UOW STUDENT MAGAZINE
UOW’s by students, for students magazine.
Est. 1963.
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Merrigong Theatre Company presents The Queen’s Nanny at IPAC
Merrigong Theatre Company presents The Queen’s Nanny at the IPAC theatre from the 16th to the 19th of October. I had the pleasure of speaking with director, Priscilla Jackman where we spoke about the story and context of the play in a short interview. Here’s what I found: SERENA: Could you start with an overview…
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Sex Robot Advice Column
I just discovered that when my partner has sex with their robot, they exclusively get it off. I’ve been seeing someone for a few weeks, and things are going well so far – we have a lot in common, enjoy each other’s company, and enjoy having sex with each other. They also have a sex…
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Das Boot – Film Review Fridays
Das Boot (1981) dir. Wolfgang Petersen “They made us all train for this day. ‘To be fearless and proud and alone. To need no one, just sacrifice. All for the Fatherland.’ Oh God, all just empty words. It’s not the way they said it was, is it? I just want someone to be with.…
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Flash Gordon And Barbarella Vs The Galaxy – Film Review Friday
This week, we were doing a cleanout of the house and my zone was the attic. I’d never actually been in the attic before, and I had no idea what to expect. Armed with a flashlight, I lit up every chasm, picking up scraps of paper and plastic. In one corner I saw a glimmer.…
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The Substance – Film Review Friday
I’ve set the equipment along my bathroom sink. Firstly, the activator, a green vial to be injected in the arm, secondly, the food packs, one set for me and the other for him, and lastly the switch, for when I just want to sleep for a week. I slowly fill the needle and inject myself.…
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The Night Of The Hunter – Film Review Fridays
The Night of the Hunter (1955) dir. Charles Laughton “Ah, little lad, you’re staring at my fingers. Would you like me to tell you the little story of right-hand/left-hand? The story of good and evil?” Charles Laughton’s 1955 expressionistic masterpiece has, since its initial release, defied the typical categorisation attributed to films from critics and…
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Student General Meeting – Calling UOW to divest, disclose and cut all ties with Israel
On the 4th of September 2024, UOW students held the university’s first Student General Meeting for Palestine liberation. In preparation for this historic event, students posted videos, handed out flyers and put up banners to spread the news of the SGM. At 2:30pm, around 150 students, too many to fit in the small…
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Shame – Film Review Friday
We all want to be wanted, we all want to be desired, to be someone else’s drug. It’d be nice to be sexually revered. We hear differing opinions like “sex is poison” and “sex is power” or “sex is life”. That little endorphin kick as you and your partner become one in a single ever-lasting…
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Merrigong presents Agatha Christie’s The Mousetrap at the IPAC from 5th-15th September
Merrigong presents Agatha Christie’s The Mousetrap at the IPAC from the 5th – 15th September. I had the pleasure of attending on opening night and the performance quite literally had me at the edge of my seat the whole time. The stage was lavishly set as a 1950s living room of a newly-wed couple’s grand…
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My Own Private Idaho – Film Review Fridays
This Road Will Never End: An Elegy to Gus Van Sant’s ‘My Own Private Idaho’ As I write this, it’s 31 years to the day that River Phoenix died. October 31st, 1993. That makes it 31 years to the day that someone truly important to me died, and so it feels only fitting that I…
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Beau Is Afraid of The Thing – Double Feature Film Review Friday
Beau Is Afraid (2023) dir. Ari Aster I believe Social Horror is one of the more underrated, underappreciated horror subgenres. Whereas most horror films focus on a specific figure or community as villains, social horror focuses on reframing the world so that you unexpectedly become the villain. Protagonists can wake up one morning to find…
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Caligula: The Five Cuts Of Hell – Film Review Friday
In 1980, one of the most controversial films of all time hit theatres, chronicling the vulgar reign of the Roman emperor Gaius Caligula. The film was filled with horrific sex, graphic violence and a pretty confronting scene wherein Helen Mirren’s character gives birth in front of the Roman senators. From the start of production, the…
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Sweet
Last night I felt you near, as near as my own skin; With eyes that I’ve envisioned countless times in my dreams. Underneath the moonlit sky you pranced around in glee; In the place where you had left me – ages ago it seems. In the hour of my ruin, you offered me reprieve;…
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Friends in Every Universe?
You ask, “Do you think we’re friends in every universe?” My reaction is instinctive. Of course we are. You’re everything to me. My muse and my other half, as familiar to me as my reflection in a mirror. There’s nobody in this world that I consider myself closer to, nobody who understands me the way…
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Amber Glass
We look in the windows of apartments, rich and middle-class and imagine lives of ours. Swapping clothes with the woman lighting candles on her dining table. Cutting my hair like the woman reading under a lamp in her little library. Drinking wine that’s not from Aldi with just a few people who fill the entire…
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Dreams and despair of a pop-music icon
Brian Wilson, singer and principal songwriter for what today must look like an oldies act, The Beach Boys, is an interesting figure in the list of many heartbroken musicians that, understandably, pour their poor souls into the music so dearly loved by many. I say interesting because the guy’s been through more hoops than the…
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Merrigong presented Jurrungu Ngan-Ga [Straight Talk] at the IPAC
![Merrigong presented Jurrungu Ngan-Ga [Straight Talk] at the IPAC](https://tertangala.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/IMG_0322.webp)
I recently had the privilege of attending “Jurrungu Ngan-Ga [Straight Talk],” a powerful dance and theatre performance at the IPAC Merrigong Theatre. This thought-provoking show combined evocative dance with poignant acting to address the harrowing experiences of wrongly imprisoned Indigenous Australians, while also touching on the broader themes of injustice and displacement. The performance opened…
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The Dark Knight Returns – Film Review Friday
If you were to ask someone what their favorite Batman film is, chances are the answer would be from the Christopher Nolan trilogy. You may have the odd fellow out who enjoys the campiness of ‘Batman and Robin’ (such as myself), or the ridiculousness of ‘Forever’ with Jim Carrey’s over-the-top performance as the Riddler (also…
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Donné Restom presents two new shows in Sydney Fringe this week: an interview
Donné Restom, a Central-Coast-based playwright, storyteller, singer and mum, presents two new productions at the Sydney Fringe Festival this week. ‘Kink in the Tale: Storytelling for Grownups’ – a collection of stories about sex, intimacy and our kinky quirks told live on stage and ‘Everyone in my family is dead or about to be’ –…
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The Killing Of A Sacred Deer – Film Review Friday
Have you ever gotten the feeling that something is a little off, something’s not quite right but you can’t place your finger on it? You’re looking around waiting for Rod Serling to deliver a chilling monologue as you hear that hypnotising, sharp tune ring against your eardrums, but he’s not there. There’s nothing to relieve…
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The Killing – Film Review Friday
The Killing (1956) dir. Stanley Kubrick “You know, I’ve often thought that the gangster and the artist are the same in the eyes of the masses. They are admired and hero-worshipped, but there is always present underlying wish to see them destroyed at the peak of their glory.” The heist movie is one of those…
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Stranger Than Fiction – Film Review Fridays
“‘Stranger Than Fiction’ is a surrealist dramedy starring Will Ferrell”, Mason wrote. As the keys on his laptop clicked with every letter forming longer and longer sentences, his mind wandered to scenes from the film, in particular, the emotional finale where the main character finds himself closer to death than ever. What Mason did not…
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Flash Gordon and Close Encounters Of The Third Kind – Double Feature Review
Space. The far reaches of the universe. What lies beyond our galaxy? Is there anyone out there? Who sent out the alien signal in 1977? Mason Horsley is off to investigate the sudden disappearance of famed football legend Flash Gordon and crazed lunatic Hans Zarkov. Daniel Fagan has already left for America to interview Roy…
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MERRIGONGX Presents A Place in the Sultan’s Kitchen at IPAC
MERRIGONGX Theatre Company presents A Place in the Sultan’s Kitchen from the 8th to 10th of August at the IPAC. See the end of the article for information on tickets. Singer-songwriter and theatre-maker Joshua Hinton retells stories, passed down through generations and around the globe whilst cooking a loved family recipe on stage. Blending stories…
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The Apartment – Film Review Fridays
The Apartment (1960) dir. Billy Wilder “Ya know, I used to live like Robinson Crusoe; I mean, shipwrecked among 8 million people. And then one day I saw a footprint in the sand, and there you were.” You will never have an experience like watching Billy Wilder’s 1960 masterpiece The Apartment for the first time.…
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Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas – Film Review Friday
The drugs hit me at about the halfway mark of the trip. My best mate was driving when I looked up and saw the pterodactyls gliding across the sky I made sure to keep quiet, what could happen if my friend found out? Maybe he’d drive off a cliff in sheer panic and upon impact,…
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The Snow Women
Blankets of crystal-clear snow press against my boots. I had been traversing the tundra for four days, no – five. Or… seven? Someone can only take so much glimmering white powders now before losing their sanity. It sure didn’t help that I had found myself traversing countryside of a country I didn’t know. ‘さっぽろ雪まつり’, signs…
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The Darjeeling Limited – Film Review Friday
The Darjeeling Limited (2007) dir. Wes Anderson “I wonder if the three of us would’ve been friends in real life. Not as brothers, but as people.” If I had to choose a film from Wes Anderson’s rapidly growing filmography that has aged the finest, it would have to be 2009’s Fantastic Mr Fox, a film…
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The Thomas Crown Affair (1999) – Film Review Friday
10:30 PM. Chicago Institute of Art. Under the cover of darkness, Daniel flies me in a helicopter over the rooftop, I strap myself to the rope and rappel down. I jog over to the skylight and examine each frame. At the very end of the room it hangs: ‘Nighthawks’. I take my glass cutter and…
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EdCon Day 3: Education or Press Conference?
