Born Evil?

The story I am writing about is 13 year old, Cristian Fernandez who is currently facing life imprisonment for murdering his 2 year old brother.

Now normally when I commence writing a blog post I have in my head an already formed opinion based on the content I am writing about, but in the case of this story, things are a little less clear cut than usual and I am very interested in the feedback it will garner in the comments below as I myself cannot work out where I sit on this issue. You see, the kid only being 13 is the first of a number of questions that can be raised from this story when we look into the details.

To clarify, Cristian is being charged with first degree murder which means that he is believed to have pre-planned and willfully committed the act, excluding the possibility of an accident. His younger brother was found to have extensive skull damage, a bleeding brain and bruising to the left eye as a result of a brutal bashing delivered by cristian, who admitted to the offence while being questioned as a witness. In light of these current charges he has also been charged with sexually assaulting his 5 year half brother.

At this point it would be fair to ask where the ambiguity in this case comes in, this kid is obviously evil and life isn’t a long enough sentence. But this is where an important question needs to be asked. Is Cristian as an individual just born evil and therefore solely responsible for his actions? It would be fair to answer yes to this question because he was more than aware of his actions, he knew what murder was and he willfully committed the act and to a large extent I am holding onto this reasoning. But I am torn because as you will now read, Cristian probably wasn’t born evil and violent, but was the result of some of the most messed up life circumstances I have ever encountered.

You see, Cristian himself was born to a 12 year old mother, to which the conception itself resulted in a 10 year sexual assault sentence for the 25 year old father. When he was 2 years old he was found by authorities walking naked and dirty through the streets at 4 a.m while his grandmother, who was looking after him was at a local motel doing drugs. At this point both mother and child were moved into foster care, where among other things, Cristian was sexually assaulted by an older cousin at the age of 8. A number of years later, Cristian’s mother married and they moved to Miami, where Cristian was beaten by his stepfather, one time so bad his eye maintained retinal damage. When the incidence was reported and the authorities went to investigate they found the stepfather dead as a result of suicide. It was after all this, when Cristian was 12 that he murdered his younger brother, while his mother had left the 2 boys home alone. On returning to the house, Cristian’s mother found the 2 year old unconscious and then waited another 8 and a half hours before calling for help. In the meantime texting friends and googling terms such as ‘unconscious’. Doctors say the child may have survived had the mother acted appropriately and as a result she has been charged herself with aggravated manslaughter and could be facing 30 years.

If anything this story just makes me sad and angry at people, society and pretty much everything, because while Cristian willfully murdered his brother, I don’t think anyone can say that the above has no relevance. Even in discussing the incident to psychologist’s, Cristian was detached to the incident mentioning flashbacks to his violent stepfather as the trigger for his anger. His family let him down, society let him down, the authorities let him down and the whole government system let him down, squashing his potential in life and breeding anger violence and hatred. It is for this reason that I am so torn on the issue because while I understand that there is never a reason or excuse for killing an innocent person, this poor kid comes pretty close to having one.

So what do you think? There is a lot that can be commented on so I’m not going to limit you with a single question. I still haven't really decided. I think the kid needs to be locked up to some degree because he is a risk to himself and others, but my heart also goes out to him and hope that he might somehow receive rehabilitation and a second chance at life with the hope that he just hasn’t been messed up beyond repair.

Read more by Brayden.
Follow Brayden on Twitter @Brayden_Towns

Australia As A Reference Point

Who has heard a politician on the TV, on radio or on Twitter rip shreds off someone on the other side of parliament - or even the same!?

Every single week, column inches are focused on the rumblings between the members of parliament. Kevin Rudd is always one who can easily fill some opinion pieces about what future role he'll play in the Labor Party. The Greens - Labor alliance in both Tasmanian and in Canberra is another one that can instantly create pages of journalistic comment on what really is a difference of opinion that has always been held. And this is something that is becoming more and more common

- and I'm not sure that we're seeing any benefit as Australians with the political debate.

If these arguments happened behind closed doors, then hardly any of us would actually want to be in that room, because it's not really affecting us.

My focus might be different to others, but I believe that political debates should be about how the issues will affect me and my peers and my country, rather than having personal attacks being made at each other. How many times do you hear members of the Labor party say that 'the Howard government did this' and then the Liberal party are saying 'the Gillard government is doing that'. It's not like the issue is at the core of the debate, but it's the fact that someone stands on the other side of their opinion.

Political debates are losing focus on the useful conversations. They are focused on defeating the other party, gaining power so that you minimise the impact of the other party, and balancing the argument between popular opinion and ensuring the political sponsors are still looked after.

We all agree that bullying is wrong in the school yard, but it is all our politicians can seem to do!

I may be an idealist, but here's what I believe politics should be orientated around -

For too long, we've been watching politicians use each other as the point of reference in debates - and the Australian people simply sit by waiting to find out how it really affects us. Even in debates, you are more likely to hear the bashing of the other side rather than painting a clear vision of what they want to see happen in Australia.

Let me hear what you want to see done with the health system, with the education system, with the environment - just don't tell me what the other side is doing.

Present the preferred tomorrow.

It's going to take a courageous leader to stop bashing the other side of politics and start focusing on the future of Australia - but it's got to happen soon before the entire political arena turns toxic.

Read more by Adam.

Follow Adam on Twitter @adammostogl

The Past, Present and Future of Gay Marriage Legislation

In the news lately, you may have heard about the legislation being introduced in Tasmania to legalise same sex marriage. It’s causing quite a stir actually! There are many advocates in the community that are either for or against same sex marriage, and although reading their arguments is interesting enough, what I find really fascinating is Tasmania’s history with same sex rights, and the laws that might just make legalisation possible in this little island state.

