Grapeshot

Call-Out Issue 2: Super(heroes)

2010-02-03T03:37:00.000-08:00

Have you ever worn your undies outside your pants so you could be just like Superman? Or perhaps, you’ve been saved before by your own knight-in-shining-leotard. We want to hear all about it in our second issue, ‘Super(heroes)’. Go wild and tell us what it means to you to be a Super(hero), whether that’s having the power of invisibility or perhaps being a good samaritan. We want the fantasies, the jokes, the dramatic and the bad. And as an added bonus, this issue gives you graphic designers out there the perfect opportunity to send us your super designs.

Remember every issue we have our regular columns, and we welcome all topics and creative works regardless of the theme. See below for more details:

Deadline: Monday, 22nd February 2010 (First day of Semester 1).

Send submissions to: grapeshotmq@gmail.com

Every Issue:
If you have any photos – send them in with “Pictorial Round-up” in the subject line.
Pictures don’t have to be related to campus life – if you have some great shots from festivals, volunteer excursions or holidays you’ve been on, we’d love to receive them!

Send submissions of 150 words or less to “The Rant & Letters.”

Send all articles regarding clubs and societies according to the following submission guidelines.

Send calendar dates of no more than two sentences to the “What’s On Calendar”. Submissions should consist of a Date of event, Name of event/Name of club, Brief purpose/details of event.

Word Limits:
Poetry – 30 lines
Fiction – 800 words
Non-fiction/Articles – 800 words
Artwork – 300dpi – PDF or EPS – no more than 1 x A4 page per submission
Photos – send single uncompressed files at maximum quality

Correspondence will be via email only.
Please make sure you read the style guide available at: http://www.campuslife.mq.edu.au/get-involved/student-publication

The editorial team will respond to every submission.

Thanks,

The Grapeshot Editorial Team

Live it Now and win in National Youth Week

2010-01-19T22:42:00.000-08:00

Minister for Youth Kate Ellis is encouraging young people across Australia to get creative and win a National Youth Week launch event in their home town.

“This year’s National Youth Week message is ‘Live it Now’ and this competition is just one way young Australians can live it up and get involved in National Youth Week,” Ms Ellis said.

The National Youth Week ourspace competition invites young people to submit an audio, video or photographic entry about the contribution young people make to their home town.

The two best entries will win a live music event in their home town and VIP passes.

“We know that young people are making a big difference in cities, suburbs and towns across Australia and we want to know all about it,” Ms Ellis said.

“Plus we want to see the amazing creative abilities of young people on display.”

This year the National Launch Events will be held in two different locations – one urban and one regional.

“While young people all over Australia will celebrate National Youth Week with a vast array of exciting events, it’s a great honour to host the official launch in your home town – and two lucky locations will get that chance,” Ms Ellis said.

ourspace entries are welcome from 12 – 25 year olds through youthweek.com until 31 January.

“The ourspace competition is just the start of the National Youth Week action.

“By visiting youthweek.com you can get information about more events, competitions and entertainment in your local area and find out how you can get involved,” she said.

National Youth Week 2010 will be held from 10 – 18 April and is a joint Australian, state, territory and local government initiative.

Light and Dark Review and Competition (from Issue 10)

2009-10-26T18:34:00.000-07:00

Veteran producer Lee Coombs has been one of the most prominent names in tech funk for nearly twenty years. His pioneering sounds and styles have influenced the likes of The Chemical Brothers and Groove Armada and is admired by heavyweights such as Tiesto and Carl Cox.

Light and Dark sees Coombs continuing to make what is often described as ‘big room music.’ His bass lines are typically heavy and thumping, the riffs are relentless and the synthesizers nothing short of hypnotic. The opening tracks, despite being infectious and groovy, don’t quite leave a lasting impression. The real party begins on the title track which is a very welcome throwback to the late 80s with its perfect mixture of retro synth and clean production qualities. The album features a respectable list of guest vocalist ranging from Katherine Ellis to Seasunz, whose rap performance on ‘Not A Game’ sits perfectly with Coombs’ experimentation with mid-tempo beats.

Throughout his career Coombs has successfully reworked hits by Moby and New Order and to close his latest LP, he has redone the 80s classic ‘Rescue’ by Echo and the Bunnymen and it is truly the highlight of the record. Light and Dark is not as groundbreaking as Coombs’ early work but it manages to maintain his status as one of the premier DJ’s in the world of tech funk.

Asif Ziffer

Win a copy of Light and Dark
Simply email grapeshotmq@gmail.com with your name and “Light and Dark Competition” in the subject line to go in the draw for one of three CDs. Winners will be contacted via email. Good luck!

Naked Nation (from Issue 10)

2009-10-26T18:09:00.000-07:00

There I was, on a Thursday morning, sipping a fresh brew and watching Kate Moss writhe about on a bed in Paris with a large bunch of roses and a pair of strong male arms protruding from off-camera. A few shots of splendidly tall heels, some lip biting, the obligatory back arch and then the reveal of the perfume bottle nestled in the silk sheets. Just another amazingly provocative perfume advertisement. Where do they come up with this? I felt like I was having my boundaries pushed and there was nothing I could do to stop it.

And then, as I sipped my tea and scrolled through the rest of the hard hitting headlines, I was overcome with the fizz of realization … I am done with this naked malarkey. Done. Yes, I thought, eating another biscuit, I am over nudity, semi nudity, oiled limbs, simulated sex, women straddling various things (household appliances, cars, Justin Timberlake) yadda yadda yadda, all in the name of ‘provocative’ advertising. Because, here’s the thing … it isn’t provocative anymore. It really isn’t. In fact, it’s expected. If you aren’t selling a rice cooker with a woman wearing nothing but an artfully placed headscarf and doing something suggestive with a grain of Arborio rice, then something’s wrong.

Quite frankly, I’m bored. I’m so bored I can’t even focus on half of what I read/see (Pixie Lott did what with her breasts? Miley Cyrus did what with a pole? Miley Cyrus is how old?) and I even switch off Britney. Every time a new fashion/beauty campaign comes out, or a pop artist releases a new video/album/perfume it’s just variations on the same theme; how much can I make it look like I’m having sex with this here model/actor, without actually having sex? How much can I look like I am challenging our puritanical perception of sex and female sexuality without actually challenging it at all?

Let me say, I don’t have a problem with nudity, or the body, or the body as a form of expression. At all. I love the fact that on most European beaches, eighty year old women get about in nothing but swimmer bottoms (I plan on being that eighty year old woman in nothing but swimmer bottoms and my wonderfully wrinkled skin); I hate prescriptive measures of femininity being pressed upon women, and the notion of bodily shame so rife in our culture. I firmly believe we need to be a little more Scandinavian and a lot less American. So it’s not sex or nudity itself I am rallying against, at all. It is the way it is used to sell an idea, under the guise of freedom and liberation that I am rallying against.

It is fed to us on the premise that it’s illicit and raunchy and forbidden. Still. Post Garden of Eden, post watershed events and people in human history that have decimated and re-set social norms, sex and the naked body aren’t served as something natural and diverse. Still. They are uniform and naughty. Still. All the bullshit about advertisements and photo shoots being celebrations of the female form, are just that. Bullshit. They are celebrations of one female form, one idea of beauty, one idea of what is sexy. All we are doing, with our editorials and ad campaigns, with our actors and popstars, is merely reinforcing the puritanical and stale idea that sex, sexuality and specifically female sexuality is uniform, naughty and ever so slightly sinful.

It would be ‘shocking’ or ‘provocative’ if you went against common archetypes of sexual attractiveness (oiled thighs, nipple stars) - like if Beyonce or Lady Gaga had hairy legs or something, or it was revealed that either one of them had pores (that would rock the Western World, everyone knows real skin doesn’t have pores/lines/spots/hairs, God).

To those creating these morsels of contemporary ‘pop culture’, you are not pushing any boundaries. You are not questioning the status quo. All you are doing is tapping into the decades old mantra of ‘sex sells’ and promoting the dangerous idea (that will plague this generation and those that succeed us) that one is solely defined by and appreciated for their sexual attractiveness (more so if they look like what they see on TV) and attitude. And you’re promoting an image of femaleness (how’s that for a university term) that isn’t real. Presenting these images on the premise they are sending a social or artistic message, are liberating women or promoting sexual and physical pride is ridiculous and insulting.

Desensitizing ourselves to sexual provocation isn’t making ourselves comfortable in our own skin. Let’s not get confused here. Raising our champagne glasses to Womaniser, Poker Face, She Wolf etc, doesn’t suddenly make us all want to love the skin we’re in. It makes us want to love the skin they’re in and lament the fact that it’s not our skin - it isn’t servicing the sisterhood in the slightest. If we’re honest with ourselves, it’s servicing the brotherhood.

Olivia Hambrett

Previously published in Trespass Magazine www.trespassmag.com

Parlez Vous Francais? (from Issue 10)

2009-10-26T17:46:00.000-07:00

I remember Paris. A phrase I became accustomed to hearing was “c’est ta faute.” The occasional “imbécile” was thrown onto the end of it.

I arrived in Gare de Nord, Paris’ Eurostar train terminal, at 10am on New Year’s Eve. It was -10°C and foggy. A soft yellow light bordered the glass dome ceiling and exit archway. Rue de Dunkerque, the outside street, was cobblestone. I thought it was a footpath and the taxi drivers thought this warranted death by Mercedes.

