Free Brekkie For Students UTS STUDENTS’ ASSOCIATION’S
Brekkie Bar Tuesdays, 8:30 - 11:00 AM Haymarkets Moot Courtyard Wednesdays, 8:30 - 11:00 AM Tower Building Foyer www.sa.uts.edu.au
Creative Directors
Editor in Chief
Lily Mei
Editors
Larissa Bricis Rachel Eddie Andrea Huang Tom Lodewyke Lachlan Mackenzie Nathalie Meier Hattie O’Donnell Nicola Parise Kristen Troy
Stephanie King
Creative Team
Nicholas Adams Lauren Anderson Lachlan Bennett Patrick Boyle Anais Darling Avalon Dennis Phoebe Dunstan Jade Ellen Madeleine Er Max Grieve Karl Grovenor June Murtagh Tahlia Nelson
Olivia A Fay Bella Ali-Khan Alex Glossop Samantha Louise Haviland Mitch Hockey Eva Kiss Grace Mathis Astrid Milne Regina San Juan
Cover Design
Grace Mathis
Spotpress Pty Ltd, Marrickville
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Justice League: A Western Occupation
A Brief History of: Parties
Dance Like No One’s Watching
The Rise and Fall of Michael Hutchence: An Untimely Death?
Showcase: Emma Rayward, Grace Mathis & Tahlia Nelson
Fringe
With Support from
05
The Defamer
Puzzles (yay!)
International Women’s Day
Zinegeist: Brodie Lancaster
Science, Tech & Gaming
Inside Sydney Story Factory
Life Through a Lens: Rick Smolan Making Tracks
Miami Horror
Rookie’s Guide: Craft Beer
Victoria Ngu Emma Rayward Josh Rebolledo Bella Westaway Rachel Worsley Adrianna Zappavigna
UTS Students’ Association et al.
Calendar
Why Are You Making Us Look Bad?
Culture
Contributors
Editorial
04 News
Advertising
Alex Barnet Emma Sprouster
The Artist’s Party
Pyne’s Perilous Plan for University Places
Jack and Courtney
Mixtape
My Favourite Woody Allen Movie
Podcasts
Almost Aussie
Grad’s Guide
Collectives & SA Reports
Vertigo is published by the UTS STUDENTS’ ASSOCIATION Proudly printed by SPOTPRESS PTY LTD, MARRICKVILLE Email us at advertising@utsvertigo.com for advertising enquiries. Vertigo and its entire contents are protected by copyright. Vertigo will retain reprint rights; contributors retain all other rights for resale and republication. No material may be reproduced without the prior written consent of the copyright holders. Vertigo would like to show its respect and acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of the Land, the Gadigal and Guring-gai people of the Eora Nation, upon whose ancestral lands the university now stands. More than 500 Indigenous Nations shared this land for over 40,000 years before invasion. We express our solidarity and continued commitment to working with Indigenous peoples, in Australia and around the world, in their ongoing struggle for land rights, self-determination, sovereignty, and the recognition and compensation for past injuries.
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ISSUE TWO: PARTY
EDITORIAL Semantically, art is a fundamental part of partying. But, there’s definitely a greater truth: art is something to celebrate. When I was younger I was certain I was going to be an artist. My mum still has a crayon drawing I did in kindergarten. Her egg shaped head fills the A3 page, her nose is an upside down love heart and she has freckles - my mum does not have freckles. I was developing a sense of artistic freedom, which I’ve since adapted to my writing. I will add freckles when I want to. I have a friend who always criticises me: “What about your journalistic integrity?” But, I’m not a journalist.*
THANK YOUs:
When celebrating Vertigo’s “Firsts” issue, I got to thinking about the progression of parties, from infancy – cake – to adolescence – booze – to adulthood – a subtle marriage of Woolworth’s fudge and goon. Stay classy, UTS. So we’ve gone and compiled ‘A Brief History of Parties’ on a bigger scale, from the 20s to the noughties. When I made the progression to grown-up parties, I began drinking – strictly Vodka. Within a year however, I decided I should exude a cooler image and forcibly adjusted to beer. Soon enough, I’d developed a taste for craft beer. Well, there’s a nice segue: craft is arty and you drink beer at parties. Check out our Rookie’s Guide to craft beer so you, too, can exude cool.
Mosquitoes Tripping over UTS Wifi Hollywood Trolls
We have some exciting interviews. I caught up with Liberated Heart for their first magazine feature. Their garments are psychedelic raves sealed in wearable art. I also recommend our interview with the Sydney Story Factory, which runs creative workshops for kids predominantly from disadvantaged backgrounds. And then there are the more controversial issues: When Dylan Farrow’s open letter to adopted father Woody Allen came to light ahead of the Oscars this year, I grabbed all my copies (yes, there are multiples) of every movie made by the scumbag and hid them in a box. They’re still sitting in that box but, “What’s your favourite Woody Allen movie?” Rachel Eddie reconsiders Woody Allen’s work. And, in another provocative and subversive piece, our sugar babe Anais Darling is back (yes!) to talk about transgender sex work. Yet again, we are in awe of the talented artists studying with us at UTS. While I’ve pursued the fine arts since a young age (see above), I must accept my lot in life: I work with words. But that’s art. Right? Right. Because I said so. Lily Mei and the Vertigo team * Vertigo encourages artistic freedom but we do fact check. Submit to Vertigo.
4 / EDITORIAL
Bar tabs Vertigo family outings Liberated Heart Yoko Ono Showers
fuck yous:
CALENDAR MARCH MON
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ART MONTH SYDNEY until 23/3
INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY
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Music: Ryan Hemsworth @ OAF, 8pm - $25
FILM: Batman @ Soda Factory, 8pm - FREE STORYTELLING: Story Club: When We Were Young @ Giant Dwarf, 7:30 pm - $10
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20 th WOW Film Festival until 23/3
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MUSIC: Public Enemy w/Citizen Kay @ Metro Theatre, 8pm - $83 MUSIC: QOTSA DJ Set @ Frankie’s, 10pm - FREE
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TALK: John Waters - This Filthy World Vol. 2 @ Opera House, 5pm - $35
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ART: The Language of Paint: Conversations @ 107 Projects, 6pm, until 15/3 - FREE
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MUSIC: Big Scary @ Manning Bar, 8pm - $12
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MUSIC: The Holidays @ OAF, 8pm - $17
19 th BIENNALE OF SYDNEY until 9/6
COMEDY: The Chaser’s Empty Vessel @ Giant Dwarf, 7:30pm - $20
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MUSIC: Mountain Sounds Festival @ Mt Penang Gardens, Kariong, 11am-11pm - $89 Africultures Festival @ Auburn Park, 11am-5:30pm - GOLD COIN
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FILM: The Lost Boys @ Soda Factory, 8pm - FREE
ART: Larrikins @ 107 Projects, 6pm, until 30/3 - FREE
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COMEDY: Confession Booth @ Giant Dwarf, 7:30pm - $15
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MUSIC: Sticky Fingers @ Metro Theatre, 8:30pm - $22
NUS Day of Protest: Abbott & Pyne Hands Off Our Education @ 2pm
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FILM: Holocaust Film Series @ Sydney Jewish Museum, untl 30/3 - FROM $17 MUSIC: Lost Picnic @ Centennial Park, 12pm - $89
THEATRE: The Government Inspector @ Belvoir St Theatre, until 18/5 - $15
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MUSIC: The Jungle Giants w/ Millions + ShortStraw @ Metro Theatre, 6:30pm, - $34
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TALK: Alain de Botton - The News: A User’s Manual @ Opera House, 2pm & 8pm - $39 POETRY: Woman Scream International Poetry Festival @ Red Rattler, 6:30pm - $7
Psst: for a more in-depth and detailed calendar head to utsvertigo.com.au
CALENDAR / 5
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ISSUE TWO: PARTY
the artist’s party ASTRID MILNE HOSTS THE PARTY OF THE CENTURY. SPOT THE ARTIST: BANKSY, SALVADOR DALI, YAYOI KUSAMA, RENÉ MAGRITTE, MICHELANGELO, EDVARD MUNCH, JACKSON POLLOCK, VINCENT VAN GOGH, ANDY WARHOL AND YOKO ONO.
Astrid is a third year Visual Communication Design student who likes to draw and pretend she knows what she’s doing. Her website is still make believe but her email and her ability to draw for you is very real: astridmaymilne@gmail.com
6 / THE ARTIST’S PARTY
THE ARTIST’S PARTY / 7
s k o o b t x e t r o out for textbooks Call o Call ut f Unlike other providers, the UTS Students’ Unlike other providers, the UTS Students’ Association’s second-hand bookshop is an Association’s second-hand bookshop is an KP JQWUG PQV HQT RTQƂV UGTXKEG PQV C RTQƂV KP JQWUG PQV HQT RTQƂV UGTXKEG PQV C RTQƂV driven business. We’ve been in existence for driven We’ve been existence for a goodbusiness. 20 years now with theinsole purpose a years now with the sole purpose ofgood saving20students money by facilitating the of saving students money by textbooks. facilitating the purchase and resale of used purchase and resale of used textbooks. Well, due to some high February demand Well, some high February we’re due shorttoon books and we wantdemand yours! So we’re short onoff books and we wantand yours! So why not wipe the dust jackets make why not wipe off the dust jackets and make UQOG OQQNCJ CV QPG QH QWT QHƂEGU VQFC[! UQOG OQQNCJ CV QPG QH QWT QHƂEGU VQFC[!
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ISSUE TWO: PARTY
NUS National Day of Action: Abbott and Pyne Hands Off Our Education At 1pm on March 26, students from Sydney will unite outside the UTS Tower to protest against the proposed cuts to tertiary education funding. The action is in response to leaked plans to privatise HECS, further cut education funding and revoke funding to student unions (see ya student support services). If we lose this funding those who need financial, legal and physical assistance to attend university lose their inherent right to education. Come down, show your support and make your voice heard.
KURING-BYE WORDS BY NICOLA PARISE UTS Satellite Kuring-Gai campus will be closed from the beginning of 2016, according to a statement by ViceChancellor Ross Milbourne. The complete transfer of classes from the Kuring-Gai campus to the City campus, for the commencement of the 2016 academic year, has been confirmed with University management regarding its closure as central to the growth of UTS. In 2010, the University sold 13.85 hectares to Defence Housing Australia and used the revenue to fund the City campus redevelopment. Inadequate public transport has contributed to a decline in enrolments and has been cited as the main reason for closing the Lindfield campus. Students regularly express the difficulty of commuting to and parking at the campus and the lack of connection felt towards the broader UTS student community. Ross Milbourne has assured students that, “Between now and end-2015, nothing changes. We are still offering the full complement of highly-regarded courses we have always had at Lindfield, and we invite you to join the staff and student community for a rewarding teaching career or an exceptional university experience.”
10 / NEWS
rePORT: The First UTS SA Assembly for 2014 WORDS BY LACHLAN BENNETT Supporting a potential staff strike, pressuring UTS to cut ties to coal industries and fighting staff casualisation are just some of the plans the Students’ Association (SA) has for 2014. These plans were vocalised on February 20 at a student assembly held outside the UTS tower building and attended by approximately 40 people, including SA representatives. Several representatives from the SA’s various collectives spoke at the assembly, which was designed to get students involved in the “knowledge processes and in the decisionmaking process.” SA Education Vice President, Chris Gall, vocalised many of the plans at the assembly, accusing university management of mistreating international students. Gall said UTS’s increasing focus on research was designed to “rig the international rankings” in order to attract more overseas students who are then “exploited for massive fees” and then, “[thrown] on the scrap heap.” Among his criticisms, Gall included the Vice Chancellor’s “extortionate salary,” UTS’s building of “more and more flashy architecture” and increasing class sizes. Meanwhile, the Enviro Collective’s Lara Paijamans said they would focus on pressuring the university to cut ties with the coal industry, which would affect their participation in UTS employment fairs and research opportunities. The Welfare Department’s Jess Xu said they would focus on connecting students to free support services already available, and expanding existing services. This would include creating an emergency food bank for students in need, as well as compiling a peer-reviewed list of bulk-billing GPs, dentists, mental health clinics and sexual health clinics.
New UTS smoking laws to ignite discussion
ActivateUTS: The rebranding of the UTS Union
WORDS BY Nathalie Meier This year, the City campus of UTS was introduced as a smoke free campus. Cigarettes have not been banned, but smoking has been confined to clearly marked, designated smoking areas. This policy has been implemented by UTS: Safety and Wellbeing in order to limit and remove the negative impact of cigarette smoke within the UTS community. They believe that “non-smokers, who comprise the majority University population, have a right [to] breathe fresh, clean air.” The smoking areas around campus have been selected with the advice of smokers, and are accompanied by a range of specific criteria, including safety and even distribution.
2014 brings a year of change for the UTS Union, as they undergo a complete transformation and update. ActivateUTS is the new trading title for the previously recognised UTS Union, an organisation that has been a part of the University for the last 40 years. To accompany this face rebranding of the union, renovations are taking place on level three of the tower building. For all you new UTS students this is the currently gated area near the concourse. A big reveal will be taking place in April as the once renowned union food court and Glasshouse bar will be transformed into the Underground, a “location where students can chill out, grab a bite to eat and something to drink.”
Some of the smoke free locations include: Building 1 (CB01): Level 4 front of Tower, Broadway Level 5 terrace Level 6 terrace Building 2 (CB02): Level 4 terrace, front of AVS Building 6 (CB06): Level 4 postgraduate courtyard Building 5 Block C (CM05C): Courtyard Signage can be found in all of the above locations, however due to the questionable size and noticeability of these signs, smokers are unaware of these restrictions. The laws are still very new and UTS: Safety and Wellbeing have said that: “UTS performs regular patrols of the campus” to ensure students follow procedures. However, the consequences for those who smoke outside of these areas are unclear. Students who smoke are still being found outside of these zones and may be unaware of the new campus policy.
According to the Union, this transformation is an integral part and one of the first steps taking place in order to ensure their services are reaching the needs and wants of students. With all of these changes taking place within the Union, some questions must be asked as to why this is occurring: why now? ActivateUTS will still be responsible for providing campus services and funding to clubs and societies within the university. As of now, ActivateUTS is merely an updated trading name for the Union and the change is largely unexplained. If the day to day operations of the union are still the same then why the change? Being part of a student union is not what it used to be. It seems telling that ActivateUTS promises to bring “colour, fun, laughs and friendship,” to the campus. Perhaps a change is the natural progression of the ongoing depoliticisation of student unions? Due to time constraints ActivateUTS were unable to formally comment on this news piece.
