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EDITION 4 CONTENT LIST

Deadline: Sunday 5th May

Remember, these are just a few suggestions—you can also pitch your own ideas to us.

It is essential that you check with us before beginning to write a story. Remember to check on the word count for the article.

Please refer to our style guide while writing. If you have any questions, email us at [email protected]

NEW: Science and Technology

This is a new section we’re trying to get up and running. We’re open to any and all pitches that would fit this heading, so all you Science and Eng kids better get a-thinking on what kind of techy goodness you want to see in Farrago.

REALLY ALTERNATIVE MEDICINE: We all know that any ailment feels better when you chuck a band-aid on it. We want to know why that is. And why tea and vegemite makes us feel better too. Look into the science (or lack there of) behind why these work and give us a run down.

SOCIAL EXPERIMENTATION: Think of something you’ve always been too chicken to try. Now do it in the name of Farrago! Perform some kind of crazy social experiment and write it up like a legit scientific report (with an aim, a hypothesis, equipment, method, results, discussion, etc). Graphs and tables are highly encouraged.

EXTRA COOL-RICULAR ACTIVITIES. A typical day at uni: sleep through a lecture, hide in the back of a tute, grab a quick coffee, then go and build a race car. This is legitimately something the uni offers. As well as the club that lets you build race cars, there's also one that builds a team of robots to play soccer against other uni's robots. Like…WHAT. Investigate some of these rad things you can do outside of class. Talk to some of the people involved and see what it's like to be an engineer who can ACTUALLY claim to have built a robot.

SCIENCE THIS MONTH. The content idea that just keeps on giving. A new month, new super cool science stuff to review for us!. Something like this thing http://hplusmagazine.com/2013/02/18/this-week-in-science-11-17-feb-2013-by-hashem-al-ghaili/

TOAST THE FUTURE. Bored of your toaster? What if it could select a random image from Google images and toast in onto your bread for you? Not so boring hey? The image toaster is just one of the pimped out household gadgets currently in development. Look into some other developments in household technology, and explore what your house will be like in 20 years. Will gadgets like the image toaster and the 3D printer catch on in the home, or will they go the same way as 3D TV?

SUPER FAST TRAINS. At a press conference, Anthony Albanese was asked which technological feat Australia would produce first: a super fast train running from Melbourne to Sydney to Brisbane, or flying cars. Which do you think would come first, and why? This is a great opportunity to complain about public transport, and then provide a solution.

BITCOIN. What the fuck is it?! Please explain so I can get rid of the blank look I have when people talk about it.

LIFE BEFORE THE INTERNET. It was only six years ago that people started using iPhones. So what did we do before then? Rewind even further. In the 80s and 90s, the internet was a new-age fad. How did businesses operate? How did people communicate?

FREE WILL. Talk to a scientist about the empirical evidence for and against the existence of free will. Try not to get your mind blown in the process.

BROADBAND. Malcolm Turnbull recently unveiled new plans for the National Broadband Network under the Coalition, should they take power in this year's election. Explain what the NBN is all about, and how the two major parties differ in their approaches to it.

News

START UP SCHOLARSHIPS BECOME LOANS. Over the weekend Craig Emerson announced that $2 billion would be cut from the university sector to fund the Gonski reforms. UMSU and NUS have already planned protests for this Wednesday the 17th April. Get down there and find out what students think.

CASUAL PAY. The NTEU and MUSUL ( the Student Union’s corporate arm) are in disagreement about casual rates for their employees. We’ve got contacts for you on this one.

THE END OF EASTERN KITCHEN? Eastern Kitchen in Union House has been told that its lease will not be renewed after July this year and they feel they are being treated unfairly by MUSUL. A petition to keep the shop has hundreds of signatures. We’ve got more details.

STUDENT VOICES AT UNI. Over the last few years student representatives on University Councils across Australia have had their chance to influence university policy reduced. Students no longer have a vote on the University Council here, making it harder to lobby for student interests. Have a look at what is going on and get some points of view.

GLYN WATCH. See if you can get an interview with our esteemed Vice Chancellor Glyn Davis, ask him what he’s up to.

NOWSA. The university is hosting the Network of Women Students Australia’s major conference this year. Find out what they’ll be doing.

RESEARCH CENSORED. The NTEU and the University are currently negotiating a new EBA for university staff, but the university has tried to add a clause saying that they could sack staff whose research doesn’t fit with their strategic direction.

STIs. Apparently levels of STIs are really high among young people, find out how high it is at Mebourne Uni. Don’t actually get an STI though, we don’t recommend that.

TUTOR TRAINING. How are tutors employed and trained at Melbourne Uni? Some are really great, and some are not so much. Have a look into how it works.

LABOR BUST UPS - NOT JUST AT THE FEDERAL LEVEL. UNSW and USYD ALP Clubs have separated from NLS. Why and what is the response of our own ALP club?

Features—Please note that all long form features require a high level of interviews and research (we can help with this!).

CRUISE SHIP MURDERS: Farrago wants to take on the big guns of cruising world and exposing the dark side of luxury cruises. Because, like, heaps of people get murdered on cruise ships! It’s like a movie! Look into why cruise ships are a great place for murders (because the law which applies while sailing it the law of the destination country etc). Investigate some of these murders, and uncover some truths!

DIY NATION: The guy that made his own independent nation in WA is getting old, and we think Farrago needs to talk to him before he dies and takes all his independent-state-forming know how with him. Interview him about the process of making his state, and what it’s like to keep it running until now. Look into whether they have closed whatever crazy legal loophole he used to do it or whether it’s still doable. If you’re feeling brave, have a go at making your own!

JOBS. In the current climate, students are having to jump through more hoops than ever on the road to employment. Multiple interviews, personality tests, and punching your name into Google are some of the things employers will do before hiring you. Analyse and discuss the job war. Alternatively, describe your best and worst job interviews. Was there ever a time you thought you'd completely fucked up in the interview but actually got hired? Funny stories work the best for this!

CHANGING FACE OF YOUTH. A bunch of statistics have just been released about the activities and status of young people (http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-03-15/mixed-aracy-report-card-on-youth-wellbeing/4574294). Some of the major findings include an increase in the rate of obesity and drug use, as well as in students graduating from university. We also apparently smoke less. Select a few of your favourites and theorise on why they happened. This can be funny (e.g. everyone who stops smoking starts eating more because it's the only way they can control their cravings) or serious (e.g. smoking has decreased due to the introduction of plain packaging).

YOUNGER WORKERS DESERVE LESS PAY? The Australian retail union is pushing to increase the full adult wage to 18-20 year olds working in retail, arguing that 18 year olds, for example, are getting paid up to $5 less an hour than their adult counterparts for doing the exact same job. Is upping the wage unnecessary or long overdue and basically age discrimination? Investigate the issue of student wages. There's a strong myth that employers refuse to hire anyone over the age of 20 to get around paying proper wages. At 18, I was earning just $11 an hour at a restaurant in Lygon St. Has this happened to you? What kind of rights do we have?

RACISM IN MELBOURNE. Reports have revealed yet another case of racist slurring and vilification in Victoria. Discuss racism in Melbourne. Is this still a huge issue we need to draw attention to? What can be done about it? Have you experienced or witnessed an event like this?

SPERM DONORS. I'd love to read an emotive article about somebody's experience either as a sperm donor or someone who has met (or tried to find) their donor. What's the journey like? How does one navigate the law? A great opportunity to inform a wider audience.

SECURITY IN SHARE HOUSES. Do students take safety into consideration when looking for accommodation, or do they just look at the price and whether or not there is a sick place to put a futon or a pretty back courtyard for drinking wine in the afternoons? Find students who live in areas with higher crime rates and look at whether they've had problems, and if they deal with them the same way proper grown up people do eg. when my music student friends had a home invasion, one grabbed all the instruments and hid under the bed. Do we have anything worth stealing? Does anyone bother with insuring their things?

LATE ACHIEVERS. Is anyone else sick to death of hearing about another overachieving wunderkind? Can someone please write an interesting feature about people who only achieved great things late in life? Like, amusingly, wonderfully, late in life. I have no examples, but I'm sure you could find some.

THE NEW ROCKSTARS. This past month, I have had a lot of different people refer to a lot of different professions as 'the new rockstar'. Comedians. Woodworkers. Interior architects. Editors. It's probably just a coincidence, or a really cool TV character somewhere recently used the phrase too much and it's stuck, but it got me thinking - whoare the new rockstars? Which professions do we kind of idolise and fawn over and make seem a bit more glamourous than they really are?

SEX INJURIES. No one likes talking about them, but they happen all the time. What are they costing the economy?! Or just find some funny and awkward stories.

DRUGS IN SPORT. One theory about drugs in sport is that young sports people take drugs when young to impress talent scouts, and bring that high performance mentality into professional level sport. Do some amazing journalism work and find out if there is a drugs culture at under 21 and under 18 level sport. We can help you with this.

WHERE IS OUR MONEY GOING? t's easy to forget how much you're paying for your degree when it all goes into magical HECS land, but it is a lot. Break down each of the five undergrad degrees and see where the costs are. Science kids gets telescopes, but Media majors aren’t allowed to even see a radio studio? Expose the double standards.

PAGEANT QUEENS & PRINCESSES. There's been a ridiculous amount of scandal and controversy recently surrounding beauty pageants in the US. What's the situation like down under? Either an investigative piece discussing the pageant world here in Australia (is it still prestigious/relevant/worth the time?) or alternatively- Have you or someone you know been involved in a pageant? I'd love to know your experiences. Definitely a chance to go a little Miss Congeniality and/or Honey Boo Boo child.

Fodder—Let us know if you want to review a cafe/restaurant/bar/other place. Be punchy. Be brief.

DRIVING LICENSE-FREE: Look into weird vehicles you don’t need a license to drive (we’re thinking segways, unicycles, and hovercraft). Prove that your lack of license doesn’t stop you from looking like a badass when getting yo’self places.

10 BENEFITS OF BEING A STUDENT YOU DIDN’T KNOW ABOUT: Give us a list of 10 places (try to pick some slightly unusual ones) you can use your student card to get free stuff/discounts.

ANCIENT SEX: No, we’re not talking not nursing home sex (because that’s mega gross). We’re talking Romans, Egyptians, and Ancient Greeks. They had crazy ideas about sex and contraception, and it’s pretty fun. Give us a rundown of some crazy practices. One of our eds is kind of an expert on this, so if you’re keen she can point you in the right direction if you need a hand.

5 uses for common Uni items. Never once used that Arts reader you good intentioned-ly forked out $40 for at the start of semester? Give 5 uses for your reader beyond just study. Have a go at doing it for: readers, highlighters, goon sacks, a Farrago (after you’re done carefully reading and adoring it)

Charity shop chic. Op shops are the new boutiques but how fun is it to dress in hand me downs? Take $10, limited sewing skills and a keen eye for 80s chic and transform a Savers’ find into an outfit for a night out. Give us a rundown of how it went, whether you got compliments or felt like a tosser, whether it lasted the whole night or fell apart halfway out the door.

