Debate 11, 2013

ISSUE 11 | MAY 2013 www.ausm.org.nz

ISSUE 11 | MAY 2013 DIRECTORY

RECEPTION City Campus Level 2, WC Building 921 9805 Mon-Thurs: 9am-5pm Fri: 9am-4pm North Shore Campus Level 2, AS Building 921 9949 Mon-Fri: 11am-1pm

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COVER

Photograph by Adam Abernethy p22

EDITOR

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Matthew Cattin matthew.cattin@aut.ac.nz

SUB EDITOR Nigel Moffiet

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DESIGNER/PHOTOGRAPHER Ramina Rai

Manukau Campus MB107 921 9999 ext 6672 Mon-Thurs: 9am-3.30pm

CONTRIBUTORS

Aspen Bruce | Brittany Cotter | Augustus Bloodsworth | Deborah Bennett | Erica McQueen | Erica Donald | Hazel Buckingham | Jamie Barnes | Jarred Fleming | Kieran Bennett | Lucy Curno | Mays Shalash | Mike Ross | Natalie Cyra | Nathan Bromberg | Nigel Moffiet |Scott Yeoman | Shilo Kino | Zac Fleming

GOVERNANCE & LEADERSHIP Kizito Essuman AuSM Student President 921 9999 ext 8571 kizito.essuman@aut.ac.nz MANAGEMENT Sue Higgins General Manager 921 9999 ext 5111 sue.higgins@aut.ac.nz ADVOCACY Nick Buckby Liaison Manager 921 9999 ext 8379 nick.buckby@aut.ac.nz MARKETING Kate Lin Sales and Marketing Co-ordinator 921 9999 ext 8909 kate.lin@aut.ac.nz EVENTS Carl Ewen Student Life Manager 921 9999 ext 8931 carl.ewen@aut.ac.nz MEDIA Matthew Cattin Publications Co-ordinator 921 9999 ext 8774 matthew.cattin@aut.ac.nz VESBAR Zane Chase Vesbar Manager 921 9999 ext 8378 zane.chase@aut.ac.nz VOLUNTEERS & CLUBS Nathan Bromberg Volunteers Coordinator 921 9999 ext 8911 nathan.bromberg@aut.ac.nz

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ILLUSTRATION & PHOTOGRAPHY

Matthew Cattin | Jennifer Choat| Mays Shalash | Ramina Rai

ADVERTISING CONTACT Kate Lin kate.lin@aut.ac.nz

PRINTER

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PMP Print Ltd.

PUBLISHER 5 EDITORIAL 6-8 ARTIST OF THE WEEK + INTERVIEW: Adam Abernethy 9 Milk, Gin And Lolly Jars 10 RECIPE Poetry 11 ARTICLE: Donate Your Desktop

17 ARTICLE: L Ron Hubbard 18 Where Art Thou Friends?

19 X-Factory 20 ARTICLE: 3D Printing 22 MUSIC: Luke Thompson 23 ARTICLE: Sir Alex The Great

12 NIFTY NEWS

24 Fan Theories

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26 A Day At The Zoo

Social Media Highlights 15 AuSM Executive Team AuSM Updates 16 Memorandum Auckland's Got It Going On

AuSM all rights reserved

28 Shawty, You A Ten 31 PETA Pokemon & Porn 32 REVIEWS

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Inquiries seeking permission to reproduce should be addressed to AuSM.

DISCLAIMER Material contained in this publication does not necessarily represent the views or opinions of AuSM, its advertisers, contributors, PMP Print or its subsidiaries.

debate is a member of the Aotearoa Student Press Association (ASPA)

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STUDENT LEARNING STUDENT LEARNING SUPPORT SUPPORT

STUDY SMART WORKSHOPS (SEMESTER 1)

STUDENT LEARNING CENTRE

If you are struggling with an assignment,

Beginning with time management and ending with exam preparation, Study Smart

essay or paper we offer a range of

workshops cover a range of essential study skills required throughout the semester -

resources on essay writing, referencing,

they are free and run Tuesday – Thursday at City, north Shore and Manukau campuses.

We provide free academic support to help you excel and achieve better grades.

how to study effectively, time management and exam preparation� We

Week beginning 4 March

Time management

Week beginning 11 march

Listening skills and note taking, APA referencing and plagiarism

Week beginning 18 March

essay writing, APA referencing and plagiarism, critical thinking

Week beginning 25 March

Group work, APA referencing and plagiarism, report writing

management and exam preparation� We

Week beginning 1 April

Oral presentation

also hold free workshops throughout

Week beginning 8 April

Memory skills

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the year on a range of topics to help you

Week beginning 6 May

Exam skills

Phone: (09) 921 9840

achieve your best possible grades.

also hold free workshops throughout

STUDENT LEARNING CENTRE

If you are struggling with an assignment,

the year on a range of topics to help you achieve your best possible grades (see page 41)�

essay or paper we offer a range of

cITy caMpUS

resources on essay writing, referencing,

WB239

We provide free academic NoRTh ShoRE caMpUS AS215 support to help you excel and MaNUkaU caMpUS achieve better grades. email: slc@aut.ac.nz

how to study effectively, time

(see page 41)�

STUDY WORKS (SEMES

Beginning with time manag

workshops cover a range o

they are free and run Tuesd

Week beginning 4 March

Week beginning 11 marc

FOR MORE INFORMATION ON THESE WORkSHOPS CHECk OUT THE STUDENT LEARNING CENTRE WEB PAGE WWW.AUT.AC.nZ/STUDenT-LeARnInG

Week beginning 18 Marc

WWW.AUT.AC.nZ/STUDenT-LeARnInG

cITy caMpUS WB239 NoRTh ShoRE caMpUS

Week beginning 25 Marc 41

Week beginning 1 April

AS215 Week beginning 8 April MaNUkaU caMpUS MB 104 Phone: (09) 921 9840 email: slc@aut.ac.nz WWW.AUT.AC.nZ/STUDenT-LeARnInG

Week beginning 6 May

FOR MORE INFORMATION ON THES

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EDITORIAL

by Matthew Cattin Hello again, This morning brought with it news of the horrific and sadistic terror attack in the UK. Details are shady as I write this but it seems two men butchered a soldier to death on London streets in broad day light. Afterwards, with blood still on their hands and weapons, they paced triumphantly, encouraging onlookers to film them as they made aggressive threats towards Britain.

Earlier this week, the TV showed me entire neighbourhoods playing pick-up sticks after terrible tornadoes. As I sit here in the office with my steaming michai tea, I can’t help but feel relieved and immensely grateful to have been born in the best country there is.

I’ve always been one to get riled up at those that can’t wait to leave the ‘hole’ that is New Zealand. You know the ones that are itching and moaning to tackle their OE but have never ventured south of the Bombay Hills. The very same grouches who live vicariously through Facebook, spend their nights getting buzzy in town and at every opportunity lament the Kiwi cage they were born in.

Perhaps they travelled to Melbourne for New Year’s 2011/12 and rate it as, like, the best experience of their whole lives.

Are we getting the picture?

I’ve been lucky in my life to have been raised in a family that loves the outdoors.

The great Kiwi Christmas camping tradition has been upheld proudly in the Cattin clan and if I were to add it up, I’d say I’ve spent close to two of my 21 years living under a canvas roof. It’s a figure I’m immensely pleased about and it thoroughly irks me that some New Zealanders have never spend the night in a tent. To me it just seems obvious! Sweet beach + beach front accommodation + cheap as chips prices = guaranteed success. Why do anything else with your summer?

Another of my favourite hobbies (that Aotearoa so generously supports) is tramping (not to be confused with purchasing tramps for those from the UK). There’s nothing quite as spiritually cleansing as taking the time to go bush for four or five days. It’s a romantic concept I think for me – being nomadic for a few days, waking up somewhere different each morning and carrying your world upon your back. I think it really helps put in perspective how tremendous the little things are – taking off your boots after a 10 hour trek, heating your Watties Big Eat over an open fire, nibbling on native plants you come across and hoping you don’t die.

It’s certainly a kaleidoscope of wonders all cooped into our little nation and as far as world class walks go, we’re spoilt for choice.

Yet on most of my tramping experiences, I have found the large majority of fellow walkers to be foreigners, particularly from Germany, Iran, the UK and Sweden. I have no problem sharing the hut with internationals – that’s not my gripe. They are always friendly, quirky and interesting to speak to over a freeze-dried meal. I’m just wondering, where are all the Kiwis at? Do they take living in New Zealand so for granted that they can’t be bothered exploring its hidden gems? Are they content to just pop on Fellowship of the Ring and claim bragging rights? New Zealanders are about the last nationality I would expect to be underrepresented wandering our mountains, valleys and forests yet it’s hardly ever a Kiwi “g’day” you hear on the trail. Usually it’s a very German “hello, how is it with you? My name is Hans, oh, and this is Claus.”

So before you have a go at our beautiful home, take the time to explore its furthest reaches – take a small tent and explore its beaches, try and get lost amongst its features.

Remember if you find it too dull you can always leave.

And not come back…

Matthew www.ausm.org.nz

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Artist of the week: ADAM ABERNETHY

Adam is an AUT Graphic Design graduate, specializing in fashion/portraiture photography.

Adam recently travelled around India, to read more about his travels and photography work hit up page 11!

You can check out more of Adam's work at

http://smallvillian.tumblr.com/

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ADAM ABERNETHY

Artist of the Week Adam Abernethy answers some questions about his recent travels around India and his photography work.

Interviewed by Ramina Rai

1. Where did you travel to on your overseas

Camera – This was kind of hard for me since my camera is pretty heavy, but totally worth it!

I went all around India for about 6 weeks. For the first half I was staying with distant relatives who I had never met before, and who didn’t speak much English (Although my mum sometimes could translate), and for the second half we went travelling around to other parts of India, including Varanasi, Agra, Junagadh, Mumbai and Delhi.

4. A lot of your photography revolves around fashion, is that your favourite genre to shoot?

adventure?

2. Were you able to photograph strangers on your travels? If so, was it a daunting experience or were strangers okay being photographed?

We’ll something I really wanted to do was to shoot portraits all of the people that I was related to, like the families of my late Grandma’s siblings, those were easy enough because we we’re visiting them in their home, and they were happy about getting photographed.

Shooting strangers on the street was different; a lot people were really excited to have their picture taken and some would actually ask me to take a picture of them. There was this one guy though, and he had this amazing fat-ass monkey chained up (which was pretty sad), and I just wanted a photo of the monkey but when lifted my camera the guy yelled at me and said, “you pay for photo!!”

3. What were your most important travel items?

Sunblock – I forgot about this one at first, and after a day out in the sun I got completely burnt (A few layers of skin started peeling off a few days later!)

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I’m not really sure if it’s my favourite, I think that I’ve always really liked all the different concepts and aesthetics you can achieve with fashion photography, but I don’t really have a genuine interest in fashion. I think I just like shooting portraiture, but fashion photography allows for a lot more creativity than something like family portraits.

