Finally! Road trips are just about the best thing in the world. Driving anywhere and everywhere with your mates and camping it out for a few days, and just forgetting about everything else. I love it.
During my recent university break, my friends and I decided it would be a great idea to go camping down in Jervis Bay! It was such a great idea, and shout out to Blake Stanbridge for organising it all. Since we were going camping, and not staying in rooms, we had to pack tents and stuff, however, my priorities were at my comfort level. I packed three doonas and three blankets, and about six pillows. I regret nothing. My friend Jordan packed his tent into my car, and we slept like kings.
We spent the next few days just lazing around, checking out the beach and the small town, and getting pretty drunk playing all sorts of games. One amazing thing they forgot to mention on the website however, was the amount of wine-mums staying at the resort. You feel weird sitting around drinking aimlessly at a camp site, until you walk around and realise everyone else basically does it full time.
The wildlife around the resort was amazing! It actually makes you feel like you’re experiencing the Australia everyone else in the world thinks it is. Kangaroos roam freely around the resort, they walked straight through our campsite! It was great to see them up close, and just have them close by. Makes you feel so much more Australian.
I think my favourite part of the trip however, was on the first night, when the last of our friends came down. I was enjoying my cider, when I hear “Happy birthday” being sung by everyone. My first instinct was “oh shit, i’ve forgotten someones birthday” and started singing along, until I realised everyone was looking at me. They had bought me a cake for missing my party, (which in itself is understandable, they live in Wollongong and I live in Sydney), and it was just such a great feeling. It feels good to have great friends.
However, the main reason I was so excited to go down, was the chance to film a travel video! (And take photos!) So that’s exactly what I did. I spent the whole time filming and taking photos, and spent a good day or two of my time editing and making it perfect. So a big thanks to all my friends for putting up with my camera in their faces!
So i’m finally 20! Man the years have flown past. My childhood is over, and now I need to pretend to be an adult. The past two years has been absolutely amazing for me, i’ve come a long way from that awkward, unhappy angsty teenager that somehow survived high school. I have amazing friends, an awesome job, and a future that i’m genuinely excited for.
I’ll always be a kid at heart though!
At the end of high school, I expected myself to do an IT or Computer Science course at university, but somehow managed to get myself into a bachelor of Communications and Media. I’ve always loved being behind a camera, and i’m so glad I chose this course, not just because I love what i’m studying, but because i’ve met so many amazing people because of it. Now I work as a contract photographer, I regularly do clubs and modelling, and i’m even starting to get Wedding events, and I only started my label 6 months ago!
I have such a positive outlook on life these days, and i’m so happy with who I am as a person. I’m not afraid to ask for what I want, and i’m prepared to do the impossible for what I want. The next year of my life is going to be dedicated to working and saving money, for that ultimate trip when I graduate University. I want to travel the world, and photograph it and make videos along the way. I want to travel to every corner of the planet, and meet as many people as I can, and just talk to them. See what life is like for them.
I plan on doing a lot more writing and vlogging for my website over the next year, not about anything in particular, just about me and my life I guess. That’s something else that i’ve always wanted to start, but i’ve either never really had the time, or i’m just never happy with how it looks.
But this year of my life, is mine. So here’s to the future, and hoping that one day i’ll see the world!
Unfortunately i’m not talking about the Gatekeeper from the classic game ‘Atmosfear’ in this blog post, so if you’re an enthusiast, turn back now! Instead, i’m here to talk about the concept of gatekeeping, and how we’re all actively a gatekeeper online. The concept refers to the actions you take online to read and find information, and actively decide to trust certain sources over others.
Reddit is new type of platform that’s starting to become very mainstream online, and the way it works, can perfectly describe your role as a gatekeeper. It works like a democracy, through a system of upvotes and downvotes. It has so many different ‘sub-reddits’, which you can subscribe to, effectively deciding what content you want to see.
The Apple vs Android battle for mobile phone supremacy has torn friendships apart. Okay, that might be a bit of an exaggeration, but it’s still a huge issue! Ever since Apple brought out the original iPhone and completely changed the smart phone industry, and Google bringing out Android to compete with them, having the latest smart phone was always a big deal.
Just the amount of reviews and videos about them online can prove it! It almost reminds me of the Mac vs PC debate. This week I decided to take a look at the Apple vs Android mobile war that’s tearing friendships apart.
