Grapeshot Magazine

Issue 6 | Vol. 6 | September 2014

ADULT CONTEN T

CAMPUS NEWS & LIFE | ARTS & CULTURE | STYLE & SUSTAINABILITY | REVIEWS | AND MORE

MACFEST 2014

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06 Ebola: Should We Be Worried?

07 Deregulating Higher Education 07 Equal Pay for Equal Work 08 Life on Mars?

08 Macquarie Makes Waves 09 Can Malaysian Airlines Survive?

10 Harry Potter Makes You Better 10 Brainwashing With Video Games

34 Photography: Sin City Lights 36 Short Story: The Party 38 Poetry: Through The Hourglass

12 Student Voice: Gender Neutral Toilets 14 Spirituality in Sex 14 Worlds & Chains 15 Sexual Feeling 15 Duty or Lovemaking?

16 Talkin’ Shit with Manisha 16 2SER: Join the Team

18 Don’t Try This At Home 20 Sex Education 22 I Don’t 24 Self Lovin’ It 26 Love Game 28 Grasping the Concept 30 Interview with Myf Warhurst 32 TEDx Talks With Lucas

40 Smiling Chef: Date Night 42 The Stew: Queens of Drag 44 Reviews 46 Puzzles & Horoscopes

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EDITOR’S LETTER

H

ere I am, writing my first editorial for the magazine, that has sadly been my life for the past two years. Don’t worry, this won’t be a painstaking memoir of those two years.

I first jumped onto Grapeshot at the end of my first year being the nerdy and shy (I prefer ‘mysterious’) gal I am. My first blooper was applying for every single position available, thinking this would give me a good chance of getting chosen – apparently not. I would blame it on my youth and naiveté, but the truth is, I had no idea about publications, editing, or campus engagement; I just wanted the glory of being published. Eventually, it happened, and it was glorious.

I’ve since been delegated to exhilarating roles, such as writing interview transcripts for thirty minute interviews (Life Tip: NEVER volunteer your precious life to this), and carrying eight kilogram boxes of magazines across kilometres of our university campus – perks of the job!

Sex can be a controversial topic. It can be an uneasy topic to discuss with grandma at the dinner table, but it can also excite others in more ways than one. It is the kind of topic that can range from identity, sexuality, to the very act itself.

In this issue, we talk about sex positions in the porn industry and how they can be adapted by non-professionals i.e. most of us (P. 18), the rise of online app dating for those who are still in Tindergarten (P. 26) and why a good diet consists of regular masturbation (P. 24).

We also dabble into more serious issues, such as the lack of adequate sex education in secondary schools (P. 20) and alternative opinions on the issue of marriage equality (P. 22).

We hope you enjoy all the issues we’ve covered within the confine of 48 pages.

Happy reading, my sexies.

It’s been a great ride in, and I can’t think of a better way (I could probably think of a few actually) to start my editorial regime then with one of the more interesting topics in life: Sex.

Editor in Chief Deputy Editor Features Editor News Editor Regulars Editor Copy Editor Creative Director Illustrator

Sarah Basford Kristina Cavanna Claire Catacouzinos Emma Vlatko Sarah Basford Claire Catacouzinos Artistic Collaborations James Rotanson

MARKETING TEAM Advertising Manager Varun Fernando Marketing Manager Manisha Josephraja Social Media Manager Raelee Lancaster SPECIAL CONTRIBUTORS Blake Antrobus, Caitlyn Brooks, Brendon D’Souza, Nathan Falzon, Morgan Foulsham, Sukriti Gautam, Alessandro Guarrera, Fergus Halliday, Giulianna Karoufeh, Ellen Kirkpatrick, Mia Kwok, Alice Maher, Macalty Newltham, Amelia Pazderski, Ingrid Pazderski, Nicholas Rider, Alicia Scott, Jessica Sheridan, Saartje Tack, Cassandra Teo, Emily Vierboom, Rabeah Zafrullah,

PUBLISHER Craig Oliver The publication team acknowledges the Darug Aboriginal people as the traditional custodians of the land on which Macquarie University is situated.

Editor-in-Chief/Muggle

NAME: Raelee Lancaster AGE: 19 STUDYING: B. Ancient History - Greece, Rome, Late Antiquity WHAT DOES GRAPESHOT MEAN TO YOU? Well, I quite like the definitions found on Urban Dictionary, but I won’t go there...

FUTURE ASPIRATIONS: Become an archaeologist or a writer... or both!

NUMBER ONE FANTASY WITH A FAMOUS PERSON? There are too many to choose from... and most of them aren’t appropriate for public consumption!

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EDITORIAL & CREATIVE PRODUCTION

EDITORIAL REVIEW BOARD Sarah Cameron, Kristofer Gilmour, Emma Grimley, Nigel Khine, Jack Morgan, Natalie Morton, Gemma Quinn, Melroy Rodrigues

Sarah Basford

CONTRIBUTORS

Macquarie University Student Publication

OF THE MOMENT NAME: Cassandra Teo AGE: 23 STUDYING: B. Arts - International Communications WHAT DOES GRAPESHOT MEANS TO YOU? When I first heard of Grapeshot, the image of someone flicking grapes at other people came to mind. Now, I see Grapeshot as the grape flicker, and our readers the target. To me, the magazine is a source of information to our readers with some articles being a hit and miss, and others hitting and irritating the reader.

FUTURE ASPIRATIONS: Social media marketer/Content Writer NUMBER ONE FANTASY WITH A FAMOUS PERSON? Saving Mother Nature with Ian Somerhalder ;)

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DEREGULATING HIGHER EDUCATION EQUAL PAY FOR EQUAL WORK LIFE ON MARS? MACQUARIE MAKES WAVES PUBLIC SCHOOL STUDENTS BETTER AT UNIVERSITY CAN MALAYSIAN AIRLINES SURVIVE? CONSTITUTIONAL RECOGNITION ONE STEP CLOSER HARRY POTTER MAKES YOU A BETTER PERSON ARE VIDEO GAMES BRAINWASHING OUR CHILDREN?

NEWS

THE EBOLA VIRUS

EBOLA VIRUS:

WHAT IS IT AND SHOULD WE BE WORRIED? WORDS | Emma Vlatko

NEWS

local and global

The worst outbreak of the Ebola virus in history is currently making its way across West Africa. So far, over 1200 people have lost their lives while at least another 2300 are infected.

In late July, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Guinea and Nigeria declared a state of National Emergency, ordering the closure of all schools and non-essential public buildings. Remaining defiant, Sierra Leone President, Ernest Bai Koroma acknowledged that “Sierra Leone is in for a great fight.” And, “failure is not an option.”

However, despite these assurances, the World Health Organisation has described attempts to stop the spread of the virus as “woefully inadequate.”

Speaking just days after President Koroma’s announcement, WHO Director-General, Margaret Chan pledged a further hundred million to the global response plan. “This outbreak is moving faster than our efforts to control it,” she said. “If the situation continues to deteriorate, the consequences can be catastrophic in terms of lost lives, but also severe socioeconomic disruption and a high risk of spread to other countries.”

What exactly is Ebola? How does it spread? And should Australians be worried about the virus making its way to our shores?

According to WHO data, the virus, since its discovery in 1976, has killed over 2700 people. At present, there is no known cure, and death rates for the virus average at 90 per cent. Symptoms are equally as gruesome, including internal bleeding, fevers, muscle pain, vomiting, and rashes. However, these signs can take anywhere from two to twelve days to appear, meaning that those infected could be passing it on without knowing it.

Most commonly, Ebola is spread through contact with animal blood or bodily fluids. Animals such as fruit bats are natural hosts of the virus. However, human to human transmission is also becoming more frequent, particularly in societies with poor sewerage and public sanitation measures. Even more alarming is that people remain infectious for as long as their bodily fluids and blood contain the virus, meaning that the death of the victim will not kill the virus.

Fortunately, the nature of Ebola means that developed countries such as Australia are unlikely to see a serious outbreak in the near future.

“It’s not like a flu that spreads via airborne droplets,” Sydney University’s Professor Edward Holmes said in an interview with SBS. “There is always a chance, but I’d say at the moment that chance is slim, because it’s confined to three countries in West Africa.”

However, while no travel or trade restrictions have been put in place, Dr Tom Frieden, Director for the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention warned travellers to stay vigilant. “It will take many months, and it won’t be easy, but Ebola can be stopped.”

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DEREGULATING HIGHER EDUCATION: THE DEBATE CONTINUES WORDS | Kristina Cavanna

Southern Cross University Vice-Chancellor, Peter Lee agrees, believing that the deregulation reforms will also play a critical role in making universities look closely at the quality of their courses and teaching.

However, the deregulation debate was turned upside down in late July, with leading education economist Bruce Chapman declaring that, under the government’s new funding plans, poor graduates would be paying up to 30 per cent more for their degrees.

Indeed, the new funding models for universities have left many

EQUAL

“Because we will charge less than sandstone, metropolitan universities,” he says. Lee fears that regional universities, under this new model, will be seen as to “offer a cheaper product that soaks up those who cannot access or afford a more ‘upmarket’ experience...”

University of Melbourne’s Vice-Chancellor Glyn Davis agrees, urging the government to “reconsider deep cuts caused by the change in funding clusters…”

Young echoed these concerns, emphasising that “academic ability and not financial background should be the only barrier to university entry…” “We want to achieve diversity in education and fees,” he said. “Which are not complicated by harsh funding that produces competition that is based solely on price.”

PAY FOR EQUAL WORK

WORDS | Ellen Kirkpatrick

It may be the 21st century, yet women are still earning less than their male counterparts.

Alexandra Hansen, in an article for The Conversation, reported on the results of a study conducted by Graduate Careers Australia. The study found that currently, an average gap of 9.4 per cent exists between male and female graduates. While this is decreased to 4.4 per cent when allowances were made for controls, such as courses studied, it means that almost 5 per cent of wage differences cannot be explained by controlled studies.

Clearly, there are still major inequalities between males and females in the Australian workforce.

2013 Australian Bureau of Statistics figures also show that women working full time earned, on average, 17.5 per cent less than men. If part time work is accounted for, this gap widened to 37.3 per cent. This is unsurprising when considering that some of the lowest paid industries in Australia, such as healthcare, education, and human resources are dominated by women. On the other hand, the highest paid industries, such as engineering, mining and finance, are typically male dominated.

However, recent reports have found that differences in income do not only occur between occupations, suggesting that the

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local and global

Australian National University spokesman and supporter of deregulation, Ian Young recently addressed the National Press Club of Australia, outlining the potential gains deregulation could have for students. “Deregulation may generate diversity,” he said. “It will allow universities to differentiate, to play to their strengths…deregulation should provide students with a real choice.”

concerned that deregulation will be adversely affected, and in turn will adversely affect students. Lee, who is also the Chair for the Regional Universities Networks, is one with such concerns, having already identified potential problems for regional universities and students. And while the government has made assurances to regional universities that they will “flourish”, Lee notes that his “unease lies in the sub-text of why we will flourish.”

traditional view that a woman’s work is not of the same value as a man’s, still exists. In April this year, NY Times journalist Claire Clain Miller reported that the “differences exist within occupations, not between them.” Miller found that some of the widest gender pay gaps occurred in industries where both males and females worked. The most significant differences exist in the occupations of financial specialists, surgeons, and pilots, with women earning less than 75 per cent of the male pay rate.

NEWS

The debate over deregulation continues. The Federal government announced that proposed reforms will “for the first time, enable competition amongst Australian universities based on quality and innovation…”

The hard truth of these findings is that businesses and industries reward those who are willing to work disproportionately longer hours. Often women, who are pregnant or looking after young children and families, cannot take on these extra hours. As a result, they are paid significantly less.

This significant pay gap is just one of many inequalities that exist in the Australian labour force, and addressing this unfairness will require new understanding of the value of work for both men and women. Calls for more encouragement and training to be provided for all individuals seeking a new job, regardless of their gender, are being made. It is time for these single-gender industries to disappear and be replaced with more balanced and supportive workplaces.

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LIFE ON MARS?

