Orenda
a feminist a vegan a nomad a quitter a road trip a girlboss a pushover.
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THIS ISSUE WE AR E F OR T H E WI L D P L AC E S
TH E F WOR D
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LET THEM E AT CAKE
DAY TIME ROAD TRIP
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20 40 31
BO R N I N T HE WRON G ERA
D ON ’T HAV E A COW, M AN
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39 G L I T T E R B UG
32
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LITTLE WOR L D S
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DE AT H POSTER
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A BOU T THE WORK
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# GI R L BO S S
ON LIV IN G YOUR TRUTH
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44
THE E XP E R I ENCED QUI T T E R
WH E N PUS H CO M E S TO S H OV E
THE AG E O F SELF ENTITLEMENT
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Orenda:
The invocation of the power of human will to change the world around us. (from the Huron language) Orenda is a magazine created for people just like you: it’s smart, young, modern, resourceful, all-inclusive, independant and kick-ass. It is messy, imperfect, eclectic and probably swears more than it’s mother would like. It features stories about real, everyday-but-extraordinary things and people that you will find insightful, thought-provoking and interesting. It’s for entertainment, aesthetics (whilst recognising that there is much, much more to life) and to give you a bit of a helping hand in that wonderful time of your life where you’re expected to know exactly what you’re doing but you just don’t. Orenda is for you.
© All views, ideas and photography expressed in this magazine are that of, and are copyrighted to, their respective author/organisation and cannot be used without prior written permission from the respective author/organisation. If in doubt, email Orenda at hello@orendamagazine.com.au and we’ll put you in touch. Design © Copyright 2015 Orenda Magazine unless otherwise stated. 4 OREN DA
MEET THE TEAM
WE ARE FOR THE WILD PLACES • GLITTERBUG • DAYTIME ROAD TRIP CAL BEHRENDT is a Law/ Journalism student who spends most of his waking hours watching TV or listening to music. If not, he can be found playing football or hockey. blogwhatmagnitude. wordpress.com
WHEN PUSH COMES TO SHOVE • THE F WORD • BORN IN THE WRONG ERA • THE EXPERIENCED QUITTER KATIE FORAN is cat person. She is also a dog person. She’s not, however, a people person. As a Media Communications graduate, Katie now lives in what she refers to as ‘the in-between’, where people are willing to give you a job but only if you work for free. If she’s not re-reading Harry Potter you can find her binge watching Gilmore Girls. If you are what you eat she’s a cup of English Breakfast.
EDITOR/GRAPHIC DESIGNER SOPHIA JEANNE is a 19-year-old graphic designer, who will be based in Melbourne three days after this issue is launched. She’s taught English at a school for Blind and PartiallySighted students in Poland, learnt to speak & read a few languages and has been a vegetarian (minus a snail) for 6 years. This year, she's going to start a degree in graphic design, re-start yoga and read 40 books. uneamourette.com
twitter.com/kattieelouise
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CONTRIBUTORS We get by with a lot of help from our friends.
DON’T HAVE A COW, MAN SOPHIE HUNTER-ROSE is an ethical vegan and passionate liberal feminist who is always looking for ways to expand the horizons of people’s knowledge and bring some light into others lives. Of course, most of this is just passive-aggressive posting on social media... but a little is living with as much respect and nonviolence as she can. She hopes you’re all having a wonderful day and, if not, that tomorrow will be better.
THE
AGE OF SELFENTITLEMENT
SAMMY BATTAGLENE is a far too opinionated chick who has a tendency to live outside the moment and gloriously relive it through an overthinking, highly imaginative, and scattered mind. notliterallydreaming. wordpress.com
fluffyplant.tumblr.com
Thanks to Sophia’s parents for proofreading the final copy. 6 OREN DA
ON LIVING YOUR TRUTH JON TALBOT is a parttime lover and a full-time friend, passionate about traveling. Not in the sense of checking sights off a list, but more in the abstract (somewhat clichéd) way of making the experience more about the journey rather than the destination. Vehemently curious. Endlessly challenging what it means to be a millennial. Steadfast in the belief that life should not be postponed, but lived. From sailing to Antarctica to hitch-hiking across Europe, Jon has seen some stuff and met some people. Not bad for an American, eh?
Interested in contributing to Orenda?
Email a sample of your writing + your article topic/idea to contribute@orendamagazine.com.au
DEATH POSTER
LITTLE WORLDS
#GIRLBOSS
MADI RYAN is a 22 year old artist from the South Coast of Australia, freshly graduated from the University of Wollongong with a Bachelor of Creative Arts (Visual Arts) . She creates colourful and strange artworks, heavily influenced by comic books, pop-culture, 90’s cartoons and all things colour. She works with materials such as acrylic ink, graphic markers, paint pens, spray paint and digital painting with Photoshop.
MATILDA “TILLY” ROBERTS is a 22 year old natural light photographer. When she was 16, photography introduced her to her love affair with light, and she is forever grateful. In 2012, during her first year of university, she officially began ‘Fearless Photography’. She labels herself as a ‘lifestyle photographer’ as she doesn’t limit herself to any one genre of photography - she photographs anything and everything: weddings, portraits, music, even birth sessions. She’s there for the life moments!
LAURA COLE is a Communications/ Business student, working 2 jobs whilst also managing her own events business. She can relate to the quote: “Normal is getting dressed in clothes that you buy for work and driving through traffic in a car that you are still paying for – in order to get to the job you need to pay for the clothes and the car, and the house you leave vacant all day so you can afford to live in it.” ... She’s so busy working hard for a great life that she often forgets to actually live.
fearless-photography.com
pinterest.com/eventsr
facebook.com/madiryanart
THE F WORD WORDS BY KATIE FORAN
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W HE N I WAS ABOUT SEV ENTEEN YEARS O LD I was sitting with a group of friends watching some mindless television show where a character said jokingly, ‘We all have that crazy, feminist friend!’ All eyes in the room, boys and girls alike, turned to me and laughed. I can’t remember if I laughed with them. How strange it is to think back to that moment and consider that all the girls in that room went on to finish high-school (some with particularly high HSC results) and are now pursuing careers in everything from media to medicine. As for the boys, they have never once expected anything less of us. Despite a joking debate of why boys are better than girls (and vice versa) none of us have ever truly believed that they are not equal to the other. It is likely that we will still not feel a real difference for another couple of years when we join the work force in pursuit of successful careers. I have been passionately considering and writing about feminism since I can remember. In primary school, when faced with an argument on which gender is better I replied: “I can wear skirts and shorts. I can wear pink and blue. I can play netball and soccer. I can grow a baby inside me. Can you?” Of course the real answer to three out of four of those questions is probably YES. But at that age, with the boys I knew, it was a definite no. In defending my tormentor/s I was being a little sexist in my own way, but I think we can all agree that this is a deep-stemmed passion of mine (feminism, not sexism, just so we’re clear). At high school, each year in English we were required to write and give a public speech. Every year, without realizing it, I wrote a feminist speech. Never did I say (unless jokingly) that women are better than men, I just passionately highlighted the wonderful, often overlooked, attributes that the female gender possessed. One year I wrote about how wonderful men were and how, given the feminist waves, sometimes we neglected to recognize this. I am pro-humans, basically.