5. Is there a genre/style of photography you haven’t shot that you would like to try in future?

I haven’t really done any landscape photography. I think that’s because I always consider landscapes to be the background, and I feel lost without having a subject in the foreground. But it is definitely something I would like to experiment more with.

6. Who and/or what would be your dream to photograph?

Hmm, I think it would be amazing to shoot promotional portraits for television shows & ad posters. I was looking at the Game of Thrones posters and I thought that would be so awesome for whoever got to shoot those!

You can check out more of Adam's work at

http://smallvillian.tumblr.com/

by Erica Donald

We recently sold the house that I have lived in for the last ten years of my life. That was all well and good, except when we moved out we didn't have anywhere to move into. So I packed up my life into a few small suitcases and boxes, and I moved in with my nana.

I was a little dubious. I think she was a little dubious. I think my whole family were a little dubious. See, I sleep all day, stay up all night and I'm barely ever home. We didn't quite know how it would work out. But as it turns out, my nana is pretty much the perfect flatmate and I might not ever move out.

Nana is one of the coolest people I know. When I moved in I thought I would hardly ever see her because I would be too busy. I was right, but it's not because I'm too busy. It's because Nana has more of a social life than I do. While I'm home trying to figure out whether my shorthand notes say load, led, let, lid, lead or lit (context will tell you) my nana is off with her equally cool friends doing all sorts of exciting things. The other day one of her friends ran out of milk for their tea so Nana popped home to get some. When she returned her friend offered her a bottle of gin in exchange for the milk... Where can I find friends like that?

Then there is the lolly jar. The perpetually filled lolly jar. Milk bottles, red jet planes and jelly beans. My favourites are always there. It's like some kind of special nana magic. I may eat the last red gummy bear before bed, but by the time the sun rises the jar is back to full red gummy capacity. It's one of the greatest mysteries of life which possibly might not ever be explained.

There are also the little things. She will wake up early, just to make sure that I am awake and haven't slept through my alarm.

She doesn't bug me about cleaning my room. She likes to read my stories and articles, even the one about condoms. She bakes all the time and, although she hasn't made one recently, her apple pies are heaven on earth. (I know she will read this and think it's a very unsubtle hint that I miss her apple pies. Hi Nana! Yes, you're right.

It's a shameless unsubtle hint.)

We have a new house now but my room is currently uninhabitable because it has become a jungle of boxes. So I'm still living with Nana, and I'm not really in any rush to move. Although when others joke that I will never leave Nana is quick to say 'Oh yes she will!"

I think I'm cramping Nana's style.

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Poetry Idol

By Deborah Bennett My 17-year-old sister, a first-timer to Poetry Idol; performance poetry said it exceeded her expectations. My high school teacher, had to go again. I also, had to go again; so captivated by the passion of poetic words acted out for the first time I’d gladly secured my seat for Poetry Idol 2013. It seems fitting that my review is in the form of a poem.

It’s spectacular, so everyone should see it next year. Only $15.

Poetry Idol Wonder Drum roll for ten finalists Whittled down to five And two.

Arms opened out The A-fu-ga-si butterfly Black and white Half caste beauty.

By Mays Shalash

Quite possibly the best way to start a Sunday, or Monday, even Tuesday... pushing it on the Wednesday though.

Serves two.

INGREDIENTS:

4 slices white bread 3 eggs Salt and pepper Plain yoghurt to top 1 banana Honey Raspberry (or your preference) jam Note: To make this easy for myself I used a silicone muffin tray so the bread wouldn't stick and it would be easy to get out and on to the plate, so if you have one handy use it. If not, line your muffin tin with baking paper or lightly grease with some butter.

METHOD:

1-Preheat oven to 200°C .

2- Cut towards the centre of the bread from two opposing corners, making sure that bread is still in one piece.

3-Whisk the eggs and add salt and pepper to taste.

4-Dip the bread slices in the egg and then fold to fit in the muffin tray like a cup.

5-Bake for a few minutes until egg is cooked and a bread is a little crispy.

6-Place two of the bread cups on a plate, throw a dollop of yoghurt, sprinkle half a diced banana, drizzle with honey and top it off with a teaspoon of jam.

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Invisible ink Uncovered by the Delicate Overrepresented Pakeha Lady.

Contrasts To booming Tribute To her father I know you are my Dad Details of him Replicate, in me.

She competes to Zane Who tributes His social worker Mother.

Religion, He projects Some pain.

Detractor topic Pairs up With If I were God The poet Was just A little man Talking back.

All round Applause For contestants And performing Judges.

Poetry Idol.

Go see!

The new way to give that costs nothing.

by Erica McQueen Donate Your Desktop (DYD) is a New Zealand start-up that has been operating for just over a year. It is a simple way for kiwis to give to charities; all they have to do is give up having their own image on their computer’s desktop background. Users download an application that updates their desktop background each day with a new branded wall paper. 75% of the cost advertisers pay goes to a charity of the user’s choice. It’s a win-win-win situation: companies get access to an amazing new advertising space, charities get significant ongoing donations, and users get the satisfaction of donating without it costing them any money. DYD currently has 12 partner charities, including Oxfam, Amnesty International, World Wildlife Fund and the NZ Breast Cancer Foundation.

Enactus is a global not for profit organisation that combines the forces of committed students, academic and business leaders to use the power of entrepreneurial action to transform lives and shape a better more sustainable world. Through Enactus AUT, four business students are interning with DYD to help them with marketing, social media and sales.

I had a chat with David Hillier, one of the directors of DYD about the business idea, things he learnt from starting up DYD and why readers should ‘donate’ their desktops.

How did you come up with the idea?

Nelson Rayner, our creative director, came up with idea. When he shared it with Steve and myself, we were instantly eager to help him turn it into a real business.

One thing you learnt through the process of turning idea into operating company?

You can never rely on anything going viral. When we first started working on Donate Your Desktop, we were convinced that the idea was so catchy that we would grow a huge audience in no time. We assumed that because we would have this large audience, the business would be sustainable within the first few months. However, we’ve experienced only steady organic growth for the last year and have had to dig deep to keep the initiative going without much revenue.

Three words that describe your business?

Innovative, socially-responsible, scalable Why should readers 'donate' their desktop?

It’s your chance to contribute to a better world every day without costing you a cent AND receive attractive designer wallpapers.

What can we expect to see from DYD over the coming year?

We’re looking to build an application for iOS, Android and Windows Phone so you can enjoy Donate Your Desktop on your smartphones and tablets too. We’re also planning on increasing the user engagement by introducing groups and goals so users can work towards collective achievements.

Other than donating their desktop, how can people support DYD/get involved with DYD? The best thing you can do is get your family, friends and colleagues to join. Share it on Facebook and Twitter! The more users, the more we donate each day! We’re always appreciative of feedback on our product too, and constantly on the lookout for new clients to advertise with us.

Are the charities really benefiting? How do we know the donations aren't miniscule?

One of the developments we’re working towards this year is quantifying how much each user is donating. It’s almost impossible to let the user know how their charity is spending their donation, so we’re going to implement a system that lets users join together in groups to work towards a collective goal. Although these goals will still be representative, the approximate cost of the goal to the charity will correspond to the money donated by that group.

In this way, a group supporting Oxfam may be able to provide enough donations over the course of the year to have paid for a schoolhouse in a Pacific village.

There's quite a negative view of advertising in society.

How are you combating that?

Donating your desktop is your choice. Traditional advertising is forced on the viewer, squeezed around the content that they’re actually interested in. Our users have chosen to receive our advertising, so they can contribute to a better world. They’ve chosen to make receiving this advertising a positive experience. It’s our responsibility to ensure that we provide attractive wallpapers to thank them for making that choice.

How can users get an idea of what ads will be like before signing up?

We have a desktop image gallery on our website with the most recent 15 desktops displayed.

If you’re keen to help DYD spread the word, DYD has a brilliant two minute video that explains the concept clearly, which you can find on YouTube. If you have any suggestions or feedback for DYD, would like to advertise with DYD or just want to get in touch you can contact David via email. david@donateyourdesktop.co.nz

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NIFTY NEWS

The Favoured Few’s Local Tunes

by Brittany Cotter

The Favoured Few: lead guitarist Matthew Henkin, vocalist/rhythm guitarist Amadeus Vincent, bassist Chris Stickland,drummer Roonan Mooney, rhythm guitarist Sel Goosen.

There’s not much that’s special about the month of May. For me May usually means late nights (but not the fun kind) and spending blustery, wet days indoors slogging away at assignments worth 60% of my grade (EEEK)! Summer is well and truly over, but it’s not yet cold enough to crank up the electric blanket, make Milos and snuggle up to watch movies. It’s all kind of blah and depressing.

The only thing I like about May is having a valid excuse to chill out and listen to some good Kiwi tunes, which is exactly what I did on the 17th when up and coming East Aucklanders The Favoured Few released their debut single Seventeen in celebration of New Zealand music month. I convinced myself it was okay to procrastinate; after all, since two AUT students are part of the band it counts as uni work right?

The single evoked a sense of nostalgia in me that few songs can. Seventeen conveys a sense of coming of age in addition to representing The Favoured Few’s unique sound – an infusion of “indie rock with an arena feel”.

Seventeen, the first of five songs off The Favoured Few’s self-titled upcoming EP, is a song that all young people will be able to relate to. It may make you wanna dance, but at the heart it’s a story of unrequited feelings.

Vocalist Amadeus Vincent describes the inspiration behind the single: “It’s about the girl you can’t let go of and she knows it. She’s been playing with you over and over, pulling you away. And the chorus is telling you that you’re done with her”.

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Despite Seventeen being the band’s first formal release The Favoured Few are no newbies to the music scene. After meeting in high school at Sancta Maria College vocalist Amadeus Vincent and drummer Ronan Mooney teamed up with childhood friend and guitarist Matthew Henkin five years ago and began performing as a group under the name The Alliance.

Although they were a promising young act The Alliance had trouble finding a bass player who would stick. In September last year, after adding to the line-up bassist Chris Stickland and rhythm guitarist Sel Goosen, who are both AUT Bachelor of Business students, they re-invented themselves as The Favoured Few. In between hectic uni schedules and overnight recording sessions in the studio the boys have played gigs across Auckland recently at venues such as Juice Bar, Backbeat Studios and The King’s Arms, performing with other Kiwi up-and-comers including Bonnie and the Oosh and Outside In. With hopes to release their EP in the coming months and play sets at RnV and Parachute music festivals next summer The Favoured Few have an exciting year ahead. But don’t wait until summer to give them a listen. Brighten up your rainy May, celebrate New Zealand music and support AUT students by downloading The Favoured Few’s single for free at their bandcamp.

have left.

Doihavemilk.tumblr.com, created by Tim Bromhead, suggests things like buying a thermal imaging camera, worth $5865, to show much is left.

Mr Bromhead said the bottles are “Brilliant… Except for the fact you can't see how much milk is in there, the reduced recyclability, and the greater expense over other milk brands.”

Anchor believes people will get used to it and “If you can't see the milk then that's actually a good thing, as it means neither can the light”.

Got Enough Milk?

Gerard Ross says he drinks milk so fast it doesn’t matter whether light gets into the bottle.

by Zac Fleming

“I just need to make sure I don’t run out so I have enough for a protein shake.”

