Stag Newsletter by Reddam House Sydney

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Hugo Bendeich

Roald Dahl stories: Wes Anderson reveals a beautiful set of short films

21/8/2024

EDITORS NOTE

Medical breakthroughs, Mean Girls and more! Hi all, and welcome back to the Stag newspaper! As I’m sure you’re aware, exam fever is back in season, and with it comes all the confusion and stress we’ve come to know and love. Due to this, there was no edition on week 2 as scheduled, but that’s all the more reason to savour this one. Briefly, I want to give a big congratulations to our newly elected judiciary: Alex Marucci, Milly Golovsky and Sam Weidler. I look forward to working with you in future, and seeing how you can shape Reddam for the better. Finally, I want to give a short notice that this edition contains an article at the end covering the current situation in Israel. While the description is brief, it may be upsetting for some. The Stag team offers our unending support and condolence for those affected by the conflict, and we are open to talk to anyone feeling the effects.

Starting September 27 this year, a strange series of short films began popping up on Netflix pages across the world. And while these pieces come with all the whimsy and creativity that Wes Anderson has become associated with, they didn’t seem to get the attention I expected. So, here is why you should watch and enjoy the Roald Dahl shorts ASAP. Each piece is about 17 minutes long, except for Henry Sugar, which is about 50. They are done in a semi-Brechtian style, which for my non-drama students refers to a dramatic style that removes the viewer from the immersion using a range of stylistic choices.

- Hugo Bendeich, Stag Head Editor

WHAT’S YOUR OPINION ON THE STAG? LET US KNOW! Want to share your ideas? Contact us! stag@reddamhouse.com.au hugo.bendeich@reddamhouse.com.au kayson.hu@reddamhouse.com.au

While this might seem jarring at first, it soon feels comforting and familiar. This style allows the viewer to experience narrative in an entirely different way that pays homage to the nature of the source novels. Each story is beautiful in it’s own unique way. Henry Sugar is touching and magical, The Ratcatcher is grippingly tense, and Poison speaks measures about important racial issues. The Swan, my personal favourite, is heart wrenchingly moving. Every moment feels tailored and empathetic, and the crescendo of the story is unbearably emotional. Overall, each story weaves its own theme into a gorgeous tapestry of film-making, and the series is well worth a watch for everyone who hasn’t already

World news

Emily Moore

Medical breakthrough... or cyborg precursor? New development changes the game in nanotech.

In a groundbreaking discovery, a group of researchers have recently unveiled a new experimental and wearable device that could revolutionise the landscape of wearable technology. By sitting on a patient's finger, this incredible instrument can harness energy, analyse motion, and create and retain memories from the movement.

Additionally, the device demonstrated its memory functions, showcasing the ability to imprint and retain the RMIT logo and a square-shaped insignia, all within a space that could fit 20 times within the width of a human hair. These demonstrations show the device's remarkable precision and memory capabilities.

Dr Ali Zavabeti, the senior lead researcher, envisions a future where this innovative technology could pave the way for the development of advanced medical wearables capable of monitoring vital signs and storing personalized data. The team's recent experiments have demonstrated the device's potential to write, erase, and rewrite images on a nanoscale, hinting at the possibility of encoding items such as banknotes, original art, or even authentication services.

composition enables it to execute memory tasks, marking a notable leap in the capabilities we’ve seen so far in this field of technology.

Typically, multifunctional devices require the intricate layering of multiple materials, presenting the arduous challenge of precise stacking of nanomaterials. However, the team, led by experts from RMIT University and the University of Melbourne in collaboration with The device's design incorporates a several Australian and international solitary nanomaterial integrated into a flexible casing that snugly fits institutions, has successfully around the user's finger. This unique crafted a proof-of-concept device using bismuth, a low-temperature nanomaterial is the key behind the device's capacity to generate power liquid metal rust that is not only secure but also highly suitable for as the user flexes their finger. wearable application What's more, its ultra-thin

Emily Moore

The study, now published in Advanced Functional Materials, revealed that the device exhibits exceptional responsiveness to various human activities, such as stretching, making it an ideal candidate for diverse wearable technologies. During experiments, the device, attached to a finger joint, recorded an average output peak of approximately 1 volt per second, underlining its impressive powergenerating capabilities.