On the third day of EdCon, the schedule showed a queer office plenary but the socialist students running it had a different plan. When students started calling it the “free speech plenary”, a third of the whole plenary stood up and left the conference resulting in quite a bit of chaos as the socialist faction…
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Where’s My Special Features?
In 2006, we were introduced to two new formats: Blu-Ray and HD DVD. Media was evolving, 720 pixels weren’t enough for us anymore. We wanted more realistic video, more engaging sound, we wanted to physically feel the movie. The heat as John McClane jumped from an exploding helicopter, the shrill hiss of the Xenomorph right…
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EdCon Workshops: We Got ‘Paid’ Placements, Now What?
After the very intense plenary, we had three separate workshops which we could choose from. I attended the ‘We got ‘Paid’ placements, no what?’ workshop. The speaker started by giving us a recap of what has been going on with paid placements. She stated that there have been shortages since COVID and due to the…
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EdCon Day 2: Warfare First, Welfare Second
On Day 2 of Edcon, we started with the plenary from the welfare office where we discussed issues such as the food insecurity among students, accommodation and student life on campuses more broadly. The first question posed to the panel was, ‘how can our councils support students to address food insecurity?’ Melbourne’s University stated they…
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The Firm – Film Review Fridays
The Firm (1993) dir. Sydney Pollack “It’s not sexy, but it’s got teeth!” While the 21st century has seen its share of legal thrillers with 2023’s Academy Award winning Anatomy of a Fall, 2007’s Michael Clayton, and 2019’s criminally underseen Dark Waters it was in the 1990’s where legal thrillers made their mark on the…
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NUS Education Conference Day 1: Plenary With Plenty To Say
Every year, students from different universities around Australia, members of the National Union of Students (NUS), get together at a conference for several days to discuss, debate and learn about student politics and the direction of student life. The Education Conference this year is taking place at Curtin University in Perth and I had the…
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Requiem For A Dream – Film Review Fridays
You gaze down at your last hit. It could be a syringe, a tablet, some powder, it could be a beer or a shot of vodka. You try desperately not to grab at it, you’re in cold sweats just thinking about how calm it’ll be when you take it. It’s not about feeling good anymore,…
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Hit Man – Film Review Fridays
“If the ‘self’ is a construct, and it’s all just role play, do you think people can change?” Richard Linklater’s latest foray leads audiences to a road less travelled in the mainstream cinema of today. A road full of rough edges, diminished morality and a leading man who, had this movie been made in the…
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UOW’s Theatre and Performance’s ‘Fractured’: Four Part Play
Over the weekend I had the pleasure of attending a play put on by students at UOW called Fractured. It was a collection of four plays in which the first three were written by the celebrated socialist-feminist playwright Caryl Churchill: Kill, Glass and Bluebeard’s Friends. These plays delve into harsher themes such as love and…
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The Zone Of Interest – Film Review Fridays
The Zone of Interest was the area surrounding Auschwitz concentration camp created in 1941 to house SS officers. Right on the other side of the fence, Rudolf Höss and his family lived a privileged life inside a two-storey home with servants, a garden, a pool, access to a stream for fishing and the respect and…
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Life Cycle
I remember the first time I held you. So tiny, so fragile. Your eyes were wide with unshakable curiosity as you explored your new home for the very first time. You were everything I could’ve ever asked for. I could deal with all the gross things to come, but if that was the price of…
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Blue Velvet – Film Review Fridays
A P.I. walks down a dark, smoky alley, taking a shortcut on the way to a seedy speakeasy. As he walks down, raindrops from this morning’s monsoon fall to the black cobblestone path. The only light coming from the P.I.’s $10 cigarette which he sparks under his ruffled fedora. He takes one inhale, releases it…
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Distant Seas
As winds dance violently with my hair – I catch my mind wandering far and near – miss take my thoughts away from me – my country my soul desires to be – home Again, my mother’s arms embracing – my Eyes full of tears, my heart racing –…
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An Almost Heartbroken Death
This may be what kills me. In that moment Xanus could control nothing but his thoughts and if he could have moved his lips, he would’ve begged for it to not be his last. After everything he’d been through, for this to be the way he died seemed too cruel, but there was nothing…
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My Dear Old Friend
I have barely seen you these past few years, but there are holes in my heart that belong to you. And memories marked with your name in the buzz of my head. Do you remember my phone number from when we were kids? I want to call home. But the numbers disconnected, nobody answers. In…
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The Song of the Forever Rains to Wash Your Heartbreak Blues Away
The Song of the Forever Rains by E. J. Mellow is a charming book to read when you want a simple romantasy without too much complication and to gain an actually nice, generic book boyfriend. It is the first book in a trilogy revolving around the Mousai, otherwise known as the Basette sisters. Each sister…
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UOW’s Theatre and Performance’s ‘Saved’: “steeped in Marxist sentiment”
The other night I got to see UOW perform a play called Saved. This was not an original UOW production, rather it was an adaption of Edward Bond’s Saved (1965). As it says on the UOW performances listing, Edward Bond tragically passed away during the first week of UOW’s rehearsal. While I highly recommend that…
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Reflections on a musical rendition of American Psycho
Last weekend I saw the Illawarra Performing Art Centre (IPAC) have a stab at adapting American Psycho. The IPAC’s version – which is sadly no longer showing – was musical theatre, and I left the auditorium feeling elated by all the cool critiques about contemporary society, nodding profusely like a pointy-headed doomer at its mention…
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‘First Men In The Moon’ & ‘Planet Of The Apes’ – Double Feature Review
Action! Thrills! Mystery! The cinema of yesteryear never dies! Whether you’re running from the 50 foot woman or exploring the final frontiers on the U.S.S. Enterprise, there’ll always be a case to investigate, a monstrous villain to defeat and heroics to be done! Join Mason Horsley as he takes you on a journey across the…
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Birdman – Film Review Fridays
I actually had a dream like Birdman once, a year or two ago. Instead of a Broadway theatre, it was a school hall and I went through the same motions as Micheal Keaton. I was directing a play with Edward Norton but he was slowly turning the cast against me. Quite bizarrely, he decided to…
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‘& Juliet’ – A Review
As a university student, I was fortunate to witness the Sydney musical ‘& Juliet,’ a production that breathed new life into a classic story. This modern adaptation of the timeless love story of Romeo and Juliet was not only captivating but also entertaining, offering a fresh and unique perspective. The cast’s performances were the true highlight…
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UOW Theatre and Performance’s ‘Who’s the Best’: Competition and Insecurity
Life is a competition, that’s why they call it the “human race”. Everyday, even if you don’t think it, you’re competing. Even on the way to the show, I was thinking “damn it, I should be writing more, everyone else there will be further ahead of me in their art form”. You might be competing…
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Fire and Rain: an evening with Xavier Do
It’s about 7:30 on a cold, rainy Tuesday, and I’m one of only a few patrons at the UniBar’s open mic night. However, I’m also one of the lucky ones, as those of us who did brave the storm to come out tonight are witnessing a truly special performance from upcoming alternative pop singer-songwriter Xavier…
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Changes for UOW coming in this year’s federal budget
Treasurer Jim Chalmers has handed down this year’s federal budget, the third of the Albanese government and recording a surplus of $9 billion. The main focus of this budget is alleviating cost-of-living pressures. It also introduces a “Future Made in Australia” initiative that includes a number of changes to the higher education system. The…
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Executions and E Notes
‘American Psycho – The Musical’ is coming to the Wollongong stage this month at IPAC from April 23-25. This production is from local theatre company Rising Arts Productions. I had a chat with Alex Perritt, the actor taking on the role of a murderous Wall Street bro, about his craft, singing about killing and the…
