THE
SPORT &
leisure EDITION
ISSUE 02, VOLUME 02 APRIL 2016 EDITORIAL TEAM Jessica Brown - Editor in Chief Rebecca Marshallsay - Editor in Chief Erwan Guegan - General Content Editor Angel Nikijuluw - Visual Editor Hayley Payne - General Content Editor Ashleigh Watson - Features Editor PUBLISHER Cameron Harrison TALENTED CONTRIBUTORS Photographic Christian Nimri - Rachel Corbu-Miles Creative Sam Dunn - Zarek Hennessy Monique Hotchin Laura McKinnon - Mic Smith Cover artwork Linn Hamre Editorial Erin Barrett - Erwan Guegan - Justin Jattke Zakary Johnson - Saachi Khandelwal Rebecca Marshallsay - Angel Nikijuluw Christian Nimri - Elleanor O’Connell Adele Pavlidis - Hayley Payne Moira Sheppard - Ashleigh Watson DESIGN
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF COUNTRY
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Contents Editorial note
4
Contributor spotlight
5
Vox pops
6
12
Olympic trivia
10
The Hunting Ground
12
Yarn bombing
16
30
The truth about adulthood
18
Birds of a feather play badminton together
20
Sinking your sugar intake
21
The biggest sport you’ve never heard of
22
2016 sport calendar
26
A lesiure biography
28
The Commonwealth Games at Griffith
30
Dying to win
32
Peculiar pastimes on film
36
Product review - Spectator sports
38
Snapped on campus
40
Fashion - Join the club!
47
What’s on
50
Feature artist - Trang Ho
54
Online
56
The adventure of exploring
58
Entertainment
60
Being creative
62
Get the hell outta here
68
32
16
40 54
EDITORIAL NOTE
Welcome to the 2nd edition of Getamungstit for 2016 – Sports and Leisure. The sun has finally set on summer and autumn is the perfect time for this theme. The humidity has given up its heavy grip, it’s still light enough in the morning for the early birds and the perfect temperature to get outdoors. And this may just be our biggest edition yet. It’s absolutely bursting with fresh content and we really do have something in here for everyone. At first I thought, as I’m sure some of you are thinking right now, that this wouldn’t be true. I’m not the sportiest of lasses so when we were brainstorming for this edition I didn’t think the theme had anything to do with me. Sure, I played sports in high school, I don’t totally despise watching weekend games on TV and I do get quite into the Olympics. But I don’t do sports now – at least I thought I didn’t. I’m not saying this is why ‘leisure’ is tacked on after ‘sports’ in our theme. I was thinking about it all wrong. Sports don’t necessarily involve a
MAIL! WE LOVE HAT TELL US W M NEXT O R F K. YOU THIN E WILL BE EDITION W LETTERS G LAUNCHIN EDITOR. TO THE
ball and leisure isn’t just the fancy name we give for lying down on the weekends. Sports and leisure isn’t an either-or. We’ve got pieces on yarn bombing, e-sports, and pole dancing. We’ve also got a feature on the complex and often dangerous entanglement of animals in racing sports. And for the real sports stars, we’ve got you covered. You can race through our articles and then pass a copy of the mag to your teammates. Nod along with our pluses-of-playing a team sport piece, and prepare to expand your horizons with some wise words from Griffith’s Outdoor Adventure Club. You can also test your mates with our Olympic Trivia. And don’t miss the leisure biography – one woman’s story through dancing, swimming, tennis, yoga, belly dancing, roller derby and everything in between. So, Geta readers, our only advice for approaching this edition is to Getamungstit!
This is your chance to tell us what you love, what you want to see more of or suggest new ideas. Maybe there is an issue you think we should be covering or you want to weigh in on the best coffee debate... whatever you need to get off your chest, we are here to listen. We are open to constructive criticism too (just remember our writers have feelings). Title your email ‘Letters to the Ed’ and drop us a line at getamungstit@griffith.edu.au Make sure you include your name and student number (only first names will be published). *Getamungstit reserves the right not to publish based on content, quality or editorial direction.
Editorial note
CONTRIBUTOR SPOTLIGHT Mic Smith
Mic is a Griffith student and tutor with a passion for the environment and journalism. Getamungstit has been lucky enough to have Mic create some ibis comics especially for our Being creative section. These are just one facet of a bigger project, Mozart and Coltrane Dirty Ibis Gold Coast, which is a multi-media project including cartoons, podcasts, and video around political and environmental themes. Mic has shared a little bit of insight into his work as well as some tips for aspiring creatives. What are you currently studying? I’m doing a Master of Arts Research. It’s pretty interesting writing a thesis on environmental news reporting.
And you also tutor, is that right?
Can you tell us how the ibis comics came about? Ibis all look alike so I thought it was funny to consider that every time I saw an ibis it was the same one. A kind of omnipresent deity. Like in some religions they have deities that are troublemakers. The ibis are classic troublemakers as well as being funny to look at. So it wasn’t hard to come up with the idea of a couple of Australian larrikin ibis, Mozart and Coltrane. Then I found out about their conservation status. It’s a tricky one because they are kind of a pest here but where they come from in the lakes and marshes out west they are in serious trouble. So I hope the comics, while they send up the ibis, succeed in raising awareness about the ibis’ battle to survive.
Do you draw any other cartoons? I don’t do any other cartoons. But the cartoons are only one part of a larger ibis project that I do with a friend. Mark and I have made these ibis costumes and we do a bit of social commentary and political satire with characters like Tony Ibbitt.
I’ve been tutoring journalism and public relations at Griffith since 2012 when I came back from working overseas as a newspaper editor. I like tutoring because a lot of students come up with great stories and PR campaigns.
Since this is the Sport & Leisure Edition, can you tell us what you like to get up to in your You have a lot of journalism experience. What tips do you have for aspiring journos, writers and free time? other creatives? I’ve been working as a journo since 2001. The main tip is work hard and be yourself. Get your skills up in the class activities. Be proficient in your internships and easy to work with. I like volunteering. Get on top of some of the new technologies. Build your enthusiasm for change. Be true to yourself and your journalistic values so you can be at the forefront of solving the challenges in the media. 5
Surfing is my main past time. But unfortunately I broke my back surfing at Burleigh Point around that New Year swell. I’m out of action as far as surfing goes for most of the year, so doing a lot of reading.
VOX POP
Are you a fan of any obscure sports?
For this edition we set out on campus to find out all about your sports and leisure passions... and to investigate your athletic ability.
Stephen, Bachelor of Multimedia European handball.
By Christian Nimri
Nathan, Bachelor of Architecture Darts.
Ian, Bachelor of Psychology Sepak Takraw.
Sheridan, Bachelor of Nutrition & Dietetics Yoga.
Alex T, Bachelor of Pharmacy Lacrosse.
Vox pop
What sport would you watch live if you could go to Rio?
Alex, Bachelor of Pharmacy Open women’s hammer throw.
Christopher John, Bachelor of Law BMX.
Chantelle, Bachelor of Pharmacy Hurdles.
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What is your favourite hobby?
Do you have any medals or trophies?
Sarah, Bachelor of Architecture Gettingamungstit.
Lucy Surf life saving and netball.
Tahnee, Bachelor of Psychology Uni Bar.
Liya, Bachelor of Health Sciences Skiing.
Jack, Bachelor of Marine Ecology Riding dirt bikes.
Remy,Bachelor of Biomedical Sciences Swimming. Vox pop
By Hayley Payne Written records of the Olympic Games date back to 776 BCE, where a cook named Coroebus took out the 192m footrace to become the world’s first Olympic champion.
To celebrate the fact that 2016 is an Olympic year, Getamungstit has compiled a little bit of Olympic trivia to get you excited about the Games (and to make you sound wise and knowledgeable in conversation).
The oldest Olympian is history is Oscar Swahn, a Swedish shooter who won a silver medal at age 72.
In ancient Greece, athletes competed naked. Fun fact: The word ‘gymnasium’ comes from the Greek ‘gymnos’ which means ‘naked’). The Australian Olympic team for Rio is expected to be made up of 450 athletes.
The first modern Olympic games was held in Athens in 1896. The competition featured 280 participants from 13 nations, competing in a total of 43 events.
The United States is on top of the medal leader board bosting an impressive 2,189 medals won over Olympic history.
The Winter Olympic Games has never been hosted in the Southern Hemisphere.
Olympic trivia
Four athletes have won medals in both the Winter and Summer Olympics: Clara Hughes, Christa Luding-Rothenburger, Eddie Eagan and Jacob Tullin Thams.
The modern Olympics have been cancelled three times due to war.
The United States have hosted eight Olympic Games, more than any other country.
The youngest ever athlete to compete in the Olympic Games was Dimitrios Loundras, a Greek gymnast who won a bronze medal at age 10.
Gold medals are not made of pure gold, they are silver with a gold plating. The first woman to represent Australia in the Olympics was Fanny Durack who won gold in the women’s 100m freestyle in Stockholm 1912.
Michael Phelps holds the most Olympic Gold medals (22).
The 1936 Berlin Olympics were the first ever Olympics to be televised. Unfortunately these are also remembered as the ‘Nazi’ Olympics.
The first Australian Olympic Games were held in Melbourne in 1956. 11
THE HUNTING GROUND By Rebecca Marshallsay
Imagine reporting a sexual assault or rape only to be asked, ‘Well what were you wearing? Had you been drinking? What kind of message were you sending?’ According to a new documentary, The Hunting Ground, this victimblaming response is regularly experienced by women in many colleges across the United States. The Hunting Ground is an expose of institutional cover-ups, rape culture and victim-blaming across hundreds of educational institutions around the United States. The film speaks to many survivors of rape and sexual assault and finds out how their schools dismissed their claims and failed to protect them in the wake of their traumatic experiences. The film also follows student survivors, Andrea Pino and Annie Clark, and their nationwide campaign to protect and seek justice for victims of rape and sexual assault under an anti-sex discrimination law Title IX. The Hunting Ground draws on a number of studies from the past fifteen years to back the claim that one in five women in American
colleges are sexually assaulted. Only a small fraction of these are reported and even fewer result in punishment for the perpetrator. Whilst cases of sexual assault and rape committed against men are much lower (and reporting is believed to be even lower again), men who reported sexual assault to their colleges were dismissed with the same disregard. Rather than shaming them for their outfits or their drinking choices however, their masculinity and their status as a ‘real man’ was questioned, not only for having the misfortune of being victims of a crime but also for reporting and talking about. Apart from the prevalence of the crimes themselves, there are two very shocking factors about The Hunting Ground; the first is the active role that these colleges are playing in deterring students from reporting and their failure to protect them. The documentary shows the institutions being driven by two factors, firstly the desire to suppress complaints in order to keep crime statistics low on their campuses (and maintain a false facade of safety and security), and secondly, the imperative to protect perpetrators who are of benefit to
The Hunting Ground
the school such as star athletes. It is possible to wrap your head around this conspiracy of silence approach in broad terms but watching The Hunting Ground and seeing the victims, it is very hard to imagine the number of real individuals who are able to accept such a laissez faire approach to violent sex crimes, from school administrators and ‘support’ services through to board members and directors. This amounts to a lot of people who are comfortable essentially saying to victims (to their face in many instances), ‘We don’t care about you. You don’t matter. Your needs are not more important than the needs of this school. Go away.’ Especially from an outside perspective, the second factor that is quite shocking, and only broadly touched on in the film, are the aspects of American college culture that lend themselves to these crimes. In 2015, Getamungstit looked at hazing in the US, and many of the same factors seem to be at play when it comes to attitudes about and prevalence of sexual assault in American colleges.