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Needless to say, it really grinds my gears when individuals blatantly belittle women as being less than men. Not to point fingers- but I’ve seen a pattern among the aging, whitehaired, male politicians in America who seem to believe that women are not as smart, not as strong, not as important, as they are. I would like to smack them in the face, I mean, I would like to politely ask them to provide evidence to suggest that women are not as capable as they are at being human. Much like I feel anger at those who believe that a certain shade of skin or sexual preference seems to remove a person from the ‘human’ category.
was that you were you saying? Sarcasm aside, I do not mean to be negative. To quote one of my favourite feminists, Tine Fey, who once quoted some other feminist (just so many of those weirdos!) “There’s a special place in hell for women who do not help other women.” Or maybe that was Taylor Swift (ironically, another non-feminist-female) who said that? I don’t know. My point, and I do have one, is that I thought I would let you know what a feminist really is and why, despite what you think, you are one of them.
I AM PROHUMANS, BASICALLY.
So you could imagine my absolute shock upon reading Shailene Woodley’s (actress in ‘Divegent’ and ‘The Fault In Our Stars’) comments earlier this year regarding the matter, “… I love men, and I think the idea of ‘raise women to power, take the men away from the power’ is never going to work out because you need balance.”
My dearest girl, I too love men and believe in balance. In fact, I love balance so much that I just looked it up in the thesaurus which told me that ‘equalize’ was its synonym. Just for fun, I Googled equalize and it turns out that feminists (you know those crazy, lesbian manhaters?) aim to equalize the opportunities and success of men and women, therefore creating balance between the genders. I’m sorry, what
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Feminism began when women grew tired of men speaking, thinking and deciding for them. Upon realizing their own strength, women spoke up for themselves and fought over years and through actual torture, to ensure that they were heard. When women found their voices, they then found independent thought and educated themselves, opening up opportunities that have lead to discoveries and contributions that changed the world socially, scientifically, environmentally etc. Their voices have since grown louder, despite the constant threat of being drowned out by their deeper counterparts. Today, it is perhaps the loudest they have ever been because basically, everyone in the western world (other than those creepy politicians discussed above) have joined them, are acknowledging them as, oh I don’t know, independent human
beings? If you think about it, the history of women portrays what some might call a social divergence (my puns will never cease to entertain me). It is to your own downfall that, at the time of that interview, you were not aware of the definition of a feminist. Given the frenzy that the internet went into afterwards, I am confident that you now have a better understanding that without feminism, your movie roles would be made up of silly, giggling girls who swoon for the handsome hero, as opposed to the strong, heroine who holds her own. Please don’t let your pride get in the way of correcting your misunderstanding of the ‘F word’. You are not alone in shying away from the word. My suggestion is that perhaps as we ride this third wave of feminism (oh yes, it is happening) that we label it something else. If it is the connotations to the word that you fear, perhaps referring to it as ‘equalism’ or ‘common-sensism’, would get you, and other young women who are too detached from the reality of our history, on board. There is a place for women in this world, there is a place for feminists, and that place is standing side-by-side our men. As fucking equals. by their deeper counterparts. Today, it is perhaps the loudest they have ever been because basically, everyone in the western world (other
than those creepy politicians discussed above) have joined them, are acknowledging them as, oh I don’t know, independent human beings? If you think about it, the history of women portrays what some might call a social divergence (my puns will never cease to entertain me). It is to your own downfall that, at the time of that interview, you were not aware of the definition of a feminist. Given the frenzy that the internet went into afterwards, I am confident that you now have a better understanding that without feminism, your movie roles would be made up of silly, giggling girls who swoon for the handsome hero, as opposed to the strong, heroine who holds her own. Please don’t let your pride get in the way of correcting your misunderstanding of the ‘F word’. You are not alone in shying away from the word. My suggestion is that perhaps as we ride this third wave of feminism (oh yes, it is happening) that we label it something else. If it is the connotations to the word that you fear, perhaps referring to it as ‘equalism’ or ‘common-sensism’, would get you, and other young women who are too detached from the reality of our history, on board. There is a place for women in this world, there is a place for feminists, and that place is standing side-by-side our men. As fucking equals.
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DON'T HAVE A COW, MAN WORDS BY SOPHIE HUNTER-ROSE
WE ALL KNOW ONE. Maybe they’re your weird relative, the eccentric girl at school, or that one guy on Facebook that never stops posting about animals. That’s right, we’re talking about the dreaded Vegan. It’s funny, because before I went vegan, or even vegetarian, I saw them as aliens: Chicken loving, earth hugging, radical Greenies, they were just plain weird. But in a way it was just because I always felt a little guilty. Now don’t get me wrong, this article isn’t going to call you a hypocrite or abuse you for eating animals. I just want to share how your whole world can change because of a single decision.
you want. But this wasn’t enough. For a year I researched. I read articles on protein, human evolution, sentience, calcium, how you can make meringue from chickpeas and bacon from carrots. I discussed my latest discoveries of agricultural practices and pig’s feelings over dinner. I started eating less meat, and so did my family. I wanted to phase it out, to get a feel for what being vegetarian was like. My New Year’s Resolution of 2014 was to go vegetarian. And despite the scepticism of how effective resolutions are, I stuck to it. Two years later and I’m sitting here, slurping my almond-milk-berry smoothie and watching my dog roll around at my feet. I’ve been vegan for 545 days (not that I’m counting) and I’ve never been happier. I’ve never been really focused on my diet and what I put into my body, and to be honest, I’m still not. Trust me, not every vegan is a skinny yoga-doing lentil-eating hippy. I eat way too much cake and probably have pizza too often, but in the end, I’m not doing it for me. I’m doing it as a form of activism. I’m doing it for the approximately 9 billion chickens killed for their flesh every year in the United States alone [1]. I want to raise awareness for what’s causing 51% of greenhouse gases[2]. But most importantly, I’m doing it because I care.
