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Feet touch the Ground

2006-09-23T00:24:00.000+10:00

forget girls, focus on work... lol.

yeah right

here are images yay

from my lighting studio, project 01

designing a light for a retail/restaraunt/public space

my idea was linking ideas from the store/brand/materials and ideas from other areas (eg. banner mesh printing material from bus advertising)

the idea is an acrylic cylinder, covered with banner mesh printed with art from mambo

oh yeah, the retail space is mambo at chadstone

whether its actually possible is a whole other thing... lol

Assassin

2006-07-14T18:55:00.000+10:00

my my my...

life is wonderful isn't it? its so confusing how one girl can alter you so much in such a short time, lol. but all is sweet now, shame i've only got a week left of holidays but oh well, its not the main thing.

some images?

so thats a hero shot of my 13 week project from Studio Knog last semester. unfortunately a "minor (or major?)" accident in the workshop prevented me from completing (well to be honest i had barely started) making a prototype. everyone else's were such good quality. but, i was happy with my cad results and the overall project. time for something more creative this semester. the 2nd ones are always better =)

i'm gonna do the Luminaire Elective.. any other takers? i want to continue with what i started last year. its called... fly-wire mesh, lol. in daylight it looks like this

but with lights it can create this

so with a bit of development i think i might have something.

as for the studios, i want to do the Landscape one with Liam, but i soooooo so so wanted friday mornings off finally so i donno. timing is everything ya know.

anywho, my grade average went down 2 marks after a PA for research methods, lol, i didn't know i was that bad at it but oh well. its just a filler subject.

so chris says, enjoy the last week of holidays for another few months!

Monster in the Parasol

2006-05-16T21:28:00.000+10:00

sorry been so lazy posting lol

enjoy

p.s. its almost all done haha

Interwoven Stories

2006-04-20T17:07:00.000+10:00

Interwoven Stories

Since money was designed over many hundreds of years ago, it has been the subject of much conjecture and theory. Although money is just a symbol, a value printed on paper or metallic material, it has been given a soul for which it is described as sometimes good and sometimes evil. Whether money is the root of all evil, or simply a tool, is an argument that has been continued over numerous decades and probably longer.

In relating to a text, I choose to converse with excerpts from Ayn Rand’s “Atlas Shrugged”, © Copyright 1957. Ayn wrote of many concepts and theories concerning money, men and what should be considered evil, which all relate to my inquiry on whether Money is the Root of all Evil.

"So you think that money is the root of all evil?" said Francisco d'Anconia. " Have you ever asked what is the root of money? Money is a tool of exchange, which can't exist unless there are goods produced and men able to produce them. Money is the material shape of the principle that men who wish to deal with one another must deal by trade and give value for value. Money is made possible only by the men who produce. Is this what you consider evil?”

Well most things that are produced by good people are generally, for a good cause. Money is a tool which should not be deemed good or evil. But any tool, any product, may be used for good, or evil. Good people do not create weapons for what they think are evil causes. But then, any product may be used as a weapon. A letter opener created with a simple purpose, may be transformed into a weapon within a matter of seconds. “According to a press information sheet prepared by the Howard County Police Department, Collins and Tennant “were involved in continual harassment with each other that finally resulted in Tennant stabbing Collins with a small letter opener.”1

But even when good people create weapons they create them because they believe they are contributing to something for the good of their own community, their state, their country. It is their point of view and the influence of others directed upon them that decides that they are on the good side. However it greatly depends on which side of the fence you stand. Both sides may produce weapons that they believe are for the greater good. But they would then see weapons produced by the other side, as a form of evil. If they are the bad guys, then they must be producing for evil. For if they weren’t evil, they would be good, which in turn, means we would be the evil ones.

“Money is not the tool of the moochers, who claim your product by tears, or of the looters, who take it from you by force.”

No, you’re wrong. Money is a tool, that’s all it is. It is a tool to be used by whoever has it. How can looters take money from you by force, without the tools to do so? Is the force they use limited to the words formed by the manipulation of their tongue and of their mouth? Even to do so, as the minimum, their bodies must be fuelled for the energy to produce these words. However, we know that looters do not just use words to take money from you by force. They use other tools, products, such as masks and protective clothing, weapons, technology. Each of which must be paid for in some way. Money is a tool of the looters. It is a tool used to gain access to other tools that may increase the ease with which the looters take from their victims. The more money they have, the more accessible the better performing products are for their attainment.

“Not an ocean of tears not all the guns in the world can transform those pieces of paper in your wallet into the bread you will need to survive tomorrow.”

In a literal sense, you cannot make bread using a combination of tears, guns and paper. But in this day, it would be quite effortless to obtain bread using the paper in your wallet, even without the use of force. The producers of the bread still require business. They cannot afford to discontinue their trading. For the producers of bread need that paper to keep a roof over their heads and often to support their families as well.

“Money permits you to obtain for your goods and your labour that which they are worth to the men who buy them, but no more.”

I would argue that it is the intelligent man who manages to trade his money for goods of a higher worth or his goods for a larger amount of money. It is a place where human emotions, needs and wants, intervene. A man selling his goods, goods which are in high demand, will find that he is able to command more money for his goods than their true value. In the same way, a man shopping for goods which are in abundance may find that he is able to bring down the expected price, and leave with his goods for a cheaper monetary value.

Is this tinkering with the current value of goods seen as a form of evil? Is it the act, or the men who participate? Is the man who increases his price due to higher demand involving himself in an evil activity? In modern times, it is called the market. There is a market for almost everything. There are people who play the market. It is much the same as gambling in a casino and since gambling is accepted as having evil tendencies…

“And when men live by trade—with reason, not force, as their final arbiter—it is the best product that wins, the best performance, the man of best judgment and highest ability—and the degree of a man's productiveness is the degree of his reward. This is the code of existence whose tool and symbol is money. Is this what you consider evil?”

Not at all. This could only been seen as a form of good, right? Force equals danger equals evil. But reason equals sensibility equals good, right? This should be the aim for all producing men, to generate the finest quality goods, to be the best at what you do. For the better the product, the higher the value with hopefully in turn, a greater profit for the producer.

"Only the man who does not need it, is fit to inherit wealth—the man who would make his own fortune no matter where he started.”

But why is this? Does that mean that if a man should pass away, leaving all his riches between his two sons, that he should leave nothing to the poor son and all to the rich one? Surely the poor son is in greater need of the money. The rich son has already made his own fortune. There are many reasons the poor son may be that way, many good reasons. Maybe he has a large family to support, maybe he has been through crippling accidents or maybe he was robbed of his fortune. He needs the money to support his family, to fix his broken bones. Should it not be left to him?

"Money is your means of survival. The verdict you pronounce upon the source of your livelihood is the verdict you pronounce upon your life. If the source is corrupt, you have damned your own existence. Did you get your money by fraud? By pandering to men's vices or men's stupidity? By catering to fools, in the hope of getting more than your ability deserves?”

Then the money is a tool and it is the tool that has been corrupted, that is evil. All doings with the evil tool will inherit the corruption. It is like a genetic disease that is passed down the family line. A dominant gene, it cannot be removed from the DNA. It is inherent in everything that comes from it. You cannot claim any good deeds from the tainted money. Even giving to a charitable cause which would normally leave you with a sense of good within yourself and from the community now leaves you with a level of guilt for claiming these donations as your own when in fact they were stolen from those who worked tirelessly for them.

"Money will not purchase happiness for the man who has no concept of what he wants: money will not give him a code of values, if he's evaded the knowledge of what to value, and it will not provide him with a purpose, if he's evaded the choice of what to seek.”

"But money is only a tool. It will take you wherever you wish, but it will not replace you as the driver. It will give you the means for the satisfaction of your desires, but it will not provide you with desires.”

So money is only a tool. But whether or not it is the tool that is the root of all evil, is a question still requiring more thought in my mind…

1 Man Stabbed in Historic District - RAHUL CHADHA - May 14, 2003 http://www.theviewnewspapers.com/article.asp?article=1447&paper=1&cat=193

Text Relation: from “Atlas Shrugged” by Ayn Rand © Copyright, 1957, by Ayn Rand

Knog "Cocoon"

2006-03-28T23:42:00.000+11:00

the side strap attaches with velcro - it turns back on itself

the top strap will be retractable like a tape measure, and clip onto the other side using something like a Bikini clip (slide in and lock)

there will be a double zip. one closes the hole thing, the other is used for quick access. the one used for quick access will be pinned down while riding for content security

there are two strips of reflective material on the rear side

there is a headphone jack on the outside. on the inside, will be a connection for any 3.5mm jack. so you put your iPod (for example) on the inside, plug it in, set it on play, close the bag - the ipod is then protected. then you plug in your standard headphones into the outer headphone jack, and ride into the sunset knowing your $600 ipod (or whatever) is safe and secure

the big Knog logo is embossed like on the other knog bags

outer casing a EVA foam (ethylene-v something- acetate lol, chij).

waterproof zip

headphone jack protection when not in use, like on mobile phones headset outputs

yeah =)

Mapping

2006-03-27T12:23:00.000+11:00

quick map to sort out areas of interest for Mythbusters myth - Money is the Root of all Evil

i'm redoing the project proposal too

Mythbusters...

2006-03-17T14:26:00.000+11:00

hey kids,

thanks for stopping by, hope my blog is of use to you. go back through the archives and you can see what this was like when i started it a year ago, and compare to what it is now

check out these links too

Design Dissent

My dissent project

My sustainability project

be aware the top of the pages are the most recent posts, so you have to scroll to the bottom to find the beginning

The Mythbusters blog is on the way, i will send out Invites to your student email addresses. To check your student email go here Student Email. When you get your invites just follow the instructions. You will probably have to setup an account on www.blogger.com

Any probs, send me an email to s3083211@student.rmit.edu.au or berkna@hotmail.com k

catch

chris

The Project Proposal...

2006-03-17T03:29:00.000+11:00

Design Studies 2006: Cultural Amplification

The Project Proposal

The myth that I have chosen to bust is:

Money is the Root of all Evil

Background:

This myth originated from the bible from Timothy 6:10. Although they say that “money is the root of all evil” is actually a misquote. The reading in the bible goes: subject

“For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.”

Some believe that it means “God is not anti-money, or anti-wealth, he is anti-money worship. He has helped us to identify that money love (worship) is the root of all kinds of evil. In fact, as we have discussed before, God's plan is that we are healthy, wealthy, and wise in this world - as a testimony of his greatness, power, and glory to come.”1

Misquote or not, I believe the saying we know is more accurate in this day, in some ways anyway. Those ways in which it is and isn’t accurate are what my enquiry will be the subject of.

