An eye-opening experience - An interview with Ella Wilkinson

Ella Wilkinson (seated, front) with TAFE journalism students Will Tremain (standing, left) Mark Cowan and Stephanie Rouxel. Photo by Tracy Sorensen.

By Will Tremain

Ella Wilkinson studies journalism locally here in Bathurst at Charles Sturt University. In December 2011, she had the opportunity to visit a place that has had much media attention over the last decade, East Timor. On a family vacation, Ella would travel across where she spent time with the President, José Ramos-Horta, a close friend of Ella’s mother as a result of her journalistic career.

This holiday however, became more of an eye-opening experience that inspired Ella. She now shares her mother’s passion of caring for the country and people of East Timor. Being exposed to their way of life and their standard of living had an impact that she says inspired her to help.

After visiting one of the schools, she is now considering returning to East Timor to teach English. When asked about the community’s reaction to having their children educated, she told us that it varies from town to town, and even family to family. For some East Timorese, the nearest school is three hours away, and their family mightn’t even own transport, but for others, education is a definite priority. According to Ella, the kids that do attend school are committed and eager to learn, and when opportunities of extra-curricular activities present themselves, they take to it without hesitation

When asked about the state of the country, she admits there is a lot of work to be done; most areas don’t even have power as a result of the Indonesian invasion years ago. Ella also mentions that there was some political unrest, as the first election since 2006 will take place soon this year. The election in 2006 ran with riots and much protest, so the country is waiting in anticipation to see how this year’s election will run.

In any case, Ella seems set on returning to help the East Timorese she became so fond of in her travels.

“That’s where I want to be” - Ella Wilkinson on East Timor

Ella Wilkinson (inset) and a photo she took of Balibo in East Timor.

By Stephanie Rouxel

In December 2011, Ella Wilkinson travelled to East Timor for an inspirational holiday and came back with new and flourishing ideas about her future and what she wanted to do.

Her mum (Bathurst Deputy Mayor Tracey Carpenter) had made the trip to East Timor before, working there with a group on rebuilding parts of the bordering towns after the Indonesian invasion ended. The family travelled to East Timor for a holiday, but her mum was determined to make something out of their stay – hoping to inspire and encourage them to do something like her.

Ella and her family, cousin Henry, and some of his friends, left on the 31 December 2011. They travelled many different places, making the most out of their holiday

“My favourites I think were Dili - because it was so different to anything I had seen before, Balibo - because of its amazing history, and Jaco Island – an uninhabited island that had magnificent beaches!” Ella explains.

While staying in Aileu, they made a few small trips with the President of East Timor, Jose Ramos-Horta. The family witnessed some of his meetings and speeches, as Ella’s mother was really good friends with him.

“That’s how we actually started the whole idea of taking a holiday to East Timor,” says Ella. “There aren’t many people who would be wild enough to take a trip to East Timor for the fun of it. We did it because funnily enough, mum knows the president!”

Next they went through Lacluba, the base for the aid project Friends of Laclubar. Ella visited the school which included more than 300 students in the senior school alone, and then to the convent where she was greeted by the children with traditional song and dance performances

Ella says that her favourite part about staying in East Timor, especially the schools, is meeting new people. “I love that everyone has a story, and they most certainly like to tell their stories if you’ll listen,” she laughs.

During the course of her holiday, Ella was inspired just as her mother had hoped, and she definitely wants to travel back to East Timor again when she gets the chance.

“Once I’ve finished my journalism course at CSU I would love to go straight back to East Timor,” explains Ella. “Because over here, everyone says either you can’t get a job or it will be extremely difficult. But over there, they want to give you a job, they want you to teach them things and to learn from you, and they don’t care about your qualification or what you do. That’s where I want to be”.

On time travel

By Trent Sheehan

Good evening! Today I'm going to have a chat to you about time travel and the various ways people have explored the possibility of one day traveling through time, and then the rather humorous appeal of time traveling - the Hollywood take if you will.