I was fourteen when I first met her. Her hair shimmered like the sea and her eyes were the sun high above. However this not was not why I loved her. It was when she spoke - and oh, how she spoke - that I would get a glimpse into another world. It was a plane of existence where we were all one. Where the smallest ant was just as worthy of life as the grandest elephant. It was fascinating to watch her pick a slug off the concrete path and place it in a bush, to feed sugar-water to dying bees. When I was fourteen, I understood what it meant to be vegan. It meant not drawing a line between dogs and chickens, cats and pigs. It meant living life treading as gently on 1 - HTTP://WWW.UPC-ONLINE.ORG/ the Earth as you can. It meant living kindly. CHICKENS/CHICKENSBRO.HTML
For the next two years I tried to push away 2 - HTTP://WWW3.EPA.GOV/ the feelings. In my mum’s words, it was easier CLIMATECHANGE/GHGEMISSIONS/GLOBAL. to eat meat. Just eat what you’re given and HTML when you move out you can eat all the lentils 12 ORE NDA
Little Worlds PHOTOGRAPHY BY TILLY ROBERS
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" The se double expo s u re ph o t ograph s we re c re ate d th ro u gh a s imple layerin g ef fe c t using pho t o ed it in g s oft ware. Th ey we re a par t of a ph o t ograph ic s eries create d for a univers ity m ajo r wo rk en tit led " Lit t le Wo rlds ". The wor k ex plo res th e galaxies an d wor lds hidde n in s id e each in divid u al. W ithin eve r yon e are s eparate wo rld s , ide as, be liefs and kn owledge t h at can be comple te ly hidden o r kept u n kn own to eve n those that are s o clo s e t o u s . " - P hotog raph er, Tilly Ro berts
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"Do you think because you touched me you know me? You're just a boy and I have galaxies growing inside me."
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WORDS BY KATIE FORAN
when push comes to shove
I am a nice person. Another way I could phrase that sentence is: I am a real pushover. A doormat. A pussy. I love going to concerts, it’s such a rush! There’s something about the sweaty pit of people, being merely metres away from your favourite performers, the visual movement of the music. There is nothing quite like it. When I buy tickets for concerts I almost always go for general admission standing and see how my luck plays out, how close I can get to the stage. After my most recent concert however, I’ve realized that I just don’t have the right personality to ever even get close. You see, it’s the die-hard fans with their aggressive attitudes and sharp elbows 18 ORE NDA
that make their way to the front. I am the contrary. I never step too close to the person in front of me. If sweaty, dehydrated people are making their way out of the mosh pit I squeeze aside to let them through. I zip through gaps when I see them, never pushing, never invading anyone’s space. Stupid, little, naïve me thinks that seeing as I afford such politeness to others, they will obviously return the favour. Not so. Earlier this year I had a pretty good spot at a Paramore concert. And, by that, I mean I could see. I am 160cm small, which if you’re not familiar with the metric system, is short. General admission standing tickets and struggling with vertical challenges is itself, not ideal. Let alone being pushed and shoved by people so much taller than you they probably thought you were a rock under their shoe. Essentially, if I can find a spot where I can see, I’m a happy gal. At this particular concert however I was pushed and shoved between spots and two out of three times, all I saw was shoulders. My neck ached, I was covered in other peoples’ sweat (as they do not show me the same courtesy by leaving even a ten centimetre gap between us) and I was feeling ripped off. I was at the receiving end of various elbows and as unenticing as all of this is, I expected nothing less. What really aggravated me were the people ‘exiting’ the war of the mosh pit. Courteously, I moved aside to let them
through, and rather impertinently, they decided to stop and stand in the space I made. This happened at least a dozen times. So much so, that I got separated from my two friends who were now metres away from me on the other side of a wall of people. Imagine if you can, standing alone at a concert, the temperature is at least fifty degrees; all you can see is the sweaty bodies of people jumping around. The girl in front of you is so into the song that she is actually gyrating up and down, but because there is no concept of personal space, you are copping all of it. At this very moment I wanted nothing but to get the hell out of there. My friends were barely in sight, I knew any movement would see me lose them; possibly forever. It took all of my strength and my love of music, to just close my eyes and listen. I had to relax and let it wash over me. Amongst all of this, I found my happy place until the moment my friend was able to yank me back through the crowd. We were reunited again and things got considerably better. When I returned home the next day I was met with my mum’s ‘How was it?’ Images of the sweaty, aggressive, impolite crowd filled my mind. I rubbed my neck which still ached a little and said, ‘It was awesome!’
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AVAL AN C HE CIT Y
WE ARE FOR THE WILD PL ACES THERE IS A LOT TO BE SAID about the Indie Folk genre. While you will often see bands like Mumford & Sons and The Lumineers dominate discussions about the current state of the genre, it is quite often the smaller bands that get the most mileage out of the ideas promoted by the genre. Avalanche City are one of those bands that have quietly gone about their business and produced some of the best music the genre has to offer, and the band’s newest album, We Are For The Wild Places, may just be the very best the genre has to offer. Kicking off this New Zealand band’s sophomore effort after the fantastic 2011 debut Our New Life Above The Ground is I Need You, a track that drops us immediately into the theme of the album: Relationships between ourselves and others. With a piano part that allows the rest of the track to be built from it, the song makes the most of Dave Baxter’s 2 0 OREN DA
voice and keeps the lyrics floating around in your head, especially around the chorus, where the whole track comes together to get your foot tapping and singing along. We then get a fantastic shift in tone from this track to Keep Finding A Way, which kicks off with trumpets and a marching band feel, keeping your foot tapping throughout the track. Again we are treated to Dave Baxter’s enthusiastic vocals which keeps the track moving. With a more frantic pace, the album seems to struggle a little in its transition to the next song on the work in Fault Lines.
“Avalanche City are one of those bands that have quietly gone about their business and produced some of the best music the genre has to offer.”