“If you got killed it would have been your own fault,” one driver yelled from his window. “Where are you going?”

“Hotel Sofitel, how did you know to speak English?”

“Your hat,” he winked.

I removed my knitted beret and loaded my duffel bag and suitcase into the boot. After about fifteen minutes it began snowing, and fairy lights adorned to most roadside trees were switched on. I squealed at familiar sights - Le Arc de Triumph, Le Tour de Eiffel, Starbucks.

We arrived at the hotel by noon. It was four storeys, flush within a row of shopfronts and cafes. The driver reminded me to never leave my bags unattended. I thanked him and got out of the taxi. I heard the doors lock.

“€60” he said, as he wound his window down. I ordered him to check the meter.

“Check it yourself.”

No meter.

I waved my arms at the hotel doorman. He smiled and waved back. I waved a €5 note at him. He and two others put their red coats on and ran towards me. After an exchange of “sacrebleus,” I was told taxis which don’t have a meter operate on a fixed price basis.

“You would have known this if you read the sign,” one of the doormen pointed to the dashboard. “It is not the driver’s fault, he does not speak English.”

The driver smiled and held out his hand. I gave him my entry to the Louvre, and he released my luggage. He lit a cigarette as he was pulling out and said “c’est ta faute, imbécile.” Translation: It was your own fault, idiot.

Katarina Taurian

MACQUARIE UNI TAKES OUT AUSSIE UNI SNOW CHAMPIONSHIPS FOR 2009 (from Issue 9)

2009-10-06T03:23:00.000-07:00

At the end of August, an elite team of 49 skiers and snowboarders from Macquarie University travelled down to Thredbo to compete at the Australian University Championship Snow Games.

This year the Macquarie University Ski and Board Club – MACALPINE - blitzed the competition, and all competitors should be congratulated on their outstanding efforts and results. With an incredible 10-medal haul, the MACALPINE team dominated their opposition. The club was awarded Overall Female team, Overall Nordic team, Overall Individual Male Snowboarder, and second Overall Male team to give the club the prestigious honour of being crowned the #1 University in Australia.

This is the first time since the early 1990's that a team other than Sydney or Melbourne Uni has taken out the Snow Games Championships. The last time that the MACALPINE team won this event was in 1985 – a year that was (for all but one of our team) well and truly before we were even born! So this is a HUGE result for the team and for the MACALPINE Club!

MACALPINE is looking forward to defending their title at Snow Games 2010 in Mt Buller.

For more information on the Club and its activities, or to find out how you can be on next year’s team, shoot us an email at macalpineclub@gmail.com or become our friend on facebook at www.facebook.com/macalpineclub

The Teddy Bears’ Picnic (from Issue 9)

2009-10-06T03:17:00.000-07:00

I am not an economist, I am not studying business and I don’t really understand the ins and outs of the Australian and world markets. That of course means that the plethora of expert opinion on the state of the nation’s economy is only going to confuse me rather than inform me. Is there a consensus - bullish or bearish? There doesn’t seem to be any evidence that conclusively supports either side, however everyone has their opinions.

Thank God for China, our giant neighbour to the north who continues to buy our commodities, albeit in smaller quantities, the economists say. Beware our close ties to the US economy who continues to hiccough their way to recovery. Australia seems to be the piggy in the middle, the rope in a tug-of-war – not capable of inducing change ourselves in this arena we are left to feel the effects of the larger players. The best, and the worst, aspect of this middling position is that we could go either way. Will we come out as winners or losers? Will the worst aspects of the recession pass us by or are we just so far away from the rest of the world that the rolling wave of the Global Financial Crisis is just taking a little longer to hit us like a tsunami (let’s hope the giant wave runs out of some steam before it reaches our shores if this is the case).

I’ve listened to some weird stuff over the last year, however one of the favourite opinions I’ve heard from a high ranking global economist at the height of the recession hysteria was that all Aussies should buy a plot of land and a shot gun, because things were going to get very very bad and we would have to grow and hunt our own food (I kid you not). I can’t speak for the rest of you, but I’m certainly glad this prediction didn’t materialise into reality. I actually have a picture of myself petting a wild rabbit on my Facebook profile; I would hate to have to shoot the sweet thing for my dinner.

On a local scale we’re currently arguing amongst ourselves as to whether or not Australia is safely out of harms way and therefore the government’s stimulus package is no longer needed, or whether the market is pulling a sneaky on us and is planning on receding at least once more before heading on back up to comfortably positive figures. You may have seen the reports saying that unemployment held steady in August (suggesting the stimulus is no longer needed) and other stories on the unexpected fall in the latest figures for both retail sales and new housing loans (suggesting the stimulus is still needed) – these are all September stories, I’m giving you as relevant data as I can.

Speaking of relevant, I should mention that Kevin Rudd was on the ABC’s 7:30 Report on Thursday, 10th September, being rather non-committal on Australia’s economic progress. Key takeout from the interview – we’re doing much better than other world economies, but we have a lot of work to do yet (didn’t he say this last year too? I’m glad that he and his advisors are able to re-use material). However, his vagueness on the subject worries me. He has access to the same information I do, but has a raft of economists to interpret it for him and “we have a lot of work to do yet” is the best he can come with? Is this an implication that things may possibly get worse before they get better?

K-Rudd says he wants to be frank, but he’s really Kev, and all I want are answers. Should we keep frenetically alternating between saving for a rainy day and pumping money into the Australian market? When can we expect things to return to the norm? Unemployment held steady this month, but will it trend up or down in the next? Do we need to move back in with our parents (for those of us not living at home)? Can our parents even afford to let us move back in now that their super has been wiped out? Do we buy into the stock market now that everything seems so cheap, cheap, cheap? Mining stocks – I’m particularly looking in your direction.

I understand that no two economists are going to agree on the state and rate of Australia’s financial recovery, but a general sense of direction would be nice. And put it in layman’s terms, please. When I think of bulls and bears, I genuinely get the ‘Teddy Bears’ Picnic’ song in my head so technical jargon will only get lost in the lyrics. My question to the economists is this; if I go down to the woods today - will I find picnicking bears or rampaging bulls? Or perhaps I’m safer sitting at home until this all blows over.

By Therese Raft

The Death of Bart Simpson? (from Issue 9)

2009-10-06T03:09:00.000-07:00

Sweet scented smoke fills the air.

Jeremy and his friends watch it rise.

“How did the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles pay for their pizza?” the friend who likes to call himself Sid asks.

“And didn’t anyone ever notice that there were giant turtles living in New York’s sewers?” adds Christine in a slurred voice.

Jeremy shakes his head, “No, no, no…” He giggles. “You see, the Ninja Turtles were invisible to the naked eye.”

His friends look confused.

“What about April O’Neal? She could see them.”

“She wore contact lenses!” At this, they all shriek with irrepressible laughter.

Suddenly, Jeremy looks up. “How come the Simpsons are yellow?” he asks.

They all sit quietly, contemplating the Simpsons, or more specifically, Bart Simpson, an important figure of their generation.

“Maybe they all have jaundice,” Claudia, another friend, suggests.

“Yeah…” Stoned sarcasm creeps into Sid’s voice “The entire city of Springfield has jaundice.”

Christine shrugs. “Well they are based around a nuclear power plant.”

Jeremy looks sad. He sighs heavily and lights up another joint. The others stare at him with melodramatic concern.

“I miss Bart,” he tells them. “Don’t you remember when The Simpsons first came on T.V. and we were all in fourth grade?”

Claudia nods. “Yeah man, we could all relate to him, he was totally cool.”

The group fall into silence once more as they realise that while they have all grown up, got I.Ds and left school, Bart is still in fourth grade.

He is an immortal figure, trapped, in a cartoon child’s body. Perpetually left behind.

He presses himself up against the television black screen, patiently waiting for the next generation of kids to laugh at his pranks and mimic his catch-phrases.

But they are all hooked on South Park.

Conception Day Stew - Do's and Don'ts (from Issue 8)

2009-09-17T13:33:00.000-07:00

DO
Drink plenty of water

Now don’t think I’m being a party pooper and encouraging complete sobriety on this glorious day. It would be hypocritical of me to tell you to do something that I myself wouldn’t do… However I will be drinking lots of water because alcohol dehydrates you, the sun dehydrates you and water will also help alleviate some of that pesky hangover many of us will have the day after Conception. Don’t just go up and get a plastic cup (as if they’ll be serving us glass) of water every now and then; get yourself a plastic bottle to tote around and refill at regular intervals.

DON’T
Overindulge

There is always one wanker or wankette who is so completely drunk that they ruin the fun for everyone else. Make sure that person isn’t you. Rolling down a grassy slope so fast you lose your pants is well and good, but passing out and cracking your head on a toilet bowl is not. Drink in moderation and don’t tell yourself that you just have to try every cocktail, liqueur, spirit and beer on offer. Your friends and your aching head certainly won’t thank you for the experience. Don’t roll your eyes at me like that…Oh, what? What’s that? Is that your wankage showing? Put it away.

