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DECEMBER 2014
EMILY EATON EDITOR SARAH LONG CREATIVE DIRECTOR DAVE LEE ASSISTANT EDITOR NICOLE MCMAHON ADVERTISING / MARKETING MONICA JANKOWSKI MUSIC DIRECTOR EDITORIAL CONTRUBITIONS: NICHOLAS IVANOVIC FILM MITCHELL PASCOE SPORT TORY PRICE FASHION TOM BENSLEY LIFE SPENCER HADLOW LIFE ISABELLA VAN SCHAIK LIFE BRADLEY COWAN MUSIC MAGAZINE DESIGN KELLY MCMAHON FEATURING: ALUNAGEORGE, BASENJI, YACHT CLUB DJS, THE STAY SHARP COLLECTIVE, DANIEL SYKES, STEPHANIE BOINAY FASHION SPONSORED BY OZ APPAREL ENQUIRIES / SUBMISSION / ADVERTISING: SARAH@BLAIREMAGAZINE.COM ABN: 62359130068 WWW.BLAIREMAGAZINE.COM
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CONTENTS
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YACHT CLUB DJ’S INTERVIEW
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MUSIC REVIEWS
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ALUNAGEORGE INTERVIEW
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CHRISTMAS CONSUMERISM
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BASENJI INTERVIEW
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FEATURE PHOTOGRAPHY – DANIEL SYKES
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EBOLA CONSPIRACIES
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THE STAY SHARP COLLECTIVE
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FEATURE ARTIST – STEPHANIE BOINAY
44. PIRACY 46.
FILM REVIEWS
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SPORTING PARENTS
50. EUTHANASIA
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YACHT CLUB DJ’S The Yacht Club DJ’s Gaz and Guy are reaching the end of their long and party filled journey and will be finishing it all up with their ‘Hooroo!’ national tour. This gives fans one last opportunity to party with their favourite Yacht Club captains. I was lucky enough to be able to speak with Guy ahead of the tour. HEY GUY, THANK FOR CHATTING WITH US. HOW EXCITED ARE YOU TO START YOUR FAREWELL TOUR AT THE END OF THE MONTH? I’m pretty excited; it’s good to get somewhere really quickly funnily enough. So why have you guys decided to move on after so many years? I think we feel as if it’s the right time. We talked about it at the start of the year when we planned our tour and then we released some original music that we have always wanted to do, and we feel as if we sought of have done everything that we have set out to do, and we can either keep repeating it or just go out on a high. We may as well go out while we’re doing really good shows like we are now. Just go out while it’s still fun and we’re having a good time. DO YOU PLAN TO STILL STAY IN MUSIC AFTERWARDS? Yeah. I play drums in a band called ‘Twinsy’ and I’ve got some new stuff we’re going to release next year. Gaz is in the same boat. He’s going to go overseas I think, and might move there. YOU GUYS ARE PRETTY WELL KNOWN FOR YOUR INSANELY FUN AND CRAZY LIVE SHOWS, WHAT IS ONE OF THE CRAZIEST THINGS THAT HAVE HAPPENED WHILE YOU WERE PERFORMING? There was a gig a couple years ago at the Precinct in Melbourne, and there were two guys there that were just like absolutely fully sick and we turn around and just like got up on stage and they were punching holes in the plaster and then they started doing like chin-ups in the plaster and pulling the plaster down. We were like, who would do that? We looked over and there was plaster dust everywhere and they pulled like half the roof down. THAT’S CRAZY! AT WHAT AGE DID YOU START TAKING MUSIC SERIOUSLY? Um, probably about 13. I’ve played drums my whole life and I sort of just 6
decided that’s what I want to do, you know? WERE YOU IN ANY BANDS BEFORE YACHT CLUB? Yeah a couple. I used to play drums with my friend Kenny in a metal band. A prog-metal band. WHAT IS YOUR OPINION ON THE MELBOURNE SOUND/BOUNCE GENRE THAT IS MASSIVELY POPULAR NOWADAYS, ESPECIALLY TOWARDS THE YOUNGER CROWD? It’s weird; when we were in America last year for a couple of months, we came back and everyone was on about it. I think it’s just easy to dance to. It’s like party by the numbers kind of thing; it’s a big build and then the certain type of drop. You can do that wiggle dance to it. Yeah that’s why, I’d say. A lot of people are hating on it. I don’t really go out and listen to a heap of it but I don’t have a huge problem with it either. DOES IT ANNOY YOU THAT DJ’S ARE STARTING TO MOVE AWAY FROM SAMPLING, MIXING AND THINGS LIKE THAT AND MORE SO PLAYING THAT TYPE OF SOUND? Yeah, but it’s just so popular right now. It just explodes though. Dubstep was popular a few years ago but you don’t really hear it much anymore. WHAT DO YOU THINK IS THE BIGGEST CHALLENGE THAT YOU’VE FACED OVER THE COURSE OF BEING A DJ? I think kind of just to keep yourself interested. And also learning that the crowd is number one. You have to keep the fans happy, but also keep the vibe up to you. Because I’m sick of every popular song. If I heard ‘Hey Ya’ again in my own personal time I’d probably go completely mental. But that’s part of it. That was kind of a big reason we were doing Yacht Club the way we do it with the editing, creating a new take on other people’s songs so you’re not hearing the same shit every weekend because you’re over it. Jake Linham 7
MUSIC REVIEWS / BRADLEY COWAN
THE DRUMS / ENCYCLOPEDIA The Drums return to the music scene with their signature indie-pop beats to deliver their third studio album Encyclopedia. Three years have gone by without a peep from this band so it is under watchful eyes that they return to face their critics. The lead single from the new release ‘Magic Mountain’ couldn’t be more ‘drumsy’ with its grimy guitar and psychedelic vocals. The real magic on the album ironically hits it’s peak in the second single ‘I can’t Pretend.’ For once The Drums have decided to slow down the tempo for this 60s inspired love song. Whilst Encyclopedia is not a bad album, The Drums really failed to provide anything as outstanding as ‘Money’ or ‘Lets go Surfing.’ However we are pleased to see that lead singer Johnny Pierce has stuck with his unique style and is keeping bowl cuts in fashion.
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COLD WAR KIDS / HOLD MY HOME Cold War Kids busted onto the scene with a huge bang way back in 2006 with summer anthems like ‘Hang Me Out To Dry’ and ‘We Used To Vacation.’ Since these epic releases its been hard for the Cold War Kids to churn out anything with such melodic value. Four studio albums later, Cold War Kids release Hold My Home which doesn’t give us hits like the summer of 2006 but they do get bloody close. If you choose just one track to listen to, turn ‘First’ up loud – it’s uplifting, inspiring and will leave you feeling empowered (although there are some definite Coldplay-ish moments in there). This album is a release dedicated to the diehard fans that have held onto those epic tracks of 2006 and will just pretend that the new stuff is just as good as the old. Keep on dreaming mates.
THE TING TINGS / SUPER CRITICAL It’s been three years since the release of The Ting Tings last album. The new release Super Critical has been worked on by English duo Katie White and Jules De Martine for the past two years. Although at times the album forces you to tap your feet, The Ting Tings have failed to return to the height they launched their career with. There is no equivalent to the 2007 release ‘That’s Not My Name’ and instead we are left with the background music for a pretty tame girls night. The disco beat in the lead single ‘Do It Again’ makes it the ideal track to touch up your lippy or bop around in your underwear whilst looking for that perfect outfit on a Saturday night. The rest of the album follows suit, more modern disco beats and girly pop music. The Ting Tings Super Critical is definitely one for the ladies.