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UOW Theatre and Performance’s ‘Maryland’: The Weight of Fear
TW: SA The room is dimly lit. A woman stands on stage. Her name is Mary. Mary is shaking. A police officer stands in front of Mary. He knows her story. Mary’s story is this: Mary has been hurt. Mary has been assaulted. Mary has been attacked and she has been violated and she…
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Licorice Pizza In Society City – Film Review Fridays
5:25 PM. 1 hour, 5 minutes till doors open. I make a mad dash out of work to the car, the rain is splattering down, so I’m careful on my way home, but I still don’t want to be late. Event Cinemas will spam you with 20 minutes worth of trailers and ads that I…
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MerrigongX presents Kay Proudlove’s ‘Dear Diary’: An interview by Cameron De Nysschen
After winning the hearts of Wollongong audiences with her MERRIGONGX debut in 2022, Kay Proudlove’s endearing comedy about the agony of growing up, Dear Diary, returns to Wollongong as a part of a national tour from the 8th to 11th of May. Dear Diary takes audiences on a journey into Kay’s teenage diaries through a…
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Malaga in View: Travel Tuesdays with Serena
Welcome back, dear readers, to this week’s Travelling Tuesday where I’ll be talking more about my trip to Spain, travelling on my own for the first time. This is part two of my journey through Malaga. To refresh, I had arrived in Malaga and seen a few tourist attractions on my way to the beach;…
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Monty Python’s The Holy Grail and The Meaning Of Life – Double Feature Review
Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975) dir. Terry Gilliam & Terry Jones – Review by Daniel Fagan Wi nøt trei ạ høliday in Sweden this yër? It would be impossible to list the most famous scenes from Monty Python and the Holy Grail, that endeavour could only end with a scene-by-scene recounting of the whole…
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Finding the Money (to steer the Titanic)
On Wednesday 13th of March, I was invited to see Stephanie Kelton present her new documentary called Finding the Money. Stephanie Kelton was a former advisor to Bernie Sanders during the 2016 election, and she is currently a leading proponent of an economic idea called Modern Monetary Theory, which is what the documentary was about.…
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Drag Race: Down South – Interviewing Ellawarra and Roxee Horror
Illawarra – Welcome to your “Competitive Drag” era! For the third year in a row, La La La’s and Wollongong Drag Icons – Ellawarra (@ellawarra) and Roxee Horror (@roxee.horror) are teaming up to showcase some of the most Charismatic, Unique and Talented new drag performers in the Illawarra in Drag Race: Down South. For five…
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Sweet Sounds of Sundown
By nine forty-five the UniBar is quiet, and the energy is waning with each passing minute. This wouldn’t be an issue on a Friday or Saturday night, but it’s a Tuesday and the patrons are struggling to find an excuse to justify staying out just a little bit later. The room needs an injection of…
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Spanish Shenanigans: Travel Tuesdays with Serena
Welcome back, dear readers, to this week’s Travelling Tuesday with me where I’ll be taking you down the narrow, cobbly streets of Spain and its sandy, sunny beaches. After another few weeks of studying, Easter holidays finally came around. Students have a whole month of holidays to relax, get back home to their families and…
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Bros – Film Review Fridays
Our identity is the most important thing to any of us, who wants a world of clones? It’s important that we don’t take ourselves too seriously, though. I’m a straight white man, I understand attention to all other genders and sexualities isn’t an attack or some plot to alienate and villainise mine. We’re all people,…
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Final Girls – Women Doomed to Live, to Women Made to Survive.
The evolution of ‘Final Girls’ in horror films. Grace La Domas trudges down the steps of her husband’s heritage manor and settles herself down. She oversees the courtyard before her – a scenery of immaculately placed wedding seats; devoid of human activity and untouched by the filth she has endured within the last 24 hours…
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Cambridge Commotion: Travel Tuesdays with Serena
Welcome back, dear readers, to this week’s Travelling Tuesday where I’ll be talking about another random and not-well-thought-of trip around England. Perhaps a bit lighter in mood as opposed to last week’s, in this piece I’ll be writing about my experience going to the University of Cambridge. Ever since I was a little girl, I…
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Break Appetit//eyes
‘Break Appetit’ What is there to eat when the food runs out? Pad your stomach with the briny gruel of rage. What is there to feel when hunger gnaws at feeling? Chisel your nerves in the comfort of numbness. Does human flesh taste like survival? My, what big teeth you have. ‘eyes’ …
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Within the Viewfinder
Marie slips the nail of her ring finger beneath the sleeve of her thick woollen jacket, peeling it back to reveal the watch face. Its little hand paces impatient circles around eight forty-five, collecting frantic seconds. She sighs with frustration, shuffling her boots in the snow. He is fifteen minutes late. The newspaper has tasked…
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Boys Don’t Cry – Film Review Fridays
We all struggle with identity, being caught between who we want to be and what everyone would prefer us to be. We’ll all come to an age where we don’t have the slightest idea who we are as people. We may realise who we are, act as who we are, but to the dismay and…
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Empure: Punk is Still Alive, and it Isn’t Going Away Anytime Soon
It’s incredibly easy to overlook just how hard putting on a good live performance is. On top of technical ability, you need the charisma to enthral the crowd and the style to match. You need the ability to keep the music ebbing and flowing throughout the set, even when things start to go awry (Grime’s…
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The Insanities of UK Bars: Travel Tuesdays with Serena
Welcome back, dear reader, to Travel Tuesdays with yours truly. This week I’ll be writing about the insanities of UK bars and clubs and the events that have taken place in the past few weeks past the hour of two in the morning. For those who have been reading from week one, you’ll have…
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Brokeback Mountain – Film Review Fridays
It can be hard learning new things about yourself, you can live your whole life believing you’re tough, when you find you’re human. You can live your whole life believing you’re generous and kind, only to find there’s a darker side to you, more unforgiving and vengeful. You might wake up one day or finish…
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Wild Dogs Under My Skirt – Interviewing Stacey Leilua
Merrigong Theatre Company is thrilled to present one of New Zealand’s most successful theatrical exports, Tustiata Avia’s Wild Dogs Under My Skirt at the Illawarra Performing Arts Centre from the 10th to 13th April. Adapted by Tusiata Avia’s poetry collection, Wild Dogs Under My Skirt is a provocative and unapologetic examination and celebration of what…
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Profanity – Eclectic Vibes with a Grungy Undertone
There is a certain allure that accompanies the open mic night. You’re never entirely sure what to expect. The only thing you know is that what you’re about to experience will be truly authentic, that the people who make their way on stage are as enthusiastic about their music they’ve made as they are about…
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The Handmaid’s Tale – Film Review Friday
Where will you be at the end of the world? Will you be at home with your family, defending with a double-barrel shotgun? Will you be wandering the streets looking for anyone to answer your frightened calls? Will you be taken prisoner by a gang of mutated, mohawked motorcyclists? Or will you be cast into…
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The Magic Joint
Written by Kirsten Hammermeister and illustrated by Sash Lynch *This was originally published in the ‘Tertangala: Horror Issue’ (2023)
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Under the Light
Indie-pop trio San Cisco will be on the road heading to the UniBar this May. All that month San Cisco will be showing the regional towns some love and performing songs from their latest album Under the Light, and probably a few of the classics too. November this year will mark 12 years since their…
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Joseph Vieira – Sepia-Toned Tracks With Watercolour Sentiments
Amidst a wave of electronic synths and amorphous pop sounds, newcomer folk artist, Joseph Vieira, digs his heels into the more modest, rustic side of music. Addressing the audience at the University of Wollongong’s Unibar, Vieira adorned the infamous stage with a wanderer spirit radiating off of him in waves – it truly is just…
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All Aboard the Brontë Bus: Travel Tuesdays with Serena
Welcome back, readers, to Travel Tuesdays with Serena where this week I’ll be writing about my travels on my days off from school and my horrible, horrible planning skills that almost led me to multiple panic attacks. (I’m fine now). After settling into classes and getting a pretty solid daily routine going, I found myself…