I have quickly mapped out a ‘surface’ unpacking of the myth:

The areas highlighted in green are the areas that will lay the foundations for my enquiry. First however, I would like to try to answer some general questions.

What collective desire is being addressed by the myth?

Well I believe that this myth was generated by the desire of people to have money, lots of money. Those that for some reason were unable to obtain money were jealous of those that had money, and to make themselves feel better, they invented the idea that Money is the root of all evil. Money made people do evil things to get it, and allowed them to do more evil things once they had it. This myth is portrayed many times in movies and stories. How often do you see the main villain being a poor man? Money and the Evilness of the characters are almost always linked.

Who benefits through the consumption of the myth?

If the evil characters are those that are rich and powerful, then the characters that are poor must be the good guys, right? Who benefits from this myth is a confusing question, and one which I will aim to answer. Are those who are poor, but claiming the rich are evil, really benefiting themselves in any way? Can a better sense of good in oneself, through creation of what could be a lie, benefit them? In consuming this myth, does one aim to be “poor” so that they may be “good”? Do those with money attempt good deeds so that they may be less evil?

What central problem does the myth revolve around?

The problem or issue this myth circulates is that everyone wants more money. Those who don’t have it want it. And those who do have it want even more. Nobody wants less. Those with more, have an advantage over those with less. So those with less need strategies or ideas to get more money. Those with more money, have the tools to get more money more readily available. It is a vicious cycle.

The real issue could be that not all people with money are evil or do evil things (which is highly likely). So the problem is the perception of these ‘rich & evil’ people by society.

Now back to my enquiry. To begin with I’m quite interested how this myth is portrayed through stories and movies in particular. There are many examples I can think of where the evil villain is also rich and powerful, and uses his wealth to deal in evil. As I have a keen interest in modern movies this is where my research will begin.

I always have used observation in my studies and will continue to do so throughout this semester. I use it to gain information as well as take inspiration from it to further my research. Often a small observation I record will lead me down a whole other path with my enquiry. I will always go with what seems most interesting to me at the time. I like to take pictures as I was never one for writing, and if a picture tells a thousand words then it just makes more sense doesn’t it.

To begin with I will limit my investigations to Western Culture. The possibility to compare with other cultures will give me more areas to explore further down the path. There is also a distinct possibility that my myth will cross over with another, one that goes, Money equals Happiness. I’m sure that this topic will come up as well and should provide a greater interest for me when it does.

Readings will definitely be a part of this study, but whom and where from, as yet I’m unsure. It all depends on the path I take.

I will be aiming for a Distinction for this semester

1 from http://www.true-wealth.com/ – Craig Smith

Knog Konnekt Pod

2006-03-14T12:19:00.000+11:00

Methods ProJ 1

2006-03-07T21:49:00.000+11:00

Abstract:

With Studio Knog, the urban bicycle lifestyle as my design studio for the semester, my thoughts are all directed in this area. I’ve always thought the best means to learn about a specific product area was a hands on approach, both through direct observation and participation. These will be the foundations for my studio project, and are also areas I wish to develop through Research Methods.

Research Question:

What can we do as designers to get more people to use human powered vehicles?

Divided into two parts:

Research Methods:
Is it ideas and identity associated with HPV’s that needs to change to gain more users?

Studio Knog:
What are the product issues that need to be addressed to gain more users?

Elected Grading:

I will be aiming for a CR – Credit mark for Project One

Timing is Everything

2006-02-26T16:00:00.000+11:00

I ballotted at 10:00:07 am - i should be in lol

Knog

2006-02-26T14:27:00.000+11:00

so its back to the white with dots

class for me starts back on wednesday

i'm doing Studio Knog - http://www.knog.com.au and http://studioknog.blogspot.com for those who are interested. i'd put them in links in a sidebar but i can't (be bothered) figure it out

i'm also doing another Design Studies elective - Cultural Amplification - i wanna be a thinker, plus i think working with first years will keep me fresh

chris

Twenteen

2006-01-14T10:27:00.000+11:00

LOL...

New year, new age, new suit, new rules!

Haven't really done anything that i set myself at the start of summer yet, lol. But i did have a good birthday. I'm lookin forward to gettin back into the swing of things. Need a kick-start. Not sure if i should do pedal power, i think he got the date wrong and notification should be 18th Jan so only a few days to think..

Anywho, see u all again soon :)

Design Studies Reflections...

2005-10-15T13:16:00.000+10:00

So its all over... hehe yay!

Design Studies has been a very interesting up and down ride over the last two years. But i'm very happy with what i have learnt in this time.

As for my sumission which i posted on the blog last night, i myself would give it an 8 out of 10. Nothing is ever perfect, and Kate has pointed out some things i have missed. Like the story about the Pizza Boxes for dining in in Domino's. When going over the photos my mind must have just not been in the right place. And no, sorry, i won't be writing the "story" for that one. It just doesn't make much sense too, i've finished, and i'm happy with what i accomplished so thats it. I can focus on the final project for my Studio now.

Now looking at Design Studies for this semester on its own, i think it was the perfect (altho nothing is ever perfect) way to finish off the two year studies course. The semester was very, individualised, in a way that people determined their goals, what they wanted to learn and what they wanted to focus their study on, with most topics being within "Sustainability". Having this freedom this year really suited me and the way i wanted to go about my work. Setting my own objectives (which was actually not deciding on an objective but seeing where my research/studies would take me) was, great.

This semester prooved to me that no matter what area i choose to focus any sort of research or study, i will still be able to relate it to what is required. Its all about inspiration and finding ways to develop ideas.

Studies last year i thought was just about a complete waste of time. But it was the way it was set up. It wasn't until first semester this year, in which luckily i was placed in Liam's Dissent group, that my eyes were opened to the possibilities of this kind of a study. As he is now the studies co-ordinator it looks very promising for all students now coming into the course. Studies will proove a valuable asset to those who use it in the right way.

It will all be useful to me from now for providing research and inspiration for design projects in the future. Quite simple really, but really looking forward to using it all next year

thanks,

chris

My Sustainability

2005-10-14T16:18:00.000+10:00

Just a Simple Equation

So, it’s Sunday night, the end of another week. I probably ate "fast food" meals (lunch or dinner) on about 7 occasions during the last 7 days. So an average of once a day, but usually I go at least one day a week without takeaway so I must've had it twice on one day, anyway.My eating habits have steadily got worse over the last few years, ever since I started working at Hungry Jack's when I was 14 and 11 months (December 2000), so that’s kind of a long time ago. My weight has probably increased at maybe, 2kg per year since then; I’d suppose that’s fairly normal. So in the last 3 years I’ve gone from 69kg to 75kg as I was about 3 months or so ago now. Then… I got really sick, I think it was karma but you never know. I had a lot of trouble eating and breathing at the same time. I’d be fine one minute, then I’d go to have a bite of something, and I would forget about relaxing my breathing and I’d cough for about twenty seconds or so. For a week I ate one decent meal and a few other snacks every now and then. I lost 6kg in 6 days. It took 3 years for me to put that weight on! Why is it that I have such a terrible diet, by my weight is quite stable and healthy? Might I add I still have plenty of energy for my sports and socialising. How is this all possible?
This was the start of my interest in this topic of Fast Food and Sustainability. I was curious as to whether or not it was my concentrated fast food diet that caused my sickness in the last set of holidays. Or is it that my body has evolved to handle this kind of diet. After all, the body is highly adaptable. At least Cardiologist Steven Siegel from the Documentary Super Size Me thinks so.

Steven Siegel, MD, FACCCardiologist“Uh I expect to see an increase in your trygliceridesI think that will changeAnd I think that’s the only thing that will changeOut of everythingThere might be some minor variationsBut the body is extremely adaptableThe kidneys will handle any extra salt that you take inThe liver will be able to metabolise additional fats”

These were his thoughts when Morgan Spurlock told him he would be going on a McDonald’s binge for 30 days (3 meals a day, each from McDonald’s).

Apart from the odd sickness every few months I’m a relatively fit and energetic individual. I have been playing sports since I was just a toddler and don’t appear to be showing any signs of becoming overweight in the near future. Will I be able to sustain my current body shape with approximately the same diet over the next few years or will I drastically need to change to avoid becoming part of the 67% of Australian males that are overweight?

The Lure

2005-10-14T16:16:00.000+10:00

I'll tell you a story... a true story.

One day I woke up earlier than normal because I was supposed to do some homework the night before it was due, but I was tired and fell asleep. So I did a bit the next morning... didn't really feel like eating a proper breakfast so I had an Up and Go which contains "the goodness and fibre of 2 weet-bix" and there were no bananas so I just left the house and forgot to grab anything else (usually some sultanas or tiny teddies). I dropped my sister at school on the way to the station (I drive to the local station boronia).
I got to Uni on time and got really hungry up until we got to the "break" and figured that 15 minutes was enough time to go and get a snack. I felt like a small cheeseburger meal from Hungry Jack’s, minus the pickle of course. So, I walked up there. I knew I had a free upsize card, one of those student ones, so may as well use that. I asked for a small meal, of course, medium is the smallest you can order. So my meal got upgraded to a large fries and drink. It was only $4.60 which is pretty ok. Anything under $5 is still a snack, unless it’s a slice of pizza because they're more filling. So my small snack turned into a large meal, it was 11am in the morning.

Why is it that after only wanting a small snack to carry me through until lunchtime I ended up with a large meal? Was it that I like to get value for money, and if I can get something for free (such as an up-size) I will? Was it because Hungry Jack’s (this RMIT store) wanted me to order larger for the few extra sales? (You can actually order small cheeseburger meals by asking for the kids club meal with a cheeseburger, but without the toy, it costs about 50c less). Was it my own fault for not eating a proper breakfast and bringing any food from home? My own laziness?

I think each had a part in this. If I stepped back, and analysed it honestly, I would have to say that it was my fault for not getting up early enough and not fitting in a proper breakfast. Hungry Jacks gave me this card to entice me to purchase there more often, but at the same time, they also limit the menu so that you can only order regular or medium meals, not the small. But again, I’m a student on a low income and when I can get something for free I will take it. Seems it’s a combination of things. As well as the fact that I’m more comfortable eating the food from Hungry Jack’s than most places.

The Beginning

2005-10-14T16:15:00.000+10:00

So I think this is where it all started. I had always been a picky eater, but that just meant that there were a lot of foods I didn’t eat. I still ate the basics, home cooked meals. We usually had takeaway once a week as a family. Every week something different. But I never ate chinese food, or fish…

It was Hungry Jack’s who brought me into the working world. They gave me a job where most others wouldn’t. After all I was only 14. But more than willing to work so that I could earn more than the $10 pocket money a week I was receiving from my parents. At the time of my employment, I had eaten at Hungry Jack’s twice in my life. They were distant memories. I was very much a McDonald’s cheeseburger boy.