NEWS / 11
ISSUE TWO: PARTY
why are you making us look bad? The Abbott government has announced an efficiency study into the operations of the ABC and SBS, following criticism from the Prime Minister. BELLA WESTAWAY looks into why that shit doesn’t fly. The review, led by Communications Minister, Malcolm Turnbull, will examine the costs of day-to-day operations within the ABC, with the goal of reducing expense. It’s lucky the Australian public can’t remember back to September 2013 when, on the eve of the election Abbott promised there would be “no cuts to education, no cuts to health, no change to pensions, no change to the GST and no cuts to the ABC or SBS.”
David Salter from Crikey.com.au felt the reviews were aimed at reducing competition for media powerhouses like Fairfax and News Corp: “The real object of the exercise will be to ensure that some innocuous-looking recommendations appear in the inquiry’s final report that will then provide the government with the justification for delivering Murdoch his pounds of flesh.” And, that would be a real disappointment.
Tony Abbott has now accused the ABC of being unpatriotic in response to two articles published by the ABC that attempted to assist the government in the systematic self-destruction of their public image. This came after the ABC informed the public about the Snowden phone-tapping scandal, and published reports of asylum seeker abuse at the hands of Australian authorities. The Prime Minister wasn’t impressed. “A lot of people feel at the moment that the ABC instinctively takes everyone’s side but Australia’s,” he said in an interview with Ray Hadley on 2GB. “I think it dismays Australians when the national broadcaster appears to take everyone’s side but its own and I think it is a problem.” Doesn’t the idea of a patriotic national broadcaster, one who “enthusiastically supports one’s country,” and its government, feel frighteningly reminiscent of Orwell’s 1984? Whilst Turnbull insists that the review has nothing to do with the Prime Minister’s recent criticisms and that “there is no assault on the ABC,” the agenda of the Abbott Government and their pals at News Corp leaves little to the imagination. Over the last few weeks, copious amounts of News Corp column inches have been dedicated to convincing the public of the ABC’s agenda to “undermine the national effort.” Murdoch commentariat, Piers Ackerman, went as far as to equate the ABC’s reporting of the Snowden leaks to a man who spread Nazi propaganda during World War II. 1. Seriously, get on that Orwell train 12 / NEWS
Because the only way to ensure that Australia remains the democratic nation it’s so proud to be, is to have a national media outlet that reflects this. And, the fact that funding to the ABC has almost halved as a percentage of government expenditure since 1996 makes it clear that they are already devalued. The only thing left to do is hope that the ABC reviews really are a “fair-dinkum” and balanced checkup, as Turnbull claims. “It is simply about ensuring the ABC gives its viewers — the taxpayers of Australia — the best bang for their buck,” he said in an interview. And the ABC, it seems, are holding their breath – at least for now. According to a long time ABC radio employee, there are hopes that the review will lead to the government’s realisation that the ABC is already spread thin enough. “The proposed review… should perhaps be welcomed, as it should show that the ABC requires a greater share of the public funding pie to maintain and improve the services it provides,” he said. Let’s just hope he is right because, once we begin down a road of media censorship, it is a slippery slope to thoughtcrime1. And we all know how that ended.
image courtesy of the abc
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International Women’s Day WORDS BY Lauren anderson
March 8 was International Women’s Day in 2014. International Women’s Day (IWD) celebrates the political, economic, and social achievements of women past, present and future, regardless of national, ethnic, linguistic, cultural, economic or political divisions. It is a day to look back on the past struggles and achievements of women, as well as look forward to the opportunities awaiting future generations. To put it simply, IWD celebrates how far women have come in society, and reminds us of the inequalities that are still to be addressed. In this, its 103rd year of celebration, IWD honoured the work of the Suffragettes, who fought for women’s right to vote. “Suffragette” is derived from the word “suffrage” which means the right to vote. The first IWD event was run in 1911. It has evolved on such a global scale that it is now recognised as a public holiday in 27 countries, including Vietnam, China and Russia. But is IWD still relevant in today’s social climate? It is important to realise that while women do two thirds of the world’s work but they earn 10% of the world’s wages. Due to discrimination and lack of access to education, employment and financial services, women are more likely than men to live in poverty. In fact, 70% of the global poor are women.
Even in Australia, the Workplace Gender Equality Agency has revealed that women working full-time earn 17.5% less than men on average. This is 1% higher than in 1995, meaning that the wage gap is now wider than it was nearly 20 years ago. If this gap were eliminated, Australia’s GDP would increase by $93 billion. Worldwide, more than 66 million girls aren’t in school. Considering that the children of literate mothers are 50% more likely to survive past the age of five, the lack of girls in schools is a serious problem. Education literally saves lives. Access to work and education will empower women to break out of the poverty cycle, resulting in far more prosperous economies and a better future for all. Importantly, IWD gives us the chance to reflect on the fact that women’s rights for Indigenous peoples are still lagging behind. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women are 35 times more likely to be hospitalised as a result of spousal or partner violence. International Women’s Day is still relevant, particularly given today’s social climate. It is an important celebration of the progress and achievements of all women, and makes sure we are conscious of what still needs to be done.
NEWS / 13
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ISSUE TWO: PARTY
Pyne’s Perilous Plan for University Places JOSH REBOLLEDO gives the low-down on capped and uncapped places at Australian Universities
Minister for Education, Christopher Pyne, has made a number of controversial announcements around tertiary education. This includes the privatisation of HECS loans - similar to the U.S. loan system - and scrapping the Student Services and Amenities Fee (SSAF), which has reinvigorated campus life and services- Vertigo is one example- for the past 2 years. One thing Minister Pyne has announced, which hasn’t been given enough attention, is his support for the recapping of university places.
academic outcomes. These poor results would ultimately damage the international reputation of Australian tertiary education. However, since the uncapping of places there has been a significant rise in performance from Australian universities. Only one university had a progress rate of less than 75% (progress rates are determined by how many students pass their subjects) and a majority of universities reached well above that (UTS was at 89.53% in 2011 after increasing its intake by 10%).
In 2010 the Federal Government announced the uncapping of university places, to be implemented in 2011. This meant universities could accept as many students into their courses as they wanted. With the Australian Tertiary Education Admissions Ranking (ATAR) cut offs dropping significantly for many degrees, the policy led to unprecedented enrolments around the country and saw more people from disadvantaged backgrounds able to attend university. For example, my combined degree of a Bachelor of Arts Communications (Writing and Cultural Studies) and International Studies varied from about a 94.00-98.00 ATAR/UAI cut off prior to 2010. Uncapping places dropped the cut off to 88.4 in 2010 and, there hasn’t been an increase since.
With a large part of the workforce now requiring undergraduate degrees and many blue collar jobs transitioning to white collar, access to university education has never been so important. While many of the government’s propositions for educational reform are speculative, they reveal a desire to make universities more competitive and exclusive. If Pyne was really concerned with the quality of our university education, he wouldn’t be so focused on how to preserve the prestige and elitism of these institutions.
There were many reasons why achieving a mid-90s ATAR wasn’t possible for me, most of which derived from my background and the school I attended. The cut-off system is driven by supply and demand for university courses and the ATAR is determined by a number of factors other than your own performance. The marks of your cohort and how they compare to the rest of state limit and change your results, making high ranks difficult for people from small and regional or non-selective public schools. Pyne is arguing that the rise in student intake has negatively impacted the quality of university education. This is based on the idea that having more students with lower ATARs accessing universities, which haven’t had their funding increased to account for the higher intake, will lead to weaker
14 / NEWS
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ISSUE TWO: PARTY
PUNCTUATION* Punctuation changes everything… Punctuation changes, everything. Punctuation: changes everything! We use punctuation every day. I don’t think I ever learnt to punctuate properly? I just kind of, well, go with my gut. (Don’t trust my gut. My gut puts a lot of things in parentheses.) I think some people have an intolerance for certain punctuation marks. For example, I hate forward slashes/slashes generally so, backwards slashes too I guess. Not that they’re used often\\... I think the most useful (what a claim!) punctuation marks are the “quotation marks” because we’re constantly ‘quoting’ people, all that business about nothing being original- (thank you postmodernism). I like my full stops though. Very abrupt. Sometimes people tell me I like my full stops too much. I’m “too abrupt.” So sometimes I throw in a semicolon; the matchmaker… just to mix things up. But, we’re all guilty of, you know, over punctuating, aren’t we? Hyper-punctuation: getting excited and just punctuating EVERYTHING (then putting it in CAPS). Punctuation has become a bit of a trend because we have to use it but then we also tailor it to how we want to use it when, that’s not (traditionally) how it’s supposed to be used: ¯\_( )_/¯ #rant #odetopunctuation #trending
* If we punctuated anything incorrectly, it was on purpose.
16 / CULTURE
a western occupation Justice League is a regular column where global social issues are raised and various perspectives are explored. This month, in the wake of International Women’s Day, PHOEBE DUNSTAN gives her view on the situation for women’s rights in Afghanistan. Distinctions between conservatives and liberals, misogynists and feminists are dissolved in the battle towards women’s rights in Islamic countries, like Afghanistan. The moral crusade to rescue oppressed Muslim women from their cultures and religion is one of ambiguity and moral complexity. The universal fight for women’s rights has paved a path for social transformation in Afghanistan, but it has also provided a justification for all sorts of intervention from the legal to the military, humanitarian to the sartorial. More importantly, the fight for enforcing Western, ‘civilised’ values and beliefs has confined many Muslim women to a simplistic stereotype. Recently, I read that our own university has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Gawharshad Institute of Higher Education in Afghanistan to help provide young women with education opportunities. While programs such as these shouldn’t be condemned, I can’t help but question their effectiveness in achieving equality. Firstly, we must remember that young men of Afghanistan are equally confronted by the Taliban – not to mention foreign army – occupation. As Ritu Sharma, President of Women Thrive Worldwide said: “Women are put at greater risk of violence when they must return home to frustrated, unemployed husbands who don’t understand why their wives are getting training and credit and they are not.” Secondly, these programs that fight exclusively for women’s rights have the potential to reinforce the stereotypical binary of male oppressors and female victims.
It seems sometimes we, as a western society, may be blind to the diversity of Muslim women. It does not do justice to stereotype all women under the same painted idea that they need to be rescued in order to fulfil western assumptions of freedom. Each woman is individual, her needs, wants and constraints will never be the same as the woman standing next to her. It is equally true that it does not do justice to stereotype all Muslim cultures or men under the same painted idea that they are oppressive. Not every Muslim man is an advocate for the misogyny of traditional social values. There is no doubt that a continuous fight for human rights can contribute to a better world for all. However, the political and moral conviction expressed in the West about the necessity to save Muslim women is undermined by its justification of military intervention, and its disregard in understanding that a society is made up of individuals. It isn’t liberating to be saved by someone who doesn’t understand, or respect, your own culture and its diversity. The transformation of Afghanistan cannot begin without this global understanding, and perhaps in the meantime the West ought to reflect on our own patriarchies.
CULTURE / 17
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At just 24, Brodie Lancaster’s already got a bit of an empire brewing. Inspired to create a space for intelligent writing about women, Brodie launched Filmme Fatales in 2012- a zine where feminism and film meet. Before that, Brodie was working in New York, as managing editor of Portable.TV. Now based in Melbourne, Brodie is an occasional freelancer, a staff writer at Rookie and a sometimes Hip Hop DJ. Ever the amazing babe, she answers some questions from ANDY HUANG. When and how were you introduced to zines? I credit my introduction to zines to my friend Anton De Ionno, who I met when we studied media at university. He introduced me to the riot grrrl movement and all the DIY elements that are connected to it, including zines. He was a major force in my feminist awakening and during the year we lived together in New York (me working, him studying screenwriting at NYU); he taught me so much. Now he contributes both writing and artwork to Filmme Fatales and I love having him be part of something I wouldn’t have created [without] his friendship. Tell us about your zine. Filmme Fatales is a zine about women in cinema. It started as a way for me to get back into writing about what I love after a two-year stint as the editor of a culture site that saw me move to New York City, burn out, move back to Melbourne and take a job in advertising. I didn’t see too many conversations about women and feminism happening in film publications, and I didn’t see the inverse, so I wanted to fill that gap. Filmme Fatales is a print publication with a run of 300 copies and it contains all original art and writing from writers all over the world. Issue one was themed around women in their twenties; issue two [was] about music; issue three [was] about working girls and the theme for the forthcoming issue four is reality.
Where did you get idea for Filmme Fatales? The idea came to me pretty naturally. I had been editing online work for years, and wanted to make a move into print. I didn’t want to work under anyone; I needed to do something off my own back that I could champion and create. I saw a gap in both film writing and feminist writing that I wanted to fill with the work of the amazing writers and artists I’m lucky to know. What is your latest issue, and what is in it? I’m in the very early stages right now so don’t have much to tell you. But issue three (which came out in November) is really cool. It has artwork based on Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion, graphs by Ann Friedman and Ariel Katz, a heartbreaking story by Anton De Ionno, an interview with June Diane Raphael, imaginary résumés for girls in Sofia Coppola films, photography by Jill Peters, and stacks more. What are you working on now? Right now, I am on a free day from my part-time copywriting job. Later, I’m working on a piece for Rookie, [I’ll be] watching last night’s episode of Keeping Up With the Kardashians (it’s the one where Kris and Bruce talk to the family about their divorce and I’m sad already), writing a looooong email to a friend about meeting Kathleen Hanna over the weekend and reading a few more chapters of John Waters’ book Role Models in preparation for an interview I’m doing with him.
Who: Brodie Lancaster What: Filmme Fatales Where: filmmefatales.bigcartel.com More: filmmefatales.com and brodielancaster.com
CULTURE / 19
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ISSUE TWO: PARTY
jack and courtney Jack Mannix is both Jack and Courtney. The gender fluid photographer, artist and musician opens up to ANAIS DARLING about heroin addiction, art and sex work.