With most students living in residential facilities on campus, college life becomes very insular and often students are far away from their families and other support networks. The authority of the school becomes paramount and this is evidenced in The Hunting Ground by the tendency for students to report to the school (rather than the police as you might expect in Australia) and the willingness of school disciplinary bodies to make determinations on criminal cases. Again, in Australia you would expect that any institution, (university, workplace or otherwise) would be led by the criminal justice system. The fraternity culture also appears to play a disturbing role in normalising a predator-prey relationship between men and women. The Hunting Ground shows footage of students casually discussing how one fraternity received the nickname SAE, Sexual Assault Expected; or joking about how another fraternity had a reputation as a date rape fraternity. There is also footage of dozens and dozens of men on a campus chanting ‘No means yes, yes means anal.’ The implications of this statement are obviously abhorrent,
and even more disturbing is the fact that such a large group of people felt comfortable to chant this in a public space without fear of repercussion. Another element of college life is the superstar status of high profile athletes and a culture of privilege and entitlement that accompanies it. The Hunting Ground claims that while less than 4% of college men are athletes, 19% of sexual assaults are attributed to athletes. The film speaks to one student who was actively discouraged by police (the campus had its own police beat) from reporting because her rapist was a football star and they were in a ‘football town’.
There is also footage of dozens and dozens of men chanting ‘No means yes, yes means anal.
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The documentary goes on to detail several cases (where victims would not be deterred), when sports stars were found guilty by the school and their punishment was held over or deferred until after they had played in ‘the big game’ or fulfilled their sporting commitments to the school. In other cases where perpetrators were found guilty by school disciplinary bodies, punishments included suspension over the summer break, a $75 fine, expulsion after graduation and making a poster board about appropriate behaviour with women. This means that victims may still find themselves seeing or even sharing a class with the perpetrators on campus, even if the perpetrator has admitted guilt. Woefully inadequate does not even begin to cut it when it comes to the college responses. The good news to come out of this very distressing film is that ground roots campaigns such as the Title IX campaign led by Pino and Clark, and the education and awareness campaigns attached to The Hunting Ground itself have begun to spark change. This issue is slowly being dragged into the
spotlight and approximately 100 American institutions are currently under federal investigation. The Hunting Ground has been picked up in Australia and, with support of a number of partners including Good Pitch Australia, will form the basis of a broader campaign called The Hunting Ground Australia Project to start a collaborative approach between Australian universities and the broader community. Campaign organisers are very aware that the university culture as a whole, as well as around reporting, is very different in Australia. Also, because of their structure, Australian universities do not have the same reporting infrastructure in place regarding crimes on campus and connected with the institution. As such, the campaign is hoping to develop an Australian Universities’ Sexual Assault and Harassment Survey to find out exactly what Australian university students are experiencing and identify whether there are appropriate opportunities for universities to do more to assist their students in this area. This survey is expected to fill a knowledge gap so that Australia can ensure that it has best
practices in place specific to our experience and situation. Although our culture and attitudes to reporting might be very different, the Australian Bureau of Statistics’ 2012 Personal Safety Survey confirms that in Australia women between the ages of 18-24 years old are the most likely to experience sexual assault. It is very important to note here that this is across Australia and does not look at students in particular. That said, it still suggests that conversations about sexual assault are highly relevant to the university sector as many students fall within this demographic. Universities Australia is working with The Hunting Ground Australia project to reignite conversations about what role higher education providers in Australia can play with regard to prevention as well as education of staff and students. They are also identifying opportunities to review policies and procedures to ensure that all students in Australia are protected. The Hunting Ground is being screened as part of educational campaigns and campus screenings from February before being made available to the broader Australian community with a general release in mid-2016. The Hunting Ground
If you need support with regard to rape or sexual assault please contact one of the following: 1800 RESPECT Call 1800 737 732 National counselling helpline for sexual assault, and domestic and family violence. Queensland Statewide Sexual Assault Helpline Freecall 1800 010 120 A free confidential helpline for men and women. Gold Cast Centre Against Sexual Violence (07) 5591 1164 Free confidential counselling and advocacy for women. Living Well 1300 114 397 Face to face and telephone counselling for men who have been sexually assaulted.
TUESDAY 10 MAY | 10AM - 3PM LIBRARY LAWN EXPERIENCE ALL THAT OUR ON CAMPUS CLUBS HAVE TO OFFER. FROM SPORTING CLUBS TO CULTURAL APPRECIATION OR ACADEMIC, THERE WILL BE AN EXPERIENCE AND CLUB FOR YOU! ADD THE EVENT TO YOUR CALENDAR AT GUGCSTUDENTGUILD.COM.AU GUGC STUDENT GUILD
YARN BOMBING By Rebecca Marshallsay When you think of knitting and crochet do you think of scarves, beanies and that blanket made by your grandma? Or do you think of contemporary street art that is transforming urban spaces into colourful streetscapes? Yarn bombing, also known as guerilla crafting or graffiti knitting, involves covering fixed objects (trees, buildings, vehicles, sculptures... you name it) in knitting or crochet. Sometimes the purpose is political, sometimes it is just to make the area brighter. Although craftivism in general became quite popular in the 70s as part of the feminist art movement, yarn bombing is a relatively new practice that has been gaining traction and popularity over the past decade or so. Bali Portman, founder of Melbourne’s Yarn Corner tells Getamungstit that the practice was almost nonexistent in Australia when she first noticed it almost seven years ago. “I just saw a little bit of it online and thought ‘Hey that’s really cool’ and since no one was doing it in
Australia I thought ‘I’ll give it a go’. I just put a little piece on a bus stop pole outside my house and all the locals were going crazy over it so I thought, ‘Hang on this is really cool. People like this stuff’.
I just saw a little bit of it online and thought ‘Hey that’s really cool’ and since no one was doing it in Australia I thought ‘I’ll give it a go’. I kind of went from there and I did a big installation as part of The Light in Winter Festival that year in Melbourne. We had a massive, massive lantern where people could come and sit and knit and crochet and meet people and I decided to get a monthly or fortnightly group together of people who wanted to learn how to do yarn bombing and it just blew up from there, it went crazy.” Yarn bombing
Yarn bombing subverts typical expectations about crafts as a functional practice that is quiet and largely fulfilled within the domestic sphere. The practice of yarn bombing is designed to grab attention and make people take notice, knitting and crochet move out of the home and become very public. The focus of the craft has shifted to form over function and it is all about the process of display and viewing. It is not surprising then that yarn bombing has been appropriated by many as a form of peaceful protest. Although, like traditional graffiti, it is illegal to yarn bomb without permission, many activists are turning to yarn bombing as a means of protest that creates no harm, is aesthetically pleasing and mostly inoffensive. In Denmark in 2006, Marianne Jorgensen blanketed an M24 Chaffee tank in pink knitting and crochet to protest Western involvement in Iraq. In 2009, artist, Robyn Love, organised a team of knitters to create a mile-long
yellow stripe that was installed on a Dallas road (to mimic the painted centre line). Love’s The Knitted Mile project was designed to raise awareness of the fast pace of modern life and was a literal embodiment of the its slogan, ‘slow labour, good results’. This particular project was born of Love’s ethos that the world would be a better place if people spent more time creating with their hands. Closer to home, yarn bombing has been employed to promote many causes. In 2013, Knit Your Revolt set up a knitted tricycle gang in Queensland to protest Campbell Newman’s anti-bikie laws. Members of the group attended protest rallies on yarn bombed tricycles to specifically protest the anti association elements of the legislation. More recently, the Western Region Centre Against Sexual Assault delivered a Knit into Action project which yarn bombed the Footscray area in Victoria. The project was protesting sexual assault and
violence. It aimed to create a visual statement not only to raise awareness but also to create a message of support for survivors. Portman explains that Yarn Corner is not a politically based group and that, whether they have been developed by the group or commissioned by clients, projects are based more on aesthetics and performance craft for its own sake. “Everyone has different reasons for doing yarn bombing. Some people like to do it for the political aspect and get behind some kind of cause or some kind of stance and then some people are just want to put up a pretty pole or a pretty tree so I think it is really different for each person,” says Portman. “It is also different for each group.” Of all the projects the Yarn Corner has been involved in, Portman says that her favourite is the group’s annual project, Yarn Corner Stitches Up City Square. “We’ve done it for five years now and it’s just 28 trees and they’re
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all covered in rainbow colours. Because city square is quite beige, it’s a lot of concrete, and so when you come in and inject that much colour and rainbow into that area it is like people’s personalities change as they walk through it. Every time we put it up everyone loves it.” For Portman, the growing appeal of crafting on such a public scale is easy to explain. “I think yarn bombing really creates a community. You could have just started crochet or knitting a month ago and you’ve made one tiny little square but knowing that it’s going to be in this lovely installation next to somebody who might have been knitting for thirty years.” “Personally I’m finding it such a supportive community and it’s worldwide,” she explains. “It brings people together whether you know how to crochet or you only started a week ago. It’s just that real sense of support and community that some people are searching for.”
