Empire Times 40.4

[et] empire times Vol. 40 Issue 4

your free student magazine

Editorial

4

Acting-Prez Dispenser

6

Paul Harrison

Contributor Spotlight

7

Dear Dorothy

8

Sex Ed With Mistress M

Emma Sachsse

9

Global Issues

Agnik Sarkar

10

Politics

Aneta Peretko

11

Introducing The Pagan Society

Tegan Brinkman

13

Creative Expression

Jess Dangerfield

14

The Problem With Pretentiousness

Holly Richter

16

Lies Women Tell Men

Ondine Baker

17

Up The Hill

Adriana Allman

18

I Have A Crush On Everyone

Miranda Richardson

20

The Perils of Procrastination

Jack McEntee

22

Vox Pops

24

Interview: City Riots

Jess Nicole

26

ANZAC Day

Hannah MacLeod

28

International Office Report: Miami

Jessie Woldt

29

WorldMUN

Ajša Bajraktarević

31

Dream Interpretation

Katerina Bryant

32

Music Reviews

Ira Herbold, Elizabeth Daw

35

Interview: Nescha Jelk

Sarah Gates

36

Film Reviews

Will Parry, Annie Robinson, Sam Clayfield

38

Spotlight

Dorian Bašić

40

Crossword

41

Art Review

Amber Hall

42

Book Review

Simon Collinson

43

Fiction

Jess Dangerfield, Tim Carlier

44

Poetry

Sam Nock, Jess Nicole, Foster Pierce

48

Games

50 Editors: Sarah Gates, Simon Collinson and Preesan Pillay Front cover artwork by Elaine Cheng

Empire Times is a free publication of the Flinders University Student Association Visit us at facebook.com/empiretimesmag or fusa. edu.au/Common/ContentWM.aspx?CID=33

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Contents

[ editorial ]

States should have the right to enact laws... particularly to end the inhumane practice of ending a life that otherwise could live.

– George W. Bush FOUND: A new editor! As we mentioned last issue, Dunja was sadly taken away from us before her time (to work full-time for a paycheck). Luckily, the bright folks at FUSA have appointed an equally bright and slightly maniacal young fellow in her stead. Preesan has already been working with us for issues two and three and we’re glad to welcome him on as an editor. One more set of lungs to eat up the oxygen in our little office is always welcome.

It’s hard to believe that half a semester has already flown past... and that exams are looming so close.

The short break wreaked a bit of havoc with our editorial schedule and didn’t help much with stress levels (a fine layer of Sarah’s hair can be found on almost every surface in the ET office). But through this molten crucible ET has emerged as strong as ever!

In this issue, we have the spectacular cover art of Elaine Cheng to welcome you into 50 pages of thrills and wonderment. Dear Dorothy returns after a brief hiatus (Dorothy had a hip replacement) and the reemergence of theatre from its early April hibernation brings us an intriguing interview with Nescha Jelk of the State Theatre Company.

As the revived ET gains momentum, your editors have been invited to numerous secret bunkers

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nestled away on campus. The Art Museum allowed us behind its hallowed doors and the Library gave us a quick insight into special collections, which includes an extensive range of beer coasters, teacups, a diamond ring, and a gun (which they may or may not need a license to hold). Both are incredible gold mines of information, which few students know to utilise. But more on that next issue!

We’d like to thank Flinders Press and MACO for their generosity and support in doubling our print quota, allowing us to reach even more students on campus. Without their help our chiropractors would be much deprived of our company and making far less money.

Speaking of distribution, we’d also like to thank the amazeballs ET elves who helped lug boxes of glorious literary sustenance around campus.

If you would like to see your work in the magazine, hit us up at empire.times@flinders.edu.au or facebook. com/empiretimesmag. Alternatively, we’re starting a new fitness program called ‘magazine distribution’ that will see you making epic gains in no time.

Bitches love gains. Also, it’s way cheaper than a gym membership.

Peace out, Preesan, Simon, and Sarah P.S. In case you’re wondering, the opening quote has no relevance to this editorial or issue at large.

THANK YOU!

Thanks to our favourite people – the wonderful contributors that fills these pages with words, photos and art. Your submissions are much appreciated!

A special thanks also goes to our friends at MACO and the guys at Flinders Press, who are incredibly generous with their time and skills. We very much appreciate all the extra work they’ve been putting in to print our now 1000 copies of ET each issue. So thank you, thank you, thank you!

If you’d like to join us for Issue Five, drop us a line at empire.times@flinders.edu.au.

Or check out our Facebook page: facebook.com/empiretimesmag.

Writers Adriana Allman Agnik Sarkar Ajša Bajraktarević Amber Hall Aneta Peretko Annie Robinson Dorian Bašić Elizabeth Daw Emma Sachsse Foster Pierce Hannah MacLeod Holly Richter Ira Herbold

Jack McEntee Jess Dangerfield Jess Nicole Jessie Woldt Katerina Bryant Miranda Richardson Ondine Baker Sam Clayfield Sam Nock Tegan Brinkman Tim Carlier Tim Walter Will Parry

Artists/Photographers Cara Ferguson Elaine Cheng Hussein Al Hammad Miranda Richardson

Sub-Editors Alice James (Fiction) Aneta Peretko (Law/Policy) Annie Robinson (Film) Elizabeth Daw (Music) Katerina Bryant (Features)

Columnists Agnik Sarkar Dorian Bašić Emma Sachsse

[ acting-prez dispenser ]

Student Prez, Brodie, has gone on a Eurotrip. In his place this issue we have Acting-Prez, Paul Harrison!

You’re sitting on a sweltering, sticky bus on your way to your 9 am lecture. Even this early in the morning, the open window beside you does nothing to alleviate the soon-to-be 40 degree heat that makes the journey seem so much longer than it should. You arrive at uni in a flustered, yet eager, mood; ready to step into the luxury of the air-conditioned lecture theatre and begin your day. Then you find out your lecture has been cancelled. This was the only class you had today, you tell your friends, bemoaning the loss of the valuable study time that you could have used to work on that assignment. If only you didn’t have to work that extra shift this afternoon...

Luckily, situations like these are becoming a less common occurrence.

The subject of recording lectures is an oftcontroversial one. More often than not, however, students are in favour of lecture recording. Whether it is a result of distance, timing, illness, other commitments, or even timetable clashes, many students have no other option than to miss lectures.

Student life is not a static existence. The life of a student is not a solid 9-to-5 day, and the university should not expect it to be one. The reality of the situation is that students have to juggle a host of responsibilities at the same time as their education.

Whether it’s raising a family or working late shifts at McDonald’s to pay the rent, students often do not have set schedules which they can easily fit university life around.

In fact, until this year, I had a four hour round bus trip to get to university and back. So when I was forced to arrive for a 50 minute lecture which was only slightly relevant to the topic, it was both infuriating and unproductive.

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This is where lecture recording comes in. Lecture recording allows students to continue their education and learning regardless of their commitments outside of university. It allows students to revise content or review content that was missed or not understood the first time, and is a handy exam revision tool.

Thankfully, the University has made steps towards improving lecture recording at Flinders. As of this year, students may have noticed that all lectures in major lecture theatres are recorded (unless the lecturer has gained an approved exemption). It is great to see that the University recognises the contribution that recorded lectures make to student learning and revision. However, the University should continue to improve lecture recording facilities to enable all lectures to be recorded. Whilst it is true that the major lecture theatres have both audio and video recording, many of the smaller lecture theatres do not. Students enrolled in smaller and more specialised courses should not have to suffer as a result. It is important that the university provides adequate facilities for recording in all lecture theatres.

Whether you live far away, work long hours, or just study better in your pyjamas, recorded lectures have a myriad of advantages for students. It’s good to see that progress is being made towards increased recording of lectures, although some facilities still need to be improved.

Of course, a lecture recording cannot ever replace a live lecture, but the existence of a recording is substantially better than no recording at all.

Paul Harrison General Secretary, Flinders University Student Association

[ contributor spotlight ] Elizabeth Daw

Tell us a bit about yourself!

I am currently doing a Bachelor of Arts and working in a CD shop. I like swimming, cider, camping, and live music.

What’s the first thing you would do if today was your last day?

I would throw a huge party for all my friends and family. There would be loud music, singing, dancing and laughing. I would also eat as much cheese and chips as humanly possible.

What’s your vision of a perfect world?

My vision of a perfect world is a place where people live sustainably and peacefully. Where people are free to spend time on their creative endeavours and can eat as much cheese and chips as humanly possible without repercussions.

If you could have dinner with any five people, living or dead, who would they be and why?

PJ Harvey, Kim Gordon, Kim Deal, David Attenborough and Kurt Vonnegut. The first three because they are my female musician idols, Attenborough to provide interesting facts and Vonnegut because I love his books.

Worst Flinders moment?

Getting ridiculously lost on my first day, I’m still not sure exactly where it was that I ended up.

When I grow up, I want to: Have travelled all over the world.

Emma Sachsse

Tell us a bit about yourself!

Mistress M started on You Tube to promote, “Fuck, A Love Story.” The questions got tricky so I thought I better come to uni and study Psychology for some answers. This is my second time at Flinders; I previously attempted a Bachelor of Arts with a major in Tavernology and Partyology.

What is the first thing you would do if today was your last day?

Have sex with my gorgeous partner.

What’s your vision of a perfect world?

One in which people are happy within themselves and feel good about their sexuality, no matter what flavour it is.

If you could have dinner with any five people, living or dead, who would they be and why?

Anais Nin, Pamela Stephenson, Alfred Kinsey, Dan Savage and Margaret Cho, so we could talk about sex.

Best/Worst Flinders moment?

I can’t remember all the best ones or all the worst from last time, but campus culture was certainly more vibrant back then, I think, or was that just the LSD? It was certainly lots of fun. It is nice to be back, if a little different.

When I grow up, I want to: The secret they don’t tell you is; you never, ever feel like a grown up.

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y h t o r o D r a De ctor; a n a e b want to y ll a e r , y I h . fe a job. I rot Dear Do what to do with my li od course and get go with job ow n a g k in o h t t ’ t n in e o m t d o I rd to ge , or do s a s h m r a e e r p d u s y follow m but it’s o t r e h t e wh don’t know er pay. h ig h a d n security a lp, Please he ugh for NIDA eno Not good Dear Not good enough, Follow your dreams. It is that simple. Who needs secure pay anyway?

If you put everything into acting, you will be far better at acting than if you suffer through something you don’t love; even if it promises a better wage. Plus, with the unsecure state of the global economy, what even is a “secure” job?

I do understand your feelings of insecurity, but perhaps consider if there is a way in which to provide security to your passion. For example, if you love acting – do it. But maybe combine it with a teaching degree, so you at least have a back-up career that involves your passion.

Dear Dorothy, I’m too white to wear yellow. But I really like yellow?

What to do?

Deathly pale Dear Deathly pale, I get it. I too am plagued with the curse of whiteness. Before you reach for the fake tan – FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, DO NOT REACH FOR THE FAKE TAN – think about using yellow to accent your outfit.

Maybe buy a yellow handbag? Accent a black dress with a yellow belt and necklace?

But if you are aching to wear yellow on your body, do not wear a yellow top. I will make you look sick. My general rule is to keep the bright colours on the pants. Although I am in no way endorsing the existence of yellow pants. Yuck.

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Sex Ed With Mistress M:

Not 25 things you should know about penises.

Cosmopolitan magazine caught my eye with the title, “25 things you should know about his member.” It sounded good… but it wasn’t. I really couldn’t be bothered reading the whole article, but the stock photos were so stupid I just couldn’t help myself. The first to catch my eye was one was a guy with a chain and padlock around his waist. Next to this image was the factoid, that “most penises are the same size when erect, which is actually 6-7 inches.” So why is he unlocking his penis, Cosmo?

A plethora of scantily clad men some in cowboy hats or behind bars followed. In one, a girl dressed like a mechanic, alongside “when men ejaculate the message is sent from the spinal cord, not his brain.” This, according to Cosmo, explains his weird facial expressions at climax. Does it really Cosmo? It certainly doesn’t explain why the girl in the photo has grease on her face and a spanner in her hand. And way to make men feel self conscious about their sex face.