BOWIE MAY BE RIGHT AFTER ALL WORDS | Ingrid Pazderski

By 2024, humans will be living on Mars.

NEWS

local and global

In an effort to create a human settlement on the ‘Red Planet’, a private Dutch company is launching a mission named ‘Mars One’. The mission looks to send groups of four people, every two years, to Mars, beginning in 2024. Humans selected will make a one way voyage, said to take approximately seven months to Mars.

Worldwide searches for crew members and funding are already well underway. The estimated cost for the mission is in the billions. As such, entertainment juggernaut Endemol, producers of ‘Big Brother’, has apparently signed on to produce a reality show on ‘Mars One’. The program would follow the crew members as they prepare for their voyage and will also broadcast footage from Mars. It is expected to be the most watched television event ever.

Indeed, the crew training is a point of wide community interest. Establishing a human colony on Mars means that the crew members are required to be competent in areas, such as dentistry, engineering, agriculture, medicine, and construction. While rovers are to be sent over from 2018 with some essentials for the creation of the colony, crew members will need to be largely self-sufficient.

As preparations get underway, many questions are being raised regarding the viability of creating a human colony on Mars.

Areas of concern include solar flares, gravity, sustainability of agriculture, and the chance of mission failure. However, there are also arguments in support of the mission, such as fostering international cooperation. Indeed, as the pool of candidates for crew members gets whittled down, people from countries such as Canada and Australia all vie for a position on ‘Mars One’.

However, as the mission is still ten years away, the success and viability of the enterprise remains to be seen.

MACQUARIE MAKE WAVES WORDS | Emma Vlatko

Following the announcement of the new Medicine and Health Science Faculty, Vice Chancellor Bruce Dowton has been busy building Macquarie University’s medical research reputation.

On 21 July, Macquarie University signed a new collaborative agreement with Johnson & Johnson Medical, the world’s largest seller of health care products. The agreement will see the two organisations work together on joint educational and research programs, while also providing Macquarie students with world class practical experience.

At the signing ceremony, Managing Director of Johnson & Johnson Medical, Gavin Fox-Smith stated that the collaboration would see students and academic staff, “apply their learning experience and knowledge to complement and support our strong research and product development capability.” Vice Chancellor Dowton agreed, stating that the partnership between the two organisations was a “natural fit.”

However, it doesn’t end there. Just days after this announcement, Vice Chancellor Dowton also welcomed The Australian Institute of Health Innovation (AIHI) to Macquarie University. Currently based at the University of New South Wales, the 75 researchers will join Macquarie by January next year. Deputy Vice Chancellor of Research, Sakkie Pretorius is delighted by the addition, stating that “they will be a valuable addition to Macquarie University’s research effort.”

Although, this change has brought with it some controversy.

The Australian reported that AIHI was ‘poached’ from the University of New South Wales. Deputy Vice Chancellor Pretorius vigorously denied these claims. In an email to The Australian he stated, “The AIHI approached Macquarie University about joining us...we think that’s a wonderful compliment.”

PUBLIC SCHOOL STUDENTS DO BETTER AT UNIVERSITY This is one to divide the classrooms. Since the 1980s, Australian and English studies have repeatedly shown that state school children do better at university than their private school counterparts.

Generally, Australian private school students obtain higher UAI/ATAR scores. However, by the end of their first year at university, state school students, on average, receive the same marks as private school students who had tertiary entrance scores three to six points higher. In particular, the report also showed that graduates from co-education schools did better page 8 | grapeshot magazine

than those who graduated from single-sex schools.

The University of Canberra’s Barbara Preston, in an article for The Conversation acknowledged that there is “no definitive explanation for these findings.” However, she continues by suggesting that state comprehensive, co-ed schools prepare students for life, rather than short term exam results.

Preston used these results to argue that deregulation of university fees will only further hurt those students from poorer backgrounds. grapeshotmq.com.au

CAN MALAYSIAN AIRLINES SURVIVE? WORDS | Amelia Pazderski

Malaysia Airlines had already been struggling with years of declining bookings, and mounting financial losses when MH370, and its 239 passengers, mysteriously disappeared in March, sending the carrier into free-fall. The July 17 downing of flight MH17 over Ukraine, killing all 298 people on board, deeply compounds these woes. Despite a reputation for good service and safety, the company can ill-afford this decline. Its share price has been on a downward run for a decade, and is worth a tenth of the value that it was in March 2004. Last year, the airline recorded a 1.17 billion Ringgit (AU$336 million) loss.

News sources have stated that the two airline tragedies could have far reaching implications for Malaysia as a whole.

While around half a million Australians visit Malaysia each year, Australia’s ninth most popular tourist destination, searches for accommodation in the capital, Kuala Lumpur, made by Australian site users, dropped by a quarter in the two weeks after MH370 disappeared.

Chinese tourists seem to have developed an even stronger aversion to Malaysia. The Wall Street Journal China reported on July 29 that 38,400 Chinese people responded to an online poll asking whether the MH370 saga would influence whether they would travel to Malaysia in the future. 77 per cent of respondents said it would.

To survive the twin tragedies of flights MH370 and MH17, analysts have predicted that the airline carrier needs an immediate intervention from the Malaysian government Investment Fund, the body that controls its budgets. This is likely to result in deep restructuring, including the airline changing its name. Only time will tell whether this will be enough to save the unfortunate airline.

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local and global

It was the kind of news headline that didn’t seem real.

Another Malaysian Airlines flight had been shot down on route from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur. Aside from the tragedy of the incident, the main question being asked is, “what does this mean for the future of the airline?”

Now, the airline’s previously strong safety record has effectively been erased. According to the International Air Transport Association, there were an average of 517 deaths annually in commercial aviation incidents between 2009 and 2013. Now a single airline appears to have surpassed that death toll in a single year.

NEWS

Note: Amelia is a former Macquarie University student, now working in Public Relations.

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MACQUARIE UNIVERSITY WELCOMES NEW SCIENTIST

NEWS

local and global

Macquarie University science students will soon have a new Executive Dean. By 2015, Chemist, Professor Barbara Messerle, will join the Macquarie staff, bringing over 25 years of experience in teaching, research and academic leadership with her.

Since 1987, Barbara has worked, researching in areas of nanoscience, medicinal chemistry and energy and catalysis, with leading scientists from around the world, including Nobel Laureate Kurt Wuethrich. Currently, the head of chemistry at UNSW, her appointment at Macquarie signals another blow to the once-prestigious UNSW science research department.

In an online interview with Macquarie media, Professor Messerle expressed excitement over her new role. “I am looking forward to taking an already successful Science Faculty and finding new areas to develop to build a vibrant place to study and do research in Science and Engineering,” she said. “By providing degree programs that incorporate new approaches to learning and by giving students opportunities to take part in the research directions of the Faculty, I hope to attract the best science students to Macquarie.”

Speaking on her appointment, Vice-Chancellor Professor Bruce Dowton expressed confidence in Messerle’s abilities.

“Her contributions to the Faculty of Science and its greater engagement with industry partners will be invaluable as we increase our performance in impactful research outcomes.”

HARRY POTTER MAKES YOU A BETTER PERSON Here’s yet another reason you should read (or re-read) JK Rowling’s Harry Potter. A new study based in the UK and Italy has found that children who have read the Harry Potter series are more tolerant of stigmatised groups such as immigrants, homosexuals, and refugees.

The paper, published in the Applied Social Psychology Journal, claims that primary school students who identified with Harry and his friends showed “improved attitudes towards immigrants.” Students who disidentified with Voldermort were also found to have an “improved attitude towards refugees.”

In particular, the study found that children, with the help of their teacher, understood that the negative attitude towards ‘mudbloods’, shown by many wizarding characters, was an allegory for bigotry in real-life.

ARE VIDEO GAMES

BRAINWASHING

OUR CHILDREN? WORDS | Raelee Lancaster

A recent article in the Daily Telegraph has reignited the debate over the dangers of video games amongst young children.

The article, published July 6, interviewed a mother who believes that living with her twelve year old son is “like living with someone who is a drug addict.” Journalist Jane Hansen, the author of the piece, paints the young boy as an intelligent student who was turned “into a monster” by his video game addiction.

However, this claim, when put up against the research, doesn’t add up. The US Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention found that during 1994-2000, when the video game industry boom began, juvenile violent crime rates lowered by 44 per cent and 24 per cent in young adults. A US Judge agreed, and in a statement said that video games could be healthy for children. He vehemently argued that shielding children from violence seen in video games, and other media, could be detrimental to their wellbeing as they would be ill-equipped to cope with the world outside of their protective “bubble.”

In 1999 the Australian government supports these claims, concluding that there is “little evidence to support fears that playing computer games contributes substantially to aggression in the community.” Some scholars even went so far as to suggest that video games could be beneficial for children as action games improve mental attentiveness, as well as visual and fine motor skills.

However, for every hour of screen time a child has, their risk of developing attention-related disorders increases by 10 per cent. Therefore, it could be assumed that excessive screen time is what led to this twelve year old boy’s anger issues. Indeed, excessive screen time clearly has consequences. Obesity, bad eating habits, poor cognitive performance, reduction in sleep, and fewer social interactions are all attributed to the depression and lifestyle his mother spoke of to the Daily Telegraph.

In his book 20 Tips for Parents, Professor Kim Oates, paediatrician and former head of The Westmead Children’s Hospital said that children under two should have no screen time, children between two-five years old should have no more than one hour, and those older than five should have no more than two hours. “The right dose at the right time of appropriate screen time...can be good,” he told the Daily Telegraph.

So it seems that video games aren’t the problem here; it’s the amount of time that young children spend in front of an electronic screen.

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REGULARS Student Voice 12 | 13 Spirituality in Sex 14 Duty or Lovemaking? 15 Talkin’ Shit with Manisha 16

GENDER NEUTRAL TO INTERVIEWS

Mia Kwok & Sarah Basford

STUD VOI

PROFILE PHOTOS | Sarah Basford NAME: Kris Gilmour STUDYING: Bachelor of Arts with a Bachelor of Science MACFESTS ATTENDED: Three WHAT THEY THOUGHT: “We should have both available. We have disabled toilets, why can’t we have gender neutral toilets?”

NAME: Suzanne Rohr STUDYING: She’s actually a Professor of American Studies at Hamburg University in Germany.

MACFESTS ATTENDED: One, second day in Australia.

WHAT THEY THOUGHT: “I wouldn’t oppose it, why not? That would be news to a German university.”

NAME: Hannah Greenshields STUDYING: Bachelor of Speech, Hearing, and Language MACFESTS ATTENDED: One WHAT THEY THOUGHT: “It would make it easier.

There would be more options for everyone.” page 12 | grapeshot magazine

NAME: Jeanette Nkrumah STUDYING: B.Arts – majoring in Politics & International Relations, as well as Media, Culture & Communication MACFESTS ATTENDED: Three WHAT THEY THOUGHT: “I’ve read a lot of studies and it reduces instances of bullying and abuse in primary schools… I think that it could work. Not sure how it would go at a university with people being ‘super keen’.”

NAME: Via Bangoy STUDYING: Masters of Accounting with a Masters of Commerce in Finance MACFESTS ATTENDED: Two WHAT THEY THOUGHT: “No, I totally disagree with it. MQ has a lot of different cultures and some people may not accept it. There’s also an added risk of harassment.”

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OILETS ON CAMPUS?

DENT ICE

PHOTOS

Leland Bobbe

NAME: Gemma Bastock STUDYING: B.Arts – Psychology MACFESTS ATTENDED: Two WHAT THEY THOUGHT: “Really cool, I support it! I think we should still have a male and female option as some people may feel uncomfortable about it.”

NAME: Huzzy Rodríguez STUDYING: Masters of Counselling MACFESTS ATTENDED: Two or three WHAT THEY THOUGHT: “I don’t think a lot of people will be up for it. Personally, it’s okay, but others might find it unusual.”

NAME: Martin Sun & Sean Tian STUDYING: Bachelor of Accounting MACFESTS ATTENDED: One & three WHAT THEY THOUGHT: Martin said, “It’s a good idea, but I don’t agree, because I worry about my girlfriend.”