ADULT ESSENCE: So we like to think we’re adults but deep down we’re pretty much kids. We want tips and tricks for passing yourself off as a grown up. Like how to seamlessly complete your weekly shop without looking like a fool, or how to pay at a restaurant without throwing a tray of coins at a waitress and running.

YOUNG PEOPLE THESE DAYS. There was a party on Saturday night where a bunch of people were carrying about 30 boom boxes around Melbourne's Northern Suburbs and having parties in all the streets and moving on when they were told to move on. In weird places, like outside Woolworth's. What is this? Does someone know? Is it a thing?

OBSCURE HOBBIES. Find somebody (or a few people) with super obscure hobbies. What do they do? How did they get interested in it? How much time and money do they need to spend on it?

WRITERS FESTIVALS. The Sydney Writers Festival program just got released, and it is amazing. Compare a few writers/literature festivals around Australia or the Asia-Pacific (Ubud, Jaipur, Bellingen, Byron, Tassy) or anywhere and tell us what the differences are, and why we should go to all of them. The Emerging Writers’ Festival will also be on in Melbourne at the end of May! This would most likely work as a listicle.

WHAT DO YOU EAT?! There's vegetarians who don't eat meat, and there's vegans who don't consume any animal products. What other types of such groups are there e.g. pescetarianism? Why is it okay to eat fish and not meat? What are their reasons for these lifestyles e.g. religious, ethical, health? What kinds of things do hard-core vegans have to watch out for e.g. animal by-products in foods, unsustainable sourced palm oil, animal products in clothing or other items?

THAT LAW CRAY. It JUST became legal for Parisian women to wear pants. After years of French bureaucracy and almost comical reasons to keep this absurdly outdated law, it wasn’t until the French minister of women's rights, Najat Vallaud Belkacem, drew up a statement on January 31 that the originally revolutionary based legislation was finally repealed after 200 years of its existence. This is a perfect example of the sheer density of federal law and a great chance for a good ol’ fashioned investigation into the Australian system. Are there any ridiculously outdated or just plain silly laws we don’t know about that still remain in the books? A quick Google search confirms that it is in fact illegal to wear sexy pink pants after midday on a Sunday in Victoria. What else is out there?!

APOCALYPSE HERE. Apparently supermarkets are meant to prepare for the apocalypse (or just really bad weather) and stock enough food to feed a lot of people for 9 weeks or something but at the moment we only have enough for a few weeks. So supermarkets are failing but are we otherwise prepared, in Melbourne, for the apocalypse? Or really bad weather? Do you know someone who is super prepared, with solar torches and nonperishable food?

MATURE AGE DRIVING STUDENTS. Learning how to drive when you're 'old' (25+). Someone who's still on their Ls, HAS gotten their Ps or made the decision NOT to drive EVER could give this one a go. Tell us what made you hold off going for (or decide not to go for) your licence. Interview other people in the same boat and perhaps give tips for older learner drivers?

ANALLY RETENTIVE IDIOTS. Does insistence on proper spelling and grammar make you an anal-retentive sadcase or just an educated person? Is it offensive/obnoxious to point out the difference between "less" and "fewer" or are you performing a public service? Should the same standards apply in informal online speech?

GETTING USEFUL JOBS. Interview some Melbourne University students that have part-time work or do volunteering which is relevant to the course they are studying. Is this easier to do in some disciplines than others? How can students wanting to get an edge and make contacts find out what is available to them and get involved?

HOW THE FUCK DO YOU SAY QUINOA? The UN has declared 2013 to be the year of quinoa. Um, awesome. Not only is this superfood fantastically delish and a big "food trend" at the moment, but it's also doing wonders for Andean indigenous people and stimulating the economies of Peru, Bolivia and Ecuador, all while providing nutrition and food security. Research a little more behind this. What's all this big fuss about quinoa? Why does this carb deserve a whole year dedicated to itself?!

BLOOD DISCRIMINATION. I recently learned that men who have, at any point in their lives, had sex with a man (be they gay, bisexual, or otherwise) are banned from donating blood due to an apparent increased risk of HIV- despite statistics proving that these days the rates of HIV among homosexual men are basically the same as the rate among heterosexuals. Researching a little more into this, it's huge debate, many claiming this regulation is homophobic and based more on stereotypes than science. Find out more about this regulation in Melbourne. Is this still happening here? What's being done about it?

WACKY PRIME MINISTERS. Americans know all about their Presidents and some of them were pretty badass. The average Australian can probably name about three Prime Ministers. Surely they're not that boring. Give an overview of our weird, wicked and wonderful leaders who was embroiled in the most scandals, who had the most outrageous facial hair, who (if anybody) got dumped harder than Rudd.

A WEEK ON $20? Let's say I have $20 left for food for the rest of the week. How can I make cheap, healthy, filling and tasty meals for next to nothing? Where are the best places to get cheap groceries, ingredients, not quite right food, etc. and how can I turn this into something wonderful?

GROSS FOODS. Try out and review the most disgusting foods you can find in Melbourne. Consider including Casu Marzu (aka Maggot Cheese), fertilised/foetal eggs, fried rats, or whatever you can find!

CAFFEINE FIX. Espresso machines, plungers and percolators are not the only means of extracting coffee. Research and try out alternative methods for brewing coffee, such as Syphon, cold drip and Hario, and write up a review. Is Syphon coffee really worth all the fuss? How do they compare to the more accepted forms of extraction?

UNIVERSITY HALITOSIS. It's a well established fact: bad breadth is a major turn off. Write up an article about the 'worst breadth subject' horror stories you've overheard or endured throughout your degree.

STRAYAN FLAG. Some people don't mind it, other people would describe it as 'a bit shit'. I mean, honestly, even bogans only really like the Southern Cross part. ANU's John Blaxland has recently proposed a new design. Do we need a new flag? If so, should it contain the word 'Straya'? This could be a super serious consideration of the purpose of national flags and the unique issues inherent in creating a flag that represents all Australians in their great diversity, but equally could be very silly and/or satirical. Could go alongside Farrago’s own Flag Redesign Competition.

HOW MUCH IS TOO MUCH? Investigate subjects that ask too much of students. 1st year Enviro students often go on mandatory field trips to places with little or no public transport. Many can’t drive, or are on their Ps forcing them to overload cars of students and break the law. What else is Unimelb making us do?

BREWITYOURSELF. Home brewing guide for the amateur. Write up a howto guide for beer brewing novices who want to impress their mates or just drink for cheap. As a side note, does anyone brew ginger beer? I’ve heard there are explosions involved. Please explain.

COMEDIANS - THE OTHER 11 MONTHS OF THE YEAR. While the good comics get to hop from one comedy festival to the next, most can only dream of that life. Track down a middle-of-the-round Aussie comedian and find out who they support themselves when the laughter dries up.

Arts/Culture—We’re looking for gallery/poetry/exhibition reviewers. Contact us!

NEW SEDARIS. David Sedaris’ Lets Explore Diabetes with Owls is out/coming out soon. Anyone want to review it?

STARVING WRITERS. Does anyone in Australia actually make a living from fiction writing? Is this even possible? This could also be a funny piece about how to be a poor writer, or integrate your mind-numbing day job into the bestseller you write secretly at night.

Screen—Just let us know if there’s something you’d like to review. Either funny micro length (tweet size) or longer 200 word length.

OVERRATED AND OUTRAGED. Is there a highly praised film with a devoted following that you can’t stand, or which you are simply unable to comprehend it’s rapturous reception? Amusing rants on this topic are most welcome.

UNDERGROUND CINEMA. Has anyone been to one of these secretive events in either Melbourne or Sydney? Maybe you’d like to write about it, or even contact the organisers to have a chat if you’re interested in doing a more in-depth profile.

SPOILERS. At what period in a film's cycle is its ending no longer a secret? Does one only need to wait for the DVD release, or is the big reveal never justified? Commentate on this perennially complex question.

SPORTS FILMS. The film Blinder (an Australian film about a local footy team) quietly slipped into cinemas, but received savage reviews, with critics objecting to its insensitive depiction of sexual assault. Investigate the portrayal of women in other sports films.

THEATRES/MUSICALS/OPERA AT THE MOVIES. Recommended for someone willing to do a bit of research, and maybe even some interviews. It’s now a regular occurrence for art house cinemas to screen recorded performances of plays, musicals, ballet concerts etc. What has prompted local cinemas to begin screening such content, and what is driving their continued programming?

CHICK FLICKS. Is the Oscar Best Film nomination for romantic drama Silver Linings Playbook a breakthrough moment in the genre's history? Are we about to see a rise in romantic films that are actually good?

WESTERNS IN AUSTRALIA (NOT WESTERN AUSTRALIA). Westerns—the best genre, or just a very good one?

And relatedly, The Proposition (a brutal 2005 film about bushrangers in the outback written by Nick Cave) was awesome—why didn't it set off an explosion of Australian westerns? Whatever happened with that Wild Boys show? Was that any good? Why don't we love bushrangers? Why doesn't anyone chew tobacco anymore? Why won't Nick Cave return my phone calls? (Fun and relevant facts: 1906's The Story of the Kelly Gang was the first ever feature film, anywhere. It's said that a Federal ban on films about bushrangers in 1912 caused the collapse of a booming Australian film industry.)

CELEBRITY WEB SERIES. A number of TV and film celebrities (Jerry Seinfeld, Zach Galifianakis, Lisa Kudrow) now produce and star in content which is specifically made available online for free. Investigate the significance of this trend within the context of new media forms. Profile a few of them. Hot tip: Galifianakis’ ‘Between Two Ferns’ is amazing.

Sound—Give us your mini-reviews of recent albums (must be no longer than one word

each, plus or minus 99 words). Alternatively, slightly larger reviews (200-300 words) are also welcome, provided you check with us first. Keep in mind edition 2 will be out at the end of March, so try to aim for albums released around then.

BIG SCARY. Their new album is being released in a couple of months and the singles released so far are ah-mazing. If you don't know them already (which hopefully you do), they're a Melbourne duo who have already released a debut album in 2011 that received a lot of attention from triple j. I think a lot of students would be interested in hearing from them as their music is fairly popular.

THE END OF MORRISSEY?After cancelling an entire U.S. tour due to health issues, doctors have implored ex-Smiths frontman Morrissey to retire from music. The man has suffered massive internal bleeding and has consequently become chronically anemic, but is determined to go on singing and banning meat from all the venues he plays. How has Morrissey (and, by extension, The Smiths) changed the landscape of indie rock and the role of sensitive-white-male-with-guitar in modern music? Where does he stand in the history of pop music.

DAFT PUNK. After an eight year long wait, universally beloved duo Daft Punk will release their fourth official studio album Random Access Memories. On the new LP, the band collaborate with such industry heavyweights as Pharrell Williams, Panda Bear, and Julian Casablancas. Give an overview of the band’s history with a view to the release of their new album, demonstrating how they’ve become so enduringly popular.