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‘The Double’ / ‘Enemy’ – Film Review Friday
In 2013, two films released, ‘The Double’ and ‘Enemy’ both following the story of a man meeting his doppelganger, much more handsome, much more charismatic, much more powerful in every way. Both films were based on books, ‘The Double’ on a Dostoyevsky novella and ‘Enemy’ on a Saramago novel, both books following almost the exact…
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Poo Man
Poo Man thought he would make a new hat. He had plenty of things to make a hat. He needed a shave too. He had been so involved in his project lately that he was starting to forget to look after himself. Israeli power stations seeped into the afternoon air. The park that Poo Man…
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The Friend
There once was a boy named Craig who was very unfortunate. One of these misfortunes was that his name was Craig, and not something like Daemon, or Link or Zuko (as his fellow classmates were named). Other misfortunes involved said classmates with whom he went to school, and if he were to really pity himself…
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Served
Tonight, I am ethereal, and I glow. With a midnight blue light stretching across my skin, I am an alien. Tonight, you ask for a shot and a cocktail and a cigarette and a resurrection of your soul. And tonight, I am a human-like alien. In a bar, in the rushed streets of nightlife Melbourne.…
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Almost Famous – Film Review Fridays
We’ve all seen and heard the mad escapades of rock stars. Ozzy Osbourne biting into a live bat onstage, Nikki Sixx of Motley Crue sleeping with the wife of Bruce Dickinson (lead singer of Iron Maiden), Eric Clapton challenging George Harrison to a guitar duel over Harrison’s wife, and I’m sure we’ve all seen Billie…
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Roadkill
it’s fresh when I pass it by guts glistening in the dim headlights, a red smear of viscera across the dewy morning concrete. as I try and fail to not let my eyes linger, i wonder if, like me, you had a destination in mind. i see you from around the bend, misshapen lump…
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Eastwood – Waves of Dreamy and Apocalyptic Sweetness
I rocked up to the UniBar’s Open-Mic around quarter to ten all tired and jaded, but walking into the UniBar around this time was the kind of electric shock needed to make anyone jump out of their skin and bask in the sonic swirls that remind you why ancient cultures worshiped gods of ritual madness…
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Edition Five: Travel Tuesdays with Serena
“Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world” Welcome back, readers, to this week’s column where I’ll be writing about the first week of uni on exchange in the UK. I initially thought that studying on exchange would be a cool additional thing to have on my record, which…
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Strawberry Blonde
TW: Pedophilia By Chloe Payne The shit and piss soaked rug burns into my nostril hairs late in the night. It gurgles and splutters lively out of its host — before setting into a burgundy crisp mess on the wooden floor panels. Crimson specs can be seen on an orange left alone. I begin to…
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What is Philosophy? – Via Gilles Deleuze
Introduction: Let’s first start with a statement: human life is suffering. Throughout history, ranging from our ancestor, the first Homo Sapien who stepped foot out of Africa to 2024’s Homo sapiens who work in offices and type at their computers, all have experienced or are still experiencing life’s pain and suffering. What causes pain and…
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Teatime
TW for unpleasant eating experience/gagging Harry held his pinky out as he drank, pursing his lips to sip a shy mouthful of tea. He smiled and set the cup down on its saucer, careful not to let it clink. ‘How’d you like it?’ ‘Delightful, madam.’ ‘Try the spaghetti.’ Harry hummed. This moment had happened once…
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The Whale – Film Review Fridays
You are not your mistakes, you are not your past, you are not your failures. You are your future. We all deal with setbacks differently, a few too many drinks in the evening, a full afternoon with headphones on listening to your perfectly crafted Spotify playlist featuring songs like “Say Something” or “Glycerine”. You might…
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O-Week: The Thursday
Thursday’s sort was a successive lineup of three bands playing at the UniBar. The problem is that O-Fest has it’s spectacle located outside UniBar, music and play around the duck pond and such, and club stalls circling the whole library-cafeteria-jugglers-lawn perimeter; if anyone was to be at UniBar, it was probably because something loud and…
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SILVIA LANE – A Cataclysmic Trip of Controlled Chaos
Nobody knows better how to control chaos than two boys from Wollongong, and it’s safe to say that the newly seasoned band have earned their stripes. The two-man band, Silvia Lane graced the University of Wollongong’s infamous UniBar stage Tuesday night alongside an array of fresh local artists with a transformative, psychedelic performance that refused…
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Meeting O-Week Stars
With o-week having come to an end and the grind of uni underway, here’s The Tertangala’s scoop on the serious talent we got to witness. I had a chat with some of the musicians who are defining the golden standard of artistry on display right here UOW – o-week and beyond, you’ll want to commit…
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Atonement – Film Review Fridays
We’ve all said or done something we’ve regretted, whether it be saying terrible things about someone or hitting someone or sabotaging or lying or cheating. The general consensus is that as long as we learn and live with what we’ve done, whatever sins we commit don’t completely determine who we are. I’ve gotten angry and…
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Rose and Crown – Travel Tuesdays with Serena
“Good friends, good books and a sleepy conscious; this is the ideal life” -Mark Twain Welcome back, readers, to this week’s edition of Travel Tuesdays with Serena. The past few days have been both excitingly eventful and dreadfully uneventful at the same time. I thought once I got here I would be more than keen…
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Blue Valentine – Film Review Fridays
Romance and dating may come quite easy to us. However, in the drug-haze known as love, our judgement could be clouded, we may overlook warning signs, ignore all the ways the two of you are so different, ignore all conflicts and simply write it off as a petty, meaningless little argument. But you could be…
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Delighted in Solitude: Travel Tuesdays with Serena
“Whosoever is delighted in solitude is either a wild beast or a god.” -Aristotle Welcome back to my travel column. The first day in a foreign country alone is, in my opinion, one of the most exciting and at the same time scary moments in one’s life. I can say with absolute certainty that I…
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Sinner
‘It’s in the sway of her hips I can see her sins. Like a an STD; it crawls through her blood. Her lips cushion with a shade of sex; A chemist perfume lingers from across the bar. The gripping cloth leaves nothing to the imagination, She has the men crawling to her. The power…
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Her – Film Review Fridays
Dating is hard, there’s a whole world out there, with only a small percentage of people in the world who could be your match. Sometimes it’s easier for us to settle for less, we don’t get hurt, we can maybe get more out of almost nothing, just a talk now and then from someone of another gender or…
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33 hours to Nottingham: Travel Tuesdays with Serena
Hello again… I am now settled into my room at the University of Nottingham. Granted, all my stuff is still in my suitcases and bag and not one thing is in its proper place, but at least I’m here. And what a journey it has been. Let me tell you, reader, that travelling across the…
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How to lead? Nietzsche and Machiavelli: From Fear to ‘The Will to Power’
How to be a good leader? That has been one of the most difficult questions that our society struggled with throughout the years. For me this is a very difficult question since so many elements and qualities contribute to a good and well-functioning leader. In an attempt to answer this question, I will use two…
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Dream Scenario – Film Review Friday
What was your last dream about? Can you remember it? Was it dangerous or weird or maybe wholesome? Was it absurd or horrific or hilarious? The one I remember most vividly is the one where I yell at Edward Norton as I direct him in a stage play. Or there was the one where I…
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Monday Fever
To his alarm, great purple hammocks hung beneath his eyes, sore to the morning sun. Wrestling house keys to the car, it had stung to jog, spurred by the memory that he’d done mere nothing of the work his boss had sprung upon him two weeks back… too much among other tasks, and paralysis of…
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Welcome to Travel Tuesdays with Serena!