WebMD did a better job with their article “8 Things You Didn’t Know About Your Penis” because they wrote their article about actual penises, with real information, not trivia about the size of Whale’s penises; which are 2-3 meters, by the way. Or that, in relation to body size, the barnacle has the largest penis; yours would have to be 73 meters long to compete.

According to WebMD, you need to have erections for your penis to stay fit. Like any muscle, it needs exercise.

But you don’t need to worry about getting enough erections. If you don’t have them during the day, your body will regulate itself and have them during the night.

Oh, and the stories are true, you can ‘break’ your penis. Basically this happens if it gets badly bent whilst erect.

Go to a doctor if you are in any pain. This is a good rule for any time your genitals hurt. They aren’t meant to.

So go ask a professional if there is anything out of the ordinary going on with your penis.

A penis that is naturally bent, however, is quite common. You shouldn’t feel embarrassed or awkward about it. But if it is causing you pain or interfering with your sex life, go see your doctor. If the bend isn’t bothering you, use it to your advantage; work out how to hit your partner’s g-spot with it. Some people still dispute that a female g-spot exists, but you can have plenty of fun just looking for it.

Circumcision changes the bacteria ecosystem of the penis, perhaps explaining why the foreskin-snipping procedure reduces the risk of HIV infection. If you aren’t circumcised and you want someone to put your penis in their mouth, make sure it is really clean. Even when you are circumcised, the smell of stale urine or sweaty balls can be really off putting. Clean it thoroughly and regularly. Take as long as you want.

The shape of your penis, as you may have noticed, is quite distinct from any other mammal. The shape of the head, in combination with the (usually!) straight shaft, has been theorised to be a sperm displacement tool from when we were, according to evolutionary psychologists, naturally more polygamous.

If you are experiencing delayed orgasms then do what women do, try a vibrator. Or just try one for fun anyway.

Love yourself, touch yourself, and be good to each other.

Yours, Mistress M

tish fart fe ww. , n o i t rba ://w mastu s M at http y r g n stres out a re ab s - Ask Mi c_Y4DzE o m e i To se endy pen h?v=47ER b tc and a e.com/wa b youtu

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A Mirror to the

World Words by Agnik Sarkar

O

n Tuesday, 19 February 2013, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) treated 500 delegates to a five-course feast. On the menu was 1.7 tonnes of food deemed inadequate

by European supermarkets.

In particular, 38% of the world’s flower exports are grown in Kenya; 97% of which are sent to the European Union. Whilst business is growing between the African state and the Union, there is indeed room for improvement for mutual benefit.

Abuse of buying power by European supermarkets has forced some farmers to dispose of almost 40% of entire vegetable harvests because of inconsistencies in size, shape or colour. So absurd are some of the cosmetic benchmarks for ordinary vegetables that French beans exceeding length or angle restrictions are cropped for mere ease of packaging. Produce has often been harvested and packed before buyers refuse to accept an order, at exorbitant cost to growers and exporters. It is perhaps forgivable for supermarkets to refuse crops that do not comply with production or safety standards. To do so for reasons of appearance or even arbitrarily, denies the toil and effort of vulnerable growers.

Agricultural waste by Kenyan farmers represents a mere fraction of the grotesque misuse of food resources globally. Worldwide, retailers generate 1.6 million tonnes of food waste annually by rejecting perfectly edible fruit and vegetables because they do not conform to stringent aesthetic standards.

Moreover, between 30 and 50% of food purchased in developed countries is thrown away by the consumer.

Local markets for leftover vegetables are unable to absorb the food produced, meaning some is donated to charities, fed to animals or simple left to rot. Journalists for Qatari media company, Al Jazeera, report that some contracts stipulate that farmers may not sell or donate rejected food. These excesses come at huge expense of water, energy, agro-chemicals and land. Stephen Mbithi Mwikya, chief executive of the Fresh Produce Exporters Association of Kenya, stated that, at a minimum, 1015% of Kenyan farmer’s produce would be refused.

For fear of the potential consequences, however, farmers are unwilling to name individual chains and must use fake names when telling their story.

The colossal volume of uneaten food is particularly shameful given that three million Kenyans depend on foreign food aid annually. Furthermore, Kenyan government figures indicate that 30% of Kenyan children are undernourished whilst ten million citizens in total endure regular food shortages.

Despite, these reports, it should be recognised that business between Kenyan suppliers and European buyers is not a completely blemished narrative. The agricultural sector employs approximately 75% of the working population and represents 20% of GDP.

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In their 2013 report, the UK’s Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE) estimates that 30–50% or 1.2– 2 billion tonnes of all food produced fails to reach human consumption. IMechE further asserts that the potential to produce 60–100% more food is possible by eliminating wastes and losses whilst concurrently minimising use of land, energy and water resources. Based on mid-range predictions, the United Nations anticipates that by 2075, the planet will have to sustain a population of 9.5 billion.

As a society it would be pertinent to remember that while human numbers may undergo robust growth, the availability of arable land, sustainable fisheries and water does not increase proportionately.

A 2012 study into the State of Food Security by the Food and Agricultural Organisation has found that 870 million people are undernourished. According to UNICEF, malnutrition contributes to 2.6 million deaths of children under the age of five. There is a glaringly obvious problem in global food production and consumption habits if food is both in excess and scarce. Whilst there are infinite complexities involved in world hunger, the simple fact is that as a planet we produce more than we can possibly eat, yet millions die regardless.

Altering our food practices as a society and as individuals does not have to be an onerous exercise.

Ultimately all one has to do is see a misshapen vegetable for what it really is: food.

W

hen news ‘breaks,’ it often has an element of shock or surprise. But few felt that way recently when reports emerged that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad had used chemical weapons in the civil war that has torn the country apart.

Use of chemical weapons was thought to be a game-changer in the conflict, the crossing of a line that would prompt the international community to act; indeed that was the statement that US President Barack Obama made. But it remains to be seen whether the use of chemical weapons has really forced Obama’s hand.

Meanwhile, stories from Syria grow more and more horrifying. Over a dozen students were killed by a shell blast at Damascus University.

Until then, the university had been a relatively safe place, described as a “sanctuary” into which the blood spilled in Syria’s brutal civil war had not yet seeped; a place where students went to prepare themselves for a future that may not exist.

With refugees from Syria having inundated neighbouring countries, those unable to escape have been forced to seek shelter wherever they can, and when their villages have been destroyed, they have sought safety in caves. Many Syrian people have been forced to embrace conditions that even wolves refuse. Terrifying tales have emerged, of overcrowded caves, of whole families squeezed into one underground cave ‘room,’ of babies who were hurriedly delivered with whatever scant medical supplies were on hand, and then rushed back to the family cave, where their entire life since has occurred. It’s perversely reminiscent of the most recent Batman movie, except it’s real.

Damascus, thought to be the oldest continually inhabited city in the world, has flames licking at it from every side. It may well burn down before anyone steps in.

breach of sovereignty, needs more consideration than an emotional gut response. To step in would be to violate the basis of international law and cooperation, the most fundamental right a state has against attack, the building block of the modern international system. What are the implications of this in the long term? What precedent does it set?

What does it say about us if we don’t step in? Will we be on the wrong side of history, again, another Rwanda or Darfur? Is genocide a fair price to preserve the international order?

The news gets worse as Assad launches a campaign to play on Western fear, declaring that Syria’s rebels, those fighting Assad’s regime, are increasingly identifying as radical Islamists.

It might have been easy to lend a hand against a murderous dictator, but plans to support the opposition seem much less palatable when those rebels are radicals in their own right. But how many of the rebels fit this category? What about the ones who don’t?

Even if we could agree that it is time someone steps in, who is that someone? The obvious answer, the US, is still reeling from two immensely unpopular wars, hesitant to commit to another self-destructive fling, particularly as national debt balloons to well over $16 trillion and the economy stalls. The willingness to put a war on its credit card is gone, and anti-Islamic sentiment has returned abruptly in the wake of the Boston Marathon bombings, perpetrated by two Russian brothers with ties to Islamic extremists.

A perfectly reasonable plan to provide arms to a carefully vetted, politically and militarily secular rebel group was vetoed, because nothing in politics is ever so simple.

Meanwhile, Syria is burning.

Should anyone step in? Who should step in?

The instinctual answers (“yes” and “an international coalition likely led by its superpower”) are wrought with complexity. An internal conflict, requiring the

The World’s Oldest City Is About To Fall Words by Aneta Peretko

A Few Words From:

The Education Officer Who are you?

My name is Leon Cermak and, after surviving the very real possibility that the Returning Officer just might delete every ballot cast during the election period, I am your 2013 Education Officer!

What is an Education Officer?

I am pretty much the person that all undergraduate students should turn to if they have academic problems, suggestions on how to improve life at uni, or – recently – the urge to start a revolution because of federal government policy.

What have you done so far?

1. Online Assignment Submissions

After an all-too-protracted series of discussions, Flinders University has now implemented a guarantee that by semester one 2014, anything created by a student in electronic format will be accepted by staff in electronic format and returned to the student in electronic format. No more near-death experiences while driving up to the Social and Behavioural Sciences assignment drop box at 8:58am on a Monday morning!

(Special mention goes to the 2012 student council for helping lay the groundwork for online assignment submission).

2. Online Marking

Even better, the School of Nursing and Midwifery have mandated online marking. There are some interesting tales of some of our best known academics printing off 300 assignments to mark in pen before uploading them all over again. This is a waste of time, paper, and intellect.

debt” and “course cuts suck.” Check out the FUSA Facebook page for some great photos and videos of the day.

But Leon, what else can you do?

Ever had an unfair request from a lecturer? Ever been given a grade that you didn’t feel was acceptable, but felt helpless to fix it? Ever been forcibly enrolled into a tutorial that you can’t make and then punished come exam time because you have no idea what iconic landmark resides at 138°34’15”E, 35°1’28”S? If you answered yes to any of these questions, then chances are you are currently enrolled at Flinders University and could do with some help from your favourite education officer ever! (Sorry Bek). Check out my contact details below and drop me a line if you need a hand.

Wow, the role of Education Officer sounds like the best thing ever!

If you think that trying to get lecturers to play videos in full screen mode, skip YouTube ads, and use PowerPoint in presentation mode is a worthy cause, then Education Officer is the portfolio for you!

What do you do when you are not fighting for our right to study?

Like most people, I spend my free time memorising the two-party-preferred results from election booths in Adelaide’s two most marginal federal seats.

Any parting words?

Join your union.

3. National Day of Action

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A huge thank you to the millions of students who turned up to the National Day of Action on March 27. This year’s classic theme was “our education is not for profit,” which somewhat surprisingly attracted a large number of overtly keen students willing to flaunt their best and worst poses whilst holding up various signs saying things like “please don’t burden me with

Leon Cermak Education Officer, Flinders University Student Association

:

An Introduction to

The Pagan Society Tegan Brinkman introduces the Flinders Pagan Society.

What do you think of when you hear the word “pagan?” For two thousand years, pagans have been considered members of an evil, devil-worshipping cult or – as many dictionaries would have you believe – a religion lacking in beliefs. Perhaps you think of something nicer, like the witch from The Wizard of Oz or Charmed. However, the best way to describe a pagan is as a follower of a personal and natural (nature based) pan- or polytheistic religion.

The Pagan Society isn’t a cult or a devil-worshipping group, but rather a society focussed on dispelling this two-thousand year old stigma and supporting pagans and spiritualists on campus.

I have always known that I am a pagan. When I tell people that I am one, I always face social stigma and a look that would make anyone shudder – not the acceptance that most followers of other religions take for granted. For the Pagan Society, this stigma is our biggest challenge when we run events, fundraisers, or even displays and events as part of Pagan Awareness Week. Despite this social stigma, many pagans in Australia and in fact the world hold no hatred toward the religions that have adopted our religious holidays and traditions.