CHRIS BROWN. Say what you will about Chris Brown’s questionable musical talent, but the man sure knows how to stir up a feud in the RnB sphere of things. First it was a car park fist fight with Frank Ocean, and now he’s got Drake casually discussing how the woman that Brown “loves” – Rihanna – “fell right into his lap.” To what extent in the world of hip hop and RnB do controversy and drama play a role in boosting celebrity status? Would Chris Brown even exist as a celebrity figure if he hadn’t dated Rihanna?

STICKY FLOORS. Humorously profile Melbourne's most adored venues. From which place holds the prize for stickiest floor to where the worst bathroom on Melbourne's live circuit can be found (or avoided).

THE FARNHAM EFFECT. With a bevvy of bands reuniting recently, including The Rolling Stones, Dinosaur Jr., the Stone Roses and David Bowie's recent return to music, the question must be asked when is enough, enough. Is the fact that bands reuniting okay or should artists retire once and once only. More over, what happens once they break up again?

SUPER (HERO) MUSICIANS. Supergroups are becoming a mainstream occurrence these days with a new band of established musicians forming almost every day. Evaluate their superness; which embody super and which should never have happened?

NEVER SAY DIE. What’s The Tote up to these days? Is it still living up to its glory days? Let’s introduce our freshers to this Melbourne institution. Any good stories about your first trip there?

GOTYE GOT SOME. The current exchange rate may not work well for Australian exports, but the success of our Aussie musos overseas seems to contradict this trend (i.e Gotye and the Grammys). Write an article about the expat phenomena of Australian musos, past and present, and the successes and failures of Aussie musicians in achieving both global credibility and locality etc.

SAAA INDIE. Write up a satirical article about the nuances and trends of the 'actual' indie music scene. Remember if it ain't growing a beard...

ALSO SAAA INDIE. What is the most underrated musical instrument? Bass guitar? Marimba? Euphonium? (Just kidding, euphonium is the worst) With ukuleles suddenly becoming a musthave for anyone who describes herself as 'quirky', do we have to accept the idea that some instruments are more mainstream than others? Or has this always been the case? (Bonus points for anyone who portrays Amanda Palmer as a diabolic figure of evil)

Stage—We’re always looking for theatre reviewers or people to conduct interviews. If you’re interested, contact us.

LA MAMA THEATRE. It’s just around the corner and has launched the careers of many in the Australian theatre world. Chronicle its history.

AUSTRALIA ON THE BIG STAGE. Ever been to the Westend or Broadway? Perhaps seen Hamlet in Germany? Write a piece on how Australia's theatre scene compares internationally.

STATE V STATE. Discuss the state of the Australian theatre scene with comparisons between state/subscriber based theatre companies and the independent/fringe theatre scenes.

PATHWAYS. Explore opportunities for writers, directors and actors within companies such as The STC’s Actors Company or secondment programs.

Politics/Opinion—Any opinion/politics pieces you might want to pitch us are welcome.

POLLIES ON THE INTERWEBZ. Rudd and Turnbull had a hilarious twitter sparring match on Saturday morning over the NBN. Oakeshott retweets all the things that get tweeted at him, to a ridiculous extent, where he's retweeting offensive nonsense. Which politicians are good at social media and which are the worst? Try and speak to candidates' and politicians' media advisors about who updates social media, what their policies are.

GIVE A GONSKI. Play devil's advocate and argue that university cuts are the sacrifice needed to allow Gonski to be a legitimate policy reform.

GEOFF SHAW. He's the local MP for Frankston who, in the wake of Ted Bailleu's demise, holds a huge amount of sway in the Victorian Parliament. He's an evangelical Christian with a history of anti-gay rhetoric, highly conservative views on women's rights and refusing to acknowledge Indigenous Australians as the traditional owners of the land. Given that new Premier Denis Napthine is courting Shaw for his vote, he is someone that Victorians should be aware of.

YOUNG CAMPAIGNERS. There are Melbourne Uni students who have already started campaigning for different candidates in the federal election. Check out how the young Labor/Liberal campaigners spend their weekends, which seats they're focusing on, and whether the length of the campaign has changed the time frame of campaigning, door to door.

ELECTION WATCH. It would be great to try and get some interviews with significant figures in the major parties, or to run some articles that wrap up the major parties’ policies in areas such as the economy, health, immigration, education, etc. If you’ve got any other election-related ideas we’d love to hear them.

RISE UP AND MAINSTREAM PARTIES. There's a few parties jostling to be the new One Nation in town. Investigate them. And please - on behalf of all non-racist Australians - bring them down.

NAPTIME. Back in the late 90s, Napthine was an unsuccessful Opposition Leader. He was so unsuccessful that he was replaced by Robert Doyle of all people. Now he's the Premier. Get an interview with Dennis and talk to him about his unlikely resurrection.

THE POLICY RACE! Until now the Liberal Party was being left in the dust by Labor with respect to policy offerings (quantitatively, if not qualitatively speaking). But have the tables turned? Does 'Real Solutions', the Liberal Party policy platform released in January, herald the start of a Liberal policy flood or a slow trickle? Were the resignations of Chris Evans and Nicola Roxon made immediately after reading 'Real Solutions' and being struck by the sheer brilliance of the '5 pillar economy'? Does Labor's attempt to regain the policy high-ground with the release of 457 Visa, manufacturing innovation and media regulation plans show that the ALP is now too sacrificing quality for quantity?Or is all this policy talk irrelevant in the era of sound bites?

TINKERING WITH THE ASYLUM. We've sent them offshore, subjected them to indefinite detention, even taken away their rights to work and volunteer when they do get ashore, but gosh darn it, they're still coming! Given the severity of this unprecedented wave of illegals - would taking away another 5 or so rights nip the problem in the bud or are more draconian options are only solution? Self described 'moderate liberal' Scott Morrison and the ever petulant Eric Abetz have bravely stood up to our culture of political correctness and said what we're all thinking: let's put them on public registers and track them like pedophiles - or not like pedophiles - but still, let's track them! Is this dog whistling at its worst? Is it wise to keep subjecting asylum seekers to an increasingly degrading and demonising experience with clear mental health implications when over 90% are deemed legitimate and duly given residence? Most importantly, what does Western Sydney think?

WOMEN IN PARLIAMENT. The Monthly recently had a feature on women in parliament—written by Anna Goldsworthy, if anyone's interested. She argues that although there is a substantial number of women in parliament at the moment (including the very first female PM), none of them have really "used" their gender in order to establish themselves. Write a response to this. Do you agree?

CANBERRA RUMOUR MILL. 12 Rumours in Federal Politics: Write us a short piece detailing some of the rumours circulating Canberra this week. For instance, 'Pope Benedict XVI resigned this week, in the clearest sign yet that he intends to put his name forward for preselection in a contested, western suburbs seat currently held by Prime Minister Julia Gillard'. Apply humour and sarcasm liberally.

ALL ABOUT THE MONEY. With the federal election set for September, businesses and lobby groups are now scrambling to organise their donations to political parties. Write us a well researched piece on who supports who to gain political influence. For example, in the Queensland state election, Clive Palmer bankrolled the LNP.

YOUNG PEOPLE THESE DAYS. With six months to go until the election, what are the main issues affecting young people and where do the 2/3 major parties stand on these issues?

Creative—Submit any short stories, personal essays, poetry, artwork, or photo essays. These are just prompts/inspiration/good things to read.

ANXIETY. We've been getting some inspiration from Alistair McLeod of late. He encourages his students to write about their worries and anxieties, particularly as he says "landscape-induced anxieties". What are landscape-induced anxieties, I hear you ask. I grew up in a country town, plenty of anxieties around us there: small town gossip, drought, cold winters etc. I wonder what sort of landscape-induced anxieties we might experience in Melbourne?

DON’T JUDGE US FOR THIS. Inhabit a space you wouldn't dare go, namely, a murderer's psyche. Try and develop a consistent world view through the eyes of a killer, one that can be justified and rationalised. Visualise his/her procedures on a sensory level, then, the psychological. Too often killers in fiction are rendered in black and white moral codes, but it's interesting to deconstruct that notion; also, very difficult to do well.

CONQUER SECOND PERSON NARRATION. ‘Girl with the Holden ute from Armidale I love you ... You will leave and I will feel like there are baby cockroaches in my heart. I will write my story and sketch your body and send it to Playboy thinking that they might like the sketches and the story because they are sexy. I will receive a response from Playboy in the form of a halfprice magazine subscription. The girl on the front cover will look like your sister and I will call your sister and ask her if she is on the cover of Playboy. She will giggle and then I will say haha and eventually we will marry and have three kids.’—Oliver Mol

CREATIVE REVIEWS. Structure a story as a review. Review your ex-boyfriend’s wardrobe, your professor’s monobrow, the odd and humiliating trinkets in your parent’s house...

GIVE ME AN ODD SENSATION. BE STRANGE. “Then maybe you will understand this,” She said, leading me over to the deep freeze, and opening it. Inside was nothing but cats: stacks of frozen, perfectly preserved cats – dozens of them. It gave me an odd sensation. “All my old friends. Gone to rest. It’s just that I couldn’t bear to lose them. Completely.” She laughed, and said: “I guess you think I’m a bit dotty.” – A Lamp in a Window Truman Capote

RIGID POETRY. Write a poem with a specific set of guidelines. Guess the theme of Emma Jones’ poem:

‘Articulate. You like me when I wear my words

Besides that’s why you bought me dinner in the first place, or was it coffee?

Caffeine sounds more like us. We’re not big on food most of the time.

Don’t you remember? Don’t you recall I said

Entry is your strong suit—’

Write in Q&A style. Write in lists—shopping lists, lists of regrets, lists of moles on your body in descending order of their resemblance to Jesus Christ... We don’t care, just make it interesting.

#write #farrago #farragomagazine #unimelb #umsu

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farragomagazine-blog · 12 years ago

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EDITION THREE CONTENT LIST

Artwork by Claire Kurzmann

Deadline: Sunday 7th April

Remember, these are just a few suggestions—you can also pitch your own ideas to us.

It is essential that you check with us before beginning to write an article. Remember to check on the word count first. This is for everything except creative work—no need to pitch first when submitting fiction and poetry.

Please refer to our style guide while writing. If you have any questions, email us at [email protected]

NEW: Science and Technology

LE-GOING PLACES. People make careers out of playing with LEGO. Ryan Mcnaught is Australia’s only certified LEGO pro. Talk to him about how he landed such a sweet gig, and what people say in response to “I build LEGO for a living.” Get some insight into the science behind LEGO construction, and what skills we all need to be gaining to follow our LEGO dreams. This article could also work for the people who design theme parks and video games. Because they’re pretty rad jobs as well.

