An invaluable few days

The past few days have been a truly invaluable experience.

Em and I travelled down to Byron Bay for the Writers' Festival. As budding writers we thought it would be a good thing to do and that it was.

While the event ran for three days, we only went to the Friday and Saturday sessions.

Friday was our busiest day going from 9am to 5pm. We started by going to a session about food writing with Adam Liaw, the second season winner of Masterchef and chaired by one of my favourite TV chefs, Janella Purcell. As there wasn't anything we really wanted to go to next we ended up going to a talk about writing for the physical space with actor & author Brendan Cowell.

After that we went to one of the funniest talks of the day with Frankie editor Benjamin Law; comedian, Talking 'Bout Your Generation team generation X leader and 7pm Project host Charlie Pickering as well as comedian & author Fiona Scott-Norman. I don't think I've ever laughed so hard. Since we had a two hour gap between this talk and the next one we ended up going back into town and having lunch and going shopping for a bit. The final talk of the day was with Benjamin Law (amongst others) about the new media revolution in writing.

The highlights of the day would have to be talking to Adam Liaw about cooking duck while he signed his cookbook for our parents, discussing Beneath Hill 60 with Brendan Cowell while he signed the program for me, talking to Charlie Pickering about dad jokes which included him writing "I hope you enjoy the dad jokes" in his book for me and having a 10 minute conversation with Ben Law on the way to the carpark about being a student writer and getting your work out there.

While the second day was as entertaining; talks with former NSW Premier Bob Carr, illustrator for The Australian Bill Leak, comedian, satirist and author Libbi Gorr, as well as Charlie Pickering and Benjamin Law; the first day was definitely the most fulfilling.

All in all it was a great weekend and I learnt that I am definitely now doing the right thing.

Thanks to Apartments Inn for some fabulous accommodation and to Ben Law for the great advice.

Options

Places one should never consider working for while doing some form of journalism at university: Channel 7, 9, 10, Go!, Briz 31...doesn't leave many options open. 

Wonder if Rupert Murdoch is looking to hire? 

I do bake a good pie.

End of an era

On another note...

I hate waiting for assignment results.

Especially when they were supposed to be put up a few days ago.

Ahhhh!

Disappointment.

What could've been a monumental day in Vancouver's history turned in to one of the most disappointing moments for me as a Canadian and a Vancouverite.

It was game 7 of the final round of the Stanley Cup finals between the Vancouver Canucks and the Boston Bruins and the Canucks lost 4-0. While most Canuck fans left the many viewing spots around Vancouver disappointed, some deemed it necessary to take their frustration out on the streets of one of the most liveable cities in the world.

Cars lit on fire, windows smashed, store fronts broken into...the streets of downtown Vancouver quickly turned into a full scale riot.

Having lived there for over three years and as someone who frequently visits, it upsets me to see a city I love fall victim to this kind of madness and chaos. 

To those who started the riots, why?

To those who stayed and watched, why?

To those who took control, thank you.

To those who helped clean up, thank you.

DIY Media: Bringing Your World to Youtube

So this is my third and final blog post for KCB110: Introduction to Mass Communication. This one looks at DIY Media and in particular Youtube personality Natalie Tran.

Enjoy.

It would be hard to find anyone under the age of twenty who hasn’t uploaded at least one video to the social media site Youtube. I have at least 10 videos online myself including one of two friends and I miming along to a popular 90s song. No, I will not share this rather embarrassing video with you. There are copious amounts of videos online ranging from music to movie re-enactments and comedy to cute children and has been a platform for finding fame. The TED Talks Youtube video (2009) states that technology is a form of social capital and “innovation can happen anywhere”. Teen singing sensation Justin Bieber and the “Will it blend?” guy, most notable for blending an iPhone, are just two examples of Clay Shirky’s philosophy.

 

Answer: yes it will.

Natalie Tran, now 24, became an online vlogging (video blogging) personality after she found fame through a debate with an American on Australia’s much loved spread, Vegemite. As stated on The Age Blog, this caught the attention of A Current Affair and was featured on a segment called the “Vegemite Wars”. From this, viewers flocked to her Youtube page to view her tri-weekly comedy filled videos and from then on, as the saying goes, the rest is history. Sternberg (2011) believes that a negative of do-it-yourself (DIY) media is that “most generated content is not especially creative or sophisticated”. In the case of Natalie Tran, this is definitely not true. While some may call it procrastination, I prefer to think of my time spent watching her witty and talented videos as research. When it comes to positives of DIY media, Sternberg (2011) states that this requires media organisations to “rethink old assumptions about what it means to consume media”. After building up quite a following, one organisation heeded Natalie’s online fame and realised the potential they had to promote their products.