Would you believe that Paganism is a grouping of ancient folk religions based on nature? Nothing more, nothing less. Each pagan is different: they follow their own moral code, not a particular set of rules laid down by a single person or god. What about Wicca, I hear you say? Well, although Wicca is a Pagan branch with its own rules and traditions, it is based on a book written by Gerald Gardner and is only 50 years old. Worldwide, Wicca is one of the most widely practiced religions under the Pagan umbrella. It is simple and easily adapted, but again, it does not involve devil-worship.

Would you then believe me if I were to say that pagans don’t believe in a heaven or a hell, therefore they don’t believe in a devil? I bet you are thinking “that can’t be right, if you don’t believe in heaven or hell what is there after death?” Well, many pagans would say there is a place called the Summerland – a world which is neither good nor evil, just a place after death for those who have lived; and by “lived,” I don’t mean by any set of rules that dictates their ability to live in the afterlife, but just lived.

Yule (Christmas), Ostara (Easter), and Samhain (All Saints Day) are all pagan holidays that the society tries to use to get knowledge out to people. In the southern hemisphere Samhain falls between 30th April – 1st May, and it is a time for remembrance of those who have passed. In conjunction with Oasis multi faith community, the society have set an altar on Samhain, something previously only done by the pagan chaplin. During Yule (June 21st), pagans decorate trees, give gifts, make and burn yule logs, and so on. Yule is also the turning point of the year, where the god of winter and autumn fights with the god of spring and summer. Ostara (September 21st) is full of painting eggs, images of bunnies, and merriment, because the goddess (the earth) is once again ready to be planted.

Want to know more? The pagan society has so much more information about paganism and the many, many different types of pagan. We are always looking for more information, more members, and more people to help with the various events and lectures we are hoping to run during the year, so if you have any ideas for us or just want to join (it’s free) please email us at pagansociety@hotmail. com. Or check out http://www.paganroots.net/ paganism-in-a-nutshell.

Words By Tegan Brinkman

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Creative “Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once we grow up.”

– Pablo Picasso As a child we are encouraged to express ourselves creatively. We all remember doing finger painting in kindergarten and being so involved with the process that we ended up covered head to toe in paint. There is a certain freedom in creativity, as we explore not just how to work with different physical media, but also our world, our insights into how it works, and our purpose in it.

As we grow older, putting finger painting and Play-Doh aside, life pushes us into careers and other time-consuming pursuits, with the result that this freedom of expression is put on hold, and in some cases forgotten. Why are children encouraged to express themselves creatively but not adults?

Visual arts, creative writing, performance arts, and other creative pursuits are common outlets of creative expression, with multiple benefits for artists at heart.

One benefit is that we view the world differently, taking inspiration from people and places that we may have overlooked before. We begin to witness a deeper meaning in life which we can then transfer into our art. Being able to express ourselves on a personal level is a huge benefit of creative expression, especially given the non-verbal aspects of art which open levels of

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communication for children, people with mental disabilities, and others who have difficulty with verbal communication. The creative process of expression is a great advantage for all of us, allowing us to take a step back from what we have created and evaluate both our work and ourselves, leading to heightened selfexpression and individualism.

Author and speaker, Sir Ken Robinson, strongly supports the benefits of creative expression, saying: “The arts address the idea of an aesthetic experience. An aesthetic experience is one in which the senses are operating at their peak, when you are present in the current moment, when you are resonating with the excitement of this thing that you are experiencing, when you are fully alive.”

This is more commonly referred to as ‘the Zone;’ a mysterious place to which artists very often fly away, returning dazed and disorientated but usually with a strong sense of achievement.

The Zone acts as a palace of relaxation, where residing in the moment of creation creates a much needed distraction from everyday stress and anxiety. This meditative process of creation unleashes a natural high which also builds our sense of achievement, confidence, and selfworth.

I remember spending an entire afternoon constructing a portrait of my childhood companion – a ratty blue bear named Baby

Cub – out of straws, foam, glitter and every other random craft material I could lay my sticky hands on. I remember the pride I felt in bringing something to life on a blank piece of paper, of showing it off to my family and saying with a touch of wonder, “I did that.”

Those who dabble in the arts can understand the sense of pride that stems from creating something out of nothing with their own hands. Although public approval for our work is highly gratifying, creative works can remain a private occupation and still provide immense satisfaction as we privately examine and reflect on our growth and progress.

Creative expression encourages us to trust our instincts and explore our own ideas and thought processes. This increases our sense of confidence and faith in ourselves and our abilities. Using critical thinking to solve creative problems further develops resourcefulness and problem-solving skills, and is also helpful in other areas of life. Taking time out for creative pursuits has also been shown to enhance relationships, because through giving to ourselves, we tend to be more open and generous to others.

In fact, creative expression is so beneficial it is now a form of therapy.

Art therapy has been found to be most helpful to young children, although people of all ages benefit from these sessions. The therapy involves creative expression through art,

overseen by an art therapist who helps with self-exploration and pinpointing underlying emotions and causes.

Art therapy has been found to aid a number of disorders and disabilities, such as mental disorders, emotional abuse, trauma, bipolar disorder, and even serious diseases such as cancer. It reduces mental and physical pain and lessens anxiety, leading to improved mental and physical health. Art therapy is often used to encourage those who are socially awkward to come out of their shells.

As a writer and artist, my time spent creating gives me a refreshing opportunity to be alone, relax, and enjoy the creative process.

I highly enjoy tapping away at the computer, constructing characters and fantastic scenarios, or applying paint to a canvas, bringing a picture to life with every brush stroke. Being in the Zone allows me to let go of the challenges and pressures of life and gives me a chance to appreciate the moment.

Cathy Salser from the Joyful Heart Foundation agrees that creative expression creates a “window of time to honour whatever comes out, whatever needs to emerge. Whatever it looks like, whether it makes sense or doesn’t make sense. Even if it is just a scribble. It is a way to reclaim what’s been lost or what’s been trapped, whether that is relaxation or safety or possibility or a sense of freedom.”

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The problem with pretentiousness.

An important story about Facebook, friendship and freedom… sort of.

L

ast night, an old friend texted me in a state of distress. This friend (let’s call her Kate) had changed her cover photo on Facebook. It’s sort of cute, very coupley/romantic, and extremely sentimental. But following our friend’s text (let’s call her Jane) had been a screenshot of Kate’s cover photo, with the words “kill yourself” underneath.

Let me tell you a little bit about two of my oldest, and strangest, friends. Kate is a high achiever; driven, hard working, passionate and single-minded. Jane is a free spirit; artistic, enigmatic, intelligent and wildly confident. Kate is in a long-term relationship and currently a third year law student (honours).

Jane is currently unemployed, with (more) travel plans in the pipeline and a future that is as beautifully open as it is fantastically undecided. Whilst I do not wish to define her by a career-orientated label, it is the easiest way to describe her lifestyle and view of the world.

The problem with Jane is, she is a self-proclaimed cool kid. Jane does photography, drinks coffee, takes drugs and rides bikes. Jane’s wardrobe consists of a marvelous combination of eclectic opshop pieces, juxtaposed with expensive silks and designer slacks. Jane doesn’t believe in conformity, rules or ‘the man.’ Why exercise, or eat healthy, when you can just smoke or dance it off, or lose yourself in a trance festival for hours on end? Why work when you can live off your savings, stretching your limited means until the next odd job pops up?

Why have a career, a degree or a boyfriend, when you could get up whenever you feel like it and read books all day instead?

Please forgive the touch of sarcasm here. Sometimes I really am jealous of her. Most of the time, in fact.

I wish I could enjoy the taste of each day as she

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does. I wish I were half as good-looking or even a quarter as interesting. But I was born as I am, and I have dreams that require study and work. Still – I digress. In short, Jane and Kate lead hugely different lives. And when Kate messaged me last night, out of the blue, quite upset by Jane’s “kill yourself,” I was understandably shocked and more than a little saddened.

Jane thinks that Kate’s cover photo is lame, and childish, and cookie-cutter conventional – and to some extent, it is. So Jane thought she’d make a funny comment, a drawling, crude remark. Jane did not mean any harm; she’s not malicious. Jane was joking.

“I believe, very strongly, that friends should love and respect each other’s choices” Kate spent the entire night crying. Why? Because, for so many reasons, Jane said the wrong thing. It was a cruel, ignorant and thoughtless thing to say.

I believe, very strongly, that friends should love and respect each other’s choices, irrelevant of one’s own beliefs or views of the world. And if you cannot be open minded or respectful, then you should say nothing at all.

Words By Holly Richter

F

linders University has always possessed a progressive stance on education and learning. Policies and programs have been created throughout the years to ensure that people who are normally socially excluded, for numerous reasons, are welcomed and supported in their quest for knowledge. Social inclusion plays an important role in strengthening dynamism within groups and communities, and promoting growth and acceptance amongst individuals.

on him. He started to believe that it was possible to achieve just about anything – even with an intellectual disability. At that point in time, Tim was not aware of a program which allowed such individuals the opportunity to study at university. But when a former participant had told him about the Up the Hill program, Tim leapt at the opportunity; and after three years, he walked across the floor at graduation to receive his parchment like all the other Flinders students.

I believe that some of the most brilliant minds and inspiring people are those who are in the minority and thus see the world from a different point of view. Unfortunately, many are denied an education or to develop their skills, despite having their own dreams and ambitions. Whether people agree with it or not, the university sees that money, status and being completely able minded and bodied are not necessary factors for being accepted into a higher education. This, I believe, is what makes Flinders standout from other universities in South Australia, and even nationally. Flinders allows those who thought they could never achieve, because society told them that for so long it wasn’t possible, the ability to do so.

For many people with an intellectual disability, the option of them going to university isn’t even considered.

The opportunities to develop socially, academically and personally aren’t available to them. Tim said to me that not all people with disabilities are able to make their way through to year 12, and those that do might find it difficult to move from school to uni. Up the Hill gives people with disabilities a way into university, and found the program definitely worthwhile.

I have a friend called Tim who is a selfconfessed political junkie. Obama’s 2008 victory speech left a lasting effect

The Up the Hill program was developed in 1999 where a former disability studies honours student saw a need; allowing disabled individuals to have the opportunity to transition from school into higher education. The participants mix with other students in lectures and tutorials, are provided with a student ID card and email address, and have access to Flinders Learning

UP THE [18]

E

Online (FLO). They write and submit assignments, get feedback from lecturers, take part in student group activities and work with students on group assignments. It is also one of the only programs of its kind among Australian universities which follows this structure.

A participant is assigned a mentor; a student undertaking disability studies. The role of the mentor is to accompany the participant to each lecture and tutorial. They are even able to socialise outside of lecture and tutorial time, developing strong bonds.

Participants are able to study what interests them, rather than doing a set course. While other participants may have decided to do some more lighthearted topics, Tim’s favourite topics were Modern Europe, Nazi Germany and the Holocaust. After the program, the participants are given the option of doing a foundation course which will enable them to study a degree or continue audited topics.

writing and speaking up in tutorials to a room full of strangers — something he never thought he would do.

The old saying knowledge is power is true. By being able to learn, an individual is able to increase their chances of success in life, to overcome weaknesses or faults, and to face difficulties with courage and confidence with their newfound skills.

But most importantly, knowledge is empowerment and allows one to inspire the minds of many others and aspire to achieve. A higher education should not just be for the elite, or most abled in whatever form.

Myself, as well as the mentors, lecturers and those part of the program were incredibly proud of Tim — as well as all the other graduating participants; and to celebrate we had a few drinks in the Coopers Bar.

Up the Hill demonstrates that by recognising their competencies, it is possible to provide people with intellectual disabilities positive expectations of what they can achieve and a chance to experience life more fully. I asked Tim what he had gained from the program, and said that some of the skills he learnt were essay

Words by Adriana Allman

For more info on the Up The Hill program check out this link: http://

www.flinders.edu.au/medicine/sites/ disability-studies/associated-programs/ up-the-hill-project---flinders-university. cfm

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I H

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I Have a Crush on Words and art by Miranda Richardson I have always found people beautiful. But until recently I’ve never been able to tell if it was objectively true, or if it was just my subjective understanding.