Some people are unhappy they can’t see how much milk they have left, thanks to the new opaque lightproof milk bottles.

For those who can’t quite afford a thermal imaging camera there are other options available on the blog like floating polystyrene ballcocks.

A new tumblr blog has popped up to help people through this tough time, showcasing creative ideas on how to see how much milk you

Or for those who aren’t so keen on making gadgets, Mr Bromhead says good-old-fashioned kitchen scales can work too.

AUT On Wrong Side of Copy Right Creative Industries student Annabel Cramer, 20, says her major’s assignments require a lot of research.

“In one assignment I could use between 15 and 20 references,” she says. “Accessing readings online or being able to photocopy makes it easier.

“Having 30 other students all trying to get the same book from the library would be awful.”

Annabel Cramer says the Creative Industries major uses a lot of research for assignments.

Megan Welch, a 20-year-old student, says she uses many journal articles for her psychology paper.

every reference.”

Ms Browning says some students can pay up to $85 for course packs each year.

AUT University pays approximately $360,000 under the license and with a six dollar increase would pay $108,000 more every year.

Tertiary Education Commission figures show in 2011 AUT University had a surplus of over $10 million.

“It’s such a minor increase for something so important,” says Ms Welch.

Universities New Zealand say they are not commenting to the media at this stage.

by Jarred Williamson

“I more or less rely on scholarly journals for my research,” she says.

Researching assignments would be an expensive practice without access to online materials, say AUT University students.

“Journals also give you more up-to-date information as textbooks can often be quite old.”

In early March, Copyright Licensing New Zealand (CLNZ) revealed it was taking Universities New Zealand to the Copyright Tribunal.

CLNZ say the talks to increase the annual copyright license fee broke down.

Chief Executive of CLNZ, Paula Browning, says the amount of material copied has increased since the agreement began in 2007.

“The license ensures authors and publishers are paid for using their work,” she says. “It’s about being fair.”

“Since the parties cannot agree, the tribunal will decide what an appropriate rate is.”

Having a license in place means Universities will not be prosecuted under the Copyright Act.

Without the license students would have to buy the book they wanted to use.

But Ms Cramer says students would not be able to afford that.

Under the Copyright Act, the tribunal’s decision is binding.

Universities pay $20 per full-time student annually. But now CLNZ wants to increase that by six dollars a year.

Professor Louise Longdin, from the law school at AUT University, says while the case does not bring up any new copyright issues, the tribunal will still hear both parties’ arguments.

The Copyright Tribunal is currently hearing the case and it says a decision should be expected in the next month or so.

“Universities have already been increasing students’ fees, it would be difficult to buy

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#SOCIAL #MEDIA #HIGHLIGHTS

Ellen DeGeneres @TheEllenShow I just want to send my love to anyone who lives in the path of these storms. First Texas, now Oklahoma. You're all in our thoughts.

In other news this women says she’s too beautiful to work:

by Nigel Moffiet We’ve had a few wet and wild days around the country with the weather but nothing like that experienced in the suburb of Moore, Oklahoma last week. The twister packed winds of up to 320km/h and was one of the most powerful twisters to have ever occurred. In terms of ranking a twister they use what’s called the Enhanced Fujita scale on a ranking of 1-5 (Five being the most powerful). Initially it was ranked as EF4 but authorities moved it to EF5 after analysis of the damage it caused. “EF4 tornadoes can level sturdy houses and send cars and other large objects flying; they have winds estimated between 166 and 200 mph (267 and 322 km/h). EF5 tornadoes are strong enough to blow away big houses and collapse tall buildings; their winds are estimated at more than 200 mph (322 km/h),” as described on Live Science.

On the Tweets here was one local’s view of the storm: Jim Loznicka WJHG @jimwxgator 19 May TOO close for comfort twister pic in Oklahoma. Craziness! RT @ gofor88: near Indian Hills Road. 5:30pm 5/19/13. pic.twitter.com/cyftsDTnSA

She’s 33-year-old UK woman Laura Fernee. She is a science graduate and had to quit her job as a scientific researcher because of the unwanted male attention she received in the workplace. She’s a very confident woman.

She says: "Even when I was in a laboratory in scrubs with no makeup they still came on to me because of my natural attractiveness.”

Anne Murphy @annecupcake Laura Fernee is not #tooprettytowork. One, she looks like Michael Jackson. Two, she's absurd.

Clarence Beeks @ClarenceBeeksX 27m A reminder for most of us to check our ugly-privilege and think about those less fortunate, like this poor lady.

If you’re a sports fan you’ll know by now The Warriors suck. What you’ve probably just learnt is that they enjoy a hiding. After their worst ever 62-6 loss to the Penrith Panthers. Afterwards, many of the players were seen smiling and laughing. This pissed off a lot of fans.

Jim Mather @JimM8ther 18 May 62-6 Scoreboard operator at Penrith receiving medical attention due to exhaustion :( @NZWarriors don't send me anymore #TrueWarriors tweets!

James Lever @james_lever 18 May Have to agree with the #NRL commentators its very hard to watch @NZWarriors players laughing and joking after that humiliation. #NRLpenwar Comedian Lizz Winstead, co-creator of The Daily Show, didn’t get the right comic timing with this attempted joke: ‘This tornado is in Oklahoma so clearly it has been ordered to only target conservatives,’ This angered many, and then came the apology three and a half hours later.

‘Made a political joke, Twas before devastation revealed. In hindsight, had I understood, I would have refrained. Beyond sorry. #LetMeHaveIt’ she tweeted.

And some celebrity response: Alicia Keys @aliciakeys So much going on in the world...I'm saddened by the devastating news… My thoughts and prayers are with all those affected #PrayForOklahoma

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A MEMORANDUM

By Scott Yeoman

A memorandum

Memorandum [mem-uh-ran-duh m] -noun, pl. –dums, -da 1. A short note designating something to be remembered, especially something to be done or acted upon in the future; reminder.

Life according to Forbes: If you want to be powerful - own or run a company – big money outweighs everything Last week Forbes magazine released its annual list of the 100 most powerful women in the world. Naturally, we were pretty stoked because our very own Helen Clark was ranked #21 – but is this high enough for a person in her position?

Easier said than done, I know.

Her ranking was up from #34 in 2012 and #50 in 2011. Clark is the head of the United Nations Development Programme, a job that sees her in charge of a budget of roughly $6 billion and a staff of 8000 spanning across 177 countries. My question is, with a portfolio like that, how is she only number 21?

As long as lists like this keep ranking money ahead of humanity, nothing is going to change, because our perception of power won't either.

The answer is money, and lots of it. The top 20 reads like a passenger list for the first Virgin Galactic flight – almost half of them run or manage some kind ofprivately owned or multi-national corporation. Facebook, PepsiCO, IBM, XEROX, Hewlett Packard, Petrobas, Mondelez International, Hancock Prospecting.

How are these companies more powerful than the United Nations Development Programme? Don’t get me wrong, I have no doubt they are (they have more money) but they shouldn’t be.

And it doesn’t end there, as you scroll through the list you see representatives and owners of banks, software companies, media organisations, entertainment providers, pharmaceutical and cosmetics producers, internet search engines, clothing designers and even a super model.

The Queen comes in at #40. How is the leader of the Commonwealth (two billion people) and one of the most recognisable faces in the world ranked 23 places behind Beyonce?

Some of these corporations are ripping apart the very nations Helen Clark and her team are trying to restore and develop.

The World’s 100 Most Powerful Women – Top 20 1. Angela Merkel – Chancellor, Germany 2. Dilma Rousseff – President, Brazil 3. Melinda Gates – Co-Chair, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundtion 4. Michelle Obama – First Lady, United States 5. Hillary Clinton – Personality, Philanthropist 6. Sheryl Sandberg – COO, Facebook 7. Christine Lagarde – Managing Director, IMF 8. Janet Napolitano – Secretary, US Dpt. of Homeland Security 9. Sonia Gandhi – President, Indian National Congress 10. Indra Nooyi – CEO, PepsiCo 11. Geun-hye Park – President, South Korea 12. Virginia Rometty – CEO, IBM 13. Oprah Winfrey – Entrepreneur, Personality 14. Ursula Burns – Chairman and CEO, XEROX 15 Meg Whitman – CEO, Hewlett Packard 16. Georgina Rinehart – Executive Chairman, Hancock Prospecting 17. Beyonce Knowles – Actress, entrepreneur, musician 18. Maria das Gracas Silva Foster – CEO, Petrobras 19. Jill Abramson – Executive Editor, New York Times Co. 20. Irene Rosenfeld – CEO, Mondelez International 21. Helen Clark – Administrator, UN Development Programme

What kind of society do we live in where ‘power’ is how much money you have, generate or manage? It should be how influential your job is to the people of the world, even if this job is done out of the limelight.

By Mike Ross

AUCKLAND'S GOT IT GOING ON I took today off uni to write this article. Actually, I took it off to write my Media Comm III essay (communications students I know you feel me), but ended up writing this too. It's twenty past ten in the morning, I'm still in bed, the sun's not shining, and I'm more than cosy. Might have to do this more often. Anyway, here's my pick of this week's gigs. Enjoy.

THURSDAY

Che Fu, Tyler St Garage The man, the legend hits TSG this Thursday night to spit beats from his classic 1998 album, 2B.S.Pacific (oh yes! That clever use of txt language never gets old). I believe entry could quite possibly be free, and for the trivia buffs out there here's a little known fact: Che's a Member of the NZ Order of Merit. Respec'.

THURSDAY

The Hound, Bin Bin Deluxe Once a month, the Takapuna strip's 1am liquor license gets extended 'til 3, but only at one bar: Bin Bin Deluxe. This mythical night has been dubbed 'The Hound' for unknown

reasons, and is synonymous with long lines by 9pm, a heaving dancefloor, and girls using the male bathrooms as they can't fit into the female ones. Get in early to enjoy, or risk being stuck out in the cold. Free entry.

SATURDAY

Sampology, 1885 Britomart Sampology's no ordinary turntablist. Mixing sound and video to create a completely audio-visual show, he's travelled around the world showcasing his art. This Aussie dude always brings the party (you might have caught him on the main stage at R&V two years ago). It's hard to describe what a Sampology show is actually like - you should probably just head along and check it out for yourself.

For more info on this week's gigs as well as a soiree of online grocery stores: www.google.com

www.ausm.org.nz

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Get to Know Your AuSM Exec Council Members!

Front row, Left to right: Rayya Ali (Health & Environmental Sciences Faculty Rep), Urshula Ansell (Maori Affairs Officer), Loretta Asalele (Pasifika Affairs Officer) Back row, Left to right: Niroop Venkatarama Reddy (International Affairs Officer), Jason Walls (Disability Affairs Officer), Thomas Goldsbury (Business & Law Faculty Rep), Michael Wikiriwhi-Heta (Te Ara Poutama Faculty Rep), John Kingi (AuSM Vice President), Kizito Essuman (AuSM President), Ali Tahir (Design and Creative Tech Faculty Rep) and Ravi Chandrappa (Postgraduate Student Officer) Missing: Straan Wadsworth (Culture and Society Faculty Rep)

Updates

CAPTION CONTEST

BATTLE OF THE BANDS – FINAL Are you ready to join us at Vesbar for the battle of bands final? See you this Thursday night at 7pm. Be there! You don’t want to miss it!