Don’t get me wrong, Fault Lines is one of my favorite tracks off the album, but I can’t help but feel the album dropped a ball here in picking a slower song to follow straight after such a frantic piece (by indie folk standards). Fault Lines is still a masterful work. With a main chorus that is almost impossible not to sing along with, the track is one that had an immediate effect on me, driving me to want to do more, and with a rather constant and heavy beat behind the track, the song has that driving feel about it. This driving feel fades away quickly at the end of the track and lets us relax rather well into the following Inside Out, which was the first single released off of this album back in April 2015. With a relaxing opening before moving to a more emotional chorus which echoes in your head, the track does well in layering on more and more until the explosion in the bridge of the
song. Here we get to listen to the main difference between albums, as more unique instruments will come to the forefront of the track (such as the use of trumpets yet again) and it really makes the difference in this track. However, it takes until the next track, The Midnight/ We Never Had Much, where the album makes its first tiny misstep. The track starts off really strong, with a foot tapping guitar part, a grooving drum beat and lyrical excellence from Dave Baxter. However, this track suffers the classic issue any longer song will face, which is “how the hell can I keep this
“This track is something completely different from anything the band has done, and it pays off really well” up for 6+ minutes?” Much like Ends In The Ocean/Oh Life from the first album, the song struggles in the back half as there is not much going on and while the track is rather relaxing, it feels a bit of a let down after the amazing first 4 minutes of the track. However, the album picks up almost instantly in Wild Places
WORDS BY CAL BEHRENDT
I. A relaxing track that serves as the halfway point in the album, this song maintains a simple riff and lets Dave Baxter craft the song entirely through lyrics. This is a risky move, but it pays off really well here, as Baxter tells a really enjoyable story while slowly letting the instruments build up in the background but never overtaking the main focus of this track. The next track, Rabbit, allows a further exploration of unique instruments being put in, with the track kicking off with a xylophone and allowing the piano to take more of a main role in this track, providing the main riff throughout the song. Rabbit examines how nothing will stop us as we try to reach our goals, and the song works very well in that aspect, being another song off the album that works well as one to get you motivated and one that keeps you foot tapping along with it. The album then moves into Don’t Fall Asleep, which with it’s short length, makes it probably the weakest track on the album, but it still does it job superbly in telling an emotional tale in the two minutes is has while
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keeping the tune relaxing. As we move towards the back end of the album, we are treated to my personal favorite track in Little Fire, which from the very get go has a feel much like Avalanche City’s earlier song Sunset. With a bouncy feel good tone flowing from the song all while balancing the relaxing feel, the song allows you to feel happy no matter the situation you are in. Again we hear a xylophone, this time being the main part of the chorus and this simple addition increases the enjoyment of the track tenfold. But for me the most interesting part is the bridge, where the track takes on a more serious tone, adding trumpets and layering over several different instruments to give a real complete feel to the track. From this song we then transition into Giving Me A Sign, which is a more slower track and seems like it could have been swapped with Keep Finding A Way in order
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to make a real slow and soft opening to the album, but here it works just as well. With a more somber tone, the track feels more emotional than it really is, and where this would normally not work at all, the track salvages it by sprinkling in softer instruments and Dave Baxter’s vocals. The track feels a little out of place so late in the album, but it is still quite a enjoyable song. It also leads quite well into the final track of the album, Wild Places II.
“How the hell can I keep this up for 6+ minutes?” Wild Places II, seemingly a continuation of Wild Places I, tries to do something different, with an almost synth opening really confusing me the first time I heard it. Here the drumming takes full control of the track, with each accented beat and marching band roll adding to the build of the track. However it is the chorus where this track takes it up
a notch, layering a real rock sound to blow the mind of any listener. This track is something completely different from anything the band has done, and it pays off really well in this final track. Allowing the track to rise and fall several times benefits the song throughout, and is a real accurate depiction of the album itself. We Are For The Wild Places is an album that blew me out of the water. Despite being a massive fan of Our New Life Above The Ground, I was not expecting much from this album, especially after being a little let down by another Indie Folk artist’s new release from 2015 (cough Josh Pyke cough) but Avalanche City made a fool out of me for doubting. The four year wait was worth every minute of this album and there is little doubt that it will be up there in my choices for album of the year, alongside The Wombats’ Glitterbug and The Fratellis’ Eyes Wide, Tongue Tied.
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#GirlBoss
Laura Cole recently launched Events Royale – a wedding and events consultancy which offers an array of packages to cater for all budgets and assist in the planning and coordinating of events throughout Central West NSW.
Tell us - what does being a business owner mean to you and why did you became an entrepreneur in the first place?
We interviewed Laura to see what motivates her as a young entrepreneur and to gain some advice for those of you perhaps considering opening your own small business.
For Events Royale, this will mean managing selected events free of charge for non-for-profit community groups, and providing opportunities to high school and university students to work with vendors in their specialised area of talent, in order to build local networks rather than having to head to the city to complete internships.
My passion for weddings and previous experience in helping to manage events was really the key driver in why I opened Events Royale, but being a business owner is so much more – it’s about using the newfound freedom to make a difference. There’s something liberating about being able to decide how much work you want to take on and what risks you’re willing to take, however you need to be able to use your power to make a positive impact on the community.
What or who has been your greatest influence in business?
At the back of my mind for the last 12 months, has been a desire to open a small business, then last month I attended Business Chicks’ inaugural 9 to Thrive expo in Sydney where I was exposed to some of Australia’s most successful companies (where I received so many great freebies… always a bonus!) and was introduced to Australia’s leading female ‘movers and breakers’ (those ladies who started with nothing and broke through glass ceilings to build an empire), and it was here that key speakers such as the amazing Emma Isaacs, Lorraine Murphy, Shelley Barrett, Michelle Bridges, Dr Libby, Sarah Wilson and Zoe Foster Blake, encouraged me to forget about the possible risks and just jump!
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What’s the best businee advice you’ve received?
“There is no right time, do what you’re passionate about, dedicate yourself to your clients and before too long you will build more experience and knowledge than you could ever imagine.”
What has been the most effective marketing initiatives or programs you have used to promote your business?
Exposure across various channels of social media. As young people, we’re already aware of how attached we are to social media for communication, but as a business owner it is important to understand the power social networking plays as a marketing initiative. Whilst Events Royale has only been launched for a couple of weeks and its website and social media pages are still developing, the feedback and requests from potential clients has already been outstanding, which just goes to show how effective social media is in sending out a rapid message to numerous markets.
What one thing have you learned as a small business owner that will serve you well over the years?
You need to learn how to establish a balance between your work and personal life, yet still be willing to work 24/7 and go above and beyond to serve the best interests of clients – if this means drawing up a mood board or emailing 20 vendors at 3am on a Wednesday morning, that’s what needs to be done.
What is the biggest goal that you plan to accomplish over the next year? Whilst most businesses are established with profit-focused goals, I launched Events Royale with the hope of gaining greater experience and promoting the unique services and talents our local region offers, in an attempt of encouraging clients to support our local vendors rather than hosting their events in major cities.
"If this means ... emailing 20 vendors at 3am on a Wednesday morning, that's what needs to be done."
My ambition as a small business owner is to also work hard in establishing my image over the next 12 months, in order to make it as a nominee in our local Carillion Business Awards later in 2016.
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"There is only one ingredient we need for the recipe to success - a proactive attitude." What is one important habit or routine that you do daily?
Some may argue that it’s unhealthy to wake up and immediately jump on our phones, but I do this to reply to all email requests then I start my day feeling like I’ve decluttered some of the spam from my life, then I have a good breakfast and map out my day’s to do list, before either heading to the gym or straight into work.
What is your view on young entrepreneurs like yourself?