DO
Take lots of pictures

If you’re anything like me, you won’t remember everything you do or everyone you meet on Conception Day because you’re running around like crazy chocolate eating Chihuahua, so take a camera. Strike a pose. Take a picture with a stranger. Take a picture of a stacks on with the smallest guy of your group on the bottom. Hey, how do I know what shenanigans you’re going to get up to? I’m just saying you should document it in digital imagery. However, be kind when posting on Facebook – if your friend un-tags a picture of themself with squinty eyes, open walrus mouth and some strange hand creeping towards their neither regions, leave it un-tagged.

DON’T
Leave your belongings alone

This may be a no-brainer, but a little bit of alcohol, music and sunshine can make the commonsense go flying straight out of your head. If you bring a bag with you to Conception Day, then make sure it goes everywhere with you otherwise your wallet and new iPhone might decide to party without you. If you don’t think you can be trusted to look after your own stuff, then don’t take it. Just take your ID, some cash and whatever other necessities will fit into your pockets and head on out to party in the knowledge that your goodies are safe at home.

DO
Have fun

Seriously, what’s the point of a day long party with 10,000 of your best friends if you’re not going to enjoy yourself? Live music, DJs, rides, food and friends; our little festival is the highlight of the academic year and has made it onto Sydney’s festival calendar as well – which of course means that there will be non-Mac students basking in our gluttonous glory. But who can blame them? We have a kick ass party in store for 2009 which just happens to be the 40th Anniversary of the very first Conception Day. So to everyone making an appearance at our hallowed event, behave responsibly and have heaps of fun! The Grapeshot Team will see you there!

Up-and-coming filmmakers will be at SPAA Fringe 2009

2009-09-17T01:53:00.000-07:00

On 16 and 17 October at FOXTEL Television Centre in North Ryde, SPAA Fringe 2009 will gather Australia’s top film industry professionals and rising talent to share their experiences and expertise, offering insight and creative direction for up-and-coming filmmakers seeking lasting careers in the screen industry.

Already, the line-up is shaping up to be bigger and better than last year and speakers to date include Kath Shelper, Producer of Samson & Delilah; the team behind the first Australian Muslim comedy series Salam Café; Dario Russo, creator of the hilarious viral Italian Spiderman; and filmmaker and new media auteur Nicholas Carlton who created Australia’s first social web series, OzGirl.

SPAA Fringe 2009 is also offering young filmmakers unprecedented access to television executives. Commissioning Editors from Foxtel, ABC and SBS will be in attendance for a series of 1on1’s to receive pitches from delegates for new television projects. This is an amazing opportunity for all emerging producers, directors or writers to get their work in front of the real decision makers, and turn their ideas into reality.

Also new to SPAA Fringe 09 is The Clinic, a cross platform hothouse for redefining distribution strategies. As well, the SDA Pitch returns with fantastic prizes worth over $3,000.

1 ON 1’s
Delivering a unique opportunity for a private 15-minute face to face to pitch your compelling idea, the SPAA Fringe 1 ON 1 is an unprecedented entry point into a career in television production. For all students, graduates and up and comers, this represents an opportunity that may otherwise take years to access.

In 2009, the entire factual team from FOXTEL will be available, ready to receive ideas for the next great documentary to appear on the Crime Investigation Network, The History Channel, National Geographic, BBC Knowledge or Discovery Channel.

Executives from ABC TV attending include Carla De Jong, Head of Commissioning & Development for Children’s TV; Amanda Duthie, Head of Arts Entertainment and Comedy; Alan Erson, Commissioning Editor for Documentaries; Dasha Ross, Executive Producer and Edwina Waddy, Development Producer.

Executives from SBS will include Vincent Beasley, Executive Producer for Factual Entertainment; Caterina De Nave, Executive Producer for Drama and Comedy; Erik Dwyer, Executive Producer for Food & Leisure and John Godfrey and Peter Newman, Executive Producers for Factual Commissioned Content.

THE CLINIC
New to SPAA Fringe in 09, The Clinic will help you define or refine your distribution strategy. Three specialists in distribution, Dr Peter Broderick, Dr Peter Giles and Dr Gary Hayes will be leading intensive sessions to enable filmmakers to individually and collectively analyse their distribution plans. Each clinic will be one hour in duration and between one and three projects will be chosen to be analysed. Delegates must be able to clearly outline their project in a few sentences. Any type of project will be considered

SDA PITCH
If you have an idea for a screen project and are wondering if it has legs, then this session is not to be missed. Finalists from a nationwide search of pitching workshops (held in each state by members of the SDA) will pitch their projects to a panel of television & film executives and be in the running to win prizes valued at more than $3,000.

Entrants may pitch any genre, form and duration from TV series and features to shorts, animation and multi-platform content. A ‘Wild Card’ component to the session will be allowed, time permitting.

Prizes include:
- SPAA Conference 09 registration
- $1800 cash prize from SDA (and $200 for a 'Wild Card')
- Software and post production package from Azure Productions including a full copy of the new Final Draft 8 Scriptwriting Software valued at $329, a copy of your short film project output on DigiBeta tape, 50 DVD copies of your project in DVD cases with full colour printing.

TICKET INFORMATION

From September 12
2 day registration
Non Members $250
SPAA Members $200
Students $200

1 day registration
Non Members $150

For more information or to purchase tickets, visit the website www.spaa.org.au/fringe or call (02) 9360 8988.

SPAA Fringe is brought to you by the Screen Producers Association of Australia (SPAA) an industry body that represents Australian independent film and television producers on all issues affecting the business and creative aspects of screen production.

SPAA FRINGE COMMUNITY
Start getting connected now. Sign up to Facebook, Twitter and the SPAA newsletter now and stay in the loop with Fringe announcements:

Website: www.spaa.org.au/fringe
Facebook: www.facebook.com/spaa.fringe
Twitter: twitter.com/spaafringe

Looking For Eric - Film Competition

2009-09-14T01:06:00.000-07:00

Win one of 5 double passes to the film ' Looking for Eric ' simply email grapeshotmq@gmail.com with your name and email contact for your chance to win!

SYNOPSIS: LOOKING FOR ERIC

Eric the postman is slipping through his own fingers...

His wife has gone, his stepsons are out of control and the house was chaotic even before a cement mixer appeared in the front garden. Life is crazy enough, but it is Eric's own secret that is driving him to the brink. How can he face up to Lily, the woman of his dreams that he once loved and walked out on many years ago? Despite the comical efforts and misplaced goodwill of his mates, Eric continues to sink.

In desperate times it takes a spliff and a special friend to help a lost postman find his way, so Eric turns to his hero: footballing genius, philosopher and poster boy, Eric Cantona.

As a certain Frenchman says "He who is afraid to throw the dice, will never throw a six."

www.iconmovies.com.au/lookingforeric

Only at the movies September 24, 2009

Stone Bros. Review and Competition (from Issue 8)

2009-09-13T23:18:00.000-07:00

We’re not black and white, we’re all different shades of green…that’s just one of the messages I took away from the very funny Stone Bros. Australia’s first Aboriginal comedy embraces stereotype, myth and tradition and pretty much sits on them – but in a very light-hearted, good-natured way – before directing you down paths you didn’t know exist.

Eddie, the straight guy of the piece is caught between two worlds. He looks pretty white, so not even the dog that hates black kids would chomp on him as a boy, but he wants to go back home to Kalgoorlie in the mining region of WA and prove he’s a real black fella. He has a special stone, imbued with mystical properties that he has to take with him, but it’s been lost and now Eddie has to find it before it’s gone forever. Always along for the ride (and for a major dose of hilarity) is Charlie, who gets all the girls because he’s as dark as yummy chocolate (my phrasing).

Stranded on the road is the worldly and wise Vincent, who they pick up because Charlie knows “a good looking woman when he sees one”, before coming across another cousin, Reg – now referred to as Regina – who dreams of stardom. I don’t want to give too much away, but the film has some generous moments of laugh-out-loud funniness, great one-liners and weird but wonderful quirks in the plot.

The film is crisp and clean – very Hollywood – and so much better than I was expecting. The play on culture and politics is extremely clever and the cinematography highlights and celebrates the Australian landscape (think Priscilla, Queen of the Desert).

Shall I watch it again? Yes. And I’ll still laugh at all the jokes. They won’t get old for a while. In fact, I can see at least one of those one-liners making a drunken appearance or twenty. I wonder if we can do a poll to see if you can all guess which one?

The movie will be released on September 24, and I highly recommend that you all watch it – not for the ‘post-sorry’ feel good factor, not just because the cast comprises of mainly indigenous people, but because it is genuinely and deadly funny.

By Therese Raft

Win a double pass to the exclusive special preview screening of Stone Bros.
Simply email grapeshotmq@gmail.com with your name and “Stone Bros. Competition” in the subject line to go in the draw for one of 30 double passes to the special preview of Stone Bros. The preview is on 21 September – stars from the movie will be in attendance, and lucky door prizes are up for grabs. Winners will be contacted via email.

Ankle tattoos, lattes, iPhones and Bravo (from Issue 8)

2009-09-13T22:49:00.000-07:00

“I want to be divorced someday”, isn’t the line someone wants to hear on a first date. In this golden new age of finding oneself, there is a distraction of falling into the messy pits of desirable flings, trysts, and experiences we all want to taste.