BEN HOWARD / I FORGET WHERE WE WERE If Tracey Chapman were to have a sex change, change the color of her skin and turn the clock back twenty years, she would pretty much be Ben Howard. I Forget Where We Were is Howard’s second studio album and it is filled with romantic ballads. The lead single ‘End Of The Affair’ is an incredible slow burner that builds to a powerful climax. The moments of silence in the track add to its beauty and prove why Ben Howard deserved to win not one but two Brits for his debut release in 2013. I Forget Where We Were is music at its best, just by listening you can easily hear the time and thought that has gone into every second of every song. Ben Howard is like Harry Potter, he makes magic, just not with a wand, rather a guitar. I Forget Where We Were will certainly cast a spell on you.
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ALUNAGEORGE
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Aluna and George decided to work together to create music after George mixed some tracks for Aluna’s band. They now are a duo and call themselves AlunaGeorge. What they create is something that can only be described as ‘musical magic’. AlunaGeorge is exactly what your ears need and if you haven’t got into them yet, then you are missing out! The two sat down with me for a chat about life, music and all the things they love about our awesome country. MJ: HOW DID ALUNAGEORGE COME ABOUT? Aluna: George did a remix for our my old band (My Toys and Me). That’s how I heard his music for the first time. Then it was just a casual idea to get into the studio and that’s how it all started really. George: I was in a band before and just like most musicians, we began playing music and getting about. The band came to an end sort of later in the year that I met Aluna, from memory. Once we started writing music together, it became pretty apparent, pretty quickly that we had something worth doing more of. So, it was a no-brainer for both of us, I think. MJ: YOU’VE JUST FINISHED UP A MASSIVE TOUR, WHICH WENT FOR ALMOST FIVE MONTHS. WHAT’S IT LIKE BEING AWAY FROM HOME FOR SO LONG? Aluna: Umm, its all dependant on the people you’re with. We’ve been really lucky with the band members that we’ve got with us on tour. They know how to keep it going. So it’s usually about managing your perspective, I’d say. You’ve got to try and do things like exploring the town you’re in. Even if you’re really tired, you’ve got to try and walk out in this town you’re in and get a picture of where you are. Get something local to eat. Really try and take the opportunity to experience where you are because it can often be really easy to go, ‘Oh I’m too tired, I’ll just stay in the hotel.’ If you do that, you come away from the tour and you don’t know where you have just been. You’ve just got to get out there and seize the opportunity. MJ: WHAT WAS YOUR FAVOURITE PART OF THE TOUR AND WHY? Aluna: Well, actually, coming to Australia was a huge highlight for us. We didn’t expect it to, you know, feel as different as it did because it’s an Englishspeaking country. We thought, ‘Oh, it’s going to be like London! Like England, but somewhere else. But it’s not. It has got completely its own vibe. Which was really, really refreshing and made us feel really good staying there. We didn’t want to leave. George: Yeah, it was amazing! Like, it’s just such a fantastic place for us to go and get to visit. The shows there were amazing. I had the sweetest moment actually. I don’t know if I told you Aluna. It was our last night of the Listen Out tour festival last time we were in Australia and it was our final night being in the country. I was out on the balcony, having a cigarette before I went to bed and there were some guys on the balcony next door to me who were just messing around. They realised that someone was there and they were like, ‘Oh sorry mate, didn’t mean to be so loud’. And then they realised that they’d seen us play earlier that day. Suddenly, there was like one head, poking around the corner of this balcony and then there was another head, poking above the first guy and then came a third person [laughs]. So they started having a conversation with me at one in the morning and they were just the sweetest guys. I got to chat to them and find out their stories and all that. They were super kind about the band and they really enjoyed the show. It was just so nice to meet such kind people and have a genuinely nice time. It was the most lovely way to end the tour. I gave them every bit of memorabilia that I could get cause they guys were telling me that they had to save up to come to the festival. I tried to give them every freebie I had. That’s the thing though with touring, there’s a lot of hotels, airports and going backstage, to the airport, to a hotel and back to the airport, backstage, hotel. It’s just nice to stop and chat to some people because they can really last in 11
I MEAN, ONCE AN IDEA GETS GOING, THE OTHER PERSON IS QUITE QUICK TO KEEP UP AT A SATISFYING PACE
your memory. MJ: HOW DO YOU THINK YOU’D BOTH GO IF YOU GOT A CHANCE TO SWAP ROLES WITH EACH OTHER? George: Oh man, I would be so bad. Like the worst! The only possibility of it working out, maybe, is if I danced on stage. That’s about it. I’d be horrible! Can you imagine? Aluna: Also, what you’d have is an incredible beat-boxing album. I’m the worlds worst beat-boxer but thats the only way I could make electronic sounds. That is all I’d be able to do basically. And then George could sing on that so I don’t think anyone would buy it [laughs]. George: Imagine, like all the music videos we’ve done. Imagine if I was doing, what you were doing and you were doing what I was doing [laughs]. Aluna: [laughs] Listen, George, I think you would actually be very entertaining. MJ: I think that’s a good idea for your next video. George: Just flip it up. MJ: EXACTLY! NOW, YOU GUYS RELEASED THE DEBUT ALBUM IN 2013 AND THEN IN JUNE THIS YEAR, YOU RELEASED BODY MUSIC (REMIXED). WHAT CAN WE EXPECT FROM YOU GUYS IN 2015? George: Album number two! Aluna: Oh yeah! George: That is 2015 for us. We’ve been working on it pretty much since we got back, well since we finished the tour. We came back and we both love the studio. We missed it so much. We kind of ran back in there. So it has been the best part, getting close to a year now maybe, that we’ve been working on it? It’s really close! It’s really close to being done so that is 2015 for us. MJ: LOOKING FORWARD TO IT. WHAT’S THE PROCESS OF MAKING A SONG LIKE FOR YOU GUYS? IS IT GETTING BEATS DOWN AND THEN LYRICS OR VICE VERSA? Aluna: Well, we don’t do this on purpose but it’s more fun to just not know what we’re doing at the time. We tinkle around with a lot of ideas and we bring that to the studio when we’re together. It’s usually like a half-baked job and we see if it inspires the other person. It could be anything from George having a musical idea and then I’ll see if I can work something to that or I’ll come in singing a part of a melody and I’ll play it to George, who will have to replay it [laughs]. George: Yeah, thats pretty much it. It’s a handy thing for both of us, cause neither of us is that slow. I mean, once an idea gets going, the other person is quite quick to keep up at a satisfying pace. You feel like something is being down with the day and that is really helpful. If its not happening, then we will just drink tea and maybe have a biscuit or two and thats also fine. Sometimes, you need those days. MJ: FAVOURITE SONG ON THE BODY MUSIC ALBUM AND WHY? George: You know what I heard actually. I say I heard because I haven’t listen to the album a great deal since we’ve released it. I’ve heard the songs a million billion times before. But at rehearsals last week, I heard the guys playing ‘Your Drums, Your Love’. I haven’t listened to that song in ages and I still like it! It’s a good song. So I’ll go with that one. Aluna: We’ve reintroduced some songs into the live shows that weren’t in it for a while and ‘Kaleidoscope Love’ is one I’m really enjoying at the moment. I think because we gave it some extra love and pre-production to try and get it sounding right, basically. It’s really benefitted from that and I’m really loving it at the moment.