I first met Jack in an apartment on Bourke Street in early 2013, we were doing a photo shoot for an artist’s campaign. Jack was sitting on the lid of the toilet seat in a baby pink dress, smearing gold glitter beneath their eyes and red lipstick across their bottom lip. “Oh, honey I love your jacket,” Jack said, touching the blue, red and gold sequins. I lamented that it was the only colourful thing I owned. They told me to wait right there, and rummaged through their bag to pull out a sheer purple dress that they insisted I keep for the night. We exchanged numbers, but I didn’t hear from them for at least eight months and it wasn’t until then that I found out Jack was recovering from a heavy heroin addiction. That was when I realised who they were. Jack Mannix is an artist, more notably known for collaborating with Angela Bermuda in the musical duo Circle Pit. Starting out as a photographer for Rolling Stone at the age of 13, Jack has now returned to their first love- photography- to explore life through the disconnected people passing through it. Whether they stay or not is unimportant; everything is as much about self-discovery as it is about politics – and Jack is an unintentional goldmine for political discussion. Jack’s writing in zine Cocksucker Bruise is raw, with a humour that catches you by surprise, and Jack’s photography accesses an intimacy that is transparent, sensual, sexual, but never objectifying; drawing from a long struggle with heroin addiction, sex work, and gender fluidity. Influenced by Royal Trux, Alex Vivian, Dennis Cooper, Courtney Love, Larry Clark, Dash Snow and JT Leroy, Jack is putting on a solo exhibition in Melbourne’s Contemporary Centre for Photography. The show is called Precious Metals, an exploration of loss, friendship, agony, ecstasy, isolation, addiction, sex and death in a series of works reminiscent of Nan Goldin.
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When Jack talks about sex work, they mention their first client. They met the client at a gay bar as a sixteen year old in Wellington, New Zealand, while drumming for Allison Wolfe’s riot grrrl band Bratmobile. This led to a series of interactions and a recruitment of regular Sydney clients. However, it wasn’t until 2012 that Jack began working with an agency that took in males to work for gay and couples clients in Melbourne, that they took on a new persona, Courtney. “The work was thin on the ground so I decided to look further afield and found out about a former sex-worker run brothel that housed girls, boys and t[rans]-girls. I went into the interview looking to work as a boy, but the owner said straight up, ‘You won’t do well as a guy, but if you’re willing to shave [everything] and wear a dress and heels you’ll make a killing.’ So on the spot I came up with the name Courtney and began my foray into full-time sex work, as a female/trans girl … Unfortunately my old habits caught up with me and I was soon back on heroin. Eventually I started working the streets in St. Kilda between shifts at the brothel, but things got very bad very fast… I had to escape a dangerous situation in Melbourne involving a Vietnamese gang and family who ‘owned’ me for a while. The drugs poisoned everything in my life. Sex work was not the problem, but it became the greatest enabler. I would still return when or if I feel far enough away from heroin.” Despite such negative experiences – which Jack credits to drugs and not sex work – the fight for the normalisation of sex work is a huge dialogue in their art, seeing it as an important community service to prevent unwanted sexual advances and attacks. “I know many empowered, liberated and educated, happy, sane women, men and otherwise who do sex work and maintain
a perfectly ‘normal’ life. It is the oldest profession known to man and it is because of legalisation and regulation that this is made possible – the same model should be applied in other countries, and to the debates like the war on drugs – criminalisation creates a black market, and in turn, [more] crime. Regulation and legalisation promote responsible use, conditions, services etc. I know there is corruption within the sex industry and there is a criminal element, but these are despite the laws, not because of them. NSW has the most flexible laws surrounding sex work; unfortunately (and fortunately for some) the NSW police are also notoriously corrupt in certain factions.” It’s these experiences, both negative and positive, that have led Jack to being interviewed, interviewing others and documenting the lives of former heroin addicts, sex workers and trans-sexual men or women. They give a voice to those who are silent in a world rampant with homophobia and transphobia. Murder and suicide are the biggest killers of trans-sexual women. As a victim of transphobia, Jack’s experiences of sexualisation by strangers on the street, of police injustice and brutality, and of simultaneous exclusion and objectification without trying to elicit a sexual response, inform Jack’s work. This places it in a four-dimensional dialogue, with the complexities of life as a girl or trans-sexual woman at the very core. From their experience identifying as a girl one day, and a boy the next – or sometimes both and neither at the same time – it’s not as simple as walking
outside and feeling safe in clothes you look good in. “If you wear something that you think looks good and somebody else thinks looks slutty, they feel entitled to do whatever the fuck they want with you. Or at the very least, say or touch whatever they want… and I’m not trying to sexualise myself, it’s just that others sexualise me because they see me and think [sexual thoughts].” Jack tells me repeatedly that on occasion they feel more like a girl than a boy. For Jack, the transsexual whoring was a way of exploring that dynamic without identifying as purely transsexual. Jack has no desire for a sex change, but acknowledges there is a need and demand for sex changes to be more accessible and more affordable for trans-sexuals who experience body and gender dysphoria. Jack loved being treated like a lady as opposed to a girl with a penis. After listening to stories about straight-identifying or even bisexual men who have dated Jack, I know Jack is hurt by their unfulfilled fantasies. At the end of the day, these men want girls, a real girl.
More from Jack Mannix: Writing: cocksuckerbruise.tumblr.com Buy Cocksucker Bruise: fakedrugs@gmail.com Photography: jackmannix.tumblr.com Precious Metals exhibition: facebook. com/events/710554685655227
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ISSUE TWO: PARTY
A BRIEF HISTORY OF:
Parties weren’t always the bingeing, raging, three-day puke fests they are now (shock, horror). Yes, there was music, booze, and a dress code, but the similarities end there. Sceptical? ADRIANNA ZAPPAVIGNA gets jiggy with it to produce a go-to guide for era parties. 1920s and 1930s: Get your Gatsby on! Speakeasy parties flourished during the Prohibition era. Secret passwords granted wild flappers and dappers entry to dim, windowless basements where they would engage in drinking and debauchery. Scandalous women, in heavy make up, exposed their knees in drop-waist dresses (gasp!), while men sported fedoras and bold pinstriped Beetlejuice suits. Bathtub liquors, dulcet jazz tones, pearls and feather boas accompanied a dance or five. 1950s: Grease is the word. Pelvic thrusting and swinging hips accompanied by the Jailhouse Rock of the King. Vision may have been obstructed by poodle skirts and ridiculously high and generously oiled hair but it was all part of the fun. Think limbo contests, doowop bands, beer floats and Mint Fizzes on the house. Then there were the hamburgers, French fries, onion rings and mega milkshakes. 1960s: Peace, love and sexy time! (It’s okay if you read it like Borat, I did.) Those amidst the Cultural Revolution soaked up the psychedelic vibes inspired by The Stones, Zeppelin and Hendrix. Bohemian style and peace signs gave way to Twiggyesque miniskirts and go-go boots, tight black leather and shag hairdos. Yahooligans mastered the Twist and the Watusi. Go-to drinks included Bloody Marys, Sloe Gin Fizzes and Screwdrivers, and party food followed the vegetarian trend. Sadly, there was no Instagram. What a waste of #cleaneating. 1970s: Make way for the dancing queen(s)! Saturday Night Fever, Fame, ABBA and the Bee Gees ignited disco inferno. We’re talking mirror balls and illuminated dance floors. Undoubtedly, there are nostalgic and traumatic
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memories of pimps in all-white crutch grabbing flares and big hair. On their arms, Farrah Fawcett dopplegangers in shift dresses and sky high platforms housing live goldfish. Girls sipped Tequila Sunrises, while guys opted for Harvey Wallbangers and White Russians. 1980s: Moonwalking and Dirty Dancing. While guys sported mullets and moonwalked across dance floors in acid wash jeans, “Girls just wanna have fun.” And, nothing says fun like animal print, neon colours and geometric patterns, right? Girls embraced leg warmers, side ponytails and mesh-and-lace ensembles à la Madonna. Dehydrated? Help yourself to some Wine Coolers, Kamikazes or Alabama Slammers. 1990s: Can’t touch this! A boombox perched atop your shoulder was the coolest 90s party accessory. Guys wore baggy jeans with their boxers on full display, Puka shell necklaces, and bleached locks- frosted tips optional (blame the Backstreet Boys). 90s chicks made it with high waisted pants and platform sandals. Crimped hair, crop tops and chokers also featured heavily in the sartorial choices of the day. S-Club 7 and the Vengaboys were a given, as were Zima, Alcopops and anything spiked with Kool-Aid. The noughties: Eat, sleep, rave, repeat. You know how it works. Our generation doesn’t discriminate; we love everyone from Jack (Daniels) to Johnny (Walker). If we’re not thrifting for our outfits, we’re screaming for shots, worshipping the DJ and fist pumping like our lives depend on it. The humble party has clearly evolved and so too have our ideas of fun. What’s next? Rovers on Mars… Stereosonic on the Moon? Who knows. Until then… let the beat drop.
“I wouldn’t know what winning an Oscar feels like, but being published in Vertigo feels pretty damn good.” - Leonardo Dicaprio*
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VERTIGO
ISSUE TWO: PARTY
science, TECH AND GAMING
New-ral paths to creativity What if there was a way to zap out your creative blocks? RACHEL WORSLEY looks at modern neurological research and the possibility of a real-life thinking cap. In an episode of the ABC documentary Redesign My Brain, Todd Sampson was able to enhance his creativity by practicing several skills. He took a leaf out of Edward de Bono’s Six Thinking Hats1 to practice divergent and lateral thinking, as he visualized and created an artistic masterpiece. Traditional theories debunked Neuroscientists have recently debunked the so-called right brain/left brain theory, emphasising that the two halves of the brain must work together through the corpus collosum (the bridge that joins the two hemispheres) to think and work creatively. A review produced last year by Rex Jung and his colleagues tentatively theorises how that might work. The review proposes that three networks inside our brain govern creative thinking: The executive attention network, the imagination network and the salience network. The executive attention network is all about focusing your attention- such as trying to understand a boring lecture or solving mathematics problems- and engages the outer regions of the prefrontal cortex and the back of the parietal lobe. The imagination network focuses on the insides of the prefrontal cortex and temporal lobe and is responsible for all your daydreaming, nostalgic memories, and imagining the futurelike figuring out what your blind date might look like. The salience network acts as a gatekeeper between the other two networks, monitoring when to switch between them in order to maximize creative flow.
inspiration, allowing the other networks to muscle into your consciousness to kick-start the creative process. Getting those creative juices flowing Dr Allan Snyder, the director of the Centre for the Mind at the University of Sydney, states that it may be as simple as zapping your brain for a bit. Transcranial magnetic stimulation involves having your head strapped with electrodes that direct a current of electricity into your scalp. The procedure isn’t as painful as it sounds and the results can be quite startling. Snyder explains that people have reported enhanced abilities solving the notoriously difficult puzzles that had previously eluded them. This includes Todd Sampson who also visited the neuroscientist’s lab in his quest to redesign his brain. Snyder says he hopes these early experiments will lead to the design of a “creativity cap” where creative ideas can be jolted into existence with the push of a button. But with the potential product still decades away from physical realisation, there remain less shocking ways of increasing your creativity within the brain. Doing regular exercise, painting your room blue and breaking out of your comfort zones are just some of the tried and tested ways of boosting the chance of getting those Eureka! moments. But, if you really want the jolt, USYD is only a short walk away from UTS.2
According to this theory, creativity flows when the executive attention network reduces its activity and when the action of the imagination and salience networks increases. This reduction in the executive attention network effectively silences the mental filter that inhibits new ideas and 1. Describes a parallel thinking process that involves separating thinking into six clear functions and roles, leading to greater productivity and mental acuity – useful for group discussions and individual thinking. Each thinking role is represented by a coloured thinking hat e.g. the white hat focuses on just the facts and the green hat calls on creativity. For further explanation, Six Thinking Hats is available for purchase online – Google it. 2. Vertigo does not support leaving the safety of UTS 24 / CULTURE
science, TECH AND GAMING
art hack day The first Art Hack Day of 2014 was held in Berlin, January 27-29. LACHLAN MACKENZIE gives some insight on this über underground tech fest and what it means for the future of technology. Art and technology were fused into a bundle of creative energy at 2014’s first Art Hack Day (AHD). This year’s event was a collaboration between the arts, culture and technology festival, transmediale; LEAP (Lab for Electronic Arts and Performance); and the organisers of AHD. Over 48 hours, around 100 artists created works that encapsulated the festival theme “afterglow.” The Art Hack Day site description reads: “As coders we fear the ‘legacy’ system, a piece of old junk we haven’t yet figured out how to throw away. As artists, we’re tempted by prolific outbursts of freshness and novelty; more art of less value. Businesses and government crave more data, more connections, more context. By embracing these impulses without contemplation we perpetuate the technological hype cycle and unintentionally shorten the half-life of our artefacts.”
The festival focused on digital waste and the huge accumulation thereof, as well as what happens with such massive amounts of information. Currently, there are approximately two billion indexed web-pages in existence, and that doesn’t count what won’t show up in major search engines (so the Deep Web is unaccounted for). When the majority of the world’s knowledge that has ever existed is indexed online, there are bound to be plenty of wasteful thoughts – and let’s face it there are probably only like four useful Wikihow pages. So how do we recycle this loss, this waste of the digital revolution? And who recycles the waste? At AHD there was a big emphasis on the business of data mining, surveillance and what happens with all our cookies, search histories and personal information we leak online every day.
PRISM: The Beacon Frame Created by Julian Oliver and Danja Vasillev, this is a rotating prism that receives the data your phone sends out when searching for a Wi-Fi network and projects an image of it. The prism shows protocol messages, and data such as your username, hostname and IP address. It was shut down pretty quickly because, well, it was mining data, which is kinda illegal. The response, however, was interesting, and shows that people do care about this kind of monitoring (as long as it’s shoved in their faces).
images courtesy of motherb oard.vice.com
Field Sweeper, Inc. This is a suite developed by Sabrina Basten and Audrey Samson that detects electro-magnetic fields and makes them audible. As long as a device lives, it projects a field, so if it was used now, it would be overloaded. But if you think of a technological wasteland à la WALL-E, it would be a scavenger’s dream. It would also make a brilliant prank-cross-art piece to use in a lecture hall, especially if you altered the produced sounds to a goat bleat screaming (see ‘I Knew You Were a Goat’ – Taylor Swift). Number one on my list of artistic statements about over-dependence on technology that will clear rooms in seconds. SMS: Smoke Messaging Service SMS is a hardware prototype for a smartphone add-on that allows users to send ‘smoke’ signals to each other via their devices. The add-on case contains a small amount of lamp oil that can be heated up at the touch of a button to produce clouds of wispy smoke, of which you can take photos of using your phone’s camera. Alternatively you can just have your conversation partner view in real life. Practical applications are limited, unless you want to invent a new system of smoke codes. Theoretically, this could allow you to communicate in total secrecy across digital networks, which in years to come, may be quite a desirable thing.