Lead author and PhD student Xiangyang Guo, working under the guidance of Dr Ali Zavabeti and Professor Yongxiang Li, highlighted the swift printing technique employed by the team, allowing them to print layers of bismuth rust within mere seconds. This breakthrough method opens up new possibilities in various fields, including sensing, energy harvesting, and memory applications. Looking ahead, the team aims to collaborate with industry partners to further develop and prototype this invention. Their plan includes adapting their approach to incorporate other lowtemperature liquid and solid metals and alloys, potentially leading to the development of personalized wearables with enhanced functionalities.

Pop Culture

Harriette Smith

A year for the Mean Girls

Pop Culture Kylie’s clothing line ‘King Kylie’ is expanding her empire.

It’ll take more than 20 years for this plastic to disintegrate. Nearly 20 years ago, the landscape of life at high schools across the world was reshaped by the hit teen drama ‘Mean Girls’. Released in June 2004, the movie took the high school world by storm. The effects were immediate. Pink was incorporated into every outfit, school hallways transformed into runways, and armies of cliquey high schoolers began to rise worldwide. On October 6th this year, almost two decades after the film's release, three members of the iconic ‘plastics’, Lindsay Lohan, Amanda Seyfried, and Lacy Chabert were spotted reunited in LA working together on an unknown project. Yes, we are safe to assume it’s most definitely ‘Mean Girls’ related, with Seyfriend and Chabert adhering to the dress code in head-to-toe pink, and Lohan accessorised with a white purse decorated with pink symbols and a slogan reading ‘Plastics Club

Harriette Smith

An Instagram post of Kylie dressed in a leather trench coat captioned ‘Meet Khy’ has alerted fans to her new brand, which she has described as ‘an homage to the limitless possibilities of fashion.’ The brand will be one of high fashion that emulates the opulence and sophistication of brands such as Balenciaga and Bottega Veneta, whilst remaining reasonably priced, generating accessibility for a wide range of consumers. ‘Khy’ will also provide a more expansive set of clothing sizes compared to existing luxury brands, with sizes ranging from XXS to 4X to promote inclusivity and accommodate varying needs. The first of many drops is designed in partnership with contemporary fashion label ‘Namilia’, made up of Faux Leather and Base Layers and offering twelve fashion must-haves, priced between $48 and $198 USD.

Member’, EST 2004. Although it’s unclear what the mystery project is, there have been speculations that they could potentially be filming an ad for the 2024 Super Bowl. Unfortunately, our Queen bee Regina George, played by Rachel McAdams, was nowhere to be seen. Rest assured however, McAdams has previously said in an interview, ‘It would be fun to play Regina George later in her life and see where life took her.’ so for now, all we can do is hope she makes a ‘Mean Girls’ related appearance in the future. All things considered, 2024 promises to be a Mean Girls extravaganza, with the movie musical adaptation being released on January 12th. Starring Renee Rapp and Angourie Rice, I’m certain we’ll see a regeneration of the hype that was captured in 2004. In the meantime, we have the rest of the year to re-watch the original and prepare ourselves for all that comes next.

Being the world’s youngest self-made billionaire, Kylie is already clearly capable in the business world, with the 2014 beauty brand ‘Kylie Cosmetics’ being one of the most successful celebrity beauty brands of all time. In 2019, Kylie sold 51% of Kylie Cosmetics to Coty for $600 million (USD), meaning