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MJ: WHO IS YOUR DREAM COLLABORATION? George: You know what, I’m going to go with Thom Yorke. I think we would both massively enjoy trying to first talk in the presence of Thom Yorke and then make some music on top of that as well. That would be wicked. Aluna: I’m going to say Lauryn Hill. See what she can tolerate, really, in working with someone like me. MJ: YOU’RE PLAYING AT BEYOND THE VALLEY THIS YEAR FOR NYE IN AUSTRALIA. HOW EXCITED ARE YOU FOR THAT? Aluna: Very, very excited! I think that might be one of the coolest ways to see in the new year. I can’t think of anything better. It’s just going to be absolutely awesome. And it takes the pressure off coming up with something to do. So we’re also grateful for that. MJ: DO YOU THINK IT’LL COMPARE TO YOUR LISTEN OUT EXPERIENCE HERE LAST YEAR? Aluna: Oh, its definitely got to be better, right? I mean, there wont be that euphoria of being in a new country for the first time but its nicer because we have the opportunity to get a little bit more familiar with Australia. I love getting familiar with a place. I think it is a beautiful thing. MJ: YOU HAVE BEEN TO AUSTRALIA BEFORE SO I’M GOING TO QUIZ YOU ON YOUR AUSSIE SLANG. WHAT DO YOU THINK THESE SLANG TERMS MEAN? MJ: WHAT IS A BOTTLE-O: George: A bottle-o? Aluna: Is it a kind of fish? George: Is it something to do with booze, cause the guy we loaned the studio of is Australian and I think it’s a place where you buy wine and beer and all that? Like a bottle shop? MJ: Yeah it is. George: Mate, I’m taking a point there. MJ: OKAY NEXT ONE. IF I SAY SOMETHING OR SOMEONE IS “DEAD SET”. WHAT DOES THAT MEAN? Aluna: Oh, its like it is definitely going to happen. MJ: Yes! What about “Maccas”? Aluna: Something about kissing? George: That would be my guess [laughs] MJ: No, it is our slang term for McDonalds George: Oh Maccas! Aluna: [laughs] Oh that was pretty poor of us now. We should get minus points for that. MJ: AND LAST ONE, WHAT IS A “DRONGO”? George: Oh, it is an idiot right? Yeah, it’s an idiot! Aluna: Well done George! MJ: You guys have got our slang down pat pretty much. Awesome! Just to wrap us up, can you tell us three words to describe AlunaGeorge? Aluna: Tea, beats and whats the word for joking, George? George: Uh… Aluna: Jokes. Tea, beats and jokes. George: There you go. Monica Jankowski 15
IT’S SO FUNNY IN A RICH MAN’S WORLD We love burning holes in our pockets over Christmas to buy loved ones something special. Is it all a bit too much?
Each year, come rain or shine, there will be Christmas carols, mince pies, festive wrapping paper, and red and green tinsel on display. Tis the season, after all. The months leading up to Christmas creates a buzz in the air that permeates the senses and fills you up with joyful emotion and good will. As the gap closes towards the big day, you find that you only have 15 days left of chocolate in your advent calendar and you’ll notice that your throat starts to hurt from all the singing; or rather screaming of ‘Rudolf the Red Nose Reindeer’. You have started to regret that bulk-buy of mince pies, which you simply needed to have. Yet, despite it being only a few weeks till Christmas, shockingly you haven’t bought everyone their items on their Christmas list. Although it seems that your credit card may disagree with you. Every time you swipe that tiny piece of plastic and enter those four numbers, your credit card screams at you, ‘No more, no more!’ Yet you barely give the total number a second glance, because having presents on Christmas is so much more important than what you are doing to the card, essentially what you are doing to yourself. How I wish I could turn back the clock and not buy that stupid telescope that my father had to have and has never used, or the cookbook that my mother wanted, which is collecting dust on the side table. Not to mention countless other presents that were ‘wanted’ at the time and have now turned into the forgotten items 16
at the back of the cupboard, only to be mentioned in a ‘remember when’ conversation. Gone are the days in which you could joke that if a child was naughty, Father Christmas, Santa Claus or St Nick would bring them coal instead of presents. Instead, those small kids look at me with blank faces, they have nothing in their eyes and they ask, ‘What’s the naughty list?’ I cough and I splutter and I start to feel old despite being young. ‘Sit down young ones,’ I want to say because back in my day, parents used the naughty list as a way for children to connect with the idea that whatever presents you do get on Christmas day, you must be grateful for. As there are countless others who are not as fortunate, and are lucky to even get coal. But before I can even launch into my lecture on the fundamental basics of Christmas, they are off; because Taylor Swift has just released a new album and they need to have it, right now. Two or even three months before the big day, if any member of my family hesitates in buying something, the standard answer is, ‘it can be for Christmas.’ These days, the notion of waiting for a gift is just absurd. Everything, and I mean everything, is so easily accessible that the notion of waiting for something with baited breath and counting down the days has become a memorable pastime. Then I wonder if I’m becoming jaded; a cynic because I understand the rush of Christmas and the feeling you get towards the holiday. Yet sometimes,
I can’t help but wonder if I’m like the Grinch who wanted to steal Christmas because the noise kept him awake. I look at all the sparkly and pretty trinkets and wonder how many bins they will end up in on Boxing Day. Happiness during the festive season it seems, is judged on your receipts. You bought your mother something for $150; well I went to Tiffany & Co and bought my mother something for $200. It’s slowly becoming a comparison of who can do what better, and who can get more gifts. If Christmas is about the gift of giving; why don’t we hear that sentence more? If I asked a group of people to tell me the story of Santa, who started as St Nick, how many do you think would raise their hands? But it’s not only about that, because Christmas in its originality is meant to be about the birth of Jesus, and in the simplest terms, him coming to earth in order to cleanse us of our sins. No matter what religion, or no religion in fact, this should be mentioned because you are celebrating the holiday that was created by Jesus. If anything, you should be talking about the ideas that were passed on from this holiday, such as kindness, compassion and generosity. Until then, try not to think that Christmas is just a way to get pretty new things that you want because one day, something might shift and in a few years we could all end up screaming that we had, ‘35 presents! But last year, last year we had 36!’ Isabella Van Schaik
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BASENJI How many of you have heard of the dog breed, Basenji? Not many I’m guessing. But hopefully you’ve heard of Basenji the musical genius. He’s only a baby on the music scene but already he’s slaughtering everything in his path. Basenji is on his way to Australia to perform at Beyond The Valley on NYE. We chat to the man, who’s real name is Sebastian about dogs, where he gets his musical ideas from, and what he has in store for us. You will be impressed. 18
I REALLY LIKE WHAT I’M DOING AT THE MOMENT. THAT IS THE DREAM.