Buy the new iPhone, iPad, iMac and iPod all for every dollar you have, and have the freedom* you need for the 21st Century!
* Freedom not included
This week we talked about The Feudalisation of The Internet, and I thought that Apple was the most obvious, largest, and most commonly known example. Everything Apple does is innovative, but also restrictive at the same time, and here are some examples;
iPhone: Creating a digital phone with only their software
App Store: Creating their own marketplace with their own currency
iPod: Compatible with their software only
Development: No complete freedom in App Development
iMac: Restricted in terms of software
All of these items are innovative in their own way, but like I stated before, they also restrict you in so many ways. Ted said it best himself in the lecture, “You’re free to do what you want, but it’s controlled by the manor (Apple)“.
Youtube was a massive game changer when it came to video production, and it completely changed the video industry. It removed a vast majority of filters that were in place between producer and consumer, now the producer could film, edit, and publish their own work and get it to their audience on the same day. The success of a Youtube channel relies on an attention economy.
Youtuber channels such as CaseyNeistat are a great example of a successful vlogging channel, receiving a majority of the attention, while other vloggers such as Danger Dan don’t receive as much attention, but in my opinion, have almost the same quality! Danger Dan is well worth checking out, especially that video in particular as he talks about his perspective of this issue.
It’s because of how Youtube works that’s made it so successful, it’s essentially a platform for prod-users. While Youtube is a great platform, and there’s so much content, there’s only a small percentage of channels that get a large amount of views, and this is The Long Tail effect in practice.
So in my second year of University, i’ve decided to take up Journalism! I don’t know why I didn’t study it in my first year, I made the mistake of picking French as an elective and finding out learning a new language requires intensive study, and i’m too busy procrastinating for that. I’m pretty keen to get going with Journalism, especially because it has a strong digital aspect with photography and video, and after investing quite a lot of money in a new Camera, i’m looking for almost any excuse to use it.
I’ve picked up Photography as a Minor as well, something else I should have done in my first year, but I had no idea what I wanted out of my degree, and I’m sure i’ll change everything around in my third year as well. You’re always going to find something new and exciting. Just like Politics and the Media, a subject i’ll be doing in my second semester. Finally i’ll get the chance to be marked by ripping into Murdoch’s corrupt empire of a business.
If there are any first years reading this, you’re all probably nervous and don’t really know what’s going on, just like I was this time last year. You just need to relax, and everything will be explained a million times over to you so you understand every aspect of Uni. The best part about Uni is definitely the lifestyle, working out your own timetable, getting time to be social, and not having to travel to Uni every day (unless you’re like me and screwed up their timetable). Definitely check out those $11 jugs of beer at the Uni bar!
A good beer and a chip roll makes for a great lunch
The best part about the Communications and Media degree however, is the homework. I mean, who wouldn’t love blogging and tweeting as homework? I pretty much did that already, and know I get graded on it, I’m living the dream! The only bad part of my second year is that I don’t have Sue Turnbull as a lecturer! She was the absolute best lecturer that i’ve had so far, she always has so many great videos to show, and interacts with the Twitter feed while she’s talking! #BadAssSue
Lastly, WordPress is super easy to use once you know what to do, so if you have any questions, feel free to hit me up on any type of social media!
English comedian, actor and activist Stephen Fry has rather uniquely and harshly answered the question of “what would you do if when you died, you met god?”. Stephen, most known for his presenting role in QI (and also known notably for having a high IQ), doesn’t believe in any sort of god, so when interviewed by Gay Byrne for his show The Meaning Of Life, he must have surely been expecting a well thought out answer to almost any religious question he would throw at Stephen. Well, Stephen was prepared alright.
He’s viciously attacked the idea of an ‘all-good god’, and stood his ground on an issue that has put people on eggshells before, calling god “stupid” and “vicious”. It’s not uncommon for people to regularly attack the idea of a god, or project their idea’s of Atheism or Agnosticism (the idea that the existence of a god is unknowable), but when Stephen Fry says something like this, it has a much larger impact, probably because of how well he’s known, and what he’s known for.
There is a food-based god, and it’s known at big mac sauce, and now the forever popular sauce is for sale in small amounts in store! While admittedly, this isn’t huge news, because you’ve always been able to buy big mac sauce on the side, and speaking as a past employee, it was a popular item. But that’s not the big news, McDonalds is also auctioning off a 500ml bottle of the pure happiness on eBay, with the proceeds of the auction going to the Ronald McDonald foundation.