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ISSUE TWO: PARTY
science, TECH AND GAMING
Patient 0 Brings Zombie Games Back to Life Want to know how you would hold up under the pressure of a real zombie apocalypse? LACHLAN MACKENZIE gives you the low-down on the next best thing. Patient 0 is a project run by In Real Life (IRL) Studios that takes over a warehouse and turns it into your personal slice of hell. Think movie-level special effects, make up and actors who are trained to make you poop your pants. Sound fun/terrifying? The idea was spawned in a Melbourne pub in 2012, with the assistance of a decent amount of liquor and experience in the movie and gaming industry. It only took a few short months to make the idea a reality, thanks to a very successful Pozible campaign. The scenario of Patient 0 is just like a video game. You enter a bloody, dingy hospital as one part of a six-person military team brought in to clear out the infection. You even have a staff sergeant who yells at you and gets you into macho mode so you’re ready to kick some real (rotting) arse. The new project, coming to Sydney in 2014, promises to feature NPCs (non-player characters) that players can interact with, puzzles that require you to dig into a corpse to find keys and multiple paths throughout the map. Interestingly, IRL’s Pozible has also indicated that the players will have the choice to be a hero or a villain. The Sydney version features some new additions, including side-arms and updated assault rifles which include greater capabilities: muzzle flash, recoil, swappable magazines and the option to switch between single and burst fire modes. One of the most frightening
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additions is the pain belt – an adjustable device that can deal out differing levels of electric shock to players when they are bitten by zombies (no, I don’t think strangers will actually bite you, unless you ask them nicely), or when they’re hit by friendly fire from team mates. More cool features include an interactive environment, which allows you to blackout lights to move in the dark and break locks. There’s a new medic class that can revive downed players, which sounds like it will add a whole new dynamic to the game. You can even get attachments for your rifle such as a torch, holographic sights and fore-grip. For the ultimate gaming experience there’s even a scoreboard and achievements. I don’t think there’ll be a pop-up for those but damn it sounds cool. If you’re wondering about basics, the guns fire infrared beams and the zombies react appropriately – yes, headshots are encouraged. Another awesome feature is the ability to play as an infected. You score points for every bite you get and according to IRL’s Pozible, you earn “personal karma for every player you make scream or cry.” If you’ve always wanted to scare the doodoo out of your friends this could be the perfect chance. The Pozible kickstarter campaign raised a total $127 648 of its $1 000 000 goal. And yes, come release, I will be there.
game releases- march South Park: The Stick of Truth – March 7 (PC/Xbox 360/PS3) Dark Souls 2 – March 14 (Xbox 360/PS3) Titanfall – March 14 (PC/Xbox One) – Xbox 360 release March 28 Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes – March 20 (Xbox 360/Xbox One/PS3/ PS4)
MIXTAPE: THE PARTY
Good parties are the kind where you don’t always have to exude cool. Mark Harding from Sydney band Little May gives HATTIE O’DONNELL his top picks for the ultimate party playlist. Load these babies onto your generic mp3 device, press play and bust some seriously uncoordinated moves. What is your number one party track? I’d have to say ‘Praise You’ by Fatboy Slim. It gets me dancing like a shameless little white man.1 What is your go-to karaoke song? I don’t think I can go past Aerosmith’s ‘I Don’t Want To Miss A Thing.’ Pro tip: pair off and sing deep into each other’s eyes. Even pro-er tip: wear a space helmet and cry to your daughter. What song will you put on at a party and get irrationally angry about if people turn it off? ‘Signed, Sealed, Delivered (I’m Yours)’ – Stevie Wonder. I don’t care what you’ve got waiting on your iPod, it’s like two and a half minutes, let it play out. A tune that’s guaranteed to be one of the last for the night? ‘One More Time’ – Daft Punk. Everyone knows and loves it, it’s just a shame the lyrics are so hard to remember.2 What song is an instant party downer? ‘Mad World’ – Gary Jules. If you start playing this at a party, expect me to go to the nearest computer and print out pictures of dead puppies to hand out to other partygoers, because that’s obviously the vibe you’re going for. Please elaborate on the dance routine you have with your friends (we know you have one, don’t be ashamed). Anytime ‘Somebody That I Used To Know’ comes on, we all lean against a wall and imitate the video clip. If you’re Gotye, the aim is to open your mouth as wide as it can go on every vowel. If you’re Kimbra, you spend most of the song staring at a wall. You’ve got to shotgun the Gotye role early. 1. Hey what brings you down here? Oh, the little number? Don’t let Mark dictate your reading patterns, everyone’s special – read however you like. 2. Get it?!
What is the worst party you’ve ever been to? One of the last 21st’s I went to had one light beer left when I arrived at 10. The dance floor featured songs exclusively from pre-WWII musicals, and half the guests were friends of the parents.3 What song will cure your hangover while you’re cleaning up your inevitably trashed house? Ideally something soothing – anything by James Blake usually hits the spot if I’m feeling vulnerable. When I’m hungover, silence is pretty good too. But you probably don’t want to hear that: ‘Hey Mark, recommend us some good music?’ … Silence. Can you give us five tracks you’re into at the moment? 1. ‘Better Than It Ever Could Be’ – The Preatures. This song makes me feel like a unicorn wearing a leather jacket in a club, winking4 and shooting my finger-guns5 at everyone. 2. ‘Let Her Go’ – Jagwar Ma. Seeing these guys play at Laneway was mind blowing. 3. ‘Hey Now’ – London Grammar (Kilter Remix). Takes a great song to a great new place. 4. ‘Retrograde’ – James Blake. This song is perfection. 5. ‘Invest’ – Big Scary. These guys are my favourite Australian act right now. Their album Not Art is the best thing I’ve heard in so long – killer harmonies, melodies and drum parts. You can find The Party Mixtape on our website: www.utsvertigo.com.au
3. No MILFs, DILFs or GILFs. None. 4. Wanking 5. Hooves CULTURE / 27
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ISSUE TWO: PARTY
dance like no one’s watching LILY MEI chats to Mariah Hearn, brand manager and co-designer of Colin Heaney’s latest label, Liberated Heart. I came across Liberated Heart at Falls Festival in Byron Bay. The label started up in September 2013 when fashion guru Mariah Hearn paired up with designer and Canadian-born artist Colin Heaney. “Colin always had the idea of creating really fun, trippy festival wear for younger women. He had this vision but didn’t really know how to implement it.” Mariah came up with Liberated Heart’s five products: The skater skirt, leggings, halter, crop top and body suit, “I just helped with colour choices and where to place each print, because we do placement printing.” On their latest project, Mariah tells me they’re “working on Brazilian bikinis and a Fall Winter collection.” Hint: Get ready for printed velvet. Mariah speaks of Colin as a renowned art icon in the area. “He was a really successful glassblower for about 20 years and he’s really well known for his amazing house, Casa Blue, which is a lifestyle vision [and a] reflection of his designs, both glass and fashion.” Colin started designing clothes for women when he grew restless with glass. Liberated Heart puts an emphasis on typical Byron feel-good vibes. “We just really wanted to create something positive with a positive message about having self respect and being happy, because I feel like a lot of the newer generations are sort of in this funk.” The answer? Dancing. “[Colin] is known in Byron for his dancing.” Mariah explains that Liberated Heart wanted to be “something so different that when you look at it, you’re just inspired and happy and you feel liberated.” She likens the feeling to that of a festival, watching your favourite band perform while you absorb the crowd atmosphere.
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Mariah came to Byron from Hawaii, “You know, nature has always been something that we have spiritually resonated with.” She also describes how they transferred the sensation of jumping into the ocean into print. “‘Kaleidoscopic Dreams’ is more like a sunrise or sunset. ‘Fantasy’ is really dreamy and just relaxing, with the turquoise hues, like a sky.”
The gear is diverse too; it’s promoted as yoga wear, swimwear, festival wear and general wear. Crops double as rashies and the body suits are great for surfing in. Heaney’s label attracts a huge demographic – from 12 to 50 year olds. Mariah attributes this success to trial, error and a bit of magic. She started out with a strong design vision: “We [had] to do matching sets, you know, prints on prints – something that’s kind of outrageous … a little bit risky. Ever since [I said] that, our sets have been rolling out.” The best thing about working in sets is their wildcard nature, “You can kind of mix and match. The velvet collection you’ll see is a very wearable collection, even though it is a stretch wear [there are] items everybody can wear. We’ve actually altered the leggings to be high waisted. And then we’ve got a high waisted short but it’s not going to be super skin-tight so you can layer it in winter. We’re doing another skirt but more A-line and we’re also doing a crop long sleeve top and a really cool sort of shift tunic t-shirt dress as well.”
“There’s so much passion,” affirms Mariah. The energy these designers have propels the label, and it’s clear Liberated Heart is growing fast. “We’ve been trying to get everything done locally. Our overhead is so big now that we’re going to have to go to factories, which is great because it will get a lot easier. Getting it done locally is a lot more time consuming. It can be frustrating, for sure.” At the moment, Liberated Heart don’t stock to wholesalers; it’s just online. But that doesn’t seem to have done them any harm. Perhaps it has even become part of their appeal; it has a local feel, a uniqueness and newness about it. “It’s more authentic and fun knowing the story of where these items come from,” says Mariah. “We do it because we love it.” In keeping with the theme of this issue, I couldn’t help but ask: If Liberated Heart threw a party, who would be their top five guests? “Kate Moss because she is such a fashion icon, we love her style and she seems fun to party with. Banksy because we love his artwork and the message behind it: We shouldn’t conform to society. Bob Marley because he is rad. We love how much he praises one love, spreading world peace and vibing out to some mellow tunes. Bridgette Bardot because she is also a
fashion and art icon, being one of Andy Warhol’s muses and a gorgeous curvy blonde bombshell with lots of attitude. [She] was also a dancer. David Bowie for being controversial and having an amazing 70s psychedelic, funky style … he was both masculine and feminine and completely pulled it off, [he] was a total rock god.”
Thanks to Colin Heaney, Vertigo is giving away one Liberated Heart Bohemian print halter-neck and skater skirt set. For your chance to win, send us a flash fiction story (up to 500 words) or, draw a scene set at a party with Liberated Heart’s nominated guests: Kate Moss, Banksy, Bob Marley, Bridgette Bardot and David Bowie. Email submissions@utsvertigo.com.au with ‘Liberated Heart entry’ in the subject line. Please include your name, phone, student number and size with your entry. See utsvertigo.com.au for terms and conditions.
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inside
sydney story factory Storytelling is a fundamental part of learning. LARISSA BRICIS sits down with Storyteller-in-Chief Richard Short to discuss the value of storytelling and its potential to bring about social change. Could you explain what the Sydney Story Factory is? The Sydney Story Factory is a creative writing centre for students from primary school and high school, and our aim … is to provide arts based creative writing workshops for students who wouldn’t normally have the opportunity to attend those workshops. Disadvantaged kids and – because we’re located in Redfern – Indigenous kids, kids from nonEnglish speaking backgrounds, are our core audience. We’ve been in this space … for 18 months now. We’ve got good connections with the local schools and other local organisations. We’re reaching the kids that we want to reach. The Martian Embassy aspect of the organisation is quite interesting. Could you explain it? Yeah. The rear of the space is the creative writing centre and the front is the Martian Embassy. It serves two purposes. One is to raise a little bit of money to run the workshops, because they’re free. The second function is that it gives the kids a symbolic indication that they’re coming into a space that is not like a classroom, they’re free to try things and take risks that they might not normally take in a classroom. What difference does it make for students to have the experience of a different classroom? Primarily, it’s about creativity. I say this to teachers a lot: we’re not here to pretend that we’re providing something that’s better than what the students get at school. It’s just an addition. We aren’t so focused on the nuts and bolts of writing, but rather what you can do with the nuts and bolts. You know, I found, when I was a teacher I never got to see
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what [the kids] could do with those skills, when they really used them. What have you personally gained from the Sydney Story Factory? A lot. I was a high school English and English-as-a-secondlanguage (ESL) teacher. I loved that job but I felt constrained by what I could ask the kids to do. We had to prepare them for assessment tasks. I used to sit in the classroom and think, ‘Oh wow. It would be so great if we could do a podcast about this instead of just writing an essay about it,’ but I never had time to actually make that happen. Whereas here, I can set up a workshop and do a podcast on any topic just because I’m not hooked by the syllabus and the day-to-day activities. That’s the biggest gift that I’ve gotten from this place.
The Sydney Story Factory began in early 2011. Now there are 2645 students and 586 volunteers involved. What do you attribute that rapid success to? Well I think – bizarrely – that there are a lot of people [out there], that are a little bit like me. By that, I mean people who believe in creativity and believe that writing is an important vehicle, not just for people to express who they are, but also to figure out how they connect with the rest of the world. [The
Factory] really provides an opportunity for that to happen. As a student, you get contact with adults that you’d never normally speak to. You get the same experience when you’re a volunteer. For volunteers, it’s usually [just] as exciting … because you come in, you work on a project for eight weeks, and you become part of that student’s world, that student’s enthusiastic response to the project. So adults gain something from it as well. The adults go off and tell their friends, who then come in and say, ‘I want to volunteer.’ In the same way that the adults tell others, the kids are telling their friends ... It’s a good idea. It’s just a really, really good idea. Are there any lessons that you’ve learnt from the children you’ve worked with? I think the biggest thing I’ve learned is not to be embarrassed. It’s really funny; kids are fantastically strange because they’re self-conscious, but they have these moments where they can escape their self-consciousness. It’s in those moments that they do their best work. It’s also something that you lose as you become older. People become more confident, or rather more confident within things that they’re particularly good at doing. Kids, they kind of bust out of that. That’s what I take from a lot of the workshops. What effect do you see in the children and the work they’re taking home? It’s so hard to say. But, I can see it. I can see the confidence of the students improving and I can see that they’re more able to empathise with each other, more able to express themselves. All the things that you’d expect. And they’re kind of more
willing to deal with adults on a level that’s even … But it’s so difficult to provide empirical evidence on it. I really believe that it’s doing good things. The teachers and volunteers believe it’s doing good things.