THE TRUTH ABOUT ADULTHOOD By Elleanor O’Connell It sucks. That’s it. That’s the whole article. Being a responsible person means setting an alarm and making your internal body clock hate you. It means that when your alarm goes off, you don’t have the luxury of flipping it off, turning it off, and then rolling over for another couple of hours of sleep. You’re a responsible human being now. Priorities and stuff. Being a responsible person means having a full time job and paying for your parking permit instead of bumming outside of someone’s house, hoping you don’t get a parking ticket. It doesn’t matter that it’s twenty-five dollars a week, be responsible and pay the damn thing. You also can’t turn up for work and leave work at the time listed on your contract (that’s right, responsible people have jobs with contracts). It doesn’t matter that you’re allowed to go home at five, there is no way you’re getting out of that office before the sun goes down. Being a responsible person means planning your meals. Monday has to be chicken salad night and Thursday has to be chicken salad with beetroot night. If you don’t plan your meals, your whole responsible adult façade will fall away and you’ll end up eating a cheeseburger in your car with your tears of failure for Special Sauce.
sneaking alcohol into clubs, you can afford to be an asshole and go ‘yes sir, I will have the Gold Digger’ and pay $30 for a single cocktail. You can also afford to go on that vacation to somewhere hot and tropical, and because you’re such a responsible adult you know how to budget and plan so that your wonderful holiday goes off without a hitch. Meanwhile, your irresponsible friends and scraping pennies together to go on a trip that ends early because they run out of money three days in. Being a responsible adult also means the people at the bank are much nicer to you. Instead of giving you the stink eye, they ask you if you want one or two sugars in your complimentary coffee. It means they stand up and shake your hand as they give you the go ahead for your new car loan. So you don’t get to sleep in and stay up until five in the morning watching reality TV reruns because you have an actual job to go to in the morning. That’s okay though, because you’re sitting on your Responsible High Horse and it’s a mighty fine view from up there.
But being a responsible person means that you get a regular pay cheque. Regular pay cheques mean that while your friends are The truth Online about - Top adulthood blogs
CREATIVE CONCEPTS \\ GRAPHIC DESIGN \\ PHOTOGRAPHY \\ ILLUSTRATION IMAGE RETOUCHING \\ PRINT & WEB \\ SOCIAL MEDIA \\ BRANDING Liveworm Gold Coast is staffed with a collection of skilled multidisciplinary design students, guided by a highly experienced team of industry professionals. The studio is also a creative incubator for student industry concepts, supporting the local business and cultural community. The studio opened its doors in 2008 after being converted from a grungy fine art and sculpture workshop into a creative studio and incubator space – under the wing of the 130 year old Queensland College of Art.
Liveworm Gold Coast designers are the future experts of their field. They know what’s current, enjoy predicting future trends and utilising classic design strategies. In the midst of a new studio image and direction Liveworm Gold Coast is working towards a stronger position within the evolving creative Gold Coast culture. The team of students and staff embrace the changes that are occurring locally and globally and enjoy creating design outcomes that reflect this unique approach.
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Birds of a feather play badminton together By Elleanor O’Connell There’s something wonderfully fulfilling about slam-dunking a shuttlecock. I’m not sure whether slam-dunking a shuttlecock in badminton is a thing, but it’s incredibly satisfying nevertheless. It is also incredibly fulfilling being in an environment where you are wholeheartedly welcomed. Despite the fear, and despite the nerves that come with stepping out of your carefully boxed comfort zone, the best possible environment you can find yourself in is one that’s been created by a team. A team of people who could quite possibly have only one thing in common whether it be basketball, tennis, or The Noble Game of Kings, badminton. Being welcomed by a group of people who aren’t worried about how fast you can run or how high
you can jump can be compared to receiving kisses from a puppy. It’s amazing. That’s the incredible thing about a social sporting or recreational team; their only concern is the human interaction. You don’t need to be a medical student to know that physical activity fills you with happy little endorphins, or that spending time with other humans does the same thing. By combining the two activities you’ll find a new kind of joy. When you miss a shot because you’re having a DNM with your new BFF about overwatering your cactus, no one cares. If every serve of the birdie you make looks as though it has been made by an uncoordinated toddler because you’re too busy laughing, that’s okay. It’s more than okay, it’s magic. You can make a complete
Birds of a feather play badminton together
and utter fool of yourself and you’ll be grinning the whole time. Almost every aspect of our lives is either spent trying to keep someone happy or to improve on ourselves in some shape or form. At work you’ve got an angry customer because their threepump caramel soy latte only has two pumps of syrup (you know for a fact there’s three in there and they’re totally trying to get free syrup out of you). At uni there’s the constant pressure of achieving, and the hovering cloud of assignments gets lower and lower every day. Why not escape the drama and the stress for the evening and spend time with some humans. Whether that’s in an acrobatic-knitting club or an aerobics class that only performs to Metallica, I encourage you to fluff up your feathers and find your flock.
SINKING YOUR SUGAR INTAKE By Erin Barrett
Trying to lose weight? Tried cutting sugar completely from your diet before failing miserably by eating that block of chocolate that was on special at the supermarket? Sugar is addictive, so cutting it completely from your diet is not only unhealthy, but will most likely lead to binging. Sugar found in fruit or dairy products does contain nutrients; however consuming refined sugar is empty calories. Making small changes to cut refined sugar from your diet is the best way to reduce your sugar intake and obtain a healthy and balanced diet. Here are our top tips to help you do just that.
• Read the label. If an item’s total sugar content is over 22.5g per 100g, it is HIGH in sugar. However besides the obvious culprits, consider sauces, salad dressings, fruit juices, canned foods and similar which may have high levels of added sugar. • Be aware of alternative words used to describe added sugar in the ingredients list. Examples include fructose, glucose, maltose, hydrolysed starch, invert sugar, corn syrup, molasses, dried cane syrup, sucrose, brown rice syrup, and dextrose. If more than one of these alternative names is listed on the ingredients list, you may want to think twice. • To state the obvious: swap that chocolate bar for a piece of fruit. If you are really looking to cut the calories though, reach for something high in protein first; this will not only help to avoid that sugar spike, but will also keep you fuller for longer. • Lastly, choosing the sugar free option is NOT a good option. The body isn’t used to the no calorie, no nutrition artificial sweeteners, potentially leading to weight gain and other side effects such as bloating. So think about your future self rather than your present self and don’t set yourself up to fail in the long run. Originally published in Uni Fitness e-newsletter August 2015
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THE BIGGEST SPORT YOU’VE NEVER HEARD OF By Erwan Guegan While most of us look forward to falling into bed after a long day of classes and work, others stay up entire nights playing video games. What a waste of time, you might say. All those irresponsible people wasting their life away playing some stupid video games. Well… you might want to put that thought on hold. Have you ever heard of eSport? Do Dota 2, Smite, League of Legends, StarCraft II, Call of Duty or Counter Strike sound familiar? No? These are some of the most famous video games in the world and people play them at a competitive level. So what’s so special about them? Each game is very different. Dota 2, for example, could be described as a combination of soccer and chess. Two teams of five players battle each other, each player controlling one unit with unique characteristics with the ultimate goal to destroy the enemy Throne (stronghold). Like many eSports games each match is a combination of offense and defense, making for varied matches that can run from 30min to an hour and a half. Players can
choose from over a 100 heroes with unique abilities, paired with 99 other heroes -creating endless possibilities and variations in the game. Similar to basketball, this 5 Vs 5 game sees players work together to utilise each other’s strengths and work in synergy. One of the most popular types of games are strategy games while others are considered to be more ‘action’ oriented and are called FPS (First Person Shooters). Both require different but highly developed sets of skills and tactics to win. The people playing these games at a competitive level are mostly young men. Women are also represented but not as much. And just like most of you, their parents often hold serious doubts about their chosen career. Gaming is not viewed by many as a legit vocation. This isn’t surprising considering that until recently competitive gaming wasn’t even a thing; at most, players played to beat their mates and possibly win a pack of beer. But times have changed and gamers now play for the title of the best player or team in the world
The biggest sport you’ve never heard of
(with the possibility of becoming millionaires). In August 2011, shortly after the release of Dota 2, the first annual electronic sports Dota 2 championship tournament, ‘The International’, was announced. The International was founded by the Valve Corporation who were not only the game’s developer but also creators of Steam (one of the most, if not the most important online video game selling platform). This inaugural event offered a total prize pool of $1.6 million with a grand prize of one million dollars. The industry has grown exponentially ever since. The passionate fans see stadiums selling out and eSports now attracts interest from major business such as HOB and Coca-Cola. In 2015, the fifth edition of The International busted the world record for the biggest prize pool for a video game tournament with $18.5 million USD. The winning team, Evil Geniuses, took home an impressive $6,634,660 USD (divided among the five players and their coach). Even the team who finished sixth won over a million dollars. To put this in
comparison with more traditional sports, the combined prize pool for the Cricket World Cup and Golf Masters Tournament is $20 million USD. Even the Super Bowl, (America’s favourite event), only offers $8.5 million USD. So do you still believe that eSports is a waste of time?
All that money just to click some buttons? All that money just to click some buttons?’ Well, it could be argued that Lionel Messi gets paid $29 million USD just to kick a ball. These impressive prize pools reflect the staggering number of fans all over the world. In 2015, the League of Legends tournament took place in Europe, hosted from Le Dock Pullman in Paris all the way to the Mercedes-Benz Arena in Berlin. The tournament had
over 36 million people watching the final with a total of 334 million unique daily viewers who tuned in via online and television channels across the four weeks of the tournament. The eSports market size, strengthened by its 134 million viewers worldwide, is now valued at $747.5 million USD and is expected to reach $1.9 billion USD by 2018. That should reassure more than one mother.
other gamers, stopping only to get the minimum of sleep and get food in and out. Once you reach the top and prove that you are the best, you might get money to endorse sponsors, maybe participate in an advertisement campaign or live off donations, but that only remains an option for a very small minority of gamers. And to achieve any of that, they have to win one of the big tournaments in the first place.
In China, eSports is recognised by government sports administration bodies, and professional gamers are treated like rock stars. Men and women alike idolise their favourite gamers and scream their names in the street while others cry over freshly signed autographs. But life isn’t always as easy as you might think for those pro gamers.
Although you may not have heard about eSports before today it is safe to assume that this is not the last you will be hearing of it. eSports looks set to continue growing and perhaps it will soon have the same recognition as traditional sports. Some fans even predict that it will become bigger than soccer (and perhaps sooner than we think).
