Yak October 2013 by UON Student Central

HALLOWEEN MASS DEBATE To scare or not to scare?

NOVOCASTRIAN INNOVATION

MASS PRODUCTION OR MASS DESTRUCTION?

A place where cool things happen.

ISSUE 19 / OCTOBER 2013 BROUGHT TO YOU BY THE U

Lachie Leeming gets his head around 3D print-ception.

NATIONAL HAPPINESS INDEX How much money makes you happy?

CONTENTS Cover by Tom Turner

Asylum Seekers

Student Recipes

GDP: Gross Domestic Pleasure

Urban Renewal

Halloween Mass Debate

3D Print-ception

EDITORIAL Emily Steele - Managing Editor Kate Ellis - Deputy Managing Editor Bayden McDonald - Deputy Editor Lachie Leeming - Deputy Editor Tanya McGovern - Deputy Editor Sam Rayfield - Deputy Editor Anneliese Wild - Graphic Design Hannah Sunderland - Graphic Design Lucy McLeod - Promotions and Advertising

CONTRIBUTORS Alana Tomlin - Graphic Designer Amy Theodore - Contributing Writer Ben Mitchell - Graphic Designer Chrystal Brand - Contributing Writer Clare Collins - Contributing Writer Jacqui Scolari - Contributing Writer Liz Crichton - Graphic Designer Jennifer Todd - Graphic Designer Karina Movigliatti - Graphic Designer Kate Robertson - Contributing Writer Katie Lou - Contributing Writer Laura Bradley - Contributing Writer Matt Hatton - Contributing Writer Meg Francis - Contributing Writer Sarah O’Brien - Contributing Writer Sean Bell - Graphic Designer Selina Chapman - Contributing Writer Simone Russo - Graphic Designer Will Gleeson - Contributing Writer Zoe Johnson - Contributing Writer

Busking

Kingswood Gig Review

Unearthed: Reilly Craig

SUBMISSIONS The Yak editorial team is always on the look out for passionate student writers and graphic designers to contribute to the magazine. If you would like to take the opportunity to get your work published, please send a sample of your writing to yakmedia@newcastle.edu.au.

APOLOGY In the September issue, the incorrect time was printed for the Security Shuttle Bus. The shuttle bus runs from 8am – midnight on week nights.

THE USUAL STUFF

04 Yak Online

16 What’s On

05 Fuel Your Mind

20 Clubs & Societies

05 Watt Space

21 Campus Whip Around

07 Green U

29 You Can Leave Your Hatton

07 Support U

30 Yak Cover Competition Entries

ADVERTISING For advertising opportunities, contact Lucy at yakmedia@newcastle.edu.au yakmedia@newcastle.edu.au facebook.com/YakMedia

Get your free copy from press-points around campus on Monday, 4 November.

• Festival Etiquette • Podcasts • Hangover Myths, Legends and Cures

• Wheelchair Sports • Ourimbah’s Own Mag • Theology Debate

Yak Magazine is published by UoN Services Limited at the University of Newcastle. The views expressed herein are not necessarily the views of UoN Services Limited or the University of Newcastle, unless explicitly stated. UoN Services Limited accepts no responsibility for the accuracy of any of the opinions of information contained in this issue of Yak Magazine. In addition, Yak Magazine may at times accept forms of cash advertising, sponsorship, paid insertions or other forms of affiliate compensation to subsidise the costs associated with producing the magazine. We recommend you do your own research and draw your own conclusions about any product claim, technical specifications, statistic, quote or other representation about a product, service, manufacturer, or provider.

Yak Magazine - October 2013

LETTER FROM

THE EDITOR

I write this sitting in front of the television, watching Top Gear and thinking to myself, ‘they have it good’. Three grown men who get to play with their toys, act like fools and travel the world and get paid for it. Really, they are living the dream. It’s Peter Pan-ish – the wish to never grow up. While my friends around me get home loans and rentals and have children, I continue on living the life I’ve had since I became an “adult”. That is, I still work at KFC, I still get way too drunk on far too many weekends and I still dress like a 12-year-old. Don’t get me wrong, when I am at work with all the tweenies, I feel old. Super old. I mean half of them have never heard of Cat-Dog or The Beatles and most of them don’t have a clue where Syria or Egypt are on the map, let alone what’s going on there. Super, super old. But my fellow 20s kids are actually doing things. Buying nice cars, getting engaged, having kids and moving out. Me? I’m still bludging off my parents and it’s a good day if I bother to put a bra on when we have company. Mum has written me off already for producing grandchildren and I have been deemed the eternal spinster of her three children (I believe my brother’s actual words were more along the lines of, “Emily will be single and fat when she’s 40). My family always ask what I’m doing now, as if they expect the answer to change. I’m like yeah, I’m still just chilling, being a uni student and shit. Sorry, no boyfriend or babies yet. I feel like I’m lagging behind, but at the same time, I don’t wanna catch up. Kudos to those who have the ethic to buy a house before they crack a quarter century, but I’m gunna keep spending my baseline wage on Disney Movies and cheap vodka. At 21, I still feel like I have some more responsibility dodging to be done. I mean, there’s only one more year of uni left for me; I’ll deal with all that adult stuff then.

THIS MONTH’S BITING QUESTION: “Which celebrity would you meet and eat?” MANAGING EDITOR

EMILY STEELE

Channing Tatum. ‘Nuff said.

DEPUTY MANAGING EDITOR

KATE ELLIS

I would say Christian Bale. But I think his acting finesse is far greater than any hankering I may have for human flesh in any hypothetical post-apocalyptic zombie universe. Can’t I just watch him do chin ups and talk like Batman instead? ... Surely there is enough of Jack Black to go around anyway. DEPUTY EDITOR - COLUMNS

BAYDEN McDONALD

I second Emily, the way that sweet, sweet body moved in Magic Mike (cue Homer Simpson drool).

DEPUTY EDITOR - ENTERTAINMENT & TECHNOLOGY

LACHIE LEEMING

Meat Loaf (the 80’s rock ballad star, not the prepared dish). His sizeable rump would be sufficiently succulent, plus I’m a slow eater, so he’d have plenty of time to belt out a live rendition of “Bat out of Hell”.

DEPUTY EDITOR - UNI CONTENT

TANYA McGOVERN

Oprah Winfrey. Powerful characteristics shall be mine.

DEPUTY EDITOR - FEATURES

SAMUEL RAYFIELD

Back when Lily Allen came out, I would often say I’d eat her, without fully grasping what I meant. Now that I’m older and have an idea of what that might mean, I can confidently say that I would probably, definitely, eat Lily Allen. GRAPHIC DESIGNER

ANNELIESE WILD

Ellen Page. Gotta get that clean vegan flesh.

GRAPHIC DESIGNER

HANNAH SUNDERLAND I’d probably eat Mayor McCheese.

PROMOTIONS & ADVERTISING OFFICER

LUCY McLEOD

I would like to meet Jennifer Lawrence. However, I refuse to eat her as I plan on us becoming best friends and spending our days hanging out with Liam Hemsworth on the set of The Hunger Games and laughing at all the hilariously delightful things she says. Disclaimer: Bayden was lazy and didn’t put in an answer so Emily and Lucy had some fun.

04 Yak Magazine - October 2013

twitter.com/yakmedia

NEWCASTLE UNIVERSITY STALKERSPACE

facebook.com/yakmedia

To the girl in the courtyard the other day that said: “I’m very efficient at doing my best half-arsed attempt”. Thank you for summarising my entire academic experience.

552 people like this people like this

JAMES

The 5 stages of parking at the University of Newcastle: Denial - “I’m going to get a park quickly today and listen in the lecture!” Anger - “FFFFFFUUUUUUUUUUU why are there no parks? Everyone who found a park is an arsehole.” Bargaining - “Maybe if I try a different parking lot, I’ll find a park quicker” (Return to the denial stage) Depression - “The lecture started 15 minutes ago, why do I even bother with it all?”

UoN Memes

If I spend ages waiting for the Uni computers to load, the net should at least be optimal.

148 people like this

Acceptance - “Screw this, I’m going home. I was probably just going to play Angry Birds during the whole lecture anyway” 219 people like this

WILL

To the guy I saw walking into the mathematics building with a t-shirt that read “cool story babe, now make me a sandwich.” You are actually the worst.

72 people like this

MICHAEL

That devastating moment when you select the wrong snack from the vending machine.