Looking to the future, what would you like to see the Sydney Story Factory achieve? Well I’d like there to be more of us. I‘d like there to be one in the Western suburbs, possibly. Or I’d like to have a mobile version of what we’ve got here that we can take from school to school, just to get to as many schools as we possibly can. I’d like to branch out into a science and maths focus, as well. I think that’s an interesting way to reach a whole bunch of other kids who aren’t the ‘writing’ kids. I really want to set up a few programs for teachers. Whenever we go out to schools, teachers ask us about workshops that they can attend, just about using the things that we’re doing at the Factory. We want to put out the word, and share what we’ve already done. If we do any of those things in the next few years it’ll be fantastic. For more information, or to volunteer, head to: sydneystoryfactory.org.au
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my favourite
woody allen movie Can we really separate art from the artist? RACHEL EDDIE examines the affect of Woody Allen’s alleged crimes on our enjoyment of his films. “What’s your favourite Woody Allen movie?” Dylan Farrow asked. Manhattan, I answered. Farrow’s open letter, published in The New York Times last month, goes on to describe the ways her adoptive father, Woody Allen, sexually assaulted her from the age of seven.
conjecture on what this means for Woody Allen fans. Could we, should we continue to enjoy Annie Hall? Should we really applaud Cate Blanchett’s recent Oscar for Blue Jasmine? I’d argue that we shouldn’t, for two reasons: because a) the meaning of his films have been transformed by the allegations, so that they can no longer be considered good films; and b) support for Woody Allen’s work is no longer morally sound.
“What’s your favourite Woody Allen movie?” Manhattan is a 1979 film co-written, directed by and starring Woody Allen, who plays a balding 42 year old man in a sexual and romantic relationship with a 17 year old student. Manhattan, I answer. Now let that thought curdle. These allegations were first made public in 1992. In this time, more than 20 years later, Allen has been awarded four Golden Globe awards – including the Cecil B. DeMille Award (known as the Lifetime Achievement Award) on January 13 of this year – and has been nominated for seven Oscars, and won an eighth. I won’t bore you, but Woody Allen has been awarded a further 94 prestigious prizes in the 22 years since he allegedly sexually assaulted his seven-year-old daughter. Granted, Woody Allen has not yet been found guilty. And though for me it seems overwhelmingly likely that he is (you need only look at his marriage with Soon-Yi Previn or watch Manhattan to reach the same conclusion), I’m not concerned with the Did-He-Didn’t-He politics. There’s been far less
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For many of us, Woody Allen films were great ones. But the brunt of it is right there in the past tense; they can no longer be great. Many suggest simply separating the man from the art. But it cannot be so straightforward. By celebrating his art, we celebrate him, be it with prestigious trophies or fortune. Regardless, we actually can’t separate Woody Allen from his films; he is so embedded in them that they are an extension of him. Allen is an auteur director (literally translating to mean “director as author”), meaning that his films are not singular, individual pieces, but rather part of a body of work that are so intrinsically Woody Allen that they are known for nothing else. We watch Woody Allen films because they are Woody Allen films; they receive hype for the same reason. To celebrate Woody Allen films is to celebrate Woody Allen. And, if the allegations are true, that means celebrating a paedophile.
Of course, regardless of their director, for many people these films will continue to be great. Because, “so what?” Let’s get some popcorn brewing and slap Annie Hall in the disc drive. But since when did watching a good film become more important than the livelihood of survivors? Even if they are great art, even if such gross misconduct does not affect their greatness, prioritising art over morality is not an OK option.
It was only a few months ago that I browsed eBay for Woody Allen posters. That I, an outspoken feminist (and an inherent supporter of survivors) might unknowingly worship an alleged paedophile – that I might worship an alleged paedophile so much so that I’d seek out and pay to have his picture hang above my bed – is a gross oversight by myself, fellow fans, Hollywood, media platforms and feminists. The first public allegations were so cleanly, so conveniently forgotten that this was new information for most of us. Why? Because 22 years ago, public support for Woody Allen was unwavering. Because too many people let it slide. To those of you – and I know you are many – who simply can’t surrender your love for Allen, what’s important is that next time you recommend his films to another, you remind them of the allegations. If only so that in 20 years, another generation of film buffs might not unknowingly praise a paedophile. So that a survivor might not be forgotten. Or, as Tanya Steele suggests in her Indiewire article ‘When an Artist you Admire is an Accused Predator’:
And, that is what I say when I no longer listen to Marvin or watch Woody or, or, or. I simply say, right now, I am honoring the victim. It is a way to bring compassion to the victim.” I can’t for the life of me remember what I once loved about Manhattan. And I have not as yet smashed Annie Hall on the footpath, but by God it’ll feel good when I do. I won’t give Allen another dollar. And if his movies make me feel anything, it won’t be awe. I won’t laugh with his narcissism or admire his characterisation of New York City. If I feel anything for Manhattan, Annie Hall, Midnight in Paris or Blue Jasmine it will be loathing. Or better yet, I won’t ever watch a Woody Allen film again.
“If I am in a club or environment where he [R. Kelly] is played, I go and stand or sit in silence. I choose to honor the victims.
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The rise and fall of
Michael Hutchence An untimely death? Never tear us apart is channel Seven’s recent mini-series about INXS and frontman (and swagster) Michael Hutchence. According to NICHOLAS ADAMS, it isn’t particularly timely. But maybe Hutchence’s death was.
Two worlds collided in the ratings rift between Channel Seven’s INXS Never Tear Us Apart and Nine Network’s Schapelle. On couches across the country, the worn out question, ‘Did she do it?’ was still being asked, a decade later. More interestingly however is the uncertainty that remains, 16 years after Hutchence’s death, ‘Did he mean to do it?’ A greater number of people, more tastefully, tuned into Seven for the mini-series penned by musician turned screenwriter, Dave Warner (Garage Days). But was it timely? It’s not an anniversary; Hutchence died in November. So why telecast the INXS mini-series in February? ‘Cause it was finished and that was the earliest optimal airdate… seems a lame answer. Was Hutchence’s death timely? For his daughter, Heavenly Hiraani Tiger Lily Hutchence and her mother Paula Yates, maybe not. But for the rock star and his fans, perhaps, yes. Michael Hutchence was a star, he had a gravitas that was charismatic, he penned and performed mesmerising songs and he possessed a sexy swagger. He dated Kylie Minogue as the post Neighbours good girl she once was, and made her the sex symbol she is today. He wrote ‘Suicide Blonde’ about her, and famously said that corrupting Kylie was his favourite pastime. “It was as if I had worn blinkers, and the blinkers had been taken off,” Minogue said in an interview with Fairfax Media. “He had that dark side, but he was also a beautiful, beautiful person. So well-read, very poetic, quite Byron-esque. So he opened my eyes to art, to culture, to the world, to traveling, to different people. As well as some of the underbelly of life.” Hutchence was with model Helena Christensen before she went on to date, have a kid with, and separate from Norman Reedus (The Walking Dead). He even shacked up with Paula Yates when she was married to Bob Geldof. They both fell into addiction – to drugs and each other. As Michael sung it best, they could never be torn apart. Yates overdosed on heroin
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three years after Hutchence’s death. Their daughter Tiger Lily was put under Geldof’s custody with her half sisters. Her surname was eventually hyphenated to Hutchence-Geldof; could that be the ultimate revenge on Bob’s part – with perhaps a bruised ego – or the selfless act of a good man? At the 1996 BRIT Awards, Hutchence presented Oasis with the Best Video award. Liam Gallagher responded, “Hasbeens shouldn’t be presenting awards to gonna-bes.” I’d rather a star burn out than fade away; in a blaze of glory, they go supernova. This is Hutchence. The alternative is to become obsolete to music or fans while you’re still kicking, like Liam Gallagher, the dick. You need only look at Club 27 to see that people are still drawn to the tortured, tragic artist ending: Jimi Hendrix, Jim Morrisson, Amy Winehouse, and most significantly, Kurt Cobain. Bono, a close friend of Hutchence recalls, “When the news came in that Michael Hutchence had taken his life in a Sydney hotel room, I couldn’t believe it. Of all people, he really loved life. And it quite loved him back. You know, there’s a moment when laughter turns to cackle, when the party balloons start to pop and you’re the last person left standing and maybe you should have gone home an hour earlier. It’s happened to me a few times. It was happening to him a lot. I asked him a couple of times, was he OK. I remember he talked a lot about Kurt Cobain’s suicide.” Paula Yates was one of several people who spoke to Hutchence on the phone the night he died. His death was speculated an accident, by way of autoerotic asphyxiation, but more likely, a suicide.
His work speaks for him: “In the dark of night / uncertain and anxious / I need to call you / … I wish you were so close to me / In the dark of night / Those small hours / I drift away, when I’m with you / In the dark of night / By my side / I wish you were by my side.” With a voicemail to his manager saying he’d had enough, a report that showed drugs and alcohol in his system, and a noose around his neck, the coroner inferred Hutchence’s death was suicide. And so, Hutchence became one with a myriad of rock stars, never to finish half written albums, or complete come back tours. Hutchence was 37. Jeff Buckley and his father died at 30, and 28 respectively. Ian Curtis of Joy Division was 23. ‘Never Tear Us Apart’ is ironically comparable to ‘Love Will Tear Us Apart’: Curtis also hanged himself. In Stephen Hawking’s A Brief History of Time, he describes the event horizon, the lip of light on the edge of a black hole as it sucks in matter. He theorises that if you were at that point, next to a star as it exploded, you could experience all time in that moment. Except that you wouldn’t have enough time to experience it… the black hole’s gravity would tear you apart. At the conclusion of the mini-series, a quote from Andrew Farriss read, “We were just a bunch of Australian guys from the suburbs who took a band around the world. We did it. We pulled it off.” That might be true of the rest of INXS, but Michael Hutchence didn’t just pull it off, he became a legend, a true rock god.
He may have been a star, but trying to make sense of his death is like trying to determine meaning from astrological signs. You can’t, because there is none. The more appropriate thing to do would be to look for universal truth in his lyrics. They are not a cry for help, but retrofitted to his death.
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ISSUE TWO: PARTY
life through a lens:
rick smolan making tracks Tracks tells the true story of Robyn Davidson’s perilous trek across the Australian outback. Rick Smolan, photojournalist, chats with JUNE MURTAGH about the film, his career, and the intense and often tenuous relationship he had with Robyn. Robyn Davidson was a young woman when she – along with four camels and a dog – embarked on a nine month trek across the Australian desert. The film, based on Davidson’s memoir of the same name, recounts her journey, from the harsh outback climate to the pesky tourists. Rick Smolan recorded the trip and accompanied Robyn periodically. In the foyer of a glamorous Sydney hotel, I got the chance to sit down with Rick who is just as open and friendly as the film makes him out to be. Rick began his interest in photography at 14, when he received a camera as a gift from his father. “I was always an observer … so I always wanted to be a photographer.” His early days with a camera consisted less of capturing stunning photographs of world events and more of snapping pictures of classmates for the yearbook. However, his determination got him places: “I went to college and I went to my art professor and I made up my own major in photography within a week. And then he knew somebody at TIME Magazine and so one day he sent me to TIME with my yearbook and I literally got hired on the spot.” Flash forward a couple of years. While in Asia, Rick met with the Prime Minister and was offered a position in an Australian journalism program. While in Alice Springs, covering a story about Indigenous Australians, he met Robyn Davidson, “Meeting Robyn was so interesting … she was washing the windows of my hotel when I walked out ... so I went and took some pictures of her … she got really angry and started screaming at me.” The two continued to be reunited in a series of unlikely circumstances until eventually, National Geographic Magazine sent Rick out to document Robyn’s travels: “The editor of National Geographic called me and said ‘this woman wrote to us asking us to fund this camel trip. Is she nuts? Is she a
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nutcase? Is she going to die out there?’ And I said ‘well, she’s very intense, she’s very focused’ ... And they said ‘well I’ll tell you what, since you guys are such good friends, why don’t you be the photographer to document the trip?’ And suddenly I’m on this adventure with this woman who doesn’t want me there!”
As expected, the trip had its difficulties. When asked about what the hardest part of the experience was, Rick replied, “Not being able to protect somebody that I...” he trailed off for a second, then continued, “I fell in love with Robyn, obviously. It’s pretty obvious in the movie I think.” Reflecting further on his impressions of Robyn, Rick states that, “Even at 27, she seemed to be a wise soul. She had a really unique way of looking at the world. I had conversations with her I’d never had before or since. And just brutal honesty. She would just tell you what she thought. She didn’t care if she hurt your feelings, she didn’t care what you thought of her, she would just say whatever she thought. I’d never met anybody who was that direct.” Eventually, I asked Rick what his opinion of the film was, to which he replied: “Overall, I thought it was moving,” not forgetting to add that it “was exaggerated in parts ... There were some things that made me cringe,” he admits. “I never posed Robyn. I never said ‘turn this way or that way’ or all that stuff ... I would have been fired if I ever set up a picture.” And what about the infamous scene photographing the Aboriginal ceremony? “There was no secret ceremony, that
never happened,” he clarified, “I always ask permission. I did go out and photograph Aborigines in the camps while she was sleeping, but I always asked, I never snuck any pictures ... I think [the filmmakers had] to portray the character of Rick as sort of a jerk and insensitive at the beginning and then have him change ... The first time I saw it I was going, ‘that’s so awkward!’”
But of course, there are many more positive aspects of the film than there are negative. Rick gave his opinion on the cast of the film, particularly Mia Wasikowska and Adam Driver, who portrayed Robyn and Rick respectively. “I thought Mia did an incredible job of capturing Robyn,” he stated. “Mia’s wonderful, she’s so down to earth.” And Adam? “He’s very sweet. You know, in the movie he really looked like he knew what he was doing – the way he held the camera, the way he interacted with [Mia].”