Image credit: University of Nottingham “New year, new me” is a cliche for a reason. Welcome to the first part of my weekly travel blog, where I’ll be posting regular updates on my exchange experience as an Australian student moving to the UK. Stay tuned to read more about travel expenses, student life, campus accommodation,…
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Clingin’ in the rain
The storm is chaos. Flashes of light streak sporadically through the creases of your blinds – shining the tiny shoebox of a bedroom ivory. In between beams of light, the thumping and pounding of thunder force you awake. Every fragment of your flesh bumps up in a shiver at the noises and sights you can…
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Fatherland
Family portrait 1 by Helen Norton, from the series of paintings “ Once Upon a Time there was a Man”, published in 1995. Part 1: “Hey Marcus!!! What’s up with you?”, a voice echoes from the back of the bus. Marcus turns his back and scans the bus, faces and faces pass through…
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Familiarity
I know those eyes. The cold unfeeling blue. I know that malicious smile. The grinding and retching of the teeth. I know those freckles. The splattered pattern like a bleach stained dress. The blonde hair. The gaunt cheeks. The vacant stare. I know those features. Because they are features of me. I slowly reach out…
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A Time to Kill – Film Review Friday
No matter what part of the world you live in, whether it be the sandy beaches of the Bahamas, the tranquil water villages of the Netherlands or the harsh deserts of the Outback, the one undeniable aspect of life is hate: hate for race, hate for gender, hate for actions, hate for attitudes. Like it…
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The Iron Claw – Film Review Friday
We can throw ourselves into the belly of the beast and work ourselves to the bone to achieve our goals, but it’s all about a healthy balance. Sometimes you’ll find people who believe the way is more play and less work, sometimes you’ll find people who believe the opposite: That there’s no other way to…
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Walking the Rocks
Here squats a sandstone city, its streets choked by motley cloth, Crowd River; bank brimming over toes tucked beneath dark waters cloaked by shade of steel shoulders, hunched, crouching. Light ripples on its water, blending hues which glimmer a vibrant crescendo to grins glistening. Wealthy tourists choose cockatoo or kangaroo memento. String lights gleam like…
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We Need a Pianist
I arrive at the Pavilion at 7:30pm in my best maroon suit. Stressing about my fingers. I’ve parked, engine’s off. Unfurl my fingers, staring, and thinking, they’re not broken anymore, and there won’t be an accident tonight that changes that. So, I go inside. The Pavilion is one of those old and grand buildings that’s…
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Mean Girls (2024) – Film Review Friday
Welcome back to high school, take a seat at your desk before all the good spots are taken. Just make sure you choose correctly. If you sit next to Nick, be prepared for every class to be an hour-long discussion about soccer. If you sit next to Mandy, your ears will probably hurt from all…
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Bonding
I. In the deep woods, the decaying and overgrown world, the twisted vines snap, frail from whips of wind. I am consumed, by the hollowness of the night. Here lie the crystals, the mild candlelight and my sacrifice – a bloody, fluffy bunny. Crafted cantations carved from my carnal craze. Cracking call ringing in the…
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Ferrari – Film Review Friday
One of the most satisfying things to experience in film is a character’s ultimate downfall. Their entire world crumbling around them, leaving them like swimmers gasping for air 1000 kilometres deep below the horizon, a character’s flaws and sins paving the way for the most unbeatable obstacles they have ever faced. Micheal Mann did to…
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Creating Space: Interviewing Wollongong Music Circle
“We want to create a circle, a community that can bring us together, so that you can get feedback from people that understand you, network and find resources.” This is what co-founder Martin Sholl said when asked why the name ‘Wollongong Music Circle’? Only formed in the tail end of 2023, this group aims to…
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Siege
The Quaint residence abides around a cold street corner at 92 C Gosemer Rd, Meralvile, where tall apartments tower over a red door. The porch angles so slightly to the left, leaving an embellishment of chipped paint on its corner where the timber meets the concrete. This is where Mrs Quaint returns home in the…
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Ardent Spirits
The effects of ardent spirits upon the human body and mind: Obstruction of the liver, Jaundice and dropsy of every cavity in the body, Diabetes, Voices, music. Now the empty street footsteps and an empty bottle. Falsehood, fraud, theft, and murder, An overpass. The tangled veins of the city below. A car…
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Monkey Shines – Film Review Friday
n 1963, Alfred Hitchcock sought to villainise the beasts of the air in his film The Birds, showing the aerial demons can be more predatory than we give credit. In 1975, Steven Spielberg terrified us of the hammerheads, bulls and great white sharks in Jaws, and for a while the idea of swimming at the…
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Doomsday, Man
I’m no blushing bride when it comes to a good snog sesh, but someone’s stank ass breath can really kill the vibe. This gaping maw throws an absolute rancid gush of air at me, landing like a wet sock across my cheek. I am not breathing that. Not chill, dude. Their little liver-purple tongue is…
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The Boy and The Heron – Film Review Friday
Imagine a tower not too far away from your home, the endless hours wondering what purpose it served. There was always some building in our childhood that enchanted us like that. For me, it was the iron, alien spire that would later be renamed to “telephone tower”. But what purpose did it actually serve? Was…
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Den
There are rats nesting beneath the stairwell bordering the doorway to our little shared house. Their little fingers scratch in the dirt, and their black eyes gleam like beads. They scour the alley to glean bits and pieces, fresh nibblings, fine for a rat’s dinner. Up creaking stairs they trot, the chunky food between teeth,…
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An attempt to develop a better understanding of Nietzsche
The following statements represent my personal reflections on Friedrich Nietzsche and his work, ‘Beyond Good and Evil’. The aim is to deepen my understanding of his philosophical contributions, and I welcome any criticisms and comments. The analysis below focuses on lines 12, 13, and 14 from chapter one of the book, titled ‘On the Prejudices…
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Merrigong Theatre Company presented A Midsummer Night’s Dream in Wollongong’s Botanic Gardens
Merrigong Theatre Company presented A Midsummer Night’s Dream in Wollongong’s Botanic Gardens Merrigong Theatre Company was thrilled to present Wollongong’s first Shakespeare in the Garden – A Midsummer Night’s Dream; an enthralling open-air performance in the Wollongong Botanic Garden that went from the 9th to 26th November. Directed by Merrigong Theatre Company’s Artistic Development Manager,…
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Student conference ends in chaos: NatCon day four
Feature image: Members of Socialist Alternative leave the conference early after a chaotic end to NatCon 2023. Photo courtesy of Lachlan White. A rooster of boring morning ballots Student media woke Thursday morning wanting more saucy coverage. Turns out there were just quiet ballot votes amongst the factions to elect executives for NUS.…
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The Ghost of Mount Keira
By Max Mandile Mount Keira harbours dark secrets. I’ve often felt a sense of unease in the area… a sense of wonderment. Living so close to it, I would often hear strange noises echo from the mountain and would see weird things occur when summiting the mountain at night (once the sky even glowed orange, visible…
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Drag Me to Hell – Film Review Friday
Perhaps one of the most dangerous possessions are grudges. The past can be held in the hands of people you would never guess. Think you’re the nicest person you know? Think again. Even the best people are not immune to being taken down by an enemy for a slight against them. So when Christine Brown…
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Disability advocate says student conference is “inaccessible” and “ableist”
(Feature image) Muawiyath carries this chair as a “symbol of rebellion against indifference to our needs.” Photo courtesy of Lachlan White. A disability advocate attending a peak national student conference has accused organisers of ignoring his disability requirements. Muawiyath (Muthu) Didi is an independent delegate from Flinders University Student Association (FUSA) attending the annual meeting…
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“Emotions are high, tensions are high.” NatCon day three
(Feature image) delegates line up for the most important session of the day, Dinner Conference (DinCon). The nation’s student politicians have gathered in Ballarat for day three of the National Conference (NatCon) of the National Union of Students (NUS). Once again there was passionate debate on NUS policy and the stance of the NUS…
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Witch
I am the woman who disappeared into the mist in her last life, The one who ran off the lip of the cliff, And whose body was never found at the bottom, They call me witch, with a hiss. They nudge me towards damnation, And I go with long strides, And a smile, For hell…
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NatCon is risen: Day two
If you happened to walk by Federation University’s Q2 building at 9am on Tuesday morning, you would have noticed a sorry sight. Hungover people in blue shirts that say ‘Unity’ lying in the sun, student media desperately searching Google Maps for a nearby cafe and others kicking a footy out on the nearby oval. What…
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Where’s NLS? NatCon day one
The National Union of Students’ National Conference descended on a cold, grey and rainy Ballarat on Monday, arguably a fitting tone for the day’s proceedings. After a lengthy check-in, the conference opened a respectable two hours late at 4pm, and only managed to survive one of the two sessions planned for the day. We’ll start…
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Nigredo
Truong wakes up to the sound of his phone ringing, unwilling to touch it. He tries to ignore the sound and turns his body to the wall side. Consistently, it keeps ringing, beat after beat after beat. He awakens angrily and proceeds to pick up the phone. “Who is this?” he says with a high-pitched…
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Spooky101
For the Spooky Edition, I’ve decided to shine a light on the members of our uni’s Spooky community. While they might be easy to miss, they’re just as passionate about their futures as us. For example; the late Jayden Harris. Jayden joined the Spooky community shortly after getting lost in Building 19. Shaken and out…
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‘Lolita’ – Film Review Friday
This week, I dedicated my time to experiencing, what I was told to be, one of the most disturbing film adaptations to be filmed, boasting inappropriate relationships to make you squirm and wither like a dried apricot. What I found, however, was an examination into the mind of a sexual deviant, which I ultimately found…
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Hold the Note
It’s late morning, and the paterfamilias has donned his formal attire. The toga cloaking the loose folds of his chiton is blue with a fluffy grey lining on the collar and sash. His bare feet are swathed in a pair of long woollen socks, pulled high over the rolls of his baggy grey sweatpants. From…
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Natcon 2023: What is it – and why care?