21 people like this

EDIE-LOUISE

To the girl who asked “what’s an android?”, are you from the past?!

6 people like this

BORT 10 people like this

Maybe SHE’S an Android from the future and is trying not to blow her cover

Memes: Sourced from UoN Memes.

e l Fu your Min d Exams

are o n the way!

Take advantage of food power to fuel your body, stimulate your brain and gain the nutrition edge as you complete your final assessments and prepare for your exams. Try these tips.

Eat breakfast!

Studies show this improves your memory and helps you maintain concentration. Taking 10 minutes to eat breakfast will help keep you focused while you study and also help reduce irritability just before an exam. Grab a bowl of cereal and milk or some wholegrain toast and fruit, both include slow release low GI carbohydrate and will help keep you sustained and your mind focused for several hours.

Yak Magazine - October 2013

Stay calm!

Serotonin is a soothing brain chemical that is made from tryptophan, a building block of protein. Laboratory studies have shown that carbohydrate rich foods (bread, cereal, pasta, rice, fruit, yoghurt) can increase the rate that tryptophan enters the brain, increasing serotonin levels. Skipping meals and letting blood sugars fall could have the opposite effect. Dairy foods are high in both tryptophan and carbohydrates! So, have small, regular meals and snacks throughout the day and include protein and carbohydrate and especially dairy, eg. fruit smoothies, yoghurt and fruit or cheese on toast.

Drink more water!

About 60 per cent of your brain is water. Aim to drink two litres, about eight glasses, a day to keep you hydrated. While highly caffeinated drinks such as coffee, cola and energy drinks can make you feel alert, too much will make you anxious, irritable, disturb your sleep and undermine your exam performance. Caffeine also stimulates the kidneys to pass urine, meaning extra trips to the toilet - VERY inconvenient during an exam. Try black or green tea in moderate amounts, which has some caffeine for alertness, but also L-theanine, another protein compound shown to promote calmness!

Stress!

When our stress levels are high we release the hormone, adrenalin, into our blood stream. Adrenalin makes your heart pump harder and diverts blood from your digestive tract to major muscles. This is the ‘butterflies’ in your stomach, nausea or even diarrhoea you may get when under pressure. Stress uses up B vitamins, folate, antioxidants and zinc. To combat the effects of stress during the exam period, increase your intake of these nutrients by eating more colourful fruits and vegetables such as oranges, berries, melons, carrots, pumpkin, broccoli, spinach, capsicum and avocado, as well as nuts, vegemite, lean meat, chicken and seafood.

Move!

Try to clear the cobwebs and fight fatigue by regularly swapping your books for runners and grabbing some exercise. This keeps the blood and nutrients circulating to your brain and gives you a boost. Exercise has also been shown to increase serotonin, helping you to remain clam. Plan your study schedule so that you get a good night’s sleep before exam day and have plenty of time to re-fuel before putting your brain to the test on exam day. By Prof Clare Collins and Dr Amanda Patterson Nutrition and Dietetics, University of Newcastle

Look See

Amy & David

2 – 13 OCTOBER

18 OCTOBER – 3 NOVEMBER

Artist in Residence and performance program to coincide with TINA

Look See - The Directors Cut Co-ordinated by Carl Morgan

Join artists Kate Burton, Brooke Hazelgrove, Drew Holland, Elissa Jane, Shelagh Lummis, Jessica McLeod-Yu, Aislin MacDonald and Emma Stronach as they work in the Gallery. There will also be a series of performances by Drama students from UoN.

Thursday, 3 October, 6.30pm

Friday, 18 October, 6.30pm

Email: wattspace@newcastle.edu.au Website: www.newcastle.edu.au/group/watt-space Facebook: facebook.com/WattSpaceGallery Watt Space Gallery, University House, Auckland St Newcastle. Open 11am -5 pm, Wed - Sun. Ph: 4921 8733 Watt Space is funded by UoN Services Limited and supported by the University of Newcastle School of Creative Arts.

Yak Magazine - October 2013

Coal Dust By Zoe Johnson

Whether you live locally or not, you have probably heard about the current debate surrounding the covering of Newcastle coal trains. Recent studies published in the Newcastle Herald have claimed that dust pollution levels increased up to 30 times in suburbs adjacent to the train line. Not only is this an important problem for the students at 60 Hunter schools within 500 metres of passing trains, but also students at the University of Newcastle, with Warabrook station situated on campus (even though the walk makes it feel 20 kilometres). The study conducted was the first of its kind in Australia. It was performed by 21 environmental groups, funded by over 100 donors, and found that at some locations dust particle pollution was over 50 times the national standard. These kinds of campaigns tend to get a bit confusing, so here is the student-friendly breakdown of what’s going on and who is saying what right now: The twenty-one eco groups and sponsors conducted this study with the help of experts and put forward the results. This stemmed from the community feeling that progress on the issue and solutions weret happening too slowly.

covers on the trains based on the fact that the results of the study showed a significant increase in particle pollution when trains travel past. This particle pollution is known to adversely affect lung function, particularly in children. The basic idea of their campaign is based on the fact that current laws require trucks to cover their loads, so the same should apply to trains. The NSW Minerals Council and NSW Environmental Protection Authority have said that the issue is of concern to them, but they require further research before action can be taken, which they will support. The mining industry has dismissed the findings of the report, claiming that private research they have conducted shows a majority of the particle pollution doesn’t come from the coal, and that this new study doesn’t identify the amount or source of the dust. So that’s your coal train fast-facts on the current situation. Be sure to keep your eyes peeled for more news as it emerges, and be informed about issues affecting your environment. If you want to participate in the Newcastle Herald’s campaign you can take the poll on their website:

The Newcastle Herald has started a campaign and poll to put

SUP PORT U

Oral Health Clinic By Laura Bradley

We’re all familiar with University’s annoying habit of cutting into our daily activities and social lives, from the cancellation of that afternoon yoga class to the decline button hit on that Facebook party invite. One necessity which should never be neglected, however, is a regular check-up of our teeth at the dentist.

flossing to ensure a thorough clean.

The reality is that all of those study snacks and exam cramming Red Bulls can often lead to cavities and eventually to tooth decay, which totally won’t go with the mortarboard cap you’ll be rocking on graduation day.

And you know what the best part is? Students and staff of the University of Newcastle and holders of Healthcare Cards receive their treatment for free.

Luckily, as always, the University of Newcastle is here to help with its very own Oral Health Clinic, located at the Ourimbah Campus. The UoN Oral Health Clinic is a student teaching clinic that allows students to learn in a supervised environment, as well as providing the Central Coast community with an affordable service.

- Preventative treatments, including fissure sealants and mouth guards. - Dental care for children and adolescents under 18, which includes free fillings and extractions.

A small fee applies to all other patients, which can be discussed with the receptionist when booking the appointment. So, students of the Ourimbah campus, it’s time to ask yourself; do my chompers need a check? If you’ve been concerned over aches or holes, or just haven’t had a dentist check-up in a while, you can book an appointment on either 4348 4164 or 4348 4113.

All services provided at the clinic are performed under the supervision of registered Oral Health professionals, including dentists, dental hygienists and oral health therapists.

Bookings are essential, and the Clinic is located at Science Lab 1, the University of Newcastle Central Coast Campus, 10 Chittaway Road, Ourimbah.

The clinic houses 16 seats and operates during semester time, offering the following services:

A free professional dental check-up located conveniently on campus, equipped with the assistance of oral healthcare professionals? Sounds more productive than studying to me!

- A comprehensive oral examination, which involves a full dental check-up including radiographs, where patients receive a diagnosis and explanation of what is happening with their teeth and gums. - An oral hygiene and periodical treatment, which focuses on preventative dental care and provides help with brushing and

08 Yak Magazine - October 2013

Unless you’ve been living under a rock recently, there is no way you could have missed the myriad of talks surrounding the issue of asylum seekers and their settlement here in Australia. As an issue that is constantly debated, it is easy to get lost in the never-ending maze of arguments and why or why not we should allow these people to seek refuge in our country.

An asylum seeker, or refugee, is, according to the Australian Human Rights Commission website, “a person who has fled their own country and applied for protection as a refugee”. Usually these people have fled due to fear that they will be persecuted because of their race, religion, nationality, political opinion or membership to a particular social group.