The history of same sex equality in Tasmania has a quite dark and embarrassing past. You see, up until 1997, being in a male-male or female-female relationship was criminalized, with 20 years imprisonment being handed down to ‘offenders’. I was 3 years old when this law was still in place. It shocks me, that at same stage in my life (although I did not understand the laws at all at the age of 3), being in a same sex relationship incurred a punishment… a punishment that was more severe than what someone charged with rape or robbery would get.  Tasmania was well behind the rest of Australia. It can be even traced back to old records of a Tasmanian politician stating that homosexual people were criminals and should be “tracked down and wiped out, like murderers...” Was this guy serious!?

It was in 1988 that one of the first attempts was made to raise awareness of the harsh laws in place, but this attempt was quickly shut down. A stall was established in Salamanca Markets, with a petition in favour of gay law reform. However, it did not take long for the Hobart City Council to shut the stall down. When volunteers resisted the Council’s decisions, the police were brought in and over the next 2 months, a whopping 130 people were arrested. What’s particularly amazing about this defiance to authority in our tiny home state is that it remains to be Australia’s biggest gay rights civil disobedience!

It was through conversations with the public, awareness events and even law suits at national and international levels that eventually turned the tables on the discriminatory laws in ‘97. What I find amazing is that Tasmania went from having the worst laws pre-‘97, to now being the first state that may legalise same sex marriage.

And now onto the boring bits – how legalising same sex marriage is possible. To understand how the Tasmanian Government  can defy what the Australian Government has already made a law upon, we have to talk about law making processes (I’m sorry! Just bear with me)

So basically in Australia, we have 3 levels of government; local, state and national. All these 3 levels of government can make laws, but then what would happen if just say, the state makes a law like: ‘All Victorians will receive free cake at the expense of the state at the completion of high school’, but the national government has a law that says ‘NO individual will receive free cake at the expense of the government at the completion of high school’. Now these are pretty silly, made up laws, but it’s important to have a plan if one law contradicts another. To combat this problem, there is a law in place that explains that in the case of this contradiction, the national government law stays in place, and the state law becomes invalid. At this stage, I want to again apologize for the boring law stuff, but it will help in the next paragraph!

So as we know it, the national government law states that marriage is ‘the union of a man and a woman to the exclusion of all others, voluntarily entered into for life’. Now keep in mind that two laws cannot be inconsistent. With the national government stating ‘marriage is between a man and a woman’ this means that they can only legislate upon heterosexual marriages. A state government can legislate upon homosexual marriages, as it is not mentioned in the national law! To relate it back to our cake laws, it’s like a state government saying ‘Okay, we can’t have free cake at the end of high school – but we can have free pie because the national government only mentioned cake’.

That is basically how it is even possible for the Tasmanian Government to legislate upon same sex marriage. Although, whether the legislation passes, is another question. It is now up to Tasmanian politicians to vote either in favour, or against, same sex marriage. Read more by Tegan.

Don't Baby Me

I remember clearly being in a store in New Zealand titled ‘The Warehouse’ - think of it as their answer to K-Mart, when I came across a superman costume. The fine print on the cape read “Warning, cape does not enable flight”. Good thing they warned me!

Cynicism aside it seems to my eyes that we are babying kids and youth at a whole new level. Don’t get me wrong, warnings are important. Anything that has a likelihood of leading to serious danger should be warned against. We need to protect our children, but I’m not talking about the serious stuff like forks in power sockets or hair dryers in bath tubs. I’m talking about the little things, the things that older generations did as a kid, I’m talking about eating dirt.

A study this year by a team at Harvard found that allowing kids to have access to minor micro bacteria can actually prevent a lot of other illnesses or conditions in a child's early life. They found that lifestyles free of all micro bacteria could lead to Asthma and other conditions. It’s not life changing evidence and it was tested on mice, sorry animal lovers! But still, is there something we can learn from it?

I believe that there is a certain line that needs to be drawn and unfortunately many parents draw it too close. Children need to be protected, definitely, but they also need to learn lessons. I know for a fact the biggest lessons I have learnt were at the result of my own mistakes. More than that, children need to live life courageously and in a care free way, otherwise, it’s like we’re trying to make them grow up quickly.

Take trampolines for example! Since when did they have nets? The way I see it, nothing wakes you up or teaches you resilience like your feet stuck in the springs. And yes, I’m being silly, but I think we need to allow kids to be kids.

Kids will get dirty, kids will get sick, kids will fight and kids will cry and don’t we all do the same? I work with children all the time and my number one priority before fun is safety, but I can tell you that I have worked with kids that are nothing more than big softies!

If our kids don’t have a taste for the real life, if they don’t know what resilience means, how will they cope at school or college, in exams or in the workplace? Let’s get kids back into eating dirt, jumping off things and skinning their knees. After all they're kids.

What do you think? Do we go over the top with safety procedures for kids or are they warranted? Comment below and tell me how it is.

Read More by Dylan.
Follow Dylan on Twitter @hespii

The Shiny Ball

Have you noticed how issues sometimes come out of nowhere and take over the political agenda?

Last week, every single person in Tasmania was talking about same sex marriage. People in churches, parliament, street corners, over coffee, in office - everywhere! It's an important topic that we should discuss… 

But have you noticed how consuming the discussion and debate is?

We're not talking about anything else at the moment. We're all eager to see how the politicians will vote - we being people on both sides of the debate - and we'll all be sitting on our seats when the announcement is made.