But first of all, here is a definition of time travel according to Wikipedia:

Time travel is the concept of moving between different points in time in a manner analogous to moving between different points in space, either sending objects (or in some cases just information) backwards in time to some moment before the present, or sending objects forward from the present to the future without the need to experience the intervening period (at least not at the normal rate).

So now that you know the actual definition it is rather self explanatory. Also, many professors have experimented over countless hours on the topic but none more famously than the great Albert Einstien.

According to his theory of relativity a physical universe is defined by the presence of movement, matter and consciousness. The passage of time will differ for objects which move at different velocities through space. So the thought of time travel isn’t that hard to believe when you have collected all the facts.

As we we speak, I bet there are many people still looking into time travel. I personally believe that one day, maybe, it will be possible.

And last of all let's look at the light-heartened way of expressing views on time travel through the cinema. One of the most famous movies, released in 1960, is called The Time Machine. It explores the fear that people had for the subject back in those days. The movie shows weird creatures and a spooky presence.

On the other hand, the movie franchise Back to the Future made time travel sound more appealing and explored its humorous side. Watching the movie made you wish you could go back in time.

So, make up your own mind! I've given you some food for thought so I leave you with it.

Trent Sheehan's Major Work for Cert III Digital Media is a short film about time travel. The photograph of Albert Einstein in 1921 is in the public domain.

Mind your head

Electronic Musician Makes Chaotic Film Debut

Bree Callaughan in Jake Holman's film Mind You.

The year 2010, for Jake Holman – the life force behind the upcoming electronic act Rintoul – sucked. Plain. Simple.

“Apart from death striking my friends every two months,” Jake explains, “the learning environment I was in for music class sent me into depression. What’s the point of learning anything if the teachers don’t encourage you?”

Even outside the classroom, “life as normal people lived it became unattractive; the alcohol made me sick and tasted worse with every mouthful. The parties became noisy, incoherent depictions of the lows of getting wasted, and I got increasingly isolated from those around me by my growing conceptions of it all.”

Retreating to his flat in Orange, NSW, was the worst. “It was a palace, and my mind was chaos. Thoughts going off in all directions, too difficult or impossible to explain, manifesting a cynical, negative edge that was hard to break.”

The Turning Point
Cue 2011. Important changes, such as going on mind-altering medication and switching career paths, were made. And now Jake is “the happiest I’ve been for years,” as he strongly puts it.

“My mind is still the same, chaotic and incoherent, but now I understand it enough to turn it into something which IS coherent. Well, at least enough for people to understand.”

The Interpretation

That something is his debut in film media: Mind You. The film is an aptly-titled ride through the mindscape; exploring aspects of the mind which are impossible to understand, interpreted as film.

“I want to make something which is chaotic, plotless, non-sequitur, like Koyaanisqatsi”, Jake says. “And for music – everyone connects with music – anything I do in Ableton Live 8.” He hints that a track from one of his earlier albums may be a worthy candidate.

“The primary response I want of people when they watch is to be jolted. I want them to feel uncomfortable, and apart from giving them almost nothing to connect to, giving them weird music accentuates the experience.”

“Now I’m still finding film in the media course I’m doing difficult,” Jake explains, “so of course trying to tell a story while figuring out how to work the damn recorder AND edit it could have been a motivation-kill.

“For me it’s all about getting as much random information as possible and turning it into something more random. I know it sounds like a wank, but the only way to retrieve this info is to imitate the manner of the movie: Chaotic. No scripts, no rules, just go along and do something, is the essence.”

The Journey Ahead

On what Jake’s thoughts are for the creative journey ahead: “Of course there are going to be crushing lows trying to convey my idea. There always is, it’s about getting over that and moving on. I’ve done it before. 2010 ain’t here no more. Anything goes.”

http://rintoul.bandcamp.com/

Energy drinks - a sense of reality

By Dylan Holloway
Energy drinks globally have been marketed as performance boosting whilst receiving much criticism from pediatricians and health bodies worldwide. Well I am here to help you get a sense of reality.

Dr. Steven E. Lipshultz, head of the pediatrics department at Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine, explains that energy drinks can cause seizures, kidney damage and possibly death.

