Sloth - More Than Just A Deadly Sin

Sloths are known to be one of the slowest creatures on Earth, and no one has seemed to take much notice of them. Until recently, that is. Lately there has been an explosion in sloth popularity and these creatures are suddenly the talk of the internet.
Sloth lovers appear to be separated into two groups: those that think sloths are incredibly cute and cuddly, and those that think that the "cuddly" part is regularly "forced" upon others. Both me and my best friend Kaity are a part of this sloth obsession, however we are part of the group that see sloths as incredible cute and cuddly.
 

One possible reason why sloths became so popular was when Kristen Bell confessed of her love for sloths on the Ellen Show.










However, there is a sloth which has been with us who made sloths cool before they were... well... cool. Sid the sloth from ice age has almost been forgotten amongst all the excitement about sloths. As much of a shame as this is, with the Ice Age movies continuing to be brought out, I doubt he will ever be forgotten.





Sloths appear almost harmless because of their slow movements and apparent stupidity. They are so slow that algae and moss can grow on their fur and so stupid that some even grab their own arms, mistaking them for branches, and fall out of trees. However, if you did not know these things about sloths, I think you would be pretty scared if this came after you:

Personally, I would be terrified.

To finish off this post, as it may be my last, I give you, the reader, a gift. Here is a video of baby sloths learning to climb:

And another, inspirational little clip:

Out of all the sins, I choose sloth... because they're cute.

Home Away From Home

One of the most difficult parts of anyone's life is leaving. I don't mean the kind of leaving where you leave work after a long day, you leave home to go shopping or you leave a mate's house because there are productive things you should be doing but aren't. I mean leaving your home, permanently. Moving out. Leaving the nest. Any cliche you can think of, think of it.
Many people when they move out they move to a different house, sometimes just down the street, but not me. I moved eight hundred kilometers away. Eight hundred kilometers away from my home. Eight hundred kilometers away from my family. Eight hundred kilometers away from my friends. Eight hundred kilometers away from my boyfriend. Eight hundred kilometers away from my dog.
I did it for my future, to come to James Cook University to get the qualifications to continue my life the way I want it to be. I made the decision a long time ago that I wanted to be an acedemic, a person of high education. It is where I belong.
However this meant moving a long way away from my little country home town of Mount Isa to the city, Townsville, right on the beach. It has been a huge change, the biggest of my life. Going from the outback to the tropics is a big contrast and it hit me hard when I first came here. But it was one of the best decisions of my life.
Yes it is and always will be difficult to be away from all I've ever known and loved, but there is a whole world out there that I want to get to know and this is only the beginning. University is only a gateway to the big wide world, and I have the key.

Outback Jack

Outback Jack's Bar and Grill is a little steak house on Palmer street in Townsville which revels in the Australian outback cliche and serves typical outback food. Tonight me and my boyfriend decided to go there for dinner, and the only regret I have is being so full I could barely walk afterwards, although, I don't think I even regret that.
My boyfriend Zac, being a guy, of course got a steak. But not just a steak, the steak deemed "Mother of all Steaks" on their menu. It wasn't the 1kg steak challenge, but it was 500g of well done, juicy meat complete with a side of chips, salad and coleslaw.
I decided I was going to have another classic Aussie favourite, bangers and mash. These sausages and mashed potatoes were delicious and were complimented with the sort of gravy you can only expect at good restaurants. I was told by the waiter that my meal only came with the mashed potato, so I also ordered a side of chips. The "side" of chips turned out to be a very full dinner plate of some of the tastiest chips I've ever eaten, or maybe I was just really hungry. Better than that, but I got salad and coleslaw too!
The entire thing was delicious, although I knew from the start that I had no chance of finishing the chips without help, help which Zac was very glad to give. Complementing the food was also drinks. While Zac stuck to water, I decided to be a little adventurous. Being both underage (only by a couple of weeks) and the designated driver, I could not have anything that contained even a trace of alcohol. However, I made do with an orange juice and an iced chocolate with whipped cream, ice cream and cocoa powder.
By the time I neared the end I was getting pretty full, but the mashed potato was so good I knew I had to at least finish that. Zac was able to finish the last few chips and the last half of my last sausage, although he could barely finish that. Boys... they always have room for more.
The service was also very good, with the waiter checking up on us regularly enough that we could get everything we needed when we needed it, but not so often enough that we were interrupted or irritated. Overall it was an incredible meal and I would definitely eat there more often.

