5.30.2006

Final Destination

Only 3 days left until I turn it all in and enjoy my last month here in Oz. It's gone by too slowly and too quickly at the same time. Some days I thought my return was so far away and now it's just too soon, but then again, not soon enough. It all depends on the day.

I've started showing my room and have given notice that I'm breaking my lease. We've met three people so far and have someone else coming by tomorrow. Hopefully one of these people will work. I need to sell my furniture and that's a major pain in the arse. Just add it to another thing on my to-do list. I'm shipping a bunch of stuff home on Thursday. I wont see it for another 3 months, but I just dont want to have to carry it all and not sure I'd have room to anyhow. So might as well ship it now to let it get a month ahead of my departure.

I have a few day trips planned with different people. My friends will be leaving as soon as their finals are done. AK leaves the 21st and Steffi on the 28th. Not sure what Kim is doing... think she wants to stay and that's in the works, maybe? Other than that, I really have no news. Wooptiedo.

5.24.2006

Almost Paradise

I received an A for my convergence efforts. So thanks to all of you who responded to my emails and sent along feedback. It was incredibly helpful.

Next project is a radio documentary on the virginity pledge and how it is being introduced in Australia.

The finished product of The Hate has been turned in. Screening will be at Loop on June 13. Fifteen short films will be presented. Should be fun.

I'm recovering from a cold... still coughing and sound all raspy, but I'm nearly ok. It's kept me sleeping about 10-12 hours though and I lack much energy to get to the gym.

Otherwise, life is grand. School is almost over. I have a month to saturate myself in Melbourne culture and then it's time to pack up and head home. I'll be posting some stuff soon so I can lighten my carrying load. Or so I'll hope!

5.18.2006

The Hate (currently in post-production)

It's official, we have finished shooting our short film project for my Single Camera Video Class. The script was loosely based on our Director's (Dave) own band and was shot as a mockumentary. I was the camera lady. Dee was our production manager and her house provided us with a set. Dianna was our editor and was quite fast on Final Cut Pro. We spent the night in Werribee - about an hour outside of the city. We started our shoot early the next day with our four man cast - Evan, Adam, Ross, and Jay. They all did a fantastic spot-on job! We finished the shooting in one day and had it pretty much edited in our first edit session. Dave, Dee and I went back out on Monday to do some reshoots, and the final project will be handed in on Friday. From the email I received today, it was pretty much finished at this point. Our team was kicking some major arse. Our lecturer would just come in and say - you guys dont need my help. But she did have some good suggestions that we worked with. We will be viewing the shorts soon in class and then we actually have a public viewing for family and friends on June 13 at a bar in the city. Should be a lot of fun! I'm really proud of the project and we had a blast making it. We need to make a blooper reel!


The night before with Di the editor, Bell the boom op, Dave the director, and Kate the cameragal

Dee the prod manager keeping our continuity

On set - Ross, Jay, Evan

Rehearsals/food break

Garage set

We're pro - check out the lighting. More garage set.

Evan as Jamie - the lead singer. How perfect is he?

Thanks, boys.

5.15.2006

Hair

Angelo and I accompanied Steve to the "World's Greatest Shave" going on in Federation Square. The World's Greatest Shave is a fundraiser for the Leukemia foundation. People raise money by taking pledges for the volunteer to shave his/her head. For those not ready to part with their mane, there was also the option to color your hair some absurd color temporarily. There were women there buzzing it all off for charity. One man just down the row from Steve raised $14000 at his company. It helps that he worked for Telstra. He was Jewish and brought his own barber, but it all came off, complete with beard trimming.

Before-ish...

Almost there!

All gone!


Followed by the haircut, we went to Chocolate Buddha for some warm sake and edamame.

Kate and Angelo

Steve and Angelo

After our snack, we headed back outside where Angelo and I posed for a pic in Federation Square.

Chasing Papi

Angelo found some corn meal at the South American foods store and decided to make empanadas for whoever was at the house. I saw Steve at the library so he came along and Fiona joined us too. Angelo made the corn meal mix, Steve rolled the chicken I had grilled and some cheese and then Angelo fried them. I made some mexican beans and corn and put out salsa and yoghurt (the sour cream stand in). We ate so much that we were all sick. But they were good. Yay for Venezuelan night at the Argyle House!


Steve making the empanadas. I provide the cheese.

Angelo fries them up to make the corn meal crispy and melt the queso.

Fiona tries a bite

5.05.2006

BackLOG

There is something I forgot to readdress. My initial claim that traditional journalism would not die, but would be challenged by blogging is no longer an idea that I maintain. Blogging has gained popularity and goes way beyond just Blogger. It now has spread to MSN Spaces, MySpace.com, and other personalized, free websites.