Well, it’s that time of year again. Christmas lights are beginning to colour the streets, Mariah Carey is playing in the shops again and student politicians are preparing their vocal chords for the annual screaming match known as NatCon. So, what is this so-called ‘stupol schoolies’ anyway? And why should you care? The National…
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Bad Boys Get the Dark
By Jacob Wood When the Dark was in control, Lester had little idea of his surroundings; could see nothing but shifting shadows. For brief moments at a time he could hear fevered shuffling, the scraping of harsh blades and a horrid stench that came over him in fetid waves. For the first time, though, he…
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‘Thanksgiving’ – Film Review Friday
The table is set, the cutlery’s shining, everybody’s gathered around the glazed, fatted turkey, you can just smell the sweet meat as the knife slices like butter. One slice, two slices, each making their way to everyone’s plates. Before we eat, we clasp our hands and declare what we’re thankful for this year. Uncle Dan…
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UOW Theatre and Performance’s ‘The Flu Season’: The Snow Romance
‘The Flu Season’, written by Will Eno and directed by Michelle Fry as part of their honours course, was a fascinating and deeply moving production, playfully pulling between sadness and sharp humour. Set in the depressing scene of a psychiatric centre, ‘The Flu Season’ exposes the expanse of human experience by placing its setting in…
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The Final Crescendo – Reviewing GradFest
Friday 10th of November, I had the pleasure of attending UOW’s Music Gradfest. This event was hosted by the third-year creative arts, music students of Wollongong Uni. Mesmerised is an understatement. These were regular people who you’d pass by casually on campus, but Friday night at the Jillian Broadbent building revealed their undeniable talent. You…
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Musings – Interviewing UOW Music Students
A couple weeks ago we had a chat with UOW third year music students Tom Price, Ella Grace, Jess Anderson and Daniel Munro about their music, their time at uni and the Music GradFest held earlier this month. Get to know the musicians below and commit their names to memory because you’ll discover, just as…
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Review: Interpol & Bloc Party @ Hordern Pavillion, w/ Dust (Sydney)
Last weekend, indie-rock legends Interpol and Bloc Party co-headlined two shows in Sydney at the Hordern Pavilion for the first time post-COVID. The hype was real. Safe to say both bands dominated the stages just as they did in their impactful era of the 2000s, and despite their prolonged absence, both iconic bands illuminated the…
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‘Into the Wind’ – Film Review Friday
As we approach the new year, we yearn for more freedom and independence, we’re another year older and wiser. We want to explore the world, fight for ourselves, get amongst nature. We want to become human beings. We might want to start fresh, eliminate any previous version of ourselves and become who we learn, not…
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Merrigong X presented Landed by Frumpus at the IPAC
Merrigong X presented Landed by Frumpus at the IPAC All-women performance group, Frumpus, returned to IPAC with their new show, Landed. Their nonsensical performance left audiences with a wonderful but strange feeling of confusion. The group, made up of Cheryle Moore, Lenny Ann Low and Stephanie Hart, formed in the 90s and after…
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Wollongong, a city I love
Wollongong, a city I love. Wollongong has been more than just a location; it’s a community where I’ve forged meaningful connections, found a new place to call home, and experienced a unique way of life. From the warmth of newfound friendships to the breathtaking beauty of the beach, every moment has contributed to my love…
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UOW Theatre and Performance’s ‘The Antipodes’: A Writer’s Take on Actors Playing Writers
DISCLAIMER: As a reviewer and writer, I feel it is my duty to disclose my closeness to this play to maintain reviewer integrity. Full disclosure, I know most of this cast and crew well and one of them is in fact my boyfriend, Mitchell Lee. The Antipodes by Annie Baker is a play about a…
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Champions – Film Review Friday
First, Woody Harrelson starred alongside Wesley Snipes in ‘White Men Can’t Jump’, a comedy film in which Harrelson is a conman, teaming up with Snipes in order to bet on himself in a basketball game and win big. Next, Harrelson starred alongside Will Ferrell in ‘Semi-Pro’ where he plays a backup point guard who gets…
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‘Clerks’ – Film Review Friday
You wake up to your ringtone, eyes blurry, you reach out and grab it to see it’s work. Your manager or your co-worker whose guts you hate is ringing you up for a shift. Either one of two things are going to happen, you’ll tell them you have plans today or they’ll successfully guilt you…
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UOW Theatre and Performance’s ‘The Iphigenia Project’: The Delirium of Grief and Warfare
‘The Iphigenia Project’ follows the production of two plays, Iphigenia and Clytemnestra by Suhayla El-Bushra and Lulu Raczka, respectively, that independently and correspondingly explores the sacrificial burden of duty and grief amidst a background of war. Clytemnestra, while not as action-packed as its predecessor, demonstrates a necessary meditation on love and grief following the sacrifice…
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UOW Theatre and Performance’s ‘Justified and Ancient’: Chaotically Captivating
The Scream is a painting by the Norwegian artist Edvard Munch. The Scream is one of the five most famous paintings in the world. The Scream was painted in 1893 In the background of the painting are two men dressed in black wearing black top hats. These two men were the then representatives of the…
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UOW Theatre and Performance’s ‘Chekhov in Hell’: Loose in London
UOW’s theatre season is pumping this year, with some exciting performances that will be blowing the roof off of the Julian Broadbent building. This week we have Dan Rebellato’s Chekhov in Hell, directed by Peta Downes, appearing from the 26th to the 28th of October 2023. The coming weeks will see The Iphigenia Project, Life…
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Skinamarink – Film Review Friday
You’re in bed, you just woke up from a sudden sound you can’t exactly remember, but it almost scared you to death. You’re staring up at the ceiling, you don’t want to go back to sleep, if you go to sleep, whatever made that sound might get you. You carefully and slowly get out of…
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Merrigong Theatre Company to present The Visitors at IPAC
Merrigong Theatre Company presents Sydney Theatre Company and Moogahlin Performing Arts’s The Visitors by Muruwari playwright Jane Harrison, at Illawarra Performing Arts Centre from 25th to 28th of October. This moving but humorous show turns back time, taking you to one of the most significant moments in this country’s history. This award-winning show tells the…
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Pet Sematary – Film Review Friday
Walking down a dirt road, through bushes and abundant trees, you come across a sign. It’s clearly misspelled, you look beyond and see millions of crosses and tombstones. “Lucky”, “Rover”, “Spot”, we all wish they were able to come back to us. Browsing on Stan again, and taking a co-worker’s recommendation, I watched the 1989…
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Centre Stage: From UOW to Sydney
UOW graduate Irelish Barker and 2nd year student Anna Krywyj Moore are both emerging artists working with Shopfront Arts Co-Op and Q Theatre Penrith in an artist residency program called ArtsLab. Along with two other artists, they have put together works for the ArtsLab: Drifters festival taking place at 107 Redfern and The Joan, Penrith.…
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‘Looking at Rainbows Through Kluak’
Martinus Dwi Marianto, ‘Looking at Rainbows Through Kluak,’ (55cm x 55cm, direct file transfer on canvas, 2023). According to historian and Indonesianist, Dr Rob Goodfellow (PhD UOW) “Something happens when we are confronted by authentic novelty.” By this, Goodfellow means, “Something so inventive that there are few clear terms of reference by which to interpret…
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“He just bled out in front of me.” Paul Jones on war photography and journalism
Content warning: article contains descriptions of death and injury in armed conflict Paul Jones is a photographer, photojournalist and writer. He’s covered it all: Nelson Mandela’s campaign trail in 1994, the Rwandan Genocide, the Second Intifada in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories, the recent coup in Myanmar and whale hunters in Indonesia. I met…
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UOW Theatre and Performance’s ‘The Future Show’: Facing Mortality
Thursday night, I walked into a performance of ‘The Future Show’ completely blind with no idea what it was about or who was performing, and I left that performance feeling recognised and acknowledged as a person. ‘The Future Show’ is, in short, a series of memories of the future presented to the audience, detailing the…
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Campus left wins big in WUSA elections
The WUSA elections have ended and all the stupol hacks have scuttled away from campus. Provisional results have been released and tears of joy and sadness have been shed. Now it is time for us here at Tertangala to dig into what has happened. These elections saw five tickets contest the elections and 29 nominees…
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Saw X – Film Review Friday
You’re strapped to a chair, you don’t know where you are or what time it is. You feel like you’ve just come back from the dead with the worst hangover ever experienced. Before your eyes can even adjust, you see a small figure squeaking towards you, a white spiral-cheeked puppet with a broken laugh. This…
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Students rally for ‘Yes’ ahead of referendum vote
Image credit: Kirsten Hammermeister Students and members of the community rallied outside the library to advocate for a ‘yes’ vote for the Voice to Parliament and fight what they called racist rhetoric in the ‘no’ campaign. Around 40 people attended alongside local media: ABC Illawarra, Win News and Illawarra Mercury. President of the Wollongong Undergraduate Students’ Association, Ela…
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UOW Theatre and Performance’s ‘Juliet & Romeo’: Wayward Kids in the Carpark
A Theatre Review by Paige Jenkins and Skyla Yorke. Theatre lovers filled the foyer of UOW’s Jillian Broadbent building on Friday night to watch the first of many shows put on by the University’s theatre majors, ‘Juliet and Romeo’, directed by Tim Maddock. The performance, a final assessment for the semester, was a smashing and…
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Censor – Film Review Friday
It’s the coke-fueled era of the 1980s, ‘Scarface’ is in theatres bursting with gratuitous violence, everybody’s tuning in for the Live Aid concert where Freddy Mercury will give possibly his greatest performance and the government is cracking down on the rotten and filthy video nasties that plague VHS stores with the express intent to make…
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Seeing Clearly: Music, Art & Wellness
Clearly Festival and Clearer Workshop will be making waves in Kiama next month. We had a chat with co-founder Dom Furber about the music and the mission. Tell us about Clearly Festival and Clearer Workshop. Clearly Music, Arts & Wellness is a festival and community engagement project being held in Kiama, NSW, with the inaugural…
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Seven Strands – Candace Zalloua
The first string was violet, as many were. A co-worker I rarely spoke to, apart from telling her coffee orders. I refused to be excited because I refused to be brave. Then one day, she knocked three coffees off the machine that she was in the middle of making. Hot coffee poured onto her hands,…
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Dan in Real Life – Film Review Friday
It’s a Friday night at 6PM, you have work in the morning and your friends are all out drinking at the club. They asked you to come out but you’re simply too tired, don’t want to spend any money and don’t feel like dressing up. It’s a Friday night at 6PM and you just want…
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Can one Coco Pop make chocolate milk?