The thing is - we are not talking about the issues that are crippling the state.

Who actually saw that the forestry peace deal talks fell over?

Who read about the massive tin discovery in the Tarkine?

What about the fact that Tasmanian's will be paying for the carbon tax on our clean and green power?

None of these are new issues mind you, but they are all ones that we could be talking about. Focus on the could - because we're not talking about them. We're taken up with the discussion about same sex marriage.

How clever is that?

The government of Tasmania has stated publicly that they'll reintroduce a same sex marriage bill to parliament - at a time when every single other issue seems to be slipping away from the state government.

When was the last time you talked about our hospital system? 

The government has managed to transform the entire political discussion and essentially put everything that is negative behind a smoke screen. They've chosen something so big and something that is still controversial to some people, that they've captured and activated the hearts and minds of so many people.

It's like they got a big shiny ball and threw it past us. We may have been chasing a stick before, but now we want that shiny ball.

So when these things do come up and consume the conversation, make sure we don't forget what is behind the smoke screen - 

because rising power prices which benefits a government business,

a health system doing everything it can to survive itself, and

one of the largest minerals deposits being located in the largest tract of temperate rainforest in the Southern Hemisphere

- they're all issues we still need to talk about.

Don't get too distracted by the shiny ball!

Read more by Adam.

Follow Adam on Twitter @adammostogl

Meet Adam: Unspinning the political spin.

There's a worrying trend in Australian politics. We are becoming so comfortable with hearing politicians spin lies and hold press conferences presenting one side of the argument that we just have started switching off.

My name is Adam Mostogl, and I'm joining the Hello Noise team to help unspin political speak. See, I am one of those strange people who enjoy political discussions. I follow the #auspol (Australian politics) and #politas (Tasmanian politics) twitter feeds, watch and read about press conferences, and research the issues. I am, in a strange way, a fan of politics.

So as often as the Hello Noise team allow me, I'll be talking about what's going on in the political world. I'll be looking at what the parties stand for, what they're really saying, and how that affect us as young people in Australia.

Politics isn't an easy subject, so sometimes I'll using some bigger words. I'll do all I can to explain them, but sometimes I may not. Just leave a comment, and I'll help you out. So if it's just words, or a political question, don't hesitate to get in touch with me. I'm an active user of Twitter, so feel free to tweet me at @adammostogl and ask me your questions.

Because really, there is more to politics than Tony & Julia. There's theories, ideologies, and political spectrum's. There's electorates, polls, and pressers. And they're all things that voters should know about - because we're the ones who decide the future of this great nation!

Read more by Adam.

Art or just nonsense?

I want you to meet someone. His name is Tim Steiner, or as he is more known by, ‘Tattoo Tim’. Tattoo Tim is a 35 year old man from Zurich in Switzerland, with a little more to him than just a cute nickname.

You see, the thing with Tattoo Tim is, he’s not just your average fellow. Tattoo Tim is actually the canvas for an elaborate artwork which is etched onto his back through tattooing. This artwork started in 2006 with Belgian artist Wim Delvoye designing the tattoo and funding the two year process. The two year process, teamed with two surgeries, have culminated in Tattoo Tim touring the world for three years, featuring in museums around Europe exhibiting his tattooed back. Tattoo Tim even featured in Hobart’s Mona Museum for a while, sitting quietly in a corner listening to his iPod as members of the public got to ogle his religiously and culturally inscribed back. Tattoo Tim shares attributes with many other pieces of art – including the fact that he has an owner and a value of $205,500.

 I wanted to tell you a little about Tattoo Tim because he is an excellent example of how tattoos can be art. Tattoo Tim is an extreme example, but something I whole heartedly agree with – the permanent etching or piercing of the body can be a beautiful, meaningful or interesting thing. A friend once described tattoos and piercings to me as ‘body art is extending and expressing who you are to the public. For some, it’s like putting who you are on the inside on the outside, and letting the world know how you feel’.

What inspired this post was the fact that I just got two new piercings for my birthday, both deviating from my regular ear piercings and adding to a grand total of 9 piercings. My Dad had to be talked around to being okay with the new two, and my Mum was adamant she would prefer me to get a tattoo! But regardless – I added some sweet new piercings to my collection and I couldn’t be happier with my choice.

I also would like a tattoo one day. The design and location have been picked; the only missing aspect is the money! What I desire to get inscribed onto me permanently is something that means a lot to me: a representation of a band that changed my life about 6 years ago now.

I always get a lot of mixed responses when I tell people about my new piercings and my dreams of tattoos, ranging from admiration, confusion and even disgust, which is a-okay with me! Everyone has their own taste and sometimes (actually more often than not) that personal taste will clash with others. I guess I just want to remind everyone that yes, tattoos and piercings do seem extreme, but really, for some of us crazy individuals, they just represent who we are and what we enjoy in life.

But what do you think? Are tattoos and piercings tacky? Or acceptable if done tastefully? or possibly just downright awesome. Maybe it depends on the individual. Let us know!
Read more by Tegan.

The next space race?

A lot of you may be oblivious to the fact that some truly awesome things have happened in the last few weeks, and I'm not talking about holidays for the lucky bunch of you still in high school or college. No, in the last few weeks my faith in going to space before I die, was restored.