My dad often scares people because he looks like a bikie – he’s a big guy with a shaved head, a beard and a weathered face. He is even in a motorcycle gang, technically. But I think he’s one of the most beautiful people I’ve ever seen. So I know there is a discrepancy sometimes between how I see people and how the majority sees people.

Whilst any assessment of beauty is subjective, I refer to ‘objective beauty’ as that which would be agreed upon by most people. Signs of health, for example, are objectively beautiful – like clear skin, clean teeth and bright eyes. These things are generally considered to be good. A subjective understanding of beauty is a result of love. Of course you think your friends and family members are beautiful. It’s even obvious that you’ll find strangers beautiful, if you assume whatever you see in them is good. You’re not seeing their outside appearance – or if you are, you’re seeing it bathed in the glow of who they are.

So I was resigned to never glimpsing an objective superficial understanding of people, until I enrolled in the first year art topic, Drawing and Design Fundamentals. During these classes, we were basically told to start drawing what we could see. We were encouraged to stop seeing people and objects as images to which we had attached significance.

Rather than drawing an eye as the symbolic circle within an almond shape, we were to draw the lines and shadows that our minds would translate into an impression of the eye. When I drew a person, I stopped seeing her as everything I knew she was, but simply as a collection of lines and contrasting tones.

Now that I wasn’t acknowledging in my mind the personal significance of what I was seeing, I could focus more on an isolated understanding of aesthetic. That was when I realised that beauty wasn’t at all in my head. I started marvelling over the curves of wrists, brows and ankles – things that I would never have found exceptional before. I revelled in every new model, because by tracing all of their perfect lines I could pin down another unique form. I wanted to blurt out how beautiful they were, and why, throughout the entire process. The truth is, dear reader, people are just as gloriously beautiful on the outside as they are on the inside. Now I can’t

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EVERYONE! help but swoon over everyone I see – and there is literally no one without something that makes them gorgeous.

But then, if I focus entirely on a person as a group of lines alone, my drawing often finishes up not quite true to life. Somehow I don’t quite grasp the whole image; there’s no soul in it. So now, whenever I draw, I try to swap back and forth between seeing a person as a meaningless image and seeing them in their ‘glow.’ I try to impress upon the paper both their objective aesthetic and the identity that lights up their entire form. It’s the only way I can make my drawings work. It seems that, regardless of how superficially lovely a person can look, their spirit is an essential part of their beauty.

I am writing this article mostly because I want people to know how amazing they are. When I see a person and think about how great they look, I don’t usually say anything. I would be disturbed myself if a stranger approached me and gushed about the lines of my shoulders, or how the light makes the hair on my forearms look like sparks. I can tell a person that I like their clothing, or their jewellery, but there’s something very personal about commenting on a person’s body – even if it’s complimentary. I think it’s because it is proof that you have been looking at them more closely than they would like. So I ignore the impulse to vocalise my inner swooning. But you, reader, must know that you are beautiful. It’s too easy to forget.

So while I can’t talk to you personally and point out all the ways you look fantastic, I can talk about the one thing we all have in common: eyes. No matter who you are or what you don’t like about your face or body, your irises are two perfect circles in the midst of all the organic, asymmetrical lines of your form. Two perfect circles, filled with delicate mixes of colour that can be likened to the explosions of light found among the stars; to the delicate fibres of bright coral; or to whatever your conception is of magic. Eyes are beautiful on a phenomenal level. We express most of ourselves through our eyes. This means eyes are the visible connection between our physical beauty and our inner beauty. Your eyes are perfect. You are perfect. No one is an exception.

So if anyone comes up to you in the future and tells you that you have amazing ankles, please don’t be scared. Maybe she’s not a creepy stalker – maybe she’s just a creepy artist.

The Perils of Procrastination My mind murmurs. I roll around, feeling for my phone and getting lost in my own bed.

My seeking hands find the cool glassy cover.

I prepare for what is to come. The brightness makes my eyes water in pain. Through the early morning fog that is my brain, I realize it is 8am.

That single thought is enough for me to register the light seeping into my comfortable darkness.

I’ve only had four hours rest, surely another sleep cycle (an average of forty five minutes) will be enough to make today bearable. I close my eyes. I am tired.

It’s midday. The light is pervasive now. It illuminates my guilt. Another half a day wasted, without anything to show for it. I throw the blankets off myself, a vain attempt at self-shock. It’s not that cold. I jump up out of bed and bounce around my room for a few seconds. Surely I just need a kick start. It works somewhat. So I sputter into the kitchen and start the kettle. Coffee in hand I sit, ready to consume my ‘morning’ dose of information. Facebook first, and email, to see if anyone wanted me over the few hours I slept.

I check my bank, knowing nothing is in there.

I go to my blog to seek some self-validation, it doesn’t work. I scroll through some other blogs, hoping for some ‘morning’ inspiration. It doesn’t work and I realize I am just wasting more time, it’s already 2pm. Maybe a shower will help. I am pathetic.

Sweet warm nothingness, the water runs over me. I visualize the steps I should be taking today. Housework can be done tomorrow. I really need to do that assignment, it’s three days late. I should eat soon. Right, food, coffee, and then I am going to write it. I WILL get it done today. Ten minutes in the shower is a waste of water, but I’m still there. It takes half an hour to wash, think, dry, dress and make it back to the kitchen. I make my breakfast at 2.30pm, eggs on toast. A bit of coffee to wash it down and I sit back down. Facebook, email, blog and it is 4pm. I am wasteful.

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I open a Word document and stare at the void for a while. I know I have a lot to write, I have been reading so much. I know exactly what I need

get across. Maybe if I read some more I will do better. I start skimming articles. They are on topic to begin with, but soon delve into random bits of trivia and interesting ideas. I think of stories I can write, of conversations I can have. Oh but what about this? I end up researching my new ideas.

My head is swooning with possibility.

“Unfortunately it’s midnight. One movie turned into two and some dinner.”

I still haven’t started and it is 8pm. Now there is too much in my head, focusing is impossible. I try some meditation techniques I learned years ago, they work to clear my head; but as soon as I stop the cacophony starts again. I put a movie on, that will quell the noise. I am hopeless.

Unfortunately it’s midnight. One movie turned into two and some dinner. Now I am too tired to write coherently. I close the blank page and stare at the screen for a while. Maybe if I get a decent sleep I will write it first thing in the morning before class. I get into bed with trepidation.

I know where this leads. I lay, thinking. Hours pass as I worry about everything I didn’t get done today. I worry about the building pressure.

I worry about if I’ll cope. I worry. Every thought of the day turns dark when the lights are out.

It’s about 4am when the morning fog seeps in, blurring the thoughts enough to sleep. I will get up in a few hours. I don’t and then it is time for class. I am failing.

Every thought I have is lie. I must admit this.

Words by Jack McEntee

Photography by Cara Ferguson

1. What did you want to grow up to be as a child?

2. If you could change, include or remove one thing in the next federal budget, what would it be?

3. What is the best advice you’ve ever received?

4. What made you smile today?

5. If you lived in a fictional world, which one would it be and why?

6. What’s the sweetest thing anyone has ever done for you?

7. What’s your favourite thing to read and why?

8. Would you prefer to wear fur, leather, or human skin?

Special thanks to Cara Ferguson for her photography and making peeps smile!

Natasha Masters of Social Work 1st year 1. A private investigator 2. A better, bigger budget for child protection services 3. Trust yourself 4. My boyfriend and these questions 5. The Little Mermaid 6. Cleaned my house, bought me flowers and added decorations to my house

Robbie Bachelor of Creative Arts (honours) 2nd year 2. Bring back the incentive for students to pay up front 3. Be curious, not judgmental 5. Princess Mononoke; talking animals are a must. We would be best friends.

6. Bought me an obscene amount of chocolate 7. Autobiographies – Marlon Brando, such an adventurous life

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Zoe Sociology Honours 6. A friend who was down on her luck made me a card out of the only things she had at the time – a brown paper bag, a chilli and a Band-Aid. 7. Books (old and smelly preferably)

jake Engineering Science 1st year 2. Taxes 3. Take everything as an experience 4. The person who presented the quiz to me 5. Warhammer 40K

Mario

Michelle Sociology Honours 1. An air hostess 2. Rebuilding bridges for $40 million 3. So make the best of this test and don’t ask why 4. Beer

Bonnie

Bachelor of Creative Arts (Writing) Honours

Masters of Social Work 1st year

4. A horrible, time-rusted machine made by a mad scientist in his horrible time-rusted den 6. Given me the opportunity to complete this survey 7. The work of my colleagues 8. Human skin, because I’ve done it since the day I was born

1. A mother 2. More money into child protection services 3. Even if the system tries to weed you out, you’re still worthy, capable and other great things 4. The girl interviewing me

[25]

Having toured with the likes of Ball Park Music, Smashing Pumpkins and Operator Please, the Adelaide band City Riots describe their tunes as “dreamy, jangly, indie pop.” Comprised of Ricky Kradolfer on vox and guitar, Matt ‘Edgy’ Edge playing bass and vocals, and Danny Kradolfer on drums, City Riots offered a killer live performance at Rundle Street’s The Exeter earlier in March this year. Lucky enough to catch Ricky after the show, a down-to-earth and generally cool guy, Jess Nicole had a chat about the band and their music.

When you released your 2012 album Sea of Bright Lights what kind of response did you expect from the public?

I don’t think you can ever ‘expect’ a reaction from the public or your peers. I definitely hoped people would think it was mature step forward for us and represented a growth in our songwriting. The most important thing for us was to make sure that we were really happy and excited about the new progression and experimentation in our sound and that the songs were exciting us.

Are there any songs that went in a different direction than you expected?

Some songs like Wait For You, Take you There, and Catch The Sun, remained almost unchanged from their original demo form, but a song like Turn completely changed from their original incarnation.

Turn was close to not making the album because it was a very different compared to the other tracks, but we began to experiment with an array of sounds and effects. We took a lot of risks with it. It turned into a very special song for us. Lyrically it suggests a new phase for the band and in doing so, became the perfect way to open the album and set up what was about to follow.

The album has a very summer vibe to it, was this the band’s intention from the beginning?

I wrote a lot of the songs during the summer when I was away at my family’s shack on the River Murray, which definitely lent itself to a summer vibe. I don’t think it was an outright conscious decision, but the environment definitely heavily influenced the themes that ended up coming through right from the beginning of the demos, to the sonic nature of the album that you can hear.

The first single Wait for You is very impressive and the chorus is spectacular. Was there anyone in mind when you wrote this track?

Thanks! It’s one of my favourites too. Unlike Closer, it wasn’t written about any one person in particular.

It was a youthful, romantic lyric hook that I had, and along with the guitar riff, used those elements to build the rest of the song around.

A moment with: Words by Jess Nicole

City Riots

Where do you feel most comfortable playing – on stage, in the recording studio or other?

I really enjoy both. After a few weeks in the studio, I can’t wait to get back out on the road and onto the stage to perform the songs, especially if they are new songs.

But once we’ve been on the road for a few months, I can’t wait to get back into the studio to try and create something new. It’s a healthy balance really.

Was there anything that you guys listened to religiously when you recorded your album?

Yep, lots of the Smiths (or anything that Johnny Marr had played on), the Horrors last record Skying, Real Estate and My Bloody Valentine.

How did you find playing at O’Week at Flinders University?

It was a tonne of fun. A lot of the people there seemed to know the band. There were a few people who tried to jump up on stage and pulled some of the power out as they were climbing on the speakers, which freaked out the sound engineer, but was awesome!

You’ve toured with some very talented bands. Has there been a particular favourite?

The British India tour we did at the start of 2011 was awesome. It was almost three months worth of shows with them and a band from Melbourne called Boy in a Box. When you’re on the road together with the same group of people for that long, you start to form great friendships and the shows get better and better (and so do the parties). By the end of the tour, we were playing on each other’s songs and performing covers of Dancing in the Dark by Springsteen, I Fought the Law

by The Clash and Self Esteem by The Offspring. The Smashing Pumpkins tour was also an amazing experience. To be able to play massive rooms like Luna Park in Sydney and Festival Hall in Melbourne was something we wont forget anytime soon.