However, reviewing both polls (see 24/4 “Blogs are…” and 4/5 “This house…”) suggests that blogs are not reliable for news other than personal news and gossip. There are certainly trustworthy bloggers out there – people with the academic and professional credentials commenting on the state of the world, politics, and other current events. But most of us bloggers are just looking for a method of sharing personal stories, pictures, and maintaining an online journal. Personally, I am not looking for fans of my writing. My readers are my family and friends who want to see what I’ve been up to without me crowding their inbox with a mass email.

When it comes to what I read of other bloggers, I only check a few frequently. A few examples of what I read are blogs like my friend G’s. Her mother has brain cancer and G has been able to keep her family and friends up to date on the goings on of the situation. It may seem a bit like a soap opera with all the drama, but it’s real life and we are able to leave her supportive notes after each entry. The writing is therapeutic for her and an outlet for her emotions of anger, confusion, sadness, and the happiness in the silver linings that occasionally appear. I also read someone named LouLou’s page. LouLou is a Moroccan Muslim who lives in Dubai. Sometimes she writes funny stories about work or her new marriage, but occasionally she writes on what it’s like being a Muslim and the political and social ramifications. From her I gain a cultural insight that I’ve yet to have found in my real life. Otherwise, I read a few others for fun stuff like “Gawker” for Hollywood gossip and Nadine Haobsh’s website for girlie stuff like beauty trends. But do I read any for news or political commentary? No. At least, not that I can think of off the top of my head.

A housemate of mine made a good point the other night about the way journalism was heading. He is from Venezuela and we talked about the government regulation of media. He was also my partner in watching “V for Vendetta”. His point wasn’t specific to blogs, though it can definitely be included as it was about censorship. Because laws controlling web content have not been set, nor can be truly enforced, people are free to have their own website, or streaming video or radio show to present their thoughts and views. My friend could choose to protest against his home’s government from the safe distance of Australia; whereas, if he chose to do it from home, he had the potential of being caught and arrested. This idea needs more thought and research about the actual legal consequences, but from snap judgment, I think I agree.

In conclusion, blogs will not challenge traditional journalism, but perhaps it will enhance or provide more understanding of events, cultures, politics, and life in general.
.

5.04.2006

This House believes that traditional journalism will not be dead in 15 years.

Thinking back to my post about how I came to get into the news and how in 10 years technology has advanced, I started thinking about the real question. Where are we headed in 15 years? If we’ve come so far in just the past 10, how can I begin to guess what 2021 will look like?

While pondering that question, I thought about what my father had said about liking his newspaper. I also thought about the way my typical day starts, or my parents, and how we are all creatures of habit. Yes, we adapt and evolve with the changes and advances in technology, but really we all have our routines. I know from watching my mother’s preferred morning shows as I was growing up that I have adopted the same shows to start my day now as an adult. Same goes for the radio shows I listen to or the papers I read – I am a product of my environment. But now, my parents are getting internet savvy, but I don’t expect them to stop reading their morning paper or download podcasts. My mother has a PDA, but she still uses her desk calendar. I don’t expect them to change their habits regardless of what new things come on the market in 15 years. I’m not sure that I will either; I’m still trying to figure out my Mp3 player!

Yet, what is going to happen in 15 years? Likely magazines will continue to lose subscriptions and will be forced to go online or even fold completely. This could happen to newspapers as well, but more likely the smaller regional ones first. With the introduction of the World Wide Web, media companies are converging in order to reach their audience. To continue to be successful, they must have an online component to keep up with their readers, listeners, and viewers. The internet will continue to grow and the information is literally at our fingertips – we need only search for it.

This brings me to my next point. I wrote out a survey and emailed it to my friends and family. I tabulated their answers and took their feedback into consideration.


What is your main news source (genre):
Online……………46%
Radio………….....22%
Television……….16%
Newspaper..……..11%
News-Magazine…..2%
Other……………...2%

The 46% who answered online were primarily in my demographic (25-30 years old). Most of us are students or “desk job” workers who have a lot of computer time. Most replies to this had more than one method, but I took their first response as their main source for news.


What newspaper do you read frequently:
National………..27%
Local/County…..27%
State……………27%
None…………...19%

It appears that newspapers are still relevant, regardless if some may consider them archaic in this age.

Do you read blogs?
No……………..51%
Yes ……………32%
Only Kate’s……16%

Hey cool! I got some votes!

Do you consider blogs as a reliable news source:
No …………….69%
Sometimes…….28%
Yes……………..3%

My friend Laura says: “As part of a broader picture, I think they are. Definitely I wouldn’t just depend upon a single blog for all my news, but I think that if you employ multiple sources in different media (a combination of tv, paper, online, blogs, radio), you can really get a deeper understanding (and varying viewpoints on) most subjects.”