DON’T STRESS OUT – CHILL OUT! AuSM wants to help you de-stress during this busy time of year so next week we will be on your campus providing hot drinks and brain-food to keep you going!

Manukau Campus: 5th Wednesday – 7th Friday.

North Shore Campus: 4th Tuesday – 6th Thursday.

City Campus: 4th June Tuesday – 7th June Friday.

Free soup, fruits, snacks and even AuSM BIG Breakfast!

Check out www.ausm.org.nz what’s on page or Facebook page www.facebook.com/ausm1 for more info!

ENVIRONMENT DAY 5TH JUNE World Environment Day is coming up on June 5th and AuSM is getting involved! This year's theme is about the healthy production, consumption and disposal of food and food waste. We will be handing out some free fruit and spot prizes, and AUT will be launching a trial food waste collection scheme. We will also have some organisations here to talk about how you can help the environment (and there will be freebies!). So stay tuned and keep an eye on our Facebook page www.facebook.com/ausm1 for more details!

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Caption:

Name: Email: Campus: Drop your entry into your nearest AuSM office, or the box on the side of the red debate stands, or email debate before 12pm Thursday. What’s up for grabs?

Two “squawk burgers” vouchers for Velvet Burger on Fort St, Auckland CBD. Issue 5 Congratulations to...

Mat Bagnall

City Campus who scored two Squawk Burger vouchers!

'I'm a little teapot, short & stout, here is my fake tan, here is my pout!'

L Ron Hubbard Author, addict, masturbator, prophet.

by Matthew Cattin "I would say that 99 per cent of what my father has written about his own life is false." --- L. Ron Hubbard Jr. Lafayette Ron Hubbard is the controversial founder of scientology – perhaps the most contentious and despised ‘religion’ in Western society (I say Western because TV tells me the Middle East is full of religion-fuelled anger and too many firearms). Even still, it’s quite the title considering Catholicism’s AIDS controversy, Christianity’s homosexuality policy, and of course the fact that scientologists have not yet martyred themselves in subways for their alien creator Xenu.

So who is L Ron Hubbard? Is he any different from Joshua, Luke or Mohamed? Well yes and no. No in the sense that he contributed to the founding of a religion – yes in the sense that he made a great profit from doing so. Generally I have no problem with people believing what they want to believe but I must admit my cage does get rattled when faith makes somebody a great deal of money.

Hubbard is of course dead now, having dropped his earthly body to research other planets – or so scientologists believe. But at least he’s not still living large on multi-million dollar bonuses, inviting Tom Cruise over to have Mission Impossible marathons and play spin the bottle.

The Christian Bible was co-authored by a number of people – kind of like a celebrity Christmas song collaboration for charity. Sadly, none of the authors were women. But in saying that, at least women can deny responsibility for the nasty things done in the bible’s name and the men who wrote it can share the blame. The foundations of scientology however, were written entirely by Hubbard so he holds all responsibility. Before this point in his career, Hubbard was a pretty average science-fiction author – right up until he realised it wasn’t all that commercially viable. I think the most flabbergasting thing that he said, and the quote is reported by a number of people - “you don't get rich writing science fiction. If you want to get rich, you start a religion.” So that is what he did.

So far, we have profiled Hubbard as a mediocre science fiction author, an inventor of a nutty religion and a rich dead man. Sadly, but definitely noteworthy, Hubbard was also affected by mental illness and had he been born today, perhaps he could have gotten

the help he required to not make a crazy religion. But this is not the case. In a letter he addressed to the veteran’s association, he pleaded for psychiatric help saying “after trying and failing for two years to regain my equilibrium in civil life, I am utterly unable to approach anything like my own competence.” He did eventually get help, in the form of psychiatric drugs, amongst other types. His son, Ron Jr stated in a sworn affidavit 'I have personal knowledge that my father regularly used illegal drugs including amphetamines, barbiturates and hallucinogens. He regularly used cocaine, peyote, and mescaline.’

Interesting that in a world so anti-drugs, people are willing to dedicate their lives to the brain farts of a man who was addicted to them.

Sifting through journal entries of Hubbard’s, you get a sense of just how over the rainbow he really was. In a journal entry, he expresses extremely misogynistic views on his sex life – which for a sci-fi loving religious quack was rather promiscuous indeed. There was an excerpt I particularly loved about masturbation. “You have no fear of what any woman may think of your bed conduct. You know you are a master,” and later, “your own pleasure is not dependent on the woman's. You are interested only in your own sexual pleasure. If she gets any that is all right but not vital.” Funny then that the John Paul Anderson film based on his life is called The Master. Wonder where he got that from.

Apparently, Hubbard was also a racist who praised apartheid, a convicted thief and fraud, a bigamist, an adulterer and after some poor investments with hookers, an incubating ground for STD’s. And this is only the achievements that he actually managed. If you delve a bit deeper, it seems that Hubbard was a pathological liar, claiming to be a nuclear physicist (despite studying it for one semester and being graded an F), a cosmologist, a submarine slayer and a Nazi spy fighter. I could go on, but I think his non-fictional achievements say enough. All of this gets me wondering though, how can we trust any religious text if we don’t know its author? It’s like Lance Armstrong’s autobiography – inspiring and believable before context taught us otherwise. I guess that’s why they call it blind faith.

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ARTICLE: The Digital Domination

WHERE ART THOU FRIENDS!?

by Lucy Curno

When was the last time you left the house with the intention of meeting a new best friend? Maybe you walk around with a business card in your back pocket with your name, age, hobbies and a simple catch phrase “I can tell that we are going to be friends”, just in case someone tickles your fancy.

these days.

“Don’t be ridiculous” I can hear you say, “No one has to actively search for friends like that.”

What interests me is the last part of the ad: “Would like to make lifelong friends.”

Well that, my friends, is where you would be wrong.

When you think of meeting people online you immediately think of online dating, or 50-year-old men seeking 20-year-old women to be “special” friends and “night-time companions”.

But the adverts I came across recently, on gumtree.co.nz, have not fallen into either of these categories. Instead, they have been young people on the hunt for a new friend to watch trashy TV with in their pyjamas, or grab a couple of drinks after work each week.

“I am a 21 year old female looking to make new friends. I love to exercise, go to boot camp three nights a week, so someone to come along with me would be awesome.

“We don't always want to join clubs, or go out to bars all the time… I think it's a reasonably safe option, which is what makes it appealing.

You can test the waters out before actually meeting someone.”

Does this scream commitment or what? It’s like proposing marriage on a first date. At least you know what you’re signing up for!

But there’s still the process of getting to know the person, before deciding to pursue a lifelong friendship. How do you know who a time waster would be?

Cassie* from Te Awamutu shed a bit of light on this matter for me — after posting an ad on Gumtree for new friends.

“I'm a 20 year old girl looking to make new friends. I love shopping, the colour pink, the beach, fashion, taking photos, yoga, music and yeah living life to the fullest! :) I would like to make life-long friendships so if you are interested please do contact me and I will get back to you as soon as I can!”

I'm into dancing, photography, random road trips, laughing, travelling, parties. Would like to make lifelong friends. So please no time wasters.”

When asked why she decided to include the “life-long friendships” line, she explains that most people just want to do things like drink and have fun. Cassie is looking for more than that.

Well, to be honest, that sounds a fair bit like me. And she sounds pretty cool. So why couldn’t she find friends in more traditional ways?

“I had a best friend and we were friends for like years before she moved away and that was the kind of friendship I wanted to keep.”

Fair enough, I say.

What happened to the good old mixing and mingling at parties, and social occasions, or even local clubs and groups?

Cassie is an example of a young woman from a small town, whose friends have moved away. And now she’s lonely.

The site creator for makefriends.co.nz, Jackie, says she thinks making friends online is becoming a more attractive option for people www.ausm.org.nz 18

Did this friend-seeking mission work for her, you ask? Well, Cassie says she had about 40 replies to her ad! But most of them were older

men asking for her number. Oh society, you are a winner.

Surely in somewhere like Auckland the friend hunt would be a lot easier.

But in a city of nearly 1.4 million people, with a huge range of different cultures and backgrounds, it seems a lot of us may underestimate how easy it is to make friends.

Marie, a 33-year-old marketing consultant in Auckland, started her ad with the search for another geek.

“Are you a fan of the shows Friends or How I met your Mother (HIMYM)??? Well I am (in fact I’m a certified Friends geek); like those awesome bunch of people, I did used to have my mates to hang out with after work…”

She says she never thought she would be the type to post such an ad.

Marie considers herself to be sociable and confident, but the main problem is the friends she makes have to leave after a couple of years because of visa requirements.

“It’s not to say that either you’re a loser, or you’re desperate or you’re a loner [if you post an ad]. We have just realised that Auckland is a cultural hub — the people are leaving and coming back all the time.”

But for now, it seems the online friendship finding is a growing social trend. So why not embrace it?

“Hi I’m Lucy: I’m a 22-year-old journalism student looking to find a BFF (Best Friend Forever obvs). You must be utterly hilarious to ensure I get a constant abdominal work out. You also need to have an obsession with the ‘Girls’ TV show, almond magnums, and edamame beans.”

Good luck with your future friend finding, I think I personally have it in the bag. *Cassie is not her original name

X-FACTORY

by Hazel Buckingham The meanings of the X Factor according to urban dictionary: When a man puts one of his legs over a women while engaging in sexual intercourse, while the women does the same with the opposite leg to an ‘x’ shape.

A BMX maneuver when you get in the air, cross your arms and follow your heart.

One of the best history teachers on the planet.

When a girl is on her period and other people know in advance.

Well, I’m not sure how accurate any of these definitions are, but any or all of them have to be better than the X Factor that graces our television screens at the moment. My loathing for this programme, dead set on taking talented individuals and using them as pawns in an egotistical match between four no hope judges, cannot be put into words. Yet every Sunday and Monday night I continue to tune in to watch New Zealand butcher its musical reputation and beat the talent out of the show’s contestants. I’m convinced it is the sadistic tendencies of my suppressed inner madwoman that make it a show I love to hate.

Unsure where to begin (for there is so much to dispel), I turn to the lovely Daniel Bedingfield for inspiration (sorry, I tried, I tried to stumble over his name without an insult about his ridiculous dress sense, his “look at me look at me” persona and his “I’m so fantastic because I sung one song once and I was cool” attitude, but I can’t.

The dude is simply an attention whore. Am I allowed to write whore?

We’ll go with it. WHORE. He said on the very first live show in response to one performance “If this is the vision of the X Factor that we are putting out there, then we are doing something very wrong”.

Yes. Quite frankly. Yes, yes you are.