I was pretty upset when I heard that the US government was cutting the budget of NASA to pretty much nothing, meaning that basically there would be no more space travel. I was wrong. I don't know if NASA being cut back inspired companies to come out of nowhere but in the small period of time since said cuts, there has been nothing but exciting announcement after exciting announcement. To begin with, many of you would be familiar with Virgin Galactic and their plan to fly people to the cusp of space in super cool aeroplanes. It was recently announced that Virgin are almost ready to begin these flights with tickets selling for a comfortable $200'000 each (that is return though). The price may seem ludicrous, but it can be almost guaranteed that this sort of thing will eventually lower in price and the technology being developed by Virgin will assist in the progression of space travel. This by itself is an exciting concept.

Following this we have the announcement of a new start-up company, being backed by people such as Google's two head honcho's and a vast array of smart ex-NASA people, called Planetary Resources. This companies express goal is to begin mining asteroids within the next 5 - 10 years. Asteroids! The CEO of Planetary Resources explains this venture as a trillion dollar industry, with the deposits of minerals within these asteroids being so rich that it could boost Earth’s economy enormously. More interestingly, the company seeks to also mine water from the rocks. This concept may seem silly as Earth has plenty of the stuff, but its primary purpose is to provide the technology and the water itself to operations in outer space. This process alone makes space exploration all the more viable as there is no need for continual restocking of water supplies, which is very costly.

Next we have Space X. This company made headlines in the last week or so, being the first ever privately owned space craft to dock with the International Space Station (ISS). I personally watched the whole thing live streamed on the Internet, because I found it cool, but more importantly I think this marks an important transition in space exploration from government run programs in to privately owned companies and corporations conducting missions. This concept of privatisation may not make much sense to you, but the main thing you need to know is that privatisation of space exploration is most likely the critical stepping stone toward the move into the public sphere, where people like you and I could one day have access to it. All this to me suggests that we are finally entering into a new space race and a new time of innovation and exploration. I look forward to this continuing with the hope that it will rally a similar globalised vision to that of the late 60's when we first pushed for the Moon. Even in the weeks after the Space X launch, more and more exciting news is unfolding, with Japan and Russia both in serious talks of establishing permanent Moon bases and a company called Mars One announcing that they are preparing to send 4 people to live one Mars permanently, with the hope of slowly building a colony.

These are exciting times. Most importantly because it might mean I get to go to space, but also because it is a new opportunity for a new generation to experience the excitement and sense of global unity that comes in the collective pursuit of the unknown and awe inspiring. (This video sums it up well). As can be seen at the end of the video, it was made to hopefully get more money for NASA because the cut backs are really hurting their programs. Just awhile ago NASA scientists had to hold a bake sale in an attempt to raise funds and that seems just a little crazy to me.

But I've said my bit so what are your thoughts? Do you think that Space exploration is as awesome as I do? Are we entering a new space age? Or is it all just a waste of time and money? Comment below.


Read more by Brayden.

Turning 18

Hey guys, guess what? I have some exciting news. It’s my birthday soon, and it’s not just any old birthday. It’s my 18th birthday. With the date fast approaching my excitement has been building! My brain just goes overtime when I think about a wonderful day filled with friends, family, and let’s be honest, cute presents!  I have a terrific day planned of going and getting some lovely new piercings, to be followed with going out for dinner with friends, family and even my grandparents from NSW will be there. Can you blame me for being so thrilled?

I have a list of things I want to do when I turn 18, I mean I’ll be considered legally an adult; I can do whatever I want right? I can go buy a lottery ticket. I can enter any venue and even have a drink if I like. I can finally vote in elections! I could get a tattoo, hey, I could get many tattoos! I can even book a room in a hotel anywhere in the world, and then book the tickets to get there, without my parents’ permission. Actually, on that, I won’t need my parents’ permission again! No more forms where I need them to sign. It’ll be all my responsibility in less than a month.

So it’s around here where I become confused. It will be ALL my responsibility. Recently in one of my classes, my teacher asked us ‘Who looks after your health care? Do you organise it all, or do your parents?’ and well, the truth is, my parents still organise it all for me. Actually, I’ve been nagging my mum for the past few weeks to book me in for a dentist’s appointment. I will soon be 18, a legal adult, and I still squirm at the thought of organising my health care appointments.

What about taxes? Oh dear. I do not understand them at all! I currently don’t work enough to pay tax, but what about after grade 12 when I enter adult life, what then? I do not have the slightest clue how to go about paying taxes!

With this in mind, I cannot help but think about how childish I can behave, and how much I love it! Lame jokes, dress ups and water fights, I love it all. Where does this juvenile behaviour come into play with my soon-to-be adult life?

In less than a month I will be considered an adult, but when that clock ticks over from 11:59PM to 12:00AM on my birthday, will I be any different? 17 one day and 18 the next, with a world of options available to me and not much of an idea of how to achieve them.  Does that single moment in time change me, or will I remain the same.

The more I think about it, turning 18 won’t equal a radical Tegan. I won’t turn into a tattoo toting, binge drinking gambler, and neither will I automatically be able to deal with medical appointments and taxes. Adulthood comes with life experiences, not the year you were born in. Regardless of my impending legality and lack of life skills, I’ll be the same old me on my birthday, and a new set of rules will never change that.

Read more by Tegan.

Is it truly a "Right to Bear Arms"?