And the positivity just kept coming. “One of the things I was really pleased with is that they built a lot of the sets from the photographs. From the pictures I originally shot – they literally took the pictures and then created sets based on that. That was really fun seeing still photographs come to life.” Looking back on his career, Rick believes that, “It was all complete fate...Just random things. You know, I keep thinking; if I hadn’t gone to that college, if my professor hadn’t known [the TIME Magazine employee] at the time, if my Dad hadn’t given me a camera, all this stuff... So I always feel like I’m at the mercy of fate.” To finish up, I asked Rick’s advice, for anyone looking to pursue a career in journalism. “Don’t,” he laughed, “It’s a hard life. I guess what I would say is be a journalist but think about how to tell stories with it afterwards. Be a writer, be a filmmaker, take all the things you’re doing for journalism and use that as raw material to then tell stories in a larger way. I guess that would be my advice because it’s really hard to make money as a journalist right now.” Tracks is now showing in cinemas.
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PODCASTS
About People Doing Unexpected Things Do you often find yourself in a pickle with nothing interesting to say? These three podcasts should give you something to talk about with friends and strangers at the odd gathering. Recommendations by ANDY HUANG. Interlude: A short note from a sad adult We all love a good story. We love to tell them because they make dinner conversations a little less dull. This is a lie. It’s because the alternative is silence, which is awkward, and that makes a lot of people uncomfortable. We also love to hear about the insane incredible things people do because we get to experience them vicariously, without all the, y’know, serious consequences and risks. And, if you’d rather avoid all kinds of tedious social interaction, podcasts are a fun way to pass the time. Love + Radio: Jack and Ellen Broadcast: February 21, 2013 If podcasts were people, Love + Radio would undoubtedly be that too cool indie kid with an explicit tag. Created by Nick van der Kolk, the podcast features a curious selection of stories you’re unlikely to hear on mainstream radio. From conversations with balloon porn artists to stay at home strip club owners who hold their interviewers at gunpoint, Love + Radio is definitely one that’s NSFW. Not to be listened to with your mum. [SPOILER] This episode is about Ellen who pretends to be a fifteen-year-old boy called Jack. You’d think taking life advice from a message board called ‘Bad Ideas’ would be, well, bad, right? Not for Ellen. Ellen was working as everybody’s beloved sandwich artist at Subway, but she still struggled with money. Enter Google, a bad idea and Jack. What she wound up doing is not only illegal, but also morally and ethically questionable – her story is compelling, and the episode won a Best Documentary: Honourable Mention at Third Coast International Audio Festival 2013 (which is like the Sundance of radio, it also has its own excellent podcast).
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UnFictional: One Moment Changes Everything Broadcast: November 23, 2013 UnFictional is a half hour program that brings you captivating real life stories, covering topics as pedestrian as the nice people who live across the street. You’ll enjoy this podcast if you like This American Life (sorry, but c’mon, the comparison was inevitable), but are short on time (read: have a short attention span). This episode is all about drastic changes. These days Terry and George stick with fishing, and they have plenty of fishy tales. In ‘One Moment Changes Everything,’ we also hear about One Time who got the shock of a lifetime. He went from an existence running from the cops and climbing rooftops, to being a suburban dad. The Truth: Eat Cake Broadcast: February 14, 2012 If you weren’t aware, The Truth is fictional, unlike UnFictional, which is true. Each episode is a short radio play – running 10-15 minutes – but not like the old timey kind that comes to mind. This is more like Tropfest for your ears, and it’s one of the best audio-dramas out there – named iTunes’ best new arts podcast in 2012. ‘Eat Cake’ is one of my all-time favourite episodes, because there’s nothing cuter than the specific plotline of, “When a Stranger Calls on Valentine’s Day.” Every Valentine’s, Elizabeth bakes a cake. Not just any cake, a coconut cake. The phone rings. It’s Brian. Brian is a man who calls strangers, whose names or numbers he picks out of the phone book. Will he murder her, or not? Why (not)? A public service announcement Do you get a bit sad and lonely because nobody likes you? Yeah, we know the feeling. Please like us: facebook. com/utsvertigo. In return, we’ll give you our affection, and free stuff too.
showcase: poetry
If your phone gets wet, you need to put it in a bag of rice Words by Emma Rayward
My weather app never said this rain was going to happen, It doesn’t even say it is happening now, but I’m pretty sure it’s raining, because I can hear it through my bedroom window. I throw my iPhone aside and go and stand in the rain, just to stand there, in the rain. It feels nice on my scalp, but I soon go inside in case anyone sees me and asks what I’m doing, Because I don’t know, so I can’t tell them. /// Tonight I realised, looking upwards, those stars are actually billions of light years away, possibly dead in their time, but in mine still burning on, Which I had forgotten, because they just look stuck up there with Blu-Tack, Like I could just touch them, but I can’t, because I could never get there, And even if I did it would be too hot. /// I think it will soon get to a point where the only furniture in my bedroom is plastic bottles, Mostly empty, but some with little sips of water left in them, tasting of plastic, warm from being sat on, or left under blankets, or pillows, or clothes. When I want to go into my room I’ll have to wade through the bottles, and maybe sometimes I’ll dive down to the bottom, or maybe I’ll float on my back. Hopefully they will be made of thin plastic, and the little sips of water left in the bottom will reflect light in the summer.
Emma Rayward is an Honours writing student who likes to take a mud bath in the abject and just jump around in it for a while, giggling. You can follow her at twitter.com/afinedeadsound
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ISSUE TWO: PARTY
showcase: ART
GRACE MATHIS
Grace Mathis is a third year Visual Communication Design student who spends her time doodling and painting. She is happiest when she is in the great outdoors or tending to her sunflowers. Check out her Instagram: @gracie2400
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ISSUE TWO: PARTY
showcase: writing
extract -
Evelyn and the Inevitable Words by TAHLIA NELSON
Mrs Van Gerbig died on a Wednesday afternoon; face down in her split pea soup. It was just about the most exciting thing to happen in our building since last June, when Mrs McKinnon threw all of her husband’s belongings down the stairs in a fit of blind rage. I don’t remember much about Mrs Van Gerbig, except that she enjoyed listening to classical music, and had her groceries delivered every Thursday. Only a few vague details of her appearance are caught in my memory: A pair of tortoiseshell glasses, curious hair in unexpected places (nostrils, chins, earlobes), and a bulge of overhanging stomach tucked into tailored trousers. It was Mrs McKinnon who found her, all pale and soupy. She was yelling through the door to “keep that bloody dog quiet” when, losing patience, she launched herself into the unlocked apartment and found the scrawny canine yapping in circles and clawing at the body. Come to think of it, maybe my strongest memory of Mrs Van Gerbig is the manner of her death. Or the way they carried her down the stairs under a sheet, all pudgy and lifeless. Alas, she is of little consequence to this story. I only mention her now because it was her departure that led to their arrival. We were first alerted to the presence of new tenants upstairs by the smell of potpourri and baked goods. It was such a foreign aroma to our musty, moth-eaten building that it sent my mother walking wrinkle-nosed into the hallway. “What the bloody hell is that smell?” “Smells good.” I grinned, but she only narrowed her eyes, so I offered an explanation. “I think it’s the new people upstairs.” She went on with her business, occasionally shooting disapproving glances at the ceiling. In my mind’s eye I imagined hordes of dust particles charging through the air and leaping onto the invading whiffs of fragrance, suffocating them until they sputtered out and died. A little dramatic, I’ll admit, but Mum’s always said that I’ve got an overactive imagination. They moved in at an in-between time. The sky had been washed clean and blue, with soapsud clouds that sometimes
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leaked the last dregs of rain from winter. My street’s “mature” population could be found in their gardens, planting and pruning with green-thumbed enthusiasm. Seeds sprouted and birds bantered and the new residents walked into our building with boxes of belongings. Let me paint you a picture of Number Twelve before their arrival. Five storeys, five apartments teetering on top of each other in a pile of red brick and mortar. We were on the bottom floor, and above us was Mrs Van Gerbig, then the McKinnons, Harvey Whistle, and the retired Mr and Mrs Fassbinder. To say they were a dull lot would be like saying that World War Two was kind of a big deal. My tween-aged self found them so disinteresting that I developed a habit of inventing outrageous backstories for each of them. Mrs Van Gerbig, for instance, had once been a world famous trapeze artist, until a devastating Spandex allergy had put an end to her circus days, and forced her to live out the rest of her life grappling with obesity and ineptitude. The McKinnons had fled Scotland after finding themselves at the centre of a political scandal involving whiskey, watermelons, and an anonymous member of the royal family. Harvey Whistle was a reformed drug lord, and on some days his shady attire and suspicious expression had me convinced that he wasn’t done dealing. As for the Fassbinders, they were next in line for the throne of a small island in the South Pacific, even if they didn’t know it yet. Our apartment looked and smelled like somebody’s dishevelled attic. My room was dark and small, slotted into a dusty corner. I was sitting on my bed, beside our sleeping cat, when I first heard them moving around upstairs. A dull scraping, the patter of feet, a gust of laughter, then music. The muted notes seeped through the floorboards. Maybe it was because no one was home, no one to ask me what I was doing, or maybe I was just feeling impulsive, but in one swift motion I had left my bed and made my way to the door. In another, I had slipped through, and begun to make my way up the stairs, led by curiosity, held back by caution. At the top of the staircase I
paused and sat myself down, listening. I strained to hear over the music and my own clumsy breathing. In the few minutes outside their door, I learnt that her name was “Evelyn!” I also deduced that they must have been moving furniture around. Suddenly the noises stopped, to be replaced by a padding towards the door. It swung open and there she stood. She was looking straight at me. How had she known? “Evelyn, what are you doing?” He appeared at her side, all dreadlocks and stubble. She beamed at me, blonde plaits and a sundress. And I sat silent in the stairwell. “Would you like to come inside? We’re making lasagne. It’s super fun, I promise.” I think I was still staring at her because she stepped aside to emphasise her point. I found a voice, I can’t be sure it belonged to me, but it responded, “Sure, thanks.” I stood up and shuffle-footed past them, my fingers anxiously picking at the skin on my elbow. The first thing I noticed was how bright the room was, especially when compared with our attic-like apartment downstairs. I noticed that the tree that grew on the footpath below, and blocked the light in our apartment, only just managed to tap at their window-sill with its leaf-laced fingers, inviting the sun into the room. I spotted a guitar, a few woven rugs, and thick felt blankets on a lounge before turning my eyes back to Evelyn and the man. Or at least, to the ground at their feet. “I’m Evelyn, this is Darren. You live downstairs, right?” A quick nod in response. She was still smiling. “Here, come on. I really do need a hand with this lasagne.” I spent the next half hour chopping next to Evelyn as she handed me a succession of vegetables and herbs. She explained that it was a vegan lasagne, and she hoped I didn’t mind. Without fully understanding the concept, I assured her that I didn’t mind at all. She collected ingredients and began to layer them in a dish, consulting a soup-spattered cookbook
on the bench. There were herbs in terracotta pots at the kitchen window. Shallow pans hung from hooks on the wall. Dreadlock Darren had retreated to a chair in the corner, feet up on a carved wooden coffee table, plucking his guitar beside a potted fern. The melody danced through the air and out the window. He seemed indifferent to my being there. Evelyn, on the other hand, darted around the kitchen telling me all about food and her life and her family and the world. The time she had cooked baklava in Greece. The spices she had discovered in Morocco! Her stories were endless, and her enthusiasm was entirely new to me. My mother was a practical cooker. Evelyn asked me about my family – what did my parents do, did I have any siblings, what was my sister like? By the time the lasagne was in the oven, I felt almost at ease. Evelyn was undoubtedly the loveliest person I had ever met. She embodied beauty, grace and kindness in a way that I’d never seen before. While she spoke I watched the way her loose hair caught in her eyelashes, her fingers moving with her words, her dress spinning around her as she walked barefoot on the floorboards. I became ever conscious of my own appearance. My hair felt frizzy on my face, and I had cat fur on my trousers. In the days that followed, I visited their apartment every afternoon. We would cook, and talk, and listen to Joni Mitchell while dancing around the room. I suppose it was only inevitable that I would do something to ruin it. I seem to have a habit of ruining things, in one way or another. If only I had seen it coming.
Tahlia is a Communications and International Studies student who adores flowers and enjoys picnics. She also considers herself a bit of a dork. She loves adventures and mountains. Tahlia also does pottery.
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miami horror
Over the years, Miami Horror have learnt a lot about the music biz. Frontman Benjamin Plant talks to MADELEINE ER about the band’s forthcoming second album. I was nervous about interviewing Benjamin Plant. Not so much because I hadn’t done a phone interview before, but more so because the band’s first album Illumination had defined much of my final year at school, and it was strange to think I would be interviewing someone whose music I had adored as a 17 year old. Initially a solo project for Plant, Miami Horror first found mainstream success in 2009 with their single ‘Sometimes’ (a great summer banger that I’m sure everyone would recognise upon hearing). The album that followed in 2010, Illumination, brought the band greater recognition with the release of three more singles and an ARIA nomination for Best Dance Release in 2011. Since then Plant, Aaron Shanahan (coproduction/guitars/vocals), and Josh Moriarty (guitars/ vocals) have been busy living in LA, developing a bigger fan-base, working on a few side projects, and making their second album.
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With the still to be titled second album due for release in Autumn, Plant says Miami Horror has grown as a band, and has had a lot of time to learn: “This time, we kind of approached the whole process differently. We decided that we were going to work on it together more as a band as opposed to me producing it. I mean, I produced it this time, but as opposed to kind of going at it solo as I did last time, so as a band it’s been more collaborative.” A four year break seems like a pretty long time, but Plant thinks it allowed for a more natural focus on the song writing process instead of producing a song in a particular style or genre, which was something he says he used to do, “We tried to develop and understand the more classic elements of music and songwriting like chord movement and vocal melodies and lyrics and more dynamic structures, and so we spent two years learning [that]. That’s the kind of process we’re building on this time, and producing it once that’s all done as opposed to the other way around.” Considering the gap between Illumination and the new album, I was interested to hear about the kinds of musical influences Miami Horror had developed. Not surprisingly, there has been a lot: “It’s been so varied because it’s been such a long time … There’s a lot on the album that kind of focused around Talking Heads and that kind of post disco era of music. So we’ve got that side, and we have more of a dreamy [side], a lot more
dreamy than the last album which is kind of based around, I guess, Fleetwood Mac and then a lot of more modern artists like, kind of related to the fact we listen to Toro Y Moi a lot, and Tame Impala and Ariel Pink, and trying to bring that into our own world.”
was younger it seemed cool to bitch about bands. Overseas if you’re successful or if you’re achieving something musically you’re given praise for that, and people look up to that and it’s what people want to achieve.”