Sean joked, “He worries that she might be trapped by a handsome man! I prefer it, it’s a great idea.”

Martin explained, “It’s because he’s single!” grapeshotmq.com.au

SHOULD MQ UNI INTRODUCE GENDER NEUTRAL TOILETS (GNTs) ON CAMPUS?

43% Yes, they should.

10% No, they should not.

47% Have GNTs as well as male and female toilets.

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SPIRITUALITY IN

SEX

WORDS | Sukriti Gautam

O

f all longings and desires, there is none stronger than sex.

It is defined as the physical and emotional intimacy that leads to sexual activity. In this modern and technologically advanced age, its involvement in our lives goes beyond the bedroom. From TV series (like Game of Thrones) to books (like Fifty Shades of Grey), sex is an integral part of the narrative. Even Disney movies, produced for kids, are able to engage the adult audience by using sexual connotations, incomprehensible by children.

Sexual desire resides in all our senses.

One can easily get overpowering sexual thoughts through any one of these senses: fragrance, a sensual touch, by seeing something erotic, or when one hears titillating sounds. Even reading something

that arouses your senses can lead you to build on that emotion and lose all control.

Thus, the desire for sex heightens. On numerous occasions people opt for casual sex. The act of sex involves attachment with another body with senses, emotions, desires and dreams, which may get transferred to the partner during the act. This mix of emotions can lead to a confusion of feelings. Nonetheless, if the involvement of sex is without love than sex is simply a loss of energy.

According to Osho, Indian mystic and guru, sex is a safety valve in the body. When there is too much energy and you don’t know what to do with it, you throw it out. You feel relaxed because you are emptied of the energy.

A sort of tranquillity comes because the restless energy is thrown out; but you are poorer than before, you are emptier than before. A person who has known only sex of the body, and has not known the deeper dimension of love, becomes mechanical. The act becomes futile, and non-nourishing. Sex can become destructive, unless it’s out of love.

Nature has always been an inspiration for humans, so be inspired by turtles, doves, wild ducks, lions, or sea urchins – do what’s best for you!

WORLDS & CHAINS WORDS | Emily Vierboom

E

on each of the worlds within them. It is the most powerful act of destruction, the destruction of individuality and the unique qualities of each of those worlds.

The most awful thing in this universe, in my mind, is oppression in any, and all of its forms. Oppressing someone is to limit the already inadequate expression of their inner self; to step

I have a world of anger inside me. A world of pure rage, of hate, and of wrath.

I try to control this world, and I succeed, but in doing so, I am unable to do as much as I would like to do. I am slowed, I am restricted, and I am reduced. Most of this world is angry at the oppression that people experience. Angry at those in power, at those who gain power for their

very person is made up of many worlds containing many things.

Some are dedicated to emotions, some to patterns of thought, some to habit, and some to behaviours. So much of this cannot be expressed in words. Words, as a medium, fall woefully short in expressing the depths and intricacies of people.

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own ends, at those who seek power over others.

If you misgender me, know that this world of hate exists for you. Know of the pain you are responsible for. Know of the suffering that I experience at your hands. Know that you contribute to the interlocking systems of oppression that make living more difficult for those who are comprised of the worlds that you are not comfortable with. Know that your “ideal” society is constructed upon multitudes of worlds, crying out in pain. grapeshotmq.com.au

SEXUAL FEELING WORDS | Jessica Sheridan

T

hose who have had sex can guess that it is probably good for us. It’s a gut feeling. Well, not exactly in your gut, but near that area. Safe, consensual sex is great for many reasons, and the more the world opens itself up to ideas about sex, the more we are learning about our sex lives.

The World Health Organisation has taken an interest in sex and the way it affects our wellbeing since the early seventies. It currently defines sexual health in a holistic manner, recognising not only the very obvious physical aspects of sex, but the emotional and cognitive impacts. The definition also focuses on the mindset of parties involved in sex, and the importance of their sexual rights.

So sex can impact upon more than what you’d expect. Apart from the obvious benefits of sex, such as burning calories and relieving stress, other benefits have said to be related to having an active sex life, such as slowing the aging process and improving your immune system. In fact, Greek researchers have found that orgasms can be linked to helping the prevention of breast cancer.

However, sex can have its downsides.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics has noted a rise in the number of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) among Australians of all age groups. It is unclear whether this is the result of more people having sex, or an increase in the number of people getting checked for STIs. The recommended form of protection against these STIs, other than celibacy, is to use a condom and have regular tests while sexually active.

The bottom line appears to be that sex can be great for your overall health and wellbeing, provided it is consensual and protection is used. Although, as with most things, it comes down to a personal choice; being ready and comfortable to engage in consensual sexual activity is the most important part of our sexual health.

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DUTY OR LOVEMAKING HISTORY IN REVIEW

WORDS | Claire Catacouzinos

I

f you guys have watched the TV shows Spartacus, Rome, and Game of Thrones, then you will know history has never been bashful about sex, whether that be sexual intercourse or sexuality – unless modesty comes into play. Ancient Greece and Rome were patriarchal societies, and Page Dubois in Sowing the Body states that the metaphor, “there is a bun in the oven,” represents the male desire for ownership of the female body and fertility. The man has his seed, mounts, and begets; the woman is just an oven, and ‘cooking’ just means sexual intercourse to get the loaf in there. Women were only seen for reproduction and sexual enticing, the word marriage ‘gamos’ in Greek, literally means ‘to fuck’.

Homosexuality was very common in the Ancient World. Although, there was never a name given to people who engaged in same sex union, you didn’t define a person by their sexuality. They were just a person, and this was the norm. It was all about sexual gratification, about who was doing the action, and who was having it done to them. It wasn’t about the gender of the partners, but the way they sexually engaged with each other – being the active, ‘dominant male role,’ and the passive, ‘submissive female role’.

However, during the Hellenistic Age there was a shift in Greek attitude from Classical literature glorifying homosexual relations, to Post-Classical literature idealising heterosexual couples. Examples are found in the Ancient Greek Novels, which are considered to be the equivalents of Mills and Boons books – minus the erotic sex!

If you want details of erotic sex in the Ancient World, look no further than Ancient India’s Kama Sutra on tantric sex.

They regarded the love of sexual union as a divine experience, and orgasms as glimpses into divinity. And everyone knows Ancient China’s famous concept of Yin and Yang in Taoism – the equal and complementary opposites. When two people come together for sexual intimacy, they come together as complementary equals; their sexual play is active and receptive, intense and subtle, commanding and submissive. History reveals our modern attitudes towards sex, and its development.

For more information about the Ancient Greek Novels, visit Claire’s website: www.clairecatacouzinos.wordpress.com grapeshot magazine | page 15

TALKIN’ SHIT

2SER: JOIN THE TEAM WORDS | Morgan Foulsham

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have been granted the opportunity to write a regular column here in the Grapeshot Magazine, on behalf of 2SER, Sydney Educational Radio. Broadcasting as a community radio station based out of Macquarie University and the University of Technology Sydney, it offers professional training and creative opportunities for all those who get involved.

WORDS | Manisha Josephraja While Manisha is currently studying a Business & Psychology degree, talking shit is her passion. If there was a degree in talking shit, she’d definitely be awarded first class honours.

I’VE BEEN SEEING A REALLY GREAT GUY FOR THE PAST COUPLE OF MONTHS. WE GET ALONG SO WELL AND ALWAYS HAVE SO MUCH TO TALK ABOUT. THE ONLY PROBLEM IS THAT THERE’S NO CHEMISTRY BEHIND CLOSED DOORS. IS IT WORTH PURSUING THIS RELATIONSHIP OR SHOULD I CUT MY LOSSES NOW? For all you avid Sex and the City fans, you know that Carrie faced the same situation with Berger (the little twerp that broke up with Carrie via Post-it). Before the less than gentlemanly exit from the relationship, the pair had undeniable romantic chemistry, however, this never seemed to translate in the bedroom. They tried everything from recreating the places where they felt the most attraction to each other, such as the restaurant where they had a long and interesting talk (Carrie was just talking about herself most likely, because that’s just Carrie). Anyway, all these efforts went to waste because at the end of the day, they just couldn’t make it work.

Okay, I promise this isn’t just a synopsis about a couple of episodes; I do have some advice. Firstly, you should have an open discussion with your partner on how they feel about the situation, maybe they haven’t even really noticed? To some people, sexual chemistry is REALLY important, and to others, there are other characteristics of a relationship that are more imperative.

It really comes down to the individual.

Ultimately, you can keep trying or switching things up with this person, and things might get better. If you don’t think anything will change and you can’t see a future with someone you don’t have that romantic spark with, it might be time to cut this one loose. This is a difficult decision, as breaking up may mean that you lose them as a friend, but it isn’t really fair to string someone along. Bring out your inner Samantha and be assertive with what your needs are. At the end of the day, no one wants to end up like Charlotte and Trey. page 16 | grapeshot magazine

And the good news is that anyone can volunteer at 2SER. Whether you’re an aspiring musician, presenter, producer, website designer or journalist, you can get some real hands-on experience while meeting like-minded people along the way.

Personally, I came into 2SER as a student having no idea what I wanted to do, and didn’t expect to be able to contribute much, but before I knew it – the team and I were investigating the illegal brothel industry. After interviewing the owner of Brothel Busters NSW, I was shocked to discover that Sydney’s North Shore has one of the largest illegal brothel densities in Australia, and apparently the most popular time to visit is around eight o’clock in the morning...

In this regard, 2SER offers you opportunities and a level of autonomy that you would most likely not receive as a junior or intern starting off in the workforce. To see my stories podcasted, shared on social media, and appreciated by the 2SER community, is what has made the experience so far, worthwhile.

I implore anyone who is interested in media or has a flare for creativity to get involved by emailing volunteer@2ser.com or by visiting our Macquarie studios at Y3A. You can listen to the audio for brothel investigation here: www.2ser.com/brothelbusters

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FEATURES Don’t Try This At Home Sed Education I Don’t Self Lovin’ It Love Game Grasping The Concept Myf Warhurst TEDxMACQUARIEUNIVERSITY

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WORDS | Alice Maher

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ith the advent of the internet, porn has become a cheap and accessible alternative to the imagination. However, the catch-22 is that you and your partner might have developed a few misconceptions about the human body’s limits. Those positions that look effortless when performed by James Deen and Lexi Belle can put a mere mortal in hospital. So before you leap right into The Plough (girls turn into sexy wheelbarrows), The Butter Churn (guess what the stick is?), or the Crouching Tiger (Google it), slow down and consider the sheer amount of preparation that goes into commercial sex.

Let’s start with anal (don’t actually start with anal). If you have not experienced the surprising sensations of giving or receiving butt-sex, please be advised that if you think things just magically slide into anuses like hotdogs in a well-buttered bun, you and your partner are both going to have a bad time.

Porn-stars stretch their sphincters offscreen before their shoot, as well as using enemas, and even numbing chemicals to make the scene look effortless and sensual, with minimal lubrication and foreplay to detract from the good stuff. However, for you and your partner, you might find half a bottle of lube and a whole lot of patience the only way to properly enjoy your night (and ruin your sheets, but that’s why you chose a water-based lubricant). The key is baby steps. Mere mortals usually start with a finger and then communicate about what’s working and what isn’t. And communicating means actual sentences, not the porn-star staples of, “Oh yeah,” and, “Do me harder.”

Moving back to more general positions, if you’re still staring at your copy of the Karma Sutra like it’s an Ikea instruction manual with several pages missing, watching the ‘real thing’ in porn won’t necessarily fill in the blanks. Porn is designed to be appealing for the audience, not satisfying for the actors. Everything is awkwardly angled to face many cameras, meaning any intimacy and comfort is pretty much lost. It is choreographed in a rigid structure of ‘sit there, say this, suck that,’ and so on, whereas real-life sex is full of surprises; most good, some awkward. And, as previously mentioned, some positions are not for the fainthearted or weak-bodied. You will often see male porn-stars picking up females in an effortless show of masculine strength, then throwing them onto the bed, or simply going at it in mid-air. True, there are

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mortal men and women who can probably get into this position, but chances are, once you’re clinging to each other like horny koalas, the actual in-out-in-out part might require more upper-body strength than either of you have left.