It’s so empowering to see young people work hard and succeed, it really gives a positive impression to those who see the younger generation as lazy and dependent. I think we [the younger generation] are gifted with advanced technologies and countless opportunities for free online networking, that there is no reason for why we can’t succeed, there is only one ingredient we need for the recipe to success – a proactive attitude. Reading the Young Entrepreneur Rich List, it is evident how many successful entrepreneurs, aged 25 and under have utilised the internet in building their careers. In addition, it is inspiring to count how many of these people were high school ‘dropouts’. In my eyes, one’s ability to defy all odds and make something great of themselves says more than a grade on a piece of paper.
As your final words, what is your one vital piece of advice for absolutely anyone? Network! No matter who you are, or what your goals are, there is nothing more valuable than the connections you build when you invest your time and effort into networking. You can find Laura at @Events_Royale on Instagram or Facebook.
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ABOUT THE
WORK
< v
PG. 23 PG. 38
WITH PHOTOGRAPHER TILLY ROBERTS
"These works were created in an effort to push myself to create art in any way I can, which includes creating art on the go with an iPhone. Both works were shot and edited on an iPhone, using a combination of the VSCO and Afterlight apps. The works were also an attempt to highlight the notion that expensive and extensive equipment is not needed to create art. Art can be created with any tools available to you."
Our cover model this issue is the beautiful Kendi Muthomi, styled by Emma Murphy from Lola Design Blog (loladesignblog.com) and photographed by Tilly Roberts. Kendi moved to Canberra with her family when she was five and graduated college in 2013. She was scouted into HAUS Models at the end of her last year in college. In the two years since graduating, Kendi has become a fully qualified makeup artist (she did her makeup pictured!) Just recently she said goodbye to HAUS Models to pursue a freelance career. Kendi has been involved in countless fashion and beauty editorials, and had walked at FASHFEST - Canberra's number one fashion parade - consecutively for the last two years. If you're interested in hiring Kendi to model, send an email to kendi_muthomi@hotmail.com. ORE N DA 27
The Age of Sel
WORDS BY SAM Every morning as I lie in bed procrastinating the day ahead while scannin at least one item or post where the author seems to believe I need advice choices, down to the type of music I listen to. Of course I tend to read the day ahead, as they tend to give me a reason to stop reading social media. W with 4 different types of accusers ranging in aggression an
THE “I’M TOO COOL FOR YOU”
THE MUM TACTIC
These guys aren’t terribly offensive, rather they are more than likely your classic 21st century hipster who is constantly posting about this ‘rad new’ EP they are listening to by some obscure artist, who more often than not is actually pretty cool. This isn’t so much the issue, rather it’s their incessant need to slag off anything that they may consider mainstream, generally after claiming that people don’t give them the time of day. This is also a more passive-aggressive technique where they don’t directly insult other people’s music taste rather they make slurs about things such as the superficiality of pop music, which people (such as myself) who listen to pop music get a tad annoyed about. Disclaimer: This is in no way targeted at hipsters, just everyone gets the reference, even if its hipsters getting annoyed at mainstream folk for our incessant desire to listen to superficial music!
Next on the list is the mum tactic that is those people who take it on themselves to point out how much of an ungrateful, unhelpful, failure at life you are. You know, like the classic comment from the parentals regarding the fact that you are such an ungrateful brat who doesn’t deserve their love purely because you forgot to put your plate in the dishwasher that one time. Basically the same deal with these guys, they have discovered some path of ‘enlightenment’ which you don’t follow and spend every waking moment commenting on how this makes you unworthy of life. Maybe a certain anti-abortionist comes to mind?
THOUGHTS UPON READING: And yet again I don’t care.
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THOUGHTS UPON READING: Well I don’t like you either.
N OT SUR PRISIN G LY I don’t tend to have my opinion though that may be because I’m very opinionated my wonderful thing called Google exists and can basic term for that… So my point after this strange piece o
f-Entitlement
MMY BATAGLENE ng through as many social media platforms as possible, I come across on how to live. This ranges to my lifestyle, travel choices, relationship e majority, unless they seem too confrontational and likely to ruin the Well at least for that 30 minutes. To me I seem to always be confronted nd tactics, and for each one I have a different thought.
THE SECRET PSYCHOLOGIST
THE ANGRY MAN
These guys are where it’s at, the ones who try to put you in a glorious state of cognitive dissonance. For those of you who don’t follow this term it’s (very basically) when two or more beliefs, attitudes, and behaviours don’t match. They do this by expertly posting videos, statuses, articles (you get the gist) that challenge many of our social norms by which the ‘majority’ supposably lives by. Take many of my lovely vegan friends who love to fill up my news feed with videos of animal abuse by the commercial farming industry. Effectively, and annoyingly, making me question my choice to eat not only meat, but all animal products. Often with the comment ‘I don’t want mean to push my life choices on anyone but…’
Does this really need that much explaining? They rant and post and rant about some issue/ the fact they are misunderstood, which is often so filled with rage that you can’t help not read it for the laughs, and the of course their completely legitimate, yet unsupported and nowhere to be found, facts. You know like how the lovely extremist feminists always seem to post things regarding how women are being discriminated against by God for making us have children… umm what? THOUGHTS UPON READING: Hmm, why do I need you in my life..?
THOUGHTS UPON READING: Avoid, avoid, avoid.
n swayed by the rantings of online opinion-pushers. Also not surprisingly, they do tend to push my buttons, yself. And maybe people just annoy me in general. But the problem with every single technique is that this cally off a perfect rebuttal to any argument that challenges my views. Hmm, I’m sure there’s a psychological of writing? Well besides the obvious - people’s opinion on social media annoy me - it’s that in this day and age your opinion really doesn’t mean anything without evidence to back it up. My evidence? Google it. ORE N DA 29
3 0 OREN DA 'Death
Poster' 1 of 8 (2013) by Madi Ryan
Daytime Road Trip COMPILATION BY CAL BEHRENDT
Here Comes the Sun
•
THE B EATLES
It’s Nice to be Alive
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BA LL PA RK MUS I C
Mexico
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J UMP LI TTLE CHI LDREN
Saint Joan
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HUS K Y
Riptide
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VA NCE J O Y
Postcards from Italy
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BEI RUT
Drive on
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AVA LA NCHE CI TY
New Slang
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THE S HI NS
Casimir Pulaski Day
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S UF J A N S TEVENS
Follow the Sun
•
X AVI ER RUDD
Li st e n on S potif y: https://o pen . s po t ify. co m /u s er/o ren d amagau
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GLITTERBUG WORDS BY CAL BEHRENDT
GLITTERBUG IS ONE OF THOSE ALBUMS THAT BY CONCEPT, SHOULD NOT WORK. The third studio album from The Wombats, Glitterbug arises from a four year gap after 2011â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s stellar This Modern Glitch. At the time This Modern Glitch received a lot of acclaim and was regarded as the best effort by the Liverpool band to date. For me personally, I did not think they could ever release an album better than This Modern Glitch but rather they have peaked after two albums. So when they returned in April 2015 with Glitterbug, I was quickly made to eat my own words.