One of the down sides of professional gaming is that players do not get salaries like traditional athletes - they only get paid if they win. They can spend months getting ready for the next tournament and not get a penny out of it. Some live in gaming houses where they train day and night for the next big event with
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Cricket
ICC World Twenty20
India
Fox Sports
Mar 18 - 20
eSports
Halo World Championship
Hollywood, CA
Twitch TV
April 07 - 10
Golf
Masters
Augusta, USA
7 Mate, Fox Sports 3
May 06 - 22
Ice Hockey
IIHF World Championship
Moscow, St. Petersburg, Russia
Fox Sports, ESPN
Football (Soccer)
Fa Cup Final
Wembley Stadium, London
Fox Sports
Tennis
French Open
Paris, France
Fox Sports
Basketball
NBA Final
USA/Canada
ESPN, TBA
Football (Soccer)
Euro 2016
France
BeIN, SBS
June 15 - 19
Motorsports
24 Hours of Le Mans
Cicuit de la Sarthe, le Mans, France
Fox Sports, Eurosport
June 16 - 19
Golf
US Open
Oakmont CC, Oakmont, Pensylvania
Fox Sports
June 27 - July 10
Tennis
Wimbledon
London, England
Seven Network, 7TWO, Fox Sports
July 02 - 24
Cycling
Tour de France
France
SBS/SBS 2, Fox Sports
August 5 - 21
Multi-sports
Summer Olympics
Rio de Janeiro Brazil
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September 07 - 18
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P R E S E N TAT I O N HEAR THE INCREDIBLE STORY OF VICTORIA CROSS RECIPIENT, MARK DONALDSON. MARK TALKS FRANKLY ABOUT HIS TRANSFORMATION FROM ‘ZERO TO HERO’; HIS LIFE A TESTAMENT TO WHAT CAN BE ACHIEVED THROUGH SHEER COURAGE AND DETERMINATION.
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A LEISURE BIOGRAPHY By Adele Pavlidis
My first recollection of an organised sport or leisure activity was dancing. I think I would have been about three or four years old. I did ballet, followed directly by tap dancing. I have no idea how long I persisted, but I remember my tap shoe broke. My mother asked me: ‘do you want to keep going?’. I said no. Next it was swimming. I remember swimming lessons at the Footscray baths (before they built the new ones). I kept swimming on and off throughout primary school. I was swimming about 1km each lesson. Not bad. I tried out for the squad once. I didn’t get in and didn’t try again. I also remember kicking a Sheridan football. My father played and I was often taken to watch him. He was a professional AFL player before I was born. I wasn’t too interested, but learnt how to handball and kick the awkward shaped ball. I was lucky in a way. Most girls that age probably weren’t taught those skills. But girls couldn’t really play so that was the extent of my football career.
My mother started jujitsu (and began practicing Buddhism). So she got me involved. I can’t remember for how long. But it would have been a few years from when I was about five. Interestingly, I think that time involved in a martial art did help my confidence. I felt as though I could protect myself to some degree (though I never really needed to and would never just get into a ‘fight’ with someone – then or now). Then tennis. Weekly lessons. I wasn’t that great. But it was fun. Both my parents played. I would be the ‘ball girl’ for them. I had a little tennis skirt. I grew up watching the tennis on television. When I was 11 the tennis coach said I looked ‘sexy’. I never went back. Jazz ballet came in sporadically. My mother was a dancer and encouraged dancing. I always felt a bit awkward and my body was not slim like a dancer. But I enjoyed it. I never finished a term though. Could have been something to do with the way I looked. Tennis and swimming and dancing
AA Leisure leisure Onlinebiography Biography - Top blogs
gave way to field hockey when I started high-school. Playing hockey through years 7 to 11 has left me with some of my fondest teenage memories. Going away to ‘hockey camp’, singing in the back of the bus (Queen’s, We are the Champions, was a favourite). I had no skills as a hockey player to start with, but by the end of my 5th year I felt strong and competent on the field. I became my team captain. It felt great to belong to this team and to experience the weekly (sometimes) success of winning. But then came some rebellion. I didn’t want to play anymore. I’d rather go out to clubs (under age at first). I loved dancing when I went out. I would dance for hours. I didn’t care what genre of music was, though techno and rnb were probably the favorites. Then I went through what might be called a ‘rough patch’. I didn’t do any sport or leisure activities. I forgot that I actually enjoyed them. I couldn’t think of anything I enjoyed. At that time I couldn’t remember ever being good at anything. It’s like all memories connected to sport and leisure
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and enjoyment had disappeared. My mental health suffered. I was caught in a catch 22. It was a few years later when I started walking. I’d walk for an hour, two hours. I’d walk along the beach; I’d walk to where I had to go. I didn’t have a car so walking was great. I got involved with boxing for a short while too. I was skipping and sparring. I enjoyed that, but didn’t continue. The mental fog I had been in gradually lifted and I was able to start university and gain some confidence in my ability to study. I still thought of myself as depressed and not active. I started yoga around this time and it started to help. I guess I started to feel stronger… It wasn’t until I started my PhD that something in me came alive. My supervisor was a leisure studies scholar. Leisure studies is a field of study that focuses on leisure (including sport, play, recreation, tourism, events and dance). Leisure studies scholars focus on the meaning of leisure in people’s
lives, the barriers to experiencing leisure and any problems in leisure (including issues of exclusion, bullying, sexism, racism, homophobia and discrimination). When I would have an intellectual problem, my supervisor would sometimes say, ‘why don’t you try going for a walk. You are still working on it, just differently’. In my PhD I studied roller derby. So I learnt to skate and got really strong. I had a baby and stopped roller derby. A few months after the baby I started outdoor bootcamps. I then started running. I would take the pram running and my son would fall asleep. My husband started running. Apparently he was involved in cross country running in primary school. He hadn’t run since. And now we were running together, with our son. I decided to start hockey again. It was frightening to go back. But it was a fantastic experience. I got some of my skills back and my fitness improved out of sight. I don’t think I had ever been as fit as I was then. Unfortunately the team culture was not great, so I left after one season. 29
Since then my sport and leisure story is an eclectic mix – it has to fit in with my research and teaching, as well as my family. Having a young child doesn’t leave much time for yourself, but I prioritise my own leisure these days – I have to practice what I preach! I go to belly dance class once a week. Even though I still see myself as ungraceful and too stocky for dancing, I really enjoy it and I don’t care as much about how I look – and sometimes I even think I look good. I am still running once or twice a week, and going to yoga and Pilates when I can. It might only be once a week, but its enough to connect with my body and feel strong and capable. There are a lot of issues in leisure and sport. Especially for women. Body shapes, bullying, time constraints, child-care responsibilities, cost, and so on. And poor mental health can really stop you from enjoying yourself. Paradoxically though, it is through sport and leisure that I have been able to really enjoy the fullness of being me.
THE COMMONWEALTH GAMES AT GRIFFITH By Hayley Payne A real-life experience I was lucky enough to be one of the first two students selected to work at GOLDOC as an intern. I had heard about the partnership, but didn’t really look into it until I saw a Facebook post shared by a friend that had a link to current GC2018 internship opportunities. Looking for something to do over summer and knowing I needed to complete two internships for my studies I clicked the link out of curiosity. Upon scrolling, the third opportunity I saw sounded incredible and after spending a couple of hours fixing up my resume, I applied that afternoon. At the time of applying I was 100% certain that I wouldn’t get it. A couple of days later I received a phone call from the Griffith University Careers and Employment Service and an interview was set up at the GOLDOC building the next day.
I spent the entire night freaking out, obviously. I had never had such an important interview looming in my life – I had to give it my absolute all. With no idea what to expect I made my way to the GOLDOC headquarters in Ashmore and was absolutely astounded by what I saw. A race track leads you into a pristine reception area filled with Commonwealth Games videos, information and a signature surfboard countdown clock. The interview went smoothly and I was amazed at how incredibly friendly everybody at GOLDOC was. Two days later I received the life-changing news that I was successful. I would be one of the first two interns to work at GOLDOC and would be working in the Marketing Team as a Digital Content Writer. After a celebratory Facebook post and filling out some paperwork I arrived for my first day of work at GOLDOC. What a whole new world it was. Looking back now, the first day is a complete blur of The Commonwealth Games at Griffith
excitement and new experiences. An introductory session was followed by a tour of the building, then we were taken to meet our teams. We got to have a lot of fun filming some promotional videos for GOLDOC about us arriving and meeting people from a vast range of backgrounds, with diverse skill sets and even some sports heroes. We even ended up in the local paper and on the news. After your first day, you realise how incredibly focused and helpful everyone at GOLDOC is and how much everyone is working towards the same end goal. I spent an incredible 12 weeks with the most amazing team possible. They taught me both practical and life skills that I couldn’t have found elsewhere and I have left with a sense of accomplishment and readiness for the workforce that I would have never thought possible.
Why should I do an internship with the Commonwealth Games? I have heard so many horror stories of student internship that have gone wrong. From students who were made into the coffee maid, to those who thought they did a great job and then never heard from the company again. GOLDOC is nothing like this, working there you are basically family. You will work like any other staff member, but with the support and mentorship that an intern requires. You will be challenged, your knowledge stretched and your questions encouraged. If you give the internship your all there is even the opportunity of employment following your internship (depending on when you graduate, of course). You will be encouraged to stay in contact with both GOLDOC and GOLDOC based Griffith University staff who will be there to help you every step of the way. But most importantly, you will be learning from the best of the best, gaining such a wealth of knowledge that you can take back to your studies and ultimately enhance your future career prospects.
The Partnership
Scholarships
Internships
GC2018 will mark the second time that Griffith University has played an integral part in the development and delivery of a Commonwealth Games. Back in 1982, Griffith’s Nathan campus acted as the Games Village. This time around Griffith University will take on the role as a major sponsorship partner for GC2018.
Scholarships are available for any commencing students from all Commonwealth countries and territories, including Australia (yay!). They are available for those studying undergraduate degrees right through to higher degree and research students. The scholarships will be a celebration of academic excellence, sport participation, leadership and community engagement.
Over the next few years a monumental 250 Griffith University students will have the unique opportunity to become a part of the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games Corporation (GOLDOC) through internship opportunities in a diverse range of roles.
What does this mean for me? The partnership was officially launched in October last year and with it a whole new world of opportunity for Griffith University students. No matter what you are studying there is a pretty good chance that you will be able to participate and make your mark on the creation of the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games. For students the most important of these opportunities is the chance to apply for scholarships and internships in the lead up to the Games.
There are two categories of scholarships that you can apply for: 1. Griffith University and Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games Scholarship—for eligible commencing students who will be studying sport or event related degrees. 2. Griffith University and Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games Sporting Excellence Scholarship— in recognition of students who are elite athletes, a celebration of their sporting excellence and the study area of their choice. 31
To find out what internships are available you can just head to the CareerBoard and select the 2018 Commonwealth Games Internship option. You can also register your interest for updates to ensure you don’t miss out on any openings. For more information head to griffith.edu.au/sport/gold-coast2018-commonwealth-games
DYING TO WIN By Moira Sheppard What would you say if thousands of Australian people died each year for the sport you loved? Would you encourage your friends and family to be a part of that industry? Could you stand on the sidelines cheering the ones that actually survived and made it to a “professional” level? Would you financially support that industry by betting on the winners or attending their meets? It is estimated that 18,000 healthy greyhounds and 9,000 racehorses are killed every year. Around 20,000 pups are born each year in to the greyhound racing industry. Out of those pups, 8,000 never make it to the track and another 10,000 are “retired” because they are too slow. There is no actual retirement program for these unwanted dogs. There are rescue groups who try and help where they can, but there is no money allocated from this billion-dollar industry to help find forever homes for the greyhounds. “Retirement” actually means a bullet to the head, drowned in the dam out the back of the trainer’s property (or any other method which does not cost the trainer any money) or, if the dogs are very lucky, they are taken to the vet to be euthanised. Having worked in a veterinary hospital with greyhound racing owners as clients, the actual number brought in was very low. Practically zero. Usually we only saw the dead bodies the owners brought in to dump in our “dead’s freezer”; these dogs had been euthanised at the track due to injuries such as a broken leg or neck.