Instead of taking up dance or cooking classes, the bored housewife dates a younger man. Instead of upping his golf swing, the power executive man dons a deep v-neck shirt, frosts his tips and goes hunting in the night clubs that for some reason don’t have age limits. There is an existential pining in the hearts and minds, and libidos, of Americans now in any age range.

It used to just be the college graduate deciding between globe hopping and grad school. Or it was the mid-life crisis victims in the suburbs ending up in a Porsche and a weeklong cruise to Jamaica. Now it is all the more extreme, perhaps because of a world in disarray and ever increasing needs to feel younger.

It was bad enough when the saying a few years ago was “40 is the new 30”. Now it’s “40 is the new do-whatever-the-hell-I-want-because-I-don’t-want-to-grow-old”. This usually ends up in midnight mayhem and ankle tattoos.

I made a list of things I want to try before I hit 30. They include the not too extreme ingredients of sky diving, East Indian cuisine, polo, photography and tap dance classes. And on the back of the café napkin, encircled with the milky-brown coffee stain, I wrote the five things I want to do, just to say I did them.

In no specific order here they are: enter a hot dog eating contest, fight a Guido, vote Democrat, get married and get divorced. Yes, get divorced. The last two are paired up next to each other to show my lack of belief in either of them. They actually correspond with, in that sense, the other three activities.

Constantly surrounded by life goals of wanting kids before 30, two cars and a high five figure income, I felt it was my right to extend opposing wants in my life. If 40 is the new 15, why shouldn’t I hold back on landing a concrete suburban life? That’s if I end up in suburbia.

We live in a society where the perfect creation of a latte is more important than soul searching. We are delineated and defined by those who care more about their makeup than their own children; where people drive on shiny rims and roll right into an apartment complex. It’s such an upside down blueberry pie world we live in and in order to, in so many ways, flip off the social currents and flows I have made it a virtuous objective to be unique.

I fight every day to stay away from the grips of boredom in this desert town, but I can appreciate the fact that I’m on the other side of mostly everyone. It does kind of suck knowing I share some of the same social beliefs as dread lock wearers and potheads, but hey, whatever works. So, maybe one day I’ll get married for the heck of it to shake up social restfulness. But trust me, I will also succumb to the same post-marital fate as 49% of American couples who were supposedly meant to be. Just for the fun of it.

By Nick Esquer

[Nick is an American who will be commencing study at Macquarie in 2010. We feel rather chuffed that he found our editorial guidelines and submitted something to our little publication].

Macquarie Centre Promotions

2009-09-10T22:13:00.000-07:00

Macquarie Centre's Summer Fashion Guide
Available now!

Pick up a copy of the catalogue in centre or visit macquariecentre.com.au for the interactive guide, where you can search through the latest looks and trends for Summer. Get carried away with fashion...

Win a Sex and the City Package!*
Package includes: A 42” Panasonic full HD Plasma TV, Panasonic Blu-Ray DVD player, Sex and the City – Blu-Ray movie and complete Series Box Set on DVD.
To enter, simply visit macquariecentre.com.au
Competition closes at 5.00pm, Tuesday 6 October 2009.
*Terms and conditions apply. authorised under NSW Permit No. LTPS/09/07378. For full terms and conditions, please visit macquariecentre.com.au.

DigiSPAA - Australia's Premier Digital Feature Film Competition

2009-09-07T02:23:00.000-07:00

Are you an aspiring filmmaker? There is only a couple of weeks until the deadline for all feature films to be submitted to the DigiSPAA digital filmmaking competition. The prize consists of $15,000 cash, $20,000 worth of post-production, a guaranteed screening of their film on the Movie Extra channel, plus a return airfaire and free registration to the prestigious CineMart International Film Festival Rotterdam.

The competition acts as the launching pad for local directors, including Jason Byrne, 2008 winner for Little Deaths, and John L. Simpson, 2007 winner for Men's Group, who are making waves in the local and international film industry.

Four finalists will be screened at this year's SPAA Fringe conference on 16 and 17 October at Foxtel Television Centre, North Ryde, and judged by an expert industry panel including Antony I. Ginnane, President of IFM World Releasing Inc., Geoff Brown, Executive Director SPAA; Daniel Scharf, Producer of Geoffrey Wright's AFR Award-winning Romper Stomper; Colleen Meldrum, Program Director, Movie Network Channels and Stacey Edmonds, Producer/Director of I Know How Many Runs You Scored Last Summer.

Two finalists will then be selected and the winner announced at the annual SPAA Conference 17 - 20 November. All finalists will be made available to prominent international and local delegates, offering applicants ample exposure to the top dogs of the industry.

Applications close at 5pm on Friday 18 September 2009. Eligible films are feature length, with a running time of at least 70mins, digitally produced and completed to advanced post-production stage no earlier than 31 August 2008, and independently funded.

For full details, application form and guidelines go to http://www.spaa.org.au/

DigiSPAA is a creative project of the Screen Producers Association of Australia (SPAA) an industry body that represents Australian independent film and television producers on all issues affecting the business and creative aspects of screen production.

Grapeshot Competition Winners

2009-07-31T08:34:00.000-07:00

Luggage Bazaar.com Competition Winners from Issue 4

- Major Suitcase Prize Winner: Breanna Jones

- $20 Luggage Bazaar e-voucher Winners: Elise Tobin, Mardhiah, Li May Ngu, Craig Pippen, Andri Rusta, Katrina Watson, Suhanis Suberi, Cynthia Liu, Robert Martinez, Harini Venkatesh, Rebecca Miller, Stephanie Pakar, Melissa Kurniawa, Ferdinand Guba

Luggage Bazaar.com Competition Winners from Issue 5

- Major prize suitcase/ computer trolley winners: Melissa Tweedie / Cheah Yi Li

- $20 Luggage Bazaar e- voucher winners: Eliza Stewart, Li May Ngu, Mitchell Feltscheer, Jim Coleman, Sheilla Vallester, Mardhiah, Ai Vee Tan, Wietske van Aken, Saki Abe, Cydney Char, Sedighe Meghdari, Kathryn Ford.

Disgrace Film Competition Winners

Anh Thi Nguyet Dang, Rebecca Ninness, Stephanie Pakar, Patrick Schultheiss, Suhanis, Mardhiah, Lee Kok Lian, Li May Ngu, Elna Schonfeldt

* please note some winners wish to remain anonymous

SPAA Fringe celebrates its 10th anniversary The Voice Behind Film and TV TICKETS NOW ON SALE!

2009-07-14T11:50:00.000-07:00

2009 marks the tenth anniversary of SPAA Fringe, celebrating a decade as one of Australia’s leading film conferences. This year the event will be held at the FOXTEL Television Centre in North Ryde on Friday 16^th and Saturday 17^th October, 2009. Over ten inspiring years, SPAA Fringe continues to educate, inspire and connect by providing a unique opportunity for the emerging sector to network with like-minded, content creators.

Tickets are now on sale through the website www.spaa.org.au/fringe. This is an exclusive event with limited numbers in 2009, so first in best dressed.

SPAA Fringe is an interactive two-day seminar for serious filmmakers who are interested in building their community and career within the Australian screen industry. The event is comprised of workshops, roundtables, one-on-one sessions, panel discussions, film screenings and social networking events.

“SPAA Fringe is where filmmakers gain insight, knowledge and all important contacts. Foxtel, with its impressive purpose-built facilities, is the ideal location to fulfill these objectives. This year, Fringe will be highly interactive and practical.”

Gaylee Butler, SPAA Fringe Director

In 2008, the conference showcased an aspirational line-up of speakers including, award-winning feature film Producer, Melanie Coombs (Mary and Max, Harvie Krumpet); LAMP Director Gary Hayes;celebrated Executive Producer Sue Maslin (Celebrity: Dominick Dunn, Japanese Story); comedic TV Producer, Anthony Watt (Spicks & Specks, Full Frontal, Hamish & Andy, Comedy Inc.) as well as many other established and emerging filmmakers, TV execs and industry professionals.

SPAA Fringe brings together individuals who are inspired to make media content that is innovative, creative and interactive. People who are interested in similar projects or subjects can start a discussion thread on Fringe Facebook; while The Melting Pot allows registered delegates to be able to find creative partners by posting an advertisement to other registered delegates calling for expressions of interest for anything your heart desires.

Stay tuned for further announcements on this year’s line-up including keynote speakers, premiere screenings and other opportunities to immerse you in all facets of the film business.

SPAA FRINGE RATES
Early Bird - before Sept 15, SPAA members 2 day pass - $120*, Non-members 2 day pass - $190, Non-members 1 day pass -$ 120, Students 2 day pass - $120*, General Prices - after Sept 15, SPAA Members 2 day pass - $170*, Non-members 2 day pass - $240, Non-members 1 day pass -$ 170, Students 2 day pass - $170*, *Note: No 1 day passes for students or SPAA Members

SPAA Fringe is brought to you by the Screen Producers Association of Australia (SPAA) an industry body that represents Australian independent film and television producers on all issues affecting the business and creative aspects of screen production.

More information is available on the website: www.spaa.org.au/fringe.

