not stop people. And trust me I know. As a female, having many male mates, I have witnessed them sharing ‘wank bank’ photos amongst each other as a joke, with the female thinking that she has full trust in the male that she sent the photos to. So before you start sharing and sending, there are some things that you can do to prevent the embarrassment of being shared online! (And this goes for men too). If you send photos/videos, make sure your face isn’t in them! It’s such an obvious one, but I see so many photos that guys have shared of other girls where their face is the most prominent part… Which in fact is the part that guys actually DON’T care about. So if you’re going to go to the extent of getting your clothes off for the camera, remember > 49

that the guy only wants images/footage of your vagina, boobs and body. Otherwise he would never ask and instead sit on Facebook downloading photos of your face. So cut the face. Same goes for guys, if you have tattoos on you arm and you decide to wank with that arm while filming, just don’t. Rookie mistake. Another thing, if you’re sending photo/footage, make sure you’re receiving. So if the knob jockey on the receiver end tries to threaten you at all, you have something to use against him/her. Unless a guy has the penis size of a porn star, then he does not want anyone on social media seeing the size of his junk; it’s demoralising and embarrassing. The same goes for girls, except obviously vaginas.

Lastly, send your kinky business to someone you trust. Too many times you see girls thinking that they’re going to gain respect, brownie points and a boyfriend when they send a naked shot. They’re idiots. As much as we want equality to exist in this world, it won’t and double standards will always apply. If a woman is sending indecent photos of herself to any old Joe Blow, then she’s nothing more than an easy slut. Make a guy run for his money… it’s actually a lot more fun.

SARAH LONG

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EDITORIAL Emily Eaton Editor Sarah Long Creative Director Dave Lee Assistant Editor Nicole McMahon Advertising/Marketing CONTRIBUTORS Tom Bensley Entertainment Monica Jankowski Music Kevin He Entertainment Gemma Davies Life Mia Francisco Life Spencer Hadlow Life Isobella Van Schaik Life Photography Lucien Graetz

Blaire Magazine is an Australian-based interactive publication dedicated to the arts and entertainment. Launched in 2012 as a blog project, Blaireâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s initial success raised big interview and press opportunities, allowing for a relaunch in May 2013.

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