Read + Write + Report
Home | Start a blog | About Orble | FAQ | Sites | Writers | Advertise | My Orble | Login

Culture Guide - April 2006

The ANZACS:

April 26th 2006 10:31
What does ANZAC stand for?

ANZAC stands for Australian, and New Zealand Army Corps.

The Background.

It’s World War One and Russia, Britain and France are fighting Germany, Austria and Italy. The German army delivers a crushing blow to Russia at Tannenberg at the start of World War One. The Russians are understandably threatened by a Turkish advance through the Caucasus and appealed to their allies for help. Gaining control of the Dardanelles would re-establish communications with Russia and release wheat and shipping locked in the Black Sea by Turkey. This set the background to Gallipoli.


What happened:

The Anzacs were the force that were meant to help defeat Turkey and re establish communication with Russia. While historians are still debating-many believe that due to circumstances (wind direction etc) the ANZACS missed their original landing spot and instead found themselves on ANZAC cove. The place that they landed put them at a significant disadvantage as they had landed just below a cliff. Which meant that Turkish forces were above them and every time the ANZACS attempted to make a move they’d simply get shot down by bullets from above. Like most of the war not much really happened-and the ANZAC campaign was categorized by its stalemate. At least it wasn’t as bad as the Somme which lost 10000 men on the first day! However the Australians did plan a very well executed withdrawal in the night that managed not to rouse suspicion of the Turkish forces.

Information for this post was taken from: www.anzacsite.gov.au/

133
Vote
Shared on
Comments (2)Comments (2) Add CommentsAdd Comments
[ Link ]
Posted By: Sara - Category: No Category
   


VSU

April 24th 2006 14:11
For anybody who doesn’t know VSU stands for Voluntary Student Unionism and it’s a new policy that has been subject to much debate recently. I figured it was important to write a bit about VSU and why its caused such controversy recently.

Reasons why VSU is a good thing.

1.None of us wants to spend $400 or more every year on student/uni fees.

2.People who support VSU claim that it’s a matter of choice and freedom. People should be able to choose where their money goes and on what they want to spend it.

3.The union claims that VSU will take away food subsidies ie discounts, but that’s not really a fair claim since our fees have paid for those discounts anyway.


4.Many claim they don’t want to support ‘radical’ student bodies that don’t represent their views.

Reasons why VSU is a bad thing:

1.The SRC and Union provide many services for disadvantaged students. This includes free legal advice, help with centerlink, counselling and the opportunity for political expression-these services would be under threat under VSU.

2.Student bodies are dominated by the left at the moment, yes-but that makes sense-the right currently controls the country and thus people with that way of thinking are being represented every day. Freedom of speech includes giving the people who disagree with you the right to speak. If politics dosen’t represent/interest you in anyway-it still has the potential to impact you in a very serious way in the future. The SRC gives you the opportunity to speak should this happen.

3.Sure, people should have the right to choose where their money goes. That is a perfectly honourable sentiment but it’s not practical. I may not agree with the Howard government and I may not believe that they represent me in any way. But does that mean I don’t have to pay my taxes? No matter how much I disagree with the government tax money still goes to building roads, maintaining hospitals etc. Things we all need or will potentially use. If we made taxes voluntary nothing would get done, and many of our services wouldn’t exist anymore. The people who would loose the most would be those who don’t have the means to find alternatives.

Guys I’m not trying to advocate a particular view in this context just to provide an overview of the different sides of debate. Tell me what you all think.
164
Vote
Shared on
Comments (11)Comments (11) Add CommentsAdd Comments
[ Link ]
Posted By: Sara - Category: No Category
   


Christo

April 21st 2006 10:06
Intellectual, bizarre and beautiful in a funny way. Yep, were talking modern art. It gets weirder every year. Sometimes its really tempting to just yell out, ‘there’s no way that that’s art!” But those moments are really important-because only then do old traditions get challenged. New conventions are usually born amidst outrage. Christo’s work is a perfect example of this. Every time I see his work I’m on the brink of cringing-but he’s also one of my favourite artists. Why? Because it takes guts to do something so radically different.

Let’s get one thing straight. Christo’s art is weird, and there’s no way we’d consider his work art if we just randomly walked passed one of them. The thing is Christo dosen’t use paintbrushes-he quite literally wraps stuff up. Okay, I can hear you guys going ‘huh?’ but I’m serious. He takes buildings or parks and wraps them up with material.

In 1995 Christo wrapped the Reichstag in Berlin. He had to write letters to all 662 delegates to get the project to go through. But you have to admit that the end result is pretty impresive. More than 100,000 square meters of fireproof polypropylene fabric and 15 km of rope were needed to get the job done.

Only last year Christo completed ‘the gates’ in central park, New York. It took him about 30 years to get permission to go ahead with the project. 7,503 gates made of saffron-yellow material were placed on paths in Central Park. They were five metres high and had a combined length of 37 km. That, to say the least, is a lot of material!

He tried to wrap the Harbour Bridge and Opera house in Sydney-but unfortunally he didn’t get council approval for the project. A huge pity, imagine how different Sydney would look if the harbour bridge was covered in material!