 

Youtube sensation: Natalie Tran

Lonely Planet (2011a) was started by two adventurous globetrotters with a passion for travel over 30 years ago. Within a week of starting up the company, 1500 books were sold and now they have everything from a vast array of travel books, both hard and electronic copies to a reputable website filled with everything found in there books and so much more. So, what does Natalie Tran have to do with Lonely Planet? To quote the vlogger herself, “Lonely Planet thought it would be a good idea to get me out of the house to see the world now that I've finished university” (2011b), and she has done exactly that. For four months she traveled nearly every continent on the globe and posted weekly videos and blogs on the Lonely Planet website in true Natalie Tran style. In Paris she discussed their weird curbside parking habits, she made breakfast using an iron and a coffee maker in San Francisco and in New York City she consumed an unhealthy amount of hotdogs from various hotdog stands. I think it’s safe to say that Natalie Tran is living the life that many social media graduates would envy. I know I do.

Swimming with the locals

Natalie Tran is a perfect example of how web 2.0 is empowering media users as it “blurs the lines between media audiences and creators” (Sternberg, 2011) or as Bruns (2007) calls them, produsers. It also shows how the relationship between media users and the media industry are changing; in a sense, they’re becoming co-creators and allowing polylogical communication to take place (Harrington, 2011). As Sternberg (2011) explains, audiences and media organisations “collectively contribute to the social, cultural and economic value of media products”. Here we have Lonely Planet, a reputable and well-known travel company, utilising the skills of Natalie Tran, a social media graduate and together creating something entertaining for audiences of both Lonely Planet and Natalie Tran’s Youtube channel.

That shirt couldn't be further from the truth

Now, cast your mind back to our first lecture of this unit for the semester, if you can remember that far back. The first thing we learnt about was Turow’s model of communication and how it was a very straightforward and one-sided means of communicating. Now erase that image because that clearly isn’t the case in today’s world of media and communication. As Olivia King states in her blog post, Are You Calling Cancer? “Advances in technology over the last 50 years have resulted in an exponential change in the way the media is used and delivered.” However, changes in technology are not just seen in the way the media is used and delivered, rather they have allowed for new models and means of communication to take place. Many are honing in on this and a new generation of creative minds is shaping our world.

Instant abs: you'll be a personal trainer in no time

Whether it’s creating a dangerous fad on Facebook or showing the world just how funny you are on Youtube, technological advances have given us a new platform in which to channel this creativity and Natalie Tran is just one out of a handful of people leading the way in how user-generated content is creating opportunities for future media professionals.

Beware of the older sibling

You may think that older siblings always have your best interest at heart but then they'll do something that's just so horrible you can never forgive them ever again.

Backstory: My sister went to NYC in January for 2 weeks and bought me a few presents (not the horrible part). She got me some awesome presents including The Office edition of Monopoly which I'd wanted for ages.

Then she came home and that's when the horrible thing happened.

She introduced me to the Urban Outfitters website.

What. A. Bitch.

Now I have to restrain myself from adding to the hundreds of dollars of things I've bought from them since I'm saving to go to Europe.

Here's evidence of the dastardly crime she's committed.

Bag: $60

Hooks: $20

Shirt: $40 (?)

Cardigan: $40 (Sale)

Books & Measuring Cups: $5 - 20

So yeah. What a bitch.

Movies...

The girl in me can't wait for...

The nerd in me can't wait for...

The child in me can't wait for...

Guess what...

My hockey team, the Vancouver Canucks are going to the Stanley Cup Finals!!!

Yarr! Walk the plank!

So this is my second blog post I've written for my assignment. This one looks at audience research and the recent Facebook trend - planking.

Enjoy :)

Every few weeks or so a new fad seems to emerge from social media sites like Facebook and Twitter. In the past couple of months I’ve fallen victim to the onslaught of “the awkward moment when...” (2011) and “Kate’s Party” (2011) groups amongst others. However, the last week or so saw a new trend emerge from Facebook, one that was thrust into the media spotlight and has resulted in the death of a Brisbane local with another in a coma.

Some people just say it like it is

Planking started out as nothing more than innocent fun involving participants having photos taken of them “planking”, lying horizontally on a surface with your arms beside you, and uploading them to various planking group pages such as the Planking Australia Facebook page (2011). In the past week, this trend has been foreground by the media after an event leading to the death of a Brisbane man, another ending up in hospital and in a coma and the termination of employment for six Woolworths employees. Planking can see people lying flat across an array of objects, from the safe – surfaces, shelves, tables and chairs to the insanely moronic – balconies, between two cars and even across train tracks. This stupidity is what has labelled planking as a moral panic.