Not only did I learn a whole new set of skills, but I was brought into a culture that I previously had no idea about. We worked as part of a team; we had our own leaders and clowns. Crew trainers taught you how to work the broiler and to bag fries the proper way. Everything had a set procedure of which you were supposed to follow. You got tested on the stations (fries, broiler, 5-inch, front counter, etc) to see if you were doing it right. If you were successful, you were moved up to silver and gold status, gold coming with a 20c pay rise. Eventually, you developed your own ways of doing things, most of the time to do things more efficiently. Of course, you got a staff discount too, 25% before, after or on your break during your shift. Trying different combinations was one of the joys of work. Everyone had their favourite burger. Mine ended up being the double cheeseburger with bacon, without pickle and with light ketchup and mustard (light being 50%). It was “my” burger for the last two years of my employment there before I left in January this year. Even now, when I go there and order food, I just ask my friends for the usual.

Feeling comfortable and loving the delicious, delicious food that Hungry Jack’s offers me is one of the main reasons I keep going back. It’s so easy, so comfortable. I know what I’m getting. I know how it’s cooked and put together in the store. I know that even if it’s not put together properly, it’s not going to kill me, really. When I go there it’s quite habitual. They’re all designed the same. All the food tastes the same and put together the same. So it doesn’t matter where I go, so long as it’s a Hungry Jack’s, I know what I’ll be getting.

The Balance

2005-10-14T16:12:00.000+10:00

So how do these companies stay comfortable? Places like McDonald’s, Hungry Jack’s, Subway, KFC, all vying for your dollars and cents. Its fun to see them panic isn’t it? Just like when Super Size Me came out, the McDonald’s corporation took out an advertising campaign discrediting the movie or parts of it, and showing how their food can be part of a healthy diet.

Here’s a test. Try and name, say, 4 fast food companies in your local state that sell burgers and fries. Beef burgers that is, KFC doesn’t count. How many could you come up with? I could only count 3, but two of them are actually the same company (Burger Kind owns Hungry Jack’s). If there were ever other fast food companies that sold burgers and fries in Melbourne, I definitely can’t remember them. They’ve all been wiped out, well and truly, defeated. Clever marketing and greater weight of numbers has seen McDonald’s, Hungry Jacks and KFC remain as the 3 heavyweights of Australia when it comes to fast food. McDonald’s for the kids, Hungry Jack’s for the taste and KFC for the chicken. So now the battle is on for one and all.

Once Subway crossed international borders and began to gain some credibility it made matters even more interesting still. Subway, commenced to poach customers from the other fast food giants, and they didn’t like it. Hungry Jack’s introduced the “Fresh News” menu with the main new item being the fresh baked baguettes. Cooked in store, they were quite delicious, and much healthier than any bun at any of the stores. Like rolls, they were Hungry Jack’s answer to Subways invasion. But they were only a minor success. The fresh news menu also contained items like, yoghurts, sultanas and juices, each of which, were failures. I think it was the marketing; it just wasn’t smart enough and didn’t reach the right audiences.

Soon after this and the release of Super Size Me, McDonald’s brought out their “Salads Plus” range. Much more extensive than Hungry Jacks fresh news it contained salads, apples, yoghurts, toasted sandwiches and more. Many people would consider these healthy to eat everyday. But their real focus product released just a few months after was the Deli Choices, a freshly made range contained in freshly toasted French rolls… whatever they are. But the advertising was spot on. It is a real answer to Subway. It’s McDonald’s way of sustaining their business. A new competitor joins the market, so they focus on the products they’re missing and come up with their own designs for their own menu. The aim of which, to keep those unsure customers with them. After all, they’re already comfortable with the McDonald’s brand and stores; all they needed was the right product to satisfy them.

If McDonald’s was a man, he would be very cool, but also, highly intelligent. Hungry Jack’s the kid with a few good ideas but no real direction and KFC, the guy who doesn’t care because he knows no one can steal his secret. But when I think of Subway all I can think of is that fat guy that is now, not as fat as he once was. The Subway man, lets call him Gerry, is the new guy who, even tho he seems nice, is willing to give low blows to get what he wants. He’s the English cricket team that isn’t playing in the spirit of the game to win. Their advertising directly compared a Big Mac to some Chicken Sub. Sure, the sub is twice as big and has half as many calories, but I bet someone who likes the taste of that special sauce on the Big Mac would not care for one second. Sorry, but I just like things done in an honourable way. They should be more like McDonald’s, targeting young children when they know no better and psychologically imprinting them for life.

The Machine

2005-10-14T16:11:00.000+10:00

It interests me how the body grows and shrinks at times. How internal organs can appear to do the same thing. After barely eating for a week when I was sick, I still had no appetite. It seemed like my stomach had shrunk. When I was finally able to eat properly again, I could only eat about half I normally would before I was full. I was hungry, but I was full, it was quite strange.

I suppose the size of your meals would grow with your body and age. It used to take only a cheeseburger meal to fill me up. Then, I progressed to the regular meal with an extra cheeseburger. Then, I found out that the quarter pounders were just like larger cheeseburgers, so a large meal would fill me. Now, when I’m starving I’ll grab a large double-quarter pounder with cheese meal. It’s quite a mouthful, literally. Add in some chips to the burger and its one mean machine.

In the documentary film Super Size Me, it was shown just how much meal sizes had grown over the last few years. Originally, McDonald’s had one size of fries. At the time of the film they had four. The original size of McDonald’s serving of fries was the small of today. But now today they also had the medium, the large and the super-size. This same increase in size could be seen over fries and drinks for many of the fast food companies. With the increasing size in portions and meals, we are also seeing an increasing of the size of asses worldwide.

But what about me? I don’t really want to look global, I want to stay local. Where are all the extra large meals of mine going? Definitely not to my hips, maybe a little to my thighs. But not my cheeks or fingers or toes. I still seem to be in relatively good proportions. So, what is the difference? How am I able to sustain my shape and be healthy while there are more and more people becoming overweight and obese every year?

The Saviour

2005-10-14T16:09:00.000+10:00

If we’re considering all the positives and negatives that have been going into my body over the past five years, then this here is a picture of the one item of food intake that has been a constant positive for me. Since a very young age I’ve learnt to eat and enjoy apples, and not just the granny smith variety that I’m usually seen eating. This is one rare item of food on my menu for which I will try variations of. After all, there are so many! Granny Smith, Pink Lady, the yellow ones… the list goes on. I’ve never had an issue with eating apples. Never have I been forced to eat them. One day of touring an apple orchid I remember eating seven! They’re just so delicious and juicy and nutritious. Could it be true that an apple a day keeps the doctor away?

Throughout high school I hardly remember ever taking a sick day. But I do remember having an apple every single day in my lunch. There was usually a greater chance of me eating the apple than the sandwich or roll. Even when I ordered a sausage roll from the canteen with a can of coke, I still kept my apple for afterwards. I find it hard to go a day without them. It was no surprise to me the day that McDonald’s finally put apples on their menu. I mean, I’m not the only person that likes to have an apple a day. Imagine there were another 100,000 of me in Australia. Selling each of us an apple would lead to $75,000 worth of sales. It’s not keeping the company alive, but spreading them into another market. It’s like they’ve grown another leg or spread out more roots to suck up more nutrients from the consuming public. It is their way of making sure that they’re still a force in the future. Just one of the ways they keep their company moving forward, rolling over profits. Hungry Jack’s had sultanas in their “Fresh News” menu for a while but their marketing knowledge and capabilities in no way compete with McDonald’s.

The Delicious and The Science

2005-10-14T16:06:00.000+10:00

Could it be that that one decent meal I had during that week was what kept me “ok”? Here we can see one of my most favourite meals to eat. It’s healthy and filling. It’s a chicken fillet burger with lettuce and cheese, and a side of chips. Topped off with a coke it is one delicious serving of food.

Could it be that I do actually have a “balanced diet”? I do try my best. If there are 14 meals a week, 7 lunches and 7 dinners, I have 7 meals of takeaway food, then I must be having 7 meals of decent food as well right? Would you say that it’s balanced? It could be what’s sustaining me. I never pile up with 3 McDonald’s or Hungry Jack’s meals in a row. Always alternating between the 5 fast food groups (beef, chips, chicken, subs and other), I appear to keep things kind of balanced.

A nutritionist would describe a balanced diet simply as a diet in which you have foods from all five food groups and get all the nutrients your body needs. So, I think I have the solution. It’s not much, it’s not hard, it’s not expensive and it would seem I can continue on the way I am.

Oh I’ve never eaten carrots, that’s why my eyes are so bad. I eat oranges and mandarins, but not enough to get my required amount of Vitamin C. But these lovely tablets every now and again keep me pretty damn healthy. The multivitamins, well they’re for everything else. If I feel like I’ve had a bad diet day, or I’m not feeling too well, I will take two multivitamins as directed and I will feel back to 100% the next day. I’ve only been taking these for a few months now, since that sickness. I haven’t been sick again since.

The Temple

2005-10-14T16:04:00.000+10:00

This is me, in all my glory. I would say that my appearance is pretty healthy. 19 years and 9 months, 175cm tall. Currently 74kg and reasonably happy with my body. It seems pretty happy with me too, with what I feed it. The reason being, because it gets to run around.

Through all my research, reading, statistics, watching movies, tasting, trying, examining fast food and everything the companies bring with them, my conclusions are pretty simple as to how I’m able to sustain my body, keep it the way it is, with the diet I feed it.

Exercise. Energy in must equal energy out if you’re to maintain your current weight and health. I think making sure you have the right nutrients and are receiving the required vitamins keeps you from getting sick, but it is making sure that you exercise to the right amount the keeps you from becoming overweight.

I’m glad that I didn’t find the article “Takeaway not obesity culprit”, until towards the very end of my research because it would have closed down most of my ideas. But in the end, it’s the answer that makes the most sense. Well before I began eating fast food and it became part of my regular diet, I had been playing sports. I’ve been through most as a kid. Roller skating, gymnastics, swimming, little athletics, cricket, basketball and football. This next season of football will be my 13th in a row. All year round I am either in pre-season training, or in in-season training. Strength work and running is the bulk of pre-season training, keeping fit is necessary to do well. And so, all the energy, calories, that I put into my body through eating fast food, I expend with exercise. Energy in equals energy out, and I maintain my body shape and weight. Even Tony Sadler, author of Food for a Hungry World agrees.