I pointed out that, like Miami Horror, Kevin Parker of Tame Impala cites Supertramp as a big influence on his music, “Yeah I was really surprised by that because they did some mixtape once and I saw that Tame Impala had two or three Supertramp songs in the mixtape and I was like, ‘Oh wow, I wouldn’t have thought they were into that!’ It’s like, even if you look at some of our other influences over the last few years … The Beatles, Pink Floyd, just a whole bunch of random bands, they were into [them] as well. It’s just funny ‘cause you’re hearing complete opposites.”
“There’s the whole radio world in Australia that’s limiting, you can only really break through if you’re on radio and played a lot.” He compares the success of bands like Neon Indian and Toro Y Moi being extremely different overseas in comparison to Australia—how is it possible for bands like them to be big overseas but not in Australia, he wonders: “And that might be kind of related to people listening, of course; there’s always that question of how much can a radio station challenge the audience a little more … there’s like, a middle ground that’s not really being attended to in Australia, and that gap is where a lot of bands fail.”
Album aside, I wanted to know from Plant’s perspective the band noticed a differenciaion between the music industry in the US and Australia. “Compared to the world basically, it’s quite different,” he says. “People here, they have this kind of… tall poppy syndrome thing where you’re not allowed to succeed, and if you succeed you’re selling out or something. And that’s not necessarily related to personal experiences, it’s just watching it and even being a part of it, you know? When I
So what about different platforms, like social media? Has that been a tool for Miami Horror or even Toro Y Moi? “I wouldn’t say that social media has done much…there’s a lot of fake stuff going on you know, like I’ve seen people with a million Soundcloud likes and it’s an absolute lie. How did you get a million?” He laughs, “Like the ratio doesn’t make any sense … it’s hard to trust social media, it’s really easy to blow things out of proportion. At the end of the day the music says it all.”
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almost aussie AVALON DENNIS talks French culture in Sydney and mulls over the reasons so many people are leaving France for Bondi Beach (ok, maybe not just Bondi). When I first arrived in France, at the beginning of 2013, I received one of two responses when I told people I was Australian: 1. Mais c’est trop loin! Pourquoi vous-êtes ici? (Oh God, so far! Why are you even here?) 2. Kangourou? (Really? Do I need to translate this?) As the year went on, I found myself believing I had either come from a magical land where life was all beaches and barbecues, or that I had grown up living in a savage wilderness where most animals and plants want to kill you. Savage wilderness or not, it seems that in the last eight years, more and more French-born nationals are leaving their homes and heading down under. In 2011, there were close to 25,000 French-born citizens living in Australia, with a further 100,000 or so claiming French heritage. This was up 28% from the previous census (2006). So what is it about Australia that is so alluring? The cost of living in Sydney, compared to most places in France, is shocking. Rent prices are forcing students to live off mi-goreng. The price of a humble glass of wine is not so humble and, no one can afford to buy a baguette every morning given the local bakery charges four bucks a pop. As for cigarettes (the other French staple)… let’s not even go there. “I moved to Australia to give up smoking,” Clara jokes about the price of tobacco in Australia as she rolls her own cigarette. “In Paris, you are 45 minutes on the metro and everyone is ready to stab each other because they are stressed … you cannot smoke on the train. Everyone has a cigarette in their mouth before they get off. But here, everyone is so relaxed.” And that’s just it. The bottom line for many French people is that Australia’s ‘it’ll be fine’ attitude represents an easygoing
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culture that is a stark contrast to the rigidity and tradition of the French lifestyle. “People here help you even if they don’t know you, and tend not to judge you, which is what my parents say was the case in France 50 years ago,” Xavier comments. For French nationals living here, Australia represents an abundance of opportunity. After living and working in Australia for a year, Camille describes the benefits available to young French students in Australia: “I worked in many different places as a waitress, a milkwoman, a groomer, a salesperson… the goal was to earn money for my road trip around Australia.” Higher minimum wages in Australia are enticing to young French students who come from a country where students are not necessarily encouraged to work. The idea for many like Camille is to earn money that will allow them to explore our diverse landscape. Of course, the French flocking to Australia are bound to experience mal du pays (homesickness) at some point. So for those of you missing your morning stroll to the boulangerie for a warm pain au chocolat, what are the hot tips for an authentic French croissant and perhaps a conversation with someone from home? Rhiannon’s tip is a, “Traditional French café in the suburb of Darlinghurst. It is called Le Petit Crème and if you eat there, you’ll be quick to discover the small community of French speakers in surrounding shops as well.” For anyone who secretly has a crush on anything French, (amiright?) my personal favourite is “La Renaissance Café” in the Rocks. Mouthwatering cakes and coffee draw French-speakers from all parts of Sydney to have a quiet lunch or a snack in a secluded terrace area, right in the heart of Sydney’s oldest area. La France is still à la mode but so is Sydney. Now it would seem this humble, coastal city is fast becoming the cool kid on the global block.
reviews: films
LES REINES DU RING - WRESTLING 11.6 QUEENS If you go to see Wrestling Queens hoping for an edgy display of homoeroticism, you will be left disappointed by the misleading title. I certainly was. However, if you’re in the market for a sillier, French-ier version of Nacho Libre, you’re in luck. The film follows Rose, who takes up female wrestling to win over her estranged (and WWE-obsessed) son. She enlists the partnership of three fellow check-out girls from her supermarket job and antics ensue. We’re talking full-blown training montages as an obligatory cantankerous mentor tries to prepare the women to fight some vicious (and heinously stereotyped) Mexican rivals.
IMAGE CREDIT: DR
IMAGE CREDIT: WILD BUNCH
As a comedy, it certainly leans towards shameless slapstick. At times, painfully so. But all the wrestling was performed by the actors, so you have to give them that… even if it wasn’t actually funny. I can only assume that the film is aimed at a young adult audience, intended as a you-can-knee-that-dude-in-thecrotch empowerment film. However, I found the representation of the female leads to be oversimplified and borderline offensive (keeping in mind, male reviewer here). Rose’s vacillating mood gave the cringe-worthy impression of “I’m wrestling to get through my hormone imbalances and shitty life!” Additionally, the over-sexualisation of their stage personas suggested that audiences for the sport of female wrestling are probably quite easily amused. So easily amused that they would probably love this movie - despite having to actually read subtitles. Albeit Jean-Marc Rudniki’s directorial debut (he is locally known for directing TV detective dramas), the film did not receive a wide release in France. Ultimately, the biggest compliment I can give this film is that it is more enjoyable than watching 97 minutes of WWE Wrestling.
Most sensible people wouldn’t steal 11.6 million euros without using a gun at some point. Well, to be fair, most sensible people wouldn’t steal 11.6 million euros. But if a sensible person did decide to steal that kind of money, they’d probably use a gun, because that’s how they usually do it in films. The quasi-thriller 11.6 goes against this cinematic convention. It follows Toni Musulin, a fairly sensible driver at a cash-intransit security company, who is worn to breaking point by the unfair nature of the greedy, materialistic society in which he plays his part. Musulin’s relationship with his girlfriend is irrevocably strained, he is distant from his colleagues, and his boss is dangerously heartless – it is a film of increasing tension, though it’s tricky to know what will snap, and when. 11.6 is long-time producer Phillipe Godeau’s second shot at directing – his first was the well-received One for the Road. Godeau offers a smooth, washed-out vision of a grittier France than Australian audiences are used to. This style comes at the expense of any empathy that we might feel towards the main character, and the public reaction to his peaceful approach to the crime is, while understandable, perhaps also unexpected. That the film is a realistic depiction of modern France only makes sense – this is a real story. In the wake of the robbery that inspired 11.6, the French daily Le Parisien praised Musulin with the headline “Good move, well pulled off.” The same could be said of the film, an intelligent thriller supported by a compelling cast. Words by Max Grieve
Words by Patrick Boyle
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reviews: bar
Chow bar and eating house Chow Bar features an extensive menu of Chinese street food with a modern flair. Prices are varied, but the quick and easy eats are recommended - the fried cauliflower and bean dip proving standouts. Honestly, Chow Bar is the sort of place you would enter in a desperate endeavor to relieve your bladder, but, oddly enough, the bathroom décor is what will convince you to prolong your stay at this Chinese inspired bar and eatery: warm lighting, long mirrors, deep grey tiles with intricate designs and the most delicious smelling lemongrass-scented hand wash. Apart from the impeccably designed bathroom, the bar exudes cool and quirky vibes. It might be the friendly and slightly flirtatious bar staff (with well-groomed facial hair), or the smell of Chinese teas brewing. Chui Lee Luk is the head chef and owner. His fresh and unique approach to Chinese food also applies to the atmosphere he aims to create in his bar. Situated on a street corner, the open plan layout of rustic wood, mahjong tiles and jade tile décor complements the menu perfectly. There is an abundance of bar stools and circular tables, and a wall-length cushioned booth chair that looks more comfortable than it actually is. You can’t really sit back and relax, but with the help of the underground, urban style music and a few drinks you’ll soon be at ease – trust me. Cocktails are expensive but well worth the splurge. Bartender Chris will recommend you the ‘Cheeky Blush’ to match your cheeky smile; vodka, strawberry, earl grey and orange blossom. With smoky undertones and a fruity tang, the ‘Cheeky Blush’ will make your head spin and leave your palate wanting more. The ‘Crouching Rhubarb Hidden Chilli;’ rum, rhubarb, anise myrtle and chilli, packs a punch. Yes, chilli in a cocktail. Luk is all about experimenting with popular Chinese flavours, and
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this doesn’t stop with the drinks. The sour tang of the ‘Purple Stew’ is matched perfectly with the fiery burn of the chilli. If you want new and exciting, this is the cocktail for you. If cocktails aren’t your thing, there is a wide range of beers, ciders, wines and spirits to choose from. For all you gin lovers, there are Bombay and Hendricks (if you want true quality). And, it wouldn’t be a Chinese eatery without Chinese tea. Silver Jasmine and Oolong feature, both of which can also star in your own alcoholic concoction. Some warnings when heading out to Chow: • Ensure you come with copious amounts of cash – a night at Chow’s can be achieved on a budget, but the best drinks and dishes are the most expensive ones. • If you’re not a cat lover, or have a cat phobia, be warned: lucky gold cats line the bar. Some find them cute and entertaining, others creepy. • The bar staff are powerful, powerful people. They will convince you to buy anything and everything. They will most likely succeed. Chow opened five months ago, replacing Bentley Bar. It has quickly become a weekend hotspot and bookings are encouraged on Friday and Saturday nights. Its close proximity to Oxford Street makes it a perfect weekend pre-drinking and eating location. Or, if it’s a chilled evening you’re after during the week, this is the place to head, whether it’s after uni, work or merely a stressful day in the Sydney suburbs. Chow Bar and Eating House is open every day from 12pm till late. 320 Crown Street, Surry Hills.
Words by Nathalie Meier
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Words by LACHLAN BENNETT A coalition of student smokers barricaded themselves inside the UTS Great Hall this week in what has been described as the world’s first smoke-in. The protest was organised by the Crusaders Against the Needless
Words by Patrick Boyle Channel Seven’s Today Tonight, Australia’s most loved and most trustworthy news program, has been axed on the East Coast. After 19 glorious years on air, the
Cigarette Eradication Regime, or CANCER, as they call themselves. Between coughing fits, the protest was staged in retaliation to UTS’s new smoke-free campus initiative. At 10am on Wednesday, CANCER members stormed the Great Hall and began lighting
cigarettes while onlookers gave them disapproving looks and made exaggerated coughing sounds. By 10:25am, UTS security was called in to dismantle the smoke-in. But CANCER members fought them off by repeatedly blowing smoke in their eyes. This made the security officers cry and eventually retreat. The Defamer tried to speak to members of CANCER, but most refused an interview, stating they were either, “Not a real smoker,” “Just a social smoker,” or “Actually quitting next week.” The smoke-in was finally
broken up at 12:03pm when security entered the Great Hall and detained the protesters. Many CANCER members tried to escape, however most could only run about 50 metres before they started wheezing heavily, collapsing to the floor and thereafter trying to light up another cigarette. Another student group that advocates marijuana legalisation was also rumoured to be planning a smoke-in of its own. However, The Defamer understands they were too busy “eating and watching Adventure Time” to go ahead with the protest.
show will no longer determine the conversation of bowling club patrons in Brisbane, Sydney or Melbourne. TT will continue to air in Perth and Adelaide however. The Defamer deeply mourns the loss of such salient investigative journalism from our airwaves. As a tribute to TT, we have shamelessly stolen one of their most successful reporting techniques: find bat-shit crazy old people and document their ridiculous opinions. We spoke to Beryl Thompson, a mild-mannered and adorably racist grandmother, who now has no way of staying informed about
unreliable tradies. “That show was basically policing the construction industry! To take that off the air why, it’s a disgrace.” It is worth noting that veteran TT reporter Naomi Robson has vowed to continue harassing builders in her free time. Neil McGee, a senior citizen found pushing a cat-filled trolley through Broadway Shopping Centre, was glad the show had been cancelled. “They were controlling the way you people think about news. The whole bloody network is run by shape-shifting lizardmen obsessed with finding my
dream cave.” Neil does not own a television and has never seen Today Tonight. His tabby-cat Loretta, when asked if she enjoyed the show, replied with a face that said, “Bitch-please-I’m-too-smart-towatch-that-shit.” Such valuable and easily exploited community figures like Beryl and Neil may not be seen on Sydney television for some time. However, there is a chance that East Coast viewers will instead decide to watch one of Australia’s serious, informative and unbiased news programs. Like Channel Ten’s 7pm Project, for example.