This group of people isn’t to be confused with migrants. Migrants have choice - they choose to leave their country, they choose where to go and they can choose to return to their home whenever they wish. Asylum seekers, on the other hand, flee their country and cannot return unless the issue for which they originally fled is resolved.

Sometimes these people arrive in Australia without a valid visa or passport, usually because they had no time to obtain these documents. If this is the case, when they arrive in the country, they are held in immigration detention until they obtain these documents and it can be proved they are a legitimate refugee, or are removed from the country.

April 26, 1976, marks the first day asylum seekers came to our shores. Five people arrived from South Vietnam, via fishing boat, into Darwin Harbour, where they were granted asylum and resettled in our country.

But over the years increasing numbers of asylum seekers have been coming to our shores. With the numbers continuing to rise, the issue has been ever present in the political agenda.

Most recently the topic has been brought to our attention by Kevin Rudd’s controversial declaration that “asylum seekers who come here by boat, without a visa, will never be settled in Australia’’. Instead, they will be sent to Papua New Guinea or Nauru, and if they are found to be refugees, will be allowed to settle within that country. Others will either remain in detention or be sent back home.This decision isn’t to try and prevent people from seeking refuge, rather to try and curb the people smuggling business.

People smuggling is ‘the facilitation, transportation, attempted transportation or illegal entry of a person or persons across an international border’.

The major issue with this human trafficking of this illegal process is that many people die at sea every year trying to make the journey from their home country to our own. In fact, over 900 asylum seekers have died since 2001. Former Prime Minister Rudd’s last announcement was aimed at trying to prevent these deaths and stop this illegal trade.

However, many people aren’t happy with the decision. “We are appalled. It breaches the spirit of the UN conventions that Australia has signed”, Niko Leka, convener for the Refugee Action Network Newcastle (RANN) said.

RANN are a network who advocate for “for a humane and sensible asylum seeker policy, that fully upholds the intention of the UN Refugee Convention, as well as the UN Convention for the Rights of Children and the UN Convention against the use of Torture,” Leka said.

In spreading their ‘let them land, let them stay, let them work, let them gain an education’ message, RANN have engaged in much promotional work. From bumper stickers, T-shirts, media releases and letters to the editor, to numerous protests and forums, their activism is an all-inclusive attempt to revolutionise the asylum seeker policies.

Yak Magazine - October 2013

Despite their efforts, RANN aren’t surprised by the government’s latest decision. “It is the continuation of the relentless posturing by both major parties in projecting an image that they are “tough” and able to protect Australia against whatever threats they care to conjure up,” Leka said.

For some like Zane Alcorn, self-employed building designer, part-time DJ and attendee and organiser of many RANN protests, it is a case of mistaken motives. “They are wrong to assume that refugees have some kind of underhanded or ‘greedy’ motive for coming to Australia or are ‘pretending’ to be desperate,” Alcorn said.

“They are just people like you or me”.

Andrew Williams, Communications Manager of the Refugee Council of Australia, takes a similar view, believing this decision is “devastating for asylum seekers”.

For years, the Refugee Council, which advocates for “humane, fair and workable solutions to improve the lives of refugees”, has been trying to impress on “governments from both sides, the need for Australia to meet its own obligations under the Convention, and at the same time engage our neighbours in South-East Asia to take steps to improve refugee protections,” Williams explains.

“How can Australia expect countries in Asia to improve refugee protections when Australia outsources its responsibilities to smaller Pacific states?” Williams said.

Well, while asylum seekers may be shipped offshore for now, there is no reason to doubt that one day they may once again be resettled on Australian shores. Particularly with the latest surprise announcement of a $43 million injection into Singleton Army Base to build a new detention centre as a back-up plan for the Government’s Papua New Guinea solution, another decision that has left many confused and unhappy.

At the time of the announcement, George Souris, Member for Upper Hunter said “it was only a day or so beforehand that Kevin Rudd was running around saying all processing would be offshore in PNG and Nauru, only to be secretively placing his bombshell between the lines of a mini-Budget. From all I’ve heard all weekend, the Singleton community rejects this out of hand”.

Some believe the money would be better off spent elsewhere: “I reckon it’s another big waste of money. How come governments can find money to build concentration camps, but not public housing?” Alcorn said.

Though maybe any alternative to offshore processing is a good alternative, Leka thinks “we would welcome them and the opportunity to visit, definitely preferable to remote and offshore detention. It’s an opportunity to work with the community and humanise asylum seekers, and therefore also an opportunity to show how unnecessary mandatory detention is”.

10 Yak Magazine - October 2013

Sam Rayfield says no to Domino’s (for once) and musters his own feed - cheaply. It is difficult not to eat pizza all the time, especially when every day feels like a Tuesday and you end up paying much more for pizza on a Thursday because Thursday ends up feeling like a sneaky reverse Tuesday during the latter half of the week. Keeping disciplined and on-the-ball will ensure this never happens to you. However, you’re a uni student, perpetually scattered and struggling to spend your money wisely. Thankfully for you, resident Godfrey Tanner Bar chef Shaun Kousbroek has you covered for under $50 a week, ensuring that you never have to freeze your weekly cheap Tuesday stash ever again.

Ingredients Red curry paste Coconut milk Method 1. Heat a tablespoon of coconut milk in a saucepan to medium-high heat. 2. Add a full tablespoon of the red curry paste and cook for 3-4 minutes while stirring occasionally. 3. Add the rest of the coconut milk and simmer for a minute. You can freeze the curry (< 5°C) once it has cooled down to room temperature to use again another day.

Ingredients Tomato base (which you JUST COOKED!) Frozen peas Pasta Canned chickpeas Salt & pepp-ahhh... Method 1. Warm the tomato base in a saucepan on a low heat. 2. When warm, add the frozen peas, canned chickpeas and pasta to simmering tomato base in order to heat. 3. Test whether the pasta is cooked by forking and biting pasta. 4. When cooked, add salt & pepper for extreme taste.

Ingredients 2x garlic cloves 2x stock cubes Can of diced tomatoes Salt & pepper Olive oil Method 1. Dice two cloves of garlic. 2. Place saucepan on stove set to medium-low heat and drizzle olive oil in pan. Glaze the garlic then add the canned tomatoes. 3. Add two stock cubes, cracked pepper; then stir and leave to simmer on low heat until the tomatoes are soft and can be pureed with a blender. 4. Taste the base and (if you dare) add different flavours: dried herbs, lemon, chilli, anything trippy! You can also freeze this sloppy dog (< 5°C) once it has cooled down to room temperature to use again another day.

Ingredients Red curry (which you JUST COOKED!) Pumpkin Lemon Olive oil Method 1. Chop the pumpkin into chunky pieces. 2. Heat a sauce pan to medium heat, drizzle in some olive oil and add the pumpkin, 3. Stir the pumpkin so that the different sides get some colour on them. Once the pumpkin has a golden tinge, add a couple of cups of water to the pan. Bring to the boil. 4. Once the water has boiled, reduce heat to low and add the red curry. 5. Leave to simmer until pumpkin is soft (you can poke a fork in it to test). Once this is done, take the pan off the heat and blend with a blender until smooth. Want to add some more flavour? Add some fish sauce, soy sauce, a squeeze of lemon or fresh coriander. Designed by Jennifer Todd

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12 Yak Magazine - October 2013

Will 3D printers usher in a new generation of technologically-titillating benefits, or are they opening up new pathways to crime? Lachie Leeming investigates It was about a month or two ago when, at a meeting for this very magazine you now read, the subject of 3D printers was brought up. A spate of crimes had made headlines around the world, the defining feature being the use of a 3D printer to print instruments of delinquency such as guns. “Nonsense,” I chortled to my exasperated colleagues. “Printers print paper, and that’s that,” trying to quash any suggestion that they could do otherwise. Once again in my relatively short life I would be proven wrong. The conversation around 3D printers spirals between their proposed potential for good and bad creations, and their unknown capabilities. On the one hand, it has been proposed that 3D printers point toward a future where mass-production is replaced by a supply-and-demand capability. A future where 3D printers can print out artificial organs, for example, is on the horizon. The negative ramifications arise from crimes committed by guns that have allegedly been created with a 3D printer. “Actual guns?” I gasped in our earlier conversation. “Real, bang-bang, guns?” As you can sense, it was taking me a wee while to get my head around the concept of these printers. To get a grip of the scenario I undertook some grimy oldfashioned journalistic work, pounding the pavement, putting the proverbial pen to the proverbial paper. Or clicking my computer mouse a lot, and bashing out the story on my busted keyboard as I trawled the internet, trying to get a nice juicy mackerel of information to pounce upon the wiggling worm of knowledge. Despite my best efforts, I still couldn’t quite comprehend. My mind boggled. This 3D printer – it could make things out of seemingly thin air? As I scrolled through

the endless archives of the open internet, the names of various objects which could be constructed by these machines leaped at me…replacement hearts, guns, gearboxes…dinosaurs…could it make dinosaurs? Could the limitless boundaries of human knowledge and imagination now be allied with a device that could physically replicate them? Admittedly, I was probably getting a little carried away with the concept of a 3D printer and their potential to create matter from thin air.