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01: emoticons
03: greek tragedy
Kicking off the album is Emoticons, a track that seemed destined to be stuck in time based purely on name, where in 2015 we are using emoticons more and more to say how we feel. Here the album slowly wades us in, with a gentle synth and guitar riffs setting the tone and going into the mind of Matthew Murphy and his thoughts while hooking up with a girl. The song really kicks into gear for the chorus, allowing you to sing along while tapping along to the relaxed drum beat.
The solid start to the album is then followed by another strong track in Greek Tragedy, which was released in January 2015 as the first new song in two years. The song starts building from the get go, with a repeatable synth riff and Dan Haggis’ amazing drum intro really kicking the song into motion. This song was one that took a couple of listens to really have me hooked, but when it does, you cannot help but tap along to this earworm of a song. The guitars strike in and out throughout the piece, which oddly enough fits the idea of a rocky relationship and the highs and lows of it.
THE TRACK DOES NOT MESS AROUND, INSTANTLY PUTTING YOU INTO A 02: give me a try WONDERLAND This track is then followed by my personal favorite Give Me A Try, which layers the poppy synth sound that The Wombats have perfected from This Modern Glitch over the energetic hooks and enjoyable lyrics that makes this song so damn catchy. As Matt Murphy says during the chorus; “We could be gigantic” and during this song it really seems like the band could be, with the chorus being the most entertaining part as it is very hard not to get your groove on during it. However it is the lyrical content that really makes this song work for me, as the song details one man’s attempts to be in a relationship, jut echoing over and over “Give me a try” and the music video released for this in March 2015 also echoes this sentiment, with the whole video about the concept of Tinder dating.
04: be your shadow
The main flow of the album is then continued in Be Your Shadow, the most current single as of writing, being released in May 2015. The track does not mess around, instantly putting you into a wonderland of synth riffs and sing along lyrics. The track is one meant to be played at parties, and this is evident in the main chorus, which while describing the perils of a relationship also throws caution to the wind and demands that they “be your shadow” and remain together. The song is catchy as hell as a result and is one of the strongest tracks on the whole album.
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05: headspace We then move into Headspace, a track which I feel is one of the weaker ones on the album, but yet a still very enjoyable song. With a more dreamy feel, the song mixes things up by adding in neat little sound features such as an echo here and there and a bridge that is more rocking than dreampop. I will say that I warmed up to this track a lot more once hearing it live, however I still feel they misstepped slightly with this track, as it seems pretty repetitive throughout, with the lone exception of the bridge.
THIS TRACK IS JUST A FUCKING GOOD TIME
06: this is not a party
07: isabel
However, the album recovers very well with a fantastic run of tracks in the mid section of the album, starting with This Is Not A Party, a track ironically made to blast at parties as a great opener. With a rather stripped back opening, the track builds during the opening verse to craft the scene of a shitty party while getting your foot tapping before the earworm main chorus leaps in. But where the song really kicks up a notch is the bridge where Matt Murphy uses different vocal techniques to break up the foot tapping with a heavier interjection for a brief period before leaping back to the main chorus.
The album then decides to take a break with Isabel and make one of the most unique Wombats songs to date. A slower and more relaxed track, this track almost purely relies on Matthew Murphy to carry the song on his vocals and this he fucking delivers in drones. Describing his talk with the titular girl, Murphy talks about his seemingly toxic relationship with her and how he’s much better “When you’re ripping my life apart.” The song is an emotional one and the second half of the song where the track seemingly stops before dropping again is one of the albums best moments in my opinion. I have discussed this song with some people who were not a fan, which is understandable as the track is seemingly oddly placed were it not for the concept of the album. Regardless of your opinion on this, the song is one that every Wombats fan should at least give a listen to.
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08: your body is a weapon We then hear things pick up with Your Body Is A Weapon, the first song off the album released all the way back in October 2013. The song sounds like a throwback to the era of This Modern Glitch, with the classic ahs and guitar riffs leading the track, unlike most of Glitterbug‘s first half, which relied a lot on synth to make the songs work so well. Here this track is just a fucking good time, with Haggis’ drumming and Tord Overland Knudsen’s guitar work on display here in full force. Yet despite being the oldest track on the album, the song feels more towards the lower end in terms of enjoyment when listening to the album. Whether or not it is because it is not as good as the other tracks or merely because I have overplayed too much in the two years since release is unknown by me.
09: the english summer With the chance of a throwback set up, we get a full one in The English Summer, a fantastic track which throws the synths out the window and goes back to the days of A Guide To Love, Loss and Desperation. The song is full of heavy (for an indie band) guitar riffs and Matt Murphy using the full range of his vocals to back up the almost School Uniforms feel, which was one of their stronger tracks off their debut back in 2007. The song is the shortest track on the album, at a measly two and a half minutes, it leads perfectly into the next track in the strongest pairing of tracks on the album.
10: pink lemonade That next track is Pink Lemonade, my personal favorite track off the album (although Give Me A Try is a close second). Launching straight into the lyrics, the song is a rather relaxing tune, with a catchy riff underpinning the song throughout. But where the song hits top form is the chorus, which is so earwormy it almost caused me to forget all my notes for my university exam earlier in the year. With lyrics that are impossible to sing along with because of the simplicity and catchiness of them, the tune is built under a rise and fall dynamic which uses synths to perfection to get you grooving along with the song itself. The bridge also changes things up enough to feel fresh and not get bogged down halfway through the song. With a more stripped feel, the song builds up again to a great effect.
11: curveballs That track moves us into the final song on the regular album in Curveballs, the weakest track on the album in my opinion. The Wombats have always had an average track record with final songs, with Schumacher the Champagne being one of the weaker tracks on This Modern Glitch, but here they again try to mix things up with a more repetitive chorus, and unfortunately it doesn’t pay off as well as Isabel or The English Summer. While the song itself is nothing new, a rather relaxed track by Wombats‘ standards, with only a pick up in the main chorus which works pretty well and makes the chorus pretty singable it does however succeed in finishing off the concept of the album in an almost perfect way.