REINCAR-NATIONAL CRISIS? Scientists at the University of Newcastle did something crazy last week. They took the first steps towards bringing an extinct frog back to life. They have recreated the embryo of a frog that became extinct 30 years ago. It's called the Lazarus Project, and I think the newsreader on Saturday night mentioned it much too casually. It's pretty cool/creepy/Jurassic Park-y. What other weird or creepy things are being done in the science departments of universities? Write about the project, or maybe look at what some of our strangest experiments are at the moment?

THE IG NOBEL PRIZE. Heard of it? It's pretty great. It's basically a prize for the most useless research conducted throughout the year. Past winners have included a guy that looked at the testicles of classical Greek statues, and Dr Karl Kruszelnicki (that kook on triple J) who studied bellybutton lint. Look at the history of the prize and some of the kooky past winners. Give a rundown of the contenders from this year’s prize, highlighting the main points of their research and how they set themselves apart as more pointless than the rest.

SUSTAINA-BILL-ITY. So we all want to be green, but can we afford it? Investigate the cost of living sustainably, and whether it’s viable for students. Suggest ways to be friends with the environment without spending a bunch.

SCIENCE THIS MONTH. Review the cool scientific discoveries that were discovered this month. Something like this thing http://hplusmagazine.com/2013/02/18/this-week-in-science-11-17-feb-2013-by-hashem-al-ghaili/

News

NON-EXISTENT SUBJECTS . I tried to enrol in a subject this semester, Practical Project (VISM40004), and apparently it had been left over from the heritage degree Bachelor of Creative Arts. The faculty had to find a coordinator for it at the last minute. She said that although it isn't technically a real subject, she was now obligated to teach it to us because we had been able to enrol in it in our subject plans. Investigate! Do any other subjects still exist that shouldn't?

NATIONAL DAY OF ACTION. Students across the country will protest on March 27 against fee deregulation, HECS increases and course cuts. Here at Melbourne there will be a BBQ followed by a march on State Parliament. Go along and see how it pans out.

GLYN WATCH. See if you can get an interview with our esteemed Vice Chancellor Glyn Davis, ask him what he’s up to.

CASUAL STAFF. The University of Sydney has just seen huge protests by staff and academics over pay. Have a look at how staff here at Melbourne Uni are treated and what their relationship with the uni is like. Will we be seeing any future strikes here?

ARTS WEST REVIEWGo to Arts West, have a walk around, try out the new study spaces, etc. Then report on your findings! It'd also be great if we could get some figures for it, particularly how much the renovations cost, and assess whether it was worth the cash.

MEDIA REFORMS.The government has moved to introduce new media reforms, which will supposedly regulate media outlets and increase Australian content. Do we really need media regulation? Or is it better to lean towards "free press"? Is this perhaps just the Labor party clutching at straws to get the people's attention, and do you think it will work?

SPECIAL GENERAL MEETING. The Union is holding a Special General Meeting on March 19 to make constitutional reform. Sounds fascinating. If you want to get down to North Court and cover it we’d love it.

STIs. Apparently levels of STIs are really high among young people, find out how high it is at Mebourne Uni. Don’t actually get an STI though, we don’t recommend that.

UNIWIRELESS. It still sucks. Apparently it doesn’t suck at other universities. Find out why it sucks.

TUTOR TRAINING. How are tutors employed and trained at Melbourne Uni? Some are really great, and some are not so much. Have a look into how it works.

THE SUSTAINABILITY UNIT. What even is it? Find out what its doing, how much funding it has, why it was started, and what the environment officers think of it. Sustainability units at universities are infamously bad at engaging with students, and some are just there so that hippy kids see them and think that the university is awesome. It'd be nice to know if ours is effective or the other kind.

LYING SOCIETIES. Investigate student clubs and societies who say they are one thing and are actually not that thing. Like the Chocolate society that really wants you to pray while eating chocolate. You're going to have to look at all of them though, because there are probably some normal sounding groups that make you socialists too. Ask people at O week what their impressions of societies are, and if they're misleading then approach the group, and see why they obfuscate their real purpose.

FAIR TRADE? Follow up on the University's Fair Trade accreditation which was achieved mid last year. Universities have a tendency to sign up and then implement things sluggishly. We can put you in touch with some good sources for this one.

INITIATION SECRETS. St John’s College in Sydney was in the news last year for hazing that put a student in hospital. Melbourne Uni’s colleges have managed to stay out of the news, but hazing and initiation does happen around the crescent. Talk to some students and find out the real deal about what happens at our colleges during O-Week and throughout the year.

ARCHITECTURE + OLD COMMERCE. The current dismantling of the Architecture and Old Commerce Buildings will make way for the ABP's new building. The heaviest works are planned for late January to March 2013. The project was awarded to John Wardle Architects and NADAA in 2009 after the agencies won an international design competition that attracted 133 entrants. How will the University cope with the demolition and building progress during Semester One? Will the building serve to highlight the University's architectural credentials? Will the building compete with RMIT's new buildings that have garnered international design attention?

Features—Please note that all long form features require a high level of interviews and research (we can help with this!).

AMBO ISSUES. Investigate the poor working conditions/treatment of Victoria's ambulance and paramedic workers. Recent information has been made public about the abysmal injury rate, poor mental/physical health, and suicide rate of this workforce.

DOOR BITCH BLUES. The entry standards for bars and clubs in Melbourne seem to be reaching ridiculous levels this year. Research behind this—perhaps with local bar owners, students, ethicists/anthropologists—and discuss whether, say, refusing a man because he just isn’t looking hip enough, is a necessary step to ‘cultivate’ the Melburnian social scene or if it’s a modern form of discrimination.

RESEARCH SERIES. What the shit are we researching? Apparently this university takes itself pretty seriously in the research stakes, for the rankings stakes, for the attracting students stakes. What are we actually researching at the moment? What are some of the big science/medicine breakthroughs? What are the historians doing? What's the deal with math that doesn't use numbers?

Fodder—Let us know if you want to review a cafe/restaurant/bar/other place. Be punchy. Be brief.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CANBERRA. It was Canberra's 100th anniversary of being a place just a few days ago. Write a tribute for the oft-shat on capital modelled in the style of a 21st speech; paying it out, followed by some embarrassing stories, rounded out with something sentimental.

WACKY POPES. I'm sure there have been a lot in the last couple thousand years. Try to go beyond the usual 'oh did you guys know popes in the Renaissance were corrupt? 'cause they totally were' stuff (although that's still pretty interesting).

AFL AVOIDANCE. Footy season is about to start (or will have already started at the time of publication), something which non-AFL lovers will dread. Come up with five ways on how to survive footy season and deal with annoying AFL chatter in the office.

ZONE TWO. The city and inner suburbs have been reviewed and written about to death. Go and review a cafe, bar, park or even a whole suburb somewhere tremendously far away from the city (ok, so more than 20 minute bike ride). Pick somewhere one wouldn't think to go (or might be afraid to go). Let us know if there's a reason we stay close to the city or whether we're missing out on some cool stuff.

GROSS FOODS. Try out and review the most disgusting foods you can find in Melbourne. Consider including Casu Marzu (aka Maggot Cheese), fertilised/foetal eggs, fried rats, or whatever you can find!

A SUB-EDITOR’S PLEA. I recently met a vaguely famous rapper and the exchange went something like this:

Me: "Uh, are you [name omitted]?"

Sorta famous guy: "Yeah, man!"

Me: "I LOVE YOU. Well, I love your music, not you personally. But I'm sure you're a great person too!"

Famousish dude: *bewildered and frightened*

Could somebody please share their tales of being utterly starstruck (or not starstruck at all, if you meet famous people all the time and/or are really cool) so I feel less terrible about myself? Why do some people get all weird around celebrities, anyway?

Arts/Culture—We’re looking for gallery/poetry/exhibition reviewers. Contact us!

GUERILLA GRAFFITI. What’s going on with our laneways? There was a proposal awhile back to install security cameras in Hosier Lane. What’s become of it? What is the reasoning and implication of such actions? Get a few perspectives. Have a nighttime investigation and talk to a graffiti artist in the act!

IS ART HISTORY DEAD? With the increasingly multidisciplinary approach used in many Arts subjects, what is left of Art History if theory and criticism is often only self referential? Art History was on the chopping block as a major at La Trobe—could it be scrapped here? Don’t scoff, it happened to Australian Studies.

Screen—Just let us know if there’s something you’d like to review. Either funny micro length (tweet size) or longer 200 word length.

CANNES CHRONICLE. The annual Cannes Film Festival is fast approaching. Write an alternative history: documenting some of the more quirky or unusual occurrences that have taken place in the year's past.

WESTERNS IN AUSTRALIA (NOT WESTERN AUSTRALIA). Westerns—the best genre, or just a very good one?

Sound—Give us your mini-reviews of recent albums (must be no longer than one word

IS VINYL WORTH IT? Vinyl is making a comeback. Find out whether music sounds better on vinyl or whether people have just eschewed CDs and MP3s for the coolness factor. Let us know where we could get a record player, how much a decent one would cost and where the best places are to buy records.

SOUNDTRACKS. Analyse the importance of music in film, the soundtracks or particular songs that define or even eclipse the movies themselves. Tarantino wouldn't be a bad place to start...

NEVER SAY DIE. What’s The Tote up to these days? Is it still living up to its glory days? Let’s introduce our freshers to this Melbourne institution. Any good stories about your first trip there?

WHEN’S SPOTIFY GOING TO DIE? With the likes of Spotify and other forms of music streaming being accepted in the public eye, compare and contrast all the forms of music consumption which have defined the past few decades. From the hipster cred record through to the ill fated cassette, CD and the institutionalised byproduct of one dominant fruit named brand: Itunes.

SAAA INDIE. Write up a satirical article about the nuances and trends of the 'actual' indie music scene. Remember if it ain't growing a beard...

Stage—We’re always looking for theatre reviewers or people to conduct interviews. If you’re interested, contact us.

AUSTRALIA ON THE BIG STAGE. Ever been to the Westend or Broadway? Perhaps seen Hamlet in Germany? Write a piece on how Australia's theatre scene compares internationally.

STATE V STATE. Discuss the state of the Australian theatre scene with comparisons between state/subscriber based theatre companies and the independent/fringe theatre scenes.

PATHWAYS. Explore opportunities for writers, directors and actors within companies such as The STC’s Actors Company or secondment programs.

Politics/Opinion—Any opinion/politics pieces you might want to pitch us are welcome.

RISE UP. There's a new One Nation in town. Investigate it. And please - on behalf of all non-racist Australians - bring it down.

ROYAL COMMISSION. The Royal Commission into institutional child abuse. The Irish royal commission into child sex abuse took a decade to complete its findings is it possible, or even desirable, that our commission should be tasked to complete an even broader investigation in just two years? What will be the effect on the Catholic Church? The first post-commission census in Ireland showed that Catholicism had lost a high number of adherents is the same likely here?