“Printers print paper, and that’s that,” trying to quash any suggestion that they could do otherwise. Once again in my relatively short life I would be proven wrong. There is good reason for the optimism and anticipation, however. Advancements in England are pointing to the ability to recreate organs within five to ten years, with the mere press of a button. As of now, it is in the fields of design and architecture that the 3D printer is currently enjoying the majority of use. So, how exactly does it all work, I hear you holler with barely-bridled mystery in your voice. I present to you my cobbled-together understanding of the deepest machinations of the 3D printer.

Yak Magazine - October 2013

3D printing is also known as additive manufacturing, with the object being built up layer by layer, like a delicious salami and cheese sandwich (which does raise the question: If I replace the printer ink with the ingredients for the aforementioned sandwich, could it make one? Talk about unexplored frontiers). Add to this the internet being the endless warehouse for 3D print designs and it is evident to see the freedom of action available. Instead of ink, the filler could potentially be anything from stem cells to metal powder. The Internet itself appears unsure of the constructive powers that 3D printers may hold. One Reddit thread poses the intriguing question of whether a 3D printer could hypothetically print a 3D printer (3D printception). Other articles say that due to the cost of actually buying a 3D printer and the shoddiness of their work compared to traditionally mass-produced resources means that it will be a long time before they are a common household item. Let us, for a moment, satisfy the intriguing possibility that in a decade or two, 3D printers may indeed be a relatively common household item. Regular trips to the shopping centre are consigned to the boring old scrapheap of history, as many products can be manufactured at home. Need a mouse-trap to nab that pesky rodent? Why bother going to the shop, when you can whack a lump of soft plastic into an orifice of your trusty 3D printer, download the designs from the malevolent Limewire, smack the flickering green â&#x20AC;&#x153;printâ&#x20AC;? button and voila! A brand new mousetrap, without any of that pesky small-talk to the disinterested teen manning the check-out at your local Woolies or Coles (or IGA, if you are that way inclined). In a society where time is increasingly marketed as a premium product, it is not too ludicrous of a thought.

Of course, such a future would have its share of issues and accompanying hollers of condemnation. Hark back to the beginning of the article, regarding the discussion of guns allegedly downloaded and printed on a 3D printer. Will 3D printers be able to

Admittedly, I was probably getting a little carried away with the concept of a 3D printer and their potential to create matter from thin air. provide every owner a downloadable armoury? Not to mention the other designs that could be floating around on the internet. Letâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s face the facts; there is a lot of freaky shit out there. Likewise, the scenario I mentioned before about printing a mousetrap would fill many mass-producing companies with understandable terror. If households were given the ability to individually produce everyday items, the contemporary manufacturing template of mass production could go the way of the amiable Tasmanian tiger (which raises questions as to whether it would be possible to print out a Tasmanian tiger one day, which would register an 11 on the one-to-ten cool scale). So, will the 3D printer revolutionise the world as we know it? Will the traditional models of mass production cease to exist, replaced by a supply-fordemand capacity? Instead of going to the doctors for a prosthetic leg, can we just download one from Pirate Bay and print it out at home? The above points would suggest that it is unlikely to occur in the near future, but the potential is still there.

f you were presented with the choice of two possible lives you could lead, one in which the average incomes is $25,000 and yours is $50,000, and another where your income is $100,000 while the average is $250,000, which would you choose? When this question was put to Harvard students by researchers, the majority of subjects went with the first option. The explanation to this is probably something similar to the reason why bronze medallists are often found to be happier with their performance than silver medallists: the joy derived from success depends on who you compare yourself with, and if gold is your benchmark, you’re going to be hard to please.

You probably have some idea of what would make you happy, and circumstances of wealth and success are probably big factors. They might be why you’re here studying. But if it’s all relative, what’s the point? For a few decades researchers across the world have been ditching traditional economic measurements and re-focussing their attention on what makes us happy, and the answers might surprise you. For instance, there is evidence to suggest that Western countries, whose overall standards of living have continued to improve steadily for centuries, have barely made any ground in happiness over the last 50 years. That statistic alone is almost enough to make you put on a robe, shave your head, and move to Tibet. Researchers at Deakin University, in conjunction with Australian Unity, have been exploring the topic since 2001 with a regular survey that forms the basis of the Australian Unity Wellbeing Index. Primary Research Fellow, Dr Melissa Weinberg, says that the index places Australia on average, around the 75 per cent mark, and that that figure is fairly rigid. “The nation’s happiness on average is usually between about 73 and 77 per cent so people are generally happy most of the time, and I think we sometimes fall victim to the media and social expectations of needing to be happier,” she said. Dr Weinberg also suggests that one reason income is not neatly proportional to happiness is adaptation. “What you generally find is that with an increase in money, even with people who might win the lottery or something, their temporary and their short term happiness increases but it doesn’t take long before our regulatory processes kick in and push our wellbeing back to about that 75 level.”

But, she points out, this is not to say that income is unimportant: when you have a low income, an increase raises your wellbeing ‘substantially’. In short, poverty is always a bitch. But the evidence suggests that once you reach a certain level of comfort – around 90 to 100,000 dollars per household in Australia’s case – it is increasingly harder for material circumstances to increase happiness, even if it’s the difference between 250 and 500 thousand a year. So what does make us happier? Well age appears to be a significant factor. Youth tends to be a happy period, followed by a slump generally occurring around 46 to 65, before it picks up again in old age. Marriage also tends to promote happiness, and relationships and a personal interest are important factors too, which might seem obvious, but they do tend to get overlooked when it comes to ideas of ambition. “I think the main thing is to stop feeling like you have to seek out happiness”. “But if you are feeling a little bit down the things that are most important are the things like your relationships with the people around you, so harnessing those relationships, and finding something to do that makes your life have meaning is really important,” Dr Weinberg said. Other studies have come up with similar findings. For instance, the Happy Planet Index places the subjective wellbeing level of some Latin American countries, with comparatively little economic output, around the same level of Australia. It has been suggested that this is due to the level of social connectedness and strong sense of family in those countries, and even a lack of western individualism. Interestingly, if you change the question I put to you at the start of this article, to a choice between two weeks of holiday while their colleagues got one week, or four weeks while their colleagues got eight, the majority of subjects answer with the latter. That’s because we’re not competitive when it comes to leisure. So if raising standards doesn’t do much for happiness, I propose that we all agree to put just a few hours a day towards maintaining a certain living standard, and the rest of the time fishing, and partying and getting married and growing old. We’d still have people succeeding and failing at their ambitions within their three-hour-per-day careers, while at the same time we’d probably all be happier. So stop studying and go host a fiesta or something.* *Author’s conclusions do not necessarily align with the views of Deakin University and Australian Unity or, for that matter, the University of Newcastle.