So how the hell is Christo’s work art? Well according to Christo he’s work dosen’t have any hidden meanings. He maintains that his only aim is to make the world a more beautiful place. Which is fair enough-arts first job is to be beautiful. Then again other’s haven’t left it at that, David Bourdon has called Christo's wrappings a "revelation through concealing." I tend to agree with Bourdon, every time I see one of Christo’s works I can’t help but think how much art has changed. Plus, by wrapping up buildings etc, he makes us appreciate the beauty of landmarks that we wouldn’t take notice of on a day to day basis.

So art or not? What do you guys think?

(the info for this post was taken from the site: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christo)
66
Vote
Shared on
Comments (5)Comments (5) Add CommentsAdd Comments
[ Link ]
Posted By: Sara - Category: No Category
   


The Da Vinci Code

April 19th 2006 11:38
Well, I’m going to be really controversial as I’m pretty sure that I’m part of a select minority that has this view.

But in my opinion-and I do stress-my opinion, the book: “The Da Vinci Code” is grossly overrated. The book would have worked just as well if Dan Brown had listed what happened down the page-the only reason the book is so famous is because it’s controversial. Brown, doesn’t use much imagery-there are no sentences in that novel that really make you think woah this guy is a master of the English language. The characters are largely 2D and you can see every other twist coming a mile away


[ Click here to read more ]
107
Vote
Shared on
Read MoreRead More Comments (14)Comments (14) Add CommentsAdd Comments
[ Link ]
Posted By: Sara - Category: No Category
   


1984

April 18th 2006 11:51
I just saw V for vendetta and it’s an absolutely excellent movie, I think everyone should see it. It reminded me very much of George Orwell’s book 1984 so I thought that I should do a post about the book.

What’s it about?
[ Click here to read more ]
105
Vote
Shared on
Read MoreRead More Comments (9)Comments (9) Add CommentsAdd Comments
[ Link ]
Posted By: Sara - Category: No Category
   


Existentialism

April 14th 2006 14:02
This post was made as a response to Amy’s comment on the ‘requests page.’ I hope this helps! If any of you want to see anything in the blog, go to the requests page and tell me.

Existentialism is a movement of philosophy that deals primarily with questions relating to life and the meaning of existence. It sees anxiety, dread and awareness of death as the underlying principles of human existence. The most important question existentialists deal with is the meaning of life.
[ Click here to read more ]
69
Vote
Shared on
Read MoreRead More Comments (6)Comments (6) Add CommentsAdd Comments
[ Link ]
Posted By: Sara - Category: No Category
   


Italy

April 11th 2006 11:40
Italy, a land of Beauty and contradiction. It’s seen the roman emperors, and survived the fascism of Mussolini. Its also given birth to some of the most amazing painters. What can I say, these posts are seriously making me want to go to Europe.

Language: Italian


[ Click here to read more ]
73
Vote
Shared on
Read MoreRead More Comments (8)Comments (8) Add CommentsAdd Comments
[ Link ]
Posted By: Sara - Category: No Category
   


Apollo and Daphne

April 11th 2006 10:35
Apollo was the god of archery, arts and is often equated with civilisation and culture. The story goes that Apollo saw cupid playing with arrows and started mocking him, telling cupid that little boys had no business playing with toys of war. Cupid, understandably got angry and replied: “Your arrows may strike all things else, Apollo, but mine shall strike you.” He then grabbed two arrows, one to make people fall in love, and on to repel love. Cupid hit Apollo with the arrow to initiate love, and the nymph Daphne with one the one to repel it. Apollo fell madly in love with Daphne, but she didn’t like the idea of love. She had heaps of suitors but didn’t give any the time of day, and asked her father to allow her to be single and remain unmarried.

For a while Apollo admired her from afar but one day after seeing her in the woods he began to follow her. Daphne spotted him and started to run away-and Apollo started chasing her. Seeing that she was loosing the race, she asked her father Peneus to save her from Apollo’s touch. Her plea was answered and almost instantly her limbs started turning into bark. Slowly the nymph was transformed into a tree. Apollo was stunned, he went forward and gently kissed the tree. There he pledged that if he could not have Daphne as a wife he would be the patron of her tree. He also cast a spell on the tree ensuring that it would always be green, that its leaves would never decay-just as Daphne’s beauty would never decay. Daphne had transformed into the laurel tree-which is why Apollo is always seen wearing a laurel crown. The Caesars of Rome all crowned themselves with laurels in tribute to Apollo and his lost love.
[ Click here to read more ]
52
Vote
Read MoreRead More Add CommentsAdd Comments
[ Link ]
Posted By: Sara - Category: No Category
   


Endymion and Selene

April 11th 2006 10:30
Endymion was an extremely handsome mortal man, some even say he was a King. One day he caught the eye of the eternally gorgeous goddess of the moon Selene, and she in turn fell madly in love with him. The two had a passionate love affair and had many children, some myths even saying the two shared 50 daughters. However, Endymion was mortal, and not wanting to see her lover die Selene cast a spell of eternal sleep over him. And so he did, in slumber remaining forever young and handsome.