Les Animeux Domestique, les Enfants et le Cuisine

In Townsville, one of the most popular places to go is The Strand, the beach that runs alongside the city with shops, seagulls, and a lot of sand. When walking along the beach, you can see many dogs and children running around and playing. It is a very pet and child friendly place. Just the other day I saw a extremely fluffy little dog sitting by it's owners as they sat and ate near the beach. A lady who was walking her miniature poodle past the couple stopped because her dog appeared excited at the other dog's presence. The dogs sniffed for a while before simultaneously jumping and playing around before the lady walked on. It was one of the cutest things I had seen all week.
Walking down the path many dogs can be seen walking along, all different breeds, both big and small. I have seen beagles, poodles, labradors, bulldogs, chihuahuas and golden retrievers. Owners can show off their best friends, and little terrors in the form of children.
All along The Strand playgrounds and parks are scattered and kids can be seen and heard laughing and playing regardless of where you are along the beautiful beach scene. The water park is a popular place where parents can sit back and relax and chat to each other as their kids, usually between the ages 4 and 10, play with many others their age. The Strand is a great place to relax and let all of the stress go without worrying about your children.
There are also many shops such as Harold's Fish and Chips, Juliette's Gelatto and the Coffee Club. This particular little area is extremely popular, and is crowded even until 7:30 at night.
Harold's Fish and Chips uses local fish and cooks an amazing meal, just ask one of the many customers. They will cook up the cliche seafood such as the good old fish and chips, fisherman's basket and scallops, all with tartare sauce, of course.

Tutorial #12

During this tutorial, the class watched a documentary on the New York times and how they have developed in the news world. The documentary showed many problems that arise during journalism careers such as how the public does not like journalists, the conflict with public relations and situations such as when a journalists is sent to a war zone.
One of the biggest controversies in New York Times history was when a reporter sent back secret military documents which had the potential to endanger American soldiers. There were arguments both for and against the journalist's decision.
The argument against the decision was that the military documents contained secret information that could endanger the soldiers fighting in the war. These were things such as tactics, safe houses and things of the like. The release of this to the public meant that anyone could get a hold of it, even members of the enemy army if they wanted to.
The argument supporting the journalist's decision was that the public has the right to know what is going on, and that it is the journalist's job and duty to supply the information for them. A large percentage of the public read the documents which showed that there was large interest in it, increasing the popularity of the news outlet.
This is one of the biggest problems with journalism, the duty of the job conflicts with what people believe to be humanly moral, as I have explained in a previous post.

Tutorial #11

In this week's lecture and tutorial, students presented their story pitches. These ranged from stories about animal abuse to the homosexual community. My own pitch was about American exchange students living on college and the change between life in America and life here in Australia.
A story pitch is not a story already written, but what a journalist does when they want a story to be published, they are selling the idea.
The journalist must take many things into account when pitching a story. The first of these is the outlet they wish to publish the story. I chose the outlet JCNN because the story I pitched is local to the university. I would not have chosen another outlet, such as the Townsville Bulletin, because the readers would be interested about stuff to do with the Townsville community rather than the university.
A major factor of the story is the format that it will take. Will it be a print news story? A television news story? Or, in my case, an online article?
Another aspect that has to be taken into account is the news values of the story. The news values are what draw the reader in, such as proximity, relevance, human interest, conflict and health. The news values of the story I pitched were proximity and relevance. These are appropriate because not only is the story close within the university, but students can relate to it.
Length is a big part of the pitch. This means the length of the story as well as how long it will take to complete it.
Every good story has images that can go with it. During the pitch, images should be identified and used that will compliment the story. For example, in my pitch I displayed images of America (taken by one of the American girls on my floor) that will help show the contrast between American and Australian life.
For a story to be professional, the information has to come from a reliable source. Without these sources, the reliability of the story will be questionable. The sources I got in contact with were the three American girls on my floor at Saint's Catholic College.
The story pitches were done well and there was a lot of potential for the stories to go further and actually be pitched to a news outlet.