Perhaps talent shows have their time and place, where they are actually suitable and can create some “talented artists” (though right now I’m struggling to think of one). But in New Zealand? NO. We have already been put through the pain of New Zealand Idol, which died almost as quickly as it appeared – who remembers first season’s winner Ben Lummis and his rendition of They Can’t Take That Away? Well yes, Ben, it turns out they can. Then there was New Zealand’s Got Talent – which proved that, no, we really don’t. But now appears X Factor NZ, with all the wit and charm of a 72-yearold rapist.

The judges, ohhhhh the judges. Well you already know my feelings on Bedingfield, and if I try and write anymore on him this article will become a personal hate vendetta (I don’t wish to risk the possibility that because a) people around here are still fans, b) they know what I look like and c) they have very good aim when it comes to throwing rotten eggs at harsh reviewers). Next is Stan Walker, who I honestly had an open mind about right up until he decided to stop someone’s wonderful live audition to ask if he could sing the song with them.

As if it was the biggest honour in the world. To which he proceeded to get up, restart the song and simply hum in the background. Wow Stanny, I was moved, let me tell you. I am struggling to tell you what Ruby Frost has actually done with her life besides dye her hair pink, which it turns out, was actually an accident. And Mel Blatt from some old English girl pop group, who still thinks that she can rule the world with all the “girl power”. I wouldn’t mind them so much if any of them had even an ounce of talent, or if they learnt not to wear double tartan, but ah such is life.

Currently, we’re at the live show stage where the contestants have been whittled down to a mere 12 (13, but Eden Roberts, who will forever be remembered as the girl who refused to sing about “feeling like a plastic bag” in boot camp, was kicked off last week). And in that 12 we do indeed have some talented individuals with astounding voices. But does this show let them stay individuals? Oh no. Instead they must have their songs, outfits and stage sets chosen for them, and FFS, it destroys them. Take for example, poor fourteen-yearold Cassie Henderson, who introduced her performance with the premise that she wanted to be seen as a mature artist. She then donned the stage in every single colour you can imagine and belted out a song from the infamous Jackson 5. Or the unfortunate Fletcher Mills (who surprisingly made it through to this week) who was given Coldplay’s “Paradise” to sing. Not Chris Martin. It is never okay to sing Chris Martin, unless you are Chris Martin, and even then it is questionable as to whether you will actually sing in tune. The beautiful rap girls who were forced to dress in pajamas, the talented girl group made to spell BANANAS, and the sob story “how many half naked boys can we fit in a camera frame” boy band Moorhouse given Justin Bieber – the list goes on. What are the judges thinking?!

Of course we have our token “I-can-host-anything” Dominic Bowden running the show, and I have to ask – is there an option to vote him off? Surely we have someone else in New Zealand who can read an autocue and smile into a camera? Oooh! Idea for a new talent show – a quest to replace Dominic Bowden. Thoughts, feelings, emotional stability?

In a nutshell, it is the aim of this show to suck the life and soul out of individuals to turn them into marketing successes, which is really what the music industry is all about today anyway. It’s a sad fact of life that pure, raw, emotional music will get you no where unless you sing it in a midriff baring t-shirt with platform heels (please put contestant Tom Batchelor in both, PLEASE). So really, I shouldn’t be surprised that a train wreck like this is actually a massive success.

And of course, I will continue to watch it. But only because I’m a Benny fan. And a Fletcher fan. There, I said it.

I’m a Flan.

Please let talent prevail.

www.ausm.org.nz

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3D

PRINTING

By Nigel Moffiet

3D Printed Wheel.

Images supplied by Space Cadets.

On May 1st 2009, the Mars rover Spirit sank into the planet’s dusty, barren surface. It was stuck in an area called Troy, named after the ancient city set aflame by the Greeks. This was a straight forward problem but the solution proved too challenging even for NASA – after nine months of intensive rescue attempts scientists gave up and the rover still rests in the same spot today.

Now, a group of 10 AUT industrial design students, naming themselves the Space Cadets, have found a potential solution as part of the 2013 NASA International Space Apps Challenge by using 3D printing technology.

AUT’s Space Cadets, along with nearly 10,000 students world-wide, had more than 50 challenges to choose from. The team entered the 3D printing contest which asked contestants to use the technology for purposes in space. The Space Cadets imagined a similar problem as experienced by NASA’s Spirit rover and also asked the question: What if the rover had crew onboard and they needed a new wheel?

Here is the team’s solution: Astronauts can send details of the problem back to mission control and this can be uploaded onto an online crowd sourcing platform such as Ideasphere. Now anyone in the world can work on a solution by making a computer-aided design (CAD) of a new wheel. Mission control can pick the best design and send the CAD file back to space. The astronauts can print this file as a physical, operational wheel for the rover. Problem solved.

It sounds like magic, but it’s true. We can now print real objects from computer files. The technology will dramatically change the way we do things and it’s already having an impact says industrial design student and Space Cadet member Joel Ross.

“It’s allowing us to respond a lot faster. Like if you make up a new gear you can suddenly CAD this thing up on the computer and print it out.

Where that would normally require an insane level of machinery that would cost a thousand dollars for a part you can make it up basically for 10 bucks now,” he says, flanked by his Space Cadet teammates as they do their best to describe this technology to me.

I had barely figured out what a CAD file was let alone grasp the idea of 3D printing when I spoke to Massey University mechatronics professor Olaf Diegel so I asked him to explain the technology for dummies.

Diegel, also former director of AUT’s Creative Industries Research

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Institute is passionate about the technology and he was certainly the right person to ask.

The technology works by printing materials “layer by layer” for a final product, explains Diegel. As opposed to, say, a rock and chisel method of sculpture or traditional manufacturing where a lot of material is wasted in order to get the finished product, with 3D printing there is very little waste.

A basic 3D printer costing under $2,000 interprets computer files and prints them as 3D objects in this layered process with an addition of materials such as plastics which are fused together with laser beams.

Materials such as metal powders are also used but the variations of raw material depend greatly on the quality of the printer. Experts predict the technology will exist in many homes in just a few years’ time. But what might it be used for?

“Typical areas would be replacing parts you have broken so it could be making bits of toys or entire toys or if you lose the knob for your oven or something like that you can print yourself out a new one. A lot of it is still at the hobby level,” says Diegel.

Andrew Drain, a fourth year engineering student at Massey, was speaking to me on a 3D printed iPhone.

“My iPhone case right now, the one I’m holding, is actually 3D printed,” he says cheerfully.

Drain explains how easy it is. He simply went to the website Shapeways and uploaded a CAD file of the iPhone case he designed and they printed it and mailed it for a basic fee.

“This one was me playing around. I’ve cut out a whole lot of beer bottle shapes in the back of it,” he explains.

It might be simple iPhone casing for now but Diegel can see the future right before his eyes.

“Ultimately you’d be able to replicate or print yourself an iPhone using 3D printing including all the electronics,” he says.

This is not science fiction but “in 10 years, 20 years, even in my life time”.

Left: Space Cadet Team meeting. Right: 3D Printing test objects.

Diegel doesn’t hold back on the importance of this technology which is also being used for important medical procedures too.

“People are calling this the next industrial revolution.

“It’s going to change how we live and being able to print stuff at home instead of going to the local store and buying that changes how we do business.”

In the medical world a large percentage of the world’s hearing aids are designed with the technology and it’s also printing titanium hipreplacements. There’s also the emergence of bio-printing which has already tested 3D printed bladders and the technology is advancing onto other organs too.

The future is crazy and speaking to AUT industrial design student and fellow Space Cadet member Matthew Byrne it’s clear there’s a lot to imagine.

“As time goes and 3D printers get better and better I can foresee factories full of 3D printers with no work staff. With shelves and shelves of 3D printers just printing products and then getting chucked into a bin and sold,” he says.

But with the advance of 3D printing capabilities, we’re also on the brink of some un-encountered ethical dilemmas.

In recent weeks, newspapers around the world ran alarming headlines that anyone would be able to print guns after designer Defense Distributed put the workable CAD files online. This frightened a lot of people and the US State Department ordered the company to remove the files as a possible arms trafficking violation.

Diegel says there are more reasons to be concerned and large manufacturing and design companies will be sweating with anxiety.

“The bigger ethical issues are probably not about the guns themselves but about the free distribution of digital data. It’s a bit like music and when iTunes started there was the piracy so we’re going to have those issues to deal with big time,” he says.

In other words, people won’t just be pirating their favourite songs anymore, but will have the ability to pirate the products that play them also.

Meanwhile, Drain is busy using the technology to help musicians.

As part of his course work at Massey he is re-designing the pick-up system for electric guitars. By using 3D printing technology, players will be able to adjust the positioning of their guitar’s pickups to suit their playing style.

Drain says his work was inspired by Diegel who has found some commercial success with his idea for 3D printed guitar bodies.

“I’m an avid musician myself and I’ve been playing guitar for a few years, so when Olaf first came to uni the first thing everybody noticed were these crazy guitars he brought with him.

Drain says he was inspired by the way Diegel managed to combine two passions – music and 3D printing.

“I tried to work with him [Diegel] as much as I could to gain an insight into the manufacturing process he’s been using and also the potential to push that electric guitar market even further.

“Traditionally there is not a huge amount of innovation in the aesthetic sense going on in the guitar world,” he says.

You only need one quick glance at Diegel’s 3D printed guitar designs to know they’re breaking with tradition. Using a nylon powder they’re 3D printed into a range of intricate patterns and shapes – designs that would be impossible without the technology.

Diegel says the project, which has been going for about two years, “started just for the hell of it to see if it could be done”. The designs have since been bought by the company 3D Systems and can make fully customised guitars for $3,000 - $4,000.

Although experts claim we are on the brink of an industrial revolution with this technology, it is not all that new – 3D printing has been around since the late ‘80s when the Americans led the field. Europe is probably the leader now, says Diegel, although Obama has recently invested millions into creating 3D printing institutes in the US. I ask Drain how much the technology has changed during his four year engineering degree and what it’s like to be learning about a technology set to change our lives.

“I’ve only got six months left but I kind of wish I was coming in the first year now because the added advantage of not having to spend a day or two on components that you can print now in a couple of hours.

“We didn’t really have 3D printers in my first two years of study so it’s really only been in the last year and a half that we’re making the most of it,” he says.

So we need to be prepared. The way we buy things and consume things may change forever and this will have all kinds of effects – good and bad.

And as envisaged by the AUT Space Cadet team, a technological revolution that could foster the advancement of human achievement.

3D printing frees us up says Byrne.

“You don’t have to be there. That was a big part of our NASA project.

The fact that if you had a 3D printer in space and engineers on the ground you don’t have to have those engineers with all the materials up in space. They could just design it and send it up via an email and print it there which saves time, space and a lot of money.”

I shake my head.

I have just witnessed the future. www.ausm.org.nz

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LUKE THOMPSON

Luke Thompson is an acoustic singer-songwriter from Mount Maunganui. He’s released a number of albums and has recently finished a nation-wide tour with Lydia Cole.

by Erica McQueen

Luke has been very generous with his music. The proceeds of his single Water, on which a number of others featured including Lydia Cole and Dave Baxter (Avalanche City), all went towards providing wells for those without clean water. As for his most recent album, Luke has made To the Common Dark free to download. He speaks about this saying “I want to give these songs the best start in life they can get, I want people to hear them and hopefully connect with them. Lately I have come to realize that I don’t make music for money… Sometimes I make money from music, but it’s not why I make music. It’s not the main reward. The main reward is when someone shares with me how they connected with a song, or felt the same way I did. That’s when I feel most useful as a person.