In the horseracing industry there are around 13,000 foals born each year. Out of those foals, 9,000 will be considered “wastage.” Once again, this industry does not have a retirement plan for these horses. A few “lucky” ones may get sold off to the other equine sporting industries such as eventing,
...the first horse is shot, but not killed. She is then dragged by her back leg, still kicking, from the box to the kill floor where a human then proceeds to slit her throat and cut off her tail... dressage or show jumping; however with the European sport horse breeds dominating the equine sports, such as the warmbloods, there is no real place for the thoroughbred in this world either. The majority of the 9,000 horses will be sold to the abattoirs.
Dying to win
The Coalition for the Protection of Racehorses has a video showing exactly what happens to these horses on their webpage horseracingkills.com Malnourished, lame and suffering horses are herded into the kill box where they are shot in front of other horses who stand trembling in fear as they watch their herd members die. There is even footage available online showing how an abattoir in Laverton, Victoria treat their horses. This footage shows two horses in the one kill box, and the first horse is shot, but not killed. She is then dragged by her back leg, still kicking, from the box to the kill floor where a human then proceeds to slit her throat and cut off her tail while she is still alive; her name was Nature’s Child. This is how the industry treats a horse that won them tens of thousands of dollars—imagine how they treat the racehorses who win nothing... Not only are there animals being brutally murdered simply because they are not wanted; because these industries exist, a space is created for these animals to suffer abuse at the hands of humankind. In the racing industry horses are
kept in unnatural conditions which have detrimental impact on their health. Horses are designed to graze, to be continually moving and have a continuous supply of grasses in their stomachs. In the racing industry trainers keep the horses locked in stables, some twenty-four hours a day, and feed them high grain diets and supplements several times a day. Then there is the handling of the horses. The term ‘breaking in’ a horse is a very apt description. There is no time to use “horse whispers” to train these animals— that would be ridiculously expensive, thousands of dollars more than the horse is worth to the trainer. These horses are sent off to breakers where they forced to accept a rider. There are trainers and breakers who use physical violence against the animals in their attempt to force these 500 kilogram animals to do as they desire in as quick as time as possible. Further is the issue of strain and damage put on these animals’ bodies when they are forced to gallop and jump before their young bodies have finished developing fully. The horses who fall and break a leg during flat
and jumps races and are usually killed. When a horse breaks their leg their bones tend to explode making it very difficult to repair, not to mention the complications these horses usually suffer, such as infections or pneumonia. Since 2000, well over 125 horses have died as a result of jumps racing in Victoria and South Australia alone. The last two Melbourne Cups proved that flat racing is just as dangerous to horses: two deaths in 2014, Admire Rakti and Araldo, and in 2015 Red Cadeaux had to be euthanised due to injuries sustained from the race. The training of the greyhounds is along the same lines as these horses. Animals kept in unnatural environments – locked in cages where they can suffer from the weather extremes – fed unnatural diets and supplements. You would have had to be living under a rock not to have seen some sort of footage or discourse about the live baiting scandal last year in the greyhound industry – fully conscious and terrified rabbits, possums and pigs used a live lures in the training of the greyhounds.
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While initially it seemed that maybe justice was going to be served to the trainers that were exposed in ABC’s Four Corners’ exposé, as the matter was investigated by police and the trainers began facing court and being handed down lifetime bans; however, disgracefully, as of February this year, ten Queensland trainers have had their life time bans lifted and reduced to simply months of suspension! But that’s not enough, some of these trainers are seeking to have sentences completely overturned. These industries need to be held accountable. The only real chance these animals have is if people do not support these industries. The people in these industries are getting away with torture, abuse and murder of other sentient beings, even when there is undeniable video evidence showing the animal abuse. If the law and industry regulations won’t protect these animals and stop this abuse then the general public needs to. We need to stop financially supporting these industries. I know personally I can never again support these industries; no animal will ever have to suffer for my desire to get frocked up and spend a day drinking at the races.
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PECULIAR PASTIMES ON FILM How do you like to spend your free time? Do you have a weird and wonderful pastime? This edition, Getamungstit has put together a selection of films that celebrate some of the less conventional ways we choose to spend our leisure time.
By Rebecca Marshallsay
Best in Show (2000) Best in Show is another offbeat offering from mockumentary genius, director Christopher Guest (This is Spinal Tap, A Mighty Wind). This quirky (and largely improvised) comedy tells a story of drama, dysfunction and obsession as it follows five dog owners and their beloved canines through the ups and downs of the Mayflower Kennel Club Dog Show. Whether you are a dog lover, a cat person or ambivalently pet free, Best in Show is appealing to anyone with a slightly twisted sense of humour.
The Secret Life of Bees (2008)
Knights of Badassdom (2013)
Jiro Dreams of Sushi (2011)
Adapted from the novel of the same name, The Secret Life of Bees is set in the racially divided South Carolina of the 1960s. When teenaged Lily Owens (Dakota Fanning) flees her abusive father (with her maid and surrogate mother, Rosaleen , played by Jennifer Hudson)she finds herself taking refuge with the Boatwright sisters. The sisters’ home is built around beekeeping and their Black Madonna honey business, and the bees form a persistent motif throughout the film. If you like your drama with a heavy dose of teary moments, life-lessons and feel goodery then The Secret Life of Bees is for you.
At a local tournament, a group of Live Action Role Play enthusiasts (LARPers) accidently summon a real-life succubus demon from Hell and are forced to put their fauxbattle skills to the test in order to survive. It is not the most polished film you’ll ever see but Knights of Badassdom is worth a watch just to see some of your favourite geek film stars together in one place; think Peter Dinklage (Game of Thrones), Summer Glau (Firefly) and Danny Pudi (Community) just to name a few.
This documentary tells the story of Jiro Ono, arguably the world’s greatest sushi chef. Jiro’s search for perfection is all consuming - sushi is more than just his occupation, it is his life’s purpose (at the exclusion of almost all else). The now 90 year old master was the first sushi chef to receive three Michelin stars and the film examines the techniques and approach that have garnered him such acclaim. Just as interesting is the subplot of the complicated relationship between Jiro and his sons who have been burdened by the pressure of growing up in the shadow of a living legend.
Peculiar pastimes on film
Trekkies (1997)
Nacho Libre (2006)
Air Guitar Nation (2006)
This highly acclaimed documentary explores the cultural phenomenon of Star Trek and the people who love the sci-fi show so much that they choose to live it every day. The people involved in this subculture are affectionately known as Trekkies and this doco investigates what makes them tick in a way that is both humourous and affectionate. The Trekkies in question include one fan who wore her Star Trek uniform to jury duty and a dentist who has fitted out his entire practice as a Star Trek themed space station.
Lucha libre or Mexican wrestling is a popular sport characterised by the use of colourful masks; many wrestlers are lauded as national heroes. In Nacho Libre, Jack Black stars as Ignacio, a monk who lives a double life by moonlighting as a luchador, ‘Nacho’. He soon realises that he may be able to use his secret pastime to help the orphanage run by the monastery. You may be surprised to know that the film has a loose basis in the story of a real-life Mexican priest who was a luchador for more than twenty years.
Air Guitar Nation is a documentary that follows real life air guitar artists, David ‘C-Diddy’ Jung and Dan ‘Björn Türoque’ Crane as battle through national heats to try and secure a place at the Air Guitar World Championships in Finland. If you’re still scratching your head... yes, air guitar is exactly what it sounds like. A performance sport where competitors rock out to rock hits on pretend guitars through the power of very enthusiastic mime. Air Guitar Nation will leave you pondering which tune you would select as your signature air jam.
Morris: A Life with Bells On (2009)
Pawn Sacrifice (2015)
BASEketball (1998)
Pawn Sacrifice is a dramatised story about real life chess champion, Bobby Fischer (Toby Maguire) - an American chess grand master considered by many to be the greatest chess player of all time. This tense thriller revolves around the 1972 showdown between Fischer and Russian champion, Boris Spassky (Liev Schrieber). At the height of the Cold War, this was considered to be one of the biggest throw downs between the two superpowers. Consequently, the political stakes are high and Fischer becomes increasingly paranoid and unhinged as the tournament approaches.
At a time when sports fans are becoming increasingly disillusioned by the crass commercialisation of professional sport, average Joes, Coop and Remer (Trey Parker and Matt Stone of South Park fame) create a new driveway sport combining basketball and baseball. Their creation, BASEketball, soon becomes a nationwide sensation and their friendship is tested as they try to stay true to the humble roots of their sport. If you like your comedy crass and in your face you will be quoting BASEketball for years to come.
Okay, so Morris is a form of traditional English folkdancing for men. It typically involves wearing white, strapping bells to your legs and popping on a floral hat before capering around and waving a set of handkerchiefs in the air. Sometimes the hankies are swapped out for large sticks. Morris: A Life with Bells On is a mockumentary comedy that follows Morris lover, Derecq Twist (Tom Oldham) through a Strictly Ballroom-esque dilemma as he tries to balance the traditions of the dance with its more modern and crowd-pleasing off shoot, Extreme Morris.
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Product review - Spectator sports By Rebecca Marshallsay Is there a more noble sporting pursuit than that of the spectator? As a viewer, you really are the most important and underappreciated component of the entire athletic process. But spectating is not for the faint hearted, its intricacies can be complicated and vary from event to event. To give you an idea of what to expect, Geta has reviewed a selection of spectator sports for you this edition. As in any sport, nutrition plays an integral role in influencing performance so we have also provided some advice on how best to fuel the temple that is your body.
STATE OF ORIGIN
THE OLYMPIC GAMES
State of Origin is one of the proudest spectator sports in Queensland, and one that comes with a very specific set of guidelines. The cardinal rule of course being the requirement to shun any friend who had the misfortune of being born south of Coolanagatta as a mortal enemy for three Wednesdays every year. In our household there is also a ‘no blue clothes on Origin day’ rule that is strictly enforced and includes a mandatory underwear check before you leave the house in the morning. Although you might venture out to a bar, Origin is most commonly enjoyed in the home with twenty of your closest friends and the location is determined not by the size of domestic dwelling but by the size of the television set. Catering: If you are hosting, Origin is not the night to try and channel your culinary god or goddess to create a nutritionally balanced, handcrafted selection of canapés to delight and amaze your guests. Your obligations extend as far as making the call ‘Let’s all chip in $10 for pizza’, phoning said pizza place and perhaps throwing a packet of corn chips on the coffee table.