“Have you ever noticed that some people can eat and eat and never seem to put on weight? Or that some people seem to keep putting on weight although they rarely eat much? Why is it that some people get fat? There is a simple formula that works for everyone. Energy in equals energy out. If you eat more energy in the form of food than you use in the form of body functions and activities, then you put on weight.Different people have different needs for energy and different abilities to take energy from the food they eat. Therefore, two people might eat the same amount of food and do the same amount of work and yet one will seem to get fat compared to the other...... About half the people in Australia are probably overweight. Most become fat by eating too much. Many young people become fat by going on diets to try to lose weight. This comes from not understanding food and its function properly. There is no magic solution to losing weight. Energy in must not exceed energy out. At the same time, it is always important to keep a balance of the necessary foods."The people that you see as overweight simply are not exercising as much as they are eating, and it just builds up. Sustainability for me is just a simple equation.

The Finale

2005-10-14T16:01:00.000+10:00

Super Sized Ideas

2005-09-27T00:38:00.000+10:00

Steven Siegel, MD, FACC
Cardiologist

“Uh I expect to see an increase in your tryglicerides
I think that will change
And I think that’s the only thing that will change
Out of everything
There might be some minor variations
But the body is extremely adaptable
The kidneys will handle any extra salt that you take in
The liver will be able to metabolise additional fats”

John F. Banzhaf III
Law Professor, George Washington University

“I think there’s a lot of focus on fast food companies because they are mentioned more than virtually all of the other causes in most of the articles and books and studies about why it’s a sudden epidemic
Again it can’t be neighbourhood restaurant; we’ve had neighbourhood restaurants for hundreds of years.
It can’t be the foods we eat at home; we’ve been eating at home for hundreds of years.
Something is very different
I think the figure is we eat out something like 40% of our meals”

Don Gorske

“As soon as I got my first car, this is the first place I came to, I bought three Big Macs, ate em out there. Enjoyed em so much, I came back about 5 o’clock that night, bought three more, ate em out there. Came back about 11 o’clock before they closed and uhhh ate three more so the first day I came here I had nine Big Macs and it was like, I couldn’t get enough hamburger and Big Macs are so good so I ate 256 in the first month.”

Don Gorske is a relatively healthy looking man living in Texas, USA. He has eaten over 19,000 Big Macs over the years. His diet is 90% Big Macs, 10% other. He rarely eats the fries.

All from Super Size Me the movie

Are You In?

2005-09-26T16:25:00.000+10:00

"Babies like sweet tastes and reject bitter ones; we know this because scientists have rubbed various flavours inside the mouths of infants and then recorded their facial reactions. A person's food preferences, like his or her personality, are formed during the first few years of life, through a process of socialization. Toddlers can learn to enjoy hot and spicy food, bland health food, or fast food, depending upon what the people around them eat. The human sense of smell is still not fully understood and can be greatly affected by psychological factors and expectations.

The colour of a food can determine the perception of its taste. The mind filters out the overwhelming majority of chemical aromas that surround us, focusing intently on some, ignoring others. People can grow accustomed to bad smells or good smells; they stop noticing what once seemed overpowering. Aroma and memory are somehow inextricably linked. A smell can suddenly evoke a long-forgotten moment. The flavours of childhood foods seem to leave an indelible mark, and adults oten return to them, without always knowing why. These "comfort foods" become a source of pleasure and reassurance, a fact that fast food chains work hard to promote. Childhood memories of Happy Meals can translate into frequent adult visits to McDonald's, like those of the chain's "heavy users," the customers who eat there four or five times a week."

From Fast Food Nation - Eric Schlosser

Makes sense...

2005-09-25T14:24:00.000+10:00

from the Herald Sun 25/09/2005

Pattern Against User

2005-09-25T13:54:00.000+10:00

a Customised bagguette from Hungry Jacks

Nothingwrong

2005-09-15T23:59:00.000+10:00

in the mid-year break, i was having an awesome time...

then i got sick, real sick.

for no particular reason... i figured

first it was like the flu, then like a chest infection, then finished with asthma, bad asthma

i couldn't eat and breathe at the same time...

so i didn't eat...

for a week...

well... i had one proper meal, and a few snacks here and there

i lost 6 kilos in 6 days!

it had taken me 2 years to put on those six kilos...

i was 76kg...

look at me now...

Little Sister

2005-09-15T23:36:00.000+10:00

one of them anyway

home alone

parents left money for dinner

it was her decision

i felt like something nice but meh

*shrug*

The Ritual...

2005-09-10T23:26:00.000+10:00

it started when i was about nine...

do you remember those ads?

they had the happy/dreamy glow to them...

it was with the young boy and grandfather...

the boy put chips in his burger...

and the grandfather had a chuckle and asked him why...

my ritual has evolved...

much like myself...

but it is not always, always the same...

The Reason?

2005-09-07T10:38:00.000+10:00

"Food avoidance and food dislikes

Almost everybody avoids and/or dislikes certain sorts of foods - but why is this? Many of us might maintain that it is merely a matter of personal taste for which, proverbially, there is no accounting:. This is a historically recent stance, however. Pasi Falk argues that,

"we can give the well known slogan of the old scholastics - de gustibus non disputandum (one cannot dispute about taste) - two quite opposite meanings. In the (primitive) case of the strong alimentary code - to which it was never applied - it would refer to the fact that the judgement of what to eat and what not is made by the 'mouth' of the community according to the rules that are beyond doubt. In the modern case of individualized judgement the slogan may be conceived of in a way closer to the scholastic stance: taste cannot be disputed because it is based on the 'nature' of the individual being (body) and not in culture. (Falk, 1994:13)"

In earlier societies, then, the community decided what could be taken in and the idea of an individual taste would have made no sense for there were no strongly developed individuals as such. 'Individual' taste would have corresponded precisely to 'community' taste: differences between them would have been unthinkable. Translating Falk into Durkheim might make matters clearer. It will be recalled that Durkheim (1984[1893]) drew a distinction between mechanical and organic solidarity, the first characterized by sameness among the elements of a social system and the second by functional differentiation among the elements. It is only the latter that allows 'individuality' to flourish. Taste under conditions of mechanical solidarity would be the same for everyone, while taste under conditions of organic solidarity at least has the possibility of becoming differentiated in such a way that it can be mapped onto individual elements who thus appear each to have their 'own' taste. Whether this differentiation of taste is functional or not is another question, which cannot be pursued here. For the food industry, perhaps, it is...

... Mennel proposes four main reasons for the avoidance of certain types of foods: 'the trained incapacity to enjoy food; fear of the after-effects of eating certain foods; fear of social derogation; and moral reasons for revulsion' (mennel, 1985: 294). Several of these reasons might occur together. A number of Mennell's comments contrast specifically French and English ways of doing things with food, but it should still be possible for the reader to translate his observations into the context of their own culture.

What is meant by 'trained incapacity to enjoy food?' Clearly, the fact that people are brought up not to enjoy it. He sees this as an English phenomenon, for France appears very different. The English probably invented the notion of 'nursery food', and one certainly still finds children's menus in restaurants that are qualitatively different to adult menus, and items such as fish fingers are widely marketed as food especially destined for children. Children's food is constructed as different in kind to adult food, and is not merely the same food in smaller portions. Serving 'children's food' at an adult dinner party would be a serious insult in England, but the question would probably not even be posable in France...

... And what was the main characteristic of this food? It was plain, monotonous and dull - very unexciting. So food was something that was almost tasteless, and the concept of enjoying such body fuel was not likely to develop. It is possible, speculating a bit, that seriously unexciting and bland food might have been seen as a way of controlling children: developing one aspect of sensuality through developing the palate might have opened the door to the development of other aspects of sensuality, especially amoung teenagers...

... Medical beliefs also propagated the notion that anything other than bland food was dangerous to children's health. This appears to have been peculiarly English; French children seem to be nowhere near as faddish or picky. Mennell's evidence for this is a bit impressionistic, although I have to say that it accords with my own perceptions of French and English food practices. He compares answers to questions on food in a survey of the mothers of 22 French children and 23 English children aged between 13 and 15 who were involved in exchange visits between schools in Exeter and Rennes in 1984:

"of the 22 French children, not one of the mothers had recorded any food allergies, nor mentioned any difficulties about food... In contrast, of the 23 English children, 14 mothers had mentioned foods their children could not eat. Most of them stated more than one food - the 14 produced a total of 27 mentions of non-acceptable foods. (Mennell, 1985: 300)"

England 27, Fance 0. Perhaps surprisingly, these food dislikes did not refer to 'foreign food' but to everyday English things like tomatoes or carrots. English children are not trained to enjoy food; French children are. As a result, the French children treat eating as an occasion for enjoyment, and appreciate practically anything that is edible: everything gives its own special pleasures. The English children seemed to lack this positive attitude to food, and appear to see food not as a source of many pleasures but as divided into things they can cope with and things they cannot."

The Answer?

2005-09-07T09:53:00.000+10:00

"Diet and weight

Have you ever noticed that some people can eat and eat and never seem to put on weight? Or that some people seem to keep putting on weight although they rarely eat much? Why is it that some people get fat? There is a simple formula that works for everyone. Energy in equals energy out. If you eat more energy in the form of food than you use in the form of body functions and activities, then you put on weight.

Different people have different needs for energy and different abilities to take energy from the food they eat. Therefore, two people might eat the same amount of food and do the same amount of work and yet one will seem to get fat compared to the other...

... About half the people in Australia are probably overweight. Most become fat by eating too much. Many young people become fat by going on diets to try to lose weight. This comes from not understanding food and its function properly. There is no magic solution to losing weight. Energy in must not exceed energy out. At the same time, it is always important to keep a balance of the necessary foods."

from FOOD for a Hungry World - Tony Sadler, 1996

Carousel

2005-09-03T13:33:00.000+10:00

The Body is a Temple...

2005-09-03T13:27:00.000+10:00

... my OWN sustainability

how long can i keep this up before i see some consequences?

Customisation

2005-09-03T13:09:00.000+10:00

Yes, hi, how are you?
I'll have a double-cheeseburger meal with bacon, minus pickle, light ketchup and mustard thanks...
...
A Double... Cheeseburger Meal..
With Bacon...
Minus Pickle...
Light Ketchup...
NO... not light lettuce, take that lettuce off
L-i-g-h-t Ketchup...
and Light Mustard...
...
...
Yep, that's it.
OH, and i've got a free upsize card...
ta...

God thats good...

Sweet and low

2005-09-03T13:04:00.000+10:00

that... ahhh... kinda dripped off the pizza (just one slice). bO thinks it was the cheese...

dining in, you still got it in a box...