So this album is free.

Feel free to share it with your friends and family. If you want to pay something for it click donate below [on his website]. Or just buy somebody an ice-cream this week or donate to a charity give some money to a stranger etc etc etc.

I hope you like it. I hope it makes you feel something.

To the Common Dark is a thoroughly magnificent album. I’m not such a fan of Walls though. It builds up almost hauntingly and the trumpet at the end gives me the chills. Maybe that’s the point? In saying that though, it’s an incredibly powerful song. I love the intro and the lyrics are great too. Another song on the album Darkness & the Way We Are is one of my favourite songs at the moment. It begins ‘I could blame my wondering heart, darkness and the way we are, I could say its where I’ve been...’. I truly wish I could quote the whole song’s lyrics here.

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I had a chat with Luke about his musical influences, advice for upcoming singer-songwriters and rumours he’d like to start, amongst a bunch of other random things.

Luke’s favourite sound is two or more voices singing together. Luke manages to create this himself a whole bunch! Luke is always thrift shopping and prefers drinking from glass bottles. When I asked to describe his sound in three words of less, he answered ‘simple’.

Touché. If he created a genre of music it would be self-titled, Luke and he would love to start the rumour that he hates seagulls. If Luke wasn’t playing music he might be building and he prefers analogue everything.

In terms of influences Luke cites many people, including heaps of his friends. But also song writers like Ray Lamontagne, Bob Dylan, Robin Pecknold and James Taylor, all of which have challenged and inspired him. His advice for those starting out song-writing is to take your time, wait, listen and try to turn your insides into a song. Over the next year we can expect lots of touring, Luke promised he is going to try and play live as much as possible. Finally, Luke tells me his proudest moment as a musician is yet to come.

Luke is also involved in a collaborative project Oh Mary with younger brother Joseph (Joseph &Maia) and Antony. So far they have released a couple of videos on YouTube and played a few gigs in Tauranga. I look forward to seeing what they get up to in the future.

I’d like to finish on Luke’s words of wisdom.

‘Do what you love doing.’

Sir Alex the Great

Natalie Cyra makes a tribute to Manchester United’s legendary manager Sir Alex Ferguson.

May 13, 2013. It was always going to be a memorable day for Manchester United. They were 10 points clear of noisy neighbours Manchester City, and about to lift the English Premier League trophy for a record 20th time.

But on the typical bleak and rainy Manchester day, an unshakeable, gut-wrenching feeling lay deep in the hearts of the players, staff and 75,000 home supporters.

They knew, along with the millions of others watching from around the world, that they would watch United’s legendary manager, Sir Alex Ferguson, make his final walk to the Old Trafford dug out, after 26 years and 1499 games in charge.

The adoring crowd, cheering Glory Glory Man United had turned into a waving sea of red flags. A guard of honour had formed. It was a moving tribute for the man they all called “The Boss”.

And raining or not, soon it would be hard to find a dry eye there.

For many supporters including myself, Sir Alex Ferguson in charge at United is all they had ever known.

He was in charge when my older brother first fell in love with United, in 1999, dubbed “The Year of the Treble”. United went on to win the Premier League, The FA Cup, and the European Champions League final, in what will go down as one of the greatest comeback performances in football history, when United scored two goals in injury time to win 2-1 against Bayern Munich, after trailing for much of the match.

It was those goals that cemented the famous idea that is “Fergie Time”, where United will

clinch a winning goal in the dying minutes of a game.

He was in charge when I cried through that agonising penalty shoot out in the 2008 Champions League final against Chelsea.

Tears of anguish became tears of joy, when Chelsea captain John Terry slipped, in what should have, could have, and would have been the winning penalty for Chelsea. The image of Terry with his head in his hands as United celebrated their eventual victory is sure to put a smile to any United fan’s face.

And furthermore, he was in charge when United gave away an eight point lead last season, to lose the league on goal difference after Manchester City scored in the final minute of the season’s last game.

But Ferguson got United’s staff, players and supporters through, by sending out a clear message. United would be back, stronger and more ready than ever to bring the league back to where it belonged.

And in Fergie we trusted. On April 23 this year, he had delivered his promise. It was my 20th birthday, and United had gained their 20th League title, on the back of a hattrick from the number 20, striker Robin van Persie in his first season at the club since transferring from Arsenal.

It’s hard to imagine Manchester United in the hands of a new manager. In an un-paralleled career, Sir Alex won 38 trophies with The Red Devils, including 13 English Premier League titles, 5 FA Cups and 2 UEFA Champion Leagues.

But 71-year-old Ferguson insists the club is in safe hand with Moyes, who has been with Everton FC for 11 years, and is the third longest-serving manager in the Premier League, behind Ferguson and Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger.

Although Moyes has no European experience, his weaknesses may indeed become his strengths at United. Much like striker Robin van Persie, Moyes will come to United with limited successes and trophies to date, but instead with the appetite, drive, and determination to quickly change this.

In his final address to the Old Trafford Faithful, Sir Alex remained composed and humbled. “It’s not just the directors, not just the medical staff, the coaching staff, the players the supporters, it’s all of you. You have been the most fantastic experience of my life, thank you.”

He also stressed the importance of getting behind the new manager. “In the bad times over the years, all the staff stood by me, the players stood by me, your job now is to stand by your new manager.”

Sir Alex steps down as the most successful manager in English football history.

“I’ll be able to now enjoy watching them, rather than suffer with them,” he said as he laughed.

So thank you, Sir Alex, for making Manchester United the club it is today, the greatest football club of all time.

His successor, current Everton manager David Moyes, has no trophies to his name. www.ausm.org.nz

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A Day At the Zoo

by Matthew Cattin The connotations attached to a zoo probably vary between generations. Those old enough to recall the steel barred, concrete prisons of yesteryear may harbour sympathy and sadness for animals in captivity while young’uns, brought up with the elaborate, natural enclosures of today probably agree it’s more of a hotel than a jail. I sit on the fence between the two notions. While I agree zoos are pretty comfortable for animals nowadays, I believe some species should never be restricted to enclosures – particularly roaming, majestic creatures such as whales and big cats.

On a 2010 trip to Xiamen, China, Mum and I planned a day at the zoo – a chance to escape the shopping malls, the noise and the fumes of the city and get back in touch with nature. What we expected and what we got however, were two very different things.

Trying to write this is difficult – I do not know where to begin.

Which atrocity should I mention first? Maybe I’ll ease you into it, start with the animals that weren’t in pain. The Xiamen Haicang Wild Zoo, you see, has its very own taxidermy museum – a place where all the departed animals, most likely maltreated to early deaths, end up. I remember it clearly – a long room, dusty and unlit filled with a hundred glass eyes glazed and sightless. I don’t have anything much against taxidermy (well apart from the fact it’s creepy as shit) but the animals were as neglected as much in death as I’m sure they were in life. Cobwebs were everywhere, slung between the jaws of the big cats and stretched between the stiff legs and wings of every creature. The taxidermy job was poorly done initially, and even more poorly maintained. Insects had eaten holes in the animal pelts, the paint was flecking off their features and the stitches were coming apart to reveal stuffed innards. Sadly, these were the luckiest animals in the zoo, not including the zookeepers.

I’m tough as nails and don’t cry easy (except when I watch Armageddon) but when I came face to face with a tiger in a cage too small for it to stand in, I couldn’t help but well up a little. I’m telling you I’ve seen bigger rabbit hutches. I knelt down in front of it, looked it right in the eye and tried to somehow project my sympathy and compassion so it could know somebody was upset by its treatment. In the near 40 degree heat, its tongue was lolling from its toothless mouth. You see this was a performance cat and having sharp teeth and claws puts the trainers in danger. So

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naturally, out come the pliers for a bit of risk prevention. I suppose it saves money on food too – why buy meat when you can feed them porridge-like sludge from a bowl? It showed on the cat too – it’s ribs made distinct ripples in its dirty coat.

The small crowd (that like me chose to escape the harshness of city life) gathered in a gladiatorial arena for the animal show. Yay! But by now I had seen enough to prepare for the very worst. We saw terrified tigers riding equally terrified horses, monkeys riding bikes in a circle while trainers whipped their backs and a sloth bear being pulled across a tightrope by a nose ring and chain. The most daring feat of all was when the fearless ringleader, clad in a tiger skin vest, put his head between the toothless jaws of a lion! Bravo!

My personal favourite trick however was when they made the lions roll over by hitting them on their sides until they obliged. How I wished I could try the same trick with the trainers. I felt sick to the stomach, partly because Mum and I were the only people not excitedly cheering and also because I had paid to visit this awful place. If I were slightly tougher, I would have stood up, thrown my sword into the crowd and yelled “are you not entertained?!” but alas I am skinny and sweet tempered. Curse the gods!

The animals in captivity were in slightly better condition – but only just. The monkeys were covered in sores and abscesses, the three legged arctic fox (alone in a concrete cell) looked half dead from heat exhaustion or sadness (or both)and the skinny brown bear was struggling to stay upright on its shade-less, scorching patch of grass. What made the place all the worse was the fact it used to be a theme park. Rusted, animal-themed see-saws and a broken down train remained from (maybe) a happier time. The whole zoo was overgrown with thick, dry grass and the concrete was cracked and sunken. It felt like a bad dream. It was so stereotypically creepy that you could almost laugh (almost) – as if it were a Goosebumps novel. It was truly miserable – the most soul-destroying place I’ve ever been unfortunate enough to go to – an Auschwitz for animals.

To think that a civilisation so advanced and steeped in history can allow such a house of horrors is truly beyond me. And to think my money helped keep that painful place open is truly regretful for me.

Don’t make the same mistake.

www.ausm.org.nz

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FAN THEORIES 101

Like anybody, I love a good plot twist - one that throws the whole story upside down and leaves you disorientated and gasping for breath. But sometimes, it’s the fans that come up with the theories that go above and beyond the twists and turns of even the cleverest of stories. They come up with new ideas – fan theories – that stab the story in the back, throw it in a trunk of a Cadillac and roll it down a bank into a swamp. Here are a few. written by Matthew Cattin

Christopher Robin’s Schizophrenic Nightmare There’s a pretty nifty theory that suggests each Winnie the Pooh character was modelled on a mental illness. Sounds silly at first, but have a think… Eeyore has depression, Tigger has ADHD, Piglet has an anxiety disorder, Owl has dyslexia, Pooh has OCD and Christopher Robin has schizophrenia, hence why he thinks animals are his friends. It all makes sense…

img source: buzzfeed

Pi’s Maggoty Mother

A ghastly theory emerged from China regarding the creepy (and somewhat confusing) meerkat island in Life of Pi (SPOILER ALERT). It suggests the island is a metaphor for his mother’s floating body and the meerkats are actually maggots feeding on her rotting flash. I had a think about it and came up with the following – Pi tries to eat her flesh but then realises it will kill him from the inside – metaphorically represented by the dissolving fish in the middle of the island. It’s an awfully disturbing theory! But to me, the island represents Pi’s madness. This comforting insanity is a place where he can be happy and peaceful until he dies on the raft but when he finds the tooth within the fruit, it represents the fact that his madness only gives the illusion of sustainability and it will eventually kill him. Deep much?