I sit in the empty public bus, my brightness up, my ears submerged in Michael Jackson while delving into an array of Buzzfeed quizzes such as, “What Disney Princess Are You?” (Cinderella) or “Do you remember the entire Twilight series?” (I do). A rich concoction of tunes remains in the queue, a playlist composed of…
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The Season of My Hibernation and Rebirth – Mya Hicks
My transformation began with a single wiry hair—long, grey, jagged at the end—sprouting from under my chin where the flesh is doughiest. I’d always uprooted these rogue hairs as soon as they reared their monstrous heads (as a girl I was taught to be meticulous when it came to my appearance) but on this day…
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All the world’s lights went out an hour ago – Renee Farrugia
The sky will be here soon. Parts of it have arrived early, embracing the outer neighbourhoods, Where the lawns were quilted in cockatoos. There’s nothing left there anymore. The clouds got here first, though. A few months ago. Stuffy, hot things, Swimming when I walk. Mountains have curled up and hidden, Whimpering beneath…
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Talking Poetry: Free Verse on RadioU
The university’s very own radio station was formed last semester and features a diverse range of news, music and entertainment hosted by students for students. I got to chat with the two hosts of a poetry show and discovered how they’re hoping to make waves in the local poetry scene. Kirsten: Tell me a little…
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Cafe – Mark Russell
Afternoon. It is almost the close of the quiet café– The boy waiting waits for the ticking of time. But the hope that he had for a smidgin of time To himself after work is destroyed– It’s splattered and spluttered Like smashed avocado on Tables And honey on hands. As the time ticks to…
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WE ARE ALL BEETLES – Jacob Wood
All morning he twined the coarse rope through his hands. But now he was just trying to ignore the agonising thudding beneath the angry anthill that had formed on his left forearm. It was tipped a violent red and sensitive to any sort of glancing touch. The skin there was gummy with sweat, pus building…
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[ ] – David Allen
![[ ] – David Allen](https://tertangala.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/1sd-1.png)
…¶ One,·two,·three¶ Our·mind’s·do·seize¶ Before·that·punctual·decree¶ ¶ Hurriedly·we·fill¶ That·confronting· ¶ Small·marks·of·a·quill¶ A·displacing·defence¶ ¶ Thus·from·our·sight·is·hid¶ Those·looming· s¶ L’appel·du·vide¶ Covered·in·present·sheathings¶ ¶ The·need·for·constant·movement¶ To·prevent·irrevocable· ¶ From·making·our·entombment¶ In·its·flood·diluvian¶ ¶ For·to·sit·and·wait¶ Is·to·invite·the· ¶ It·will·not·abate¶ Until·we·are·destroyed¶ ¶ So,·in·far·orbit·we·sleep¶ Trapped·by·endless·. ¶ Insularly·we·keep¶ Dreaming·of·another·place¶ But·when·veracity¶ Falls·on·our·capacity¶ Existence’s·negation¶ Is·the·seed·of·creation¶ Burgeoning·serenity¶ In·patient·staticity¶ No more do we fill That…
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Garden of Evil – Paige Jenkins
In the lead up to the winners reveal for our 2023 writing contest, Tertangala is showing some of the work submitted by UOW talent. Our first is a poem from Paige Jenkins. Enjoy! I tiptoe down the green sea od fading blues to yellow as the darkness gives way to the eerie discolouration on an…
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NSW Law Society throws weight behind Voice
The Council of the Law Society of NSW has announced their support for the proposal to enshrine an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice in the Australian Constitution. Society President, Cassandra Banks, said “the paramount voices in respect of issues concerning Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples are the voices of Aboriginal and Torres Strait…
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TIM, a theatrical adaptation of an out-of-the-ordinary love story to be presented at Illawarra Performing Arts Centre by Merrigong Theatre Company and Christine Dunstan productions
TIM will be presented by Merrigong Theatre Company and Christine Dunstan productions from the 16th to the 19th of August at Illawarra Performing Arts Centre as part of its premiere regional tour. Tim McGarry’s adaptation of Australian icon Colleen McCullough’s novel TIM sensitively focuses on the unorthodox relationships between Mary, a business woman in her…
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Barbie Was Already Kenough
Written by K.M.D. I’ve always been a Barbie girl. Ever since I was little. My favourite of the Barbie films was Barbie in the 12 Dancing Princesses. I had over 30 Barbie dolls which are now lurking in some tub under my bed. Oh, and one Ken. So, it was no surprise that I went…
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Silence performs at Merrigong Theatre Company, sparking long overdue conversation about Treaty
Thomas E.S. Kelly, a proud Minjungbal-Yugambeh, Wiradjuri and Ni-Vanuatu man, choreographed, wrote and performed in thrilling dance-theatre performance Silence, continuing the decades-long conversations that Australian society has tried to silence. Silence features a combination of powerful contemporary dance, a complex musical composition and live music to address the muffled voices of the First Nations people…
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Hachette opens intern applications
Good news for book lovers- the annual paid Hachette Australia Summer Internship is now open for applications. The program has been running since 2020 and provides “a broad understanding of the trade publishing business and a deep dive into how the various departments within a commercial publishing house work together to take books to market…
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Coil to be presented at IPAC by Merrigong Theatre Company and re:group performance collective
Merrigong Theatre Company and re:group performance collective present a trailblazing fusion of theatre and technology. Coil, performing at Illawarra Performing Arts Centre from 26-29 July. A tender elegy to the shutting of the neighbouring video store, Thirroul’s Leading Edge Video, Coil smudges the edges of theatre and film while compelling the audiences’ collective memories…
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Welfare not warfare: the final day of Edcon 2023.
Edcon is now behind us! Here’s a recap of the final day of Edcon 2023. Housing with Max Chandler-Mather Xavier Dupe, NUS Education Officer, opened the plenary, speaking on the housing crisis. “Tenants are being forced to bid against each other as landlords take advantage… This is a manufactured crisis.” He also made Socialist…
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Merrigong Theatre Company presented Spiegeltent performances in Wollongong
Merrigong Theatre Company presented the Spiegeltent performances, with events happening every night over the course of 3 weeks from the 7th to the 25th of June. These performances included London Calling, Woody – The Ukulele Kids Show and Roxee Horror’s Movie Maniacs. I had the pleasure of interviewing some of the performers as well as…
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Protests, unions, sex work, and international students: Day three of Edcon.
We are all getting a bit worn out, but to the credit of all, Edcon once again descended on UQ to more drama and yelling. Welcome to the Tertangala’s third daily recap of Edcon 2023. Anti-war movements The topic of this morning’s plenary was the history of anti-war movements in Australia. Rowan Cahill addressed…
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Many Voices, and Queer Support in the Regions. Edcon Day Two.
Welcome to the Tertangala’s second daily recap of Edcon 2023. The Voice The day began with a plenary on the upcoming voice referendum. The day started with Patrick Taylor, the NUS’ First Nation’s officer, addressing the conference about the efforts the NUS is taking in the Yes campaign. Bailey Riley, the NUS President, said, “Everyone…
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The University Accords, AUKUS, and Reppin the Regions: Day one of Edcon.
Here’s a recap of the first day of Edcon. University Accords First up was a plenary discussion which centred around the University Accords project. It is the centrepiece of the Albanese government’s higher education policy, and the object of the current higher education review. Edcon was addressed by Mary O’Kane, the chair of the…
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Factional fighting and fanaticism: welcome to student politics.
I think I finally understood a little bit about student politics this morning, as I lined up to confirm my registration for Edcon. It’s 9am. There is an hour scheduled for this (it will take much longer somehow) before the fun starts in the first plenary. There’s a ton of people around, people that look…
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INTERVIEW: The UOW student mentoring Illawarra youth
YWCA Australia is putting gender equality into practice and has been for over 140 years. As a feminist organisation, its goal is to mobilise communities and push for change. In August last year, the Illawarra region formed its Youth Frontiers Mentoring Program. I had a chat with Lauren Heslin, a UOW student and cognitive behavioural…
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Sparks to fly as ‘Air Time’ slides into Wollongong Town Hall
Merrigong Theatre Company and Branch Nebula are introducing the new and exciting world premiere of Air Time, an invigorating fusion of street style dance, theatre and sport with an eccentric electro soundtrack by Phil Downing. These energising shows – taking place from 20 to 22 April at Wollongong Town Hall – challenge physical and mental…
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New details on Wollongong benefactor Nazi links
New details have emerged about deceased Nazi collaborator Bob Sredersas, whose art donations helped establish the collection at Wollongong Art Gallery. Last year, former Wollongong councillor Michael Samaris raised concern over alleged links to the Nazi SS in Lithuania, which was responsible for leading the murder of European Jews during World War Two. The Sydney…
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Campus rainbow steps, rainbow crossing vandalised
UOW Security are investigating after the rainbow steps were vandalised this week, which the student union labeled “an attempt to intimidate and upset LBGTQIA+ students.” UOW confirmed this Friday staff removed graffiti messages from the steps and another, unspecified location on campus. Co-Coordinator of UOW’s All Sorts Queer Collective, Isabella Phillips-Bohane, said she was “disappointed,”…
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Is this art or porn?