The Olympic Games is a treat for novice and veteran spectators alike. Every four years, Olympic fever strikes and we can’t get enough of sports we haven’t even thought about since the last Olympics such as rhythmic gymnastics, synchronised swimming and the modern pentathlon. We also become heavily invested in sports such as swimming that we claim as national pastimes but seldom watch. Did you really know who James Magnusson was before London? As a spectator, the Olympics stretches our viewing muscles and like any type of sport, variety is key. If you only watch football based sports for example, you are really only exercising your ability to feign understanding of the offside rule. When was the last time you practiced your canoe sprint small talk? Catering: There is a 10 hour time difference with Rio so if you are going to push through and watch the coverage live, you will need a sturdy supply of late night snacks. Since you will be functioning on minimal sleep for a fortnight, low fuss is the way to go. You can’t really go wrong with two minute noodles and microwave popcorn (apart from nutrition-wise).
Product review Online - Spectator - Top blogs sports
THE REEBOK CROSSFIT GAMES
LIVE SPORT
Every July, the most ripped people on the planet gather in California for a grueling weekend of weightlifting, gymnastics, cardio and more to try and claim the oh-so-humble title of the Fittest Person on Earth. You can stream the Games live (and legitimately) online. Given the time difference, the best spectator position for this event is fully reclined in the comfort of your own bed.
Being a live sport spectator is a whole different kettle of fish (we were going to say ball game but apparently you can pun too hard). For a start, it requires you to make a commitment to leave the house. There is also an unreasonably stringent rule against turning up in just your jocks. Some of the other hassles of live sport spectating include parking, insane queues for the bathroom (more so for the ladies) and a higher than average chance that a sweaty stranger will spill beer on you.
More advanced spectators might want to drag a mattress out in front of the big television and airdrop from iPad to Apple TV, but this move really should be left to those viewers with a lot of experience in digital content manipulation and mattress relocation. If you have never watched the Games before just try to guess which athlete will win the heat based on the size of their traps or quads. Catering: Use this short burst of abs envy to try out the food craze synonymous with CrossFit - paleo. Stock up on coconut water, cancel the Crust order for a homemade cauliflower pizza base and prepare to explain to your friends that our ancestors never ate yoghurt (whether they are interested or not). If you can’t face this, then plead a paleo technicality and just gorge yourself on bacon and eggs for the weekend.
These drawbacks shouldn’t deter you from making your annual departure from the couch though. A packed stadium, pumping music and screaming crowds go a long way to enhancing the interest factor of almost any sport. Don’t forget that given your wealth of spectatorial experience, yelling advice to the players and referee is always heard and appreciated, and will also be well regarded by those sitting closest to you. Catering: If you are heading to any professional venue then you should resign yourself to spending half a week’s grocery money on a small bucket of grease (generally passed off as some kind of fried meat and chips).
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2 2 - 26 F ebruary @ GC Campus
Snapped on campus
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ACH B -EPARTY -
Fr i d a y 2 6 r Fe b r u a r y @ U n i B a
Snapped on campus
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LDAY A-LCONCERT -
Th u r s d a y 2 r 5 Fe b r u a r y @ U n i B a Allday performed with special guests: - GILL BATES - Lane-Harry x Ike Campbell - Maximo - Stevie Z
Snapped on campus
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SUNSHINE COAST, QLD | 3-7 JULY MENS & WOMENS STAND UP | LONGBOARD | BODY BOARD HELD IN CONJUNCTION WITH NORTHERN UNIGAMES. INCLUDES OPENING CEREMONY, 4 NIGHT SOCIAL PROGRAM & STACKS OF SURFING ACTION! REPRESENT GUGCSTUDENTGUILD.COM.AU/SPORT GUGC SPORT
JOIN THE CLUB! By Angel Nikijuluw
I don’t know about you, but whenever I think about golf, I envisage lush green grass, immaculate outfits, and pastel hues. With the Student Guild’s Golf Day just around the corner (April 22!), it’s time to dust off your pitching wedge, hit the driving range, and most importantly, get your outfit sorted. Let these pages act as your mood board for planning your next runway to fairway outfit. It’s par-tee time.
Wraparound silk blouse: $79.95 hm.com/au/
Nike Dura Feel Ladies Golf Glove: $15 each hand rebelsport.com.au
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United Colors of Benetton Slim Fit Chino: $77.74 asos.com
Join Online the- Top clubblogs
Nike Featherlight White Visor: $25 tenniswarehouse.com.au
Quicksilver Bold Vibe Polo Shirt in Light Grey Heather: $49.99 quicksilver.com.au
Stance Men’s Godfrey sock: $20.00 socksforliving.com.au
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MARK DONALDSON VC: AN ANZAC DAY PRESENTATION
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DJ COMP CAMPUS FINAL
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facebook.com/gugcstudentguild Online - Top blogs
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NATONAL RECONCILIATION WEEK
PUBLIC HOLIDAY
gugcstudentguild.com.au
STRESS LESS WEEK
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JOIN THE UNI FITNESS & GRIFFITH UNIVERSITY TEAM
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Feature artist – Trang Ho Griffith University Gold Coast student Trang Ho has been pole dancing for about two and half years, and last year she placed third at the Queensland State Championships to qualify for the Australian Pole Championships. Getamungstit spoke to Trang to find out a little more about training and performing as a pole dancer.
Professional images courtesy of NFG
What are you studying at Griffith?
How often do you train?
This will be my third year at Griffith now. But I’m in my first year of studying a dual degree in International Business and International Government Relations.
In preparation for a competition I would train 4-5 times a week.
How did you get into pole dancing?
It certainly helps that I’m training regularly with the Griffith Cheer team and able to improve my flexibility as I am one of the flyers. Although, for improving strength there are specific exercises for pole. Exercises that are quite similar to pull ups and manoeuvres that involve inverting and bringing your whole body above your head, whilst using the pole, which requires a lot of core strength.
I competed in dance and rhythmic gymnastics growing up. After I retired from rhythmic gymnastics I wanted to continue training in something which utilised both strength and flexibility. I figured I’d give pole dancing a try and I fell in love with the sport.
It must take a lot of strength and flexibility? How do you train those skills?
Feature artist - Trang Ho
What do you enjoy about it?
How do you develop your routines?
It’s an amazing work out. And I can be really creative in my routines. People generally think ‘sexy’ when it comes to pole dancing, although pole is now considered more of a sport and there are so many different styles now. So I like to mix it up a bit and consider myself an artistic Pole Ninja.
I usually go off the music. I listen to the song a million times and develop little combos and dance sequences in my head and try it out to see if it can be done.
Do you have any favourite moves or tricks?
Give it a go!!! Don’t wear leggings! Wear shorts! Skin is needed to grip on to the pole! It’s a lot of fun! And every pole studio I have been to has a lovely atmosphere with very supportive and encouraging people. And all sorts of people can do pole; old, young or even men! Pole can be for anyone.
Spatchcock (doesn’t sound very pleasing) but it is one of my favourite moves because not many people can do it. Also, Russian Splits when done at a horizontal level... it shows an immense amount of strength.
Any advice for anyone interested in trying pole dancing?
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Online By Hayley Payne
4 INGREDIENTS Facebook page You have probably heard of the magic that is the 4 Ingredients Cookbook series, however you probably haven’t thought to follow their Facebook page. Although it is a business page it is one of the best recipe pages to follow on Facebook. Almost every day they post recipe ideas that only use four ingredients. I honestly can’t think of anything better as a university student. The recipes offer a diverse range of cuisine (and plenty of desserts) and they are all cheap and super easy to make. facebook.com/4ingredientspage
CIRCLE OF SIX App Circle of Six is an app that will come in incredibly handy on nights out and in times when you feel unsafe. The app connects with your friends and family and has been designed for university students to stay close and connected when out and about. The app uses GPS tracking to ensure you know the location of your friends and with the touch of a button sends your location and a distress signal in times of need. circleof6app.com LIFEHACK Website Lifehack is a website created with the sole purpose of making people’s lives easier, something that as university students we all need. The website is divided into various sections ranging from money to lifestyle and beyond. Its articles have a similar style to Buzzfeed, however they mostly stay on the topic of providing you with gems about day to day life hacks and short cuts. lifehack.org Online
ANOTHER ESCAPE Website Another Escape is a magnificent piece of art (well, a website) that will inspire you to pursue your aspirations. The website’s images make you want to jump straight into your computer screen and into the wonderful landscapes they depict. The site notes that ‘Storytelling is at the heart of what we do’ and they certainly succeed through a series of articles, features, human interest pieces and spectacular photo essays. anotherescape.com
SLEEP CYCLE App
THE SPORTING JOURNAL
Sleep Cycle is an application which monitors your sleep, waking you up when you enter the lightest phase of the sleep cycle. Before going to bed you set your desired wake up time like a regular alarm. 30 minutes prior to your alarm the app begins to measure your sleep pattern and wakes you up when it feels it will affect you the least. This results in it being much easier to wake up and you being more likely to attend those 8am classes.
Website The Sporting Journal is a one stop shop for a fix of Australian and international sporting news. It offers comprehensive analysis on a wide range of sporting events across Australia as well as up-to-date news about your favourite sporting teams. They also offer a range of sporting opinion pieces to keep you entertained and engaged among covering large events like the 2012 London Olympics.
sleepcycle.com
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THE ADVENTURE OF EXPLORING By Saachi Khandelwal and Justin Jattke To put yourself in a state of vulnerability is to expose yourself to your flaws. To find keys to your inner doors one must first choose to explore. I have found that growing as a person requires the expansion of my comfort zone; physically, socially and emotionally. Only once have I shown myself the smoke and mirrors of my self-imposed limitations can I then begin to search for my authentic limits . . . and attempt to push them as well? Moving from India to begin studying in Australia was a daunting prospect. I was nervous, intimidated and overwhelmed by everything I saw. I was in a strange new land with strangers all around me. It was a heady feeling knowing that home was an entire world away. Not long before this, I wasn’t so eager to explore (and it would have been a stretch to call me an outdoorsy person). That was, until, I joined the Griffith Outdoor Adventure Club. Rock climbing and clumsy people don’t make a very good combination. But I suppose you eventually reach a stage when you just have to step out of your
comfort zone. What’s life without a few risks right?
advice, not only in games but also in life.