Tutorial #10

During this week's tutorials the class practiced their interviewing skills by setting up the classroom as a press conference. Several students sat in front of the classroom to be asked multiple questions by their peers. Each person was only allowed to ask five questions each and they had two minutes to get as much information as they could to create a story.
Marie, the lecturer, suggested that we do not follow leads from other journalists, and instead find our own angle. She also said that the person being interrogated should not help the interrogators, they should give simple answers and not give too much away. We were given no prior information about the subject except their name, age and where they are from.
The first person to be questioned was Nick, who took the "don't give too much away" part too seriously. Deciding to be a smart ass, Nick gave as little information as possible. For example, when I asked about his family, he said, "Fine thanks." After the two minutes was up, hardly anyone had a story because of the way it was handled. Although some people blamed Nick for this, Marie stated that there are no bad questionees, just bad questioners.
The next person to sit in front of the class was Dana. The main story the class got out of her was her aspirations to become and actress, but her studies to be a journalist are a more down to Earth and realistic option for her.
The last person to be questioned was Yunki, a quiet exchange student from South Korea who was asked by the lecturer to be questioned. Because of his ethnicity and situation, there was a lot more that the class could ask Yunki about, so Marie gave us a whole five minutes for the interview.
Yunki was asked about the sports he played both back home and here. Back home he would play basketball, football, and all those types of sports. Here in Australia, however, he plays ultimate frisbee (a frisbee also being the one thing he would take from Australia back home to South Korea).
One of the major interests that the class asked about was that Yunki had to serve at least two years in the military as a compulsory part of life. During this time, although he had no real interest before the military, Yunki developed a hatred of North Korea, fitting in with the cliche of North vs. South.
When the interviews were finished, the class had developed more interviewing skills because of the exercise. Putting us all in such a real life situation made us all think about what to do and how to go about it.

Afro Circus

The circus has come to town...sville and the public has the chance to watch lions, monkeys, ponies, camels, llamas, dogs, clowns, acrobats and trapeze flyers. The Lennon Bros. Circus will be in town for a few weeks until the 2nd of June, which is their last show day.
One of the main continuing acts of the night was Izzy the clown, who would be pranked by the ringleader between acts. Then, Izzy would try to prank his fellow clown, Pluto, however it would backfire and Izzy would be left looking like a... well... clown.
One such prank was when the ringleader gave Izzy a gift of a telescope, which obviously didn't work. The ringleader would ask Izzy to look into the telescope and hold up to the other end a star, a moon, a black cloth (seen to Izzy as a black cloud), and a lighted match (seen to Izzy as lightening). Finally, the last time Izzy looks into the fake telescope the ringleader pours a jug of water down the tube, soaking Izzy's front.
Izzy would then wish to use the prank on someone else, usually picking on a member of the audience. In this case, Pluto comes along and, as can be expected, Izzy has a "present" for him. As Pluto looks into the tube Izzy runs to get a bucket of water, but every time the ringleader urges him to pull the prank properly. First showing the star, then the moon, then the "black cloud" and finally the "lightening." Between each of these Izzy runs to get the bucket but the ringleader stops him. At one stage Izzy almost throws the water onto audience members, but flicks it onto them instead when the ringleader says, "No not even a little bit."
Finally Izzy gets his chance and pours water down the tube. However it does not come out the other end. The ringleader tells the frustrated Izzy to look through the end of the tube he poured it in to see, and as can be expected Izzy gets soaked once more.
Several puns were being used by the clowns as well, such as when Izzy is chasing after Pluto with a mining pick, Pluto yells, "He's picking on me!"
At the end of the performance, a surprise is in store. The trapeze artists begin to fly in the air and Izzy wants to have a go. During the swing the artist that was supposed to catch him pulls off his pants, revealing very bright and embarrassing boxers. Izzy falls onto the net and the ringleader tells him he's a clown, not a flyer, and that he needs to be dressed as a flyer to be one. Izzy turns to the audience, says "Oh yeah?" and takes his hat, shirt and boxers off revealing a pink mohawk, tights and a surprising body for what everyone thought was a clown. Izzy (still called Izzy) continues to be a part of the trapeze show, which is the last act.