HOW DID BASENJI COME ABOUT? I think it must have been the last two weeks of university. I had been studying a lot and working on music a lot. I had a bit more time to go to the studio so I put some songs online and I kind of wanted to start working towards that project. That’s kind of how it started I guess. DOES THE NAME HAVE ANYTHING TO DO WITH THE DOG BREED? Yeah, that’s where I found the name, but I didn’t meet the dog until a long while after I had picked the name. I had never met one in real life. I had seen photos but I hadn’t interacted with one before. I just kind of like the way it sounds, I think. But I like all kinds of dogs. I used to have a Jack Russell terrier and it was the best. YOU’VE JUST SIGNED WITH FUTURE CLASSIC AND WITH WINDISH AGENCY. HOW DID IT FEEL WHEN YOU FOUND OUT? Yeah, really great! With Future Classic, the process of finalising everything ended up taking quite a long time. But we managed to get it all organised in time for the show which was a lot of fun and we could celebrate at the end of the night. The Windish Agency signing only happened pretty recently and I’m still excited about that. I think pretty soon we will find out more about that. And you’re possibly heading to America for Windish Agency. Had you ever though you’d end up in the US one day with your music? No, I never thought that I would be doing that. We’re trying to organise now what would be a good time for me to make it over there so yeah, I’m really excited. I reckon it will be a lot of fun when it happens. Where in the world would be your dream destination to perform? Oh, everywhere! I think America will be great. I’d love to tour Europe as well. That would be a lot of fun. I know people over there that I’d really like to work with in a few cities. But I love touring anyway. Even nationally. Touring nationally has been so much fun. AUSTRALIAN MUSIC IS TAKING OFF WORLDWIDE MORE SO THAN IT EVER HAS. WHY DO YOU THINK THAT IS? I think its because Australia reached a tipping point where there was a lot of emerging producers. Once one or two of them get picked up, people start paying attention and start looking for other local talent. I feel like that talent has always been there but now, the time is right. There is a lot of international attention on Australian artists who are blowing up. WHERE DO YOU GET YOUR MUSICAL INSPIRATION FROM? Oh, I like anything. I think it’s always direct. Like, I don’t think you listen to a song and think, ‘Oh, that’s good inspiration for a song.’ Inspiration can literally be anything. A painting or experience or conversation or anything like that can be an inspiration. For me, when I’m inspired to make a track, it’s not usually something obvious. It’s not usually something like an album or a gig or something. It’s always something less obvious. Like, the song ‘Heirloom’ is about tomatoes. Well, an heirloom is a type of tomato. It is obviously a word for an antique or treasure passed down but it is also a type of tomato. I like cooking. There’s lots of different types of tomatoes but that one is my favourite. I think that it is really good in salads and stuff. What do you think makes your music different to what is already out there? There are obviously similar artists to what I do. People do draw comparisons and I have connections to other people’s art. What I like to think makes it different is that it’s a bit more light-hearted than other people’s stuff. I kind of wanted to make music that was a bit more fun and a bit less serious.
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YOU’VE JUST WRAPPED UP THE LAUNCH TOUR FOR YOUR SINGLE ‘HEIRLOOM’. HOW DID THAT GO AND DID YOU GET THE REACTION FROM CROWDS THAT YOU EXPECTED? Yeah definitely! The tour was amazing! I don’t even know what my favourite show was. The first weekend was a lot of fun. The Sydney show was on the Friday and then it was three days in a row. Every show was so much fun! The tour was amazing. I can’t really pick specific parts. I just really enjoyed being everywhere. Every city was great. YOU’VE ALSO RECENTLY GRADUATED FROM UNIVERSITY WITH A DEGREE IN FRENCH AND GENDER STUDIES... Yeah, I finished university in November last year and graduated in April. I pretty much started music straight after I finished in November. NEITHER OF THOSE DEGREES SOUND LIKE THEY HAVE MUCH TO DO WITH MUSIC, SO WHY THOSE DEGREES? For me, going to university was not about doing something vocational. I just wanted to keep studying. High school was kind of annoying and I wanted to do something where I had more freedom to pick what I wanted. Gender and cultural studies was an area where I could write about what ever I wanted. French was something I had always studied so it just made sense to keep doing it. WHO IS THE COOLEST PERSON YOU’VE MET WHILE DOING MUSIC AND HOW DID YOU MEET? I meet lots of interesting people all the time, regardless of whether they make music or not. But I think for me probably Melty. He’s a producer from Sydney, from the Blue Mountains. He lives in the city at the moment. He makes his own clothes and all his own merch. He rides a scooter. I got him to support me on my Sydney show and I think he stole the show. He’s the best. He’s just your super creative kind of guy and he’s super friendly. WHAT CAN WE EXPECT TO HEAR FROM YOU IN THE NEAR FUTURE? New music, basically. I have an EP coming which will be out later this summer, I think. Most likely around the start of the new year. That’s pretty much what I’m working towards now. I have a few festival shows coming up as well over the next couple of months. But between all that, what I’ll really be spending my time doing is getting all those tracks ready. WHAT DO YOU HAVE ON YOUR PHONE WALLPAPER AT THE MOMENT? I have a photo of my girlfriend. CUTE! WHERE DO YOU SEE BASENJI IN FIVE YEARS TIME? Hopefully doing the same stuff. I really like what I’m doing at the moment. That is the dream. THREE WORDS TO DESCRIBE BASENJI? Cute, luxurious and based. Monica Jankowski
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FOR ME, WHEN I’M INSPIRED TO MAKE A TRACK, IT’S NOT USUALLY SOMETHING OBVIOUS... SOMETHING LESS OBVIOUS. LIKE, THE SONG ‘HEIRLOOM’ IS ABOUT TOMATOES.
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EBOLA CONSPIRACY THEORIES What is actually real? Are the people still alive? Was Ebola created to kill a nation? So many questions.
The biggest 2014 Halloween costume trend? It’s a tie. Not a necktie. But a competitive tie between Elsa & Ebola. Platinum wigs and power ballads, or HAZMAT suits. The recent outbreak of Ebola (the largest in history) isn’t a laughing matter. The number of reported cases in West Africa currently sits at around 13,000 cases – with a mortality rate of approximately 40%. The World Health Organization and The Centre for Disease Control predict that the actual number could be 2-3 times more than that due to how many cases go unreported. There have been several outbreaks in the past, particularly in tropical regions like Sub-Saharan Africa. But there is a darker side to the Ebola outbreak: the conspiracy theories. It’s surprising that despite the fact that outbreaks have been reported since the 1970’s, there are still a large number of people who will insist we’re not being told the ‘whole truth’ about the Ebola scare. So why is this happening? Let’s unpack some of these theories and find out. The first theory is that disease = big money – particularly to pharmaceutical companies. The fear of big business and the idea of someone making some green out of our personal pain and suffering is probably the source for the first ‘theory’ behind Ebola. Major Pharmaceuticals created Ebola 30
and released it into the community in order to sell antivirals and the ‘inevitable vaccine’. Medicine means money, and Ebola is a cash cow waiting to be milked. The next theory is an intriguing one. There are some in the conspiracy community who believe there is a secret agreement between the US government and the of governments of Sierra Leone, Liberia and Ghana to use their citizens a ‘guinea pigs’ – to test the effects of Ebola so that it may be potentially used as chemical warfare in the future. This theory seems to rely heavily on distrust of the US, particularly on a global scale. It’s supported by the big US presence currently in West Africa. These kinds of fears and theories pop up every so often dating back to even WWI. In some cases there is even some truth behind them. The Nazi regime during WWII was found to be pursuing a variety of human experiments. Malaria was deliberately given to prisoners in order to test vaccines and measure how the body responded. Other stories have come out of people being subjected to freezing conditions, being forcibly sterilized and having compulsory exposure to mustard gas. War brings out the worst in people – and although its unlikely true, the connection between Ebola and biochemical warfare can be made.