The process of getting out of my comfort zone and exploring helped me find my niche. Since then I’ve been a part of so many exciting trips and events and maybe not surprisingly- sustained at least a dozen injuries on each trip. Whether it be indoor rock climbing, hiking up the Glasshouse Mountains or abseiling thirty feet below, every trip and every event has been a new experience and a new adventure. There’s something strangely satisfying about completing a hard climb, knowing you could have fallen and seriously injured yourself. It is the very knowledge of that persistent danger that makes everything ten times more exhilarating.
Life is scary; we unwittingly take risks on a minute-to-minute basis. I would argue that to choose to avoid risk is more risky than the risk you are choosing to avoid. I much prefer to put my focus into reaping the rewards of a controlled risk environment. One which acknowledges and prepares for potential danger, where confidence is tied more closely to self-preparation and knowledge than blind faith in the world to be safe.
There is a commonly used term to justify large amounts of risk when playing games, “You have to risk it to get the biscuit”. I have found this to be a very important piece of
The adventure of exploring
Experiences are best shared and knowing that you have people you can rely on makes the prospect of taking risks less daunting. As it turns out, connecting with people from all over the world who share the same drive is what helps me feel alive. Without the Outdoor Adventure Club and others like it here at Griffith I doubt I would have found the network of people I now
rely on. They bring me out of the daily grind and into a life where I’m fortunate enough to test my limits and explore them in a safe and forgiving environment. They are what I like to call ‘my safety net’always ready to catch me should I ever trip over my own feet (which incidentally happens quite often). All the people I’ve met aren’t just my friends anymore. They’re family. They helped me take the plunge when I was teetering at the edge of the cliff. But at the same time, they are also the rope that secures me and keeps me safe. Joining a sports club may not seem like a big deal to some people, but, as corny
as it sounds, it changed my life.. It made me want to take risks and try new things, excited for the endless potential that it brings. The club has also exposed me to enormous potential for growth, both individually and professionally. It also turns out that the thing the club helped me with most was not my first aid training, or a lead climbing certificate, but my ability to communicate in a professional and social setting. It helped me to overcome the predisposition to shy away, favouring the familiar, and to blossom only as a wallflower. I am now building up experiences 59
and I am much more comfortable testing myself when confronted with something different. I’m no longer the girl who stays nice and safe behind her walls. The Outdoor Adventure Club made me recognise a different aspect of my personality - one that’s not afraid to dive headfirst into a completely novel situation. So if you’re feeling particularly dauntless, come find us. Take a risk, because you never know what you might run across. I can’t promise what you’ll find, but I promise whatever it may be, it most definitely will be an adventure.
Entertainment
Triple 9 (2016) 115 mins Crime, drama, thriller Director: John Hillcoat By Zak Johnson After exploring the rugged Australian outback in The Proposition, a countryside ravaged by nuclear war in The Road, and Prohibition-era Virginia in Lawless, Aussie filmmaker John Hillcoat sets his sights on the squalid streets of Atlanta in Triple 9, the latest addition in the sporadically prominent heist sub-genre of crime film. Finding themselves under the control of the Russian mob, a crew of professional bank robbers, consisting of both career criminals and dirty cops, attempt to orchestrate the highly risky theft of government-held data. In order to pull this off, they need to engineer the death of a police officer (what the titular code refers to) as a distraction. Surely enough, like any crime film built around that “one last job”, things go south pretty quickly, leaving behind a tangled mess of failed plans and broken lives.
One of the most noteworthy things about Triple 9 is its rocksolid ensemble cast. Multiple Oscar-nominees Kate Winslet and Woody Harrelson feature alongside television greats such as Aaron Paul (Breaking Bad) and Norman Reedus (The Walking Dead). Inevitably, it feels like many of these talented individuals don’t get the screen-time or presence that their filmographies would ordinarily command. Yet, they still do commendably with what they’re given. The stand-out performance for me, however, would have to be Chiwetel Ejiofor as the gang’s leader. Despite the often shocking acts he commits, you can’t help but feel sorry for him as he attempts to escape the chaos he finds himself thrust into. What I like about John Hillcoat’s films (The Proposition is one of the best Australian films ever made) is how they explore the inherent nastiness of human nature. With the exception of maybe Casey Affleck’s rookie cop (who is targeted for assassination), there are no good guys, just monsters and people who can “out-monster” them. The seedy underbelly and poverty-stricken streets of Atlanta are brought to the forefront, with this cynical outlook being reinforced by some fairly savage Entertainment
moments of violence. While it tends to lull slightly in its middle section, the film’s first sequence, where the gang pulls off a semi-successful bank robbery, and its final turbulent act are executed and paced pretty damn well. I found myself gripping onto my armrests more times than I would have expected. Alas, you can’t help but feel at times that Triple 9 is a pale imitation of better crime films. For instance, the game of cat-andmouse that occurs between the corrupt cops and more legitimate ones was handled with more complexity (and better effect) in The Departed. The presentation of both the criminals’ and authorities’ perspectives also evokes shades of Michael Mann’s Heat. While it certainly is an accomplished production, Triple 9 doesn’t exactly bring anything new to the table. Ultimately, while Triple 9’s tight editing, impressive heist sequences and solid performances make it a good film, the sheer amount of talent involved could (and should) have made it a great one. Final verdict: If you can handle the brutality, Triple 9’s worth a watch, especially if you’re a fan of the genre.
Intra Elizabeth Rose By Angel Nikijuluw After a successful admission into the Australian electronic music scene in 2012, Elizabeth Rose has finally released her debut album, Intra. While Rose’s electronic background continues to heavily influence the vibe of Intra, her RnB and pop approach becomes shows more as the record progresses. Unfortunately, overall, it falls short of a decent mark. Although her first single and opening track, ‘Shoulda Coulda Woulda’ alluded to a promising record filled with catchy, beat-
One Summer: America, 1927 Bill Bryson
driven tracks, the remainder of Intra fails to carry the hype any further. Lyrically, it is evident that the themes in Intra reflect much more in-depth political and social motifs such as self-empowerment, marriage equality, and gun violence; but musically, her newfound direction results in a disarray of flat, unrefined rhythms and very repetitive synths.
disintegrates any flow Rose was attempting to achieve. For those who have enjoyed her previous work, it’s probably best to give this one a miss.
Though there are some hidden gems such as ‘Kensho’, ‘Steel Hearts, and ‘Division’ (which are surprisingly some of the most ambient tracks on the record), the disjointed synth beats and often mundane vocals that prevail throughout Intra ultimately
One Summer: America, 1927 is an historical account of the big events and big characters who were changing America and the world in (as the title suggests) the summer of 1927. Bill Bryson writes non-fiction that entertains and One Summer is no exception. The book opens at the start of the summer when America was struggling in the field of aviation. The US couldn’t compete with European flyers and for the most part the aviation industry was a privately funded non-event. Scores of aviators were taking to the skies only to meet tragic ends or never to be seen again. Bryson provides a gripping account of America’s change in fortune when Charles Lindbergh became the first person to cross the Atlantic in non-stop flight. From an Australian perspective, One Summer provides insight into many events or people we might be only vaguely aware of in our cultural periphery such as Babe Ruth, the inception of Mount Rushmore, prohibition, 61
the Model T Ford and the original Ponzi scheme. It also unveils many fascinating and significant events that many of us are almost entirely ignorant of such as the Great Mississippi Flood, the controversial executions of purported anarchists, Sacco and Vanzetti and one of the US’s most ambivalent presidents, Calvin Coolidge. Although the book covers a much broader period in a general sense, all of the events are framed around the critical points or key players and their movements in the summer of 1927. Bryson mixes fact with a fantastic narrative storytelling approach that means it couldn’t be more exciting if it had been made up. He combines credible storytelling with the juicy details you would expect in a gossipy magazine or fast-paced page turner. If you like to learn something while you read or have traditionally steered away from non-fiction for fear it is too dull or dry, make sure you pick up a copy of One Summer.
Being creative
BUBBLE GUM AND SCRAPED KNEES Monique Hotchin Arden and Beau had adored each other since they were children. Their relationship blossomed over apple juice pop tops and making jewellery from raw pasta. Strengthened over Letterland and hide-andseek. Solidified over Beau helping Arden cheat on the algebra test and Arden helping him paint his toenails on the creamy carpet of her bedroom. The two couldn’t be separated ever since they locked eyes on the first day of primary school. The only problem was that Arden loved Beau but Beau loved boys.
pink ribbon wrapped around it. Arden’s heart swelled at the gift sitting on the velvet fabric just for her. It was a pearl necklace. Just like her grandmother’s one she had lost at a Halloween party. She had dressed up as a flapper girl. Arden was stunned that Beau had even remembered the lost piece of jewellery and even more stunned that Beau had saved up to replace it. Just for her. Arden only donned Beau’s pearls on special occasions, always afraid they would slip through her grip and be lost to her forever.
Arden was in year six when she first glimpsed a maze of ugly bruises on Beau. The purple and yellow hues stark against his pale skin. She had never seen so many bruises before. Young Arden didn’t know what to do. So, she fished out her pack of bubble gum and handed him a piece. Then purposefully scrapped her knees while playing Bull Rush so the other kids noticed her bleeding wounds over Beau’s. But she never told anyone about the bruises.
It was clear to the two now that they had spent all their high school days dreaming about being free of the place but never once considered they were leaving one jail cell just to be transferred to another one. But right now it was time for a prison break.