Another skill that porn-stars are pretty-much obligated to have is flexibility.

Unless it’s some kind of fetish genre, you’ll rarely hear a female actor complaining about how trying to bend her legs back towards her head while her co-star does his thing is actually super painful. That’s because she’s probably done yoga and pilates for about a thousand hours each week to stay limber. If you’ve got the time to hit the gym, good for you. I’m sure your love life appreciates it, but if not, such positions where someone’s legs are required to bend in unnatural ways, or even hold one position for a long time, they tend to suck if you approach them with the expectation that neither of you are going to be phased. By the way, the position where the woman’s legs go all the way up over her partner’s shoulders is called The Snail, and while it’s good for deep penetration, it’s very easy for that penetration to become painfully intense if people are overly enthusiastic.

parmigiana with a little imagination, dressing-gown cords and scarves can suffice for shackles and blindfolds when you’re spicing things up with a bit of bondage play. As long as you or your partner aren’t too tightly bound, and whatever knot you use can be swiftly untied if need be, you may surprise yourself with your outside-the-box thinking. Your way might not be flashy, but it is functional.

And that’s all it boils down to. Does it work for you? As long as you’re both getting your needs fulfilled, it doesn’t really matter if that need is intimacy, comfort, excitement, or just good old-fashioned satisfaction. That’s why mankind has created a seemingly endless supply of positions to cater to these needs. Some are for display purposes only, but there are plenty that should be attempted with an open mind, in the spirit of romance and endeavour. So get out there and have fun. It’s not like anyone’s going to see you guys anyway.

Yes, it’s fairly obvious that porn is meant to be a fantasy for the viewer; beautiful people doing the stuff that you find titillating in theory, but terrifying in practice. In mainstream professional porn you’re not likely to find two people making love while still wearing their aroundthe-house sweaters (because it’s too damn cold to go the full monty), sticking to low-effort positions like the Hound (doggy-style propped up on knees and elbows instead of all-fours), the Close-up (spooning whilst forking) and the Try-tokeep-it-in-while-I-reach-over-for-morelube (self-explanatory), as Frozen plays on a laptop in the background. In porn, things are shinier and sexier, the lighting optimal and the performers are excessively enthusiastic at the prospect of bukkake (Google it).

The budgeting priorities in porn are also different from your own (I assume).

Actors can wear crotchless panties and gimp suits, use penis pumps, and a variety of vibrating toys, and have pretty much anything else at their disposal; sexrelated or otherwise. On the other hand, the average university student generally makes do with what little they have. Just as a box of frozen chicken nuggets and a bottle of tomato sauce can become chicken

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DON’T TRY THIS AT HOME

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THE BIRDS AND THE BEES AND HOW TO PREVENT STDS: IS SEX EDUCATION IN HIGH SCHOOLS FAILING TEENS? WORDS | Alicia Scott

“MOVIES AND TV AREN’T IDEAL SOURCES OF SEX EDUCATION, AS THEY ARE, FOR THE MOST PART, EXTREMELY HETERONORMATIVE, IF ONLY SLIGHTLY LESS THAN WHAT WE GET [TAUGHT] IN HIGH SCHOOL.”

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ex education for teenagers is an essential part of their high school learning experience, as they deal with the pitfalls of puberty and teen angst. We all have vague memories of giggling over old-fashioned VCR programs or putting protection over fruit, knowing your PE teacher was more uncomfortable than you were.

Yet in the modern age, sex education often fails to prepare teens for real sexual experiences due to outdated material and teaching methods. With young people being increasingly exposed to sexually explicit content through popular culture and media, there is a growing need to provide teens with adequate and relevant information.

A recent survey found that almost half of Year 10 to Year 12 students thought sex education in schools was either irrelevant or only somewhat relevant to their lives. Students noted that important topics, such as relationship dynamics, communication with partners, and sexual pleasure were not covered in classrooms, leaving them ill-equipped for the complexities of sexual relationships.

The current risk-focused approach for sex education in New South Wales fixates on preventing unplanned pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). Ninteen year old Cassidy thought the focus on safe sex practices was an important part of the curriculum. However, teaching methods needed improvement to ensure students were being educated effectively.

“The methods of teaching, if they remain the same as to how they were delivered to me (through find-a-words and booklets full of unhelpful questions), may be outdated and awkward for students.”

A major concern high school students voiced was that, directly or indirectly, sex education was designed only for heterosexual students. The latest study of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Intersex, Queer, Asexual + (LGBTIQA+) students in Australia revealed that less than one in five were able to access relevant information about gay or lesbian safe sex from school. Twenty-two year old Liam considered the lack of information on safe sex practices for LGBTIQA+ teens to be very problematic.

Liam said, “[In high school] same sex relations were not even mentioned in sex education, which I think alienates people who aren’t heterosexual and leaves them in the dark.”

Nineteen year old Maggie found it frustrating that sex education did not provide an outlet for her to discover

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or learn about her own sexual identity. She proposed that fostering discussion about same sex attraction and safe sex for LGBTIQA+ people could help create further awareness amongst young people.

“I was being told in [high] school that my default was heterosexuality. While the idea of same sex attraction may get a throw-away mention, this is not enough to bring it into the consciousness of teenagers.”

There are distinct parallels between Australia and the USA on this issue. A majority of states in America undertake a heterosexual approach to teaching sex education. LGBTIQA+ teens often face discrimination from the school curriculum, and by teachers, students, and conservative values prevalent in certain parts of America.

“I think it is essential that LGBTIQA+ youth are given the information that they need, even before they know they need it,” Maggie insisted.

As a result of the outdated methods in the classroom, more and more young people are getting their sex education through other means. Cassidy revealed, “I find myself relying on the Internet for sex education, as well as from older friends and family members.”

Liam and Maggie both noted that they obtained relevant information from the internet, movies, and TV programs due to the narrow scope of sex education in high school. The internet is a celebrated alternative that can provide teenagers, regardless of their sexuality, accessible information free of potential stigma or embarrassment.

Maggie further suggested, “Movies and TV aren’t ideal sources of sex education, as they are, for the most part, extremely heteronormative, if only slightly less than what we get [taught] in high school.”

Professor Catharine Lumby from Macquarie University has been conducting a joint research project on young people and sex education for three years. She recently stated in a Sydney Morning Herald interview, “The reality is we’re doing an incredibly poor and inconsistent job of delivering information to young people.”

The Federal government’s first ever national sex education curriculum has been developed, but has not yet been introduced in schools. There is hope that this will raise the teaching standards by covering modern and relevant issues, and catering towards diversity. grapeshot magazine | page 21

I DO N'T. WORDS | Saartje Tack

EQUALITY VS. LUNCH

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he fight for marriage equality is on. It’s simple. Either you’re for, or you’re a homophobe. I was painfully reminded of this only a few months ago. It was a Tuesday, and the campus was bathing in sunlight. I tried to make my way to the food court around lunchtime, which, as every Macquarie student knows, requires a certain skillset and expertise: the arduous climb to Y3A seems like a breeze compared to having to make your way past the picket line of noble and honourable individuals –in some circles known as activists –who try to lure every single innocent being into their web with a wide range of flyers and petitions that are going to save humanity.

I must say, over the years I have become quite the expert at avoiding eye contact on an empty stomach. This time, however, I was distracted.

“Gay marriage. Sign our petition for marriage equality.”

That’s when I made the fatal mistake. I decided to ask a question.

“I’d rather not. What exactly is it that is equal about this marriage you talk about?”

“Don’t you want LGBT people to have the right to get married?”

“No, because…”

That’s when I was cut off and the word “homophobe” was dropped. I wanted to get the discussion back on track with a “But…”. Although, I soon realised it wouldn’t have made a difference, and gave up.

Maybe I should have tried harder to explain where I was coming from.

Maybe I should have tried to clarify why I think we should not ask the question of ‘for’ or ‘against’ gay marriage, but the question of ‘marriage’ itself.

However, I was hungry, and lunch was, is, and will always be, more important to me than marriage. page 22 | grapeshot magazine

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THE MOST IMPORTANT DAY The debate with regards to ‘gay marriage’, or ‘marriage equality’, is often framed as a question of ‘for’ or ‘against’. However, the question that is rarely ever raised is whether ‘marriage’ itself still has a place in our society.

When you visit the Attorney-General’s Department website that has all the information about getting married in Australia, you are greeted by the following line, “Your wedding ceremony is one of the most important moments of your life”. Dearest government, I appreciate your concern, but if it’s all the same to you, I would like to decide for myself which moments are most important in my life. Also, I would like you a lot more if you didn’t try to make me feel as though I would be missing out on the most important moment of my life if I decide not to play the wedding game.

The webpage proceeds by explaining in dot points who can be married in Australia. It’s very simple, marriage is between a man and a woman, and minors cannot get married unless special approval is given, you cannot marry close family members, and certain words must be used during the ceremony.

Then it gets interesting, you must ‘understand what marriage means’.

EH? ANYONE? The 1961 Marriage Act defines marriage as, “The union of a man and a woman to the exclusion of all others, voluntarily entered into for life.”

First of all, could someone please explain to me what exactly it is that constitutes a man and a woman? We’ve all heard the stories of athletes who get disqualified from major sports events because doubts are raised about their sex. Let me ask you, have you had your sex-type checked recently? Or ever? In the definition of marriage, is it self-definition that makes one man or woman? Is it upbringing? Or is it the possession of a certain type of internal or external sex organ, and if so, is the celebrant required to check this during the ceremony? What exactly should this organ look like, and are there specific requirements as to quantity, size, and shape?

And more importantly, what does this ‘union’, other than that it is for life and to the exclusion of all others, mean exactly? Does it require both parties to be in a romantic and sexual relationship of love, as popular belief has it?

What exactly is love then, and sex? And how much of it is required? How can we even begin to define these terms?

Or does it have absolutely nothing to do with love and everything with practicality? Marriage as a contract is between individuals, in which both parties agree on certain rights and obligations with regards to their interpersonal relationship. If this is the case, then why is it so important that we call this institution marriage, and put in place a plethora of questionable rules about who gets to take part in it?

What always strikes me is the idea of ‘marriage equality’. How can we consider extending a state-sanctioned ‘privilege’ to a small group of individuals and excluding others to be ‘equality’? Legally recognising romantic and sexual lifelong and monogamous relationships between one man and one woman, two women, and two men, still excludes all other relationships from not only legal, but also societal recognition, and as such, functions as an attempt to devalue them.

The issue today, dear (gay) marriage activist , is not that certain people cannot get married to each other. What is much more problematic is that ‘marriage’ is still perceived as a requirement for being a ‘normal’ human being. ‘Marriage equality’ is not a neutral act. It is not the obvious next step it is made out to be.

Lunch, however, is. grapeshotmq.com.au

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WORDS | Cassandra Teo

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EX! Sex, sex, sex! You could be having sex, thinking about sex, dreaming of sex, initiating sex, looking for sex, but what can you do if you’re not getting any?

What can you do to let off some steam on your own? You MASTURBATE! I am referring to both guys and girls. You don’t hear a lot about girls masturbating (or talking about it) as much as guys, but we will come back to that later.

There is nothing wrong with a little self-pleasuring now and then. It is not like you will go blind from it or gain mental health issues (think anti-masturbation myths – they’re enough to make anyone fear even thinking about masturbation).

I, for one, am happy to say that the world has become more open. It is not uncommon to hear about this private (most of the time) occurrence. Studies have even proven the benefits of self-sexual stimulation. Among the benefits are: 1. The reduction of headaches and muscle aches.

2. Improvement in the immune system and overall health.

3. The promotion of the release of endorphins (neurotransmitters linked to happy feelings).

4. And deeper and better sleep.

One thing that has not been proven scientifically (as far as I know) is how masturbation could benefit long distance relationships. I am talking about phone sex here.