The third major theory which has some support from the twitter of Chris Brown himself is the theory that Ebola has been released into the community as a form of population control. Sub-Saharan Africa has a high poverty rate due to a combination of factors – unpredictable weather, rapid population growth and other political influences. Our western society is ignorant in regards to the reality of Africa. It’s a diverse country made up of people of various religious and ethnic background. The theory of population control really comes across as nothing more than offensive, and also vaguely racist. You know what is easier than releasing a volatile disease that can spread from human to human through any kind of contact with bodily fluids, even after that person is deceased? Condoms. That’s right – a little sex education goes a long way. Western cultures tend to have a bad habit of bulldozing their way into developing countries, providing them with life-saving vaccines and medical advancements but not following up with the same emphasis on reproductive health. It’s simple. As the rate of dying babies drops, the population increases. Therefore you need to stop to lower the rate of new children being born. The easiest and most effective way is proper sexual education. The theories of population
control stem from our ignorance of other cultures and countries – particularly Africa, where we lump ‘em all together. Scrolling through Google will yield even more theories on the current outbreak – each becomes increasingly incoherent, based more in personal bias rather than fact. If you dig a little deeper, the root of all our Ebola theories is fear. Sometimes the truth is the hardest pill to swallow. Ebola is a vicious disease, spread from bats to humans with painful symptoms and no cure. The fear of what the truth is what forces people to look at other alternatives. The human race succumbing so quickly to a disease and being unable to stem its spread is proof that we might not have the grip on Mother Nature that we think we do. But do you want to know my theory? Ebola is causing harm to the people of West Africa – and regardless of whether it is manmade; a tool to make money, spread by aliens or a form of population control by the world elite – what we should be doing is donating to help the people who are suffering. Spencer Hadlow
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FASHION / TORY PRICE
HOW WAS STAY SHARP COLLECTIVE BORN? Tutty - I’d wanted to start a clothing brand for a few years but for one reason or another it’d just been put on the backburner. One day I just decided to take the plunge and give it a go. I had a ton of ideas but no real design skills, so I hit up Scotty to help out and after a few weeks of working late nights for free he came on as a partner. WAS IT EASY TO TRANSITION INTO BUSINESS PARTNERS AS WELL AS BEING MATES? Tutty - Yeah for us it was actually fairly easy. We’ve been mates for a few years and although we have a lot of laughs we’re also really passionate about the label and take the brand really seriously. I think it works because while we have a lot of fun, we both work hard and can rely on each other to get things done. It can be hard to switch off at times though, early on we were having some manufacturing issues and in order to not ruin a camping trip (and annoy every one of our mates more than we already do) we actually had to agree not to talk about SSC. Scotty- Yeah I think Tutty and I have found a good balance between work and pleasure. At the start we kind of tip-toed around each others feelings a bit when it came to one of us not liking the other’s idea, but now if Tutty doesn’t like something I’ve suggested he’s got no problem in telling me, haha. But yeah we both work really well together. We’re both super passionate about what we’re doing and we really want to make this work. DO YOU HAVE REGULAR BROMANCE DATE NIGHTS TO MAKE SURE YOU’RE NOT ALL BUSINESS AND NO FUN? Tutty – Haha, even when we’re in business mode we’re still always cracking jokes so we’re never all business and no fun, but yeah we have days hanging out where we don’t really discuss SSC too much… it always finds its way into a few conversations though. Scotty- Well Tutty lives in the city and I live in the southern suburbs of Sydney, so we don’t have nearly as many bro dates as I’d like haha. But I get enough calls off him each day that I think makes up for it. My girlfriend doesn’t even call me as much as he does. And we love our camping trips down south. So we try to get away at least a couple of times a year to chill out. WHY DO YOU CALL YOURSELF A COLLECTIVE? Tutty - The collective came about because while there’s just the two of us at the core of it, we wanted the brand to be bigger than just us. We love the idea of having a number of different artists and other creatives involved. Even a lot of our mates help us out with various things like photoshoots and events or even little things like folding shirts. HOW DO YOU STAY SHARP? Scotty – Oh man that’s a tough one haha. Well, without trying to sound too wanky, what I think Stay Sharp is all about is the ‘question everything’ mentality. Trying to live a life where you’re passionate about things and to not fold in on what society tells you what you should be or how to think. And if we can create a brand that encompasses that ethos then I’d be pretty stoked with that. YOUR LOGO IS A RAZOR. PLEASE EXPLAIN. Tutty - We spent a lot of time brainstorming ideas and we obviously wanted a catchy name, but one thing we really wanted was a strong, noticeable logo that hadn’t been used in streetwear before. It also needed to suit the style we were going for and we thought the razor kind of encompassed that. 32
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STAY SHARP WANTS PEOPLE TO ‘BREAK THE MOULD’. HOW DO YOU GUYS SET AN EXAMPLE OF NOT GIVING A FUCK ABOUT WHAT OTHER PEOPLE THINK AND DOING WHAT YOU’RE PASSIONATE ABOUT? Tutty - I think just the fact of running the label itself is us living this ethos. Everything we do is based around doing what we’re passionate about and stepping out of society’s norms. Scotty – Yeah exactly! I think there’s a bit of a surge in our generation where we don’t want to conform to society’s standards. The whole idea of getting married early, having two kids with a 9-5 job working for the man just to pay off the mortgage doesn’t sound as appealing to most people as it used to. I think people want more out of their life. Go see the world, meet people, and challenge yourself and your ideas. YOU GUYS SEEM TO BE LUCKY AND SMART ENOUGH TO MAKE YOUR PASSION YOUR WORK, BY LIVING AND BREATHING THE STAY SHARP LIFESTYLE. ANY ADVICE TO SOMEONE THINKING OF MAKING THE DECISION TO CHASE THEIR DREAMS? Tutty - It feels funny giving advice because we’ve still got such a long way to go before we’re even close to achieving a lot the goals we set for ourselves, but I’ll give it a shot. Everything’s going to sound so cliché, but you really just need to go for it. There’s never going to be an easy time, you just need to dive off the deep end. In saying that, you also need to be prepared to step out of your comfort zone, take risks and put a lot of work in. When we started we really had no idea what we were doing, neither of us had ever run a business before or had any experience with making our own clothes from scratch, choosing fabrics, printing or anything like that… Scotty hadn’t even used Adobe Illustrator when we began. Everything was really just hours of research, trial and error, and always learning from people we work with along the way. You also need to be prepared to sacrifice other aspects of your life. Personally with SSC, the glorified or what a lot of people consider the ‘cool side’ of running a label is really the smallest part haha. We’ve had a lot of really late nights and tired days, with successes and setbacks, but we both love it. If your heart’s not in it, or you’re just in it for an ego trip and you’re not prepared to put in hours upon hours behind the scenes, then you’re probably not going to succeed. MY MUM ALWAYS TOLD ME THAT THERE IS A FINE LINE BETWEEN PERFECTIONISM AND BEING AN ANALLY RETENTIVE PERSON THAT NO ONE LIKES. WHICH CATEGORY DO YOU FALL IN TO? DOES IT HELP HAVING A PARTNER TO MAKE SURE YOU DON’T GET COMPLETELY OBSESSED WITH MAKING THINGS PERFECT? Tutty – Haha, now that’s a great question. Scotty and I are both crazy perfectionists, so I’m not sure having a partner helps with this one. I think we’ll always be walking that fine line of trying to figure out the right balance. In my opinion, you really need to be a perfectionist and to have an eye for detail when it comes to clothing. But at the same time, it can be hard at times to be happy with what you’ve accomplished because there’s usually some sort of tiny detail you can find that could’ve been improved. In the early stages of every piece of clothing you’ll find us nitpicking every aspect of the design or fit, we’re pretty annoying dudes. Scotty- Yeah I’ve got OCD so I probably fall into the anally retentive category, haha. But like Tutty said, I think to succeed you need to be a certain amount of anal. Although at times it can get pretty frustrating, even a simple thing like putting a photo up on social media can take us forever, nitpicking the wording of the caption or whether the photo should be cropped that one pixel more to the right. Sometimes I wonder how either of us have friends haha. 34
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WE JUST TRY TO GET ARTISTS INVOLVED WHO WOULD MAKE STUFF WE THINK IS RAD AND WOULD WANT ON CLOTHES, SO THAT DEFINITELY INSPIRES US!