YOUNG PEOPLE THESE DAYS. With six months to go until the election, what are the main issues affecting young people and where do the 2/3 major parties stand on these issues?

EFFECTIVE, BUT JERKFACED. John Howard was, by most measures, a bit of a dickhead, but his government's gun control reform was highly effective without being oppressive. Who are some other notoriously bad/jerkfaced leaders who also happened to do awesome things? Or highly regarded leaders who also did incredibly stupid/evil things?

KRUDD. Media reports of political instability within the Labor party have brought about the stock standard cry for a return of former leader, Kevin Rudd. Write us a piece on whether the Labor party does or doesn't need him. Is he doing the party more damage than good?

Creative—Submit any short stories, personal essays, poetry, artwork, or photo essays. These are just prompts/inspiration/good things to read. We tend to publish shorter work, but will consider things over 1500 words if they're really really good.

RIGID POETRY. Write a poem with a specific set of guidelines. Guess the theme of Emma Jones’ poem:

‘Articulate. You like me when I wear my words

Besides that’s why you bought me dinner in the first place, or was it coffee?

Caffeine sounds more like us. We’re not big on food most of the time.

Don’t you remember? Don’t you recall I said

Entry is your strong suit—’

WRITE ABOUT SOMETHING YOU OWN. ‘I love that swimsuits used to be called ‘costumes’. The best dress-up is always pin-up. Because fifties swimsuits hold that promise of being truly transformational. Blondes become Betty Grable; brunettes, Bettie Page. And if you’re a redhead you feel like an instant Rita Hayworth, which is one of the best feelings in the world. I’m drawn to the fabric of this one. The tangrams of colour remind me of a cubist painting, a portrait of Dora Maar. I’ve worn it to dozens of costume parties, any time I had to pretend to be someone else.’’—Lorelei Vashti

PRETEND YOU’RE SOMEONE ELSE (NB: TRY NOT TO DEFAME PEOPLE TOO BAD, K?) ‘I’m James Franco. I might be gay or maybe not, because I’m James Franco. I make performance art out of dildos. If you like, you can pay me twenty dollars for a piece of paper describing a piece of art that I have imagined, or, if you’d like to pay $10,000, I will provide you with a lifetime supply of fresh air. For I am James Franco and through me, all is possible.’—Oliver Miller

CREATIVE REVIEWS. Structure a story as a review. Review your ex-boyfriend’s wardrobe, your professor’s monobrow, the odd and humiliating trinkets in your parent’s house...

BUT MOST OF ALL WE JUST WANT THINGS THAT ARE GOOD AND INTERESTING.

#write

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farragomagazine-blog · 12 years ago

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EDITION TWO CONTENT LIST

Deadline: Monday 4th March

Remember, these are just a few suggestions—you can also pitch your own ideas to us. It is essential that you check with us before beginning to write a story. Remember to check on the word count for the article.

Please refer to our style guide while writing. If you have any questions, email us at [email protected]

'Hills Hoist' ©Morgan Jones

NEWS

MISSING DIPLOMA OF LANGUAGES. At graduation ceremonies at the end of last year, students who had completed their Diploma of Languages (or Modern Languages for the heritage students still around) didn’t actually receive their certificates. Follow it up, what happened? Who stuffed up?

DREAM LARGE? Melbourne University always claims it's the bee's knees or the cat's pajamas (depending on how it's feeling). Take a look at the metrics used to claim we're #1 in Australia and see if there's anything the posters aren't telling us about. Are there others ways of ranking universities and how are they different? What are other unis doing better than us and how could we improve?

OUR SAY ON SUSTAINABILITY. Our Say is running a forum on Australia’s biggest sustainability issues which is being hosted by the University. People can put forward questions to the panel here and vote on which get answered. What does the panel hope to achieve? Does this form of conversation contribute to the national debate?

EXCHANGE STUDENTS. We rarely talk about them until something goes wrong. What support is being provided for them? What support is provided if they don't speak English? How many subjects do they have to do? Where are they living? Talk to some newbies and see what the experience has been like. Investigate.

SCHOOL OF GOVERNMENT. 2013 will see the creation of the Melbourne School of Government, the first of its kind in Australia. The school will sit within the Faculty of Arts and incorporate the Centre for Public Policy. Vice Chancellor Glyn Davis has highlighted the interdisciplinary nature of the School. "It will draw together existing expertise and students from across the University in the fields of political science, international relations, economics, law, development studies and more," he said. Will the school deliver more options for students or will it instead serve to mask staffing cuts and merging schools with the managerial language of interdisciplinary studies and breadth?

FEATURES—Please note that all long-form features require a high level of interviews and research (we can help with this!).

LATE ACHIEVERS. Is anyone else sick to death of hearing about another over-achieving wunderkind? Can someone please write an interesting feature about people who only achieved great things late in life? Like, amusingly, wonderfully, late in life. I have no examples, but I'm sure you could find some.

THE APPLE ISLE. There has been a rich output of literary works about Tasmania or by Tasmanians (See Griffith Review 39 "Tasmania: The Tipping Point). Explore this particularly fecund creative landscape - the place it holds in Australia's imagination - and how vital the "little" state is to the health and diversity of the Australian literary scene.

COMMONS CRUSADER. The death of Aaron Swartz at age 26 (a computer programmer based in the US) brought more weight onto freeing information through (what he would describe as) the blessing of Internet and the knowledge that this could bring to everyone. What does his work, and his death mean for freedom of information on the internet?

DRUGS IN SPORT. One theory about drugs in sport is that young sportspeople take drugs when young to impress talent scouts, and bring that high-performance mentality into professional level sport. Do some amazing journalism work and find out if there is a drugs culture at under-21 and under-18 level sport. We can help you with this.

AMERICA’S GUN HISTORY. During the American civil rights movement, the NRA were arguing against the Second Amendment because they didn't want black people to have guns. Chart the history of the Second Amendment and the NRA to find out what triggered America's gun culture.WHERE’S THE MONEY, HONEY? Recent statistics say that female graduates are earning up to 17% less than male. Discuss. Is this kind of thing seriously still happening?

KIWI CRAZY. Following ‘The Hobbit’ and LOTR series, the international community has developed this new crazed obsession with New Zealand. But what about from an Australian perspective? Either a satirical humorous piece discussing the way we view our neighbours over the sea or, on the other hand, from a New Zealander’s perspective. What’s it like growing up Kiwi in Australia?

POLITICS/OPINION—Any opinion/politics pieces you might want to pitch us are welcome.

PRETTY POLLIES. Prime Minister Julia Gillard fronted the National Press Club earlier this month sporting a new pair of glasses. The media almost imploded in its scramble to report on her 'new look'. Meanwhile, Opposition Leader Tony Abbott fronted the Press Club precisely two days after, sporting a slightly orange fake tan, make up on his cheeks and lips, and a forehead that that had noticeably encountered a jab of Botox. It didn't rate a mention within the media. Write us a piece on why we often reduce powerful political women to commentary about their looks. Alternatively, write us a convincing article on why dude pollies should be prettier.

ROYAL COMMISSION. The Royal Commission into institutional child abuse. The Irish royal commission into child sex abuse took a decade to complete its findings - is it possible, or even desirable, that our commission should be tasked to complete an even broader investigation in just two years? What will be the effect on the Catholic Church? The first post-commission census in Ireland showed that Catholicism had lost a high number of adherents - is the same likely here?

WESTERN SYDNEY. The mythical marginal voter of western Sydney. It's the region that will make or break federal Labor. Many of Labors most marginal seats sit here, and with the ongoing public investigation into the Obeid family, things are looking grim. What can Labor do to win over the battlers/working families/etc that populate these parts? Or would Labor be better off ditching the habit of viewing policy through the eyes of an 'aspirational bogan with 1950s social views'?

THE FUTURE OF THE GREENS. The Greens will face their first post-Bob federal election this September. Is Christine Milne going to expand upon last election's success, or preside over the waning of the party's vote? If the latter occurs - who's next in line for leadership?

ALL ABOUT THE MONEY. With the federal election set for September, businesses and lobby groups are now scrambling to organise their donations to political parties. Write us a well-researched piece on who supports who to gain political influence. For example, in the Queensland state election, Clive Palmer bankrolled the LNP.

TED BAIL-WHO? The state government gets ignored by the media most of the time, even when they might be doing a shit job (who knows? Is anyone reporting on it?). Find out what’s going down on Spring Street.

GILLARD’S NEW APPROACH? Prime Minister Julia Gillard began the new parliamentary year by announcing the election date, some 200 days in advance. Does this mark a new approach? She’s donned a pair of flashy glasses in recent public appearances. Is 2013 Gillard’s year – the year she finally takes control?

PLAIN PACKAGED CIGARETTES. Australia is leading the world in its anti-smoking campaign with the most daring legislation to date. How significant was the decision to limit intellectual copyright and ban plain packaging? Are people finally catching on and ditching the addictive habit? Two months on, how effective has the law been?

ELECTION! What does the early election announcement mean for local races, have preselections been moved forward? Has it impacted upon local issues? The seat of Melbourne will be watched to gauge the tensions between Labor and the Greens, and it seems Labor has endorsed Cath Bowtell as their candidate again. With both candidates selected, does campaigning start now?

PANTS IN PARIS. It JUST became legal for Parisian women to wear pants. After years of French bureaucracy and almost comical reasons to keep this absurdly outdated law, it wasn’t until the French minister of women's rights, Najat Vallaud-Belkacem, drew up a statement on January 31 that the originally revolutionary-based legislation was finally repealed after 200 years of its existence. This is a perfect example of the sheer density of federal law and a great chance for a good ol’ fashioned investigation into the Australian system. Are there any ridiculously outdated or just plain silly laws we don’t know about that still remain in the books? A quick Google search confirms that it is in fact illegal to wear sexy pink pants after midday on a Sunday in Victoria. What else is out there?!

YOUNG PEOPLE THESE DAYS. With six months to go until the election, what are the main issues affecting young people and where do the 2/3 major parties stand on these issues? ELECTION ANNOUNCEMENT!!!! Gillard announced the longest election campaign ever last month, and the mud-slinging has started, but not a whole lot of policies. There is sooo much that could be written about the election. Pitch us your ideas, and if you want to start chasing pollies for interviews, we can help.

PRIVILEGE AND SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY. Since the election of John Howard, the LPA has become considerably less liberal Are privileged, socially liberal politicians such as Malcolm Fraser a dying breed?

THE GREENS CHANGE IT UP: The Greens have officially changed a number of core policies to “priorities” What implications will this have the party’s progressive agenda in the New Year. What implications will this have for the minority government? Is this reflective of the 2012 leadership shift from Bob Brown to Christine Milne? Chase them, interview them, interview supporters, Greens members, whatever you can find.

K-RUDD. Media reports of political instability within the Labor party have brought about the stock standard cry for a return of former leader, Kevin Rudd. Write us a piece on whether the Labor party does or doesn't need him. Is he doing the party more damage than good?