SPAA FRINGE COMMUNITY: www.spaa.org.au, http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=13065457971
MEDIA INFORMATION: For further information and images, please contact: Jessica De Boer, ph: 02 8354 1830, email: jessica@tsuki.com.au, Edweana Wenkart, ph: 02 8354 1830, email: edweana@tsuki.com.au

Australasian Network of Students with Disabilities (ANSWD) Information Sheet 2009

2009-07-14T11:44:00.000-07:00

Australasian Network Of Students With Disabilities Logo depicting a figure of a person reaching for t As of Tuesday 9 December 2008

The Australasian Network of Students with Disabilities (ANSWD), formed at the Pathways 5 Conference in Canberra in early December 2000, is a student organisation, which advocates, promotes and campaigns on disability issues in the tertiary education field.

ANSWD aims to promote an equitable learning environment for all students. It is comprised of tertiary students with disabilities who are dedicated to ensuring equitable access to education by working together with staff at educational institutions throughout Australia and New Zealand.

ANSWD has an e-mail discussion list for students with disabilities, primarily designed to share information and discuss issues relevant to students with disabilities, education and employment. If you are a student with a disability whom is either studying at TAFE or University, or you are a potential tertiary student with a disability, who plans to commence tertiary studies in the following year we strongly encourage you to join the ANSWD discussion list. For more information about the discussion list go to http://www.answd.org/discussion.html

To subscribe to the mailing list send an e-mail to majordomo@postoffice.utas.edu.au with 'subscribe answd-list' somewhere in the message (without quotes).

If you are a member of the ANSWD discussion list and wish to send a message to the discussion list address the e-mail to answd-list@postoffice.utas.edu.au

The discussion list will only receive e-mails from members.

Goals of the discussion list include:

· To encourage information sharing amongst students with disabilities

· To facilitate friendships amongst students with disabilities from Australia and New Zealand

· To encourage students to be proud of their disability and achieve anything and everything they dream of.

To find out more about ANSWD please visit our web site at http://www.answd.org/

If you wish to contact ANSWD e-mail convenor@answd.org

J J J We warmly welcome your interest in the Australasian Network of

Students with Disabilities and hope to hear from you soon! J J J

Call out for Issue 7: Technology's overtaking the world - Rage Against the Machine!

2009-07-13T03:21:00.000-07:00

Ever wonder how much time you really spend in front of the computer? Have you lost all your friends playing WOW? Or have you simply forgotten what daylight looks like? In this issue we're exploring technology and this wacky world we live in - where Facebook stalking, Twitter updates and instantaneous entertainment are right on our fingertips. Is our desire to keep in touch ultimately leading to the loss in the human touch? Are we wasting our life away in front of the computer screen? Is Google overtaking over the world? And, seriously, is everything we put online forever in the cyberspace ether, even once we press DELETE? We want to know how technology shapes the world around you. These are only suggestions … go crazy with your interpretations. There's still 3 weeks of mid-semester break to start writing, so pull out that lap top and start typin'!

Every Issue:

If you have any photos from a club event, an overseas exchange experience, or even recent shots from around campus please send them in with “Pictorial Round-up” in the subject line.

Send submissions of 150 words or less to “The Rant & Letters.”

Send submissions to grapeshotmq@gmail.com
Deadline: Monday 3rd August, 2009.

Word Limits:
Poetry - 30 lines
Fiction - 800 words.
Non-fiction/Articles - 800 words
Artwork - 300dpi - PDF or EPS - no more than 1 x A4 page per submission.

Photos for pictorial page- send single uncompressed files- saved at maximum quality

All work to be double spaced with page numbers. Only one submission at a time please. Submit electronically either in Word or rtf format.

Each submission should have name, contact details, word count and a statement declaring the work is your own on the first page.

If the work has been previously published please list publication and date on cover page.

Correspondence will be via email only.
Please make sure you read the style guide available at: http://www.uatmq.com.au/getinvolved/publication
The editorial team will respond to every submission.

PDF Files of past issues can also be located on our webpage, http://www.uatmq.com.au/getinvolved/publication

Visit the grapeshot office for print copies of past editions!
--
The Editorial Team

I LOVE FOOD AWARDS- Mad Mex (Fresh Mexican Grill) Promotion

2009-06-30T00:58:00.000-07:00

We all love food, and as a Mad Mex fan we know you love fresh, made-to-order Baja-Mexican food. Now’s your chance to tell all of Australia just how much!

Mad Mex Fresh Mexican Grill has been nominated in the Best Latin American category of The LifeStyle Food Channel’s second annual I LOVE FOOD AWARDS and just by voting, you go into the draw to win $10,000! Voting started last week and goes through until 20 July, so click here to cast your vote: http://www.lifestylefood.com.au/ilovefoodawards

Just Click the VOTE NOW button and type MAD MEX into the search bar, cast your vote for the Darlinghurst flagship location then register your details to go into the draw to win the $10,000 cash… it’s that easy!

The more you vote, the more chance you have to win! We hope to see you in the Darlinghurst, Circular Quay or Macquarie Centre Mad Mex locations soon!

Want more info? Just go to www.madmex.com.au or you can also join our group on Facebook or follow us on Twitter (@mad_mex)!

Mad Mex Fresh Mexican Grill… Mexican food with attitude!

Take the Grapeshot Feedback Survey & Win free movie tickets!

2009-06-26T07:43:00.000-07:00

Take the Grapeshot Feedback Survey to go into the draw for one of five double passes to see Winged Creatures.

Winged Creatures: Synopsis

A moment of random violence erupts in an ordinary Los Angeles diner. The survivors find that the meaning of their lives has changed and that they must find trust in a world that now seems unforgiving. No matter how much their families and friends attempt to understand, these individuals must follow their own paths to recovery.

Winged Creatures is a powerful ensemble drama, starring Kate Beckinsale, Dakota Fanning, Guy Pearce, Forest Whitaker and Jennifer Hudson. A story of tragedy and hope for our times, it explores the notion that our lives are fleeting, like birds in a fight, like winged creatures.

www.icomovies.com.au/wingedcreatures

Take the grapeshot feedback survey here and help us improve your student publication (the survey takes less than 5mins). All suggestions and comments are welcome, and all details and comments will be kept confidential.

Winners will be notified by email.

2009-06-24T06:44:00.000-07:00

NEWS RELEASE

June 24, 2009

AUSTRALIA LIVE TV.com SEARCHES FOR TELEVISION HOSTS

Australia Live TV is set to shine the spotlight on the next top Australian television presenters.

The Adelaide-based internet television station is searching for up-and-coming, vibrant and passionate media personalities to host its ‘Mornings Live’ program.

Australia Live TV CEO John Begley said the national search would allow the Australian public to decide the future ‘Mornings Live’ hosts.

“This is an extraordinary opportunity for two young Australians to launch their media careers while being paid and trained,” Mr Begley said.

“We are expecting applicants to exude charisma and have a strong knowledge of current affairs, sport and entertainment.

“We have only just launched the competition and applicants have already been posting their audition tapes on You Tube.”

He said entrants needed to be effective communicators, informing and entertaining to the corporate demographic of viewers aged between 18 and 40.

“We are breaking new ground at Australia Live TV and are excited to be creating a new foundation for the next faces of television,” he said.

Australia Live TV was the first to stream a live internet sports show with the launch of ‘KG and The General’ earlier this year.

The pioneering station now has ‘Xtreme Sports Hour with Nathan Strempel’, and coming soon will be ‘Mornings Live’, worldwide sports “guru” ‘Mahatma Cote’, ‘Open House’ and ‘Travel TV’.

“It would be ideal if the future hosts of ‘Mornings Live’ have past radio, television or print media experience but we do not want to limit the possibility of uncovering new talent,” Mr Begley said.

“All applicants will be considered on experience, ability, enthusiasm, video presentation and last but not least, the support generated from public voting.”

The program will run weekdays from 8am to 10am and is set to hit cyberspace in September from the exclusive Chapel Lane Studios in Hindmarsh, South Australia.

Applications close on July 31, with interviews of promising entrants conducted in August.

For more information about the competition or to lodge an application follow the prompts at www.australialivetv.com.au.

Issued by: Australia Live TV.com Business Relations Manager Helen Lawton-French on 0411 516 010 or helenlf@australialivetv.com

I smell FOOD!

2009-06-16T19:54:00.000-07:00

Callout for Issue 6: Food, glorious food!

Issue 6:
Reduced fat with no artificial colours or flavouring? In this issue we’re exploring the issues surrounding food. We all eat it, but do we really think about it? Why’d you choose to become vegetarian? Are the food supplies the world over really becoming scarce? Why is it that I can never remember where SuperDoopers are kept in the supermarket aisle? Is “organic” just another marketing gimmick? How ethical is the food we buy? What are your cultural traditions surrounding food? And the biggie… is it finally time to boycott Maccas once and for all? We want to know what food means to you and how it shapes the world around you. These are only suggestions … go crazy with your interpretations. So submit and contribute, you’ve got the whole mid-semester break to start (and complete) writing. Suggestions or reviews for cheap (or not so cheap) eats around Sydney are welcome too!

Every Issue:
If you have any photos from a club event, an overseas exchange experience, or even recent shots from around campus please send them in with “Pictorial Round-up” in the subject line.

Send submissions of 150 words or less to “The Rant & Letters”.

Send submissions to grapeshotmq@gmail.com
Deadline: Monday 13th July, 2009.