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ON YOUR BLOG THE VARIETY OF LOCAL ARTISTS REGULARLY FEATURED IS INCREDIBLE, HOW DO YOU FIND THEM? Tutty - Cheers, we’re both just really into art in all different mediums so most of them are just our favourites or people who inspire us. But social media definitely helps, there’s so many talented people out there that we’ve discovered through things like Instagram that we probably never would’ve come across. Scotty – Yeah I love all kinds of art. So I’m always searching the net late at night and scrolling through hordes of cat pictures on Instagram to find some cool new artist to give me inspiration. YOU GUYS ASSOCIATE YOURSELF WITH THE TATTOO CULTURE BY HAVING RAD TATTOO ARTISTS IN YOUR CREW. DO YOU USE THESE GUYS TO INSPIRE YOUR OWN CREATIVITY? Tutty – Yeah we just try to get artists involved who would make stuff we think is rad and would want on clothes, so that definitely inspires us! It’s been awesome to work with the likes of Heath Crowe, Toby Gawler, Tristan Bentley, Judd Ripley and local illustrator Dave Whittaker so far. We’re currently working on a design with a young American illustrator named Tyler Hays too and we’re really psyched on how that’s coming along! Scotty – Yeah we’ve worked with some really cool artists who’ve done some awesome designs. When we first started this brand though, we wanted to be influenced by the tattoo culture but be weary enough not to make shitty Ed Hardy style tee’s. We wanted to find a way to work with tattoo artists and create a t-shirt that you could find in a streetwear store. And I think we’ve done a pretty good job so far. WHAT WOULD YOU SAY TO PEOPLE WHO DON’T THINK TATTOOS ARE ART? Tutty - I wouldn’t even bother.
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HOW OLD WERE YOU WHEN YOU GOT YOUR VERY FIRST TATTOO? WHAT WAS IT? ANY REGRETS? Tutty - I was 18 and it was some latin writing across the top of my back from a dodgy shop in Sydney. I pretty much picked the font from the net and the dude stenciled it straight from that. Although I wouldn’t get it again, I actually didn’t really regret it. I ended up having to laser it (shoutouts to Fade Laser at Darling Parlour) to make way for my back piece, but if it was in a spot where it wasn’t in the way, I would’ve just kept it. Sometimes it’s cool having those shitty tattoos to remind you of where you were at in that time of your life. What about you Scotty, why don’t you tell us about your first tattoo? Scotty – Haha cheers Tutty. Well, my first tattoo was a doosey. I was fresh 18 and it was the Eureka Stockade symbol and a certain Ned Kelly quote underneath. Lets just say I was very young and naive back then. I hate the fact that the symbol has been hijacked by redneck Aussies when it originally meant standing up to the government. It’s on my shoulder blade so I forget it’s there most of the time. But like Tutty said, it’s just a point in my life so can’t regret it too much. IF I PAID YOU $10,000 WOULD YOU GET A TATTOO SAYING ‘I LOVE TAYLOR SWIFT’ ON YOUR FACE? Tutty - Hell no! $10mil and I would think about it though. Scotty – I actually do love Taylor Swift. She’s a massive babe. So I probably would haha.
WWW.STAYSHARPCOLLECTIVE.COM
WOULD YOU RATHER GET TATTOOS OF AN INFINITY SIGN, A SWALLOW AND A FEATHER OR NEVER GET ANOTHER TATTOO AGAIN? Tutty – Definitely all of the above, inside of a dreamcatcher, with all my family member’s initials and my star sign. Scotty- Well, I’ve already got one shitty tattoo so why not add another. 39
STEPHANIE BOINAY I am a Portland native, Hawaii-based artist happily residing in Honolulu, Hawaii. In 2010 I moved to Oahu where I studied Art with an emphasis on Painting at Brigham Young University in Hawaii. It was in the small town of Laie where my love for the Hawaiian Islands and for painting grew. Using acrylic paints, I work on canvas as well as surfboards (old or broken ones make for awesome wall art). In my work I like to feature smaller moments in time that represent Hawaii and its treasures. I draw inspiration from the immense beauty and nature that surrounds me here, and I really enjoy capturing the energy of Aloha to share with others through my paintings. I see life in a variety of vivid colors, a freshness which my brightly-stylized paintings always reflect! Painting is the best way for me to show those around me a piece of who I am, and all I want to do is share happiness with others. If a person feels joy from my work, then I know I’ve succeeded in bringing them a little bit of aloha into their lives. 40
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PIRACY IS A CANCER Australian film is on the verge of packing up shop, locking the keys and saying goodbye thanks to piracy – we’re all guilty of this, so why don’t we give a fuck?
Exactly 12 months ago I wrote an article for Blaire Magazine about film piracy and its effect on the film industry. As soon as the magazine went live and the article hit social media it was immediately lambasted for my use of six-year old facts and quotes, based on, really the only study done into the effects of film piracy on the American film industry – a study which had, long ago, been proven to have been filled with complete falsities in itself. This time round, I’m going to try and stay clear of disproven facts or facts that have no back-up sources (this time I’ve done my proper research, I promise). I also aim to speak from the heart as an independent filmmaker in Australia. I’m not going to speak on an international level much, as I mainly want to focus on homegrown, local issues. Film piracy has always been a sketchy topic. We’re all aware that it’s illegal and that it has legal ramifications, but hardly any of us have actually known anyone who has been fined or sentenced for downloading a film, even though just about everyone we know does it. At that, I do want to put it on record again that I have never personally downloaded a movie that is still 46
within its copyright life. Not only is it a moral choice (as a filmmaker I’d never want to make a loss on any of my films by someone downloading it illegally for free, so I show other filmmakers the respect of buying their works), but as a film buff, and purist, I need the best I can get (this is reflected by my enormous Blu-ray and DVD collection. It’s not uncommon for me to spend upwards of $200 on movies per week.) According to the Australian Screen Association (ASA), the film industry in Australia ‘contributes an estimated $5.3 billion dollars to the Australian economy each year, and employs approximately 50,000 people’, of these statistics, Australian cinema chain Village Cinemas claims that, per year, $1.37 billion and 6,100 local jobs are lost as a cause of film piracy. It may not seem an incredible loss, but to our flailing film industry, it’s quite a blow. In a recent interview veteran Aussie actor John Jarratt of Wolf Creek fame referred to film piracy in Australia as a ‘cancer’ that’s going to, ‘kill the Australian film industry… within the next few years.’ Jarratt went on to note how piracy, which is also leading to a lack of funding for independent filmmakers (myself directly effected
by this) from various funding bodies and film distributors, is slowly sending himself and his filmmaking buddies broke. It’s been noted in recent research, presented in October at the 69th Australia International Movie Convention on the Gold Coast, that 29 per cent of adults in Australia (that’s 4 million Australians) have admitted to film piracy – a step up by 4 per cent from 2013. It’s an inescapable fact that many of us do download, but it’s something that film studios and local authorities have struggled to prevent for years and years. Film studios usually target the actual uploader or pirate of the film (who, in Australia, can face up to ‘$71,500 and/or imprisonment for five years’ as set out by the Australian Copyright Council’s copyright infringement laws) as opposed to the downloader (who, if caught, can be fined up to $13,200 and/or be imprisoned for two years). However, recently there’s been many lawsuits and legal actions claiming mass penalties against those who have downloaded certain films – for example, overseas, the filmmakers of The Expendables 3, which was leaked online before it hit cinemas, blame piracy for its abysmal box-office
performance, and vowed to track down everyone who infringed on the film and penalise them. Also, locally, film distributors have been trying to find ways of blocking download portals from allowing downloading of illegal bootlegs. The main problem is that Australia is at the forefront of film piracy – mainly because, on the most part, films are often released here months after they are in the US market (with exception of Hollywood Blockbusters, which we often get a handful of days early, in order to beat the punch). In retaliation to the recent record-breaking statistics, the recent discussions of the death of the film industry, as well as a piracy-driven $5 million loss of sales to the locallyproduced and animated The Lego Movie, The Australian reports that film distributer Village Roadshow (Warner Bros.’ Australian arm) will be pulling all of its release dates of forthcoming films forward to matchup to the releases of the films in the US. It’s hard to believe that this in itself will pull back piracy. Sure, some pirates want to see films early, but most, in a complete lack of respect to the artists who spent all their effort and money on their art, just want them in the comfort of their own homes for free.