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WHATâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S ON EVENTS & GIGS

HAPPY HOUR

Find out more at www.uonservices.org.au

WEEK 9

FRIDAY 11

MONDAY 7

Trivia

Labor Day Public Holiday

Oktoberfest

Friday, 11 October Bar on the Hill 11.30am - 5pm

Godfrey Tanner Bar 4pm - 5pm Every day of semester

Thursday, 31 October Bar on the Hill Doors open 7pm

MONDAY MOVIES BY MOONLIGHT FREE Mondays at 7.30pm, Derkenne Courtyard

Oct

Not Another Teen Movie (MA 15+)

21 Cabin in the Oct Woods (MA 15+) 28

Oct

9 (M)

Semester 2 Resumes

5pm - 6pm Every day of semester* (except Wednesdays)

Trivia 1pm - 2pm, Bar on the Hill

Tanner Tuesday Debate: UNLSA vs. MEDSOC

Bar on the Hill 1pm - 2pm, Tuesdays

Godfrey Tanner Bar 1pm - 2pm, Fridays

6.30pm, Tuesdays Godfrey Tanner Bar

3pm - 6pm, Wednesdays Godfrey Tanner Bar

SUNDAY 13

WEEK 10 MONDAY 14

WEDNESDAY 9

Not Another Teen Movie (MA 15+) 7.30pm, Derkenne Courtyard

Fritz Von Trout 12pm - 1pm, Main Quadrangle, Ourimbah, Central Coast Campus

TUESDAY 15 Live Entertainment

Chasing Tuesday 12pm - 1pm, Derkenne Courtyard

Brooke Harvey 11.45am - 1.15pm, Main Quadrangle, Ourimbah, Central Coast Campus

Live Entertainment

Trivia

Floyd Vincent 12pm - 1pm, Bar on the Hill

Pool Comp

Wind Up Wednesday

1pm - 2pm, Bar on the Hill

Burgerfest Bar on the Hill

Tanner Tuesday Mental Health Q&A Special

from 6pm, Bar on the Hill

From 6.30pm, Godfrey Tanner Bar

Goonion Prom

WEDNESDAY 16

7pm, Bar on the Hill

THURSDAY 10 Live Entertainment From 5pm, Wednesdays Bar on the Hill

Recovery Band 12.15pm - 12.45pm, Bar on the Hill

Pool Comp

3pm - 6pm, Godfrey Tanner Bar

1pm - 3pm, Thursdays Bar on the Hill

GOALSS 4pm - 6pm, Oval 4

Health Professors Talk Professor Brian Jolly

Are You Game?

3pm - 6pm, Thursdays Godfrey Tanner Bar

4.45pm - 6pm, Advanced Technology Centre, 210 Lecture Threatre

Bar o

3pm - 6pm, Godfrey Tanner Bar

Bar Games Are You Game?

FRI

Floating Bridges 12pm - 1pm, Bar on the Hill

1pm -3pm, Bar on the Hill

Bar Games

S[aTll taEp

Live Entertainment

Wind Up Wednesday

$FIR6S

Monday Movies by Moonlight at U Cinema

3pm - 6pm, Godfrey Tanner Bar

Pool Comp

SATURDAY 12

From 6.30pm, Godfrey Tanner Bar

Live Entertainment

Tanner Tuesday

11.30am - 5pm, Bar on the Hill

Live Entertainment 12pm - 1pm, Derkenne Courtyard

Trivia

Oktoberfest

TUESDAY 8

Bar on the Hill

Halloween Party

1pm - 2pm, Godfrey Tanner Bar

Wind Up Wednesday from 6pm, Bar on the Hill

THURSDAY 17 Live Entertainment Patrick Tappouras 12pm - 1pm, Derkenne Courtyard

Bar Games 1pm -3pm, Bar on the Hill

Are You Game?

3pm - 6pm, Godfrey Tanner Bar

Co Bar on the

Yak Magazine - October 2013 17

OCTOBER FRIDAY 18 Trivia 1pm - 2pm, Godfrey Tanner Bar

6ST

SATURDAY 19 Amity Affliction

Wind Up Wednesday

from 6pm, Bar on the Hill

THURSDAY 24 Live Entertainment Blackbird Hum 12pm - 1pm, Bar on the Hill

Newcastle Panthers

Bar Games

SUNDAY 20

1pm -3pm, Bar on the Hill

Newcastle Jets vs. Perth Glory

Are You Game?

3pm - 6pm, Godfrey Tanner Bar

Ep IbeN er]

MONDAY 21

FRIDAY 25 Trivia 1pm - 2pm, Godfrey Tanner Bar

Live Entertainment Recovery Band 12.15pm - 12.45pm, Main Quadrangle, Ourimbah, Central Coast Campus

SATURDAY 26 Fat As Butter Newcastle Foreshore

Monday Movies by Moonlight at U Cinema The Cabin in the Woods (MA 15+) 7.30pm, Derkenne Courtyard

TUESDAY 22

SUNDAY 27 Hunter Valley Electric Vehicle Festival Show Day

THURSDAY 31 Bar Games

1pm -3pm, Bar on the Hill

Are You Game?

TEIN

REFILL

U Party Halloween Party Featuring DJs Cassian + Benny P

[aDoors ll topen ap 7pm beer] Prize for best dressed

Entry: U Members: Free UoN Students: $10 Guests: $20 18+. Proof of age required. Student card recommended.

Newcastle Foreshore

FRIDAY 1/NOV

WEEK 12

Trivia 1pm - 2pm, Godfrey Tanner Bar

MONDAY 28

Live Entertainment

SATURDAY 2/NOV

12pm - 1pm, Derkenne Courtyard

Trivia

6.15pm - 8pm, Newcastle Museum, Honeysuckle

3pm - 6pm, Godfrey Tanner Bar

Hunter Stadium

WEEK 11

$ 4 S

New Professors Talk: Professor Mario Minichiello

Monday Movies by Moonlight at U Cinema

Newcastle Jets vs. Central Coast Mariners

IDAY, 12 OCTOBER 1pm - 2pm, Bar on the Hill

Tanner Tuesday Q&A with Michael Ondaatje

9 (M) 7.30pm, Derkenne Courtyard

7.30pm, Hunter Stadium

SUNDAY 3/NOV

TUESDAY 29

on the Hill, 11.30am - 5pm From 6.30pm, Godfrey Tanner Bar

Swap and Sell Fair

11am - 2pm, Auchmuty Courtyard

WEDNESDAY 23 Live Entertainment Floyd Vincent 12pm - 1pm, Derkenne Courtyard

Live Entertainment Morgan Bain Duo 12pm - 1pm, Bar on the Hill

Pool Comp

Trivia

1pm - 2pm, Bar on the Hill

Tanner Tuesday Q&A From 6.30pm, Godfrey Tanner Bar

WEDNESDAY 30 Live Entertainment CAPA Student Performances 11.45am - 1.15pm, Main Quadrangle, Ourimbah, Central Coast Campus

6pm, Godfrey Tanner Bar onditions3pm of -entry apply. For more info visit www.uonservices.org.au Pool Comp e Hill and UoN Services operate under3pm the- 6pm, Responsible Service Godfrey Tanner Bar of Alcohol guidelines.

18 Yak Magazine - October 2013

Sam Rayfield investigates the saga of Newcastle CBD’s decline, and the efforts from local creatives to revive the city centre. n artist’s impression of anything forthcoming is, more often than not, a brazenly optimistic attempt at mustering excitement within a public that should learn that reality usually fails to meet expectations. Mothers with prams, businessmen with briefcases full of important stuff, young people subscribing to the latest fashion trends... they’re all very encouraging illustrations of targeted demographics in the re-establishment plans of Newcastle’s city centre. For many Novocastrians, these depictions of their CBD burgeoning like it used to were encouraging enough, as astronomical amounts of money were spoken of and multilevel additions to heritage buildings were seen on the front pages of local newspapers, echoing the expansions occurring at major shopping centres across town. It was unfortunate, then, in 2010 when an inactive and uncommitted state government caused local property developer GPT to withdraw their $600 million proposal for the area. Backtracking to 2008, it seemed another grim year as usual for the decaying Hunter Street Mall and its surroundings. For the many kilometres of commercial frontage that Hunter St offers, over 100 vacant lots were counted, 20 of which were quite depressingly situated in the mall itself. “The city was quite dire,” Renew Newcastle’s General Manager Marni Jackson said. “Eerily abandoned”, as one journalist put it, and this was where Renew Newcastle’s work would begin. “Our main thrust is to try and take advantage of the excess of empty properties in Newcastle’s city centre to create opportunities for artists and creatives.” It’s a simple and succinct philosophy, the kind that makes you go ‘Ah!’, but one that has a distinct lack of focus on urban renewal. Both Jackson and the organisation’s founder, Marcus Westbury, came from working in and curating creative arts events such as Newcastle’s long-running This is Not Art festival and Victoria’s Next Wave. Demand at its inception from local artisans was unpredictably high and, with the