What are your plans for this year?

We’ll be touring some more to support the release of the album, as well as working on some new songs. It would be great to be able to put something new out – maybe a double A side or another EP – before the end of the year. I’m also playing in a band called Vydamo with Jim Finn from Art Vs. Science, so that will be fun. As well as that, I’m collaborating with my friend, Adelaide producer Luke Million, on some new tunes.

City Riots will be touring Adelaide on the 24th of May ($10 tickets available from MOSHTIX, woo!). The band’s debut album Sea of Bright Lights is out now.

Lest we forget… to update our Facebook status I get a chill down my spine when I hear the lone bugler play the Last Post, and my eyes well when I listen to the words of the Ode of Remembrance.

In the 1960s, Anzac Day suffered from much bad press. It was criticised for promoting excessive drinking, and shamed as being a day to glorify war.

To me, these two things have come to mean loss, suffering and sacrifice, but also pride in Australia – or ‘Straya, as I like to call it.

Then the ‘70s hit, the decade of tie-dye shirts, long hair, and psychedelic rock. Along with all this came the anti-war protests and push for world peace.

Commemoration of Anzac Day was at its lowest point among the young.

All those Australian history classes, where we watched Gallipoli I’d say every year, the Howard-era indoctrination of “mateship” and Australia fighting the “War on Terror” must have influenced this upturn of nationalism – though I shudder to think Howard has played such a part in shaping my generation.

Today, my generation is turning out in droves to dawn services, marches, and parades around the country, as well as trekking across the globe to places such as Villers-Bretonneux in France and Gallipoli in Turkey.

I am proud to be part of a generation of respect for the fallen, and those still fighting, a generation who appreciates and praises this great land we live in.

However, there is a taint over Anzac Day, one that plagues many aspects of the life of an average 20-something – the need to document everything on social media. The belief that if you don’t post it, like it, share it, tweet it, snap it, then it hasn’t happened.

Oh, you managed to get out of bed at six one morning for a 30 minute gym session? Please, tell me all about it! No, really, it’s not as if the point of exercise is to be fit and healthy, it’s to gloat and shame.

But it’s the smug Facebook check-ins on Anzac Day that grind my bones the most.

Attending an Anzac Day ceremony is like taking off your hat when the National Anthem is played.

Checking-in while doing so is like getting a Southern Cross tattoo. It’s the over-the-top, shameless nationalism that takes you from just liking your country to loving yours but hating all others.

Facebook has even allowed young people to sleep in on Anzac Day, wake up at 11am, write “Lest we Forget” as their status, and announce their national superiority.

So charge your glass to the Anzacs but not to war.

Attend a ceremony but leave your phone at home.

Drape yourself in an Aussie flag but welcome your neighbour no matter where they are from—and maybe start saving for that tattoo to be removed.

Words by Hannah MacLeod Photography by Hussein Al Hammad

International Office Report:

A Few Months In Miami Who: Jessie Woldt Studying: Government and Public Management Where: University of Miami, USA When: Semester 2, 2012 Where did you live? Would you recommend this kind of accommodation?

I lived on campus. This is a must! Living on campus is the most amazing experience, and it makes it so much easier to make friends. People I met who weren’t living on campus regretted it and wished they had.

Did you have any fears? How did you overcome these?

I was worried I wasn’t going to blend in and adapt, but it turns out it was the best thing I’ve ever done, and I made so many friends for life!

Describe a typical day at the University of Miami: At 8:30am every morning my roommate and I would have a breakfast date at the dining hall (omelette and bagel), then I would go to classes from 9:30am-12:15pm. At 12:30 I would meet up with my other friend for lunch. I would then go back to my room, get my study books, go down to the study lab and work until about 5:30pm. I would socialise for an hour and then a large group of us would go for dinner around 6pm and stay for a few hours talking and making plans for the weekend!

After that, I would study until late, usually going to bed around 12:30am.

Was it easy to make friends with the local community?

It was easier making friends with other international students (e.g. UK and other Australians), as these were the people located on my floor. I was told this was common, with most floors tending to group together.

Contact the International Office to start planning your exchange: www.flinders.edu.au/studentexchange

What was the academic workload like compared to Flinders?

The same amount of reading was required for each topic. Attendance was taken, so one had to go to all classes to get maximum marks. There was a lot more work to do for less marks, however, I found the work to be easier – there was just more of it, and it was due weekly. I had three take-home exams, as opposed to the formal exams I normally have at Flinders, which was interesting.

What facilitates were available for exchange students?

There were many resources and facilities available to students. I went to the résumé clinic, where they helped me fix up my résumé and market my exchange experience, which was very useful!

Did you encounter any difficulties (e.g. homesickness, problems with finances)?

I didn’t suffer from either of these. I wasn’t homesick, because I made the most amazing friends, and I was cautious with my money; however, in terms of communication, it was a little hard because of the time difference, but Facebook was very useful ftor keeping in touch with friends and family.

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WorldMUN: “Everybody wants peace” A

model UN is an intensive simulation of the workings of the United Nations enacted by participants who represent diplomats from various member states of the UN. It is easy to dismiss MUN as mere role-play in a suit, but to enthusiasts across the world it is an academically rigorous stepping stone to the work of the actual organisation.

Recently, these enthusiasts spent immeasurable hours and measurable dollars flying from across the world to Melbourne to negotiate at the largest MUN Conference in the world – all in the hope of achieving peace, albeit simulated.

The Harvard World Model United Nations Conference brings together over 2,100 delegates from across the globe to a different location every year for a week of resolution writing, committee debates, and social activities. This year, it was held in Melbourne and I was fortunate enough to attend as the delegate for Somalia in the Legal Committee.

This was the first year that a UN body officially endorsed the conference, even sending a UN official to oversee the committee proceedings. The focus of my committee was defining the legal standards of international intervention and peacekeeping.

Needless to mention to anybody with whom I have had even the most rudimentary of conversations about international relations – it is a topic about which I am both academically and personally passionate, as central to international intervention is the tenet of the Responsibility to Protect (R2P).

R2P is a set of guidelines established in 2005 in the spirit of “never again.” Its birth is a result of decades of similar initiatives, all aiming to prevent the mass atrocities mankind has witnessed throughout history.

(My use of the word “mankind” here is deliberate, as “humanity” has no place in warfare, genocide, mass murder and crimes against humanity.) The failure of the UN to prevent the atrocities in Rwanda and Srebrenica highlighted the need for an international rule permitting intervention in such cases. In essence, R2P stresses that the state has a responsibility to its population and if a state fails to protect them, then the international community has the responsibility to protect them through an intervention of either a diplomatic, economic or military nature. The latter is a last resort.

It was entertaining to note that the dynamics of the legal committee paralleled oft-criticised UN

photo: http://www.montessori-mun.org/

dynamics. The old platitude that “everybody wants peace, they just have different ways of achieving it” was quite evident throughout the sessions. Most notably, the size of the committee sessions led to the emergence of similar sentiments being echoed ad nauseam to over 100 delegates, which stifled substantive debate at times. Despite this, it was inspiring to be in a room with other people whose faith in the work of the United Nations, as illustrated by their presence at the conference, paralleled my own idealism.

Despite the intense committee sessions, social events were scheduled every evening, giving delegates the opportunity to unwind and talk with each other by name, as opposed to eternally referring to them as “the Honourable Delegate of Zimbabwe.”

A definite highlight of the week would have to have been meeting delegates from universities around the world and hearing debate lines such as “a good resolution is like a shot of Russian vodka. It’s transparent, strong and does the job.”

I also met the delegates for Bosnia & Herzegovina (my home country), who were from South Korea.

They were incredibly committed to the resolutionwriting process and they had even had little pins of the Bosnian flag specially made and ordered for World MUN. Other delegations, in particular the delegations from different universities in Venezuela, displayed such pride and enthusiasm for their countries and exemplified the World MUN spirit in such a way that it was impossible not to befriend them.

Model UN conferences, whether international or local, are challenging and thrilling experiences for lovers of international relations and law. They increase awareness of global issues, enhance negotiation skills and provide a forum for the transcendence of IR knowledge and appreciation into a tangible form.

At present, Flinders doesn’t have a UN Society, but you can still have the chance to participate in a MUN if you like the UniSA UN Society, Adelaide University United Nations Society, and UN Youth SA on Facebook and keep an eye out for updates. See you there!

Words by Ajša Bajraktarević

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Dream Interpretation Words By Katerina Bryant

D

reams vary from weird to wonderful, and many consider them to be of great importance. In the Roman Era, dreams considered significant were submitted to the Senate for analysis.

Carl Jung, famed psychiatrist, argued that dreams are a window to our unconscious. Jung thought that dreams guided the waking self to achieve completeness enabling us to fix problems occurring in waking life.

Dreams, memories and unconscious thought vividly intertwine to create an alternate reality.

However, dream worlds can often reflect real life nightmares. It is estimated that you will spend six years dreaming during your lifetime, so why not learn the art of interpretation? There are recurring dream symbols and some of these I outline below.

Dreams of nudity can be interpreted in a number of ways. Feeling embarrassed at being nude within a dream hints at fears of emotional exposure. If you are naked but nobody realises, it implies that your fears are unfounded and that nobody has noticed your perceived shortcomings.

Nudity can also symbolise being caught off guard, conveying your unpreparedness. The setting and context in which you appear nude reveals why you may be feeling anxiety about being unprepared.

For example if you are nude in the classroom, this suggests you are not ready for an upcoming assignment or test.

The Teeth Falling Out Dream

If you dream of being unashamedly naked, this symbolises your unrestricted freedom. You are proud of who you are, this dream reflects your relaxed and honest nature.

Teeth dreams include, but are not limited to, having your teeth crumble in your hands, fall out one by one, grow crooked or rot.

The Falling Dream

One interpretation of teeth dreams is that they reflect appearance anxiety. Teeth greatly contribute to one’s attractiveness and, as such, dreaming of their damage has been linked to a fear of rejection as well as sexual impotence.

An alternate analysis is that the decay of teeth symbolises underlying feelings of powerlessness.

Teeth are instruments of power, used as tools for eating and hence the loss of teeth conveys helplessness. This suggests that you need to be more assertive in your waking life, or perhaps find an outlet to subvert your frustrations and gain power.

Maybe a self-defence class will put Freddy Kreuger to rest.

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The “Ahh I’m Naked!” Dream

Dreams of falling indicate uncertainty and anxiety within waking life. Falling denotes being overwhelmed. When falling you have no control over the situation, you are unable to hold onto anything and are at gravity’s mercy. This loss of control parallels the situations in one’s waking life.

Dreams of falling are usually in the first stage of sleep. When falling dreams are accompanied by muscle spasms, this is known as myoclonic jerks.

When you dream of falling, you may feel your body jolt or twitch, causing you to wake. It is thought that myoclonic jerks occur to allow you to wake up swiftly, alert to any threats.

The Being Chased Dream

The Flying Dream

Chase dreams involve being pursued by a threat.

The threat can take any form – human, animal, monster or even an anonymous figure. It is thought that your actions within the chase dream correspond to how you react to pressures in waking life. If you run from your attacker, fo example, you tend to avoid confrontation in waking life.

Flying dreams are considered to be lucid dreams, that is, within the dream you realise that you are dreaming.

The first step in analysing a chase dream is to question your attacker. Who is it? Could the attacker represent an aspect of yourself? Emotions such as anger, resentment, fear and love can manifest as a threatening figure within the dream world.

Alternatively if you are the chaser, the dream may be communicating your ambition. Or if you struggle to keep up with whom you are chasing, this shows that you are falling behind in your waking life.

The Unprepared-For-A-Test Dream Most commonly, people who experience test dreams are not in danger of actually failing a test.

Dreaming about taking an exam or test depicts that you feel you are being judged. The root? Anxiety.

Often within these dreams, obstacles prevent you from completing the test: you are in the wrong room, the test is in a foreign language, you arrive late or perhaps you run out of time.

If you are enjoying flying, this conveys that you are ‘on top’ of a situation in your waking life. It can also mean that you have gained a new outlook on an event or situation. The ability to control flight within your dreams expresses your power as an individual.