Alex, a final year Macquarie student, has been in a long distance relationship (LDR) for the past two and a half years. She had never thought about masturbating and didn’t understand phone sex prior to her LDR. However, with her partner, she found that it helped to keep them close and intimate six months into their LDR. It reassured them that they could still share this intimate experience with one another, despite the distance.

Although, it is not all about endorphins and orgasms with phone sex. The film, Going the Distance (2010) starring Drew Barrymore and Justin Long, shows that phone sex might take a couple of tries and effort from both parties in order for both sides to get on the same wave length. However, once couples are on the same wavelength, it can be an enriching experience that adds positivity to a relationship.

Scientific facts (proven and unproven) aside, it is all about self-love. When you love someone, you want to share the most intimate part of yourself with them at some point. And if you’re sharing this with someone else, why not share it with yourself as well? We pamper ourselves with material things all the time, but not everyone will pamper themselves with orgasmic-causing endorphins. I have to wonder how this is different from buying material things. It definitely costs less!

You may have heard of the phrase ‘flicking the bean’.

It is one of the most common phrases used to describe

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female masturbation. Other (less common) ones are ‘brushing the beaver’ and ‘pearl fishing’, among many others. And I mean, many others. For something that has at least 100 phrases referring to it, you would think that it would be a hotter topic of open discussion, but, no. Something has to be wrong with society if it is more common and less awkward to hear about girls having casual sex than it is to hear about girls masturbating.

When asked, Tori, a second year student at Macquarie said, “I masturbate but I do not talk about it to anyone – period!” Sunny explained that “people tend to judge – even if it’s only with their eyes – when someone brings up female masturbation, while the mention of male masturbation only brings on eye rolls like it is completely expected.” The question is, so what if people judge you?

They probably masturbate as well!

A National Health and Social Life Survey (Masturbation in the United States, 2007) reported that only 42 per cent of women admitted to masturbating, with 47 per cent of them feeling guilty about it. Why the guilt, though? People need to ask themselves, how is female masturbation any different from male masturbation?

Technique aside, both males and females deserve to be able to pleasure themselves without feeling guilty about it.

In September 2013, Jane Langton, an adult-sexual educator, talked about one of her favourite topics during TEDxSFU – masturbation. She normalises and endorses female masturbation, stating that getting to know one’s self is a vital part of sex. Langton is of the opinion that “we shouldn’t expect our partners to know how to pleasure us.” That is our job. Imagine the frustration one would encounter if their partner did not know how to pleasure them properly. This could lead to less than enjoyable sex.

It is nice to hear people being open about this usually taboo topic. When asked if she had ever masturbated, Alice said, “Hell yeah! I would not have survived the HSC if I didn’t!” There have been stories of girls ‘doing it’ to themselves and thinking that they are alone in this. More and more often we are finding out that this is not the case.

I feel better knowing that I am not alone and weird, don’t you?

Girls, whatever your reason for doing it, it is not something that you should feel uncomfortable, or even guilty about. Guys, we know that most of you don’t feel the way girls do about it. Keep it up. Maybe even encourage your girl if you haven’t done so already. Guys have told me how they find it hot when their girls know how to pleasure themselves. And to all of us, here’s to less awkward conversations, and more openness.

Note: Names have been changed in order to avoid redness in the face, neck, and ears, and the urge to crawl into a deep dark hole. As well as to protect the privacy of the interviewees.

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THE LOVE GAME WORDS | Jessica Sheridan

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here is no denying that finding love in the modern world is a whole other playing field.

Most of our parents met for the first time faceto-face, whether it was at school, university, work, or through friends; but today, more and more people are finding love through other avenues made available only by technology.

I personally met my current partner online, and many others are also enjoying the World Wide Web when it comes to connecting with others. This has led to a plethora of online dating websites. Places like eHarmony opened their virtual doors to the online world and now have over 15 million members, while Match.com has expanded even further with over 21 million members. It’s undeniable that people are opening up to new ways of meeting online.

And why shouldn’t they? Studies have shown that online dating can be very successful, with some suggestions that couples who meet online have stronger relationships than couples who meet offline.

It is estimated that around one in five relationships in the US started online. In fact, statistics also show that those who meet on dating websites are married more than twice as fast as those who meet face-to-face.

However, a new breed of match-making has emerged in the form of dating apps. They include the likes of Grindr, Brenda, Blendr, and perhaps most well-known, Tinder. And as with much of today’s modern technology, it is aiming to speed up the process; efficient dating at your fingertips.

Tinder allows people to connect with others, but unlike the internet where your potential dream date might live half a world away, Tinder operates by connecting you with people in your area. Simply sign up using your Facebook account (it doesn’t post to your Facebook page but it will use your information and current profile picture, unless prompted otherwise) and begin ‘playing’ the dating game.

For those that don’t know how it operates, Tinder is very fast paced, and to the point when it comes to your potential connections. Ask Tinder to show you who is in your area and they will offer a picture

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of someone nearby, along with their name and age.

You can then, either hit the x and the like buttons, or alternatively swipe the picture to the left to say no, or to the right to say, ‘yeah, let’s give this a go.’ If you both flick each other to the right, then you will be able to start conversations with each other.

The app is incredibly popular, reporting that around 10 million matches are made every day by people who both decided to swipe to the right. Tinder certainly advertises itself towards a fun and fast method of connecting with others, while still trying to replicate the real-life experience. At least, that’s the idea.

Most students have heard of Tinder, and some seemed positive about the ideas. “There is less stress involved compared to the possible rejection that can be felt when physically meeting people,” said one student. While it is true that rejection still exists in the app world when people don’t swipe back, Tinder does not inform you when others have kicked you to the left. So in many respects, the app is an excellent ice breaker without the awkward aftermath if you are rejected.

Other students were more sceptical. “I used Tinder in the early days when it wasn’t just a hook up app.” Rather than a way to connect with others, some students noted that the app was mostly used for ‘hooking up’ rather than any long-term connection.

One student who had tried dating someone they met on Tinder was also unconvinced, identifying perhaps the most inherent flaw of socialising online rather than face-to-face. “People seem to only put really good things about themselves on social media these days.”

Despite these resignations, the app is incredibly popular and well-known. Even if it doesn’t always serve the purpose it originally aimed for, it does still have its quirks, and it is interesting to see the kinds of people willing to find a connection online. People appear to be much more open to putting themselves out into the dating scene when they can easily control what others see about them. So what happened to love at first right?

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ADULT NT CONTE

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GRASPING THE

WORDS | Raelee Lancaster Conception Day has been a tradition at M acquarie University since 1969; a year which is both apt and amusing. Veterans are surely keen for the celebrations, but for those new students out there who have no clue what Conception Day is about, this fun-filled day is equipped with live music, and carnival rides, and is sure to leave you in a drunken haze.

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he origin of Conception Day is to celebrate Macquarie University’s namesake, Major-General Lachlan Macquarie. His birthday happened to fall on an unfortunate day during the university calendar, so instead, we celebrate his conception.

With Conception Day being the most popular social event on the university calendar, Macquarie University Assistant Marketing Manager, Jean Posthoorn offered me some important information about the day, and how students can make the most of it. Here are the top 10 things I think you need to know about Conception Day 2014: 1. PARTY LIKE IT’S…2014.

Everybody loves a party! Lucky for you, Conception Day is a big excuse for you to let out your inner party animal. There are several pre-parties being held by on-campus residences on the day of the event. These parties include fun activities for residences.

However, they are quite exclusive. Therefore,

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Campus Life will be holding a ‘Macquarie Carnivale’. This celebration consists of a series of events held throughout the week of Conception Day. The ‘Macquarie Carnivale’ is a fairly new addition to Conception Day, but is a fun-filled week for all students, including those who aren’t attending Conception Day. 2. NO ID = NO ENTRY. I cannot stress how important ID is when attending Conception Day. This is an ‘over 18’ event, so a valid photo ID is crucial. This could include a valid proof of age by a driver’s licence, or passport. Also, if you are a student purchasing a student ticket, you must bring your student ID with you as proof of enrolment. This means you cannot purchase cheap tickets for your friends under your name – non-Macquarie University students must buy a ‘Guest’ ticket, which are often more expensive.

There have been a fair few people who have been denied entry because they forgot to bring valid identification, so beware.

3. TICKET TIPS. Don’t laugh, because this has happened.

There have been cases of people forgetting their tickets. I have heard of people having to rush home to retrieve it! Luckily, most of them lived on-campus. Tickets are scanned on the day, and without one, you will be denied entry into the festival. Also, watch out for discounts on ticket prices.

This means watching the Conception Day website and Facebook page often, and getting in early, because prices rise the longer you wait.

4. CHECK YOURSELF BEFORE YOU WRECK YOURSELF. There is a coat check inside the event, but DON’T FORGET TO RETRIEVE YOUR THINGS BEFORE YOU LEAVE. On that note, if you don’t check something in and it goes missing, it’s your responsibility. So don’t bring anything too valuable or something that could get easily broken, and don’t leave bags unattended!

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E CONCEPT OF

5. RCA—RESPONSIBLE CONSUMPTION OF ALCOHOL DRINK RESPONSIBLY. This is probably my most important tip. As this is an ‘over 18’ event, alcohol is available for purchase inside the event. Firstly, cover your drinks. Yes, this is a university event, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t a possibility of being slipped something.

Secondly, there are signs inside the venue as safety reminders, so don’t try to be cool by getting maggoty-drunk and passing out, or throwing up all over the place. It’s not attractive. The right to refuse entry due to excessive drunkenness, among other reasons, is reserved.

6. DON’T BE A FUCKWIT Seriously, don’t. You could injure yourself or someone else, and while the ladies may like battle scars, being carried out of Conception Day on a stretcher wouldn’t exactly be my idea of fun. Try to refrain yourself from dangerous activities, such as stage diving, crowd surfing, and moshing. Not only are these activities

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prohibited, but you risk getting kicked out of Conception Day and even fined. Again, be responsible when consuming alcohol.

7. DON’T PET THE DRUG DOGS Don’t bring harmful, dangerous, or illegal possessions into the event. Yes, this may seem like a no-brainer, but these things happen. The risk of being caught with illicit material is high as there will be police and dogs present, and other security measures will be in place. Security reserves the right to check anyone and their possessions when they enter the event. A list of prohibited items include: bottles, cans, glass, skateboards, boogie boards, milk crates, chairs, stools (folding or otherwise), studded wristbands or belts, water pistols, fireworks, alcohol, drugs, laser lights, weapons of any type, umbrellas, video and tape recording devices, animals, and any other items considered illegal or dangerous.

8. SAY CHEESE! Be aware that photography and videography will be ongoing inside the

event. The images belong to Macquarie University and Conception Day, and may be used on social media and other promotional material.

9. WRAP IT BEFORE YOU TAP IT. This one is pretty self-explanatory.

Condoms are freely available at Conception Day. Seriously, last year Bluejuice chucked a bucket load on my head. A load of condoms, that is… Utilise the resources given to you, keep hydrated, and don’t forget, don’t be a fool, cover your tool!

10. F IS FOR… Fun! Enjoy yourself, dance ‘til your little heart’s content, and relish in being a part of such an amazing university. These are (supposedly) the best years of your life, embrace that.

Come along to Macquarie University’s 45th Conception Day, held on 19 September on the Lakeside Lawn. More information on Conception Day can be found on the Conception Day Facebook page or their website: www.mq.edu.au/on_campus/ get_involved/conception_day.

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MYF WARHURST WHEN IT COMES TO MUSIC JOURNALISM, MYF WARHURST HAS DONE IT ALL. STARTING OUT AS A VOLUNTEER GIG REVIEW WRITER, MYF BECAME A HOUSEHOLD NAME AS A TEAM CAPTAIN ON ABC’S POPULAR MUSIC QUIZ SHOW, SPICKS AND SPECKS. NOW, AFTER A STINT IN LONDON, SHE’S BACK, HEADING UP ABC’S NEWLY RENAMED DIGITAL RADIO STATION, DOUBLE J.