Spiritual-isms...

2005-09-03T12:55:00.000+10:00

i want you, i want you, o baby, o baby...

You can't please everybody, Rockwell

2005-08-26T03:12:00.000+10:00

Chris Buerckner
S3083211
Stream II

Reading: The World of Goods

Questions: Discuss human needs as being either physical or spiritual.
Discuss the assumption that physical needs are ‘more justified’ as they are based on necessity whereas spiritual needs are considered to be somewhat superfluous and unjustified.

Human needs as either physical or spiritual? I don’t think so. Since when have there been two categories for human needs, or essentials, or requirements, to be slotted into? Where is the line? Who decides on which is which? Where are the boundaries? What are the definitions?

Either physical or spiritual? Lets break that apart. “I need to go to this football game”. Now, I don’t participate in this game… or do I? Is my presence in the arena enough to affect the result of the match? And do I receive the ‘nutrients’ that I so needed? The ‘nutrients’ could be anything from, seeing the superstars perform to, watching high flying marks and spectacular goals to, witnessing the hardest of bumps, tackles and contests. But maybe simply being in the arena and watching ‘my team’ compete is enough to give me the ‘nutrients’ that I came for, so desperately ‘needing’. Giving me enough fuel to go on with my weekend, with my work, with my life. Often described as “the vibe”, these feelings cannot be measured for one person by another… it is all individual.

After all, by going to a football game you do not obtain any physical needs. You may eat a hotdog and some chips or an ice-cream, but these are ‘nutrients’ that you could’ve picked up anywhere really. Sure, you can breathe in the open air at the football ground, but can you breathe in the atmosphere? Is seeing the players and the action and listening to the talk of the players and the roar of the crowd categorised as physical or spiritual intakes? You are using physical human organs, the eyes and ears, to intake this information… does that make it a physical consumption and a physical need?

Physical needs are ‘more justified’ because they can be measured. Patient X has lost this much weight in the last X amount of hours and requires this much of X. Patient Y has a broken ankle and therefore requires a pair of crutches to get around. Patient Z has irritable bowel syndrome and therefore requires pills F, G and H to function “normally”.

It does not go: Patient X has lost this much weight in the last X amount of hours and requires X amount of positive vibrations to stabilise and remain healthy. Patient Y has a broken ankle and therefore requires at least X amount of meditations a day to enable them to forget the pain and walk around. Patient Z has irritable bowel syndrome and therefore requires prayers from a priest, a monk and a third cousin to function “normally”. Well, at least not scientifically anyway…

Man's physical needs are of the utmost importance, because physical life must be sustained first. The most important physical needs are: food, water, oxygen, rest, and protection. There is also a specific method through which each of these needs is taken care of:

We must eat to satisfy our need for food;
We must drink to satisfy our need for water;
We must breathe to satisfy our need for oxygen;
We must sleep to satisfy our need for rest;
We must have shelter to satisfy our need for protection.

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs:

Abraham Maslow is known for establishing the theory of a hierarchy of needs, writing that human beings are motivated by unsatisfied needs, and that certain “lower needs” need to be satisfied before “higher needs” can be satisfied. These “lower needs” are the physical needs such as food, water, oxygen, rest and protection. It is the “higher needs” that can be considered ‘superfluous’ and ‘unjustified’ because they are not required for our survival. It is not so much an assumption that physical needs are ‘more justified’ as they are based on necessity whereas spiritual needs are considered to be somewhat ‘superfluous’ and ‘unjustified’, but more a scientifically based education that brings these conclusions. In a world where the Easter Bunny and Santa Clause are enjoying fewer and fewer years of ‘existence’ with children today, ‘seeing’ is the way of ‘believing’. You can’t see the consumption of spiritual replenishment therefore how can it possibly be measured? Measurement seems now to be the only ‘justification’…

References:

http://web.utk.edu/~gwynne/maslow.HTM - Maslow’s hierarchy of Needs
The World of Goods – Mary Douglas and Baron Isherwood

Sharing is Caring

2005-08-23T16:14:00.000+10:00

A healthy alternative...

2005-08-23T16:10:00.000+10:00

... and freebies... the greatest excuse of all!

McSustainability

2005-08-21T19:01:00.000+10:00

What it says: (the relevant parts)

Our INFLUENCE in the marketplace brings a responsibility to ask for more than quality and price.

Whether we are buying hamburgers, fry boxes, lettuce or Happy Meal toys, the impacts of our supply decisions matter to our customers and to us. Supporting responsible actions in our supply chain helps to advance important social, economic, and environmental goals and will ensure the continued supply of high-quality ingredients we need in the future. That’s why social responsibility is one of our key strategic supply chain priorities.

Principles

Our work toward a socially responsible food supply system is motivated by our commitment to our customers – and to leadership on important issues. With this foundation, we will:

Use a “systems approach” to understand how our supply chain impacts and is affected by the natural and social world and to help us find solutions
Maintain a long-term view when supply planning and setting expectations
Combine a global perspective with locally-developed responses that meet local needs and generate on-the-ground results
Base our strategies on the best science available
Work in partnership with our suppliers to promote continuous improvement
Balance our long-term responsibility goals with the near-term need to perform in a competitive market

Guidelines

In partnership with Conservation International and several suppliers, we have developed a set of guidelines that provide a framework for prioritising our social responsibility efforts with suppliers. They outline the key features of socially responsible agriculture and food systems. The following summarizes the guidelines:

Social

Protect the health and welfare of employees and contribute to the development of the communities in which they operate
Seek ways to increase economic profitability by increasing resource use efficiency and harnessing the benefits of ecological services

Environmental
Maximize water use efficiency and eliminate the release of waste into water
Minimize the release of harmful byproducts into the air
Maximize energy use efficiency and use ecologically sustainable renewable sources when feasible
Minimize waste production, maximize recycling and ensure proper handling and disposal of solid waste
Maintain soil health by controlling erosion and improving structure and fertility
Preserve natural habitats for native species and protection of biodiversity
Minimize the use of chemical pest management inputs that impact human, animal and environmental health

Animal Welfare

Ensure that animals’ needs for food, water and space – as well as other physiological, behavioural and hygienic needs – are met consistently

The Mothership

2005-08-19T15:09:00.000+10:00

Downed in just under 6 minutes waiting for the train. For those who can't make it out, its a Double Quarter Pounder with Cheese... and Chips... mmm delicious

A new hope

2005-08-16T21:40:00.000+10:00

story of a lonely guy

2005-08-16T21:37:00.000+10:00

my saviour --->

boundary

2005-08-15T22:59:00.000+10:00

i'll tell you a story... (non-fiction)

today i woke up earlier than normal because i was sposed to do work last night for studio which is tomorrow (today is Monday and its 11pm), but i was tired and fell asleep. so i did a bit this morning... didn't feel like eating a proper breakfast so i had an Up and Go which contains "2 Weet Bix" (i donno how you spell it... in fact, i don't even like weet bix) and there were no bananas so i just left the house n forgot to grab anything else (usually some sultanas or tiny teddies). dropped my sis at school on the way to the station (i drive to the local BORONIA). anywho, got there, and realised that once i got on the train i'd have to come up with our presentation for Product Eng this morning. the only thing we'd decided is that we were doing a see-saw. i didn't like the idea, but anyway.

did that, got to uni, and got really hungry up until we got to the "break"... and figured 15minutes was enough to go and get a "snack". i felt like a small cheeseburger meal from hungry jacks... minus the pickle of course. so, walked up there. i knew i had a free upsize card, one of those student ones, so may as well use that. ask for a small meal, of course, medium is the smallest you can order. so my meal got upgraded to a large fries and drink. it was only $4.60 which is pretty alrite. anything under 5 bucks is still a snack, unless its a slice of pizza cause they're more filling.. maybe. so my small snack turned into a large meal, it was 11am this morning.

so, that was delicious, but dinner wouldn't be til 6.30pm, so b4 the train home at 1pm i grabbed a Subway "sandwich", tried a toasted one, think i prefer the normal. then bought a coke to go with it of course. and that was meh ok

ate a 1/3 a box of bbq shapes this arvo, and an apple. had chops n chips for dinner and a forkful of peas. no dessert, but i'm really hungry right now, going to get a milo... or make a milo, ya know.

no wonder i dont put any weight on. i hardly eat anything!

brb milo

alrite back...

and thats it for now

goodnight

opener

2005-08-15T22:54:00.000+10:00

TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES...

ya know, usually i'd consider myself fairly computer literate but coming to this blog stuff i just... can't be stuffed learning for myself. i made this lil still photo animation of me eating a slice of pizza, altho u don't really see me. but its big in filesize. and i dont like html. and even to post it on deviantart i needed to vector it to make it smaller now it sucks. think i'll just stick to the photos... here, have one

At Point B

2005-08-10T15:09:00.000+10:00

how did it come to this? tbc...

Learning Agreement

2005-08-05T02:28:00.000+10:00

Learning Agreement
Design Studies 4

Title: Follow

Name: Chris Buerckner s3083211

Aim: To gain an interest in sustainability by continually and consistently working through the semester and discovering interesting points/facts that relate to my own thought processes and everyday life. The basis for my inquiry will be fast food consumption. From here I will attempt to pinpoint the similarities between fast food consumption and sustainability as I know it and learn from them.

Background/Objectives/Method: All are useless at this point in time and I think time would be better spent starting the inquiry rather than trying to “nut out” exactly what, how and why you’re doing it. The very first discovery may lead to an entirely different view in which each of the above (background, objectives and method) would then become totally futile.

The perceived value of the project will most probably turn out to be inaccurate as well. How are you to know at the beginning of an investigation what answers you are going to discover and the value that they will possess? Again, I see it as another useless exercise.

Timeline: I think will prove helpful, however, only to certain individuals. I see no point in “planning out” my investigation as I have no doubt that issues will arise and the planned “homework” will then be irrelevant. Everything undertaken in my inquiry shall be documented on my blog (http://chrisisthepiedpiper.blogspot.com)

Grading: CR-D – I feel that I will be able to contribute enough to my investigation to reach a grade around this area. But I do think there would be more point in choosing a grade at the End of the project, rather than the beginning. This is because you will be reassessing your work anyway, why waste time by pre-assessing it?