Source: Daily Telegraphy
Even bigger news, is that they have released the ingredients inside the special sauce, so now enthusiasts that have craved to make their own special sauce can do that. However, there’s a catch. They havn’t released the ratio of ingredients in a last ditch effort to try and preserve their secrets. They’re releasing their secrets after the rising public awareness of what we’re actually eating, as well as laws surrounding the fast food industry giant.
While McDonalds company are surely expecting high bids on the large bottle of Big Mac sauce, I know that i’ll be placing some very low bids in a poor attempt to receive it.
David Moyes has recently broken ANOTHER record by being the first manager fired since 1986. On Tuesday night for us Aussies, we received the not so shocking news of David Moyes getting the axe from Manchester United. Over the last few Months, Moyes has faced some harsh comments towards his management at the club, and losing to his old team, Everton, was the final blow for fans. As there are always two sides to an argument, there a two sides towards his sacking. There are the majority of people that demanded his sacking, and those that were more sympathetic and were open to him managing for another season. And probably one of the saddest things about his sacking, is that it happened just three days before his birthday. Spurs are apparently interested in signing Moyes, and I think he’ll flourish there, as long as he is given time.
Moyes still managed to win one more trophy than Jose Mourinho
Moyes originally signed on with United for a 6-year contract, and the board backed him up with a long-term plan and stating their faith in him, because rebuilding after the departure of arguably the best manager in football wasn’t going to be easy. So why wasn’t he given the long-term chance to rebuild United? Because if we look at his past club, Everton, he brought them from near relegation, to a top 6 team. And if he could do that with the minimal funds Everton had, surely he could do it for the reigning champions? Unfortunately, there’s more than one answer.
The high expectations left by Alex Ferguson
The attitudes of the players
The complete switch in back-room staff
The philosophy of Manchester United fans
Age of our starting squads
Growing lack of talent
David Moyes hated the banner, thinking it implied he was gifted the position rather than earning it
When Alex Ferguson announced his retirement, the tickets for his last game were going for sale online for almost £3000, that’s almost $5,500 AUD. When ticket prices are that high, it’s safe to say that the man was one of a kind. He’s the reason why United are as successful as they are. So being the man to replace him would be suicide. The fans would have continual high expectations for him to achieve, as if Fergie never left, and the problem with that is, most of the fans don’t know what’s going on with the club. They just shout and cheer for United, then attempt to blame someone when their club is losing. And unfortunately, for those die-hard United supporters since child-hood like myself, it’s painful to be stereotyped with those people.
It’s come to light that a lot of the players were not happy with the new management, some of them even betting on ‘how long until he was sacked’. There was so much bickering going on behind the scenes that they managed to keep quiet for a while, that i’m ashamed. If I was Moyes, and a player made a negative comment about me, I would shout down at them until they fall in line. Bickering like a bunch of teenage girls and then blaming Moyes because they played poorly reminds me of saturday-league football. They should really think about what they’ve done before they find another scape-goat.
Another point I made was the age of the team. The likes of Ferdinand and Evra in our starting team, I found was a poor decision throughout the season. Ferdinand is still a good player, but he has the turning circle of a truck, and the speed of a sloth. Multiple times while watching games, I would scream at my monitor when he moved out of position, and it would usually lead to conceding a goal. And Evra was summed up in the second leg against Bayern Munich. Great offence, terrible defence. Both of them should be dropped immediately. They were world class in their prime, but with our captain Vidic leaving at the end of this season as well, it’s time to start a new legacy. They are no longer United Quality.
A once legendary pairing now outdated and no longer United quality
So what now? We’ve sacked our manager and we still have games left! Ryan Giggs is what happens now. Ryan Giggs has stepped in as Manager on an interim basis, which basically means he is to be Manager until they contract a full-time manager. During his first team talk he said that “we will go back to playing like Manchester United”. I have the same confidence in Giggs as I did in Moyes, which is a great amount. Giggs knows how everything works, he’s basically the living embodiment of Manchester United. The man breathes trophies.