Conversely, if you are struggling to fly then you most likely feel as though you are left wanting for control in your life.

Another interpretation of flight dreams is that they symbolise your inner strength of character. You are unbeatable!

However, whilst dream interpretation is fascinating and potentially valuable – J.K. Rowling makes a valid point in Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, stating that, “It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live.”

For more specific dream interpretations, head to dreammoods.com

Test dreams usually are linked to low self-esteem.

Failing a test indicates that you are overly worried about not meeting other people’s expectations. The dream is a reflection that you are fearful of letting yourself and others down.

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All About Access Plans G

reetings comrades, my name is Christopher Sellwood and I am the Flinders University Student Association’s Welfare Officer. I am writing this article to let you know about Access Plans and how I plan to help reduce the financial burden of being a student.

I want students to be able to strive at university.

Sometimes extra support is needed for certain students, such as Access Plans. An Access Plan is a document for students with a disability that helps them negotiate extensions with tutors without needing to produce a medical certificate every time.

Physical disabilities are not the only type of disability that can be covered under an Access Plan. Under the Disability Discrimination Act 1992, disability is defined by: (a) total or partial loss of the person’s bodily or mental functions; or (b)

total or partial loss of a part of the body; or

(c) the presence in the body of organisms causing disease or illness; or (d) the presence in the body of organisms capable of causing disease or illness; or (e) the malfunction, malformation or disfigurement of a part of the person’s body; or (f) a disorder or malfunction that results in the person learning differently from a person without the disorder or malfunction; or (g) a disorder, illness or disease that affects a person’s thought processes, perception of reality, emotions or judgment or that results in disturbed behaviour; and includes a disability that: (h)

presently exists; or

(i)

previously existed but no longer exists; or

(j) may exist in the future (including because of a genetic predisposition to that disability); or (k)

is imputed to a person.

This means that students with other mental health issues including, but not limited to, depression and anxiety can get an Access Plan. Most students are unaware that these Access Plans exist, so if you

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feel that you may qualify for an Access Plan please see Health, Counselling and Disability Services to arrange an appointment with a Disability Advisor.

Easing the financial burden Most students don’t have much money – I know I don’t – so I am working on ways to try to lighten the load. Currently there are very few banks servicing the campus with ATMs. For students who have to use these ATMs and aren’t with a bank or credit union on campus they will get charged a fee. The fee is usually $2.00, and while some would argue that it’s not a lot of money, when a number of food outlets on campus don’t have eftpos facilities, it adds up.

Your $2.95 Iced Coffee just became $4.95.

Another unnecessary cost is the $10 it costs for an academic transcript. Why does it cost $10 for someone to print you a few pieces of paper? Yes, it contains security features such as a watermark and solvent reactive ink (text bleeds or blurs when tampered with). I’m sure this doesn’t cost the university $10, as you can order additional copies for $5.

Even more astounding is that students are having to pay for these transcripts when applying for exchanges to further their cultural experience by studying overseas. It is completely absurd to expect students to have to pay for transcripts requested

by Flinders University. As your Welfare Officer, I am looking for a solution to these issues.

Lastly, I will say that we at FUSA agree that textbooks are too expensive. So I shall provide you with an alternative to UniBooks, and that is Textbook Exchange online: http://textbookexchange.com.au/ I wish you all the very best with your academic studies, and if there are any students who have any issues at Flinders, please get in contact with FUSA.

Christopher Sellwood FUSA Welfare Officer welfare.officer@flinders.edu.au www.fusa.edu.au

Music Reviews John K. Samson - Provincial The fact that an album contains a song entitled “www. ipetitions.com/petitions/rivertonrifle,” which takes the form of a literal petition to induct former NHL player Reggie Leach into the Hockey Hall of Fame, cannot be said to immediately engender confidence in that album’s quality. However, despite whatever initial misgivings this might generate, Provincial, the debut solo album from John K. Samson, is a truly exquisite record, and one that ought to be listened to many times over.

The songs of Provincial journey along the main roads of the Canadian Samson’s home province of Manitoba, from Winnipeg’s Portage Avenue to Provincial Road 222; like Springsteen’s Nebraska, they create the sort of picture of a place that can only come from someone who truly knows it. This is not a picture painted in broad and vague brush strokes, but in intimate details, of places and of lives.

Samson’s brand of folk-influenced pop will undoubtedly be recognisable to anyone familiar with his work as the singer/songwriter of indie rock band The Weakerthans—he cannot be said to have reinvented the wheel here. Samson has previously described his guitar playing as “almost entirely workmanlike,” and it’s true that the music is not the star; as with his work with The Weakerthans, Samson’s lyrics are what make this record what it is.

Uncommonly, Samson’s songs are written in full sentences, and his words are of high enough quality to stand alone as poetry or prose. Staying far away from the usual clichés, Provincial’s pictorial lyrics have a soft and swaying melancholy to them, full of wistfulness, concern, and a refreshing lack of irony, without ever being corny or over-earnest.

Samson has an uncanny ability to somehow make you feel nostalgic for places you have never been or experiences you have never had—listening to the aforementioned song about Reggie Leach, I could swear I grew up watching him play.

Provincial is not without flaws—“Stop Error” is a fairly uninspired track, and “Longitudinal Centre” dips a little too close to gimmick for comfort—but it is a stunning portrait of loneliness, melancholy, and reminiscence, and, ultimately, an album of uncommon beauty.

Words by Ira Herbold

Kurt Vile - Wakin on a Pretty Daze Wakin on a Pretty Daze is the fifth album by Kurt Vile, former guitarist for The War on Drugs. Hailing from Philadelphia, Vile has had a quite prolific career so far. Wakin on a Pretty Daze shows a maturity to his writing that was established on his last album, Smoke Ring for my Halo, and has continued to develop.

The title sums up the feel of the whole album perfectly: Wakin on a Pretty Daze is a laidback, sunny album, and although there are some dark lyrics it gives of an overall feeling of contentment.

Vile’s voice is an effortlessly cool drawl, taking influence from Lou Reed and Lust for Life-era Iggy Pop. Wakin on a Pretty Daze has a classic Americana feel, but with a new, softer, and dreamy take on it.

There are some long songs on this album and some of these, such as Goldtone, get lost in becoming too wafty and end up floating by without recognition.

The songs that stand out are the shorter ones, which have more movement and direction. These include Shame Chamber, which juxtaposes dark lyrics with a fun guitar solo and woos, and KV Crimes.

Wakin on a Pretty Daze will please Vile fans as well as new listeners. It is not earthshattering, but it is a solid album with competent instrumentation, recording, and song writing.

Words by Elizabeth Daw

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Nesha Jelk on Life, Theatre and the Arts Nescha Jelk graduated from the Flinders Drama Centre directing course in 2010. She received First Class Honours, a University Medal, and won Helpmann Academy’s Bendigo and Adelaide Bank Award for being South Australia’s top performing/visual arts graduate in 2010. Since then, she has been involved in as many productions as possible. She has directed Eugene Ionesco’s The Lesson (Accidental Productions), Alice and Peter Grow Up (Milk Theatre Collective), Hamlet (The Actor’s Folio), and Emily Steel’s Sepia (RiAus), which was awarded the Adelaide Fringe Tour Ready Award.

Nescha has been recently appointed as the State Theatre Company’s 2013 Artistic Associate (Directing and Education).

She took some time out of her busy schedule to chat to Sarah Gates about the theatre, education, and her perspective on life.

How did you get the position you’re in now?

I’ve done as much as I could since graduating.

I started a theatre collective with two other girls called Milk Theatre Collective and we did a show called Alice and Peter Grow Up. I just did as much work as I could, basically. While doing hospitality work – there isn’t much way around that when you first graduate from a drama course. I also had a really good relationship with the previous associate director, Catherine Fitzgerald. She supervised me in a show I did in drama school and she basically took me under her wing.

Why directing?

I originally started out acting. It was something I always loved at school and I went to Actors Ink for many years. I never really considered directing at all.

Like I remember once at an Actors Ink class how interested I was in watching the other actors; and I had a moment where I thought, oh, maybe I could be a casting director if acting doesn’t work. But I didn’t know anyone who was a director. In my naïve way, I thought directors were all really old or male. But when I started the Flinders course, Anne Thompson, who is the head of Drama Centre, approached me

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to try some directing classes. It was this real mindawakening moment. So I did it. In my second year I was doing both acting and directing, and didn’t have a social life for a year. But I found myself prioritizing directing over acting. It just made so much sense; all these things fit into place, and I don’t think I was that good an actor anyway.

What’s your vision for Random?

I’ve got a feeling for what it will be, but I’m not 100% sure yet. We’ve got the basic structure down. But there are a few elements that will require experimentation in the rehearsal room, testing out what works and what doesn’t. It’s always a bit scary.

What I’m trying to do with this text is really connect the young audience with the family, as much as possible; so that the English Jamaican patois stuff doesn’t alienate them. And just to really establish that the boy is entirely innocent and that it is random.

There’s still racism in our society where we make these assumptions. Like, for example, the Boston bombings being middle-Eastern men when it turned out to be a couple of Russian teenagers and all the images of young black guys in gangs. So this stuff does happen, and it’s tragic.

Do you have a favourite playwright?

I don’t actually. But I have favourite plays. This is going to sound wanky, but I think picking a favourite playwright would be like picking a favourite child?

Every playwright has so many different plays.

Especially as I’m not directing one specific genre or style, I love the variety. Choosing a play to direct is such a personal thing. I find that, subconsciously, I pick plays based on stuff that’s going on in my life at the moment. And I didn’t realise that until the end of drama school when I looked back and went, oh my God, it’s like a biography or some form of weird therapy that I’m doing here. And I don’t mean to be that self-indulgent, but it just happens.

Do you have any advice you’d give to students looking to work in the arts industry, especially theatre?

In the arts, I think you always feel as if there’s something you could be doing. Especially as a director you feel like you’re suddenly supposed to become a genius and you should know all these different books and you should have seen all these different films. You’ve just got to take the pressure off yourself. It’s just remembering that you don’t need to know everything. A director’s job, for example, isn’t about being a genius, it’s about working with a group of people and helping to steer their progress.

“This is going to sound wanky, but I think picking a favourite playwright would be like picking a favourite child?”

What would you be doing if you weren’t in theatre?

I’d probably be in psychology. What I love about directing is thinking about the characters and their motivations. I just think people are just so fascinating and unpredictable.

What do you do to relax?

You’ve got to give yourself the luxury, sometimes, to watch a really crappy movie or really dodgy TV show.

It’s important to just be able to switch off and not be intellectual all the time. And keeping in contact with your friends; they keep you grounded and human.

As a director, you sometimes feel like you have to keep up a front. Having someone you can go to who can give you that support is really important. Just so you can have those moments of ah, I’m freaking out or I don’t know what to do. You can’t bottle up all those feeling, so you need someone who can listen to you freak out.

Words by Sarah Gates

Flim Section Sirius contains secret societies, global conspiracies, ET (the alien kind) sightings, incredible human telepathy, assassinations, world-changing technology, alien DNA tests... what more could you want from a film?

This is the kind of movie that attracts the kind of person who believes that there was a connection between the untimely death of the director’s father at a massacre and the making of the film.

Sirius is a documentary (so it’s supposedly true) about the most colossal cover-up of our time, and also for some reason about a retired emergency physician named Steven Greer, who fancies himself an avatar for human-ET relations.

• Founder of The Disclosure Project and the (apparently non-profit) CSETI initiative.

So I was going to go into the plot of Sirius in more depth, but a quick run-down on the conspiracy theory soup will have to do… *deep breath*:

• Claims to have had a spiritual near-death experience.

Basically, the four big petro-fascists (Exxon, Chevron, Shell, BP), the same people as the four big reserve banks (money conjurors), are covering up a threat they see in the advanced technology of ETs, whose propulsion systems provide free energy which would render oil and coal obsolete, and to do so have assassinated people and spread misinformation.

Also, secret US organisations have had knowledge of this technology at least since the Roswell incident.