Have you ever noticed how sensitive citizens of the United States can become when the subject of gun control comes up? Whether any given US citizen is a die-hard gun lover or an outspoken proponent of gun control, it is not difficult to see that guns, in some way, form a significant part of the US consciousness. The question is, where does this obsession with firearms stem from? And more importantly – can this obsession with weapons really be justified?
You may have heard of the American War of Independence, also known as the American Revolution – it would depend on what side of the Atlantic you were born on as to which title you were taught in school. But the facts remain the same: from 1775-1783, the Thirteen Colonies of North America fought a war to free themselves from British dominance. Their revolt was, in a nutshell, successful – and in 1783, the United States was born. On September 17, 1787, the fledgling country passed their draft of a national Constitution into law. The Second Amendment of the United States Constitution was passed on December 15, 1791. Crucially, this Second Amendment supported the: “right [of American citizens] to bear arms”. This is how most people seem to understand the Second Amendment in modern times – this governmental endorsement to carry weapons is a democratic right, and owning a gun ensures that one is capable of self-defence.

The thing is, I don't believe that the Second Amendment means now what it meant back then. I believe its true historical significance has been corrupted to the point where any teenager can walk down the street with an automatic weapon and consider it “democratic”. This is certainly not the spirit of the document that Thomas Jefferson dreamt of when he drafted the Second Amendment.

Consider the actual, complete wording of the Second Amendment:

“A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.”

It is important to understand the historical context here. The United States, barely 8 years ago at this time, had been engaged in a war against the world's foremost superpower, the British Empire, and they had emerged victorious. Throughout this war, American militia units – regular townsfolk who had picked up arms in the defence of their nation – had played a pivotal part in defeating the British forces. It no doubt loomed large in the minds of the American founding fathers that the British might try to invade their country again. If that happened, the people were going to need their weapons, stashed in their cupboards, to bring out and defend their sovereignty again. The Second Amendment, clearly, was designed as a precautionary measure to ensure the security of the nation, either from invaders or tyrannical government at home – what it was not, clearly, was an endorsement to own a weapon purely for the ability to end life.

Another point to remember is that the American revolutionaries weren't using sophisticated automatic assault rifles, the likes of which the military use today. Flintlock rifles – which were one-shot, inaccurate and often took over a minute to reload – were the mainstay of armies in the 18th century. Having a flintlock weapons in your possession did not make you capable of a horrific killing spree – today, the average street thug on American streets has access to weapons many many times as powerful as the weapons that the world's most state-of-the-art army used 200 years ago. This, clearly, is a very dangerous thing.

So what am I saying? If Thomas Jefferson had known just how badly the meaning of the Second Amendment would be corrupted in its usage by his descendants, he would have been horrified. There is a critical lesson here in understanding anything of a historical nature – to truly understand anything written in the past, it must be understood what was being said THEN, and not what it means in the context of “now”. Today, the United States boasts the highest number of gun-related injuries in the developed world, and the death toll from deliberate shootings alone can climb to over 50,000 in any given year – and all because the true meaning of a single sentence of a document written over 200 years ago has been allowed to be forgotten.

Read more by Solomon.

So you’ve never tried Stand-Up?

It’s interesting the amount of people you meet who make you laugh, some people just have a knack for it. Some people are crude, awkward or inappropriate, and some people are just hilarious. And if you’re one of those people who enjoy making others laugh and get’s a small win out of a chortle, you’ve probably been told “Mate, you should definitely do stand up comedy”. And you know what, you should.

I love making people laugh, from little kids to pensioners, it’s a part of who I am. And because of comments such as the one mentioned before I’d always thought of giving stand up comedy a try. But that’s what it was, just a thought.

It wasn’t until I saw some mates give it a go at a local open mic comp that I decided, you know what, I’m going to try this. So sure enough, the next open mic contest, I gave it a go. And boy was I nervous, I wrote the whole thing the afternoon of the competition, and it was all about going to the toilet. It wasn’t toilet humour. Well actually I guess it was, and as you can imagine, it wasn’t that great.

After that gig my mates gave me some advice, try characters. I’d always assumed the role of characters ever since I was a kid. I used to love dressing up and as an observer of things, I would then act out characters for my mates. So the next chance I had, I tried a character. This time, it went well and I’ve been doing characters ever since.

Now flash forward a year and last weekend I represented Tasmania in the Triple J Raw Comedy Final in Melbourne, it was a huge honour and I was blessed with the opportunity. But it didn’t just happen. It took me a little while to develop my characters and to work out my own unique brand of comedy. And I’m lucky enough that it’s working.

Comedy is a great art, but it’s not always the easiest. A lot of people try to be the next Dave Hughes or the next David O’Doherty, but they don’t try to be themselves. It’s important to work out your own style and to not be confined or limited by what others say comedy is.

I’m passionate about doing comedy that isn’t crude, and isn’t negative, and that doesn’t mean that I can’t laugh at other comedy. But that’s the kind of jokes I want to tell. I want to prove that you can make people laugh without swearing or smut. I want to make a statement.

And if you've always thought about trying stand up, do it! It’s an awesome experience and if you stuff up, at least you know if you’re any good. But you never know, you might discover and awesome hobby like I have.

But be yourself and find your own unique style of comedy, do something that you want to do and be creative. And if you’re that person who get’s told they’re funny everyday, why not challenge yourself and put it to the test. Who know’s what could happen.



Read more by Dylan.

Worry.

I have always found that I am not a really big worrier. I undoubtedly have my moments but, overall, I am not worried about a whole lot. I guess this is partly because I have had a pretty blessed life but, also, I am generally an optimistic person who looks primarily to the future where, for some reason, I am positive everything works out well for me. I am sure that I will get my bachelor degree and maybe even my masters; sure that I will marry an amazing woman; sure I will get a job I am happy with and sure that I will live to see my eventual grandchildren. I’d even go as far to say that I will be reasonably successful and will do work that is meaningful to myself and others: work that could have potential effect on people’s lives, to whatever extent that will end up being.