Word Limits:
Poetry - 30 lines
Fiction - 800 words.
Non-fiction/Articles - 800 words

Artwork - 300dpi - PDF or EPS - no more than 1 x A4 page per submission.

Photos for pictorial page- send single uncompressed files- saved at maximum quality

All work to be double spaced with page numbers. Only one submission at a time please. Submit electronically either in Word or rtf format.

Each submission should have name, contact details, word count and a statement declaring the work is your own on the first page.

If the work has been previously published please list publication and date on cover page.

Correspondence will be via email only.
Please make sure you read the Styleguide available at
http://www.uatmq.com.au/getinvolved/publication
The editorial team will respond to every submission.

PDF Files of past issues can also be located on our webpage, http://www.uatmq.com.au/getinvolved/publication

Visit the grapeshot office for print copies of past editions!

Free Suitcase, Computer Trolley & $20 e-coupons up for grabs!

2009-05-30T08:16:00.000-07:00

If you’re planning to travel in the July Uni break, there’s still time to enter our competition and save money with affordable suitcases from Luggage Bazaar!

Luggage Bazaar is again offering:

1) One lucky person the chance to win a fantastic 18.5 inch-

47cm MS-5402 Suitcase (pictured left)

2) Another lucky person a chance to win a handy 18 inch – 46 cm SK Computer Trolley (pictured right)

3) Five runner- ups will also receive $20 e-coupons redeemable at www.luggagebazaar.com.au. Coupons are valid until the 31/8/2009.

To enter the draw, simply email grapeshotmq@gmail.com and write ‘Luggage Bazaar Competition’ in the subject line. In the email please specify your name and your preferred prize, either the Suitcase or the Computer Trolley (e.g. ‘Rupert Grapeshot: my preferred prize is the Computer Trolley’). First prize winner will receive their preferred choice. Competition closes: June 30^th 2009. Winners will be notified via email and competition results will be announced in Issue 6.

Luggagebazaar.com.au also offers students the following specials:

· - 15 % off all travel luggage items

- Free shipping for purchases over A$100 within NSW

- To take advantage of the above offers please use redemption code: UMQ15DISC

Issue 5 with Free CD out now!

2009-05-30T08:04:00.000-07:00

Issue 5 of Grapeshot, including a free music CD is out now!

Grab a copy around campus or drop by the student publication office, Level 1, U@MQ.

we. love. sounds. too.

2009-05-28T15:27:00.000-07:00

You’re kidding right? You’re missing out on this year’s We Love Sounds winter fesitval to study? C'mon it's on Saturday June 6 ... lonnggg weekend!

No more excuses! - We Love Sounds have announced additional artists to the already towering line-up .

The latest additions include USA’s Baltimore Club king pin Dave Nada who returns to Australia after his rapturous reception across the country in late 2008. Also added to the line-up is Chilean techno queen Dinky. Dinky has consistently released cutting edge underground house and techno this decade for Cocoon, Crosstown Rebels and her own Horizontal label. Local additions to the line-up include Perth’s Shazam and Sydney DJ and producer Redial.

These acts join a long and impressive list including Armin Van Buuren, Armand Van Helden, Kissy Sell Out live, James Zabiela, Headman, Chris Lake, Bobmo, 16 Bit Lolitas and many more, making this by far the largest We Love Sounds festival to date. Tickets are selling fast, with early bird allocations sold out within days of sale (Ticketek and Inthemix)!

But, because we want exam week to be just that more enjoyable, we’ve got 2 sets of tickets to give away for you and a friend! E-mail us at grapeshotmq@gmail.com with your name, contact details (pref mobile) and the subject, WE LOVE SOUNDS
Entries close Wednesday June 3, 5pm

Competition!

2009-05-26T00:20:00.000-07:00

Win Double Passes to see Sunshine Cleaning at Greater Union MQ Centre

From the producers of Little Miss Sunshine, Sunshine Cleaning is a poignant, bitter-sweet family film about respect, love and clearing up body parts.

The story revolves around once high school cheerleading captain, Rose Lorkowski (Amy Adams - Doubt) who now finds herself a thirty something single mother working as a maid. Her sister Norah (Emily Blunt – The Devil Wears Prada) is still living at home with their dad Joe (Alan Arkin- Little Miss Sunshine), a salesman with a lifelong history of ill-fated get rich quick schemes. Desperate to get her son into a better school, Rose persuades Norah to go into the crime scene clean-up business to make some quick cash. In no time, the girls are up to their elbows in murders, suicides, and other... specialised situations.

To win one of twenty passes to see this film, simply take the Grapeshot feedback survey – http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=vD1_2fOsIdViiOYZNU2QLEkQ_3d_3d - The survey takes less than five minutes- so help us improve your student publication! Competition closes June 11th.

Swap til you drop Event - Oaktree foundation

2009-05-24T22:17:00.001-07:00

Swap til you drop/clothes swap with the Oaktree Foundation will not only raise money to alleviate the poverty of East Timorese youth, but will also benefit the community in which the event is held in allowing them to exchange their pre-loved clothes, accessories and so forth with others in the spirit of greater sustainability.

The success of numerous markets stand as testament to the idea that one person’s ‘trash’, can truly be another’s ‘treasure’. The clothes Swap fundraiser offers great potential to build upon this success and shed light on a growing need to be conscious of a more sustainable future. And at the same time raise cruicial funds East Timorse youth and their families.

Drop off your items 10am -11am
Swap til you drop 11.30am - 3pm.

28th June 2009
Dome, Crown Hotel

589 Crown St, Surry Hills

Get swapping to raise funds, and have a great day!

$15 online/$20 door
http://swaptilyoudrop.blogspot.com/

Young Leaders Network - Upcoming Event

2009-05-19T04:33:00.000-07:00

The Young Leaders Network is a ground breaking new not for profit organisation which brings together the student leaders of all clubs, societies, charities, unions, student associations and other organisations from all universities across Sydney.

Our next event "Innovation in Leadership" will be hosted at the Sydney Google Offices in Darling Harbour on the 8th July, with a special presentation made by Google on their innovative culture, corporate philosophy and the latest technological developments. Please see attached. Seating for this event is limited.

To receive more information about this event and other news, student leaders are encouraged to apply for FREE Membership in 2009 by visitingwww.yln.org.au and filling out the membership application form. If you have any questions, please email info@yln.org.au for more information or find us on Facebook under "Young Leaders Network 2009"

LAUNCH: Funhouse and Rupert's Funhouse CD!!!

2009-05-11T03:50:00.000-07:00

Grapeshot is launching Issue 5 at the Ubar and you are invited! This is a free event to showcase the creativity of Macquarie students. Issue 5 includes a CD featuring current students from Macquarie’s Department of Media, Music and Cultural Studies. The artists will perform at the Ubar and copies of the magazine and CD will be distributed on the night.

When: Friday 29th May
From: 7.30 – late
Where: Ubar
RSVP: 25th May, 2009.

Rupert’s Funhouse is proudly sponsored by

Luggage Bazaar Suitcase Competition - Grapeshot Issue 4

2009-05-04T01:45:00.000-07:00

Free SUITCASE & $20 e-coupons up for grabs –

You don’t want to miss out!

Luggage Bazaar is offering one lucky person the chance to win a fantastic MS-260 suitcase (pictured here). Ten runner-ups will also receive $20 e-coupons redeemable at www.luggagebazaar.com.au. Coupons are valid until 31/7/2009.

Suitcase Dimensions: 29 " - 74 cm/ Colour - Red

To enter the draw, simply email grapeshotmq@gmail.com and write ‘Luggage Bazaar Competition’ in the subject line. Competition closes: May 29^th 2009. Winners will be notified via email and competition results will be announced in Issue 6.

Luggagebazaar.com.au also offers students the following specials:

· 15 % off all travel luggage items

· Free shipping for purchases over A$100 within NSW

To take advantage of the above offers please use redemption code: UMQ15DISC

Media Pass - Journalism Conference - Important for all students interested in journalism!

2009-04-30T02:20:00.000-07:00

THURSDAY MAY 7

REDFERN

TOWN HALL, SYDNEY

FREE TO ATTEND FOR FINAL YEAR STUDENTS:

Email Clare.Fletcher@alliance.org.au to register.

Schedule:

9:00 Registration

9:30 The Future of Journalism: What does it mean for your career, and what
is the Alliance doing?
Chris Warren, Federal Secretary, The Media, Entertainment & Arts Alliance

10.30 Stretch break

10:45 Young journalists’ panel

Getting your foot in the door of the media industry and what to expect
when you’re there!

• Kate O’Toole, presenter, Hack, Triple J
• Sam Mooy, photographer, The Australian
• Asher Moses, technology reporter, smh.com.au

12.00 Professional essentials for a career in journalism
John Myers, MEDIA Super

12:20 Lunch

1.00 Surviving and thriving as a freelancer

• Jess Scully, editor Summer/Winter magazine
• Elmo Keep, freelance writer and critic
• Richard Kuipers, freelance film writer, producer and critic

2.00 Employers’ panel
Where are the jobs? What do employers want? Cadetships + interview
tips!
• Heather Forbes, staff director, ABC
• Cathy Schnitzerling, news director, Network Ten
• Melissa Stevens, editor, mX
• Louise Stewart, editor, Yen Magazine (TBC)

3.30 Close
*All speakers subject to availability. Program subject to change.

Issue 5's gonna be a big one ...