Chris Buerckner

escape

2005-08-04T00:00:00.000+10:00

tonight for dinner i had a large quarter pounder meal (with cheese), it was alright i guess. Not the freshest burger ever. anyway, when i was eating the burger n fries in my own special way i was thinking... 'sustainability...' thats it

i promise to make a still image animation of me eating a meal before this semester is over

just havin some trouble polishing my turds for cad and studio

lily my one and only

2005-07-31T21:45:00.000+10:00

so like umm, its sunday night, then "end" of a week. i probably ate "fast food" meals (lunch or dinner) on about 7 occaisions during the last 7 days. so an average of once a day, but usually i go at least one day a week without takeaway so must've had it twice on one day, anyway.

my eating habits have steadily got worse over the last few years, ever since i started working at Hungry Jack's when i was 14 and 11 months (december 2000), so thats a long time ago hey. my weight has probably increased at maybe, 2kg per year since then, i'd suppose thats fairly normal. so in the last 3 years i've gone from 69kg to 75kg as i was about a month or so ago. then i got really sick, i think it was karma but you never know. i had a lot of trouble eating and breathing at the same time. i'd be fine one mintue, then i'd go to have a bite of something, and i would forget about relaxing my breathing and i'd cough for about twenty seconds or so. so for a week i ate one decent meal, and a few other snacks every now and then. i lost 6kg in a week. it took 3 years for me to put that on.

well i'm better now, but the weight is still off. well, i'm back up to 72.5 kg so i've put half back on. i donno where this is going. but its the start i guess. more will come, dont you worry

goodnight

Sustainabilawhat?

2005-07-26T23:29:00.000+10:00

well looky here, its a new post, amazing. time to get back to work i guess. i'm pushing myself to start working earlier this semester than i did last semester to hopefully avoid the issues that ummm came up last semester... with the failing of minor project one and subsequent behindedness for the major project... bah it doesn't matter. basically, i'm on track so far, just need to keep working consistently now. we have the time, no excuses.

so sustainability... another worldly thing that almost doesn't interest me at all. i read 3 out the the 4 readings tho. i liked cradle to cradle, and the one with the Kyoto protocol was rather alarming. just saw something about it on Tens late news, some environmental minister saying that china produces our annual greenhouse gas emissions in a few weeks... meh.

so yeah, i liked the early discussions brought up by Luca about Fast Food and maccas deli choices and all the stuff, and then Lok's statement that it all has similarities with sustainability... and we all know how much i love my fast food so i'm rather excited to announce actually that my focus or initial departing point will be... FAST FOOD... mmm...

anywho, goodnight

2005-07-01T15:39:00.000+10:00

party time...

final essay submission (first part)

2005-06-04T09:45:00.000+10:00

A band or group will in the beginning form together for one or more of many reasons. They may be friends who from a young age have been together and then decide to pick up some instruments and accidentally discover that someone can actually sing (Incubus). They may be a bunch of strangers who come together for different reasons to that of music, such as taking part in a drama course, then finding that they each have a love of similar types of music (Jebediah). Or, they may come together specifically because they each have intense desires to create beautiful music (The Dissociatives).

When two of these groups originally formed, they would’ve been without any fan base. On the other hand, The Dissociatives formed from two musicians who had been in the music industry for some time and had established their own distinct fans or followers, some of whom would even be referred to as hardcore fans who own every album and single and travel to every concert. So when the new group forms, they already bring with them a certain reputation and their own followers.

When a band such as Jebediah starts up, they have no fan base. Slowly, a few friends may become interested in their music and if the band is any good, news will slowly spread by word of mouth. If the band continues to work hard, possibly write a few original tracks, they may start receiving invitations to play at birthday parties or school balls and their music will be spread to a wider audience. Gradually this imaginary circle encompassing the fan base or followers will grow in proportion and captivate more and more individuals (if they are successful as a band (success can be defined in many ways (interpretation based))).

Definitions of success:

~ popularity – generally liked or admired by the people
~ unpopularity – some groups like their negative aspects and use them to their advantage
~ record sales – so many millions of records sold worldwide, or nationally, or in the first week
~ charts – positioning, like a ranking system… how good is your song/album?
~ money – struggling musicians or blinged and neatly dressed stars?
~ charity – how much do they give away, or support, or give their time to?
~ tours – touring with high end bands or headlining tours or music festivals
~ awards – MTV awards, etc
~ magazine covers – rolling stone
~ fan base – how far does it reach? Limited to home nation?
~ fan clubs – how many, how big, how many dedicated?
~ used in advertising campaigns – think The Vines song Ride and iPod ads
~ used as the faces of music of product and clothing brands – Blink 182 and Atticus, The Smashing Pumpkins and Zero (they even wrote a song named Zero)
~ used as the voice of organisations – Chris Martin from Coldplay and Make Trade Fair (OXFAM)
~ making a difference – Incubus and the Make Yourself Foundation
~ thinking that they’ve made a difference – voluntary Bands in WaveAid Tsunami Appeal
~ making music that others love – any fan, any song
~ making music that they love – The Dissociatives, it didn’t matter if the record didn’t sell, they were just happy with themselves and what they’d accomplished
~ surviving
~ reaching milestones – Jebediah’s 10 Years Birthday tour

(the circles aren't posting yet :)

final essay submission (second part)

2005-06-04T09:44:00.000+10:00

Here we have an example of how these fan bases can be represented. You will notice that many of them overlap and some are almost consumed by other circles. Usually, the bands that link and overlap have strong links between the musicians in the bands or the style of music that they perform. For example, At the Drive In skyrocketed in popularity in the alternative music scene, however their existence was short lived. The band split in two very early on. By this stage their fan base was of a small size in the overall context of things. The band had split in two, with the lead singer and guitarist forming a new band named The Mars Volta. This new group brought with it some existing At the Drive In fans but also, as they have survived for a longer time together now, their fan base has grown considerably bigger. Another thing that brought the same fans from At the Drive In to The Mars Volta was that they played incredibly similar styles of music, only difference being, The Mars Volta’s songs went for triple the length.

Another example shown here is that of the link between Incubus, Audiovent and Hoobastank. Incubus has been around for over a decade and have been performing since they were 15. There have been line-up changes (when members of the band quit or are dropped and replaced by others) and many world tours in this time. Their fan base is worldwide. Two of the members of Incubus, Brandon and Mike, have younger brothers that are of the same age and have been friends for as long as Brandon and Mike have. The two younger brothers formed their own band called Audiovent, and as Brandon’s younger brother Jason had almost the same voice as Brandon, and Mike’s brother almost the same talents as Mike, Incubus’ followers were inclined to also take a liking to Audiovent, which is why the bulk of Audiovent fans are also fans of Incubus. Hoobastank on the other hand, have no relation to Incubus, however they play very similar styles of music and the lead vocalists have very similar voices and tones, which is why many of Hoobastank’s fans are also fans of Audiovent and Incubus.

What does all this mean? In relation to the followers, it means a great deal. The followers may believe in the ways of their band. Lets use Something For Kate, Coldplay and Incubus as our example. SFK recently donated rare items for a charity auction being held for the RSPCA. SFK promote the RSPCA as a very worthy cause, post articles on their website and ask for contributions and donations to the RSPCA from their followers. Coldplay is one of England’s most popular bands and they support many causes, one being OXFAM. Incubus also supported many causes but decided to start their own foundation and called it Make Yourself after the title of one of their songs.

So as a follower of these bands, as an individual, how many of these “worthy” causes can you help and contribute to? Or is it possible that you only like these groups for their products, not for their meanings? A problem that you will eventually encounter if you stick with your favourite bands and their causes is that they will intersect and possibly contradict each other. In this situation it can be similar to the context of a party member in political groups. You, the individual, have joined a political party for one of a possible many reasons, and are then part of the circle of followers, with the band being represented by the political leader. It is he or she who makes the decisions as to what the directions the policies go forward in, and you must follow and support them if you are to remain a part of this circle. The contradictions arise when your party puts forward a policy that you don’t believe in, and another party, one in your opposition, puts forward the policy that you believe is correct, and should be voted for. What do you do now? You want to support your party 100% and honestly portray your party to the public voters as the best option for them, the option to lead to a better present and future. You want to remain part of the circle. But, you know that on the inside, you believe in this policy put forward by the opposition and you hope possibly that the voters will see it is the better choice. What a conundrum...

So having established their own group of followers, some who may also be linked to other bands, the main band should be dealing with a greater income and need to produce their music for different mediums. No longer just playing at birthday parties and school balls, the bands will begin to produce EP’s, singles and albums of their own music. With this new music comes album artwork, video clips for the television medium and developed web sites to spread their music to the masses.

The Internet has been viewed as the greatest friend and enemy of many music bands. For lower class bands the Internet is a cheap or free way of distributing their music and receiving feedback and ideas and hopefully, nice comments. Sites such as www.mp3.com enable musicians to post their music for free in an mp3 format as well as information about the band, their history, as small as it may be, and links to any similar bands or websites or causes that they already stand for.

For the higher class bands however there are many issues with the Internet that have been discussed over the last decade. Starting with Napster, peer-to-peer software has enabled illegal transfer and copying of songs all over the world. Some bands and record companies are fuming at the depleted record sales that they are receiving, even though they are still sitting comfortably on their multi-million dollar contracts, take Metallica for example. It is these bands and their record companies that shut down and sued peer-to-peer software programs such as Napster. There are however, other higher class bands that wholly or partially agree with and invite this illegal copying of their music.

A band named Rage Against The Machine, who were very vocal and constructive in their opposition to issues within federal politics in Mexico, are a band that embraced P2P software. Without their knowledge, their record company had encrypted a scanning program into the bands website. This program blocked any computer user that had illegally downloaded a RATM song, from entering the website. When the band found out about this, they were seething and they posted a previously unreleased song on their website for download by anyone, as well as forcing the record company to remove the blocking program from their website. RATM were a group that saw the benefits of P2P technology, and had no problem with it. They saw it as freedom of the people, to swap and share information. Freedom of the people was something the band was searching for in Mexico, and also what they conveyed through their music. So enabling the swapping of their music around the globe was another way of passing on their thoughts contained within the songs to people around the world that had no knowledge of the problems faced in this country. They saw the benefits as out-weighing the loss in record sales, something which their managing company would not have been happy about.

If a picture says a thousand words, then a video shows a thousand pictures. This is why the visual medium of television has become such a major factor for bands. Shows like Rage, MTV and Video Hits are the music radio stations of television. They have specials where they show entire video sets from bands, where they show videos that all have links, such as the word Red in the title of the track, and they also show short clips of the band members themselves, not playing music, but talking to the viewers. Either explaining how a video was made or what the meaning behind it was or how much they love your part of the world.

Through the duration of my research I payed close attention to the video clips I watched and the intended meanings (what I believed or deciphered), as well as trying to find the links between the lyrics and meaning of the song. Often, I was required to record and replay songs, or read through lyrics to get a strong grasp on the situation. The documented part of this research was on the Megalomaniac video clip by Incubus.