[ Click here to read more ]
59
Vote
Read MoreRead More Comments (6)Comments (6) Add CommentsAdd Comments
[ Link ]
Posted By: Sara - Category: No Category
   


Requests page:

April 9th 2006 08:41


Okay, if any of you want me to write about a particular subject then this is the place to express what you want. If you want info about another country, a book, art etc, post a comment I can answer your questions or I can try and make larger posts on topics you want to see. What are you waiting for? Tell me what your looking for. [ Click here to read more ]
67
Vote
Read MoreRead More Comments (4)Comments (4) Add CommentsAdd Comments
[ Link ]
Posted By: Sara - Category: No Category
   


France

April 8th 2006 11:10
I thought I’d start going through different countries and telling you all a bit about them ie their ‘cultures’. Where better to start from then France? Here we go:

Language:
[ Click here to read more ]
75
Vote
Read MoreRead More Comments (3)Comments (3) Add CommentsAdd Comments
[ Link ]
Posted By: Sara - Category: No Category
   


Botticelli's Primavera

April 7th 2006 10:57
This is a painting that we’ve probably all seen in fragments, and being a lover of renaissance art I thought it was important to do a piece on this work. It’s title Primavera means spring. And if nothing else, it’s an amazing piece of artwork aesthetically-I think I could stare at it for hours.

Background to the work:
[ Click here to read more ]
51
Vote
Read MoreRead More Comments (1)Comments (1) Add CommentsAdd Comments
[ Link ]
Posted By: Sara - Category: No Category
   


Art Exhibition

April 7th 2006 10:05
Alright folks! i have a sure easy way for everyone to get cultured (or just tune their skills) in a fun way. Go to the art gallary. It's an excuse to wear wonky fashion and look at amazing works of art. I really recomend going to see "Self Portrait, Renaissance to contemporary." its at the Art Gallery of NSW, and its on till the 14th of May. They've got everone from Van Gogh to Andy Warhol on show. Don't miss it! while your there, take a look at the Archabald as well.
46
Vote
Add CommentsAdd Comments
[ Link ]
Posted By: Sara - Category: No Category
   


Plato

April 5th 2006 12:17
It’s a name we’ve all heard at one stage or another, but hardly anyone knows what he was on about. (and trust me, he goes on about a lot.) This is a very brief summary of his book ‘The Republic.’

What he talks about:
[ Click here to read more ]
63
Vote
Read MoreRead More Comments (5)Comments (5) Add CommentsAdd Comments
[ Link ]
Posted By: Sara - Category: No Category
   


Aphrodite and Adonis

April 4th 2006 11:31
I really wanted to talk about Mythology-so I thought I’d post up a weekly story revolving around the subject. This week its Aphrodite and Adonis, Aphrodite of course being the Greek goddess of love. Now, kick-back your heels and enjoy the read!

The story of Aphrodite and Adonis:
[ Click here to read more ]
47
Vote
Read MoreRead More Comments (4)Comments (4) Add CommentsAdd Comments
[ Link ]
Posted By: Sara - Category: No Category
   


Les Demoiselles d'Avignon

April 4th 2006 10:54
Why it’s important.

This painting arguably marks the beginning of Modern Art. It’s confronting, has an incredible amount of ideology in it and actually inspired heaps of art movements-cubism being the most famous. It’s controversial, often dubbed vulgar, and is set in a brothel-I mean what more could we ask


[ Click here to read more ]
63
Vote
Read MoreRead More Comments (5)Comments (5) Add CommentsAdd Comments
[ Link ]
Posted By: Sara - Category: No Category
   


Coleridge

April 1st 2006 09:54

Okay so some of you might not have heard of him, but he’s one of the greatest poets ever. He was the youngest of ten children, and one of the earliest, if not the first Romantic writer. The Romantics were a group of nineteenth century poets who were rebelling against eighteenth century forms of writing (which was in a nutshell poets who used really big words no one understood) through simplistic writing. They drew much of their inspiration from the French Revolution and are famous for their love of nature. In fact during some seasons Coleridge was run out of his home because he didn’t have the heart to kill the mice there. He especially hated the idea of mouse traps cause he believed it was unbelievable cruel to offer mice cheese and then break their backs. On a different note he spent his life battling an addiction to opium. In the end it ended up isolating him from everyone who loved him.

[ Click here to read more ]
59
Vote
Read MoreRead More Comments (5)Comments (5) Add CommentsAdd Comments
[ Link ]
Posted By: Sara - Category: No Category
   


More Posts
May 2006
8 Posts
April 2006
17 Posts
March 2006
3 Posts
Older Posts
28 Posts dating from March 2006
Email Subscription
Receive e-mail notifications of new posts on this blog:
[ View Blog Summary ] [ Create A New Post ]
Moderated by Blog Cemetery
Copyright © 2006 2007 2008 On Topic Media PTY LTD. All Rights Reserved. Design by Vimu.com.
On Topic Media ZPages: Sydney |  Melbourne |  Brisbane |  London |  Birmingham |  Leeds     [ Advertise ] [ Contact Us ] [ Privacy Policy ]