But what about long-term? A lot of names are in the air, including Jurgen Klopp, Van Gaal and even Jose Mourinho. Most of them are just hopeful rumours, but some of then are quite good candidates. I personally would love to see Van Gaal manage United, he has the perfect personality to control the egotistic players, and know-how to win seasons, and continue our reign of success.
Ryan Giggs is to take over management until a permanent replacement is found
But why would Jose Mourinho be rumoured to join us, he just joined Chelsea. Well there were rumours at the end of last season that Jose wanted to take over after Fergie, and perhaps they’re just journalists making up stories to write about. But wouldn’t it be great if he joined us? He has quite the resume. There are rumours that he is trying to get himself fired so he can manage United, but again, i’m going to assume their false rumours.
Van Gaal would be the better fit for United I think personally. He is currently managing the Netherlands international team, and managed the likes of Ajax, Barcelona and Bayern Munich before looking onto the international stage. He’s won countless awards for his clubs, and multiple personal awards. His ‘no one is bigger than me’ personality is exactly what we need at United to keep everyone in line, and for everyone to perform at their maximum potential again. There’s an in depth analysis here on reddit. One story that I particularly like about Van Gaal, is when meeting Pique, Van Gaal, without warning, pushed the 14-year old Pique over and said, “You’re too weak to be a Barcelona defender.” We need that kind of attitude.
The Dutchman will be perfect for United
Even when we sign a new manager, we still need to make some crucial signings. We need some new defenders, and some new midfielders. We really need to make it rain this transfer window, we have a lot of players leaving, and we already have too many holes in our team. We need to totally reshape our team. So who should we buy? (All values in euro’s from TransferMarkt)
Ivan Rakitic
Ivan Rakitic 20M: The 16 year-old Croatian footballer currently playing for Sevilla in Spain, plays in a central midfield or attacking midfield. He has magnificent passing and vision, which we need in our team. He’s also quite the dribbler. While we don’t need another attacking midfield, he can play out wide, and he’s worth the investment. His move and pass play can would be dangerous if lined up with Kagawa and Mata. He would most likely be suited on the right-hand side, leaving the middle for Mata.
Luke Shaw
Luke Shaw 30M: An 18-year old Left-Back for Southampton, he’s one to keep an eye on. He’s already in the starting squad, and plenty of top clubs including Manchester United and Chelsea have him in their scopes. He’s like a young Gareth Bale, with a great attacking style with good decision making. Apparently Manchester United are to beat Chelsea with a 30M bid for the youngster this transfer window.
Kevin Strootman
Kevin Strootman 21M: At 24 years old, he’s in the starting line-up in his Italian side Roma as a central midfielder. He’s a tough tackler and has excellent vision, which is exactly what we need in a new midfielder. We don’t need another Carrick that will only bass it backwards. He’s currently injured for the rest of the season, and the 2014 World Cup. His tough tackling would suit the Premier League, and most importantly, Manchester United’s style of play. Plus he has a good relationship with Van Gaal, so if he is to manage United next season, he will definitely look at bringing in the Dutchman.
William Carvalho
William Carvalho 7M: A Portuguese defensive midfield player, at 22 years old he plays for Sporting Lisbon. Manchester United have been scouting him for some time, and he’s a perfect fit for United, much like Strootman. And for only 7M, he would be a great investment, and a valued played in our ranks.
Ezequiel Garay
Ezequiel Garay 17.5M: A 27-year old defender currently playing for Benfica, would be a great asset to United. With a great tackling ability and some great strength, he surely fit in well for United. United doesn’t really need many CB’s, as we have Evans, Smalling and Jones already, and all of which are good enough to fill the holes of Vidic and Ferdinand. Garay will just add a bit of experience to the defence.
I think the one thing that really needs the change though, the the fans philosophy and mentality towards the next few seasons. Everyone expects us to win season after season, but it’s just not going to happen. We can’t continue to have the strongest ego. We have to accept that we’re going to lose some crucial games along to way, but we’re setting ourselves up for great success in the future, similar to Liverpool. They were once a great team, and it took them decades to contest again.
Everyone just needs to remember that Form is temporary, but Class is permanent.
But until next season, we get to experience Ryan Giggs as a player manager, and i’d love to see him on the side line managing in his kit, and to sub himself on. Especially in the last game. Maybe it’s the start of his next big scheme to win more trophies, to become the world’s next best manager. Either way, i’m behind United, and I have faith that we will eventually bounce back and become champions once again.
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