“Doves Devour A War Hawk In Incubus' First Crow Video (1. MTV)
12.30.2003 4:40 PM EST

'Megalomaniac' delivers a barrage of war and protest imagery. Using powerful images from the past, Incubus leave little doubt about their position on present-day politics in the video for "Megalomaniac." The title of the first single from the band's fifth album, A Crow Left of the Murder, refers to a person with delusional fantasies of power, and the video applies that definition to the United States and President Bush.

Shot in late November by Floria Sigismondi, the director responsible for such visually stunning clips as Christina Aguilera's "Fighter" and Marilyn Manson's "The Beautiful People," the five-minute video is a hyper-stimulating barrage of images, most of which flash by only momentarily to underline the subconscious level of programming some propaganda campaigns have employed.

The clip opens with guitarist Mike Einziger in front of a radio switchboard, appearing to give a speech. The sign on the wall before him reads "No Grace Period," while the one to his left reads "Operation Freedom Control," presumably a play on "Operation Iraqi Freedom" that ironically suggests that the U.S. controls the Iraqis' independence. A six-volt battery on a shelf bears the label "super power." The scene morphs into a shot of the giant-sized band members performing on top of buildings. A zoom into one of the buildings' windows reveals a TV showing the film "The United States Air Force Presents ... Brain Washing" (blog - image 1) before a series of war scenes culminates with Adolf Hitler, with airplane bomber wings on his back, flying overhead. (blog - images 2-6) It's then that singer Brandon Boyd offers the song's opening lines: "I hear you on the radio/ You permeate my screen/ If I met you in a scissor fight, I'd cut off both your wings ... on principle alone."

Later, a politician looking like Bush addresses a crowd of protesters who hold signs reading antiwar slogans such as "Not in Our Name" and "Drop Love Not Bombs." As the podium from which he speaks morphs into a gas pump that inflates skyward, the protesters clash with police. Boyd, meanwhile, repeats the line "Step down, step down." (blog - image 7) Amidst the pandemonium, the politician's head peels back and the head of a bald eagle grows in its place. The birdman then proceeds to devour the audience members, whose own heads have become those of fish. (image 8)

But there is an eventual silver lining to Incubus' dark cloud of a message. After showing a 1940s wartime family feeding its baby a bottle full of oil, a symbol of America's thirst for Iraq's greatest export, and a crowd of people fleeing from falling bombs, the fish-headed masses begin to revolt against their bird-brained leader. Piranha heads are sported by those who topple the birdman's tower and proceed to ravage him. This is met by a shot of the crowd applauding."

This is an article written by MTV, assuming/interpreting their own ideas and stating them as fact. Where is the line between art and protest, in relation to this case? Through video interviews I know what the band members were trying to portray through this clip, and the lyrics to the song. But is it also possible that most of it is just art to go with the song? Images depicting the lyrics? I love this clip for the images it shows and its relation to the lyrics, not because of the message it is trying to convey, which can also be misinterpreted. Certain words chosen by the author describes the scenes in a very particular way. This would potentially corrupt the ideas of the reader/viewer and cloud their own judgment and interpretations of the video clip.

If thought about deeply, this video clip combined with the lyrics will possibly appear highly confusing to many viewers and followers. Without the information from the group itself, the meanings produced through the video in its entirety may quite easily be taken the wrong way, which can lead to undesirable actions taken by the viewer against the band. The conflicts of views that have been discussed earlier come into play. What if the viewer, an Incubus follower, believes that the Bush Government had been doing the right thing by the Iraqi people in the case of the war? Then they could possibly feel offended by the views of Incubus in this video, feeling that they were not in an appropriate position to ‘comment’. Essentially, this would change the viewer’s feelings about the band itself and their thoughts, leading to a removal of the band from their favourites list and the discarding of their cd’s from the stereo. This could all possibly occur because of a communications error or misinterpretation by the viewer. The band and the viewer may possibly have exactly the same thoughts and ideas on the topic, but if the meanings of the video clip have been taken the wrong way, then it can lead to a separation between the follower and the followed.

Interpretation is everything. From approximately half-way though this semester I came to this realisation. Start here, go backwards, and you will find that it is the common theme between everything. It is what creates, produces, destroys, confuses everything, and it has major effects on our behaviour, thoughts and physical responses.

Interpret - expound the meaning of; make out the meaning of; bring out the meaning of, render, by artistic representation or performance; explain, understand, in a specified manner. Simply your interpretation of the meaning of interpret can affect your ideas that follow.

My interpretation of what the video clip Megalomaniac means, could be completely wrong. In fact, I’m quite sure that at least a part of it will be incorrect. Even with all the information, I have gathered on it, the band, their history, the film clip director, the art direction… my thoughts would have been skewed by previous experiences. The Man in the Iron Mask is a story of how two twins, separated at birth, can grow to become totally different men in their values and general attitudes towards themselves and others (well, that is my interpretation). This happens because of the experiences and way in which they’re brought up through childhood and adolescence. One is treated as a king, the other brought up as a peasant and it is easy to see the values that they attain through these experiences.

The views I expressed on the issues between Rage Against The Machine and their record company could also possibly be wrong. All the information was presented to me in a clear and concise way, but my interpretations of the final decisions on the issue could quite easily have been improper for any of many reasons. For example I may have myself placed more emphasis on certain points rather than others, therefore leading to a final interpretation that may have been way off the mark. A small mistake early on can lead to catastrophe in the closing stages. Tolerances are an example of countering this in the design profession, where they allow for mistakes in the final design, so that the final is still ‘correct’ in its ways.

Definitions of success were interpretation based. You cannot judge accurately anything that is qualitative without making your own interpretations. Standards may be used, as in judging of Olympic gymnastics and diving, however the judges still must make their own interpretations of these standards in order to give any sense of accurate scoring. Essentially it is the user or viewer who produces their own thoughts on their subject of choice.

My Machine, the Decider, could be anything. Depending upon what kind of results or answers you are after, a machine to produce these could be constructed. The main issue is that no matter how simple or complex this 'decision machine', it would still require input from the user before it can 'effectively' make its decisions. You cannot receive appropriate answers without first asking questions. Therefore, the answers produced are directly affected by the questions asked by the user, effectively meaning that the answers are determined by the user. So here are my models of a decision making machine: a flower with petals where you start with one possibility and alternate with the opposite possibility until there is only one answer left, and the paddle-pop stick which you can spin around or flip and assign answers to the directions that it lands in or faces.

In summary, as much as this research studio started from Dissent within our surroundings, it is definitely not where it will end. It was a simply a way of pushing us to search ourselves and surroundings for any kind of meanings around us. For myself the key findings or thoughts have all circled around Interpretation and how everything is affected by it. Like the butterflies and hurricanes, a small misinterpretation can lead to catastrophe. But can individual number one, question individual number two’s interpretation of individual three? Previous experiences all relate, and affect our thoughts and actions, further affecting our interpretations of what surrounds us.

A future project to deal with these issues could involve developing a system where interpretation is removed, and judgements may all be made equally. But would this system remove our humanity and individuality from us, from the possibilities of choices that surrounds each and every one of us? Overcoming this would be the difficulty, and the core of the project.

References:

1. http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1483949/20031230/incubus.jhtml?headlines=true

2005-06-04T09:43:00.000+10:00

the deciders

2005-06-03T15:19:00.000+10:00

wicki wick wick woooooo....

2005-06-03T15:18:00.001+10:00

map submission - dont forget my blog is a part of it!

2005-06-03T15:18:00.000+10:00

yay, done

Quadrant 1

2005-06-02T12:45:00.000+10:00

Beginnings...

i picture my final being submitted in a circular format, with four sections on the outside and one in the middle of the circle. The one in the middle eventually explaining everything and my thoughts on this whole project, and basically everything. It will be the most fun to write... So if this first section doesn't make much sense, that's ok, i'm not worried. But if it does make sense, that that's fantastic :) hehe yeah...

A band or group will in the beginning form together for one or more of many reasons. They may be friends who from a young age have been together and then decide to pick up some instruments and accidentally discover that someone can actually sing (Incubus). They may be a bunch of strangers who come together for different reasons to that of music, such as taking part in a drama course, then finding that they each have a love of similar types of music (Jebediah). Or, they may come together specifically because they each have intense desires to create beautiful music (The Dissociatives).

When two of these groups originally formed, they would’ve been without any fan base. On the other hand, The Dissociatives formed from two musicians who had been in the music industry for some time and had established their own distinct fans or followers, some of whom would even be referred to as hardcore fans who own every album and single and travel to every concert. So when the new group forms, they already bring with them a certain reputation and their own followers.

When a band such as Jebediah starts up, they have no fan base. Slowly, a few friends may become interested in their music and if the band is any good, news will slowly spread by word of mouth. If the band continues to work hard, possibly write a few original tracks, they may start receiving invitations to play at birthday parties or school balls and their music will be spread to a wider audience. Gradually this imaginary circle encompassing the fan base or followers will grow in proportion and captivate more and more individuals (if they are successful as a band (success can be defined in many ways (interpretation based))).

Definitions of success:

~ popularity – generally liked or admired by the people
~ unpopularity – some groups like their negative aspects and use them to their advantage
~ record sales – so many millions of records sold worldwide, or nationally, or in the first week
~ charts – positioning, like a ranking system… how good is your song/album?
~ money – struggling musicians or blinged and neatly dressed stars?
~ charity – how much do they give away, or support, or give their time to?
~ tours – touring with high end bands or headlining tours or music festivals
~ awards – MTV awards, etc
~ magazine covers – rolling stone
~ fan base – how far does it reach? Limited to home nation?
~ fan clubs – how many, how big, how many dedicated?
~ used in advertising campaigns – think The Vines song Ride and iPod ads
~ used as the faces of music of product and clothing brands – Blink 182 and Atticus, The Smashing Pumpkins and Zero (they even wrote and song named Zero)
~ used as the voice of organisations – Chris Martin from Coldplay and Make Trade Fair
~ making a difference – Incubus and the Make Yourself Foundation
~ thinking that they’ve made a difference – voluntary Bands in WaveAid Tsunami Appeal
~ making music that others love – any fan, any song
~ making music that they love – The Dissociatives, it didn’t matter if the record didn’t sell, they were just happy with themselves and what they’d accomplished
~ surviving
~ reaching milestones – Jebediah’s 10 Years Birthday tour

(image is circles of different sizes, some overlap, some dont - will be shown in final)

Here we have an example of how these fan bases can be represented. You will notice that many of them overlap and some are almost consumed by other circles. Usually, the bands that link and overlap have strong links between the musicians in the bands or the style of music that they perform. For example, At the Drive In skyrocketed in popularity in the alternative music scene, however their existence was short lived. The band split in two very early on. By this stage their fan base was of a small size in the overall context of things. The band had split in two, with the lead singer and guitarist forming a new band named The Mars Volta. This new group brought with it some existing At the Drive In fans but also, as they have survived for a longer time together now, their fan base has grown considerably bigger. Another thing that brought the same fans from At the Drive In to The Mars Volta was that they played incredibly similar styles of music, only difference being, The Mars Volta’s songs went for triple the length.