I think it is rather hypocritical that pediatricians can denounce the integrity of energy drinks whilst they make no effort whatsoever to point out the negative effects of everyday vaccines that are given to children. According to the lobby group Australian Vaccination Network, vaccines can cause seizures, kidney damage and possible death.

It is not only this that pediatricians are hiding, but think about the fact that the target of pediatricians is the caffeine and herbal stimulants, e.g. guarana in energy drinks, when they are not even the main health risk associated with energy drinks. According to NaturalNews.com, the real risk is bone loss from phosphoric acid, the neurological side effects of aspartame consumption, and the diabetes caused by drinking liquid sugars.

If pediatricians are so concerned about the health impacts of energy drinks then why do they not even advertise their main concerns? The answer is there is too much pressure from the food industry regarding the safety of such ingredients that are common in all processed products, not just energy drinks e.g. additives, preservatives and various toxic chemicals.

So I ask you, can you trust that pediatricians are right about energy drinks? I say NO! It's time to get a sense of reality.

According to an article in TIME magazine, “a swig of an energy drink works on the brain to keep you inspired and motivated to push on”. Energy drinks do not physically increase your energy but the sugar present in them (not artificial sweeteners) activates pleasure and reward regions in the brain which converts to an increased performance as “the brain controls exercise performance by controlling the neural outflow to the exercising muscles”.

The main concerns with energy drinks are the same as the majority of other processed products on the shelf. At least with energy drinks there is some form of associated benefit.

So there you have it. Next time you’re feeling effete or just plain exhausted and you can’t stop dreaming of some sacchariferous liquid gold to quench your thirst and invigorate your body, look no further than Taursen*, after all it's approved by Tarzan.


*Editor's note: Taursen is an imaginary energy drink created by Dylan Holloway as part of his Cert III Media Major Work. Image copyright Dylan Holloway, all rights reserved.

Are we alone out there?

By Nyssa Hart
Are we alone out there? It is my major work at Bathurst’s TAFE. I am doing Certificate III Media.


Are we alone out there? is a 2.5 minute television show on alien and animals and finding out if the animals on Earth are not from this planet/galaxy? Like the dolphins in the fourth book of the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. The book is called So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish.

In the book the dolphins come out of the sea on their back fin saying “So long, and thanks for all the fish.” Then they leave Earth. I do not know if that is right because I haven’t read the books but my mum and other people who I know have read the books and have told me that it is from the books.

My mum suggested that I should call my TV show So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish but I like Are we alone out there?

With Are we alone out there? I am going to ask people about the animals they like and if they think that they are aliens. Like a giraffe with its tongue that is bluish-purple so it can eat the leaves on the top of the Acacia trees in the African sun.

I will also ask about other animals like monkeys, dogs, cats and fish.

Close encounters of the geeky kind

By Craig Nimmo
I sit at my laptop mouse in hand browsing through alien encounters on the internet the silence almost inviting the sound of a UFO landing outside to break it up. I snap out of that delusion but look to the window expecting a bright light of an alien spaceship anyway.

My name is Craig Nimmo and I am currently studying Certificate III in Multimedia. Aliens love them, hate them or just plain don’t believe in the fact is they are a big part of fiction as well as investigation. From the Rosewell incident of 1947 to the abduction of Betty and Barney Hill in 1961 detailed in the Project Blue Book files. Why do they come here in the first place? Are they interstellar tourists, explorers or just lost and wanting directions home? If they wanted to make contact why don’t they go straight to the top? Are they just shy or is it all just a plot by the government to cover up of something even bigger?

In the new film Paul they make use of the classic grey alien, a benign gentle fellow which is a big contrast to the aliens from 1996’s Dark Skies Series with the enigmatic Majestic 12. So are they just a product of an overactive imagination or reality yet to be proven true. The answer to this lies in the future. So if you’re a believer or not it’s always best to keep an open mind as was often quoted in ‘the X-files’, the truth is out there.

Grey alien (at top) embedded from http://www.trueghosttales.com/img/alien-grey.jpg

Mordy graphic (at bottom) created by Craig Nimmo, all rights reserved.