Photos: Bailey Burgin Last semester for my second year photography subject, I explored how we tell nude photography and pornography apart. For my investigation, I reviewed past papers on prominent figures in nude photography, interviewed OnlyFans creators and even became an adult model to better understand the topic. Initially I thought the difference was in…
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Capturing the heart and soul of Wollongong: a hand-drawn map by Alex Pescud
Feature image: Instagram/ TheWollongongMap There hasn’t been a birds-eye, hand-drawn map of Wollongong since 1840. Until now. Local cartographer and artist, Alex Pescud, sought to capture a moment in time in Wollongong with his ambitious project, The Wollongong Map. We viewed the nearly complete map in Pescud’s art studio over the weekend and were blown…
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Yeehaw United’s Ela Akyol elected as WUSA President
Yeehaw United’s Ela Akyol has been elected President of the Wollongong Undergraduate Student Association. Running under a joint Labor caucus, Akyol received 302 votes, beating Left Action’s Jack Mansell by 34 votes. In a significant move, both Labor factions decided to run under a joint caucus, making use of Unity, Labor Right’s youth faction name…
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EDITORIAL – In support of Semper Floreat
*The Tertangala does not endorse shoplifting or any crime in that matter. However, we understand that many will have to do what they have to do to survive. This editorial is not reflective of the Wollongong Undergraduate Students Association (WUSA) or the University of Wollongong. The outrage against our University of Queensland counterpart for their shoplifting guide…
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Cameron Ling – Sarcasus Sarcmus Behishd – TTPAPC 2022 Prose
The first time I visited Sarcasm the guy at the gate checking ID cards told me I wasn’t weak enough to be seeking refuge. …
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David Allen – My Council – TTPAPC 2022 Poetry
The love of blue and redness, No green nor minor greys. Of ordered seats and houses Is in your veins ablaze, Strong love of clear division And policy resolute I know but cannot share it, My love is for dispute I love a hung parliament, A land of sweeping range, Of ragged politicians, Debate…
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Abby Dickerson – A Poem for Ava – TTPAPC 2022 Poetry
From the moment our eyes first met, Until your last dying breath, Never could I have foretold, What warmth you brought from the cold. It was only upon finding you, Could I discover a part of me, And with the light, you shined through, I found the courage I was blind to see. …
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Mya Hicks – I’m Beginning to Think Differently of You – TTPAPC 2022 Prose
On Saturday nights, we have dinner at a restaurant she selects from a list on her phone of Trivago’s Top Places to Eat Out in our city. This is our thing, our couple’s thing. In the bathroom mirror, I watch her reflection sweep black liner across her glossy eyelids as I struggle to gel…
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Matilda Reid – Crepe Paper – TTPAPC 2022 Prose
‘I can see all of Sydney from up here. It’s fucking beautiful, Mum!’ were the last words my son would speak to me. Or shout, rather, from the top of the Norfolk Pine. Then would come the creek and snap of its tallest branches, the thumping of my heart, and the thud of his body,…
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John Raison – a work of fiction – TTPAPC 2022
I’m sitting at the window seat on the lower level of a train, caked in layers of clothing like strata. I’m early but the train was already here getting cleaned, and they said I could sit inside to keep out of the chill. It’s frozen and dark out there, with the dingy station’s lights not…
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Cameron Ling – Despedida – TTPAPC 2022 Poetry
at the bottom of stairs I am waiting big stupid grin splayed across face it’s your lunch break (or the end of an early day) …
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Linda Godfrey – Poems from a Notebook – TTPAPC 2022 Poetry
ask people we know is the first thing I wrote, then lists: yours and owls soda ice cube tray bread milk fruit Hamish in Queensland. Turn the page for 13/8 Habossem St; Egem Pension, Kemalyeri, Cannakkale; the Fedriades Hotel in Delphi – don’t make me fly home; the vistas to the Gulf of Corinth from…
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Protestors hit with capsicum spray at AFR Higher Education Summit
Protestors have been capsicum sprayed by police during a protest at the Australian Financial Review (AFR) Higher Education Summit in Sydney last Tuesday. The protest was organised by the National Union of Students (NUS) as well as student activists groups from the University of New South Wales, the University of Technology Sydney and the University…
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OPINION: UOW can’t let students hit by foot-and-mouth outbreak fall behind
*This open letter was originally published 5 August, 2022. Dear Professor Patricia M. Davidson, The Wollongong Undergraduate Student Association (WUSA) is deeply concerned with the recent news surrounding a possible outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease. We believe that an outbreak of Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) would disproportionately affect students from regional and farming backgrounds. FMD is a…
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Psych student takes aim at school’s “exploitative” flyer contest
A first-year psychology student says a School of Psychology flyer contest to promote respectful behaviour on campus should have been a paid gig instead. An email sent to psych students in early July called for flyer designs to promote the school’s Behaviour Statement, it’s response to the 2021 National Student Safety Survey. “Our statement document…
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UTS defends Vertigo funding cut-off
The University of Technology Sydney (UTS) has spoken out after it’s executive cut student magazine Vertigo out of a funding deal with the university student union. A UTS spokesperson told The Tertangala the university supports student journalism but is concerned with the accessibility, relevance and timeliness of content produced by Vertigo for UTS students. “We…
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Wollongong kicks off it’s first very own comedy fest
An hour until showtime, organiser Riley Jones admitted he was nervous. “It’s a gamble. Comedy’s always a gamble,” Jones told The Tertangala at the showcase last night of the Wollongong Comedy Festival. “People will be like ‘I’m funny’ and then they do it, and then they’re not, and then you fill the room full of…
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Wollongong activists join nationwide protests against US abortion ruling
Feature image: Jordi Maudson Wollongong activists marched with others across the country to protest the overturning of abortion rights in America and demand that Australia doesn’t go the same road. Up to 200 demonstrators battled severe rain to rally against the historic US Supreme Court decision to reverse the 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling, ending…
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The Tertangala Prose and Poetry Contest
Looking for a writing contest that values your unconventional ideas? Want a chance to experiment with your writing AND get praise for it? The Tertangala Prose and Poetry Contest is looking for your best contemporary work. You’ll be judged against four criteria: experimentation, originality, engagement and skill. Each winner from two categories – prose and…
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UTS student mag cut from union funding boost
The University of Technology Sydney’s (UTS) student magazine, Vertigo, has announced it will have to cut back on print issues after UTS executives cut the magazine out of a funding increase. According to Central News, Vertigo staff requested a budget increase to $245 000, more than double the $129 000 the UTS Students’ Association (UTSSA)…
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Proctorio protest postponed after heated union meeting
Last night student reps at an unofficial meeting of Wollongong Undergraduate Students’ Association (WUSA) discussed the clash between their anti-Proctorio protest and the third day of graduations tomorrow. The Council was largely split down factional lines. Labor councillors pushed to postpone out of respect for graduating students while Socialist Alternative (SALt) members said the disruption…
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OPEN LETTER TO VC: Proctorio risks student privacy, mental health
Feature image: Ernest Ojeh/ Unslpash (left), River McCrossen (right) Dear Professor Patricia M. Davidson, The recent announcement from the University of Wollongong regarding online exam invigilation using the controversial ‘Proctorio’ is of concern to both the Wollongong Undergraduate Students Association and its students. WUSA has since received consistent feedback from both representatives and students over…
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“A difficult read”: one in five UOW students face sexual harassment at uni
*The article was published 23/3/2022 and updated 25/3/2022 to include a link to the Safe and Respectful Communities website. Near one in twenty UOW students have told a survey they were sexually assaulted in university settings since starting their studies, One in five said they experienced sexual harassment, more than a quarter in the university…
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Top 5 jankiest student election promises
If recent participation rates are anything to go by – under four per cent of undergraduates voted in the 2020 WUSA election – the goings on of the student union tend to go unnoticed. Pair that with political opportunism and you can get some weird election promises that candidates hope you’ll be too disengaged to…
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Library Makerspace says goodbye after almost five years
After pairing students with technology for years, the UOW Library Makerspace is closed for good. Beginning in 2017, project coordinator Nathan Riggir said it would be a “pilot space that will be a strong learning environment.” “We see it as being a place to get the first hands-on experience with these types of machines, the…