Caught between two poles and a hard surface

Sternberg (2011) states that a moral panic is when “a condition, episode or group of people become defined by the media as a threat to societal values and interests”. Planking wasn’t seen as a moral panic until those doing the planking started being more risky and dangerous with this trend and caught the attention of the Queensland Police Force. The force issued a press release stating their concerns for the safety of citizens, which was criticized by the public for bringing this popular trend to light and giving it the attention, it did not need. Just three days after the release, a 20 year old local man from Kangaroo Point plummeted to his death from his seventh story apartment after a drunken act of planking. This began a media frenzy and it seemed planking wasn’t off limits to anyone with both Karl Stefanovic and Kerri-Anne Kennerley demonstrating the move to viewers of their shows (Calligeros 2011).

Karl Stefanovic demonstrates to the viewers of Today how to plank

As Sternberg (2011) states, a moral panic only “occurs when events are represented by the media out of proportion to the actual threat posed”. Planking began as nothing more than a bit of harmless entertainment for youth and had the Queensland Police not drawn attention to planking then this would not have been seen as a moral panic nor would it have become a headline in the nightly news all over the world (BBC News Magazine, 2011). How did planking become the phenomenon it is today? Is it a case of history repeating itself?

Ahh, the trifecta of planking

Jackass started in 1999 and was the brainchild of now-actor Johnny Knoxville as stated by one of the TV shows webpage (2008). The show centres on Johnny and a few friends performing what most sane people would deem unsafe and highly stupid stunts often resulting in physical pain. Although the aim of planking does not result in pain, the parallel to Jackass can be drawn from the simple fact that some people are mimicking the level of stupidness by planking in highly unsafe locations – rooftops, train tracks and balcony rails to name a few. This act of literally trying to reach new heights is what has drawn such attention from the media and has illustrated planking to be a dangerous and unsafe trend when in the beginning, it was simply for a bit of fun and a laugh.

Jackass 2 Best Moments

As Olivia King discussed in her blog post, Are you numbed by video games?, “people are motivated to expose themselves voluntarily to messages they agree with (or enjoy) and avoid messages they disagree (or don’t enjoy) with. People are therefore selecting their exposure…” Although she discusses this concept in terms of video games, it can also be applied to planking. Like most things these days, people have the choice of whether or not to participate. While I take much amusement in seeing fellow gen-Y’ers plank themselves between or over objects, I personally choose not to partake whereas those who clearly enjoy the activity have chosen otherwise. I’ll be the first to admit that some have clearly taken it too far and are being dangerous in their planking, however I take my hat off to the creative person who started the trend. Harrington (2011) states that in the modern age of the web there’s been “massive increased opportunities for vernacular, convivial, ‘everyday’ creativity”. This has resulted in what Harrington has dubbed participatory media and a ‘making-and-doing’ culture which has drawn in a huge amount of audience engagement. Planking is proof of this.

Most common form of planking - sleep

While planking has been embraced by a large percentage of the younger Facebook community, I can’t help but wonder at what point does the craze and the need to be creative become a threat to society? Is Facebook creating the next generation of Jackass’?

Hold your breath, make a wish, count to three...

Pure Imagination - Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory

Seeking: one potential boyfriend

Must be a combination of these:

Nerdy/geeky & smart see Zachary Levi

Funny see Hamish Blake

Must love animals see Dr Chris Brown

Good cook see Jamie Oliver

Suave see Jon Hamm

Great smile and dreamy eyes (not to mention a rocking body!) see Jesse Williams

I'm not picky, I swear...

Shameless name dropping

So I like know this guy who's on his way to being, well, famous.

He's been one of my best friends since grade 5 (so over 11 years now) and he's super talented. His names Philip Hancock and he's an absolutely amazing singer. You can find him on Facebook, Twitter and at his music page on MySpace. He performs quite a bit too, mostly at the X&Y Bar in the Valley (for those who are Brisbane).

This is just one of his songs:

Phil Hancock - Night & Day (Original)

Anyways, I was listening to my iPod today and I found a heap of songs that he would sound amazing on if he did a kind of acoustic cover. So, here's my list:

• Isn't She Lovely by Stevie Wonder (more Glee version though)
• Songbird by Eva Cassidy
• Somewhere Only We Know by Keane
• Turning Tables by Adele
• Just Breathe Anna Nalick
• Rumour Has It by Adele
• This Guys In Love With You by Herb Alpert
• Warwick Avenue by Duffy
• Penny Lane by the Beatles
• Overkill by Colin Hay
• Fall At Your Feet by Crowded House

That's all of the ones I can think of for now.

xoxo B

Five people in the world I would love to have over for dinner.