GRAPESHOT’S NEWS EDITOR, EMMA VLATKO, GAVE MYF A CALL TO TALK ABOUT ALL THINGS, LIFE, MUSIC, AND THE ICONIC ‘AUSTRALIAN SOUND’.

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Emma: Your life long love of music is quite well known. Was music journalism something you planned for or was it something you fell into?

Myf: I think my entire career is something I fell into. It’s been more a case of loving music and then working out ways in which I could be involved... I did play the piano up to university level but I realised I wasn’t quite good enough to be a concert pianist. I just really wanted to be around music, talking about music and learning about music and it just happened. I started doing gig reviews at a local stress press for nothing, which is sort of how people start.

It just went from there. I remember I’d just finished university and was waitressing when a job came up as a music editor at the same paper I was volunteering for, and I got it. It was more coincidence really, and after that job, I got really interested in radio, so I volunteered at the local public radio stations, Triple R and PBS in Melbourne.

Really, it was just all about starting from the ground level and then things gradually fell into place.

E: Australian music is said to have quite a unique sound because of our distance from the rest of the world. You grew up in Red Cliffs, a small rural town in Victoria.

Would you say, from your personal experience, that this is true?

M: I would say in the past we had a unique sound. Being Australia and being so far away from the rest of the world, we only really had what we could get that would come in the mail or was on TV. So I do think there was a much more distinct sound, say, 20 years ago when I was growing up. But now, because the world is such a global place, Australian music seems to slot in everywhere.

E: Well on that note, have you noticed a change in Australian music since the emergence of the internet?

M: Yeah I have. The world feels like a much more global place these days. I’m no longer even sure those questions about “Australian sound” are relevant to the music we make today. I guess it depends on where you come from. You can be into punk music but not necessarily sound like you’re from a Melbourne punk band...It’s been wonderful though, to see great artists, like Courtney Barnett, a singer/songwriter from Melbourne, on all those big American talk shows, and do hugely well; I would say she has a very Australian sound, but because the world is a much more open place, her sound isn’t necessarily ‘Australian’, and people will relate to it regardless of where they’ve come from.

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Then again, there are always certain things that make music sound Australian.

I’m not entirely sure what that is because I think if we knew, none of this would make sense. It’s good NOT to know what that “Australian sound” is. If we did, we’d bottle it and everyone would know our secret.

E: Justin Burford, lead singer for Australian band, End of Fashion, recently hit out at Triple J, calling it a “closed shop” that killed “End of Fashion’s career.” How tricky is it for Triple J to get the balance right, between discovery of new music and playing what’s already popular?

E: Growing up, were there any bands that you particularly identified with?

M: Oh really? I’ve been overseas for the last few years so I never heard about that one! But there are always bands that feel they don’t get enough support, and really, it just comes down to whether people think the music is good. I haven’t heard their latest album, so I couldn’t say either way. I do think, however, that this is where Double J can come into play. We allow bands that are maybe no longer suitable for a younger audience to get played somewhere else. As far as we can tell, we’ve got a pretty big audience. We’re giving bands, that maybe aren’t getting played, an extra avenue to get their music out there.

M: There were so many. I think I identified with every band I could get my hands on. I grew up in a small country town, in rural Victoria, pre-internet. All we had were the magazines at the local news agency and a couple of music shows on TV, that was it. The radio was terrible!

I identified with anything I could get my hands on, it could have been bad 80s pop or some really great stuff. I remember having a cassette of Talking Heads and I would just listen to that obsessively. I even went through a Beach Boys phase. As much as I could grab from other people’s older brothers and sisters, or whatever I could scrounge myself. I identified with them all.

E: You mentioned that radio wasn’t so good for you growing up, but nowadays, how important is public broadcasting for up and coming artists, and the Australian music industry as a whole?

M: It’s essential. Public broadcasting is one of the only ways that people get a start and get people to hear what their doing. Unless you’re that one in a million, you’re never going to be able to walk into a commercial station and get played. It’s just not going to happen. Without things like Triple J, Triple R, PBS, and the various other ones around the country, young bands wouldn’t even get a start, they wouldn’t get that ground support that happens locally. Local is so important.

People often forget that when they call for funding cuts. It’s not true, without public broadcasting people wouldn’t get a reputation, wouldn’t get fans, and wouldn’t get listeners. It’s so essential.

E: Has the internet, with websites such as Triple J’s Unearthed, made the process for getting discovered easier?

M: Yeah, I think so. With things like Unearthed, there’s a focus on the music thats not signed to record labels. You could’ve made your music anywhere. You could have made your music in your bedroom in Darwin and still be just as relevant as the person, with a tonne of connections, and made their music in a studio in Sydney.

For that able to happen, I think, is a huge positive for our industry.

E: Well, of course, you mentioned Double J. Dig Music was re-launched in April this year as Double J, with you taking up the lunch shift. How did this come about? And how did you get involved?

M: I think they knew they were going to re-launch late last year, and my boss, Meagan Loader, contacted me out of the blue asking me whether I wanted to be involved.

I was overseas and I wouldn’t have come back, I didn’t want to come back, but the job was so good! I mean, when do you ever get to start a radio station? You never get that chance, it’s incredible. So I thought, “Oh yeah, I’m definitely coming back for this.” And it’s just been so worth it so far.

But yeah, really it was just by chance. They thought of me, which is nice. It’s always nice to know that you’re welcome back into the ABC family.

E: Double J was the original name for Triple J. Why did they choose that as the new station name?

M: I think just to link in with that heritage. Double J was how it all began.

Although, people know it already without having too much baggage, because it was Sydney only back in those days. I’m from Victoria, so I hadn’t even heard of it because we didn’t get it. But a lot of what we’ll do at Double J is about our heritage.

We’re bringing back to J-Files, which used to be on Triple J. And we have all those archived interviews to play, which are awesome! All that stuff that you don’t get an opportunity to play as much, we do. I think its all just about linking back to our heritage and welcoming an older audience with that reference. Also, it’s a great name!

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TED x MACQUARIEUNIVERSITY MIA KWOK CHATS WITH TEDxMACQUARIEUNVERSITY’S DIRECTOR AND CO-CURATOR LUCAS BERULLIER ABOUT WHAT MAKES TEDX SUCH A SPECTACULAR EVENT.

I

t is hard to imagine a more appropriate Director and Co-Curator for the TEDx brand than Lucas Berullier.

He is immediately charming and friendly. Once he gets talking about TEDxMacquarieUniversity, though, his whole demeanour changes. He is at once a proud parent and child on Christmas morning. “It’s like a baby,” he says of the project. TEDx is certainly a demanding one. TED stands for Technology, Entertainment and Design and is probably most commonly recognised outside of Macquarie University for the TED Talks that have seen speakers like Steve Jobs, Malcolm Gladwell, and Stephen Hawking, to name a few. The annual conference has been going since 1990, which is damn impressive considering most of our readers haven’t been alive that long.

Lucas, can you tell us a little bit about the man behind TEDx Macquarie University 2014?

I came here four years ago, studying a Bachelor of Commerce in Marketing and International Business. I straight away got involved with TEDx, which made my experience at university way more interesting and diverse, and a bit more fun, really.

I joined as an Event Producer in the first year, and then as a Director. This is the second consecutive year that I’m directing the event.

What does that involve?

It involves creating a team, giving them different positions, defining the positions, and inspiring them to work towards the same goal, while all being volunteers and juggling their current degree and other activities. The second role is a Curator, which means, looking out for all the page 32 | grapeshot magazine

speakers. Thanks to the TEDx brand, it’s been very exciting to approach people.

They feel privileged to be asked to speak, so convincing them to speak hasn’t been too hard. [The challenge] is more the briefing and walking them through the journey of presenting their ideas to a larger audience.

This year is probably the most exciting line up of speakers, having some national and local heroes.

2014 is looking to be a really good year then. Can you tell us a little bit about this year’s theme – ‘Breaking New Ground’?

Breaking New Ground, basically, is changing people’s ideas, and perceptions about a concept and idea or a topic. So, it is really aligning with the TED spirit of ‘Ideas Worth Spreading’, which is letting the audience sitting down in the auditorium listen to a talk that will completely change their mind on some topic. [For example] “recycling is really not good, and this is what you should do”, so I guess we want to constantly challenge the existing understanding of wealth, our humanity, or of people. This is what inspired us with Breaking New Ground.

It’s not narrowed down to a single topic.

It is still very broad. We have a wide range of possibilities with their topics.

Who are the speakers that you’ve lined up for us this year?

Every year we don’t start by looking for people, we start by looking for ideas. So, we’re divided into ten different sections. There is architecture, astronomer, scientist, medical science, social change, heroes, adventurers, and leaders in the fields of innovation and entrepreneurialism. So we look at these industries, these types of people, and then we look at who is existing in these fields.

We look at the winners, for example, the best rising architect in Australia.

Shaun Carter is a young architect that came up with The Grid, a house that can be used in disaster zones, like during earthquakes or war, they can be built in three and a half hours. It is made very simply, so it is easy to build and it is made for short to long term use, so people can actually live inside this house for a couple of years, in a healthy and sustainable way. Then there is Turia Pitt, she’s the NSW Woman of the Year, she is a burn survivor and an adventurer. She is going to come and challenge our understanding of beauty. There is Lucy Turnbull, the first female Mayor of Sydney in 2003-2004, and she’s going to talk about how we would go about designing the city of the future, for women. We have a PhD student who has been working the past four and a half years on this thesis about gender selection.

Dr Joanna McMillan is a nutritionist who works with Channel 9. She is trying to fight obesity around Australia. We have two kids who are 14 years old who are looking at inventing the world’s smallest projector, they have already started a business that provides people with portable chargers for your phone that looks like lipstick. It’s fashionable, it looks good, and you can pick the colour you want while you charge your phone from your handbag. We wanted to ensure that we have a great diversity of people. We looked at males and females, young and old, with a variety of backgrounds.

Anything else to keep an eye out for?

We have a total of 20 speakers and performers on the day. The lunch is being designed by nutritionist, Dr Joanna McMillan, and it’s being sourced by Oooby. org. It’s all organic and locally produced. grapeshotmq.com.au

CREATIVE Sin City Lights The Party Through The Hourglass

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SIN CITY LI G HT S

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WORDS | The Ant OTHERWISE KNOWN BY HIS PSEUDONYM ‘THE ANT’, BLAKE ANTROBUS IS AN AUSTRALIAN WRITER, POET, AND INDEPENDENT JOURNALIST. HE IS THE AUTHOR OF THE ESCAPIST SET FREE AND NATSUKAGE, AND IS CURRENTLY WORKING ON HIS DEBUT NOVEL, CHASING SUMMER. HE LIVES IN SYDNEY. YOU CAN VISIT HIS BLOG AT WWW.THEANTBLOG.COM.

Joe knew the scent that entered the room – lavender extract of mirkwood, the kind his first wife had worn. Surely enough, she entered with a staple of bags under her arm, presumably dropping off decorations for some of the guests.

The perfume was saved for occasions that remained special in their lives, that much he remembered. And he expected no less – slender, handsomely bronze legs that cut beneath her black skirt, her hair decorated in a pinup, and eyeliner that wrapped around the sides of her eyes. She made Joe look like a downer in his checkered blue shirt and brown loafers.

hand now more than half-empty. Joe finished his first Crown and reached for another, only to be grabbed in rough arm lock.

“So, seems like we’ve already started!”

“One of us, at least. I’m hitting the mark a few months before you!”

“Nothing excitable, yet.”

“Try not to have too much fun!”

She picked up a glass of bubbly and matched Joe’s pace. The streamers ducked and dived into the garden, where a sizable crowd had now gathered under the patio roof. The cold snap had finally subsided over the midwinter break, leaving enough room for the occasion to be pushed outside. Quite a bit of work was needed, with the broken fountain head in the corner garnering moss and mosquitoes like rotting flesh; but otherwise, the renovations had proceeded without a hitch.

Joe sighed at the recollection. Just two days ago there had been widespread panic across the living room armfuls of paperwork.