limited number of properties available, Renew Newcastle has adopted a can-do approach to the challenges and restraints they’ve faced. “We want to do what we can do being light on our feet, and also do what we can do right now.” Rather than wait around for any big money to arrive, they’ve used their flex as an organisation to convince property owners to open their doors to the many talented folk of Newcastle, even gaining ground-floor access to the iconic David Jones building. Awash with proud nostalgia, it was with great local sadness that in 2011 David Jones vacated the premise, leaving the space to go the way of dilapidation. However, Christmas last year saw Renew’s most ambitious project yet, The Emporium, occupy the space and host eight boutique stores for artisans to ply their trade more financially than before. “We’ve taken pains to place ourselves in areas of activity which are solutions right now, and about what people can do, rather than waiting for something to happen in the future.” “The result has been an uplift and change in the city centre, but at the same time, there’re lots of opportunities for cool things to happen.” It’s evident that Newcastle is becoming recognised as a place where cool things do indeed happen, the summation of all that Renew Newcastle has done being the coolest thing to come out of Newcastle in a long time - Renew Australia. The model that began in Newcastle has worked in revolutionary fashion, so much so that it’s being looked on nationally as a solution for ailing city centres. Successes in Adelaide, Townsville, Geelong and Parramatta are ongoing, while Newcastle’s efforts go from strength to strength. “We could be doing ourselves out of a job,” Marni laughed. “Once we get to a point where all the buildings are activated and utilized, maybe there’s no need for what we’re doing.” If she’s talking about returning the city to the people, then that’s something that Gehl Architects’ associate Henriette Vamberg would agree with. The Danish firm operates on founder Jan Gehl’s belief that the urban dimension has become increasingly disconnected from the people dimension, as the pace of modern life takes precedence over the pedestrian’s pleasurable experience of a city. Having been

Yak Magazine - October 2013

commissioned for a number of Public Space & Public Life studies in most of Australia’s capital cities, Vamberg insists that Newcastle is indeed a beautiful city, but that it needs to move into the 21st century with pride while also responding logically to the issues that the modern world presents. “We’re very focused on people and how they experience the city, their basic needs, and what will make a city more attractive.” Colloquially referring to themselves as “urban designers”, their consultancy spans a variety of disciplines architecture, geography and anthropology to name a few - to ensure that high-density cities become livable and sustainable as phenomena such as climate change, peak oil and urban sprawl loom.

“I think that cities are moving on, that they consist of a number of layers and that the creative environment is very much a part of development and displaying the city history.” Keeping things changing is a core element to keeping a place attractive. American malls are dying for this reason, “because people have been there thousands of times and there’s nothing there to keep things interesting anymore,” Vamberg said. Perhaps, then, this is why the Renew model has been so welcomed. The designers and creatives that occupy the spaces, in most cases, do so only temporarily, as a means to ensure that the eerie abandonment is mitigated by a rotating collective of Renew projects. It’s ultimately focused on attracting long-term property owners, but some who have ‘graduated’ from the program have gone on to occupy the spaces permanently and are paying a full rent from the money they make.

The model that began in Newcastle has worked in revolutionary fashion, so much so that it’s being looked on nationally as a solution for ailing city centres.

“Higher densities offer you more interesting experiences, a more varied palette of offers. Increasing density around the main transport corridors is beneficial because, with oil running out and greenfield developments being harder to sustain over time, there’ll be no money to deliver public transport to those areas, so you’ll be stuck with a car and have no place to go.”

One must admit that very little happens in suburbia. Sure, there’s the neighbours and maybe a local pub, but methods of keeping oneself occupied generally devolve into meticulous hedge-trimming or even lawn-mowing and when there’s no more green left to perfect, there’s only a bigscreen television left to watch until the lawn grows back. True, it could be argued that watching grass grow is already more satisfying than mainstream television, but city-living invariably promises a greater breadth of activities. Newcastle is fast becoming a Melbournian urban playground, and Vamberg emphasises the necessity for organisations like Renew to deliver these people-based experiences.

Idiosyncratic coffee shops, buried treasure small bars, and one-of-a-kind Novocastrian designs are all products of the people, reflecting the uniqueness that Vamberg insists will distinguish the city from the shopping malls and the ‘Makers and Places’ theory that Marcus Westbury proposed at a recent TedEx talk in Moreton Bay. Then there’s the beaches and the water - the ends of every eastward and northward street in the CBD grant you not a department store demanding your money, but a deep and meditative ocean merely suggesting your relaxation. Reviewing 2012’s state-commissioned Newcastle Urban Renewal Strategy can cause some knee-jerk pessimism when glossing over the artist’s impressions. Walking around the areas depicted, however, reveal the most common sentiments - that Newcastle is ‘changing’ - are spot on. It’s a city and it’s got people in it that realise its potential, and are willing to exploit it no matter what the obstacle. Bring on the next Pasha Bulker.

20 Yak Magazine - October 2013

Jacqui Scolari limbers up her vocal chords and puts on her dance shoes as she discovers UoN’s Musical Society.

ALL SINGING, ALL DANCING

eel like taking the stage and finding out what goes on in the world of show business? University of Newcastle’s newfound Musical Society (or MuSoc) allows residents from all departments to join together and put on a musical. “We want to get as many people involved as possible,” Sarah Collins, Vice President of the society said. Even if you have minimal experience, Tierney Spillaine, the President of MuSoc is confident that members will find a way for you to be included.

they do plan on holding smaller events, including movie nights and Create Week, which is happening this month. Whilst Tierney and Sarah are both excited for the production to be well received, they also realise that it’s all about entertainment.

“If you tell us what you’re interested in doing then we will be able to sort you into something in that area.”

“We want it to be as good as possible but the main point is to make it fun,” Tierney said.

This could include singing, dancing or baking cupcakes for fundraisers. In fact, auditions for the chorus will be opening soon and Tierney and Sarah are still looking for people to join the orchestra.

“It’s a great way to meet people,” Sarah added.

So what musical are MuSoc performing first? A production of Joseph And The Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat will be held in late March 2014, and if it goes well, MuSoc can keep producing musicals at the same time every year. However

Interested? To get involved, email the MuSoc at uonmusoc@gmail.com, visit their Facebook page or look out for the many fliers that have been distributed around the university.

The University honoured some of its finest sportspeople and administrators last month at the 2013 University Sports Awards. On a night that brought together members of a proud history of the University, UoN students and alumni gathered to welcome the latest addition to the University’s prestigious list of award winners. Headlining the night was the announcement of the esteemed Sports Person of the Year – the award going to Physiotherapy student Celia Sullohern. As the reigning Australian Open Cross Country Champion and competitor at the 2012 World Cross Country Championships, Celia claimed the George Haggarty Cup ahead of heptathlete Sophie Stanwell and cricketer Josh Bennett. “It’s a great honour to be named UoN sportsperson of the year, especially amongst a group of such talented young athletes,” Celia said. “I am proud to represent the University of Newcastle and feel lucky to have the support of Nusport. The past 12 months have brought some exciting results for me, including my first Australian open title in cross country.” Celia’s most recent efforts have taken her across the globe, to countries like Japan and Poland. But, she says, “travelling makes me appreciate training with my squad back in beautiful Newcastle and having access to world class facilities at The Forum”.

Do you want to nominate for a 2013 Sports Award? Know someone who is deserving? This year’s nominations are opening soon – contact unisport@theforum.org.au for more information!

Also recognised on the night were six University Blues – awarded for sporting excellence while representing the University. Blues went to: • Jessica Richardson (Rowing) • Tia Brady (Athletics) • Sophie Stanwell (Athletics) • Laura Harris (Triathlon) • Jessica Colwell (Ultimate) • Josh Bennett (Cricket) Joining them were the recipients of the University of Newcastle and Friends of the University Sport Scholarships, and five current and former students who were awarded a University Colour for outstanding contribution to University Sport. The Sports Club of the Year for 2012 was awarded to Badminton, for a stellar year including a large increase in membership and their performance at the Australian University Games in Adelaide.

Yak Magazine - October 2013

CAMPUS WHIP AROUND This month, Ourimbahnites and Callaghanians shared their favourite childhood television shows and films.

Kate Robertson Ourimbah Campus

You are welcome to grizzly tales for gruesome kids. A series of cautionary tales for lovers of screeeeeeam. This show opened with a kid accidentally eating bugs in a haunted cinema, and finished with the death or mutilation of the immoral child character. I loved that show. I really, really loved it. There was always a warning before it started. Perhaps it was intended to scare us off, but for me the warning only ever increased the appeal. Any kids’ show that got its own warning was instantly awesome. Serena was a bully and a glutton. One day there was a maggot in her chocolate… but did Serena care? No. Chocolate flavoured maggot. Kafka would’ve been proud of what happened next. Serena’s transformation into hideous bug, her gory death at the hands of her sister, is directly inspired by The Metamorphosis. As a kid, I didn’t realise any of that. I can analyse the story intellectually now, but at the time I admit I only appreciated scary graphics and the twisted storyline. What does this say about my childhood self? How did this shape the adult that I’m still not convinced I am? Who’s asking all these invasive questions anyway?