Oh, and these ETs have been visiting and affecting all aspects of humanity for centuries, explaining the miracles described in some religious texts... and the esteemed Dr. Gary Nolan of Stanford University has conducted DNA tests on a mummified 6-inch humanoid creature of ‘unknown origin.’

The film covers all of this while paying particular attention to Greer and his new-age projects.

Greer; depending on where in the vast recesses of Ufology you graze, is either described as a new-age messiah or a self-absorbed charlatan. He has the following credits to his name:

• Presented 120 hours of eyewitness testimonies on UFO experiences to US Congress in 2001, including 20 high-ranking military officials.

• Claims to have been offered $2 billion in hush money to stop talking about UFOs. • Claims to be able to contact and summon aliens using deep meditation (such as the third eye)!

Crazy huh? Well stop being so closed-minded! And pay $900 dollars for an excursion with Dr. Steven Greer out to some desert somewhere to summon UFOs. Oh, and don’t forget to buy the DVD for $19.99 at sirius. neverendinglight.com, or donate so all of humanity can live in harmonious abundance!

So after the above sarcastic rant, you’re probably thinking I will score this pretty low. But a fair score must rate the film itself, not the main character.

The film managed to compile vast amounts of UFO footage, pleasing graphics, and interesting interviews on taboo topics from significant people, which can bring back some awe and wonder at the cosmos we all too often ignore.

I give this film: four authentic UFO sightings out of ten likely hoaxes.

Words by Will Parry

There is nothing to prepare you for Director Lee Daniels’ sweaty, southern, and sexually-charged film noir The Paperboy. It is perhaps the most unpredictable film I have seen in recent years, and seems to be leaving audiences genuinely confused as to whether they loved or hated it.

The all-star cast includes John Cusack as Hillary Van Wetter, a man convicted of murdering a local sheriff. Nicole Kidman shocks viewers as the crass, over-sexed Charlotte Bless who has fallen in love with the incarcerated Van Wetter through mail correspondence. She convinces Miami Times journalist Ward Jansen (Matthew McConaughey) to try and prove Van Wetter’s innocence. Together with his colleague Yardley (David Oyelowo), Ward takes up the challenge, hiring his sexually-frustrated and directionless younger brother and local paperboy Jack Jansen (Zac Efron) as a driver.

Nicole Kidman and Matthew McConaughey are exceptional in their challenging roles. In perhaps the most memorable scene, Kidman’s character Charlotte urinates on Zac Efron to relieve his pain from a jellyfish sting. The film seems to jump from shocking scene to even more shocking scenes, usually involving sex or violence or both, which at least keeps viewers entertained (if not a little disgusted) throughout the somewhat incoherent plot. Charlotte Bless is a character of opposites, perhaps slightly insane yet surprisingly endearing. More background and explanations for her strange choices would have been appreciated. The most enduring component of The Paperboy is the Jansen brothers’ relationship with their childhood maid and mother-figure Anita, played by the talented Macy Gray. After all the twists and turns of the story and the many captivating yet difficult to endure scenes, the film ultimately delivers very little pay off for viewers. Be prepared to feel a mixture of anger and respect towards Lee Daniels after the film’s swampy end.

Words By Annie Robinson

Following on from the successful Rise of the Cobra, the creators of G.I. Joe have released a new film, Retaliation, in the hope that it would appeal to the manliest of men who are also avid movie attendees.

Its plethora of violent exchanges – including heavy artillery, ninja fights, and a good ol’ fashioned street brawl – will certainly appeal to most men on some level.

Alas, although the demographic they sought to appease will be happy with Retaliation, others who take movies more seriously will see its obvious flaws.

A galaxy of stars such as Bruce Willis, Channing Tatum, and Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson does not make up for the lack of a solid storyline and horrible interpretation of drama. Cinematically, it was captivating, and the action sequences were a joy to watch, but Retaliation’s major letdown of this movie is perhaps the overdose of action. When you compare this with movies like The Expendables and The Avengers, you realise how similar the plots are in their use of the generic stereotype of “good guys” against “bad guys.” The real difference is that the latter movies possess depth and solid drama, which Retaliation is severely lacking.

If you wish to see a full-on action flick that goes around the globe in the blink of an eye and is filled with action heroes and great cameos – not one for the mind, but one for the bloke in you – then I implore you to go and see Retaliation. If you don’t really fit the demographic I have just described, I would seriously recommend seeing another movie, such as Star Trek – Into Darkness or Oblivion. But who am I kidding? I loved this movie, and those who love a good action flick should race on down to their nearest cinema!

Words by Sam Clayfield

Spotlight: Homoeroticism, Luchino Visconti And The European Male In the early days of film, homosexuality was depicted through coded messages and innuendo. A classic stereotype is ‘the Dandy’. Peter Lorre in The Maltese Falcon (1941) doesn’t fool anyone with his flashy dress sense, scented business card and the strange, yet soft touch he had with his cane. But in the years after World War II, the American and European film industries followed different paths, dealing with the subject in contrasting ways.

American directors were largely constrained by censorship. As such, most filmmakers used the archetype of Oscar Wilde’s Dorian Gray — an outwardly immaculate man with secret lives, relationships and desires. The characters’ sexual orientations were hidden yet again, with self destructive behaviours becoming red flags for the audience.

At the same time, European cinema was open to a greater degree of realism. A gay character’s sexuality wasn’t alluded to by negative traits and bad habits. The earliest depictions of homoeroticism were two French productions, Orpheus and A Song of Love (1950), followed by the notable film, Victim in 1961. To its credit, Victim refused to water down the openly gay central character. Melville Farr is very much a real, ordinary man. Likewise, A Song of Love featured erotic content that wouldn’t be seen in Hollywood until a few decades after.

Luchino Visconti is one Italian director that contributed to the ‘gay canon’ of cinema. Based on the true story by Thomas Mann, A Death in Venice (1971) features an ageing composer who becomes infatuated with a boy, Tadzio. It explores the beauty of male youth. Most of the imagery is centred on

Tadzio, with his angelic appearance a reminder of the loss of love, life and vigour.

This is touched upon again in Visconti’s The Damned (1969). Admiration of the Teutonic male is paired wonderfully with the obsession of race, blood and soil in Nazism. Whilst the film is not centred upon queer subject matter, it is memorable in the “Night of Long Knives” scene which shows the Brown Shirts in their last night of operation. Known for having many homosexual leaders, it’s no surprise that this scene is saturated in homoerotic imagery and themes.

Young German troops participate in the kind of drunken bonding that often leads to the bedroom —a throwback to the close relationships warriors had in Ancient Greece. The viewer is confronted with chiselled, bare-chested beauty and the love of young men, only to have it violently cut short by competing members of the SS. Part of the tragedy lies with such an erotic scene ending so abruptly in bloodshed.

As a result of the culture of liberal expression, European cinema of the mid-twentieth century is abundant in titles that feature male beauty. The open depictions of homosexuality were not only courageous for the time period, but also meaningful works of motion picture art. When it comes to gay cinema, Visconti and his contemporaries deliver what I regard some of the best pictures to this day.

Words by Dorian Bašić

Across 1 Comedic Silent film actor and director ___ Keaton 5 Nicole Kidman/Jennifer Jason Leigh film ___ at the Wedding 6 Ellen Page/Bruce McDonald The Tracey ___ (2007) 9 Writer and actor in 1987’s Roxanne (two words) 10 Hitchcock film and Romiijn’s given name 12 What was the name of the American actor who starred in Sergio Leone’s lowbudget spaghetti westerns in the 1960s? (two words) 13 Who is the only person to win an Oscar for Best Director for the only movie he ever directed? (two words) 15 del Toro film dealing with Spanish Civil War (two words) 18 Which is the shortest movie to win Best Picture?

Down 2 Laura Linney and Phillip Seymour Hoffman film The ___ (2008) 3 Seth Rogan and James Granco film ___ Express 4 Who is the most nominated actor in Academy history? (two words) 7 Aaron Eckhart starred in 2005 Thank you for ___ 8 Stranger than Fiction (2006) screenwriter Zach ___ 11 Director of Magnolia (1999) and There Will Be Blood (2007) P.T. ___ 14 Brothers known for Barton Fink and True Grit 16 Homeland characters first nae played by Damien Lewis 17 2002 Burr Streers Film ___ Goes Down

Art Review:

The Tunnels

Oxygen/Humility is a week long art exhibition presented by Artsake Productions in conjunction with Fascination Street. It is part of The Tunnels, displayed in the historic tunnels under the Adina Grand Hotel in Victoria Square. The exhibition is a celebration of the diversity in Adelaide’s Arts Community. It combines mediums such as video, paint, photography, installation and collage, to promote and recognise the talent of Adelaide’s emerging young artists. Each artist explores the overarching theme, Oxygen/Humility. The works delve into subjects ranging from human anatomy to our engagement with cultural and spiritual traditions.

Artsake Productions has been successful in its aim to expose the public to a multitude of art forms but has made a critical error in forcing its artists to conform to the themes of oxygen and humility in such a delicate space. The combination of serene and dramatic works results in a lack of coherence and intensity. Therefore the overall experience of the exhibition is disjointed and void of any significant emotional or intellectual impact. Artsake Productions fails to exploit the full potential of its remarkable backdrop which screams intimacy, gloom and an artistic escape from the world above.

When evaluated individually, many of the featured pieces are provocative, intriguing and

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Words by Amber Hall

execute impressive technique. However, they are done an injustice by their surroundings; the soundscape is overwhelming and the arrangement of the artists’ works follows no logical order. Furthermore, Artsake Productions mistakenly presented the artist’s statements in a handout, rather than displaying it next to their work. Consequently, the viewer is deprived of the ability to gain further insight into the artist’s inspiration upon their initial viewing and therefore, not only is a crucial part of the artist’s work lost, but an opportunity to enhance the artist-viewer relationship is missed.

The Tunnels has great potential. One can’t help but feel inspired when in the presence of a venue with such artistic and historical significance. Unfortunately, the exhibit Oxygen/ Humility does not exploit such potential. Whilst a few engaging, thoughtful and technically faultless pieces are hidden among the extensive collection of works, the exhibit is incoherent and ultimately fails to make an emotional connection with its audience. Artsake Productions must, however, be commended on their innovation, experimentation and commitment to young and emerging artists in our diverse arts culture. It is a cause worthy of support and celebration – regardless of the execution.

Book Review Burial Rites: Blood and Badstofas

by Hannah Kent attempt to give Agnes a human face. Despite the fact that it’s set in the early 19th century, the novel’s portrayal of the Icelandic landscape and culture is so evocative that by the end of the book you feel like you’ve been there—not just as a visitor, but as a resident, visiting badstofas (heated living rooms), helping with the harvest, and getting smoke in your eyes.

Burial Rites looks set to become a bestseller – in just two weeks, my bookstore sold more than 50 copies – but it’s likely to win prizes too. Some of the set-pieces are immensely powerful – a mishap during childbirth isn’t glossed over but possesses raw, almost unimaginable terror, while the murder scene is visceral and horrifying. Despite this, the beauty and harsh serenity of the Icelandic landscape is evocatively painted, so much so that it feels like another character among the farmers, children, and priests who make up the novel’s cast. Indeed, Kent’s use of language and tonal range is astonishingly varied. Here’s just one example:

A few months ago, the entire publishing universe resounded with the news that an Australian author had sold her first novel to multiple publishers around the world in a hotly-contested auction. That author is Flinders graduate Hannah Kent, whose Creative Writing PhD turned into Burial Rites.

Needless to say, ever since the news broke, Australian readers have been anxious to get their hands on this book. When a first novel is so hugely successful, there are inevitably doubts about whether it will live up to expectations, but I’m here to tell you that you can believe the hype. This might be marketed as “Scandinavian crime,” but it’s really historical fiction meets old-school realism, and probably the most captivating book you’ll read this year.

I did not dream in the storeroom at Stóra-Borg.

Curled up on the wooden slats with a mouldy horse-skin for warmth, sleep came to me like a thin tide of water. It would lap against my body but never submerge me in oblivion. There would be something to wake me – the sound of footsteps, or the scrape of the chamber pot on the floor as a maid came to empty it, the heady stink of piss.