2009-04-14T06:29:00.000-07:00

This will be our biggest issue for the year, and will include a free CD, sponsored by OLIN/WESTWELL, featuring brilliant artists from Macquarie’s Department of Media, Music and Cultural Studies. Adding to the excitement, all featured artists on the CD have agreed to help launch Issue 5 at the Ubar on Friday night 29th May. You can come along, grab your copy + CD and have a drink or two while you enjoy the show. Make sure you don’t miss the opportunity to have your originality and flair showcased in what promises to be a totally collectable issue of Grapeshot! There’s no theme – just go wild, channel your creative side and send us your best and funniest articles, fiction, comics, artwork and photos.

Every Issue:

If you have any photos from a club event, an overseas exchange experience, or even recent shots from around campus please send them in with “Pictorial Round-up” in the subject line.

Send submissions of 150 words or less to “The Rant”.

Letters to the Editor are always welcome.

Send submissions to grapeshotmq@gmail.com
Deadline: Monday 11th May, 2009.

Word Limits:
Poetry - 30 lines
Fiction - 800 words.
Non-fiction/Articles - 1,200 words

Artwork - 300dpi - PDF or EPS - no more than 1 x A4 page per submission.
Photos for pictorial page- send single uncompressed files- saved at maximum quality

All work to be double spaced with page numbers. Only one submission at a time please. Submit electronically either in Word or rtf format.

Each submission should have name, contact details, word count and a statement declaring the work is your own on the first page.

If the work has been previously published please list publication and date on cover page.

Correspondence will be via email only.
Please make sure you read the Styleguide available at
http://www.uatmq.com.au/getinvolved/publication
The editorial team will respond to every submission.

Hello from over here!

2009-04-14T00:46:00.000-07:00

So here we are. Another facet to Grapeshot's ever-dominating presence in the webberverse. Rupert welcomes you to his place. From here he will update you on current happenings of Grapeshot. From here you can discuss, query, frolic.

News: We've set up a survey. Your opinion matters to us very much. So please take the time to do this thing. Let us know what works, what doesn't, your license and registration and you too can be in the running for a prize, even!! Get to the survey HERE.

Peace out, all.

Rupert.

Extended interviews with Senate and Council Candidates.

2009-04-13T12:00:00.000-07:00

Because not every candidate got back to us before the publication date of the politics issue, and because we didn't get to include everything the candidates said, here are some extended interviews with candidates as well as some that did make publication.

University Council

Chris Redfern

What in your view is University Council?

I feel that University Council is a group of academic experts and businessmen entrusted in the running of the financial sector and innovation around the University. I feel the University Council is comprised of very experienced people.

What are your core values?

My core values, I really like the student/life balance – enjoying being a student, being social, getting around, seeing friends and engaging with other people. I don't like sitting still and doing nothing. I actually like to be a bit active.

What are your objectives for University Council?

I feel that parking on campus can be severely improved in terms of the financial cost to students, especially during the start of the year when they're already buying textbooks, putting the down payment on their education, and not to mention parking fees being raised last year. Even if they just stay stable that'd be nice for us. I’d also like to give student groups more control over their funds. I know this is a difficult thing, but I'd like to get a committee going to see how everything can change. Because a lot of student groups are concerned. Also they need more people down there [in the U@MQ office] to do it. They're severely understaffed to compensate for the eighty or so student groups. Thirdly, I would also like to bring back happy hour and shots to the bar. I don't think the change was a wise move from either a Drinkwise perspective or becoming the healthiest university in 2015. I think that there is a social impact in keeping students happy and not restricting their freedoms to alcohol. I think we should be advertising more awareness in drugs rather than just dictating what students can and cannot do. I think there needs to be a greater education rather than a greater enforcement. And finally, I'm sure this will be what every candidate will say, I'd like to strengthen student engagement and representation. I'd like to get MUSRWG, the student working group off the ground and actually into something solid, because at the moment apart from U@MQ suggestion boxes, not very much information is being thrown around.

How do you intend to resolve the parking situation, given the intense difficulty the university faces with parking and also statements from people within OFM saying that parking is never used to full capacity?

That comment is only going up to where the N3 carpark is at the very top byCulloden Road., and the comments are because it's at the very top of a hill and because it’s a wide carpark area. Most of the students’ parking occurs around the southern end of the University in the C1 to E1 to W1 carparks. That's where the majority of students are choosing to park. However, if we can either extend or make access easier for students to either go up more towards the northern end of the campus that would increase the chances of parking being better distributed. I would also like to enact a carpooling scheme to encourage students to carpool. I live fairly close to the University and I know hundreds of people that pass me but none of them want to pick me up. I'm not a bad guy. I don't smell and I'd be happy to pay for petrol. Furthermore, I'd like to get rid of the reserved parking for those who want to pay the extra, what it is at the moment is is five hundred dollars to park in the specialised parking in C1. It's buying yourself out of a situation which is just unfair, because most students can't afford seven hundred dollars per year for a car space.

Do you think drinking is important to campus and campus culture?

I think it's very important to campus culture. Not in the sense that we all need to get drunk to have a good time. I think that the bar is a very important social hub and I think that limiting what students can and cannot do there is impacting on them socially. I think the students should be educated on how much they've had and how much is a safe and appropriate amount.

How do you intent to improve engagement?

It's a broad question because there's many ways of doing it, ranging from implementing an online election system which, I've been sitting on for over a year - that way we could actually get more students involved and reduce student apathy. We need to get students caring and then wanting to be involved with their academic requirements and their academic future because it's their university. The university will rub off on what the students think and what the students do, so if we actually get enough student involvement, things will change, and change is needed.

Mark Zoellner

What in your view is University Council?

Well, I've done a little bit of research and I think the over arching body of the university, that looks after matters of the university.

What are your values?

I think my values are to represent students and represent student interests. I think it’ probably my job on the University Council and I think we need to look after students in a time of their lives when they've got a lot of study and commitment.

What are your objectives for University Council?

We're running on a policy to try to subsidise things on campus for students. In times of financial crisis, with food and rent prices going up, I think probably, the best thing we can do is help relieve financial pressure on students if possible. It won’t be very hard to do so.

What would you identify as student interests?

I think students want to come to the University to do their degree and that’s probably where the main interest revolves around. Also, I think their interest is to make sure they have enough money to be able to live relatively well while doing their degree

How do you intend to achieve those subsidies, do you think you'll be able to convince the university to part with money while the university sector as a whole is suffering financially?

Well, I'll try very hard because it is my job to look after the students as their representative and I think we'll try to put forward a few very strong cases, lobby hard and do the job.

What, in your view, is the student body?

The student body is the students who come to university and study here and use the facilities that the university has.

Amy Smith

What in your view is University council?

University Council is the governing board of directors which makes up the main decisions that control the university.

What are your core values?

My core values are equal opportunity for all. I don't stand for any racism. Supporting all equity and diversity groups and really importantly, a sustainable social and environmental campus.

What are your objectives for University Council in the coming year?

Well, in the past year I focused on delivering my election promises, which was to create the new student representation association (MUSRA). I would also like to focus on raising more mature age and external student support services, working on ways we can make the campus more sustainable and affordable student housing along with the ongoing advocacy and representation on issues that face council every meeting.

What are the services that you want to include and how do they differ from the services provided by the university?

We're looking at coordinating under the U@MQ banner postgraduates, external, mature aged student services and working with the disability support units and the university's equity support units. This would streamline the process but, most importantly there are some services that are still missing from our campus. Access to advocacy and representation services, external students need representation,so we're looking at either getting a representative on the U@MQ board or MUSRA and having them come along to the new students’ association meetings. Services such as special gym memberships if they're only on campus, ten times a year, develop special programs for them, special rooms where they can spend time while they're at university and better ways of communication and accessing lecturers.

How do you plan to implement those?

I will continue to work on the [student representation] working group until the new students association is formed and elected. After that I will continue to have input on the process but most importantly work with council. My role is to explain the motion to council and make sure that they support it.

You've talked about representing a great diversity of students, how do you plan to do that?

At the moment we've got six equity and diversity groups which are recognised by the University, we have an equity and diversity committee and also with our new student's association there will be a representative for each of these. I will work closely with those people, regularly meeting up with them and taking those issues either to the U@MQ board or on to University Council.

Adrian Amer

What in your view is University Council?

I think that the University Council is one of the central governance bodies of the Uuniversity, and as the student representative on that body it would be my job to ensure the interests of all students are represented. Any concerns that the student body has, or ideas about future direction of the university are addressed there and hopefully solutions can be generated. And ultimately you’re with the Chancellor, the Vice Chancellor and the other members of the board who do have a strong influence on the direction the University takes. So you’re in a position to try and drive change.

What are your values?

One of my key values is honesty, I also believe in fairness in representation. I suppose the fairness in representation thing is quite relevant to a student representative on the University Council. I also believe in doing what truly drives you and what makes you happy. Whatever your strengths are, you can work on those, and become the best that you want to be. Also I’m for democracy and ensuring that people are represented.

What are you objectives for Council?