the business can be valued at an astonishing $1.2 billion (USD). Although her beauty brand has done phenomenally, Kylie has a hazy history with fashion design, considering her 2021 swimwear brand ‘Kylie Swim’ was pretty unpopular with the public on its first release. Customers complained that the swimsuits were lacking in quality, sometimes even becoming transparent when they got wet, which is understandably not ideal… Kylie Swim has since been discontinued, making way for the new project ‘Khy’ to learn from past mistakes, which is sure to be more triumphant. More extensively, The KardashianJenners already play a large role in the fashion world, with Kim Kardashian’s popular shapewear and clothing brand ‘Skims’, Khloe Kardashian’s denim clothing brand ‘Good American’ and Kendall Jenner being one of the highestpaid models in the world. Supported by her experienced sisters, as well as her highly anticipating fandom, ‘Khy’ by Kylie Jenner may soon be all people want to get their hands on. As I’ve established for you now, Lil B might just be the funniest man alive. But he has truly outdone himself with this grunge-inspired, Cali-infused, Skate 3 themed album.

Music

Music Lil B: A break from the more serious side of Hip-Hop

As I’ve established for you now, Lil B might just be the funniest man alive. But he has truly outdone himself with this grunge-inspired, Cali-infused, Skate 3 themed album.

Lil B’s ‘BasedGods Pro Skater’ is so At first, I was considering giving my insanely weird as an album that I was honest opinion about Taylor Swift’s confused enough to almost forget that new release in this article. Lorem Ipsum Dolor Sit Amet: The New York Times his whole persona has been as a shit take this entire time. His fans refer to I fear though that there are too many him as a prophet, and I’m not sure if who might start a boycott against The they’ve been cheering him on for well Stag, threatening to plummet us back over two decades for giggles, or if they into a sad irrelevance.I am, however, genuinely enjoy his music. Either way, allowed to sing praises and write a this man is a LEGEND. Not only is he the critique for literally anyone else with originator of the term ‘based’, He boasts insane status - so here’s a review of a discography full of Mac Miller, Lil B’s ‘BasedGods Pro Skater’, Thundercat and ‘Swag Like Ohio’ because this has been one hell of an (thanks for inadvertently creating one album to listen to. of the most annoying jokes, man), but also Frozen-themed albums, ‘Bitchmob Lil B is accredited as being the first to Tha Album’ (which flies various pride use Imogen Heap and Clams Casino’s flags behind a menacing flaming skull) ‘I’m God’ as a beat in 2009, long before and a mixtape with a whopping 855 ASAP Rocky used it for ‘I Smoked tracks on it. This incredible philosophy Away My Brain Remix’. Between the of pure nonchalance and positivity has two, Lil B’s version is far more turned him into a keynote speaker at interesting - he almost stumbles after MIT - which is recorded and readily the beat, attempting to find it, holding available for your enlightenment on it, but then losing it again. The whole YouTube. I have never recommended thing sounds like a manic fever dream anything more. - ‘I need all the based energy I can’ but somehow, it now has a competitor.

Favourite Track: Bring Em Up ‘Bring Em Up’ is one of the most unironically listenable tracks. Not only is it listenable, it’s catchy enough to forgive anything ‘wrong’ with this album. I found myself humming the hook for hours after my first listen. It’s a perfect track with barely any lyrics to distract you from your work, and its gritty sound is particularly satisfying to zone out to. Least Favourite Track: Indie Sk8er (Based Freestyle) This entire track features Lil B stumbling after the beat in a painfully whining falsetto, Toad-from-Mario style, with random synth jabs interjecting occasionally. To be honest, I spent longer laughing my ass off at this song than actually listening to it, but it’s hard not to with the constant crowd cheering SFX. If you close your eyes and listen to this song in the dark, it’s almost like landing an insanely perfect combo in Skate 3 while Kermit the Frog narrates from the side, which is a surprisingly powerful feeling.

Most Iconic: Justin Beiber If you’re truly in an insufferable niche of the internet, you might know this track already. It’s too beautiful and artistic to list it as my least favourite, but it is solely 3:20 of Lil B chanting Justin Beiber’s name, occasionally pausing to unleash a truly Valley Girl ‘Oh My God!’ or a wildly incorrect fact about his relations to the pop singer. No instrumentals are included except for a cowbell. Altogether, the man’s done it again. I cannot sing praises high enough for him, nor can I find any music equally as awful anywhere else in the world. Lil B is in fact a modern day internet prophet, and there is no genre he cannot conquer and subsequently butcher. This album has been so incredibly fun to listen to. Regretfully yours, The Stag’s lobotomised music writer.