This view of myself may come across as either arrogant or self-deluded and it may seem weird to you that I can be so sure of myself, but I believe that this comes from a good knowledge of myself, my aspirations and what things in this world cause a passion in me that inspires action. It is something that I believe all people need to discover about themselves in order to begin to derive purpose in their lives, as well as a confidence and healthy self-love – that we require to form and maintain strong relationships with fellow humans. I mean, how can we love others until we understand how to love ourselves for what we are and, through this, begin to accept our own faults in order to overlook those of others? But I digress.

Maybe, like me, you aren't fazed by the unmapped path your life will inevitably take toward the eminent – but theoretically unreachable – future. Instead, maybe you are a person who dwells in past worries and actions that cause regret or embarrassment… but, again, I am not really this person. It is said that it is dangerous to dwell for too long in the past and I guess, in a lot of ways, this is true. In this respect, the main problem I face is dwelling in the positives of my past and how things used to be so fun and easy. While a small bit of nostalgia can be good, if I am not careful it can begin to distract from all the good things of the present and stop me from moving forward as a person, which I will get to later. I might paint it in a bad light, but I am far from complaining: I would pick nostalgia any day over the alternative of regret and embarrassment, which many people face daily. I have done stuff I regret: we all have and, although that statement is a cliché, it’s the truth. I mentioned above the importance of knowing yourself and a healthy self-love and I do believe that this should be something that all people aspire to, but I also believe that to get to this place one needs to learn the discipline of forgiveness: both for oneself and for others. It is in forgiveness that you can accept your own faults, as well as those who have wronged you, and break free from whatever it is that is causing worry in your past.

My worries, however, lay not in the past or the future, but instead the present. For some people, present worry will include everyday stuff like assignments, school and other commitments, which undoubtedly cause stress among all who have to deal with them: including myself. For me at the moment, though, a big worry is that of becoming complacent in who I am and ceasing to push myself daily to achieve new things. It seems that looking too much into future can make it easy to fall into and attitude of just 'waiting it out': waiting until you have that degree; waiting until you have that job or until you are married and successful. I wonder if this is the right thing. I look to my past and see the times where I was pushing myself at such high levels and I remember how much I thrived on it. I worry that I may one day loose this spirit to an attitude of waiting it out and becoming complacent. Again, this is just me. I am sure that you are different and, if you were to be just like me, that would be a little creepy.

I like to think that I am different to others and that my worries are in part unique, so I guess it frustrates me that, after all this, it is yet another cliché that answers my problems. I am not going to repeat, but the gist is that today is a gift and that we should try and make the most of it. To me, this means pushing ourselves daily to try and better ourselves and to try new, exciting things. I guess if there was really a point to all this, which I think relates to all people, it would be that to avoid worry our lives we should go about knowing, forgiving, loving and living non-complacent lives with others and, of equal importance, with ourselves.

That's my thoughts on it and I would love to hear yours. Comment below and tell us what it is that worries you, be it present, future or past. Maybe you have your own thoughts and opinions on certain topics, in which case I welcome you to submit a blog post of your own to info@hellonoise.com and we may feature it on the site.

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Read more by Brayden.

Fairtrade this Easter

Chocolate. You might like it. You might love it, might even hate it, but without a doubt, chocolate is one of the most popular foods around. Which brings me to one of my favourite times of the year – Easter. If there is something I like more than chocolate alone, is a whole day dedicated to the receiving and consuming of huge quantities of it! Now I don’t know if you celebrate Easter still. In my family, I have to beg my parents every year to buy me a few Easter eggs or an Easter bunny rabbit, but with the special day just around the corner, it becomes important to consider just what we are buying.

When you read the label or wrapper on a product we buy, we might be able to see what country it was made in, but what’s super important is what country the materials or ingredients were sourced from. So how does this relate to chocolate?

Well at the moment, a whopping 70% of the cocoa beans used to make the worlds chocolate comes from West Africa. In recent years, the market for cocoa has dropped, and harvesting cocoa beans is not an easy job. So to save money; cocoa farmers across West Africa have been known to use their children as a means of cheap or unpaid labour. Imagine not being able to hang out with your friends during the day, or picture being plucked from school to work incredibly hard all day, every day, to help support your family. In some instances, you might not even be able to go to school because your family cannot afford it. Instead, you are working hard for free, so your family can spend whatever money they have on your next meal. To top it all off, the work I am talking about here isn’t a walk in the park. Some children will spend their days carrying heavy loads and working with fire, chemicals and dangerous knives with little or no protective gear. In the most extreme of cases, some media reports show that children as young as six years old are working in these conditions up to 100 hours a week. 100 hours a week?! As a college aged student, I complete about 22+ hours a week at school and I come home exhausted. I cannot even begin to fathom the idea of 100 hours a week.

So with all of this new information in mind, a question you might ask is ‘well what can I do about this?’ the situations just mentioned seems pretty hopeless and hard to change, but lucky for us in Australia, we have something we can do! This Easter, look for the Fairtrade logo (http://www.fta.org.au/) on all chocolate you buy. This logo means that there is a guarantee that all people were paid fairly in the process of making your chocolate, and that the yummy snack you are about to eat is slave labour free! How we spend our money has a huge impact upon the living conditions of the cocoa farmers. If we make sure our chocolate is Fairtrade, we can munch away on it happily, knowing that your chocolate is helping to stop the sad and terrible process of child labour. Another action that you could take is to look into joining a VGroup with VGen Tasmania (http://www.vgen.org/) - an easily accessible group of young people that helps to promote and encourage Fairtrade at all times of the year!