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ROOKIES GUIDE: craft beer why all the brewhaha
Looking for a new way to wet your whistle but find the world of indie beers as hard to crack as the cutie in your tute with the over-sized tee and skinny jeans? VICTORIA BITAR breaks the ice. In the States, there was a time not so long ago, when alcohol consumption and production was subject to a plethora of weird and wacky restrictions. Thankfully, home brewing was legalised in the 1970s, bringing with it the emergence of a new alcoholic counterculture – craft beer. With an industry monopoly no longer maintained by giant corporations such as ABInBev (Budweiser, Stella Artois, Beck’s) and SABMiller (Miller, Foster’s, Peroni), small microbreweries were able to focus on producing brews with more complex flavours, quality ingredients, and higher alcohol content. This American movement triggered a world phenomenon. The emergence of the craft beer scene was great news for those of us who like to appear a little fancy when indulging in the magical effects of alcohol. And, it’s not just because drinking nonmainstream beer is scientifically proven- I have conducted many social experiments- to make you seem approximately (precisely) 180% cooler to that hipster babe in the corner wearing plaid suspenders. However, don’t let anyone tell you that spending your days hammering down Carlton Draught and
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listening to Jimmy Barnes with your mates is a waste of time. As Australians, we’re quite lucky that many of our mainstream beer brands are richer in flavour than American favourites, allowing for an easier adjustment to the layered taste of craft beers. There are a wide variety of outstanding brews, both local and international, to sample as a starting point. Australia hosts a number of famous breweries such as Mountain Goat, Feral Brewing, Riverside and Murray’s. Places like Dan Murphy’s – a.k.a. heaven – stock a large number of basic craft brews, but much like Bilbo Baggins, to discover the real treasures, you’ll have to make an epic journey to far off stores such as Steve’s Cool Booze, or The Oak Barrel. Though craft beers may take a while to adjust to, people who usually down Carlton, Tooheys, or VB, may find Samuel Adams’ Boston Lager to their taste, with a little more character than regular adjunct lager. Those more partial to Boag’s may prefer Rogue’s Juniper Pale Ale; crisp, but with a tad more complexity. Of course, those who prefer a sweeter drink might just discover a preference
for the taste of Sierra Nevada Pale Ale. Nevertheless, just like shopping for jewellery, antiques, and the perfect man, buyers must BEWARE OF IMITATIONS. Like the nefarious Mr. Gribble from Paul Jennings’ classic TV drama Round the Twist, greedy corporate brewery owners such as Lion Nathan and MillerCoors are constantly trying to line their pockets by passing off as, or buying out, smaller breweries. True beer connoisseurs will steer clear of James Squires, White Rabbit, and Blue Moon labels. Even if they are guilty of sending a few too many embarrassing texts to your ex, consistently putting your left contact lens in the right one’s case, or getting weepy whenever anyone mentions Ross and Rachel from Friends, drunk you is probably the most reliable wingman/ woman you’ll ever meet. So next time, why not forego the VB, and try something a little more interesting? We promise – you’ll thank us for it later. Vertigo encourages responsible drinking. If you feel that your drinking is becoming a problem, seek help. Visit the university’s Student Health Services at CB01.06.01 or call them on (02) 9514 1177.
Grad’s Guide: Business and International Studies
Vic’s guide to #gradlyf UTS Business and International Studies grad Victoria Ngu speaks about what it’s like to work at the Opera House, and to dance on stage with Chic and Nile Rodgers.
What’s your job like? I am a Digital Marketing Coordinator at the Sydney Opera House focusing on email, search and display marketing. I work closely with others in the wider marketing department, providing insight into the digital space.
of class, I could develop a better understanding of what I wanted to do after finishing my degree. I also found speaking to graduates and people who work in marketing really useful, as their stories and opinions gave me an idea of how to set out striving to achieve my goals.
How did you land your position? I saw the job advertised online and it really stood out in terms of job description and requirements. I realised that it really isn’t worth applying for every job you see that matches your degree; it is a waste of time … if you’re not following where you actually want to go. Sending generic applications will get you nowhere: recruiters have seen it all before, and if you’re not really interested in it, why would you apply to work there nine to five? I reviewed the contents and design of my résumé from a recruiter’s perspective and ensured that my qualifications and achievements were clearly presented to demonstrate my suitability for the role. I spent a lot of time writing my cover letter because I really felt passionate about the role, and both the company and I wanted that to come across in my application.
Have you had any close encounters with celebrities visiting or performing in the opera house? My closest encounter- and life defining moment- was being given the opportunity to dance with Chic and Nile Rodgers on the Concert Hall stage during their concert, while it was being live streamed on YouTube around the world! It was surreal and an amazing life experience - not many people can cross that off their bucket lists!
After landing the interview, I did a lot of research into the company … as well as typical interview questions, so I could prepare my responses in advance: Give an example situation from your experience, list the relevant skills you developed, and [explain] how this is relevant to the position for which you are applying. Writing this out in a table helped with developing a clear thought process to best showcase my ability.
If you could turn back time and speak to your first year self, what would you say? Be a “yes” person - join every club that interests you, go on exchange, seize opportunities for experience and take initiative from the beginning to get ahead. Everyone in your cohort comes out with the same degree on paper, you need to think, “How do I make myself stand out?” Look at what skills you want to develop and which internships or jobs will help you get there. This also forces you to reassess your time management skills, and you will learn more about succeeding in professional life. And don’t take uni holidays for granted. Seriously.
What experiences were most helpful in preparing you for your position? I undertook unpaid internships at firms I was interested in during my business degree. I also participated in clubs and the exchange program at uni, which demonstrated initiative on my résumé. By spending just a bit of extra time outside
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COLLECTIVES Ethno Cultural Collective Back in July 2013, I attended my first uni student conference the Network of Wom*n Students Australia (NOWSA), hosted by Melbourne Wom*n’s Collective. I learnt that I am not the only first generation immigrant child in Australia who counts how many white Australians there are in the room compared to migrant children. I learnt that my shame of my parents – how my mum speaks too loud on the phone, how I had to teach my dad how to use a knife and fork at the airport, how I resented my home packed lunch because opening my container would release a waft of pungent dumplings – I learnt that this was internalised racism. I learnt that my refusal to learn Chinese as a child and now my shame in being in limbo, not Chinese nor Australian, is a full circle that many go through. I learnt that feminism is not just abortion rights and academics in the public eye. Feminism is also my mum’s fierce independence and perseverance in providing us three meals a day despite her bodily pains leftover from chemotherapy.
experiences can help you cope when things get hard. (Everyone gets stressed about exams!) Develop qualities that employers value: self-confidence, organisational skills, refined interpersonal communication. Overcome the isolation that many students can experience in a new setting. DAGS are the UTS Disability Action Group of Students and have been running at UTS since May 2009. DAGS are a diverse, student-led group of undergrads and postgrads whose aims include: providing a student voice, and developing better representation within the governing structure of UTS for students who live and study with disabilities. Disability can add a significant additional layer to the university study experience. Over 1,000 students across both UTS campuses know this from a personal point of view. We can positively influence existing and developing university initiatives, already aimed specifically at us, from our multiple and diverse points of view. We have occasional informal get togethers; contact us at dagsuts@gmail.com for more information.
I learnt that I have a lot more to learn. I am not the only one. You are not the only one.
Enviro Collective The UTS Enviro Collective is a group of students organising around issues of environmental and social sustainability. We meet every week at 1pm on Wednesdays in the back room of the Students’ Association to share information, discuss issues and coordinate campaigns. UTS Environment Collective is about engaging each other and our communities to create positive social change. We engage with a broad range of environmental and social justice issues, including climate change, forests, oceans, no coal and gas campaigns, anti nuclear campaigns, Indigenous solidarity, sustainability, and renewable energy. The Enviro Collective provides a means for students to actively engage in challenging the dominant neoliberal power structures within our society, which are so destructive to the environment. We work a little differently to other clubs and societies around campus: being a collective means that we organise by consensus – our members choose what we do and every member has an equal say. This is a bottom-up rather than topdown approach where everyone is involved in making decisions that affect them, including the campaigns they work on. This empowers us to campaign in a non-hierarchical way; people are able to express their ideas safely.
If you’ve ever been discriminated against based on your ethnicity or cultural background, and want a space to talk, vent, read or do whatever, we’ve set up a national network for wom*n of colour students on Facebook – look for “The Wom*n of Colour Network.” This year’s NOWSA is being organised by the amazing wom*n at Edith Cowan in Perth, set to build on the mistakes of the past and foster a deeper understanding of intersectionality in our feminisms. I encourage wom*n to get amongst the lovelies at UTS Wom*n’s Collective and find out more. We’ve also got a growing collective for people of colour on campus. So if you’ve experienced any racism of the white supremacy, please know you’re not alone and can contact us: ethnoculturaluts@gmail.com Disability Action Group of Students Get involved: UTS DAGS (Disability Action Group of Students) It’s well known that getting involved in university activities can help you succeed in your studies. Students who take an active part in university life are less likely to drop out. Working to achieve common goals with others and talking about shared
Lara Paijmans and Ognjen Askovic
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VERTIGO
ISSUE TWO: PARTY
STUDENTS’ ASSOCIATION
PRESIDENT’S REPORT
Semester has started and you want to know what’s happening. Thousands of students flooded in for Stalls Day, whilst O’Fest also saw only water flooding several floors of Building 1. Classes have started and the biggest UTS publication this year is out, the UTS Students Association Handbook for 2014. Free for all UTS Students, right by our office. In the greater news, an open-cut mine in Victoria has been burning since February 9 pumping thick smoke into more than 200,000 locals’ lungs. Australia has been found to be in breach of 150 international laws regarding our treatment of refugees, with many UN representatives referring to our detainment camp on Manus Island an Aussie version of Guantanamo Bay. Why aren’t you hearing about all of this? If you’re involved in activist circles, or at least Facebook friends with one you’re probably receiving alternative media other than the big corporate media bodies who protect the average Australian from awful truths of what our country does.
They are concentration camps, and they exist to be vile and to create more horror to deter people from Australia. The Government has realised the only way to stop people from coming to Australia is to make sure that there is something worse waiting on this side. That’s why our Immigration Minister, Scott Morrison, aims to create these torturous conditions for anyone who seeks asylum to Australia, because that’s our Government’s aim: To create an island that resembles a SAW torture movie, as a deterrence mechanism. Make sure you check our UTS Students’ Association 2014 Handbook. I would also like to apologise for the remarks that went to print about the 2014 NUS NSW President, Hannah Smith, on page 24 of the Handbook. Andy Zephyr President UTS Students’ Association sapresident2014@uts.edu.au
Student media should also be doing this. If we’re going to spend thousands of dollars as an organisation on student media then what we need is actual information and up-to-date media. Not about a latest trend of superfood but the things corporate media isn’t talking about, real things that we wouldn’t be hearing about otherwise. You can’t have faith in Labor or Liberal in regards to human rights. How long has gay marriage taken? How many more people have to die, after us sending them to foreign lands like Manus Island? The problem is you haven’t written these critiques yet. It doesn’t matter what faculty you reside in - if you have knowledge that isn’t mainstream, that’s against the grain and edgy, telling us what we NEED to hear rather than what we WANT to hear then you should be involved in the UTS Students’ Association so that you can spread this knowledge. I’m your Student President, and I am accessible to each and every one of you at a time that’s suitable for you. Send me an email or just walk into my office at CB01.03.22. I want to finish with some sad knowledge about what is happening in processing centres set up for asylum seekers.
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Please note: The Students’ Association and Collectives’ reports are not altered or edited in any way by Vertigo.
STUDENTS’ ASSOCIATION
STUDENTS’ ASSOCIATION
EDUCATION VICE PRESIDENT REPORT
Secretary REPORT
So semester has finally kicked off and you might start to realise, if you’re anything like me, how much useful shit there is to learn. “Oh my god, I’ve never thought of it that way!” was a regular internal monologue for my first years at uni. Nothing is more powerful at transforming minds than higher education.
This month has been a busy one for your SRC. It began with a 4 hour meeting February 3. At this meeting James Wilson gave a report back on the NUS National Conference and made recommendations to the SRC. Andy Zephyr presented their Presidents’ Report, including 13 motions regarding day-today activities of the Students’ Association. Printing costs for Vertigo were discussed, and will be re-visited throughout the year.
No longer are you expected to be the passive receptacles of endless streams of disconnected information. Now you’re thinking about things critically, deconstructing, reasoning and arguing. And if you’re like me, you start to see the world in new ways too, you start to be critical of the parroted truisms that you once thoughtlessly accepted. These new insights give you the power to change society for the better – many of the great social movements have their origins in the university system. Which is why I find it so appalling when the Labor government conspired to rip $2.3 billion out of our education system while pouring subsidies into the destructive fossil fuel industry and spending a fortune operation offshore detention centres to brutalise vulnerable people. We have a Liberal government now, but the fight is the same. Please come to the National Day of Action on March 26, which will be a huge rally starting outside the UTS Tower at 1pm and ending in Belmore Park. If we show the government a strong student movement, they won’t dare to implement these harmful cuts! Chris Gall Education Vice-President UTS Students’ Association utssa.evp@gmail.com
Postgraduate Officer, Kate Alway delivered a report. Kate was authorised to speak with the Deputy Vice Chancellor of Teaching and Learning on postgrad issues. The SRC condemned Macquarie University’s dismantling of their Postgraduate Representative body, MUPRA, and authorised one of the Students’ Association caseworkers to provide legal assistance to MUPRA. Kate also presented recommendations about services at the Kuring-Gai Students’ Association. The SRC endorsed the rally against Medicare cuts February 15, International Women’s Day March 8, and the rally for TJ Hickey on February 14. Finally, we passed spending to pay a collective T-shirt designer. All other business was deferred to a later meeting. An Executive Meeting was held February 12 where spending was passed for Vertigo O’Day materials, printing the Student Handbook, banner painting materials, Google Accounts, and flowers for the office. The Executive also changed the membership fee for the Students’ Association from $2.00 to $0.00. The SRC Executive also met Feburary 17 where we passed spending for the International Women’s Day breakfast, Facebook advertising, and Google accounts. The Socialist Alternative Club was re-affiliated and budgeting was discussed. Our first Students’ Assembly for the year was held February 20 where some of the SRC Office Bearers spoke about their plans for the year and invited students to ask questions. Andie Yates Secretary UTS Students’ Association secretary@utsstudentsassociation.org
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