Arden was bent over the bathroom sink, getting closer to the mirror to perfect her winged eyeliner. She was getting good in the art form of makeup. Beau was beside her, styling his blond hair as he sang along to the music playing from his iPhone resting in the bowled sink to amplify the volume. It was their first party. A girl’s sweet sixteenth from their biology class. They didn’t remember her name but committed her street address to memory with ease. Arden passed the pencil over when she was done and Beau traced some blackness under his baby blue eyes. They sought the other’s approval once they turned away from the mirror decorated with mementos from their beautiful relationship. At high school graduation Arden’s whole family had come to cheer and applaud as she crossed the stage. Beau only had his timid mother who didn’t make a peep when his name was announced. He told Arden that his father couldn’t get the time off work but Arden knew Beau preferred it if he wasn’t in the crowd anyway. After the ceremony Beau came up and kissed Arden on the cheek, his smile brighter than the sun high in the sky. He was finally free. Beau reached into his blazer pocket and pulled out a coloured box with a
That night they had magic in their blood and journeyed into fantasy as they danced under the strobe lights as club smoke twisted around their ankles. They stayed out all night and walked home with sore feet and cloudy heads. Beau’s hand was warm in Arden’s as the morning sun touched their backs. It was after graduation when things started to change beyond Arden’s control. Slowly but surely. They both got accepted into the same university, just like they had always planned. Arden in criminology and Beau in multimedia, majoring in music production. They skipped classes to drink crap and overpriced coffee on campus and rode the tram to the beach were they would bake under the hot sun for hours. They moved out of home and shared a cramped apartment next to a bowling alley where they both got part-time jobs. They went to house parties, university events and night clubs. They were happy and had everything they had ever wanted since they were children. But they weren’t children anymore. Now they were young adults and just as confused and undecided as ever. Half way through their first semester Beau met Elliot and things started to shift, as if everything Arden and Beau knew had been built on sand. Now Arden loved Beau, but Beau loved Elliot. The unbreakable relationship of Arden and Beau was cracking like fine
Being creative
china. Beau attended his university classes, even spent his free days on campus. Elliot was in sport science and worked at the university’s bar. He gave Beau free drinks and never carded him, but always carded Arden. One night Arden returned home from the bowling alley and found Beau drinking alone in the kitchen. She noticed the bruises on Beau instantly. The sight stopped her heart. She hadn’t seen bruises on Beau since he moved away from home. The gloomy purple marks travelled down from his collarbone and under his shirt. When she questioned him, he told her it was nothing and downed another shot of vodka. Arden didn’t believe him but lifted her own shot up to her lips. She told herself it was the alcohol’s powerful scent that brought tears to her hazel eyes. To be festive Arden and Beau threw a Christmas party. Arden wore a red dress and the pearl necklace Beau had given her. He wore a mint green button up shirt and light blue jeans. The apartment was crowed and joyful with old and new friends. And Elliot. About two hours in Arden couldn’t spot Beau or Elliot. She weaved through the throng of cheerfully drunk people in red, green and black to check the bedrooms. Both clear. She was passing by the bathroom when the sound of breaking glass reached her ears over the loud themed music. Arden pushed open the door and her breath caught in her throat. Elliot had blood on his knuckles and kneeled above a fallen Beau, his hand gripping Beau like a vice. The mirror was shattered and blood scarred the off-white tiles. Arden screamed, shoving Elliot away from Beau. If Elliot said anything or tried to do anything, Arden didn’t witness it. She just kicked the door shut after he left, sweat thick on his forehead like the blood on his hands. They were crawled up on the bathroom floor, the tiles chilled beneath them. Silent Night seeped in from the living room through the thin walls.
“And the people we love the most.” Arden added, picking at her pink nail polish. Demons played like children in the shadows that stretched around them. They sat in the dark bathroom, tongues silent and lips unmoving, for what felt like forever. Beau broke the spell, his warm shoulder shifting against hers. “I’m sorry I don’t love you the way you want me to love you.” His voice was a whisper, words carrying across the air littered with the smell of blood. Arden’s heart jarred in its bone cage. “You know if I could, I would.” Arden found herself nodding. She reached for his hand, not caring it was dotted with cooled blood. “And I’m sorry Elliot doesn’t love you the way you deserved to be loved.” Beau’s pearls were suddenly heavy around her neck as a thought grew in her mind like a seedling. Somewhere along the line, in between the desperate urge to grow up and the crushing realisation of what growing up entails, popping bubble gum and scrapping knees while playing evolved into downing shots of clear liquid that tasted like gasoline and retrieving bruises from the ones they sold their hearts to for a pretty smile and empty promises of love. In the shadowed bathroom, with the sliver light of the moon filtering down on them through the small window, Arden decided to finally do something she should have done a long time ago. One week later it wasn’t Beau with the bruises or the escaped blood staining his clothes, it was Elliot. And Arden was left standing with blood printed on her knuckles and popping bubble gum between her teeth.
“We’re killers.” Beau announced suddenly, not bothering to wipe away the tears that stole down his cheeks. “We’re all slowly killing ourselves.” Arden could see the dark stain of blood on Beau’s favourite light blue jeans. Right were his knee was.
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Illustrator: Sam Dunn Degree: Bachelor of Digital Media with Honours Instagram: @sam_sturdy
Being creative
COMIC
By Mic Smith
Do you want to see your work in print? Getamungstit is seeking high quality submissions of short fiction, creative non-fiction, poetry and other genres for our creative section.
Check out the Contributor Guidelines at gugcstudentguild.com.au/getamungstit for further information.
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Being creative
TRICKLED-OWN FREEDOM (AUTO-MESSIANISM) Zarek Hennessy Part 1. Some are concerned with fighting for the right of able-bodied people to become amputees, by choice. Nike – If It Feels Good Then Just Do It Tim Bane and Neil Levy (2005) say this strange desire is a mental suffering called Body Integrity Identity Disorder (BIID). AMX – It’s Your World. Take Control Bane and Levy conclude that, despite the seeming obscenity, the amputation of a healthy limb in some cases may be appropriate. L’Oreal – Because I’m Worth It However, and because a pervasive culture precedes essence (Butler 1990), Adidas – Impossible Is Nothing this extreme freedom of choice feels like an emerging side-effect of a corporate endorsed cultural remedy/romanticism. Fujitsu – The Possibilities Are Infinite The assumption has become that the individual will decide his fate. But what happens when the ‘his’, understood as an existing multiplicity, is amorphous?
The application of choice used for impulse desires: I will eat, not I will change myself. In a world of no God we inherit her responsibilities. We play God because something has to. Creating ourselves in lieu of being created. However, we are not without guidance. William Gass (cited in Shields 2010; 11) says: There was a reason the church was the main cultural unifier in Western Europe: it had the best distribution network and the most mass-produced item – the bible. This begs the question: what is today’s main cultural unifier?
Part 3. Cat’s foot, iron claw Neurosurgeon, scream for more Innocence raped, with napalm fire Everything I want, I really need [chorus] See I’m a twenty first century digital boy I don’t know how to read but I’ve got a lot of toys -Bad Religion ‘Twenty First Century Digital Boy’ (appropriated from King Crimson ‘Twenty First Century Schizoid Man’)
(she – s = he he – h = e) E = unassuming pronoun, and proper (my apologies, Einstein) Restate: The assumption has become that the individual will decide E’s fate.
Part 2. ‘If one had asked a member of a Western medieval or pre-modern country on what basis society was divided into rich and poor, peasant and nobleman, the question would most likely have seemed bizarre: God had simply willed the division.’ (Alain de Botton 2004; 68)
The Technogod. The main cultural unifier and the best distribution network that mass-produces itself! Take your hat off, Marshall McLuhan. And behind the Technogod are the E’s, all contributing to the next Bible, Koran, Bhagavad Gita. . . The 21st century scripture: the Internet (capitalised and ready for worship). Restate: The assumption has become that it is up to e-individuals to decide E’s fate.
Being creative
Motorola – Digital DNA IBM – I Think, Therefore IBM
RUN Laura McKinnon You took my hand and ran with me Through the field of thoughts in my head; You ran through the gates to the graveyard Full of words I have left unsaid.
Ironically, in the past, technology has been the rabble-rouser. Galileo Galilei who continued Copernicus’ conception of heliocentrism was, in 1634, forced into house arrest for the remainder of his life after being accused of heresy (Hilliam 2005; 94). Nonetheless, now, if computers are the prevailing priests, where lies the defiance? Perhaps the Amish are the revolutionaries to carry us away on horseback. Away from a cyborg future, a digital identity, an idea of personal freedom: all the ideals exacerbated by the Technogod. A breeding ground for marketing messages; another religion monopolising beliefs.
Only one other has been there, All they caused me was worry and dread, Yet you’ve dug up the words from their places; You’ve made them rise from the dead. Let’s run to a green, grassy meadow Full of flowery, thoughtspotted trees; You’re enjoying my words, now unburied; You’ve set sail on my thought-filled seas.
EA – Challenge Everything Vodafone – Make The Most Of Now Gillette – Never Let ‘Em See You Sweat Alain de Botton’s Brain in a Vat (3690 est.) may say: If one had asked a member of a 21st century Western country on what basis society was not divided into castes, the question would most likely have seemed bizarre: the E had simply willed E’s freedom.
Let’s speak softly and say what we’re thinking; Often, our thoughts are the same; Let’s run from our mindless illusions; Let’s run, and let’s dance, in the rain.
‘We can do anything’, E would say, ‘be anything.’ It echoed down from the boardrooms high above E’s head.
Reference List Bane, T & Levy, N 2005, ‘Amputees by Choice: Body Integrity Identity Disorder and the Ethics of Amputation’, Journal of Applied Philosophy, vol. 22, no. 1, pp. 75-86. Botton, A 2004, Status Anxiety, Penguin Books, Australia. Butler, J 1990, Gender Trouble: Feminism and the Subversion of Identity, Routledge,New York. Hilliam, R 2005, Galileo Galilei: Father of Modern Science, The Rosen Publishing Group, New York. Shields, D 2010, Reality Hunger: A Manifesto, Random House, New York.
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Get the hell outta here Whale watching
By Rebecca Marshallsay Summer is over and in the foreboding words of the Starks, winter is coming. Even on the sunny Gold Coast where we enjoy a temperate average of 21 degrees in the depths of winter, this means that we typically turn our attention away from the beach and seek out other pastimes.
Humpback whales are one of the few species that prefer to travel close to the coastline.
But before you rug up and run for the hills, you might want to reconsider all the beach has to offer. Apart from smaller surf (great for beginners) and beautiful sunny days for long walks, it is worth turning your eyes to the coast this winter to see if you can’t spot some of the most magnificent creatures on the planet as they cruise past our door step. Every year at least 1200 humpback whales pass by the Gold Coast as they migrate north to breed in the tropical waters around the Great Barrier Reef and then return south with their newborn young to spend the summer months in the cooler waters of Antarctica. The migration season typically runs from June to November. Humpback whales are one of the few species that prefer to travel close to the coastline. More often than not whales can be seen directly from the beach, and if you are out on the right day it is not uncommon to see the horizon filled with dozens of water spouts, waving flippers and even fully breaching whales. Get the hell outta here
Although you can get great views of the whales directly from the beach, you may want to seek out an elevated viewing point such The Spit, Burleigh Heads or the headland over Rainbow Bay. If you are keen to head a little further afield, Cabarita and Byron Bay also offer great vantage points. For an even closer look, hop aboard a professional whale watching cruise. The advantage of a cruise is that the operators are aware of all of the relevant restrictions around boat speed and approach distances so you can get up close and personal with these beautiful animals in a way that is safe for you and the whales. There are at least a dozen operators on the Gold Coast and tours typically cost between $70-100. If that is too much for your student budget, the great news is that the Student Guild will be running a heavily discounted whale watching trip in September so make sure you stop by the Guild or head to the website to find out more.
Photo credit: Spirit Whale Watching
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