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Matthew Murphy noted before the release of Glitterbug that it was about his long distance relationship with a girl in LA, and this kind of shows looking at the album and how it is organized. Kicking off with Emoticons we see the initial meeting and hookup between the two, before the guy keeps trying to make a real relationship out of it, asking her to â&#x20AC;&#x153;Give Me A Tryâ&#x20AC;&#x153;. In Greek Tragedy we then start to see the cracks forming in the relationship between the two, a theme which is then expanded on in Be Your Shadow where the guy notes that although the relationship is bad he does not want to break it off. We then get Headspace, which is the guy does break things off for a while to get his distance and think things through. They then meet up much later in This Is Not A Party some time after the breakup and they start talking once more in Isabel where he notes that his life was better with her in it, despite the mess that is their relationship. From there we leap into Your Body Is A Weapon, which details their exploits after rekindling their romance (read: lots and lots of sex) while noting the cracks starting to form once more. The English Summer is about how the guy goes back to England and realizes the brunt of the relationship is bad for him and breaks it off, yet he still lives with her and this new relationship is demonstrated in Pink Lemonade, where she will bring other guys home out of spite. Finally in Curveballs, we are left on an uncertain note as the guy hooks up with her once more but he was doubting whether it was the right choice and notes the deja vu of the whole situation. It is something which is a common situation, with that basic relationship structure happening to a few friends of mine and it is that relate-ability that makes the album and more importantly the plotline of the album so wonderful.
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12: sex & question marks The deluxe version of the album also has two bonus tracks which do not contribute to the album but are still a hell of a good time listening to. Firstly we get Sex and Question Marks, which while being a shorter song at just under two minutes and twenty seconds, is a really good listen. Harkening back to tracks like Your Body Is A Weapon and The English Summer, the song echoes the earlier work of the band and makes a relaxing song that picks up when it needs to, mostly in the chorus which is very hard itself not to follow Tord’s lead and ooh along with it.
13: flowerball We also get Flowerball, which isn’t quite up to scratch with the rest of the album as a whole with the exception of Curveballs but the song is still enjoyable as hell in itself. The song sounds less like The Wombats but more standard fair English indie, yet there are moments such as the catchy chorus and the echo in “giving me nothing” which makes the song enjoyable and hard not to sing along to.
THERE ARE NOT MANY BANDS THAT GET BETTER WITH EACH RELEASE, THE WOMBATS ARE CURRENTLY ONE OF THEM IF THERE WAS AN ALBUM IN 2015 THAT I WAS TO GET EXCITED ABOUT, it was always going to be the newest release from The Wombats, a band that I would put as my most favorite artist when push comes to shove. Glitterbug delivers on every level imaginable and with standout tracks that quickly pushed themselves to the top of my favorite songs, is easily my favorite album of this year to date and maybe going so far as to say my favorite album in recent memory. The Wombats stick to what they know here, and with catchy riffs and amazing vocals, they knock it out of the fucking park once more. Whether they can keep this up for Album #4 is a big question, but I believe it is very possible. There are not many bands that get better with each release, The Wombats are currently one of them. ORE N DA 37
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RUM & COLA
Let Them Eat Cake. Looking for ideas to spruce up plain ol’ cupcakes? We’ve got it covered.
Mix icing sugar, rum and red food colouring to make the icing. Pipe onto the cupcakes and just before serving, top with cola-flavoured popping candy.
LAMINGTON Spread a thick layer of strawberry jam onto the top of the cupcake. Mix butter, hot water, icing sugar and cocoa into a thick liquid. Dip the cupcakes into the icing and coat with shredded coconut.
LEMON SHERBET Make icing using icing sugar, yellow food dye and lemon juice. Pipe onto cupcakes. Sift sherbet over the icing immediately before serving.
TURKISH DELIGHT Mix icing sugar, rosewater essence, milk & pink food colouring and pipe onto the cupcakes. Top with shaved chocolate.
À LA NIGELLA Mix icing sugar, vanilla essence, milk and butter and pipe onto the cupcakes. Sprinkle with 100’s and 1000’s.
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BORN IN THE WORDS BY KATIE FORAN
4 0 OREN DA
You know what really grinds my gears? How often I hear people say “I was born in the wrong era” or “I would have loved living in that decade!” I’ll admit, there have been some hella cool moments in history that it would have been awesome to be a part of (hello, Woodstock!) but there are always two sides to every story. I’m here to rain on your parade people, to point out how living in 2015 ain’t so bad.
1900 - 1920
The early 1900’s: not only are we on the brink of WWI (where over 17 million were killed) but in 1900 Australia, the BUBONIC PLAGUE hit Sydney. That’s right - the plague! Not to mention most housing in Sydney was squalor and several families bunkered down together in a cosy two-roomed flat. There was no Glen 20, no way to lock your contagious little brother in his bedroom and hope for the best. If someone near you got the plague you may as well have started to dig your grave. Downtown Abbey’s not looking so perfect now is it?
1920’s:
The 1920’s were a super hip time with everyone dancing away the troubles of the War and enjoying their rebirth, right? WRONG. You know who else liked to congregate for a
1930’s:
The following decade saw the Western World suffer for their hedonistic behavior with a little thing called the Great Depression. A huge stock market crash in 1929 wiped investors of the face of the Earth,
basically everyone (slight exaggeration) was unemployed, no one had money to spend and therefore the economy inherited tortoise like qualities and sloooowed down to a near stop. But hey, they wore cute hats.
1940’s:
Remember World War I, the Great War, the War to end all Wars? Yeah, well a little bit of false advertising there because by the 1940’s the World was experiencing the most wide-spread and horrific conflict in the history of man-kind. Hollywood would have you believe that it was a nostalgic, romantic time-period, which I guess is kind of true. If there was a very good chance my partner will get blown up tomorrow, I’d sneak in a lot of sappy, lovey dovey moments too. Please don’t think I’m being insensitive. It’s just really hard to take anyone seriously that wishes they lived in the 40’s. Etiquette is nice, but I’m sure Hitler opened the door for his wife too.
WRONG ERA
common cause? The Ku Klux Klan; racism and segregation were rampart and in some parts of the world, merely existing was down right dangerous. So, enjoy your 21st century Gatsby parties with your legal alcohol (yeah, remember prohibition?) and your digitalized jazz music and be grateful that the only white gowns we see today are our wedding dresses.
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1950’s:
This decade seems to be particularly popular among vintage lovers everywhere. I totally get the appeal, who doesn’t love printed wallpaper with matching pastel appliances and a white picket fence? But do you know what I love even more than that? I love being friends with people of colour and various ethnic backgrounds. I thrive on being a woman with a primary, secondary AND tertiary education. I like being free to love whoever I want and think for myself. I fucking love Amazon, okay?
1970’s: 1960’s:
It’s all fun and games until someone gets lynched. Actually, it’s no fun at all. In the following decade it seems white males still ruled. Disgustingly, racism was growing because, heaven forbid, black people were fighting back. Peace marches resulted in bloodbaths and white sympathisers were being hunted down and killed, their bodies displayed in the street. JFK: assassinated. RFK: assassinated. Martin Luther King Jr: assassinated. What a time to be alive.