Renovation proceedings, mortgage payments, bank loans, guest lists, decorations, all of it formed a makeshift Himalaya over the dining table. To the overture of a bawling three-year old, it was enough to drive him insane. Work had been difficult as well, with one of his clients giving him the snip for timekeeping.

And in an economy like todays, keeping up with work was hard enough.

“Joe! I’ll just be chatting to Mary!” She called out across the deck, the glass in her page 36 | grapeshot magazine

“Heeeeeee’s a-makin!”

“Whoa, hey!”

The thick bushy arm of Harry lumbered round past him. Joe rubbed the slight burn of the noogie spot, turning to face the giant that stood before him.

“Seems like the both of us have changed for the better!”

“Ha! You can give me the summary!”

Harry had a laugh that boomed across the room, much like a tree being dismembered.

One look at him and you didn’t need to know that he worked out. All his life he’d been like that, towering over his peers and classmates in a larger-than-life manner, and constantly having to duck and avoid the hanging lights.

A dense beard wrapped the contours of his face, giving him the appearance of a lumberjack. Yet despite his gruff appearance, Joe still found it hard to believe that he was a schoolteacher at their local high school.

“Something tells me you have way too much time on your hands to throw something like this on!”

“Well, I crammed the last of the paperwork, so there was enough to scrub the deck.”

“Just try not to work too hard, okay?

Everyone needs a break!”

“Easy for you to say…school holidays and all.”

They both laughed at their plight. True to his word, Joe had always loved holidays. Back in the day they spent countless hours chasing grapeshotmq.com.au

yabbies and rock skimming across the Brighton. They were children at heart. Only Harry was a bigger child – soft, kind-hearted, yet strangely naïve and unassuming of the people around him. After Sal Fischer called him an ugly toad in grade three, he cried and locked himself away in his room, refusing to come out for three whole days, not even to eat. A gentle giant, so to speak, except when they hit the playing field for touch.

with the collapse of his ‘dream home’. Joe remembered it all, rubbing the pain that stabbed through his wrists at that moment.

“Ah, no need to be dull! We’re celebrating! Nothing too much for the halfway mark!”

“Halfway for a healthy male at least.”

Pink Floyd and Bob Dylan had hit the speakers. Despite the unusual taste compared But even throughout the two year financial to today’s music, Joe was happy enough that predicament, he had remained unaware of the playlist was organised to his liking. By the struggles Joe had gone through. Possibly now the small crowd of wives and husbands unaware of a lot of his friends as well. And were hopping and jumping under the patio. yet he had always been there to support those Somehow, they still had it, he thought. in need: Mary, during her spate with Steve, He turned his way inside and fetched Chooie and his Dad passing away, and Joe himself another Crown. This was the second

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one. This time, he’d been counting.

A familiar set of eyes glanced at him from the nearby shelf. One of the dusty frames had survived the cleanout and glinted in the halflight. Joe suddenly remembered the presence of the smaller, insignificant one, tucked away at the caretaker’s house and dreaming softly of her father. But he had forgotten the second pair of eyes – a young woman’s, somewhere in her thirties, delicate and well-groomed, and not as flayed around the edges as himself. Yet he struggled to recall the face, and the person who shared the frame with his daughter.

Outside, a teaspoon tapped on the side of the glass. The music and laughter died down.

“Everyone! It’s time to wish Joe here…”

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THROUGH THE HOURGLASS WORDS | Macalty Newltham

Do not think it well or wise To lay waste to reality through a dream Especially when catching a person’s hand In a barren, sprawling desert landscape A place of emptiness, vetoed in love or hate A place where no-one really appears to care Or even, for that matter, wishes to venture.

The gritty ones, individually tiny but collectively all Wish to wash their way Through the layers of sweaty clothing Even separating the touch between clammy palms Perhaps my hand was by this time too gritty My character too distant, my appearance too rogue No, she was still in perfect dressing In fake black latex pants and maroon shoes An informal collared shirt and a coolly crafted ring I didn’t want to believe she did it on purpose; That she liked to laugh happily in leading me on Perhaps…what I felt was always wrong And maybe, she was only letting me scratch the surface I would have gone anywhere, done anything To make sure she was the one that I did not lose Maybe I had not given out enough caressing And indeed she was endearing, not some passing vogue She was everything, my lost Vegas City Had each of us not always traded together in alms?

It was as if the very world itself continued loathing The sand sucking continually even where we lay Until, she gave up on me, and neglected my call Acting as if there was early onset dementia As if to say nothing was no longer there Perhaps that was what had always sealed my fate Because it was then, and only then, she began to lose her shape And like any bad dream, she started turning back to sand A fate I saw as something more than mean And added nothing more than a dull blotch to my eyes And that’s when after the soul-sucking land absorbed up my tears It gave me a going away present, a memento, to wake up with In the corner of my vision, Hardened and cruel, Were two grains of sand… laughing loudly At that one and ever only Solemn and solitary Lonely Fool.

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THE STEW

REVIEWS

THE SMILLING CHEF

PUZZLES

COOKING WITH THE SMILING CHEF:

DATE NIGHT

Treat your special someone to a night in with this sexy French-inspired menu WORDS | Brendon D’Souza

I

know it’s a stereotype but I don’t think there’s a cuisine more romantic than French. The simple and tasty food cooked with heart, soul, and a little touch of fancy is what makes this food so special. This month I’d like to share with you some of my favourite French recipes which I’ve given a Smiling Chef twist. So, invite your special someone over, dig out the fancy plates and cutlery, splurge a little on some quality wine, and enjoy a romantic dinner for two! It’s sure to put a smile on your loved one’s face.

For more great recipes check out my website: brendonthesmilingchef.wordpress.com Brendon D’Souza a.k.a. The Smiling Chef :) Website: brendonthesmilingchef.wordpress.com

Like: Brendon The Smiling Chef Tweet: @bthesmilingchef

WINTER VEGETABLE TIAN

PROPS Tracy Rutherford

Prep Time 20 mins Cooking Time 40 mins Serves 2 Although the Disney/Pixar film referred to it as Ratatouille, this beautiful arrangement of winter vegetables is more correctly known as a Tian. In essence, both ratatouille and tian contain the same ingredients, but it’s the extra time taken to arrange the vegetables that will really put a smile on the face of your loved one. Look for vegetables that are the same thickness, so that when you slice into them, the discs that you cut are the same size.

• • • • • • • • • • page 40 | grapeshot magazine

250g Roma tomatoes 200g Lebanese eggplant 200g zucchini 200g yellow squash Olive oil 100g red onion, thinly sliced 1 clove garlic, finely chopped 2 tbsp thyme leaves, washed ½ cup tomato pasta sauce ½ cup water

Slice the veggies. Thinly slice the tomatoes, eggplant, zucchini, and squash into rounds with a sharp knife. Alternatively, you can get a more precise disc using a mandolin slicer, or the attachment on your food processor.

Fry the base. Heat the oil in a cast iron frying pan over a medium heat. Add the onion, garlic and thyme, and cook, stirring for 5-10 minutes or until the onion is translucent.

Layer it up. Spread the pasta sauce in the base of a round ceramic baking dish. Spread the onion mixture over the sauce. Starting from the edge of the dish, carefully layer your vegetables starting with a piece of tomato, then eggplant, then zucchini, then squash. It’s better if the veggies are packed tightly – they will shrink a little during the cooking process and this ensures that their shape is held. When you have formed a ring around the outside of the dish, continue this pattern to fill in the centre.

Bake. Pour the water over the vegetables and cover the dish tightly with foil. Bake in an oven at 180ºC for 20-30 minutes, or until the vegetables are tender. Serve hot or warm. grapeshotmq.com.au

DARK CHOCOLATE TRUFFLE WITH RASPBERRIES Prep Time 5 mins Cooking Time 2 mins Serves 2 Melt cream and good quality chocolate together and they instantly form the perfect concoction for a romantic evening. I’ve layered this incredibly rich truffle with pieces of fresh raspberry that burst in your mouth and help to balance the intense sweetness. Of course, you could make this dessert into two separate bowls if you prefer.

• 150g good quality dark chocolate (70% cocoa solids), finely chopped • 100mL pure cream • 1tsp vanilla extract • Salt • 50g fresh or frozen raspberries, chopped Make a ganache. Combine the cream and chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl. Heat for 30 seconds and stir. Continue this process until the chocolate and cream have combined and the mixture is smooth and shiny. Set aside to cool for 5 minutes.

CHORIZO AND BUTTER BEAN CASSOULET

Layer the truffle. Pour or spoon one-third of the ganache mixture into a clean small bowl. White porcelain or china bowls are best. Repeat this process finishing with a layer of chocolate. Cover and refrigerate. Remove from the fridge 30 minutes prior to serving. Hand one spoon to your special someone and enjoy!

Prep Time 5 mins Cooking Time 15 mins Serves 2 Cassoulet is a stew that hails from the Toulouse region in France, which is famous for foie gras and Saucisses de Toulouse, a type of sausage. In my little twist, I’ve replaced the standard sausages with spicy chorizo for a little kick. It’s a comfort food that won’t hurt your wallet. Washing the beans first removes the excess amounts of salt that they add to aid preservation, making it better for you! You can replace the sausages with good quality pork sausages, or even leave them out entirely.

• Olive oil • 200g chorizo sausage, sliced into 1cm pieces • 100g brown onion, sliced • 2 garlic clove, minced • 100g Roma tomatoes, diced • 250g tin butter beans (or cannellini beans), drained and rinsed • 100g carrot, sliced • 100g celery, chopped into 2cm pieces • ¼ cup parsley, finely chopped grapeshotmq.com.au

Prepare the base. Heat the oil in a cast iron casserole pan, with a tight-fitting lid, over a medium heat. A stainless steel cooking pot works perfectly too. Add the sausages and onions and fry for 5 minutes or until the sausages are crispy. Add the garlic, tomatoes, beans, carrot, celery, parsley and 1 cup cold water and bring to the boil. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes. Serve with crusty bread. grapeshot magazine | page 41

IN THE DARK If you’re a fan of the show RuPaul’s Drag Race, and lets face it, you should be, then this is the party for you. In The Dark is Australia’s premier Gay and Lesbian event Production Company. They are also the primary bookers for the girls of RuPaul’s Drag Race. This year they have held events with some of the biggest names in drag. Season Two fan favorite Pandora Boxx, the greatest of the RuGirls Alaska Thunderfuck 5000, and most recently the spooktacuklar winner of season four Sharon Needles. These parties are a perfect mix of the wide global drag scene and the fabulous Sydney scene. Each month they bring out a new performer, and September is no exception.

After selling out her first event, the Wicked Bitch of the East Coast, Bianca Del Rio has announced a second show. So get in fast, because this is one drag show you don’t want to miss.

QUE O DRA

THE STEW WORDS | Caitlyn Brooks In this issue, Caitlyn unveils the most fierce hot spots in Sydney’s drag scene.

From the stars of RuPaul’s Drag Race, to Sydney’s local queens, discover a galore of talent.

STONEWALL HOTEL – OXFORD STREET

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The Stonewall Hotel is one of the corner stones in the Sydney LGBTQIA+ community. Named after the famed Stonewall Riots in 1969, which lead to one of the first movements of gay liberation, the Stonewall has a strong and proud gay audience.

The drag shows there are amazing. Recently they held the comeback performance of Vanity Faire, after she retired from the Sydney drag scene. Set on two levels, the lower bar is a great place to meet with friends for drinks, and the nightclub upstairs in a great place to dance and have fun. Next time your on Oxford Street, don’t ignore the bar with the little pink triangle, because you will experience drag queens and fierceness galore. grapeshotmq.com.au

THE STEW #DiscoverSydney

THE MIDNIGHT SHIFT

EENS OF AG

– OXFORD ST. SYDNEY Oxford Street is a beacon for all things gay and drag. The Midnight Shift is one of the hottest gay clubs on the street, and for good reason. With a plethora of drag shows and queens on rotation, it’s hard to pass it up as one of Sydney’s best drag venues. On Thursdays are Tora’s Drag Race, a live version of RuPaul’s show, with local queens all battling for the title of Sydney’s fiercest queen. On Fridays are cabaret style shows with two of Sydney’s most well known queens, the adorable Minnie Cooper and Courtney Act’s good squirrel friend, Vainty Faire. Saturday nights are one big party, with DJ’s, cheap drinks, and many performances by the queens of the Shift. And Sunday nights are strip karaoke with Minnie Cooper. The Midnight Shift is one of the best clubs in terms of drag and a good time.