FODDER—Let us know if you want to review a cafe/restaurant/bar/other place. Be punchy. Be brief.

TOUGH MUDDER. Is it as tough as it seems (if not, tougher) or is it merely just a walk in the park? The Melbourne event was held only recently. Speak to people who made it through the weekend and ask what they thought about it. If you did it yourself, tell us all about it.

WACKY PRIME MINISTERS. Americans know all about their Presidents and some of them were pretty badass. The average Australian can probably name about three Prime Ministers. Surely they're not that boring. Give an overview of our weird, wicked and wonderful leaders - who was embroiled in the most scandals, who had the most outrageous facial hair, who (if anybody) got dumped harder than Rudd.

GROSS FOODS. Try out and review the most disgusting foods you can find in Melbourne. Consider including Casu Marzu (aka Maggot Cheese), fertilised/foetal eggs, fried rats, or whatever you can find!

HAIR REMOVAL. Research and review (and if possible, try out) different shaving methods, including a comparison between wet and dry shaving, and different kinds of razors, brushes and skin products. Why is badger hair so good? What is "threading" and how is it even possible? Does anyone actually use a straight razor anymore? (Open to the lads and ladies)

UNIVERSITY HALITOSIS. It's a well-established fact: bad breadth is a major turn off. Write up an article about the 'worst breadth subject' horror stories you've overheard or endured throughout your degree.

A SUB-EDITOR’S PLEA. I recently met a vaguely famous rapper and the exchange went something like this:

Me: "Uh, are you [name omitted]?"

Sorta famous guy: "Yeah, man!"

Me: "I LOVE YOU. Well, I love your music, not you personally. But I'm sure you're a great person too!"

Famous-ish dude: *bewildered and frightened*

Could somebody please share their tales of being utterly star-struck (or not star-struck at all, if you meet famous people all the time and/or are really cool) so I feel less terrible about myself? Why do some people get all weird around celebrities, anyway?

BREW-IT-YOURSELF. Home brewing guide for the amateur. Write up a how-to guide for beer brewing novices who want to impress their mates or just drink for cheap. As a side note, does anyone brew ginger beer? I’ve heard there are explosions involved. Please explain.

FOOD BLOGS. It seems like every second person has a food blog. Are they relevant or simply just annoying? What motivates people to start one, especially now given that there are literally thousands of them floating around on the internet? What are some tips for aspiring food bloggers?

COCONUT OIL. Is it as wonderful as people think or is it just a fad? Go into detail about its supposed health benefits (or otherwise) and explain whether it’s worth the hefty price tag (i.e. compared to other fats) or whether you’re better off avoiding it.

ARTS/CULTURE—We’re looking for gallery/poetry/exhibition reviewers. Contact us!

ALT LIT—WHAT EVEN IS IT? Tao Lin, Steve Roggenbuck, Megan Boyle, Jordan Castro, MacBooks, Xanax, MDMA, pizza-pocket, Haley Joel Osment. Dakota Fanning, social anxiety, sex. Is this an accurate depiction of the genre, or is there something deeper happening? Explain it, and either validate or invalidate it. Is it a genuine and important form of writing that makes us genuinely empathetic, or is it just kind of shit?

GUERILLA GRAFFITI. What’s going on with our laneways? There was a proposal awhile back to install security cameras in Hosier Lane. What’s become of it? What is the reasoning and implication of such actions? Get a few perspectives. Have a night-time investigation and talk to a graffiti artist in the act!

IS ART HISTORY DEAD? With the increasingly multi-disciplinary approach used in many Arts subjects, what is left of Art History if theory and criticism is often only self-referential? Art History was on the chopping block as a major at La Trobe—could it be scrapped here? Don’t scoff, it happened to Australian Studies.

→ SCREEN—Just let us know if there’s something you’d like to review. Either funny micro length (tweet size) or longer 200 word length.

CURRENT AFFAIRS CINEMA. Zero Dark Thirty has raised a fierce debate about cinema utilising recent events as source material for films. What are the ethical and artistic considerations when depicting events so soon after their occurrence, especially when their significance is still so hotly contested?

OSCARS LOVE/HATE. The Academy awards will have come and gone for another year by the time Edition two goes to print. Submissions advocating their abolition, or defending its continued existence and relevance are welcome.

WESTERNS IN AUSTRALIA (NOT WESTERN AUSTRALIA). Westerns—the best genre, or just a very good one?

Fun and relevant facts: 1906's The Story of the Kelly Gang was the first ever feature film, anywhere. It's said that a Federal ban on films about bushrangers in 1912 caused the collapse of a booming Australian film industry.

GUILTY PLEASURES. Can take the form of a confession/defence of a film/tv series/web series/podcast that is typically derided, or which you feel is unfairly misunderstood.

→ SOUND—Give us your mini-reviews of recent albums (must be no longer than one word each, plus or minus 99 words). Alternatively, slightly larger reviews (200-300 words) are also welcome, provided you check with us first. Keep in mind edition 2 will be out at the end of March, so try to aim for albums released around then.

NEVER SAY DIE. What’s The Tote up to these days? Is it still living up to its glory days? Let’s introduce our freshers to this Melbourne institution. Any good stories about your first trip there?

WHEN’S SPOTIFY GOING TO DIE? With the likes of Spotify and other forms of music streaming being accepted in the public eye, compare and contrast all the forms of music consumption which have defined the past few decades. From the hipster-cred record through to the ill-fated cassette, CD and the institutionalised by-product of one dominant fruit-named brand: Itunes.

SAAA INDIE. Write up a satirical article about the nuances and trends of the 'actual' indie music scene. Remember if it ain't growing a beard...

ALSO SAAA INDIE. What is the most underrated musical instrument? Bass guitar? Marimba? Euphonium? (Just kidding, euphonium is the worst) With ukuleles suddenly becoming a must-have for anyone who describes herself as 'quirky', do we have to accept the idea that some instruments are more mainstream than others? Or has this always been the case? (Bonus points for anyone who portrays Amanda Palmer as a diabolic figure of evil)

PLEASE PLEASE ME. On March 23rd, The Beatles debut record Please Please Me will hit its fiftieth birthday. Often regarded as one of the many pinnacles in the band’s inimitable catalogue, it is also one of the most influential records in modern music. How has it managed to retain its contagious sense of energy over such a long period of time, when today most indie rock records are forgotten after a few singles and downloads? How has its seamless synthesis of rock’n’roll rhythms and pop song structures influenced such modern bands as the Arctic Monkeys and The Strokes?

CONFESSIONAL HIP HOP. On his 2012 album good kid, m.A.A.d city, Kendrick Lamar refuses to exploit his days as a Compton gang youth for shock value, or to talk himself up. Like Drake’s Take Care before it, good kid, m.A.A.d city’s most prominent conceit is scrupulous honesty manifesting itself in terse and uncomplicated rhymes. Of course, Lamar and Drake aren’t exactly unprecedented (Notorious B.I.G was arguably the pioneer of gut-spilling rap), but their increasingly imitated aesthetic of uttered confessions over dulcet and synthetic beats could be sowing the seeds of the genre’s future. How different is this brand of hip-hop from the rhythmically focused 80s acts like Afrika Bambaataa and Funky Four Plus One? Is there still room for stringently political acts like Public Enemy when the current modus operandi is self-involvement and/or self-pity? Does this kind of music reflect a more general social anxiety over self-presentation?

2013 FESTIVALS. It’s pretty tough to dispute that 2013 has been a tremendous step up in terms of lineup quality from last year. Big Day Out had the most internationally recognisable and universally appealing lineup since 2008, Harvest provided crowds with the heart-rending ethereality of Sigur Ros and an extended rendition of Come On Eileen from Dexys, and Bluesfest feature(s)d acts as legendary as Paul Simon and Iggy & The Stooges. Provide a summer-festivals-in-review type of piece. What are the implications for future Australian festivals? Will this year’s level of quality incite more artists to sign themselves up for next year?

→ STAGE—We’re always looking for theatre reviewers or people to conduct interviews. If you’re interested, contact us.

AUSTRALIA ON THE BIG STAGE. Ever been to the West-end or Broadway? Perhaps seen Hamlet in Germany? Write a piece on how Australia's theatre scene compares internationally.

STATE V STATE. Discuss the state of the Australian theatre scene with comparisons between state/subscriber based theatre companies and the independent/fringe theatre scenes.

PATHWAYS. Explore opportunities for writers, directors and actors within companies such as The STC’s Actors Company or secondment programs.

CREATIVE—Submit any short stories, personal essays, poetry, artwork, or photo essays. These are just prompts/inspiration/good things to read.

WRITE ABOUT A QUIET INTIMACY. ‘We lived in a two-bedroom duplex, he and I, me and him: a place just big enough for two people. We stacked vinyl on shelves, next to piles of paperbacks, of half-price video games and DVDs we’d picked up for cheap … I didn’t know where we would end up, he and I, me and him. We seemed to be moving towards something, a light at the end of the cross-city tunnel.’ - Hannah Story

BE CREEPY—IMAGINE A LIFE WITH SOMEBODY. ‘Girl with the Holden ute from Armidale I love you … You will leave and I will feel like there are baby cockroaches in my heart. I will write my story and sketch your body and send it to Playboy thinking that they might like the sketches and the story because they are sexy. I will receive a response from Playboy in the form of a half-price magazine subscription. The girl on the front cover will look like your sister and I will call your sister and ask her if she is on the cover of Playboy. She will giggle and then I will say haha and eventually we will marry and have three kids.’ - Oliver Mol

BE AS BEAUTIFUL AND STRANGE AS STEVE ROGGENBUCK. Record something if you’re really really brave. Or just come to our new creative readings night ‘Wordplay’ on the 20th of March!

WRITE FROM YOUR OWN GRITTY EXPERIENCE. CALL IT FICTION, IF YOU LIKE. ‘The next day turned hot, and burned on into the night. Alex picked me up from the train. We swam in our naked, available bodies in a holidaying neighbour’s pool. I duck dived and raced Alex underwater. The bottom of the pool was invisible, only present when you scraped a nipple or a finger against the grain. From under the water the world was an off-green, the sky and trees appearing as nightmarish grey blobs, the clouds iridescent. I swam close to Alex and wrapped my legs around his huge frame. His cold dick floated between us.’ - Laura Jean McKay

TALK TALK TALK. Homo Sapiens spoke for a long time before they had a written language. Write us a dialogue piece. Not neccessarily a play (although that would be totally welcome) but a piece based on the humanity of communication. Inspiration: Hemingway's Hills Like White Elephants

THREESOMES. Every relationship in life is more exciting when it involves three entities. Think menage a trois, tricycles, middle children, marriages, tennis clubs. Get three characters, animate or not, and ensnare them somewhere together until something interesting happens. Inspiration: Hemingway's Hill's Like White Elephants

GROSSOUT. The abject is a psychological concept that represents anything that corrupts or challenges a sense of self. It also makes for a riveting piece of writing. What do you see when you look in a mirror that defines you? Anything else is abject. Go forth and cut an arm off. Inspiration: Hemingway's Hills Like White Elephants. Not really actually. Try Saw, or Freaky Friday.