Drawing Circle

On Friday night, on the 26th of May 2013, at the Great Northern Hotel in Townsville, a small time local band played their very first gig in front of dozens of supporters. Friends, family and complete strangers all gathered to listen to the alternative band, called Drawing Circle, play a few songs. They were enjoyed so much that the audience called for an encore, which unfortunately the band did not prepare for.
Drawing Circle consists of members Jake Omelaniuk (lead vocals and songwriter), Rick McCarthy (bass guitarist), Andrew Cameron (drummer), Joel Ross (lead guitarist) and Matt Rogers (rhythmic guitarist). It was obvious that each of these members absolutely loved performing in front of their audience just as much as the audience loved listening to them.
Lead singer and youngest member of the band at 18 years old, Jake Omelaniuk was thrilled to have performed, and afterwards it could be plainly seen that he was still buzzing from all of the excitement. Jake writes all of the band's lyrics and would have had an encore prepared if he had finished a song he had been writing only days beforehand. After the second song Jake shouted out to his "gorgeous girlfriend" Ash Rutherford, who seemed almost more excited than Jake himself. Ash could be seen jumping and smiling and as the focus was turned on her you could see how happy she was to be their supporting her partner and the band.
The band played three songs which could be heard from down the street. The crowded hotel is only a start for this up and coming band and it can be assured that they will rise to be one of Townsville's most popular and well known music groups.
Drawing Circle had a twenty minute set, although the audience wanted more, and were one of the most adrenaline pumping acts of the night. They were a hard act to follow, although a Mount Isa country singer gave it a good shot. The audience was extremely pumped during the band's performance and noticeably calmed down when it was their time to step down. This just goes to show the talent of the group.

 

This photo was taken during lecture recess. It could be used in a food/cooking story about a little Townsville cafe in the city called Betty Blue.

Tutorial #9

Ethics are the unspoken rules that define our actions.

Ethics in journalism gets a little bit more complicated than that.

The major issue with ethics in journalism is the conflict between the part that is a citizen, and the part that is a journalist. Both have a duty to attend to. As a citizen, you have a duty to care for others and uphold justice where possible, to decrease pain and be all that is humane. As a journalist, your duty is to get the story, nothing else. No interfering. No changing the course of events. Just watching, recording, taking notes and in some cases asking questions.

There are principles concerned in how a journalist goes about things which are much more loosely defined than a member of the public, although there is no right involved. For example, if a person passes away, a journalist might approach the family to get or complete a story. The family would be very upset, of course, but the journalist would need a story. The family does have the right to turn them away, but the journalist has more right than ordinary citizens to pry, however unethical some may see it to be.

One example of questionable ethics was when a priest set himself on fire and two journalists were sent to record the incident. After a few moments, it could be seen that no help was coming and one of the men set to putting the fire out. The reason why ethics are questioned in this instance was because the two men were there to watch this man burn alive, not to stop it from happening or cease his suffering like any normal person would try to do. One did help after a while, but the fact that they waited is what is questioned.