Spongebob “crackhead” Squarepants

A similar theory has gone around that claims each Spongebob Squarepants character is addicted a different drug. Spongebob is on methamphetamines, which explains his excitable optimism and ugly mood swings. Patrick is on weed, hence his slow, chilled manner and constant hunger. Squidward is on heroin which is why he’s constantly moody. Krabs is on coke which is why he is quick to anger and always broke. And Sandy (bless) is an alcoholic which is why she always ruins everything. Another theory suggests the characters were based on the seven deadly sins – have a think about it.

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Privet Drive

Ahh doesn’t everybody love the rags to riches tale of magical Harry Potter? (SPOILER ALERT) But what if Potter never left his dingy room beneath the stairs? What if Hogwarts was just a figment of a depressed 11-year-old’s imagination? What if it was just Harry’s way of dealing with his parents’ death, loneliness and bullying at St Brutus's School for the Criminally Insane? Well that’s one theory.

Another suggests that Harry was not the chosen one after all – a notion touched on by Rowling in the novels. The theory goes that Neville was really the chosen one but Dumbledore led Harry into all sorts of trouble to allow the wizarding world to believe otherwise, thus keeping Neville safely out of harm’s way – hiding in plain sight. It’s definitely a Dumbledore move…

The Dead Prince of Bel-Air

Now this is a story all about how Will’s life was taken prematurely by a gang of thugs at the basketball court in West-Philly. The taxi ride was actually Will’s soul departing earth and the kingdom he finally arrived at was heaven. So the stay at Bel-Air therefore is Will working out issues with his relatives before the final episode where the mansion empties out, meaning Will has released his earthly troubles and moved on. Ridiculous, but fun nonetheless.

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“I see dead dumb babies…”

A different take on the ‘dead the whole time’ theory exists for Rugrats in which all of the babies do not actually exist, they are only a figment of lonely Angelica’s imagination. Chuckie died with his mother, leaving behind paranoid Chaz, Tommy was a still born which is why his dad is always in the basement making toys (for the son he never had) and the Devilles had an abortion so Angelica, not knowing the sex of the aborted child created imaginary twins instead. Creep-fest.

Bastard Gump Jr.

You know how Forrest Gump sits at the bus stop waiting for hisson, Forrest Jr, to come home from school? (SPOILER ALERT) Well some pessimistic depressos came up with the theory that Forrest Jr was not Forrest’s at all – rather some bastard son of one of the many men Jenny got around with. While it’s not completely mind blowing, it’s depressing to think that in her dying months, Jenny just leeched on to Forrest to pawn off her kid and die in the comfort of his wealth. Bitch.

written by Jamie Barnes

Glinda “the good witch” used Dorothy to take over Oz.

In the Wizard of Oz, the only person who gains anything is Glinda “the good witch”. Sure the tin man, scarecrow and lion get a watch, diploma and medal respectively but those are just symbols to prove they had what they wanted all along – let’s recap. The east witch is skilled enough to fly around a house in a tornado, yet ‘accidentally’ gets crushed by it, leaving behind only three magic users. The shoes magically fall onto Dorothy’s feet and since the WWotE didn’t do that then it must have been Glinda’s doing.

Dorothy then kills the WWotE, sends the wizard back to Kansas leaving only Glinda to rule Oz before telling Dorothy she could have gone back home at any moment…

Why the Stormtroopers in Star Wars are “terrible shots”

You would think an army of trained soldiers would be able to take out a few insurgents and some teddy bears right? ... Right? Well let’s look at the facts: the Stormtroopers are clones of Temuera Morrison commissioned by the Jedi, whom are human in every sense except they grow to maturity faster, and in every other sense they are completely normal people. So how would killing children and teddy bears affect YOUR psyche? Soldiers would fire over opposing troop’s heads as opposed to aiming at them, because although they are at war they still recognise the value of human life, and where most countries have charismatic leaders supporting their troops along the way the Stormtroopers have this giant terrifying lumbering figure. With no sense of loyalty or home, the Stormtroopers are essentially contractors working for an army that blows up planets at a whim. These Stormtroopers are still human and thus smart enough to know who their fighting for, what they are doing and whom they are killing. Taking all that into account, would you shoot a teddy bear?

The agent Smith was the first “one”

During the Matrix movies there are six agents but it is always Hugo Weaving’s Smith who stands out as more invested in the cause. He is emotive and he has more power than the other agents, he also hates the current matrix. It is later revealed that there have in fact been six matrixes, and that in each matrix a “one” was programmed into it that would resist and try and break the matrix down. So what if each matrix converted the “ones” into agents?

This is suggested in the dialogue of the classic bullet-dodging scene where Trinity says to Neo; “you move like they do”. It makes sense that Smith loathes all the other matrixes, and why he gets sick of the fact the other agents/”ones” do not. As the first matrix was a Utopia as told by Smith, he hates the current one more than the others because he is comparing them to his home. That is why he jumps into a human body, and works with Neo to end the matrix.

“James Bond” is a codename not a person.

James bond has been so many people over so many years that he is either an immortal that goes through extensive plastic surgery every few years or he is more than one person. When one says “James Bond” people immediately think of the dashing, wisecracking, hard drinking, womanizer but closer inspection shows each Bond does have a different persona. Connery is the womanizer (or at least the best womanizer), Moore is more humour orientated, Lazenby is the lover who left after the death of his wife, Dalton goes rogue, Brosnan is EXTREME!!! And Craig is the uncompromising stoic. There’s also the alcohol; James Bond only drinks martinis. Well there is an answer for that too, martini is a popular drink, no-one is going to single out the martini drinker, and also he has to keep up a resistance to alcohol, spy’s need to blend in and it is harder if he’s not drinking but he still needs to keep alert even after two or three drinks. It also explains why it’s not set in 60’s cold war era, why Q’s and M’s keep changing and his organization changes from “Control” to “MI6”.

(Note: the end to “Skyfall” kind of disproves most of this, but it still a good theory)

www.ausm.org.nz

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SHAWTY, YOU A TEN

by Aspen Bruce

1) Tall 2) Dark 3) Handsome Lists. They work a charm when we’re planning what we need for the grocery shopping, or maybe organising what to buy for school or uni. But really?!? Lists when it comes to the person you want to date? Isn’t it a bit shallow?

I asked a few pretty good looking and awesome people for their thoughts on this age old topic and it was actually quite interesting, because when we finally did, (yes, I babble a lot so that meant it took ages to actually get to the topic) talk about lists*, there seemed to be two dominant perspectives.

1) Yes. Lists are good. It gives you a good idea of what you look for in a future relationshipee and allows you to filter down the things that you like, and what traits in a person you think would complement yours.

AND THEN IRONCIALLY: 2) No. Lists are bad. It makes you more close minded/picky/too selective. Besides, the reality is that, not EVERYTHING that is on your list will be fulfilled in one person. If it did then, “Why hello there Messiah, how are you doing?”

So in a nutshell there’s two ways you really can look at it. Yes, or no.

BUT…. (there’s always a butt……to every joke. Okay, yes that was a poor one, it’s getting late and my humour filled side of the brain is fried… deep in batter….okay sorry, I’m gonna just shut up now before this turns really ugly.)

What was interesting though, was when I asked people who didn’t have a physical, written-down list, if they had a vague idea of

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what they looked for in someone, they simply replied ‘Yes.’ Which begs the age, old question: Is a list only considered a list if it’s written down?

Yeah, I reckon so, I mean writing it down just makes it more official. It’s like a contract (well sort of, in a weird way) in that a verbal contract isn’t valid. You can’t take someone to court JUST based on their good word of mouth, you need a binding agreement.

(Not quite sure where this analogy is going in conjunction with lists,) but nonetheless, I guess having a list just gives us a clearer format of explaining all the crazy things our brain keeps trying to tell us.

You’re probably getting to this point and wondering, ‘Hey Aspen, number 1, shut up.’

Yes that is valid, I do have a tendency to waffle on, and ‘number 2, if you think you’re so cool, what do YOU think about lists.’

Well, lists ARE interesting and YES, I do have a list. But wait before you give up all hope, hear me out.

I created a ‘list’ not as a checklist or a set of criteria which a guy will have to meet before he even goes out on a date with me (believe it or not some people are like that and try to see how a ‘potential’ person matches up with their list, before even making a move.)

I did it rather, so that in the future, when/if/ maybe I get married, I can look back and see what aspects I looked for in my ‘ideal’ guy, and how reality (if it did) matched up with what I wrote in my younger more desperate, single years.

In amongst it all, there are things, that yes I give you permission, can be super picky about. For some people it’s things like:

• Needs to know how to cook • For others, its needs to have good manners • And for others, it can be as simple as needs to know how to ski (or at least willing to learn how to ski...or at least understand that every so often, even if they hate skiing, realising that we just need to escape and go up to the mountain….why don’t they just get it….) Um okay, moving on from that emotional mumbo jumbo.

You have permission to be picky about certain things. Think about the things that make you, you. What thing, if it was taken away from you, would make you feel like a small part of your heart had been ripped out? Now this is going to sound a bit mean, but those things aren’t worth jeopardising because of someone. If anything the person you are with, should recognise what you enjoy doing, and even if they don’t feel as passionate as you, still support and encourage you in it.

To say the least, I reckon lists ARE cool and can be very beneficial in outlining what attributes and qualities you think would complement your own. However, if it becomes the sole thing you refer to when selecting your ‘ideal date,’ I think that’s when lists can become a bit too INTENSE, because it’s in that process which we no longer look at the awesome person standing right in front of us, but compare them to a set of guidelines we pre-conceived, based on our own opinion. Besides, who’s to say that the awesome person standing in front of you isn’t the person that would bring you the greatest amount of joy in life. You never really know. *(in reference to a written down on paper list, or one tucked away hidden in a journal, or a list that’s locked away in a time capsule, only to be opened in 30 years’ time)

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pasifika student support

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We can also speak with academic departments and other staff on your behalf.

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Friendly professional advice, and on-on-one support for Máori students Course and enrolment advice Advice on student loans and allowances Information, administration and document certification for grants and scholarships We can speak with academic departments and other staff on your behalf

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PETA Pokémon & Porn: The Secret to Charity Success.

by Matthew Cattin In yet another charity organisation blunder, PETA has created bit one, but two of the most utterly ridiculous campaign I have ever seen – Pokémon Black and Blue and PETA.xxx. The flawganisation (I just made that up – impressed?)claims the Pokémon series teaches kids to use and abuse Pokémon which has a carry on effect to real animals.