This leads me to my last question which had a multitude of answers, so I took the top four answers to the question – what do you consider to be the most accurate news source?
CNN
MSNBC
NPR
Primarily online news – to see more than one source.

Similarly to Laura, my friend Dory answers: “No single source. I usually try to read the same story on BBC, Al-Jazeera, NYTimes, LATimes, and CNN, and from that patchwork assemble a reasonable idea of what the truth is. If you have ever had a newspaper report about something that you personally participated in or witnessed, then you know that they can't be trusted to even get the names right, much less the actual flow of events or motivations. By taking the composite of multiple reporters' stories, I can sometimes build what I believe to be an accurate assessment, but I always have to take any media source with a grain of salt due to inherent inaccuracies that adhere in any single reporter's grasp of a happening. I also keep in mind that all news agencies' business is not to accurately report the news but rather to sell their newspaper, television show, or online article to as wide an audience as possible in the hopes of generating revenue for their company. News media is an industry just like any other, and the political and profit motive cannot ever be ignored in what they report, and more importantly in what they choose not to report. By taking in the assessments of multiple sources with widely differing political standpoints I hope to get a glimmer of the truth of any matter that garners my attention.”

The trend that I’m seeing in these answers is that traditional journalism isn’t going to die, but rather the audience is going to take a more participatory approach to the news. We may be accessing the newspaper on electronic paper/ink in a couple years, but that doesn’t meant that we won’t sit down on the computer later to search for more facts, or flip on the telly for a narrated view.

Traditional journalism, as defined by the way we get our news today (i.e. newspaper, news magazine, radio, television, and online), will not die in 15 years. It will progressively conform to the needs of the audience using the newest technology available.

Dragnet

Steffi and I went to "Spag and Drag" at Templebar... hilarious!

The Manly Sisters... haha, get it? Manly?





Steffi got wrangled on stage to do her own impression to the soundtrack of the "When Harry Met Sally" orgasm scene. Poor girl. For once it wasn't me getting put on the spot!





With our lovely host Amanda.

5.03.2006

The parentals chime in again

Mom sends:

The cartoon "Zits" is at it again.......

The parents and the teenage son are once more at dinner where the son says, "I have a good idea. If you two would start a blog, you could post all of the long, boring stories you would ordinarily tell at dinner. Then I could read them on my own time and we could eat dinner in peace."

Mom asks, "If we're not going to talk, why bother even eating together?"

From the son......."There's another good idea!"


___________________

Papa sends:

Speed can be both good and bad. Today the empasis is on speed. In an emergency that's good. But, some other types of responses require thought.....more thought than the sender desires. An answer is wanted and it is wanted right now!! I, for one, want a little more time rather than giving a knee jerk response. That does not mean my answer will be any better, but I certainly will be more comfortable with what I have said.

So, when they say, "Give me that old time religion," I say, "Give me that old time newspaper." I know which sections I want to read and if I want to go back and read it again later, I will not have to search on the computer.

5.02.2006

House Party (a few weeks back)

Kim and her beau Andrew hosted a house party at their casa in Preston. The gang from Grad House and some other La Trobe folk showed up and we had a good time munching, drinking "punch", and dancing.

Yes, a drinking game.

More of the ground crew.

The couch crew.

Kim and Kate and a few of the ground crew.

Woohoooooo! Party!

Some of our grad house crew and me.

Double Dutch

Black and white St. Patrick's


Interior
















I've been doing something my friend Steffi refers to as "culture sniffing." Steffi, AK, and I have been out doing something together for the past couple weeks starting with the International Comedy Festival (still going on til May 7). Together we have seen Corrinne Grant "Faking It", Charlie Pickering "Auto", Life After Dick (the gal fluffers for Puppetry of the Penis), Jimbo's Big Night Out... I've also seen a few others with different friends and all have been amusing, if not just flat-out funny!

At the Elephant & Wheelbarrow in St. Kilda for a show with Steffi, AK, and Kim

This past weekend Steffi and I ate, entertained, and (mostly window) shopped our way through the city. We started on Friday night with hot chocolates (I had a spicy mexican that left me scratchy throated for an hour!) at Max Brenner's, dinner at Groove Train (I had a coupon for buy 1 get 1 free), and a movie. Saturday we went out shopping and I finally got myself another pair of easy to wear winter shoes - a sweet little pair of light green suede Adidas and it's love. We ate our way through Brunswick Street starting with yummy eggs florentine and onto San Churros for some dark chocolate and churros (fingerlike donut) and then ended at a tapas place where we scarfed down 6 plates for the price of 5. We also shared some good drinks in about 4 different bars. So after the drinks and shopping, why not end the night with a show called "Sam Simmons and Tales of the Erotic Cat"! HA! Random comedy!
Sunday we met up with AK in Federation Square for the Dutch Fest where Steffi introduced me to some of her favorite foods from home and we watched people walking around in their big wooden clogs and wearing orange. It was raining, so we left to grab a tram to St. Patrick's Cathedral to see the art installation on Crisis, Catharsis and Contemplation. Some of it was really good and some of it left me scratching my head - but that's art!