#write #farrago #unimelb

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farragomagazine-blog · 12 years ago

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Tram Tracks #1

Our new columnist, Fletcher Diamantis, accosts people on trams and pilfers their music collections—in a loving way, of course.

The tram ride to university is seen by many as a chore. Sharing a confined, shaky space with 40 or 50 of your new ‘closest friends’ isn’t the most exciting outing in most people’s books. However if you take the tram ride to uni, or anywhere for that matter, in the way I do—it’s a great time to catch up on some new tunes or get yourself in the right frame of mind.

With that, I present Tram Tracks, a recurring insight to the beats and melodies your peers are listening to on the way to that early morning tute.

Now, I feel it appropriate to pave the way for this regular column with my own tram playlist. There are no rules other than the moral obligation to maintain absolute honesty. If you’re listening to Lady Gaga, I want to hear about it.

Currently, my tram tracks are my favourite songs from the last twelve months.

Cloud Nothings – ‘Stay Useless’: An indie rock romp with a hook that simply rocks.

To see the rest of Fletcher's tram tracks, read the full article here.

#read #farrago #farrago magazine #music #cloud nothings

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farragomagazine-blog · 12 years ago

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The 2013 Melbourne Big Day Out, recreated by Bonny Ross.

#bonny ross #illustration #bdo #melbourne #farrago

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farragomagazine-blog · 12 years ago

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BDO: Bogans, balls and all

Zoe Kingsley and Bonny Ross encounter unisex cleavage, arse painting & the motherfucking Red Hot Chili Peppers at the Big Day Out.

Waking up on Sunday proved a mighty feat. Succumbing to the morning-turned-afternoon essentials of coffee and a café breakfast, we headed out to the shop-fronted streets of Ascot Vale. Our bodies and minds had been swallowed, thoroughly chewed and eventually hocked up by the festival-machinery of this year’s Big Day Out (BDO). Nursing our coffees, we came to the realisation of what the day before represented, musically and culturally, within the trance of the summer—bushfire mayhem, beach musings and all.

From fatalist encounters with familiar faces to enduring violent turns of the tide within the mosh pit, what could not be overlooked was the disconnect between the music and the BDO audience. The combination of the once ‘alternative’ legacy of the festival, the low sales and high consumer opportunism, with the rigid exclusive headliner performance from the “funky motherfuckers” Red Hot Chili Peppers, resulted in a clash of music idealism with blond-haired, short-shorted and unisex-cleavaged realism.

Read the full article here.

#big day out #bdo #farrago #music #melbourne #bogans #rhcp #red hot chili peppers #read

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farragomagazine-blog · 12 years ago

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Meet the Eds

2013 is the first year in Farrago’s long history where four women have held the editorship. The very first edition in 1925 had a somewhat tokenistic ‘editress’, and over the years (and subsequent civil rights movements) women have become more and more involved, but this is the first time the office has been officially without a Y chromosome. To celebrate this, we got our 1950s on to introduce ourselves.

Read the full article here.

#farrago #farrago magazine #unimelb #read

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farragomagazine-blog · 12 years ago

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Eight things you could do before the federal election

Meg Watson looks at eight potential distractions for theeight month election campaign haul.

Yesterday Julia Gillard announced the beginning of Australia’s longest ever federal election campaign. The next 226 days will be full of long-winded debate, sledging, and maybe even a few actual policies. If none of these things take your fancy, here are a few tips on how to spend the unprecedented amount of patience needed ‘til polling day. Or, more succinctly, eight things to fill the next eight months.

Read the full article here.

#auspol #read #federal election #meg watson

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farragomagazine-blog · 12 years ago

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ALL ENGINES ARE GO

EDITION ONE CONTENT LIST

Deadline: Monday 28th January 2013

Remember, these are just a few suggestions—you can also pitch your own ideas to us.

It is essential that you check with us before beginning to write a story. Remember to check on the word count for the article.

Please refer to our style guide while writing. If you have any questions, email us at [email protected]

NEWS

● UMSU—WHY DOES IT MATTER? What did they campaign on this year, and how is it going to be implemented? What is being funded? Talk to each department.

● R.I.P ART / PORN. Last year Glyn Davis cut African Drum and Dance, this year is the last enrolment of the cherished Art/Pornography/Blasphemy/Propaganda. Investigate what else is disappearing from the syllabus. Explain why other things should be subjects, or not be subjects. Would work well as a funny satirical piece.

● EXCHANGE STUDENTS. We rarely talk about them until something goes wrong. What support is being provided for them? What support is provided if they don't speak english? How many subjects do they have to do? Where are they living? Talk to some newbies and see what the experience has been like. Investigate.

● A SOBER O WEEK—does it even exist? Look at all the O Week events offered and make some quantitative analysis of the events centred on drinking and the events which aren’t. It must be pretty alienating for those left out. Compare the results with different O weeks around the country. Sydney Uni’s colleges are notoriously gross. Let’s talk about it.

● THE SUSTAINABILITY UNIT—what even is it? Find out what it’s doing, how much funding it has, why it was started, and what the environment officers think of it. Sustainability units at universities are infamously bad at engaging with students, and some are just there so that hippy kids see them and think that the university is awesome. It'd be nice to know if ours is effective or the other kind.

● LYING SOCIETIES. Investigate student clubs and societies who say they are one thing and are actually not that thing. Like the Chocolate society that really wants you to pray while eating chocolate. You're going to have to look at all of them though, because there are probably some normal sounding groups that make you socialists too. Ask people at O week what their impressions of societies are, and if they're misleading then approach the group, and see why they obfuscate their real purpose.

● FAIR TRADE? Follow up on the University's Fair Trade accreditation which was achieved mid last year. Universities have a tendency to sign up and then implement things sluggishly. We can put you in touch with some good sources for this one.

● INITIATION SECRETS. St John’s College in Sydney was in the news last year for hazing that put a student in hospital. Melbourne Uni’s colleges have managed to stay out of the news, but hazing and initiation does happen around the crescent. Talk to some students and find out the real deal about what happens at our colleges during O-Week and throughout the year.

● ARTS WEST—what’s the deal? Apparently the Arts Faculty ran out of money and couldn't complete the renovations in early December. Have they managed to get their budget sorted?

● COURSERA. This year Melb Uni will be offering Coursera classes for the first time. These courses will be freely accessed from anywhere in the world. At present, the University hopes to introduce 13 classes by the conclusion of 2013. What is the University's motivation for introducing Coursera classes? Will it impact the quality of teaching at the university given that staff are already stretched?

● SCHOOL OF GOVERNMENT. 2013 will see the creation of the Melbourne School of Government, the first of its kind in Australia. The school will sit within the Faculty of Arts and incorporate the Centre for Public Policy. Vice Chancellor Glyn Davis has highlighted the interdisciplinary nature of the School. "It will draw together existing expertise and students from across the University in the fields of political science, international relations, economics, law, development studies and more," he said. Will the school deliver more options for students or will it instead serve to mask staffing cuts and merging schools with the managerial language of interdisciplinary studies and breadth?

● ARCHITECTURE + OLD COMMERCE. The current dismantling of the Architecture and Old Commerce Buildings will make way for the ABP's new building. The heaviest works are planned for late January to March 2013. The project was awarded to John Wardle Architects and NADAA in 2009 after the agencies won an international design competition that attracted 133 entrants. How will the University cope with the demolition and building progress during Semester One? Will the building serve to highlight the University's architectural credentials? Will the building compete with RMIT's new buildings that have garnered international design attention?

● NUCLEAR WEAPONS. What was the deal with that ‘training exercise’ here at the end of 2012? We’ve heard something about a police training exercise. We’ve heard something about nuclear weapons. Big conspiracy theory. Chase it!

● NUS. What was done at the NUS National conference? We pay a lot to affiliate and quite a few of our students went. There was a Socialist Alternative walk-out, drinks were thrown, and the twitter tag dripped with hangovers, but what is the National Union of Students actually trying to achieve in the next year?

FEATURES

Please note that all long-form features require a high level of interviews and research (we can help with this!).

● WHERE’S THE MONEY, HONEY? Recent statistics say that female graduates are earning up to 17% less than male. Discuss. Is this kind of thing seriously still happening?

● WOMEN’S RIGHTS IN INDIA. Reading about the gang rape and death of a young Indian woman in Dehli over the summer shocked the world and enraged Indians enough that violent protests were held in the sub-continent’s capital. The sad thing is, that this incident doesn’t seem to be isolated, despite the amount of media coverage. There’s quite a few angles that could be taken on this story, like how feminism and women’s rights are treated around the world, why people are so moved to protest over this incident, or what impact this could have on India’s tourism industry.

● LIFE IN THE MINES.We've all heard about how the mining and carbon taxes are supposedly going to decimate the industry, however we don't know a lot about daily life in a mining town. Investigate what life is like in the mining towns in Western Australia or Queensland. What's it like to work underground all day? Just who does go to these towns in search of the big money and do they think it's worth it?

● WHERE IS OUR MONEY GOING? t's easy to forget how much you're paying for your degree when it all goes into magical HECS land, but it is a lot. Break down each of the five undergrad degrees and see where the costs are. Science kids gets telescopes, but Media majors aren’t allowed to even see a radio studio? Expose the double standards.

● KIWI CRAZY. Following ‘The Hobbit’ and LOTR series, the international community has developed this new crazed obsession with New Zealand. But what about from an Australian perspective? Either a satirical humorous piece discussing the way we view our neighbours over the sea or, on the other hand, from a New Zealander’s perspective. What’s it like growing up Kiwi in Australia?

● DOOR BITCH BLUES. The entry standards for bars and clubs in Melbourne seem to be reaching ridiculous levels this year. Research behind this—perhaps with local bar owners, students, ethicists/anthropologists—and discuss whether, say, refusing a man because he just isn’t looking hip enough, is a necessary step to ‘cultivate’ the Melburnian social scene or if it’s a modern form of discrimination.

● WORD PORN. Following the success of Fifty Shades of Grey, explore the erotic fiction scene in Melbourne. Interviews/research could be done with publishing houses such as Little Raven. What is the extent of it? What kind of following does it have and will commercial successes like FSOG help or hinder the industry?

● RESEARCH SERIES. What the shit are we researching? Apparently this university takes itself pretty seriously in the research stakes, for the rankings stakes, for the attracting students stakes. What are we actually researching at the moment? What are some of the big science/medicine breakthroughs? What are the historians doing? What's the deal with math that doesn't use numbers?

POLITICS / OPINION

Any opinion/politics pieces you might want to pitch us are welcome.