Therefore, they have created a Pokémon game replica online in which a group of free Pokémon take revenge on abusive trainers. As you go along your journey, you can use moves such as ‘group hug’ and ‘protest’ to reduce the wicked trainer’s morale before beating them with ‘thundershock’. The xxx domain? We’ll get to that later.

in pokeballs is akin to how elephants are chained up in train carts, waiting to be let out to 'perform' in circuses. But the difference between real life and this fictional world full of organized animal fighting is that Pokémon games paint rosy pictures of things that are actually horrible. If PETA existed in Unova, our motto would be: Pokémon are not ours to use or abuse. They exist for their own reasons. We believe that this is the message that should be sent to children." So what better way to send that message than force Pokémon to fight trainers in a game!

I was a massive Pokémon fan in my youth. It was an afterschool sensation that completely defined my world for a time. I collected the figurines, rushed home to catch the show and played it for hours at a time on Gameboy Colour. I have even returned to it from time to time as a teenager, playing it on the computer around important deadlines.

Point being, the Pokémon bug caught me in a big way. Despite this, I never equated Pokémon to animals or pets in real life because like the vast majority of other children, I had no trouble separating a Japanese cartoon from real life. How many kids can you recall making their pets battle while shouting out instructions?

Additionally, a huge part of the Pokémon storyline deals with Team Rocket – a rebel group that sought to exploit and mistreat Pokémon to make money. Represented most often in the television show as a badass pair of lesbians (Jessie and James), it was always up to Ash and his crew to teach them a lesson. If this doesn’t give kids the message that treating Pokémon/animals is bad then I don’t know what will. Oh hold up, maybe a game where you watch Pokemon beaten by baseball bats? Yeah. That ought to do it…

Ironically, in PETA’s Black and Blue game, Pokémon are still being forced to fight, just like in the original game series. It’s incredible that an oversight this critical was passed over by PETA. The exact problem they condemned in the original Pokémon game is replicated exactly in PETA’s sickening recreation, only this time it’s more violent, more explicit and the player actually gets to witness creatures being abused by humans with bats, syringes, scissors and scalpels. No joke. Oh, and the caption is ‘gotta free ‘em all’. How embarrassing.

PETA has this to say about Black and Blue, and the bad news is, it’s all bullshit. "The amount of time that Pokémon spend stuffed

In another shocking example of PETA’s slacktivism, last year they purchased a .xxx domain name in an attempt to mix pornographic images with animal activism. Although I haven’t checked it out, I hear it’s a mixture of regular porn and disturbing animal cruelty images.

I guess the idea is to turn you on, get you going and the wham! Your screen is taken over by a dog being beaten or a cat being barbecued (I don’t know if it’s this bad but why would I want to check?). Their tagline? “Now that we’ve got you here, let us turn you on to what we’re really about.” How clever! Now can I suggest you do something productive with your time and resources while I go take a shower?

www.ausm.org.nz

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The Company You Keep

The Leisure Society

The Company You Keep, directed by Robert Redford is an action thriller based on Neil Gordon’s book of the same name. The film follows the story of journalist Ben Shepard (Shia LaBeouf Transformers) as he uncovers the story of a bank shooting by the Weather Underground militant group, over 30 years previously.

Suspects had been hiding from the FBI until Ben digs into the past after one of the suspects gives herself up. A number of the militants went into hiding, one as a stay at home Mum, another as high profile lawyer and one as a marijuana smuggler - they were probably hiding that too.

First impressions for an album are an important thing. Usually by the time you reach track three or five you’ve decided if you’re going to turn it off or not. The first few seconds from The Leisure Society’s new album, sounds a little bit like Mumford and Sons Babel. T[his isn’t a bad thing, Babel is a great album in its own right, but those few seconds make you wonder if Mumford and Sons have competition for their sound. Thankfully, for both bands, they don’t. The first track from Alone Aboard the Ark, Another Sunday Psalm is beautiful not only the way it sounds, but also the way it catches you. Like a smile in the street, it lingers for long enough for Alone Aboard the Ark to mark you, but doesn’t overshadow the follow up.

Starring Robert Redford, Shia LaBeouf, Stanley Tucci Director: Robert Redford Rating: Reviewed by Erica McQueen

Quite frankly, I enjoyed this movie to a degree but wouldn’t recommend you see it unless you have nothing better to do. It lacked action for an action film, and the plot wasn’t so weak as much as it was straightforward. I like me a good twist!

Ben Shepard is a great character though. If he were real, we’d probably be friends. My favourite thing about the movie was his glasses. He also had a very cool satchel and great hair. The other main character Jim Grant/Nick Sloan just wasn’t exciting at all.

He was almost creepy and a bit hard to watch. Stanley Tucci also starred, as Ray Fuller, Ben’s boss. Tucci is one of my favourite actors so that made it a bit more bearable.

I can’t say much more without giving away the plot, but it pretty much follows Ben chasing the suspects and keeping one step ahead of the FBI, much to their frustration. Jim/Nick goes on the run, Ben susses out why and Jim/Nick ends up getting what he wants. Happy ending? Nah, it was a boring ending. The only unexpected aspect of the movie was a daughter that resulted from some sort of love triangle, was adopted and never met her father.

Though Ben met them both.

I’d really hoped to enjoy this movie, but overall it was disappointing. In retrospect there was probably a reason there was only two of us in the theatre.

Alone Aboard The Ark Rating: Reviewed by Augustus Bloodsworth

Come track four, the reason The Leisure Society have become recipients of a large amount of acclaim in the UK stares you right in the face. The album is taking shape around you, and it’s incredibly self-assured. Sitting in the expanse of grey between folk and folk rock and acoustic, Alone Aboard The Ark, possesses orchestration that’s absolutely masterful and allows the album to sit happily without a genre label (two examples, Fight For Everyone and A Softer Voice).

The album also crosses genres again, this time in the direction of jazz. Life Is a Cabriolet slips seamlessly from acoustic to a more jazz orientated vibe, while lyrics are both positive and uplifting and bleed of genuine hope born out of pain. Each track on the record sounds different to the other, feels different and moves The Leisure Society gently in another direction, while staying absolutely within the bounds of the record. This means the tracks don’t run into each and sound like one long recording, and it also shows the different sides of the band’s writing and style.

All I Have Seen is a slow mood setting song that rises and falls with the perfect pace and tentatively begs you to play it fireside.

Its gang vocal chorus allows this tentative begging to explode and heighten the mood of the room. It does go back to the less flamboyant form and it falls with grace, as though it were a flame.

The Leisure Society is nothing if not good song writers. Each track is brilliant and while it might take a short while to adjust the vocal style, it is well worth it for the orchestration alone.

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Shaking The Habitual The Knife Rating: Reviewed by Nigel Moffiet

Swedish brother-sister duo The Knife have etched dark, distinctly haunting albums over the past decade. Flowing amongst the low-fi, electronic, synth pop beats there have been elements of beauty hidden within the layers – this was made evident by José González’ cover of their 2003 track Heartbeats. The duo’s latest release, Shaking the Habitual, is nothing short of dark – there are tracks that would fit right into a John Carpenter horror movie.

Never have the Knife been accessible. They are challenging – when Olof Dreijer and Karin Dreijer Andersson were nominated for two Grammys in 2003 they didn’t go, instead sending people in gorilla costumes to protest the dominance of male acts in the music industry. This is also the attitude of Shaking the Habitual.

The opening track A Tooth For An Eye could be a theme song for the Occupy movement with its scathing political references in Andersson’s distinctly Swedish accent. “Under the sun/Look what we have got/And those who haven't/Bad luck/ We've been running 'round/Pushing the shopping cart/January 2012/Even in the suburbs of Rome,” she sings. The track is a tribal blast of steel drums, pipes and layered percussion.

There are tracks on this album that are nothing but statements.

They aren’t songs; they are ghostly sounds: creaking doors, scratching strings, cool winds, and unearthly chimes. The near nine minute track A Cherry On Top fits this description as does the 20 minute long Old Dreams Waiting to Be Realized. I simply can’t get into this on any musical level, and I doubt many listeners would. It’s the kind of sound to accompany a silly post-modern art instillation in the waiting. Or as I mentioned – a horror movie.

Yet there are exciting and engaging aspects to this album in terms of sound and ambition. The blasted beats of Full Of Fire is gripping and intense with industrial influenced elements and in your face lyrics on gender politics: “Not a vagina/It's an option/ The cock/Had it coming.” Andersson rages on: “When you're full of fire/What's the object of your desire?”

I learn that the album’s title is taken from a Michel Foucault quote and on top of these social and gender political themes there is the environmental challenge on the track Fracking Fluid Injection.

On top of this, the interludes Crake and Oryx are named after characters in Margaret Atwood's 2003 novel Oryx and Crake – in short, it’s all a bit overwhelming for a pleb like me.

This is a challenging album. I have enjoyed past albums by The Knife, but I can’t say I enjoyed this on the few listens I gave it. I wasn’t ready for it and I will need more time for it to soak in – who knows, maybe I’ll get there. However, I don’t think there’ll be any José González covers this time around.

Random Access Memories Daft Punk Rating: Reviewed by Nathan Bromberg

Since picking up a copy of Random Access Memories from the Warehouse on Saturday (I still love the smell of new CDs too much to go completely iTunes), I must admit that I have listened to this album a couple of dozen times. This is, in part, owing to the unfortunate incident whereby my phone’s memory card died, taking all of my music with it. Being too lazy to re-copy it from my computer, I made do with the one remaining album on the phone proper, and what an experience it has been.

Random Access Memories is the fourth studio album from the electronic performers, Daft Punk, the successor of their 2005 album Human After All and 2010 film score for Tron: Legacy.

Composed as a tribute to the immortality of the disco-swinging seventies, the album serves as a change in pace and direction for the French duo. That being said, I must admit I have always had a soft spot for Daft Punk and their veritable style and delivery, and their new album successfully delivers just that. Along with a smorgasbord of featured artists, the electronic sounds continue to impress, even after two decades. Perhaps more so than ever, this album incorporates a wide array of music genres, ranging from house and disco, to theatrical and Europop, making each track distinctly unique and exciting.

However, as with any album, some tracks are clearly better than others, and this is particularly noticeable early on with the inclusion of a fairly lengthy monologue by Giorgio Moroder in track three, Giorgio by Moroder. Although perhaps a fitting tribute to the Italian performer, its placement and delivery disrupts an otherwise pristine flow. That being said, the remainder of the disc manages to more than recover from this minor blip on the proverbial musical radar. In particular, the daring theatrical style of Touch and the powerful cadences of Contact, the albums finale, resonate with me as I write this review. The modernity of Get Lucky is also likely to attract a gaggle of the younger audience to appreciate the contemporary style of electronic music.

On the other hand, this is unlikely to be everybody’s cup of tea. Daft Punk is certainly not for the unsophisticated, and this album is no exception. If you are the kind of wicked child who frequents Justin Beiber or Nicki Minaj (the audible equivalent of sandpaper) fansites, this music is not for you. Besides, I would be utterly ashamed to share common tastes with you anyway. And although some Daft Punk purists might cry foul at the ramped up inclusion of other artists, despite the band’s ever-evolving style, Random Access Memories is unmistakably Daft Punk.

www.ausm.org.nz

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