So I recently thought to myself, "if I could have anyone over for dinner, who would it be?" My first answer came to me while catching up on his TV show, Food Revolution, but after some deliberation, I came up with another 4 to join us at the table. So, this is my list of the five people in the world I would love to have over for dinner.

Jamie Oliver

He is who everyone should want to be. 

He's a brilliant chef but most of all he is an amazing human being. He's helped kids from rough backgrounds start fresh and trained them to be chefs, he's taught millions of people about how to live a healthy lifestyle but I think his best contribution to this world is changing how children are fed in schools with his Food Revolution. I myself have signed the petition and I think you all should too - http://www.jamieoliver.com/us/foundation/jamies-food-revolution/home

Nigella Lawson

She is my without a doubt, my absolute favourite chef. 

She cooks how I cook - she takes shortcuts, she doesn't always measure ingredients but most of all she makes simple yet delicious and easy to make meals. Between Dad, Mum and I we have nearly all her cookbooks.

Michael Palin

Hilarious comedian, brilliant travel writer/documenter.

I've loved him ever since Dad showed me an episode of Monty Python and I've watched all of his travel documentaries with the rest of the family. I think he would be a really interesting person to have a conversation with and I would love to get some travel tips from him.

Zachary Levi

Simply put, he'd be there to bring the funnies...and the good looks.

Jokes aside though, I think he is a talented actor and not that bad of a singer either (don't lie, you swooned over him as Flynn Rider in Tangled too). Plus he's making nerds cool again not just from Chuck but also his Nerd Revolution thing he has going on (I blogged about this a few posts ago, the one I made those "Keep Calm and Carry On" type posters for).

Delta Goodrem

What can I say? She's a beautiful singer and an inspiration to young women everywhere.

Like most, I've been a fan of hers since Born to Try came out nearly 10 years ago. I have every CD she's ever released and went to her most recent concert which Kaity took me to. I just love her down to earth personality and her songs are so amazing. She's a great actress too and she's such a good role model for girls of all ages.

Which 5 people would you have at your dinner table??

Where were you when...

There are few moments in your life that you will always remember. These are just a few.

September 11, 2001

Terrorism on the USA

I had just woken up to go to school. Went into mum's room and it was all over the radio and the news on TV. I went to school and we talked a bit about it. 

I will never forget the images of the two towers crashing down or those of the many men and women who spent countless hours rescuing those trapped under the rubble.

I was 9 years old.

January 11, 2011

Queensland Floods

I was at home when I first heard about it. I remember sitting on the couch, glued to the TV all day. 

I will not forget the images of people hanging on for dear life to the top of their car or those spending hours and days on their roofs waiting to be rescued.

I was 19 years old.

May 1, 2011

Osama Bin Laden is dead

At about 1pm I logged onto Twitter to see the headline: "CNN Reports: Osama Bin Laden dead." I spent the next 3 hours watching the news.

I will never forget the reactions of people as the news spread. Within an hour, there went from being a small crowd of about 50 people outside the White House to thousands. Reactions were mixed - some were crying, some were cheering and partying but as one they all waved their flag proudly and sang the national anthem.

I was 19 years old.

Like I said, there are few moments in your life that you will always remember. I've been around for less than 20 years and already I've had so many things in my life occur from acts of terrorism to acts of heroism and bravery, I've seen first hand how destructive mother nature can be, but also the spirit that comes after from those affected.

The one lesson that I've taken from all of this is that in the end...

Good will conquer over Evil.

So over it.

Eczema everywhere: legs, arms, back, chest, face; won't go away or get better.

Oww lump/egg on the back of my head from where I hit my head on the bath when I passed out in the bathroom yesterday, also resulting in 2 bruises on my arm, a sore back and a really sore and stiff neck.

I'm so over it.

Especially the eczema after 1 year of medication and injections not to mention 19 years of actually having it.

To sum up my feelings...

Message: Acceptance

This is blog numbero une I had to write for an assignment. This one is about media representation and I used Glee as an example. Enjoy. Please give me some feedback.