As an independent filmmaker I just can’t bring myself to download. I can’t feel responsible for partaking in the demise of the industry I want to work in for the rest of my life. I couldn’t deal with the feeling of guilt that comes with literally stealing from my peers. I believe that if a group of inspired and talented people can come together and put together a labor of love designed to entertain an audience for 90 minutes to an hour they deserve the reward – they’re not here to do it for you for free. In writing, I pledge to those who download, not to stop (because what are the changes you actually will, right?), but to just think about what you’re doing and at least consider stopping. Take yourself to a cinema and see a movie how it’s meant to be filmed. Buy the Blu-ray or the DVD. Or if you don’t want to own a physical copy, consider streaming off iTunes or pay-per-view cable channel or any other streaming platform for a small amount, rent a movie from a vending machine or from one of the lastsurviving video stores who have not been killed off by film pirates. Help support the local film industry so it can continue to produce local content and distribute films from all around the world. Help support myself and my filmmaking peers. It’s
becoming increasingly harder for us to find work in such a dying industry. Not because there’s no jobs (which there are, in all honestly, very few open), but because no one wants to fund our work. I pitched a proposal for a 9-Part Mini-Series to an Australian television station earlier in the year and even though they liked what I had prepared and saw credibility in my work, it was knocked back for funding partly because it’s such a risk to fund local independent projects. I have a few more avenues I can take in trying to get my project off the ground, but I feel my past 12-months work won’t be paying off any time soon. I want to live in a world where I can bring my visions to life and entertain people young and old with stories filled with laughter and love, adventure and intrigue – not one where I end up without a job because the only skills I have are in telling and crafting stories. The future of our film industry, the future of your entertainment (remember, a lot of the monetary gain our film industry makes comes from the distribution of overseas films) lies in your hands. Your move Australia. Dave Lee
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FILM REVIEWS / NICHOLAS IVANOVIC
FURY 4/5 The typical Hollywood War film mainly consists of macho circle jerking, American chest thumping and Nazis (or Russians) who can’t aim a gun. Fury is different. We follow Norman, a young and recently enlisted Army typist who joins a tank-crew consisting of five men, commanded by ‘Wardaddy’ Collier (Brad Pitt). Taking on the position of assistant gunner with no prior field experience, Norman experiences the horrors of war as he and the team push into Germany against incredible odds. Filled with intense action sequences and a great ensemble cast, Fury will resonate with you long after the credits roll, as it strikingly deals with the tremendous loss of humanity, innocence and morals during wartime. We even start to question the American’s moral compass with their treatment of the German civilians, reminding us that there are no winners during war, only tragedy.
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INTERSTELLAR 3.5/5 Christopher Nolan’s Inception surprised audiences back in 2010 with its multi-layered and thought provoking narrative about subconscious mind invasion. What prevented it from being a masterpiece though were its onedimensional characters. The plot of Interstellar tells of a widowed father (Matthew McConaughey) and his mission to locate a new human habitat when the Earth begins to die. Being Nolan’s grandest film to date (running over 3 hours) and largely taking inspiration from Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey, Interstellar unfortunately has the same flaws as Inception. The copious amounts of scientific discussion involving black holes, alternative dimensions, relativity and extra-terrestrial beings occasionally disrupt the plot and stilts character development and rapport. McConaughey still gives a strong and believable performance as a loving father and a truly selfless hero. Despite being the brainiest and the most visually spectacular film of the year, it’s not quite the blockbuster it should have been.
RISE 3/5 Personally, my greatest fear isn’t being buried alive or falling off a cliff; it’s ending up in jail! That’s exactly what happens to Will McIntyre, a young nurse who has his life ahead of him until he is falsely charged with rape after a one-night stand. Upon being found guilty, Will is noticed by hardened criminal, Jimmy, who admires Will’s determination to find a way to prove his innocence. This is a true story based on the false rape conviction of Mack Lindon, who wrote and directed the film based on his own experience. It is a film about hope and growing, but unfortunately the flow of the narrative and the dialogue of the film suffer a bit, perhaps due to the inexperience of the director. Martin Sacks, who plays Jimmy, is exceptional though. He is both highly intimidating as the alphamale of the prison yet his warmth towards Will feels realistic, allowing for a fantastic performance.
KILL THE MESSENGER 3/5 The 1980s was known as the decade of excess; marked by not only its exuberant fashions but also the crack cocaine epidemic that plagued North America. Based on the true story of investigative journalist Gary Webb (Jeremy Renner), Kill The Messenger follows his journey as he starts to uncover a conspiracy involving the CIA smuggling crack cocaine into the US during the 1980s, with the profits being used to fund Nicaragua Contra rebels. An interesting thriller/ drama, Renner is solid as Webb, who turns from cocky journalist to obsessive pursuer of truth in his quest to find the answers. Obviously stepping on some big toes, opposition comes to Webb in many forms, including shady government types who try to get him to stand down. The film slows down during its final act, but Kill The Messenger is still a fascinating film about an event that CIA is still held accountable for to this very day.
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DON’T PUSH ME CAUSE I’M CLOSE TO THE EDGE Parents, it’s time to give up. Your dream is over. Stop trying to recreate it through your child. It’s embarrassing.