Kent was mentored by historical novelist Geraldine Brooks, whose fans will particularly love Burial Rites, but anyone interested in literary fiction or history will find this a richly rewarding read – even if at times it’s as cold and dark as an Icelandic winter.

Words by Simon Collinson

Agnes Magnúsdóttir was the last Icelandic woman to have been publicly beheaded, after having been accused of the grisly murder of two men. Burial Rites is a fictional interpretation of her story – an

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Am I a ghost?

I held my hands up to my face, expecting to see gleaming, semi-transparent gloves.

But I didn’t see anything. I glanced down and panic struck; I had no body either.

I was just a floating head. Or possibly even less than that; a floating conscience?

Drifting thoughts?

I don’t remember dying.

I remembered the rush of air, the onyx water, the menacing jagged rocks, and the agony. I recalled what happened after.

How I sought my revenge.

Where am I now?

The floor jolted under my feet. I heard the unmistakable chugga-chugga of wheels on an endless railway. Closed compartments led continuously along the carriage. It was one of the fancy old-fashioned trains with polished wood panelling, red drapes framing the windows and gold ornate handles on the sliding doors of private compartments.

I passed the first compartment on my left and did a double-take. Inside weren’t the red-leather seats I had expected, but a hospital room. The door slid silently open, as if my presence had triggered its life. A woman was in labour, both screaming and crying with pain. I didn’t recognise her at first. Next to the bed stood her husband, wincing as she squeezed his hand to a pulp. Despite this he kept up a string of encouragements.

“He’s coming soon. You can do it. Just push, push!”

“He’s crowning!” the masked doctor yelled.

A baby was held up seconds later, bawling and kicking, covered in blood.

“Congratulations, Mr and Mrs Rodgers. It’s a boy.”

[44]

My jaw dropped to the floor.

This is unreal. What’s happening?

I backed out the compartment; the door closed like a forgotten whisper. The carriage was silent once more.

The next compartment was the same, holding another event from my life; my first words. This continued all the way down the train. The Memory Train. My first steps, my first tooth, my first day at school, growing up, my first kiss. Some events seemed insignificant. Fights. Heart-felt moments. I saw myself at my best, and my worst.

My heart-beat quickened, invisible palms dripped with cold sweat. My eyes flickered from side to side. I picked up pace until I was sprinting through the carriage on incorporeal legs, dreading what I’d find at the end.

It stretched on forever; the door always stayed the same distance away. The drapes flung open, sensing my mounting frustration. Swirling grey mist pressed against the glass, morphing into horrific faces, howling silently. I kept running, frightened now, almost flying past the memory I dreaded reliving.

My death. It was like watching a car crash; my conscience screamed to turn away but I was transfixed.

My arms wrapped around the icy bridge rail. The faces were pale in the lamplight.

Jeering, egging me on. Hesitation played in my eyes. Do I jump or do I back out? I read the conclusion in my mouth’s grim line. I couldn’t jump; I didn’t have the guts. But hands pushed me from behind. I watched myself fall, screaming horribly, smashing the concrete water and protruding rocks. I wanted to erase that image out of my mind forever.

All my life gone, obliterated because of a stupid dare.

Judgement Day Words by Jess Dangerfield

It wasn’t my fault.

The compartments continued, but I didn’t need to be shown what’d happened next.

Death clutched my shoulder with a bony hand. “Tim Rodgers. Died 24th June,” he announced joylessly. He barely paid attention to my hesitant nod.

“I’m not ready to go just yet. I’ve got a few things to sort out,” I said, braver than I felt.

Voices screamed from the bridge, piercing the night air. “You killed him! You killed him!”

“There’s blood. Oh my God!” Death shrugged. “You won’t have long, so do what you need to do.” He turned with a swirl of his black cloak, the gleaming scythe high on his bony shoulder, and disappeared.

I went to my funeral; the weirdest moment of my existence. Friends and family paid their respects by my coffin before it was covered with dirt, before I was well and truly gone. My mum was choked by endless body-racking sobs. One of my mates, Adam, strolled by the gaping hole my body would soon fill. A note fell into the hole, written in spiky words: Rest in Peace Timmy.

It was me who pushed you.

Forgive me.

Never had two words seemed so flat and insubstantial.

Forgive me for murdering you.

Revenge was, as the saying goes, incredibly sweet.

I stalked Adam for days. He couldn’t hear my howls of rage, but he could feel my

fury breathing down his naked neck. He ran home and whimpered, cowering like the spine-less rat he was. The windows rattled; crashes and bangs echoed. I couldn’t touch him, but inanimate objects flew around the room, possessed by my hate. Adam watched the knife fall from mid-air towards his shuddering form.

I never thought an agonised scream could sound so... harmonious.

Death loomed behind me.

“Time to go.”

The end of the carriage was before me.

The door hauled itself open and I leapt across space as tracks blurred beneath me. I was at the head of the train, in the engine room. Or where the engine would normally be.

Instead there were a set of brass scales which weighed my soul. They took into consideration every deed, good and evil, both in my mortal life and my week as a floating fury-filled soul, including my revenge and the torment I inflicted on Adam.

I was judged.

And convicted.

Hell barred my way. Flames licked the black iron gate and shrieks echoed from within. The stench of sulphur burned my nose. I’d never been more afraid.

But I sought comfort in the knowledge Adam would be joining me soon. We had eternity to settle past disputes.

After all, without humans there would be no Hell

[45]

The night danced into a cataclysmic cataclysm of events. And as the moment passed, the world stopped, breathed and, after a few moments of brief reprieve, continued its motions, exasperated in its never-ending cycle.

The woman in seat 4C looked up from her book to see the stewardess offering her a drink. She had seen the stewardess approaching and had decided upon an orange juice, but when the moment arrived, the unanticipated question took her by surprise. “Would you like a coffee?” the stewardess said, with a smile of pure plastic.

The woman in 4C was at a loss and, in a swift decision, accepted the coffee. She was given a small white cup filled with black water. No milk. No sugar. A strong smell of soulless caffeine; coffee made with as much love as daytime television. The taste was strong with the distinct scent of burning. The aftertaste was even worse.

But there was no one she could complain to; the stewardess had moved onto another hapless victim, and she felt she had no choice but to finish the hot cup of ungodliness. So she returned to her book; something purchased before boarding time and in a hurry. It was as thick as your average Russian classic, with half as many words. The letters were huge, but made it no easier to grasp the illusive meaning of its words. She couldn’t get a grasp on what was happening in the story. The words seemed scrambled into vaguely coherent sentences which made no sense when put next to one another.

The children cried for mercy. The darkness swept like an unforgiving broom upon the dirt of the earth. Gone were the days of the undeniability. The days of disunderstandableness.

The days of misunconscientiousnessliness.

Either the author was drunk, taking the piss or, more likely, both.

The woman in 4C squirmed in her aisle seat, accidently waking up the passenger next to her. *** The man in 4D had just been woken up from an interesting dream in which he was a pencil in a box. He had been woken just as he was chatting up the rather attractive pen lying next to him.

“Sorry,” said the woman.

“It’s fine,” he replied..

“It’s just been a long trip. I was getting uncomfortable; the book I’m reading is impossible and... you’re asleep again.”

This time he was a Cornetto in a freezer, and had his eye on the double choc mint Magnum in the next compartment. ***

Flight Words By Tim Carlier

The lies of the company kept them locked in their transport over an impossible void. An emptiness unbecoming of reality. Only one could have been awake to this.

Awake, thought the woman as she daydreamed of sleep. But those coffees had done her no end of evil. Unable to escape the hot caffeinated substance, she found herself constantly awake and had been since take-off. It seemed that everyone else had fallen asleep except for her and the stewardess; in fact they were all asleep, including the stewardess.

The dimmed lights and closed blinds cut her out from any form of bright or outside light. She felt trapped with a bunch of sleeping strangers, all at peace while she struggled into the book.

Look outside to see the world once known. It is gone. Replaced by an unending endlessness.

She did. Being careful to not bump the man in 4D, who was asking the classic Magnum for permission to marry his daughter.

The blinds had obviously not been pulled up recently. The one with which she fought was slightly jammed, but with effort sufficient enough to wake the man from his wedding ceremony she managed to open the blind. It opened onto the sight which had eluded her: the rest of existence as empty and unknown as a metaphor with which to describe it. It was an escape from the enclosed confines of that dreaded cabin. Even the sight of what was left of the deserted earth was a breath of fresh air, the memory of days of freedom when she and her husband weren’t trapped in a small tube floating through the void.

Slam! The blind slammed shut and the man in 4D glared at her.

“We were at the altar!” he spat having awoken from his ice cream nuptials. He turned to face the now closed blind and fall asleep once more.

Strangers... lost in the sky with one another. No direction, no home, just a void and a sleep which for some will not come.

Lacking the peace in which to rest. An end.

A preposterous thought. There could be no end to this, thought the woman who was still stuck in seat 4C. And looking up, she saw the stewardess, now awake again, making her rounds with drinks. This time, she would get orange juice and finally fall into that wonderful sleep. But, before that nothingness she needed to understand her book which she opened once again to the first page. Meanwhile the craft floated on into oblivion as her husband and all the other passengers dreamt of lives as inanimate objects.

Poetry Daughter Words by Jess Nicole We are all born in sin but what becomes of those who continue to act malevolently in spite of morality?

The cross mocks you from its holy placement.

God never saved you.

He dragged you from the womb and flung you into a life that should not have been yours.

Endure the pain and let those clumsy, wrinkled fingers probe you.

Expose these family secrets and you expose yourself to judgment.

You are a lying, seething daughter.

Nobody wants to believe that blood is not a barrier to abuse.

All The Men That Ever Existed Jess Nicole I invented a sense of love from an early age. I recorded this all in a scrapbook buried beneath toys, textbooks, ticket stubs and tax returns. As the years progressed, crushes became lovers, lovers became husbands and husbands became men of the past.

Mrs. Boy who shared his transformers Mrs. Nerdy glasses and tartan pencil case Mrs. High school jock Mrs. Deep voiced skater Mrs. Smoker behind the bike shed Mrs. Shaggy haired drummer Mrs. Accountant Mrs. Politician Mrs. Musician Mrs. The One Mrs. The Real One Miss.

[48]

Vision Words by Tim Walter Wipe the sweat from your brow Determine the strength you will need Grapple the foundation or you’ll fall Defend rejection and hold it to the end Grasp the establishment before it brings you down The devil rises from the ground and bares everything It fools you with what you see, like magic showmen Stomps you down with the force of gravity Clutch the humbling rise of the mountain again Learn to absolve hatred burrowing steeper Ingest the lies Hit rock bottom and start again Release the weight and sink it to bedrock Let it be shaped into a warm-hearted kin Redefine, expand, control

Ageless Foster Pierce Thin, white fingers stretch across the keys Greeting them like an old friend Their skeletal appearance scares the children watching As do the eerie movements, vaguely remembered As if from a dream And then they take their positions With the precision and care of a doctor beginning surgery The pressure of the scalpel not dissimilar to that on the keys And these hands touch people’s hearts as well For when the notes pours out, Ebbing and flowing from the instrument and its lover to the children They glance down to their plump, stubby fingers and wish them away Imagining their own lean and skilled fingers coaxing music from the keys

[49]

Games Games Hard

Puzzle 1 (Hard, difficulty rating 0.62)

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Puzzle 1 (Easy, difficulty rating 0.30) Generated by http://www.opensky.ca/~jdhildeb/software/sudokugen/ on Wed May 8 01:10:27 2013 GMT. Enjoy!

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Puzzle 1 (Medium, difficulty rating 0.53)

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Generated by http://www.opensky.ca/~jdhildeb/software/sudokugen/ on Wed May 8 01:14:32 2013 GMT. Enjoy!

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Generated by http://www.opensky.ca/~jdhildeb/software/sudokugen/ on Wed May 8 01:17:00 2013 GMT. Enjoy!

Blast from the past Empire Times Edition 1 volume 14