‘So where might I find some Fairtrade chocolate?’ is another important question. This Easter, when you’re asking your parents to buy you some chocolate, or considering buying some for someone else, head towards any convenience store and look for Cadburys plain dairy milk chocolate – the only chocolate Cadburys sells as Fairtrade. Also search for your standard Kit Kat bar for a Fairtrade option. You could also visit any Oxfam shop and they will have a wide range of delicious ethical chocolate available for you!

Fairtrade seems like this super excellent idea to help combat slave labour in West Africa, so the big important question is, why isn’t all chocolate Fairtrade? In 2001 all major chocolate producing companies agreed to work towards making ALL their products Fairtrade. Unfortunately, 12 years later, this is still a target to be reached. So also by ensuring you buy Fairtrade, you are sending a message to the big chocolate companies saying ‘I want my chocolate to be guaranteed slave labour free!’ This Easter you can even get Cadburys Fairtrade eggs from most stores.

Fairtrade does not have to end with chocolate. Also available to us is Fairtrade tea, coffee, sports balls, clothes and even underwear! Online stores such as http://www.etiko.com.au/ can help you out there.  

This year, swap your tea, coffee, sports balls, clothes and chocolate for the Fairtrade version. We all love chocolate – except the kids that are forced to make it.

Read more by Tegan

The Hunger Games: Review and Giveaway

In March 2010 a friend of mine raved about a book. She told me that it was excellent and that I should most definitely read it. I had never heard of it. I had no idea what it was about and it sounded quite weird when it was described to me. My friend lent it to me and as soon as I read the first chapter I was hooked. The book was called The Hunger Games. 

It would not be unlikely for you to have already heard of this particular book as it’s popularity has increased with the impending arrival of it’s film adaption later this month. Soon after I finished reading it for the first time in 2010, I devoured Catching Fire, the next in the series and twiddled my thumbs until Mockingjay’s arrival later that year. The series is excellent. I have problems with a few plot turns throughout the three books that I will not disclose, but in entirety that is definitely outweighed by the good.

The trio of books follow protagonist Katniss Everdeen, who lives in a dystopian society known as Panem, formerly North America. Panem is divided into twelve districts in which people are poor, suppressed and controlled by the wealthy and selfish residents of the Capitol. A uprising prior to Katniss’ life ended with the Capitol prevailing and the formation of the Hunger Games, a fight to death between children of the twelve districts, to show the people that the Captiol is still in control of the districts. 

Katniss volunteers to take her younger sister Prim’s place in the Hunger Games when Prim’s name is picked, against the odds. Written in first person from Katniss’ point of view, the books follow Katniss in the Hunger Games arena and her fight against the Capitol.  

There are elements of romance to these novels which I am personally not a fan of, and at times Katniss’ narration can become a tad whiny. But the thing that makes these books great is just how gripping they are. It’s a story not for the faint-hearted and the continual adventure and chilliness of the plot will demand your immediate attention. Quite a number of my friends have read them for the first time quite recently and have smashed through them as quick as I did two years ago. Once you’re a chapter in, you’ll read to the last page of Mockingjay. 

I myself re-read the series over the summer and was amazed at how much I still love them. There was so much detail I had forgotten about or misplaced amongst my brain cells and my affection for the books has increased. 

It’s rather nice that exactly two years on from first falling in love with these books that the movie is being released. Considering this, it’s evident that I am excited for the movie. Not Deathly Hallows Part 2 excited, but excited none the less. When the trailer was released last November I was very impressed. The movie looks good, it looks like the book. The Hunger Games is a young adult novel, with it’s target audience hitting the 14 to mid 20’s bracket (although I know of a few mothers who have read and loved the series) and my hope for the movie is that it will stay true to this. 

Regardless of whether you’re are one of those “Why would I read the book if I could watch the movie?” people, (which, if you are, your argument is completely invalid), I still fiercely recommend that you read The Hunger Games within the next two weeks before the movie is released. Having knowledge of the book will give you a whole background to the plot, as well as making you a true fan. It’s the quickest 454 pages I ever read.  COMPETITION

So to celebrate the movie’s upcoming premiere and the excellence of the book, we have one copy to give away to a reader. Simply like the Hello Noise Facebook page and tell us what your favourite book is and why. Best answer wins. Also, if you’ve read the book already, email us your review of it to info@hellonoise.com and it’ll feature in a post. Happy Hunger Games!  Read more by Lauren

KONY 2012: the Positives, the Negatives and the Humanity

*NOTE* If you have not already watched the KONY 2012 Video, it is available to watch HERE and it is recommended that you watch it before continuing. 


For the past 26 years, a man named Joseph Kony and his rebel army, the Lord’s Resistance Army, have been wreaking terror in East Africa. And for the past 8 years, a group called Invisible Children has been trying to do something about it. 

It all started when three young film students travelled to Africa to make a movie about Darfur.. but then, they met Jacob. Jacob had been abducted by the LRA, a rebel group who builds their army by abducting children and forcing them to become soldiers – soldiers who burn, rape, and mutilate innocent families. Jacob had watched his brother killed by machete and had somehow escaped from the clutches of these rebel leaders. Living in fear of being abducted again and killed, Jacob wished that he could just be rid of this earth; he wished to be dead. The horrors he faced, and the effects caused by it, overwhelmed his desire to live. Jason, Laren, and Bobby, spurred on by their friendship with this boy, knew something had to be done. So, Invisible Children was born. Originally purely an awareness organisation who utilised their skill of film making to teach young people around America about the conflict taking place in Uganda, Invisible Children has grown to encompass a number of areas in just 9 years. They have branched out into political advocacy, fund raising for Ugandan schools and students, rehabilitation for rescued child soldiers, as well as establishing a radio network in the Congo to warn villages of nearby LRA attacks. 