It's good to have some great galfriends!
Read Steffi's take on events here.



AK and friend

Kate and Steffi eating poffertjes (little pancakes with icing sugar and butter - super yum!)

Clogs!

Trying to decide

I have been having some issues deciding exactly where I stand on the debate of whether or not traditional media will be defunct in 15 years. I've been sitting here watching/listening to Epic 2014, a mockumentary of sorts hypothesizing the future of media and the convergence of media outlets by 2014. It's an interesting video we watched in class and it really started my thinking about change and technology. Although this video is just a "what could be" idea, I found myself really bothered by all the changes and where we may be headed in the future.

I'm not sure why I find it so hard to believe that by 2021 everything could be changed, but then, I remember when the internet became popular. Kids growing up with it now don’t have to use the archaic methods I used to get information. My family had the actual shelf set of A - Z Encyclopedias! We owned a computer with its black screen and white/green lettering... then upgraded to newer model where I played “Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego” with my 1988 World Atlas at my side. News for my parents was the morning paper and the evening 6PM report and maybe something like Headline News as an addition. Coverage of big events meant that my regularly scheduled programming was interrupted - the Berlin Wall being torn down; the oil fields on fire during Desert Storm; or even OJ Simpson on the run.

As I entered high school, the internet became the BIG thing. Computers were added to schools to accommodate this new learning tool. I remember learning to use email for the first time in January 1996. To think, that was ten years ago. And now, checking my email is part of my daily routine. Home computer sales went up as people discovered this phenomenon and found that it was imperative to their children's learning to have one. I went to college in 1997 and all my friends had their own personal computers and we did all of our research and correspondence online.

I don't recall being very aware of news at that age, or before; it was boring and if there was something to worry about my parents would tell me. In fact, my mother cuts out clippings of "news" to send me on a regular basis (and still does). Of course, this news was primarily local news I would find interesting - pictures of the lake levels, who's marrying who, obituaries, and anything that had to do with something I was interested in. Otherwise, I might have watched some local news or just checked my homepage (MSN).

It wasn't until winter 2000 when I attended Oxford and spent a lot of time around people more aware of the world than I was, especially important in an election year, that I realized I was clueless. I used the internet to chat to people at home, not for news. I did, however, find that I developed a love and trust for the BBC World News. It was a combination of accent and presentation - and let's face it, for some reason if something is said in a British accent, it just sounds knowledgeable and right.

Leaving the UK, I reentered the USA as Gore and Bush were campaigning and I tried to become an aware citizen to make an informed decision. Having never really paid attention to the state of things outside my bubble, I found that for once I had to take things into my own hands.

To shorten the next 5-6 years and bringing us to today, I find that as an adult I am much more aware of things in the media now than ever before. I find that I am beginning to question my methods for receiving news and the trust I have in the media. For example, I watched V for Vendetta recently and the media plays a big part in that movie. It suggested that journalists sometimes know the truth, but cannot report it because it would cause chaos. (This is an extreme claim. The movie was based on a totalitarian government.) It also implied that many people just take the news at face value. And then, why shouldn't we? Isn't the point of journalism to report what's really happening? Not to sugarcoat the issues, but to present the facts in a logical order? It's interesting to think of media as the new opiate for the masses. We are entertained and informed, occasionally we are provoked to challenge and think, but mostly we just accept and move on.

So what bothers me so much is that while watching Epic 2014 I found myself not sure I am ready to accept what could be coming my way. What started with Newspapers -> Radio -> Television -> Internet -> has brought the introduction of Mp3 players, Ipods, PDAs, and internet on our cell phones. People talk about liking their fast food, but the impatience has spilled over into our news as well. Who wants to wait on a letter in the mail when you can have e-mail? We use instant messengers to have immediate feedback and use text messages to spread news faster and more cost effectively than a phone call. We have Tivo and podcasts so we can have whatever show we want to watch/hear at our command. So what's coming can only be bigger and faster and supposedly better, right?

I'm not sure.

Sloan, Robin and Matt Thompson. Epic 2014. (http://www.robinsloan.com/epic/) Shockwave movie. 2005.