Imagine, if you can, two children who have grown up in the same street and collected a number of water bomb balloons. Some of them they have filled with water, others remain deflated but on standby. The children play with their water bombs but never pop them, they threaten the neighborhood and each other with them, but never throw them. Now imagine those water bomb balloons are nuclear weapons.
“If that’s not a historical tragedy, I don’t know what is.”
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1980’s:
A long winded but necessary metaphor to describe the Cold War in the 70’s when political tensions were mounting between the Soviet Union and the West. Also a little closer to home, while the rest of the World was enjoying cable TV, the rich kids in Aussie schools were more popular than ever because now they could get channel seven… in COLOUR!
It took the explosion of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant to finally impress upon Russia and the US that their nuclear toys should be taken a little more seriously. The ‘Gay Cancer’ plague or AIDS, as doctors, scientists and human beings with any shred of respect refer to it was also discovered during this decade. And let’s not forget that John Lennon, whose passion, preaching and glasses closely resembled that of Gandhi, was assassinated. Also like Gandhi (Was he Gandhi reborn? We’ll never know).
1990’s:
Although many of us did live through the nineties here’s a quick reminder of why we should be thankful this decade has been and gone: Justin Timberlake’s bleached ringlets closely resembled two-minute noodles… and we liked it. If that’s not a historical tragedy, I don’t know what is.
So let’s all appreciate the architecture, celebrate moments that shaped the world and take inspiration from fashion faux pas past. But more importantly, lets be thankful for the freedom and technology we have now and spare a thought for those who don’t. Maybe we should stop dreaming about what we missed and start making moments today that will see the people of tomorrow wishing they could be here too. ORE N DA 43
The Experienced Quitter WORDS BY KATIE FORAN
4 4 OREN DA
TODAY I WO K E U P U N E M P LOYED. I kept my eyes closed a little longer, eager to feel the butterflies set but they didn’t. I opened them to find the sun filtering through the cracks in my blinds as I stretch my waking muscles. Today is the first day I have woken up unemployed in seven years. I lay in my bed for a while waiting for the panic to set in. What have I done? After a horrendous, eight-day stint in a new job I made the decision that I just couldn’t do it. It was not an easy decision. I had just quit two jobs to take on this new one; I recently bought a new car I was still paying off and most importantly, what sort of pathetic loser quits a job after just eight days? My mother tried to reassure me, “Yes, it is pathetic,” She said (She’s not a sugar-coater), “But it’s also brave, when you know, you know” (Ten points to Gryffindor!). Up until two weeks ago, I had never quit a job before. Now I have quit three. I’m quite the experienced quitter, you could say - A new skill for the resume. I think I’m in a state of shock. I should be freaking out right now. I am not a creature of change or spontaneity; I am a planner. I own a diary (which I take everywhere), a yearly wall planner and a monthly desk planner and I take
them very seriously. I constantly check my finances (I have six weeks to get a job before I can’t afford my car anymore), I have a reserve fund that is not to be touched unless there is a dire emergency for example, the end of the world. I don’t just walk around quitting jobs here and there. My mantra is not “everything will work out in the end” - everything will only work out if it is well funded, informed and planned. You may have summised by now that I am not a spontaneous person. You would be correct. Whilst I currently have no major financial commitments (beep beep – except the car) it is just not normal for me to be so… free. That’s what this tastes like right now; freedom with a hint of both boredom and excitement. Maybe I can finally finish writing that novel I’ve been working on, or reading those books I bought a year ago. Perhaps this is the perfect opportunity to, oh I don’t know, network and intern in a field I actually want to end up in. Possibly, somewhere deep down, the reason I’m not freaking out as much as I expected is because I knew that this was the right decision. In not working, I can actually get a lot of work done. Maybe I needed this. Maybe, I’m going to close my eyes for a little longer and enjoy this.
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On Living YOUR Truth. WORDS BY JON TALBOT
“NOT ALL THOSE WHO WANDER ARE LOST.” Everyone who doesn’t live under a rock has heard the quote from JRR Tolkein’s epic trilogy, the Lord of the Rings. But for some reason, many people see people like myself, a vagabond without a permanent address for the past 3 years, and assume that I must have been confused to end up where I am today. Despite actively making decisions that taken me to all seven continents working on various projects, I have found myself having to deflect the notion that my traveling ways are because I am somehow ‘lost’ time and time again. What does that even really mean, saying someone seems ‘lost?’ I’d argue that is one of those things you just shouldn’t say to people you don’t know very well unless they’re standing on the corner of a street, map in
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hand. Frankly, it’s a bit like telling someone that you have figured out the answers to all of the big questions and are somehow living the answer while the rest of us walk around in the dark. But I digress. I have met many people I would classify as using travel as a form of escapism. Distance makes the whole “out of sight, out of mind”thing much easier, but it doesn’t actually solve any problems. Ignoring something doesn’t allow you to address the underlying issue, and when you return to your old life or the problem pops back into your life, you haven’t properly processed or let it go. It’s like bottling a fizzy drink, taking it in your backpack, and expecting it not to explode when you finally open it. But that’s not me. And it isn’t most of the nomadic people I’ve met, either.
I travel because I love to see and experience new things. I meet new people almost daily from all corners of the world, many of them having their first language different from my own. Each interaction presents a chance to try draw as much perspective and understanding from another person as is socially appropriate. These are the things I value, and as such, I make them my reality. Am I happy all the time? No, of course not. Nobody is, and it’s irrational to think any self-reflective person ever could be 100% blissful without exception. Ask anyone who’s living their dream, be it a dream job, lifestyle, or romance. Bumps in the road happen. Sacrifices must be made in order to do what you love. Every high paying job has it’s administrative work. Life on the road leads to ephemeral relationships. Even the best couples fight. But you take the good with the bad. Could I be more content than I am with the decisions I’ve made and the life I’ve been living? I highly doubt it. So before you are so quick to label the motives or actions of another person, learn the full story. Or don’t.
But remember that a lot of us intentionallyhomeless aren’t doing things for lack of a better alternative. We are living the exact life we choose for ourselves. I’ll leave you with a quote from Mickey Smith’s critically-acclaimed short film, “The Dark Side of the Lens”: “I never want to take this for granted, so I try to keep motivations simple, real, positive. If I only scrape out a living, at least it’s a living worth scraping. If there’s no future in it, this is a present worth remembering. For fires of happiness or waves of gratitude... for everything that brought us to that point in life, to that moment in time to do something worth remembering with a photograph or a scar. I feel genuinely lucky to, hand on heart, to say I love what I do. And I may never be a rich man but if I live long enough, I’ll certainly have a tale or two for the nephews. And I dig the thought of that.” I hope whatever you do, you can say the same.
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