Their newest project, named KONY 2012, combines both political advocacy, as well as the original passion for awareness that Invisible Children was born of. KONY is by far the most popular and widespread IC documentary to date. However, this has been met with some (surprising) criticism. Many people have expressed frustration that now, all of a sudden, people “care” about this issue; they feel that the simple sharing of a video on Facebook is empty and unhelpful; even further, IC and their methods are being questioned and criticised. As someone who has been involved with the organisation for the past 4 years, one might think I’d be quick to jump to their defense. However, I think that questioning and critiquing things that are placed in front of us is a healthy and wise way to live. We shouldn't be quick to sell our souls off to some cause or organisation without knowing what they stand for or how they make their stand. 

That being said, although I understand some people’s scepticism, I admire the work that IC has done, and continues to do. Our generation is pretty unique in that we are the first generation to have the access to information that we do, which I believe we do take for granted. Once upon a time, you had to intentionally seek out information about what was going on in the world. However now we don’t have a choice – it smacks us in the face every time we click onto an Internet page, whether that be a news page or just our drug-of-choice, Facebook. With this comes the ability for widespread awareness, but also widespread initiative. I agree with those who are irritated – not a whole lot actually changes from someone simply posting a link to a video – maybe ten people will watch that video, and yes maybe seven or eight of them will say, “Oh, that’s so sad” and move on with their day – but what about the two or three who decide that it’s not ok, and that they are going to take action? There is power in that. Awareness isn’t the answer, but it is the first step. 

The founders of IC discovered something that had been going on for years, but barely anyone knew about it – at least the media wasn’t talking about it. They have shone a light on something that no one else had. Yes, they may have done that through fancy movies and “faddish” behaviours with youth, but they’ve talked about it, and that’s more than anyone else had done on such a scale. Invisible Children has been criticised for the vehicle they have used, however, they don’t claim to be political experts, they don’t claim to have the answers, but they used what they do have – and that’s a talent for filmmaking. If you’re a Christian, you’re used to hearing that we should use our skills and talents for the good of others and for the glory of God. Even outside of the church or if you aren’t a Christian, we’re constantly told to “do what you’re good at”. Bobby, Laren, and Jason did that - they saw something that moved them, applied their abilities and skills, and did what they could. Does that act alone end a war? No. I think they’ll even admit that to you – none of us can do that. But they have used their own capabilities to influence those that CAN. And that’s what the KONY campaign is about – it’s about pushing those who do have the influence, power, and ability to do something about this war. It’s not about having the answers to the problem, it’s not about saving the world, it is about giving a voice to an issue to make sure that those in power know that this is what needs to happen. 

I’ve seen this work already in my work with IC back in 2009. Invisible Children and Resolve Uganda were pushing for the passage of the LRA Disarmament and Northern Uganda Recovery Act, a bill that was introduced to the US government. The bill itself was born from pressure from these same groups, so we took off all around the country to visit the very politicians who had the power to pass it. I had the opportunity to visit the office of a Congressman in New Jersey. A group of other young people and I were able to sit down with one of his staff members and explain to him what was taking place, and why we wanted the bill passed. People all over the country were doing the same, and guess what - that bill was passed. Would that bill have even existed if the youth of the US didn’t speak up through the different rallies and programs established by IC/Resolve? For the entirety of IC’s existence, they have never told us that we know the answer to stop this war – but they have told us that we have the ability and honour to influence those that do. That in and of itself has been an encouraging experience to me – to see politicians in the US, who usually seem so distant and unreachable, listen to a group of young people about an issue as important as this. We’ve been able to redeem the reputation this generation had begun building for itself – a generation that cares only about the newest technology, a generation that is so lost in our obsession with social networking and the latest fad. Instead, IC has encouraged this same generation to use those things for a purpose bigger than their own tiny social existence. They’ve made use of the resources available to us and relevant to us, simply because of their care for a friend – a movement born of their compassion for a crying boy in Uganda. And although IC has grown bigger than just Jason and Jacob, I believe that their spark still remains embedded in friendships and faces that they met before it even became a “fad”. 

Do I whole-heartedly without any criticism support Invisible Children? No, not necessarily. In my experiences travelling around the world and volunteering with a number of different causes and organisations, I have learned that no one does anything without flaws – no NGO, no non-profit, no business, no church, no person, functions without flaws. To expect IC to do everything the way you’d have it done, or to do their work with no controversy is unrealistic – we need to remember that they are only humans too. The same way you as an individual doesn’t have all the answers, neither do they. But they’re not claiming to – they’re entrusting the issue to the hands of the UN, the International Criminal Court, and government officials. I agree that it is wise to question and to be critical, and perhaps I’m naïve and too fluffy and optimistic, but I think that while we do acknowledge their flaws and humanity, we should ultimately acknowledge the good intentions and motivations of Invisible Children. As an organisation they are doing what they can with what they have – they have a voice, they have influence, and they have passion. They’re simply being human and acting upon something placed in front of them, and I think we need to stop expecting them and accusing them of being more than that.

If you’ve been hearing some of the criticisms (namely on the Visible Children blog), check out this release from IC, clearing up some of the misconceptions, or check out the brand new video released by IC that addresses the same issues HERE

This post was written by guest blogger Bronte Hughes who has done previous volunteer work for IC
*Disclaimer – She is not a IC staff member.


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