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THE IMPERIAL HOTEL – NEWTOWN At face value, the Imperial hotel in Newtown does not look like it would be a place for fabulous queens. In fact, it kind of looks like your local pub down the road. But don’t be fooled. Inside the hotel is an amazing display of the best drag Sydney has to offer. With great queens on the roster such as Dame Gaynor Tension, Memphis May, and Carmen Geddit, you will always have a variety of shows. And cheap drinks and a great accepting atmosphere. Being set in Newtown, it isn’t as restricting as a club, but you can have just as much fun. Plus it has a multitude of different events, trivia, Cabaret shows, and screenings of some of the best drag films of all time, your more than certain to find something that suits your drag needs. grapeshotmq.com.au

grapeshot magazine | page 43

MUSIC

GAMES

SELF-TITLED | ANGUS & JULIA STONE

THE WOLF AMONG US

The Wolf Among Us is an episodic adventure game (based on the Fables comics) that envisions a slick, film noir version of New York where classic fairy-tale characters co-exist in secret and are kept in line by the sheriff of ‘Fabletown’, Bigby Wolf. When a string of Fables turn up dead, players take on the role of Bigby as he investigates the murders and finds himself tangled in a web of intrigue and deception existing under the surface of Fabletown.

The game is a visual and auditory masterpiece and boasts a stylised-look that’s equal parts comic book, fairy tale, and pulpy detective thriller. The gameplay here is quite similar to developer, Telltale’s previous effort, The Walking Dead, with each episode giving players control of how Bigby acts and reacts through a number of scenes. Although, its first season isn’t one without hiccups, The Wolf Among Us is a delightful introduction to the world of Fables and a ten-or-so hour romp that’s definitely worth picking up.

Fergus Halliday

After a few years spent apart working on their solo material, brothersister duo Angus & Julia Stone, have returned with their self-titled, third album. This is credited to producer, Rick Rubin, who contacted the siblings to express his interest in working with them.

The album reveals another side of the pair, who have written collaboratively for the first time, leaving behind the typical indie folk sound (however, not completely) for a more bluesy-rock feel.

While there are several occasions where the harmonies of the two shine, such as opening track, ‘A Heartbreak’, they are not as memorable as their previous release, Down The Way. Instead, Julia’s solo efforts in ‘Death Defying Acts’ stand out as an album highlight.

It’s the lack of songs like these on the album that questions whether it was even worthwhile for them to get back together. While this album may not necessarily be the sibling’s best work, it goes beyond the niche of indie music that floods today’s airwaves.

Nicholas Rider

THEY WANT MY SOUL | SPOON

ARCHEAGE

Archeage is a sandbox MMORPG that may seem like your run-ofthe-mill fantasy game at first. The game requires you to choose an avatar, your starting skills, and complete a few compulsory quests when you start. However, after the introduction, there is no need to waste weeks indoors leveling-up your skills. You can run out into the user-created world and start sailing ships, sieging castles and riding gliders into battle straight away! The game is still in beta, so if you grab a copy now, you will also become a founding member, and get bonus in-game items.

Nathan Falzon

They Want My Soul is the Austin indierockers’ successful follow-up to their 2010 release, Transference. Their four-year hiatus has proven to be beneficial, with their brand new album turning a new page in their twenty one year long music career.

The album is full of crowd-pleasing and addictive tunes, and packed with driving guitar riffs and catchy melodies. From bluesy ballads like ‘I Just Don’t Understand’ to the upbeat rocking style ‘Rainy Taxi’, Spoon continue to defy the evolving music industry.

Alicia Scott

LESE MAJESTY | SHABAZZ PALACES

Sniper Elite III retains most of the elements that made the series successful, all while adding its own new features. It takes place among the deserts of North Africa, and features a vastly open and visually stunning environment. Open level design is the key of this game, as players are encouraged to approach their targets with variety. The signature slow-mo x-ray kill cam is also present and improved, which would undoubtedly appeal to fans of the series. While the story and character development fall rather short, the gameplay elements surely make up for a solid and fun game.

Shabazz Palaces’ latest offering is not for the hip hop traditionalists. Instead, you are presented with an atmospheric journey through the galaxy. Split into seven ‘suites’, Lese Majesty progresses effortlessly into each track, melding the various soundscapes on offer. Odd time signatures, disjointed space beats, and social criticisms are what it does best, whereas songs like ‘Harem Aria’ and ‘Noetic Noiromantics’ showcase a more relaxed sound in amongst the chaotic environment. This album is a producer’s dream, but a listener’s beautiful nightmare.

Samuel Ip

Sarah Basford

SNIPER ELITE III

page 44 | grapeshot magazine

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FILMS

BOOKS

LUCY (2014)

Lucy is a sci-fi thriller that sees a woman (Scarlet Johansson) who unlocks the super powered potential of the human brain after experimental drugs leak into her organs while she is, unwillingly, used as a drug mule by Taiwanese gangsters. Following this origin-story, Lucy finds herself teaming up with a French detective Pierre (Amr Waked) and Neurobiologist Professor Norman (Morgan Freeman) to track down the other drug mules, and to unlock the rest of her brain’s potential before it burns itself out. Director Luc Besson keeps the film’s pacing tight, and while Lucy isn’t afraid to stop and sniff the existential roses of her condition, it’s never long before the film jumps back into the action. The action sequences in Lucy aren’t the most explosive in cinema this year, but the film’s commitment to being an over-the-top power fantasy is undeniably fun to see. If you can overlook the many liberties that Lucy takes with scientific theory and conventional logic, you’ll probably have a good time with it.

Fergus Halliday

LAST TANGO IN PARIS (1972) Fuck-buddies; the only words that can be used to accurately describe this film.

Last Tango in Paris is about two strangers who want the same apartment… and each other. This attraction soon escalates into a full-blown affair in which, both parties experiment sexually with each other while remaining anonymous. Although, its alternation between French and English may deter some people, watching this film has taught me three important things: French accents make everything sound sexier, taking candy from strangers can be quite beneficial, and when no lube is available, use butter!

Raelee Lancaster

PREDESTINATION (2014) This Spierig Brother directed film cleverly draws you in with its emotional story, filled with rich characterisations of the human condition. The plot begins with a timetravelling secret agency who is hunting down an enigmatic terrorist known only as ‘The Fizzle Bomber’. The dialogue is tight, packed with subtext and superbly delivered by a core cast of Sarah Snook, Ethan Hawke and Noah Taylor. Predestination is one of the best movies of the year.

Fergus Halliday grapeshotmq.com.au

LANDLINE | RAINBOW ROWELL Love is supposed to be the ultimate solution to any broken marriage, but what happens when it isn’t? After making a career-furthering decision to stay in L.A. instead of joining her family in Omaha for Christmas, Georgie McCool wonders if she’s completely ruined her already troubled marriage.

While attempting to call her husband, she finds herself talking to a different version of him. A magical rotary phone has connected Georgie to a past version of her current husband, from over 14 years ago; one who has yet to propose to past-Georgie. Landline is a unique story about a woman who needs to make a tough decision to save her marriage, filled with complex characters and founded on authentic emotions. Rowell takes a turn from her usual Young Adult fiction to write a more realistic (despite the timetraveling phone) adult novel, and the result is brilliant. While the writing itself was better than the story, the humor and eighties references combine to create a great read.

Rabeah Zafrullah

THE SIGNATURE OF ALL THINGS | ELIZABETH GILBERT Exploration of female sexuality is a key element in this Elizabeth Gilbert novel.

The fact that it is set during a time where female sexuality didn’t exist is what makes the protagonist, Alma Whittaker, such a strong female character. Alma’s powerful sexual drive and lack of appropriate suitors is juxtaposed against her adopted sister’s lack of sexual inhibition and abundance of admirers.

Her exploration of sexuality is, strangely, harnessed through her love of knowledge and science, particularly botanical science, and she doesn’t let her lacklustre love life bring her down. Alma is a heroine to aspire to.

Raelee Lancaster

STREET GANG | MICHAEL DAVIS Did you know that Sesame Street was actually brought to you by the letter J? Now in its 45th year, the work of a core team consisting of Joan Ganz Cooney, Jim Henson, Jon Stone, Joe Raposo, and Jeff Moss, still lives on entertaining and educating pre-schoolers across the world. From its conception, to the establishment of Elmo, Michael Davis effortlessly weaves his thorough research into a compelling narrative. Street Gang is a must for all media and earlychildhood education students, but will no doubt excite fans of all ages.

Brendon D’Souza grapeshot magazine | page 45

 

CROSSWORD

HOROSCOPES

WORDS | Rabeah Zafrullah

WORDS | Mia Kwok VIRGO: This month sees you going from ‘Crazy in Love’ to ‘Single Ladies’. Own it.

v

LIBRA: Conception Day holds a big surprise for you! It really surpasses expectations. The catch? You have to stay sober enough to get in.

SCORPIO: You share a star sign with Drake. Perhaps you also share a penchant for rimming? Who knows?

SAGITTARIUS: Cosmo’s ‘Hot Lesbian Sex Tips’ is a metaphor for your life.

Basically, you haven’t learned how to tell the difference between sex and porn yet.

You’ll learn.

CAPRICORN: I know you were excited about the Simpsons/Family Guy crossover, but sometimes two things are just not meant to be together.

ACROSS

1: This is marked at every tutorial.

6: Predetermined events, destiny.

10: To reveal private information.

11: The rejection of all religious and moral principles.

12: A rapid surprise attack, also an insect repellent.

14: Disprove.

16: Perform.

17: A stringed instrument like a small U-shaped harp.

19: To a great extent.

20: Was once used to transport animals.

22: A vehicle that transports passengers in return for payment.

23: Unicellular micro-organisms, some of which can cause sickness.

25: Sense of self-esteem.

26: Unclouded.

28: Find an explanation for.

31: High school English teachers prefer you to use flowery speech tags instead of this word.

32: Shorten.

33: A story or picture that has a hidden meaning.

34: Not dim.

page 46 | grapeshot magazine

DOWN

1: Mobile operating system designed by Google.

2: Bar in the old ages.

3: Make legally void.

4: Capital of former South Yemen until 1990.

5: Building which helps with hearing at MQU. 7: Australian.

8: Before the modern ages, this was how before was written.

9: He and the carpenter ate oysters in Alice in Wonderland.

13: These can be unlocked in most games.

15: A furry neighbour in a Studio Ghibli movie.

17: Not prevent.

18: Countryside rather than town.

20: Rehab group for heavy drinkers.

21: Use this if you’re not wizard enough to cast an alohomora spell.

23: It is said that all Arts students will end up in this profession.

24: Decisive or critical.

26: A prefix that signifies mutuality.

27: Downton _____.

29: A Chinese unit of weight, equal to 38 grams.

30: An action word.

32: Order made by a court against someone.

AQUARIUS: There’s something unnatural about writing your own horoscope, so I did a Buzzfeed quiz instead. The result?

Vegas wedding.

PISCES: This month may seem tough at first, but towards the end the lesson becomes clear; anyone can overcome obstacles with a buzz saw instead of a hand. Thanks Tara Reid.

ARIES: You’ve got 99 problems. Don’t you wish Beyoncé was one of them?

TAURUS: You’re more destructive than Christopher Pyne at a press conference.

It’s time to settle, petal.

GEMINI: Please stop dressing the same as your significant other. Alone? Start dressing in the same outfits as your crush.

CANCER: Get ready to meet your 40 job quota. Financial troubles are coming.

LEO: You let pride get in your way. Pride.

Get it? Because you’re a lion. Okay, okay, bonus tip, buy a Hitachi Magic Wand. grapeshotmq.com.au