Politics

Paloma Nicholas

The Banning Dirty Donations Bill

The Banning Dirty Donations Bill (also known as the Commonwealth Electoral Amendment) is a movement proposed by Sen. Larissa Walters from the Greens Party. In our current parliament, there is little restriction on which people/corporations are allowed to send in political donations. This means that every year, the major parties accept millions of dollars from a range of industries, particularly fossil fuels. Shockingly, this has an influence on the party's climate policies and their level of support for coal and gas. The new bill aims to fix that. It’s apparent that most people nowadays believe that Australia should transition into a clean energy economy, and in order to do this, the fossil fuel political donations arms race must be stopped. However, the actions and policies of our elected officials fail to represent this belief, and the reason is obvious.

Now, I definitely don’t blame the politicians - you can’t survive as a candidate if you don’t accept donations. Campaigning, researching and working for a party all take a lot of funding, and when millions of dollars are placed right at your doorstep (money that can potentially win you the next election) it is nearly impossible to refuse. Especially when all of the other parties are doing it. For this reason, there needs to be systemic reform, instead of individual punishment. In summary, this proposed bill would force political parties to be transparent about who their sponsors are. The public has a right to know which industries are making big donations – it’s calling for disclosure from political parties before elections so that voters can make up their own minds about what they are really getting when they vote on election day.

It’s important to note that it wouldn’t only be fossil fuel corporations who weren’t allowed to send donations. It would also mean that anyone in property development, the tobacco industry, the banking industry, liquor and gambling businesses, pharmaceutical companies and representative organisations for these industries won’t be permitted to send donations. What’s fair for some is fair for everyone.

All this being said, the question stands - is it right to ban whole corporations from making sponsorships? It would force the government to start having a more environmentally friendly point of view, but is it ethical to force their hands in this manner? Or are we already forcing the government's hands by allowing these donations to go through? I’ll leave these questions for the reader to decide, and consider how they affect the bill.

Now, I’m not calling for everyone who reads this to vote green. In fact, when I am of legal age, I may not even vote green, at least in Federal elections. No party is immune to corruption, and every politician should be held accountable for their actions and influences. All I am asking is that you think of the motivations behind the actions of politicians and that we start holding people accountable when they are influenced by dirty money.

As always if you disagree, feel free to email me at paloma.nicholas@reddamhouse.com.au and strike up a conversation! My word is not final, and everyone, Pro or anti-fossil fuels, Liberal or Labor, deserves to have their point of view heard and understood.

Our Message

The Stag Team

Violence in Israel: Now is the time for unity and support

On October 7th this year, the news For those suffering, we extend our broke that the Hamas terrorist constant love and support. You are group had entered Israel, killing over heard and appreciated, and we extend a thousand and kidnapping 200. Over an open arm to those who are feeling the course of the last month, we’ve the pain on both sides of this conflict. seen thousands of missiles and For those who are not directly rockets sent back and forth, and affected, make sure to reach out to watched as the death toll grew. It’s friends or family who may be. It is so been an incredibly emotional and important to give people an stressful time, especially at Reddam opportunity to speak during this where many of us have links to the period of hardship. Reddam House is a affected countries. place where people should feel safe to express their emotions and problems, With this in mind, we don’t want to and it is up to every one of us to uphold present this as a political issue. It is a these values or respect and support. humanitarian issue. The policies of officials and words of diplomats If anyone has anything to say on the come second when the lives of issue, feel free to email millions in question. It is important hugo.bendeich@reddamhouse.com.au, first and foremost to think of the kayson.hu@reddamhouse.com.au or people whose lives and families are stag@reddamhouse.com.au to contact under constant threat from this the editors. We are happy to talk to situation. Everyone in the Jewish you any time, and want to provide an community knows someone in Israel, open and safe place to communicate. and every Palestinian knows someone in Gaza. The effects are clear every day, and everyone is deserving of support and help.