Pain and suffering is at the centre of conversations about ethics. It seems and unspoken rule to try our best not to cause such suffering or allow it to happen because of our empathy and instincts, such as the will to not only survive but thrive in our existence. This is where journalists sometimes fail, and most of the time it is because it's their job.

“All things must be examined, debated, investigated without exception and without regard for anyone's feelings.”   ― Denis Diderot

Tutorial #8

There may be a time in a journalist's career that they will be asked to cover stories surrounded by warfare and conflict. There are many challenges that arise from this situation.
The first problem is that to keep safe, the journalist must stick with soldiers. The problem here is that the journalist will only see what the soldier sees, they cannot go off and investigate something they feel they should without risking their lives.
The journalist might also find themselves in the position that they become a part of the military operation. This is a strong negative because it is difficult to report whilst in a conflict zone regardless, even more so when your focus is more on the job and staying alive than writing up a story.
There is a big problem that is caused before the journalist is even put in these situations, and that is the lack of preparation. Can you really prepare someone for the death and destruction that will surround them? How could you ask someone to head straight into the disaster zone and watch people die, people they will have met and conversed with, and come out of it unscathed? The truth is, you can't.
The result of all this is called post traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD for short. PTSD comes from situations, such as warfare, where there is a lot of conflict, destruction and even death. It is not restricted to just war, but criminal acts, such as robberies, shootings and murder, motor accidents and natural disasters.

A journalist will be greatly affected if they witness a criminal committing an act against the law and they aren't equipped to handle or even stop the situation. In fact, it can lead to moral conflict because it isn't their job to step in, but the human part in all of us would want it to stop.











A lot of damage can be the result of motor accidents, and a lot of the time people are injured, some even dead. Any sane person would hate to witness these things, yet it is a journalist's job.







When a huge natural catastrophe occurs, it is once again the journalist's job to report. The damage caused by things such as tsunamis, cyclones, earthquakes, etc. are chaotic and disturbing. Homes damaged, people dead or dying, it is enough to cause PTSD in any person, yet a journalist must do their job.

Tutorial #7

Almost Every story ever written is accompanied by a photograph which compliments the journalist's writing. Pictures have been used to tell stories since the time of the cavemen, who drew pictures on cave walls depicting hunts and tribal rituals. In contemporary times, however, a photojournalist uses not only a digital camera but photographic skills to portray emotion and tell a story. However, it is not as simple as point and click. There are many aspects that need to be taken into account such as angle, focus, outline, lighting and the subject of the photo.
For example, if I, as a journalist, chose to do a story on the Black Saturday Bushfires, I would choose to take a photo such as this one:

Instead of:

This is because the first one shows emotion in the damage surrounding the family. They stand in the middle of a wreckage assumed to be what's left of their home. The photo is also visually appealing. This does not mean that the reader will enjoy seeing such damage, it means that it is easy to look at, the family is in the centre surrounded by the colourless wreckage, which borders the photo.
The second photo isn't as visually appealing. Yes, it does show the actual fire that destroyed homes, but the layout isn't as good as the first. This photo is clearly divided into thirds, with one extremely bright and colourful strip cutting horizontally through the middle. The fire is cut off by the roof so the image is also incomplete.
One example of famous photojournalism is Kevin Carter's photo of a vulture stalking a small child in Africa in 1993. Whilst there is much argument over the morals of the photo, the picture itself would be great to use in a story.


 
There is much emotion that can be provoked by this photo. Also, the focus of the reader is drawn to the vulture despite the fact that the child is in the foreground. There is a story told through this picture, even without words to accompany it.
Yet another aspect which has to be taken into account when choosing a photo to accompany the story is what the readers will expect to see. With a lot of stories the cliche and predictable picture will work a lot better than a picture that will make the reader ask, "Why is that picture there?" And example used in class was a story about a gum cleaning machine. The cliche picture of gum stretching between a shoe and the ground was chosen to be better than a picture of the cleaning machine.