● ONLINE ONLY—contact us ASAP. Jenny Macklin started the year on a high note by saying that she could live on the dole at $35 a day. Make something funny out of this already preposterous claim.

● EFFECTIVE, BUT JERKFACED. John Howard was, by most measures, a bit of a dickhead, but his government's gun control reform was highly effective without being oppressive. Who are some other notoriously bad/jerkfaced leaders who also happened to do awesome things? Or highly regarded leaders who also did incredibly stupid/evil things?

● ABBOTT’S CHARM OFFENSIVE. First there was Margaret Abbott to defend the Opposition Leader's respect and admiration for women. Now his chief of staff Peta Credlin has come out to vouch for Tony Abbott's feminist bona-fides. Who will be next? Does the manner in which a politician treat those he has a personal relationship with have any barring on their broader policy agenda? Is this new strategy likely to have any effect on the growing lead Gillard has with respect to female voters?

● GUN CONTROL. Will the US be able to implement some form of gun-control legislation in the wake of the Connecticut school shootings? If Australian style gun-control legislation was passed, would it have much of an effect on gun violence? With the Shooter's Party exercising balance of power in the NSW Parliament to introduce gun-friendly laws, will Katter's Australia Party look to do the same in Federal Parliament if it has the balance of power after this year's election?

● THE YEAR AHEAD. What issues will dominate the political landscape in this federal election year? What issues do you WISH would dominate? What issues are being neglected?

● MOVING FORWARD. With failed policies and media blunders up to the wazoo, assess how far the major political parties have really come since the last federal election in 2010. Consider writing this in the style of a marking system, perhaps out of 10, marking each political party (or if you like, be politician-specific) on their successes, failures, and amazing saves under pressure.

● PRIVILEGE AND SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY. Since the election of John Howard, the LPA has become considerably less liberal Are privileged, socially liberal politicians such as Malcolm Fraser a dying breed?

● THE GREENS CHANGE IT UP: The Greens have officially changed a number of core policies to “priorities” What implications will this have the party’s progressive agenda in the New Year. What implications will this have for the minority government? Is this reflective of the 2012 leadership shift from Bob Brown to Christine Milne? Chase them, interview them, interview supporters, Greens members, whatever you can find.

FODDER

Let us know if you want to review a cafe/restaurant/bar/other place. Be punchy. Be brief.

● HOW MUCH IS TOO MUCH? Investigate subjects that ask too much of students. 1st year Enviro students often go on mandatory field trips to places with little or no public transport. Many can’t drive, or are on their Ps forcing them to overload cars of students and break the law. What else is Unimelb making us do?

● CHEAPSKATES GUIDE TO SUMMER. Best free/cheap ways to spend a free day. Best beaches and how to get there, other attractions and activities e.g. picnics, free events, best ways to get around to these on public transport.

● CLASSY ALES. Is beer a ‘less serious’ drink than wine? Look at beer appreciation, terminology, etc. and the recent rise in popularity of craft beers. Can we have ‘fine beer’ as a legitimate counterpart, culturally and as an agricultural product, to fine wine?

● BREW-IT-YOURSELF. Home brewing guide for the amateur. Write up a how-to guide for beer brewing novices who want to impress their mates or just drink for cheap. As a side note, does anyone brew ginger beer? I’ve heard there are explosions involved. Please explain.

● BESTS. Give us a sassy little list of all the best places to get stuff on campus. I.e. best coffee, best sushi, best place to nap. Start out with the basics, then get weird. You have our permission. ‘

● PREDICTIONS. 2012 had Olympics, a royal jubilee, a US Presidential election, a transit of Venus, myriad political scandals and cock-ups at home and abroad, massacres, civil wars, extinctions, power outages, shipwrecks, natural disasters... Generally a pretty hectic year. Will 2013 be a bit more mellow or crazier still? Make some far-fetched predictions, be funny, be wise.

● DINOSAURS. Dinosaurs are pretty great, right? Someone should write something about dinosaurs. Maybe an interview with a paleontologist? Maybe a list of the weirdest/most terrifying prehistoric critters?

● SECOND HAND SECRETS. Been spending the summer scouting out for written treasures? Write up a review of some of Melbourne's best second-hand bookstores.

ARTS / CULTURE—We’re looking for gallery/poetry/exhibition reviewers. Contact us!

● GUERILLA GRAFFITI. What’s going on with our laneways? There was a proposal awhile back to install security cameras in Hosier Lane. What’s become of it? What is the reasoning and implication of such actions? Get a few perspectives. Have a night-time investigation and talk to a graffiti artist in the act!

● IS ART HISTORY DEAD? With the increasingly multi-disciplinary approach used in many Arts subjects, what is left of Art History if theory and criticism is often only self-referential? Art History was on the chopping block as a major at La Trobe—could it be scrapped here? Don’t scoff, it happened to Australian Studies.

● FREE ART! Profile ten places you think are the best to experience free art around Melbourne. Make sure you add in a few little-known galleries who have some stellar exhibitions.

● STARVING WRITERS. Does anyone in Australia actually make a living from fiction writing? Is this even possible? This could also be a funny piece about how to be a poor writer, or integrate your mind-numbing day job into the best seller you write secretly at night.

SCREEN

Just let us know if there’s something you’d like to review. Either funny micro length (tweet size) or longer 200 word length.

● GUILTY PLEASURES. Can take the form of a confession/defence of a film/tv series/web series/podcast that is typically derided, or which you feel is unfairly misunderstood.

● CELEBRITY WEB SERIES. A number of TV and film celebrities (Jerry Seinfeld, Zach Galifianakis, Lisa Kudrow) now produce and star in content which is specifically made available online for free. Investigate the significance of this trend within the context of new media forms. Profile a few of them. Hot tip: Galifianakis’ ‘Between Two Ferns’ is amazing.

● THE BOOK WAS BETTER. There’s been a huge surge of film adaptations of great books (and many more to come)— On the Road, Cloud Atlas, Life of Pi, Great Expectation, Les Miserables, The Hobbit, Anna Karenina, Jack Reacher etc. Critically investigate this cultural phenomenon. Is the film industry out of ideas? Or are film and literature more closely tied than first thought?

SOUND

Give us your mini-reviews of recent albums (must be no longer than one word each, plus or minus 99 words). Alternatively, slightly larger reviews (200-300 words) are also welcome, provided you check with us first. Keep in mind edition 1 will be out for O week, so try to aim for albums that have been released in Feb or as close as possible to when Uni goes back.

● JAY-Z V. KANYE. Over the years, Jay-Z seems to have grown as a human being—he was a crack-slinging hoodrat sharing the mic with Biggie, now he has a kid and chills with Obama. Kanye’s gone from a Jesus-praising momma’s boy with razor-sharp pop sensibilities straight into the arms (and womb) of Kim Kardashian. ‘Nuff said.

● NEVER SAY DIE. What’s The Tote up to these days? Is it still living up to its glory days? Let’s introduce our freshers to this Melbourne institution. Any good stories about your first trip there?

● WHEN’S SPOTIFY GOING TO DIE? With the likes of Spotify and other forms of music streaming being accepted in the public eye, compare and contrast all the forms of music consumption which have defined the past few decades. From the hipster-cred record through to the ill-fated cassette, CD and the institutionalised by-product of one dominant fruit-named brand: Itunes.

STAGE—We’re always looking for theatre reviewers or people to conduct interviews. If you’re interested, contact us.

● OPEN DOOR. Profile MTC’s inaugural 'Open Door' program and how it is providing opportunities for budding artists.

● THEATRE OF CRUELTY. A short article on 'Theatre of Cruelty' explaining what it is and where it originated etc. It would basically be a short snippet of knowledge which says something both interesting and informative. This could be continued in later issues of Farrago with different theatrical genres each time.

● AUSTRALIA ON THE BIG STAGE. Ever been to the West-end or Broadway? Perhaps seen Hamlet in Germany? Write a piece on how Australia's theatre scene compares internationally.

● STATE V STATE. Discuss the state of the Australian theatre scene with comparisons between state/subscriber based theatre companies and the independent/fringe theatre scenes.

● PATHWAYS. Explore opportunities for writers, directors and actors within companies such as The STC’s Actors Company or secondment programs.

CREATIVE

Submit any (short) short stories, poetry, artwork, or photo essays. These are just prompts. Bonus points go to whoever can capture the disillusionment of a generation while also including a sex scene, birth scene, fight scene, death scene and a humorous dialogue with god.

● WORK TOGETHER. A collaboration between a photographer and a poet/s and writer/s would be great.

● GENRE. A good way of dealing with writer's block is to set yourself limitations and work from within them—in chains we are the most free. In light of this try a writing genre piece—pulp, spaghetti western, noir, sci-fi, crime thriller etc (haiku, sestina etc. in poetry). See if this helps you realise what is most important in your style.

● HEARING VOICES. We human beings talk too much, it's time we shut up and listened for a change. Try and write a piece that gives voice to an inanimate object. Give a table eyes, a kettle ears, and a heart to the old shirt stuck in your cupboard that you don't wear anymore.

● WRITE ABOUT A PERSON IN AN UNCONVENTIONAL WAY.‘My friend is the ex of an ex of mine. She was defined in these terms—ex marks the spot—by other friends, and also by me. She stood silently at parties; she didn’t bring her own drinks. She broke his heart, everyone said. This happened in Tasmania, but news of it crossed the strait, like my friend did, although she wasn’t my friend then. She was just someone I used to notice across the room, tall and inscrutable as an unlit lighthouse’ - Mardi O’Connor

● WRITE ABOUT A PLACE—A BUSTLING SHAREHOUSE WITH INTIMATE SECRETS.‘I was 17 and living in my first share house, a rambling Queenslander with a Poinciana tree that overhung it like an enormous soft green umbrella. I lived with three boys: the bathroom was never clean, the kitchen grew livid mould and the grass was as tall as the veranda.’ - Romy Ash

● WRITE ABOUT A TIME AND ITS SECRET MEANING.‘I like the dark part of the night, after midnight and before four-thirty, when it's hollow, when ceilings are harder and farther away. Then I can breathe, and can think while others are sleeping, in a way can stop time, can have it so—this has always been my dream—so that while everyone else is frozen, I can work busily about them, doing whatever it is that needs to be done, like the elves who make the shoes while children sleep.’ - Dave Eggers

● WRITE ABOUT SUMMER AND THE PEOPLE BAKED WITHIN YOU MEMORY OF IT. ‘I wanted to say let’s go together. I don’t care what coastline, which small towns we pass through. I don’t have a license but I can drive okay. Let me take the wheel for those long un-policed stretches between the populated places. We could get to know each other over bad coffee and laminex tabletops, around the plastic cutlery containers in truck stops. Spend nights pushing each other away in the sticky dark of hotel rooms with stained wallpaper … It doesn’t need to be a Ford. It doesn’t need to have a radio. We don’t need to fall in love. We could just cover a little distance together’ - Josephine Rowe

#write

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