Selina Chapman Ourimbah Campus

My childhood was spent in the 80s, so I had a wealth of cartoons that still resembled some form of life as we knew it, albeit more adventurous and exciting. There was no zombie apocalypse, and Nickelodeon was not available to acid melt our brains. We were not without our ambiguities, however, and looking back there was some dodgy and yes, even enlightening moments from childhood. Every afternoon we came home from school, raided the fridge because we were STARVING. Manually turned on the TV and got up to change the channel (all three of them) to watch She-Ra, Astro-Boy, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (the original), Care Bears and The Mysterious Cities of Gold. Monkey Magic was a big favourite. We learnt that you could summon pink clouds with tricky hand gestures, bad behaviour resulted in punishment by an androgynous monk, and you received a life lesson in being a good Buddhist after every episode. Our afternoon time spent in front of the ‘idiot-box’ was not all Zen and meaningful, however. We did watch life-size puppets half-dressed (either no pants or topless) dance around children in parks. Does anyone remember the disgraced Fat Cat?

Chrystal Brand Callaghan Campus

My brother and I grew pretty much like twins, sure our tastes in movies and books differed a little, but I can’t remember actually saying no to a movie he liked just because I didn’t. One such case is the movie Troll in Central Park; he loved this movie and watched it so much that the tape has worn out. I didn’t like the movie because of the evil troll queen; she could turn things to stone much like King Midas with his golden touch. The heroes of the movie are a good troll with a green thumb and a little boy. The boy has a little sister who the queen wants to destroy. The boy and the troll have to work together to save her and defeat the Queen. Even though my brother was younger than me, I think he identified with the boy and wanted to protect me when he was older. I remember how happy he was when he got to watch Troll in Central Park, and so when I saw it on DVD at Big W I had to get it. Even though I’ve never opened it, it’s a reminder of the movie nights with him.

For anyone wanting to ride the memory train, you can find all these clips on YouTube.

Design by Anneliese Wild

Yak Magazine - October 2013

Gig Review:

Meg Francis braves her fear of rock to review the Kingswood gig

I’m a sensitive and delicate soul who listens to the likes of The XX and drinks soy. So when Mr Lachie Leeming handed me this gig review of Melbourne indie-rock band Kingswood, I was a little (a lot) hesitant and was somewhat dreading it. By George, I was wrong. Kingswood had the crowd transfixed from the first opening strums of She’s My Baby (incidentally the only song I was familiar with) and I found myself struck by the charisma of vocalist Fergus Linarce who not only wowed me with his vocals but also made me really enjoy myself with his on-stage charisma. With some Black Keys-esque sounds and vocals that could rival The Rubens I was in awe of these bearded demi-gods as they tore up Bar on the Hill. It’s unpolished, noisy and raw which adds to the intensity and pulsing energy in the air. Okay, I have a confession. When I rocked (cheesy I know) up to this gig, I was literally expecting Metallica to walk out on stage to blast me with heavy metal. So I was surprised as I found myself spiralling into So Long, a slow and sexy ballad, crooned by Linarce about “falling in love”. Which also included a jaw-dropping solo from guitarist, Alex Laska, which I didn’t mind one bit at all.

“It’s unpolished, noisy and raw which adds to the intensity and pulsing energy in the air.” Sometime later, I was swaying to a standout cover of First Aid Kit’s Wolf (you can check that out on Like A Version), and dazed by how I could be so wrong about these down-to-earth and quirky dudes who are producing genuine music with some real talent. Kingswood finished the evening on a high note with the vibrant and fast-paced Ohio that has the crowd calling for more. Overall, it’s a little thrash, some deep bass, a bit of crashing drums and those sweet high pitched boy vocals that we all know and love, which combine to create a refreshing and new band that will make even the biggest cynic (cough) want to dance. These guys represent the future of Australian indie rock, which seems to be heading in the right direction. I ended the night with a serious ringing in my ears followed by some mild deafness but a big smile on my face.

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Maybe if everyone got on board I wouldn’t mind it all that much, but as long as feral children with no costumes or scary masks are banging on my door all evening on the 31st, I’m going to continue harbouring negative feelings towards an Australian Halloween.

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My final and most pressing issue with Halloween is the people that do half attempt the dress up. I hate masks. Short of being chased by someone yielding a venomous snake, there is little that scares me more than someone in a mask. Be it creepy little children running around my street or grown adults dressed up for a party, Halloween is an anxious time for someone who is extremely disturbed by masks. It’s safe to say you probably won’t see me at the Halloween Party. It would be too much stress on my heart.

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If you are only against Halloween because it is an American tradition, and don’t want to lose your Australian identity then maybe you can skip the party and start handing out lamingtons and meat pies when the children come by. But make sure you leave the sexy costumes to the party-goers.

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Moving onto the children (loose term, I prefer animals). I’m sure some suburbs really harness the idea of Halloween and make a real good attempt at making it happen. Maybe I wouldn’t mind it so much if I lived there. But I don’t. The kids in my town don’t even try. Some of them stick on a mask or a wig and that’s it. More annoyingly, 95% of them don’t even dress up. They just come around in their filthy school clothes, interrupt my evening and demand lollies.

Halloween in Australia is no longer the epitome of American culture and the argument here shouldn’t be ‘to Halloween or not to Halloween’, it should be whether or not your parents will notice if the pumpkin for Sunday’s roast has been made into a punch bowl.

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Firstly, the 31st of October is my mother’s birthday. As you do, we like to spoil my mum on her birthday. This can involve anything from cooking her favourite meal, going out for dinner, or letting her choose the movie or board game for the evening. Now, imagine you are trying very hard to concentrate on the Pictionary drawing in front of you, attempting to guess what the half snowman, half koala your dad has haphazardly drawn is, and people keep on knocking on your door. Imagine being engrossed in the latest thriller and you hear a little ‘tap, tap’ on the door. Imagine your dogs barking every time the little shits make their way up our front paths.

Not only is it our right as an Australian to indulge at any given occasion, but we must also realise that Halloween is now an Australian tradition. Never again will we need therapy for the piece of fruit we received when doing the rounds of trick-or-treating in our neighbourhood.

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ANZAC Day is usually spent gambling and consuming our favourite beer, ‘out of respect’; Christmas is spent drowning out the stories relatives have accumulated over the past year with the brandy pudding sauce; and our birthday, or anyone’s birthday for that matter, is spent buying and trying girly cocktails, regardless of our gender, to celebrate living for another year.

Many argue Halloween is an ‘American tradition’ and by celebrating it we are losing our Australian identity. However, as Australian’s we make Halloween our own and we definitely aren’t ones to pass up an excuse to crack open a cold one!

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There are several reasons for my dislike of Halloween. Short of it being an American holiday that we have taken on board and attempted to copy (quite poorly, may I add), Halloween hits close to home as a particularly annoying day.

Case F e

Gone are the days when we’d dress up as ghosts on October 31st, using our parent’s good bed sheets, and knock on stranger’s doors hoping they give us wrapped lollies (mostly just so our high-strung parents don’t think we’ve been drugged), and enter the days that trick-ortreating is a drinking game and lollies are in liquid form.

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Although these words came out of Lindsay Lohan’s mouth, it was before her ‘former-child star meltdown’ had begun and let’s face it: the girl, in character or not, has a point.

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Halloween

“Halloween is the one night a year girls can dress like a total slut and no other girls can say anything about it” (Mean Girls, 2004).

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24 Yak Magazine - October 2013

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26 Yak Magazine - October 2013

Busk or Bust Will Gleeson pounds the pavement of Newcastle to tell the stories of our local busking scene.