My key election platforms are developing the perception and reputation of Macquarie University in the outside community. Ensuring that the focus of Macquarie is on tutorial centered learning. When Macquarie first started as a university, it focused very strongly on tutorials and more on group learning. It seems to me that one of the things that’s happened over the years is that we’ve shifted away from that somewhat. I’m totally aware of the reasons why, mainly funding constraints, but I would like to see more focus on tutorial style learning, so that students have a better environment to learn in. And the third one, is I want to ensure that on-line learning components at Macquarie are improved. Mainly by keeping the audio in sync with the lecture slides. Particularly because Macquarie has so many distance students and is part of Open Universities Australia, improvement will help the majority of those student who don’t get the chance to go to lectures, and those who choose not to attend for whatever reason. And just back on to the first point about the reputation and perception of Macquarie. It undoubtedly has a strong reputation as it is, but for whatever reason in many people’s eyes we may not have the standing of Sydney University or UNSW. As a student here, I feel there’s no reason why we shouldn’t. As the university is doing already it needs to continue to drive the reputation of the Uni further by addressing marketing and UAI concerns and really asking questions as to what school leavers and employers look for in a University.

How do you intend to develop the University’s image within the community?

One is try to look into what drives UAI cutoffs. I think the key ways in which a university and it's quality is determined by UAIs, as sad as it is. Other university's, I am aware, and the Vice Chancellor is aware of this, UAIs are artificially inflated and they do that by accepting a smaller number of students in the first round and providing more offers after. While I don't necessarily think we need to play that game, I think it needs to be addressed somewhat, whether it be more direct contact with students from school or increasing the research output, like the university is doing.

How do you improve on-line learning with university council?

I think that it needs to be raised at the council level that it is the concern of students that on-line learning isn't as good as it could be. One of the key ways it can be improved by is ensuring that the audio is in sync with the lecturer's interaction. While the university council isn't personally in a position to go through and fix it themselves, they are in a position to ensure that the problem is taken through the correct channels. I'm happy to raise that and can establish that that is a student concern and take it through the technology department or whatever it may be.

Academic Senate

Amelia Ditcham

What in your view is Academic Senate?

Academic Senate is obviously the governing body of the university that makes decisions about everything academic.

What are your values?

I’m kind of a lefty to be honest. Because I believe that there are people who are lucky, people that have opportunities and they need to help those who don’t. I enjoy being on academic senate because I’m able to use my knowledge and my situations to help out people and to advocate on behalf of people who are finding it hard to engage with the system.

What are your objectives for senate?

Well I would really like to continue what I re-committed myself to in my last term on academic senate. I’m on quite a few committees, academic appeals, the library committee, and a subcommittee working on the structure of academic senate. I am the only student on that the structure committee and I would like to ensure that there are more students on academic senate. At least one undergraduate from every faculty, as well as positions for indigenous students or staff, as well as post graduate and maybe international students as well.

Do you feel you’ve been accountable on senate, how?

I think I have in the sense that everything thing I have done has been totally legitimate, and through the correct procedures. I believe I’m accountable in the sense that [if] somebody says, “What happened at senate?” I’ll be able to tell you, I’ll be able to tell you why it happened, I’ll be able to tell you what’s going to happen in the future or what the potential issues are coming up.

How do you plan on getting more students on senate?

Well, as I mentioned before I’m on that working committee that’s restructuring the academic senate. With the recent academic restructure the senate has changed and so there is a committee that organizes how many representatives are going to be on the committee from 2010 onwards. I’m a student who is on that committee I’m going in with a notion to make sure that we have at least four students on the senate because it can be intimidating to go in there and in the end students are the reason that this university runs.

If a student needed to contact you with a grievance, but didn’t know you or anyone you know, how would they do that?

Well, it’s really interesting that you say that, because that’s happened to me a few times through networks, and friends of friends of friends. Also MUPRA have handed on a couple of academic problems onto me, because I’ve established a relationship with them, Also through my work with the student representative working group. I find that a lot of what I do gets out through U@MQ networks as well. I know it doesn’t sound very structured through friends of friends of friends but it’s really interesting how at a barbeque I’ll walk into somebody who says “Oh yeah, so and so told me to talk to you, I have a problem with XYZ”. My e-mail address is on every piece of correspondence I put out as well. I think that’s how it’s really networked, but I would like to improve it as well, in the sense of getting out there in the student publication, reporting on what’s happened and putting my e-mail address on the bottom of that.

Nick Ferrari

What in your view is Academic Senate?

Academic Senate to me is a body that's responsible for pretty much deciding everything that goes on in the academic life at the university from degrees to class sizes, new area of studies etc.

What are your values?

I think that free speech is a big thing, and university life student engagement and getting involved with the university.

What are your objectives for senate?

There are a few things that I've been having a chat to a few people about that I'd like to see changed. Firstly I'd like that there'd be a little bit more accountability to students and a little bit more student input, in what goes on with degrees and also that the students’ needs are met and things like class sizes need to be looked at.

How do you intend to implement greater levels of accountability?

I'd have to have a look at what we are actually able to achieve in the senate because students only get three positions. It's more just making sure that the students are aware of Academic Senate and that they actually get to see what causes the changes.

How do you intend to combat class sizes?

Again, that's something that I'm going to have to look at when I actually see what the reasons for the class sizes are. I'm not going to say that I can achieve things which are unachievable. I can't answer that at the moment without seeing what it is that is causing it to go up.

What do you see as the method of sourcing the information you need?

Things like running surveys, actually just engaging with students, asking people on campus here and there. I've already had a chat to people that I'm friends with but just having a chat to people in the bar every now and then, meeting new people, seeing what their issues are and bringing this to light in the senate, making sure that it has actually debated.

Brad Williams

What in your view is Academic Senate?

Well, the Academic Senate is an organisation that oversees all the academic parts of the University. It oversees what is fundamentally the degrees and the honours, they organiseappeals for grades and all that sort of stuff. It's more the intellectual side of the University.

What are your values?

I think it's fair to say, I have fairly conservative values. Not to a ridiculous extent but, sort of more status-quo, so what we have now. Not with the University, but broadly speaking, what we have now is where society is at.

What are your objectives for senate?

With the senate more needs to be done to ensure that the standard of our academics is higher and that we need to be looking out more for students and ensuring that they're getting what they're paying for. Lord knows it's very expensive and we want to have a good education and the organisation that oversees that part of our education is the Academic Senate.

If you could change something about the Uni, it doesn't have to be for Academic Senate, what would you change, or would you leave it all the same?

The biggest problem that we at Macquarie have is we lack any real student representation beyond these administrative organisational positions. We're in desperate need of some form of an elected union, just to represent our interests. I think that's probably the biggest problem in the short term that Macquarie University faces.

How do you intend to improve standards through Academic Senate?

I have no illusions as to what exactly I can and can't do but I think that I want to stand for ensuring that we have a real fair system. I'm going to stand up there and ensure that if there's academic bias within the system it’s brought to the attention of the Academic Senate. I'm definitely a friend of any student whose been discriminated against for having a difference of opinion with their lecturers. Basically keeping education fair, that's how I think that the standard of education can be improved at Macquarie through the senate.

If you're elected to senate, how would that role empower you to improve representation?

I feel that from that position I'd have the ability to then go out and advocate further to the university, the need for student representative roles, especially to do with the establishment of an SRC. I think you'd want to have a student whose elected, who would have some form of mandate to go off and actually represent what the students think.

Sammy Horner

What in your view is the Academic enate?

In my view, academic senate is a body that determines academic policy. There are two people involved, that are running for it, for undergrad, and one postgrad position.

What are your values?

I value the right to everyone not being judged on face value. Everyone getting a chance to be represented as fairly, without people being written off.

What are your objectives?

My objectives for academic senate are to try and ensure fairness across for education; as far as I know the academic senate itself is fairly limited in what it can do, so I’m not going to be making any promises, but I want to be there representing in a student capacity.

You’ve mentioned your opposition to discrimination, how do you intend to use senate to prevent it?

On the senate if we’re going to talk about education and grading, then it would have to be ensuring that people’s backgrounds and their literacy are taken into consideration.

How do intend increase fairness with senate?

I’d have to be in there and see how it all runs. I’ve read the documentation on what is involved, I don’t have a clear direction on how I plan to go about doing that at this stage.

In your view what is the student body?

The students at Macquarie can be just about anything. There are a lot of international students who are coming over here and trying to get an education. There are students that take a very strong role being involved in lots of clubs. Macquarie students might play sport, and they can just be people that are coming here, to just do studies and then go home.

Candidate Letter to the Editors: Nick Ferrari

To whom it may concern,

Just a short email to lodge a complaint and express disappointment at the student publication. My complaint is in regards to two issues. First, the fact that the publication spelt my surname and my fellow candidate Chris' first name wrong and second that although we were assured we would be forwarded the article to read through prior to it being published, this was not followed through with.

It really is a shame that a student publication, which claims to hold itself to high standards of what is published and what is not allowable, would allow something this grossly unprofessional to occur. Especially when it is in regards to something as important as informing students about the candidates whom they are voting for election to represent them in the important forums of academic senate and university council. I do not see how the publication can claim to have any authority or accuracy in representing these peoples views when it can not even get the names of the candidates correct.

I am not even going to go into how this could also be damaging to our campaign for election. However I would just like to ask if these errors were on account of some ineptitude, a bias against our campaign or just a plain lack of professionalism?

Regards

Nick Ferrari.