Sport is heading along a very similar path to the film Gattaca. In the film, Ethan Hawke’s character is forced to take the identity of a genetically superior being in order to obtain his dream job. Of course the film (spoiler alert) ends with him duping the system, and traveling into space like he has always wanted. But these good news stories are becoming less and less common in our younger generations striving for sporting glory. Whilst genetics isn’t the only variable that determines an athlete’s success, there is no denying that they are nearly essential in a lot of mainstream sports. No NBA team is going to recruit a team of five foot nothing players. But the controllable aspects, including commitment and training regime, are very much in the hands of the athlete. The problem with the drafting process in many sports is that they are after the youngest and best talent going around, which if worked out backwards, means the future star has begun preparing at a very young age. This is where the influence of parents and guardians is at its most importance. With the correct guidance and encouragement, the rags to riches story can quickly become a reality. 50
To be perfectly honest, there are very few athletes who don’t dedicate a part of their success to the support of their family and close friends. Sadly these aren’t the role models we read about, with the media finding it much juicier to focus on the much darker underbelly of ‘supportive’ parenting. The ones we see on TV seem to think that each child they conceive is their ticket to fame, and they ride that cash cow as hard as it can handle. It’s hard to determine whether the sport is actually any fun for the child anymore, it’s more than likely that they simply know no other way in life. Tennis is a very good example of parents not knowing when to step back. With the amount of time a coach spends with their player, some parents find this too good of an opportunity to pass up. After steering their child’s career in this direction, they see it as their natural right to make a living off it as well. They’ve been right since day one when they introduced a tennis racquet to the infant, so why wouldn’t they know what’s best for their now-adult child? Some well-known examples of this are Maria Sharapova, Bernard Tomic and Jelena Dokic. Australia only really gets a real good look at their parent’s antics over the two weeks of the
Australian Open, but wow, do they make up for that lack of screen time. Court evictions, restraining orders and unsportsmanlike behavior best describe how these parents handle themselves over the tournament. The underdog story rising to the occasion is a favorite of many newspapers. It is only eclipsed by the next great hope failing, and doing so in an embarrassing fashion. How many people remember Dokic’s successes? I bet it’s a lot less than those who remember her dad bringing her to tears on more than one occasion. Same goes for Sharapova’s father appearing to call out during important points to distract an opposition. There is a point where a parent is too involved, and the best of intentions quickly fall by the wayside. Away from the tradition sporting ground, including your soccer mums and overly vocal fathers, the competitiveness in children’s pageants and gymnastics is also rather prolific. The mothers highlighted in these instances often refer to their own mistakes and shortcomings as a child, and think that an overbearing presence will somehow fix these. Whilst they might be able to help a child perfect the way they perform a flip through the
air, the amount of problems they create away from competition can be detrimental to their child. A parent aware of an upcoming recital at this capacity is overly conscious of how their child will look their best. This is where body image issues enter the argument, and how much pressure the child receives at home, the one place where they are supposed to feel their most comfortable. Non-stop tips barrage the child during their down time until they feel as though this performance is quickly becoming the most important aspect of their lives. What happens to the kids who ultimately don’t make it and don’t have the support or millions of dollars to fall back on? Is the relationship they should have with their parents fractured because they couldn’t, or wouldn’t, live up to the unrealistic expectations their parents assumed they would reach? Wanting success and encouraging a child to reach for this is a wonderful
thing. But there is a line, which to everyone else is extremely obvious. Yet time and time again, parents are blinded by ambition and miss out on the love and fun times they should be sharing with their children. Regret is a weight which should be carried by the owner, not draped around a child’s neck, like a medal you are urging them to win. Mitchell Pascoe
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SHOULD AUSTRALIA LEAGLISE THE CHOICE TO DIE? Some say it practically already exists amongst hospitals and nursing homes, overdosing the elderly with morphine to the point that their body shuts down – so why can’t we just legalise euthanasia?
Euthanasia is back in the news again. It’s the debate that refuses to be put to rest, one of the most polarising issues the world just can’t seem to figure out. Martin Burgess, Darwin cancer sufferer and euthanasia advocate, made headlines after he died in October this year, choosing to end his life by illegally obtaining drugs over the internet. Early in November, Brittany Maynard’s publically-documented struggle with brain cancer came to an end. Hers was a story that sent an electric current through the world, highlighting the issue in a more personal, emotional way than ever before. And recently, Philip Nitschke, Australia’s most tireless euthanasia advocate, had his medical license suspended for illegally practicing euthanasia on a man whom he knew was not terminally ill. He responded on Twitter by saying the suspension was ‘politically motivated’. Every time something like this comes up, it forces the world to take sides. Euthanasia: right or wrong? Murder or pain relief? But is this polarising attitude the best response to such a sensitive issue? Euthanasia is a Greek-derived word literally meaning ‘good death’. It’s defined by an intentional mercy killing to relieve the suffering of the patient. The three types of euthanasia 52
are voluntary, non-voluntary and involuntary. Voluntary euthanasia is the only legal form, since it includes consent from the patient, whereas non-voluntary is entirely up to the doctor and involuntary is against the patient’s will – basically murder. Throughout history, there’s probably no medical practice that has received more consistent controversy than the practice of euthanasia. It’s practice dates back to Ancient Greek cultures, which were tolerant of suicide and physician-assisted killings. The Hippocratic Oath states that no physician shall administer poison with the intension of killing a patient, yet many physicians disregarded the oath. From the 12th Century onwards, when Christian law prohibited euthanasia, thus making it illegal in the Western world. With a turn toward scientific progress and away from the law of God, the Enlightenment period in the 17th Century challenged the Church’s prohibition of physician-assisted suicide, but attempts to fully legalise it never came through. It wasn’t until the mid-1900’s when support from the public increased and societies for voluntary euthanasia were founded. Some of the first bills being written and euthanasia took on the polarising, controversial image as we know it today.
Euthanasia, by definition, concerns everybody. Every person alive has a body, all bodies can get sick and we all eventually end up dead. Should we be allowed to decide if we live out our last days, or should we keep fighting, no matter what odds are stacked against us? The most popular argument against euthanasia is the ‘slippery slope’. That’s when one event leads to another, resulting in a chain of increasingly negative events. Therefore, legalising euthanasia could lead to expanding the amount of patients permitted to use the practice, regardless of their being terminal. Many medical practitioners and politicians use this argument, including our own Prime Minister Tony Abbott. He warned the public that children might euthanise their sick parents so they can receive inheritances earlier. He also speculated that future governments might lean towards ending patients’ lives as a more convenient option, as it requires fewer resources than long-term palliative care. Further complicating matters is the difficulty of the choice itself: How much influence should an emotionally impartial doctor have over the life of a patient? What if the patient is unable to articulate his or her decision, but the family insists on
euthanasia? How much can we really trust family and friends in times like these? Euthanasia is a complex issue. It almost seems unsolvable, but positive outcomes remind us why we can’t just ban it and end the debate. Take Brittany Maynard for example. She died early in November after taking legal drugs prescribed to her by her doctor, in a state in the US where euthanasia is legal. Since her illness, she has become like a poster child for assisted suicide. Her decision to end her life after being diagnosed with brain cancer resulted in a publically documented quest to live the life she had always wanted to, during her final months. Two weeks before she died, Maynard visited the Grand Canyon with her husband and family. In the photos she is smiling, happy and full of life. She knew the next six months of her life would wreak havoc on her body and mind, only prolonging an unbearably painful, short life. In the months leading up to her assisted suicide, Maynard tirelessly promoted the right to die for patients. She started the Brittany Maynard Fund and urged the public to share her story on social media so she could provide a positive perspective on euthanasia, as expressed by Brittany herself in a widely-accessible video. Despite a convincing case like Maynard’s, we still need to consider both sides of the euthanasia debate. It’s history will always serve to remind us that we cannot ignore the issue, but we cannot pick one side and put it to rest. There is no perfect solution, but we need to keep our options open. As medical technology advances and terminal illness continues to be a part of all our lives – not to mention overcrowding and bed shortages in hospitals – we are reminded that the euthanasia debate will always be with us. It might seem like a cop-out not to pick a side, but in matters of life and death, I believe we need to be absolutely sure of the consequences of each decision before we make ours. Let the debate rage on. Tom Bensley
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