“I would do almost anything to make my performance more interesting, including different instruments, a novelty Wilfred the dog costume, a milk crate and my dog ‘Scoota’” The morality on the busking scene is low. A young talented generation is needed to create a pleasant environment and a sense of wellbeing on the streets of Newcastle for those performing and viewing. Being a busker myself, I’ve never had much of a look at the Newcastle busking scene as a whole. I had always focused on finding my own spot away from other buskers. I would do almost anything to make my performance more interesting, including different instruments, a novelty Wilfred the dog costume, a milk crate and my dog “Scoota” to keep me company. I would be at home playing anyway, because it is something I love to do, so I may as well be out in the street performing. It was never about the money, but it does make the experience more interesting to see how much I could make in a session. A busking Wilfred standing on a milk crate playing the violin with a real life dog does cause passing pedestrians to look a second time. To learn more about the busking community, Scoota and I chose a random Tuesday and walked the entire length of Hunter Street, to try and find some buskers. Sadly, we only found one, however, it was Newcastle’s most famous busker “Jonny Pitman” from the band “Jonny Day Brightener and The All Night Alternators”. Jonny was very welcoming to a chat and played Time and the Word for me. He explained to me that living his youth in an orphanage forced him to gain his independence by

becoming a busker. Jonny doesn’t just busk; his creative expression also includes painting, writing and recordings. Jonny believes there is potential for more busking in the Newcastle area and would especially like to see more young people and groups busking with a variety of instruments, such as saxophones or flutes, instead of the usual guitar performances. We now decided to check out Beaumont Street. We met Jules Hoyle, a born-and-bred Novocastrian busker who is trying to get a train fare together so he can get back to his current home in Melbourne. Jules believes that Newcastle has an abundance of talent, but does have not the appropriate venues or outlets for buskers to express themselves. He tells me that busking is important for the individual and the community and it builds good musicianship skills on every level, especially confidence. It is also important to encourage the busker, they are usually people just trying to eat and they keep the streets interesting. Jules has busked in many places around Australia, but say’s the Newcastle busking scene must tap into its potential. It becomes clear to me now Newcastle has the talent but it is largely underutilised. I urge anyone who feels the desire to challenge themselves to try a new experience, whether that is to grab an instrument, take up juggling, or become a mute statue, take to the street and show the community your skills.

Yak Magazine - October 2013

F E AT U R E A R T I S T

His songs...sound like they should be cranked up on the weekend as you’re en route to the beach, or played as background music to next Sunday’s barbeque.

Jacqui Scolari has her turn at diving into the Triple J Unearthed vault

am not one to keep up with the latest musical trends. Sure, I’ll hum along to the radio and dance around to whoever’s pumping up the dance floor, but rarely will I want to listen to anything regularly. Yes, I’m lazy, I know. Nevertheless I thought it was time to delve into Triple J Unearthed and get some education. And it was here that I came across Reilly Craig. Born in Perth, Reilly has been honing his musical talents from a young age, and plays acoustic guitar, drums, piano and stomp box. His debut single Like A Lady has been a pop staple on the Triple J charts since August, and his debut album Two Hearts is being released on September 28th. Although he may just be breaking out now, Reilly is no stranger to the music industry. Growing up, he had been part of teenage bands and duos before deciding to branch out by himself.

Sure, it could be easy to pass Riley as being a typical pop singer, and whilst his sound is bubbly and his lyrics may not be ground-breaking there is one difference - he sounds like he’s having fun. This may be because he teamed up with his best friend to help him manage his career, so why wouldn’t he be happy? There seems to be no big ego anywhere on this young artist, even after he played at Perth Arena- the biggest venue in the city, for both pre and halftime entertainment during multiple NBL games. Not a bad gig!

Triple J Unearthed described Reilly’s music as having a “Sunday sesh vibe”, which defines his music perfectly. Both his songs Like A Lady and Downfall sound like they should be cranked up on the weekend as you’re en route to the beach, or played as background music to next Sunday’s barbeque. Unlike other artists of today, Reilly doesn’t try to make his music specifically for dance clubs. His music is smooth and easy, a perfect soundtrack to the start of summer.

He’s especially grateful for his fans, and the people who have allowed his music to be heard. In a video on his YouTube channel, Reilly took the time to say thanks.

Find Reilly Craig online:

“Thank you for all your support over the last year…it means the absolute world to me. Having the single and the debut album coming out is a dream come true for me.”

http://reillycraigmusic.wordans.com.au/my/ boutique Reillycraigmusic

Yak Magazine - October 2013

With Matthew Hatton

rocrastination is terrible. Or brilliant. It depends on your outlook, really.

I mean, I’ve spent the last week watching far too much TV (I have arrived late to The West Wing party, but blimey that’s a good show, if you like people who seemingly know anything and everything talking at a million miles an hour without even blinking), far too many explode-y action movies (Iron Man 3 was really not as good as Iron Man 2 which was not as good as Iron Man 1 in a trend that really has me worried about that franchise because they are – were – the pick of the Marvel comic-book movies), tweeting far too much (mostly alcohol-fuelled commentary of what’s happening on ABC News 24) and, basically, shirking every responsibility that I have. Uni assignments? LOLNOPE. Even this column is being filed late because the idea of watching the football (GLORIOUS RICHMOND!) seemed like a far better idea than pleasing my editor (Hi Bayden) and writing the required 350 words on whatever topic I decided to wax lyrical on this month.

“Before I know it, two weeks have passed and I’m sitting at my desk at 2am the morning before the essay is due wondering what on earth happened, how did it get like this?” Maybe it’s just because of the time of year. I always start the year with such noble intentions. I’ll do all my readings and preparation work for classes. I’ll make sure that I stop doing assignments at the 11th hour because I’ll be organised and there will be a plan for everything and I will stick to it. However, more often than not there’s a moment of “I’ll just watch this one episode of Popular Television Programme” and before I know it, two weeks have passed and I’m sitting at my desk at 2am the morning before the essay is due wondering what on earth happened, how did it get like this? But look, the point of the story is procrastination is awesome. Mostly. Not really. Oh god.

ow would you react if you found out you were adopted? There would be the obvious shock, maybe a few feelings of deceit, and then curiosity about your origins. But for me I don’t think much would change. History and convenience have placed the legal authority of parenthood with the biological parents, but this is pretty arbitrary. I mean, would it really be that different if, say, at the end of each day in the maternity ward all the newborns were traded like Pokemon cards between the parents, the dads waging for the most promising looking ones over a game of foosball in the hospital rec room? It’d be the same as chance determining the family you’re born into, which is precisely what happens. Biology is, as every adopted child knows, as important as you make it.

“So you gave birth to someone who is good at maths or football. Congratulations, you’re a human being with reproductive organs.” Which is why a recent world-first medical breakthrough by Australian doctors, which allowed a woman to get pregnant after losing her ovaries to cancer, inspiring as it is, kind of makes me question our priorities. All that is stopping this couple, through no fault of their own I might add, from adopting a child in need, and all that is underpinning probably millions of dollars of fertility research (I don’t know I’m not the Bureau of Statistics), is a societal idea that natural parentage matters. So you gave birth to someone who is good at maths or football. Congratulations, you’re a human being with reproductive organs. Sorry Dad, but it’s not the big head/small body combo I inherited that makes me proud to call myself a McDonald. Nor, mum, is it the fact all hairdressers have to point out to me the thickness of my hair, as if I hadn’t noticed a fact as obvious as one that is stuck to my head. No. It’s the way you raised me and the values I’ve learnt from you. I think there’d be plenty of advantages if adoption was more common practice. For one, you wouldn’t know at precisely what age your gut is going to overflow your trousers. Also, the crush I had on my cousin would’ve been far less creepy. On a more serious note, the resources once directed at sophisticated fertility research could go towards finding abandoned or poverty-stricken children new homes, and the world might be a better place. But mostly the hot cousin thing.

30 Yak Magazine - October 2013

Yak Magazine Cover Competition Thank you to everyone who submitted their amazing design in to our Yak Magazine Cover Competition. We loved them all so much that we felt we had to print them here as well.

Our four winning entries

Tom Turner

Daniel Hake

Elizabeth Crichton

January Cole

Alana Tomlin

Ben Bullivant

Alana Tomlin

Elyse Beisser

Lauren Chew

Alana Tomlin

Douglas Giffney

Jessica Campbell

Matt Hudson

Breen Roberts

Karina Movigliatti

Gabrielle Styles

Jessica Codrington

Leana Litchfield

Mitch Chadban

Louis Macindoe

Renee Allen

Jennifer Todd

Nathalie Saruhashi

Mitch Chadban

Jessica Aquilina

Robyn Roach

Simone Russo

Sean Bell

Mitchell Prosser

Veronica Smith

Laura Jones

Thomas Garman

Kerstin Loop

Elizabeth Crichton