Another example shown here is that of the link between Incubus, Audiovent and Hoobastank. Incubus has been around for over a decade and have been performing since they were 15. There have been line-up changes (when members of the band quit or are dropped and replaced by others) and many world tours in this time. Their fan base is worldwide. Two of the members of Incubus, Brandon and Mike, have younger brothers that are of the same age and have been friends for as long as Brandon and Mike have. The two younger brothers formed their own band called Audiovent, and as Brandon’s younger brother Jason had almost the same voice as Brandon, and Mike’s brother almost the same talents as Mike, Incubus’ followers were inclined to also take a liking to Audiovent, which is why the bulk of Audiovent fans are also fans of Incubus. Hoobastank on the other hand, have no relation to Incubus, however they play very similar styles of music and the lead vocalists have very similar voices and tones, which is why many of Hoobastank’s fans are also fans of Audiovent and Incubus.

What does all this mean?

In relation to the followers, it means a great deal. The followers may believe in the ways of their band. Lets use Something For Kate, Coldplay and Incubus as our example. SFK recently donated rare items for a charity auction being held for the RSPCA. SFK promote the RSPCA as a very worthy cause, post articles on their website and ask for contributions and donations to the RSPCA from their followers. Coldplay is one of England’s most popular bands and they support many causes, one being OXFAM. Incubus also supported many causes but decided to start their own foundation and called it Make Yourself after the title of one of their songs.

So as a follower of these bands, as an individual, how many of these “worthy” causes can you help and contribute to? Or is it possible that you only like these groups for their products, not for their meanings? A problem that you will eventually encounter if you stick with your favourite bands and their causes is that they will intersect and possibly contradict each other. In this situation it can be similar to the context of a party member in political groups. You, the individual, have joined a political party for one of a possible many reasons, and are then part of the circle of followers, with the band being represented by the political leader. It is he or she who makes the decisions as to what the directions the policies go forward in, and you must follow and support them if you are to remain a part of this circle. The contradictions arise when you party puts forward a policy that you don’t believe in, and another party, one in your opposition, puts forward the policy that you believe is correct, and should be voted for. What do you do now? You want to support your party 100% and honestly portray your party to the public voters as the best option for them, the option to lead to a better present and future. You want to remain part of the circle. But, you know that on the inside, you believe in this policy put forward by the opposition and you hope possibly that the voters will see it is the better choice. What a conundrum...

Sway

2005-05-20T14:48:00.000+10:00

sway... an image of mine.

ok so this really is to try and get things moving again...

so, you, viewer... what do you think this image is about? how did it come to be? what was or could it have been inspired by? does it inspire you? why is it black and white? or is there no colour for a reason?

Dead

2005-05-04T16:09:00.000+10:00

Tired...

so much thinking to do... so little time

MACHINA: DECIDER

2005-05-01T17:06:00.000+10:00

MACHINA: DECIDER

Well... a decider, as a machine, could be anything. Depending upon what kind of results or answers you are after, a machine to produce these could be constructed. The main thing that gets me is that no matter how simple or complex this 'decision machine', it would still require input from the user before it can 'effectively' make its decisions. You cannot receive appropriate answers without first asking questions. Therefore, the answers produced are directly affected by the questions asked by the user, effectively meaning that the answers are determined by the user. So here are my models of a decision making machine...

incubus and megalomaniac

2005-05-01T00:03:00.000+10:00

One of my first thoughts on our Dissent Topic was in relation to this film clip

to be completed... still

Doves Devour A War Hawk In Incubus' First Crow Video
12.30.2003 4:40 PM EST

'Megalomaniac' delivers barrage of war and protest imagery.

Using powerful images from the past, Incubus leave little doubt about their position on present-day politics in the video for "Megalomaniac."

The title of the first single from the band's fifth album, A Crow Left of the Murder, refers to a person with delusional fantasies of power, and the video applies that definition to the United States and President Bush.

Shot in late November by Floria Sigismondi, the director responsible for such visually stunning clips as Christina Aguilera's "Fighter" and Marilyn Manson's "The Beautiful People," the five-minute video is a hyper-stimulating barrage of images, most of which flash by only momentarily to underline the subconscious level of programming some propaganda campaigns have employed.

The clip opens with guitarist Mike Einziger in front of a radio switchboard, appearing to give a speech. The sign on the wall before him reads "No Grace Period," while the one to his left reads "Operation Freedom Control," presumably a play on "Operation Iraqi Freedom" that ironically suggests that the U.S. controls the Iraqis' independence. A six-volt battery on a shelf bears the label "super power."

The scene morphs into a shot of the giant-sized bandmembers performing on top of buildings. A zoom into one of the buildings' windows reveals a TV showing the film "The United States Air Force Presents ... Brain Washing" (Image 1) before a series of war scenes culminates with Adolf Hitler, with airplane bomber wings on his back, flying overhead. (Images 2-6)

It's then that singer Brandon Boyd offers the song's opening lines: "I hear you on the radio/ You permeate my screen/ If I met you in a scissor fight, I'd cut off both your wings ... on principle alone."

Later, a politician looking like Bush addresses a crowd of protesters who hold signs reading antiwar slogans such as "Not in Our Name" and "Drop Love Not Bombs." As the podium from which he speaks morphs into a gas pump that inflates skyward, the protesters clash with police. Boyd, meanwhile, repeats the line "Step down, step down." (Image 7)

Amidst the pandemonium, the politician's head peels back and the head of a bald eagle grows in its place. The birdman then proceeds to devour the audience members, whose own heads have become those of fish. (Image 8)

But there is an eventual silver lining to Incubus' dark cloud of a message. After showing a 1940s wartime family feeding its baby a bottle full of oil, a symbol of America's thirst for Iraq's greatest export, and a crowd of people fleeing from falling bombs, the fish-headed masses begin to revolt against their bird-brained leader. Piranha heads are sported by those who topple the birdman's tower and proceed to ravage him. This is met by a shot of the crowd applauding."

Final image of film clip is Image 9

Article taken from:
http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1483949/20031230/incubus.jhtml?headlines=true

This is an article written by MTV, obviously assuming/interpreting their own ideas and stating them as FACT.

Where is the line between art and protest, in relation to this case? Through video interviews I know what the band members were wanting to portray through this clip, and the lyrics to the song. But is it also possible that most of it is just art to go with the song? Images depicting the lyrics? I love this clip for the images it shows and its relation to the lyrics, not because of the message it is trying to convey... which can also be MIS-Interpreted...

Interpretation is the key to this one... who decided what is art and what is protest? each 'user' or 'viewer' brings their own ideas and comes out with their own answers, much as i spoke of today in class with the flower...

tbc

2005-04-29T16:42:00.000+10:00

1: screen shots taken from Incubus' Megalomaniac film clip

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2: screen shots taken from Incubus' Megalomaniac film clip

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3: screen shots taken from Incubus' Megalomaniac film clip

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4: screen shots taken from Incubus' Megalomaniac film clip

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5: screen shots taken from Incubus' Megalomaniac film clip

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6: screen shots taken from Incubus' Megalomaniac film clip

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7: screen shots taken from Incubus' Megalomaniac film clip

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8: screen shots taken from Incubus' Megalomaniac film clip

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9: screen shots taken from Incubus' Megalomaniac film clip

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i drew it... i know what i see... what do you see? i'm discovering what EVERYTHING is coming down to...

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the total from last fridays class... using the top left corner of each box as points...

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catherines description - little star, going from box to box. trying to define, justify, classify himself...

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class work in a form - by catherine

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20: A Society of Sheep - Commercialised => Making money from Sheep

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19: Obviously things are done in groups, what about a class project? Simplest example

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18: :S ?

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17: The followers then create what they follow? In a merry-go-round sort of way...

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16: Individuality within groups?

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15: MOST of us follow socially accepted 'guidelines'. Criminals obviously have not followed the rules

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14: ?

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13: Oh what a wonderful life

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12: Is a baby's first breathe not original to them? Your first grazed knee? Learning to ride a bicycle? It's all been done before yes, but never before has it been done by that individual

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11: Our actions are our own, 'borrowed' or not, WE instigate them, make them happen. Everyone has choices, they CAN change their actions

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10: If what becomes too hard? Is following linked to giving up on life? What else is there to do?

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9: Everyone as a conformist? How do you conform to people who don't conform? Is that like two loners being loners together? Essentially no longer being loners...

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8: Fence sitter??? Individual or not? Responsible or not? What is your INTERPRETATION?

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7: Who is responsible as a group? The group? The leader? The people in the group? The people not in the group?

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6: People will follow what they believe they should, if they want to fit into some sort of context? Do they believe before following?

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5: There doesn't have to be a reason for someone to want to fit in

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4: A society of followers has created the means or want for individuals to break free from this following... essentially starting their own (?)

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3: How do you "borrow" an action from another person? Any actions performed by an individual is their own. What is original?

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2: Bullshit? You're bullshit. Fruit-tingles => of course you contain the power to believe. If not how can you say, "in reality I believe..."? Our minds are developed by what is around us. Purely original thoughts and purely original experiences are not always linked.

2005-04-15T19:59:00.000+10:00

my abstract in a box...

2005-04-11T00:00:00.000+10:00

zoomed in on connection as mentioned in previous post, i'm beginning to think that EVERYTHING is up to interpretation - and i think it showed as a common theme from fridays class

2005-04-10T23:59:00.000+10:00

initial mapping, as we were told to do in about... 3 minutes maybe? i think it got me somewhere. for the second part, i focused on the connections between the 'through film clips' and one incubus song, 'megalomaniac'

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this is from the class exercises last friday, i found them most beneficial, especially with the mapping which i will also upload, hopefully you'll see

Follow

2005-04-10T23:35:00.000+10:00

i've titled my blog as above... i probably should've started this earlier, but as many of us have, been lacking direction.

Hopefully having my own area to compile my 'research' will enable me to define my topic and describe it for you in a more organised fashion.

~the pied piper