Update: I received a high distinction for this! Made my day :)

Overachiever; star quarter back; ‘Queen bee’, ‘ditzy blonde’ and ‘straight-up bitch’ cheerleaders; geeky boy in a wheelchair; Goth Asian; dancing Asian; ‘Aretha Franklin wannabe’ diva; resident bad boy and flamboyant gay. What I just described to you isn’t the audition line up for the next season of Australia’s Got Talent rather the diverse range of stereotypes represented on the highly successful television series Glee.

 

Okay I admit it; I’m a “Gleek” (UrbanDictionary.com, 2011). I have been a fan of the musical comedy ever since it started in 2009 and continue to watch every week as McKinley High’s Glee Club learns yet another lesson from their “Boy Band” teacher Mr. Schuester as stated by the show’s website with Fox (2011). As each season develops I am amazed at the depth and complexity of the storylines that Ryan Murphy and the rest of the writing staff give each character. However, in the most recent season, one plot and character have stood out above the rest.

The gay community is represented by the media in as many ways as the number of colours on the gay pride flag and Glee is no exception. During the first season Kurt Hummel was the only gay character on the show but during the second season two new gay characters were introduced; Blaine, a rival show choir singer from Dalton Academy (Derschowitz, 2010) and Dave Karofsky, a closeted gay who is also the head bully and on the football team at McKinley High (Nguyen, 2010).

 

With any good show there always comes a point in the story writing process where some material ends up on the writers floor. Steinberg (2011) explains, “Creating media texts involves making choices…what images to show or not to show”. Glee is often criticized by religious and family organisations for both the story lines in the show and what they decide to show on the screen. However, during the latest season the writer’s of the show have pushed the limits of the censorship board and of organizations, showing a kiss between both Kurt and Karofsky and Kurt and Blaine.

Later in the season the characters of Kurt and Blaine start a relationship, a move that fans of the show had long awaited and was praised by Gay and Lesbian groups around the world. For me, this raised the question of how many gays and lesbians are represented on Australian television. Off the top of my head, I couldn’t think of any. However, I could think of an array of examples from American shows including Cameron and Mitchell from Modern Family, Will and Jack from Will and Grace and Waylon Smithers from The Simpsons.

According to Hartley (2002), “a stereotype is a mixed impression…used to describe how fixed qualities or traits may be attributed to groups in the way they are represented in various media”. As Steinberg (2011) explains, “stereotypes operate as a form of shorthand for media professionals and as such, media professionals have enormous social and political power to reinforce and challenge stereotypes”.  Through the characters of Kurt and Karofsky we see how the writer’s of Glee both challenge and reinforce the gay stereotype. Kurt reinforces the stereotype as he sings show tunes, dances, has a flamboyant albeit theatrical fashion sense and he doesn’t hide his sexuality. Whereas with Dave Karofsky they challenge the stereotype as he is a jock but also bullies the kids at the school, a storyline involving Karofsky bullying Kurt was written in to the second season as discussed on the Zap To It Blog on November 11, 2010, and unlike Kurt he hides the fact that he is gay.

As a loyal follower of the show, I have noticed that using the characters and storylines in Glee, Ryan Murphy is promoting to the audience his ideal world. One where everyone, not just gay people are accepted for who they are no matter what race, religion or sexual preference. The most recent episode is evident of this, aptly named “Born This Way” – a recent hit by the Queen of Self-acceptance herself, Lady Gaga. As stated on the episodes IMDb webpage (2011), the episode focuses on the Glee Club and their inability to accept the things that make them who they are, what they may think is their worst flaw is what makes them unique, this in turn becomes Mr. Schuester’s lesson.

To view the episode go to http://www.megavideo.com/?v=MJATRXNR

After each episode without fail some organization will criticize Glee for something they have done, whether it’s a kiss between two guys or a teenage pregnancy plot with the head cheerleader and star quarter back. Despite all of this, the writer’s continue to stretch the abilities of the actors and test the loyalty of the fans. At the end of the day, the message is clear:

Whether life’s disabilities

Left you outcast, bullied, or teased

Rejoice and love yourself today

‘Cause baby you were born this way.

Wise words...

I'm beautiful in my way
'Cause God makes no mistakes

I'm on the right track, baby

I was born this way

Don't hide yourself in regret

Just love yourself and you're set

I'm on the right track, baby

I was born this way, born this way

London Calling

London
Bath
Oxford

Glasgow
Edinburgh

Amsterdam

Berlin

Warsaw
Krakow

Prague Christmas!

Vienna
Salzburg

Venice New Years Eve!
Milan
Rome

Geneva
Lucerne
Zurich
Zemmatt

Marseille
Mont St-Michel
Versailles
Paris

Don't know about you, but that's how I'll be spending November, December and January.