With the demise of my old laptop (Compaq Presario) I was on the hunt for something new. For a while I had been lusting after a Mac of some description either an imac or macbook. Who could resist the allure of the shiny and simplistic designs and of course Apple’s marketing strategies? The decision process was actually quite difficult, and even on the day of purchase I still hadn’t fully made up my mind. Many friends had offered their opinion as to which I should buy, being one of the last to buy one I had many people whom I could ask. The decision was between the 15” Macbook pro or either the 21.5” or 27” imacs in the end the portability of the macbook pro outweighed the economy of the imacs.

Desperate to buy my first mac, I was in the city, credit card in hand but all stores were sold out. Arriving home I decided I would buy direct from Apple from the online store. The whole purchase process took about 15 minutes and the purchase was charged to my itunes account. Overall the online purchase was a great experience, not only was it easy but in the end I managed to buy the macbook pro, iwork and a remote for less than I would have paid in the store for only the macbook. WIN

Now I wasn’t expecting to receive my new Mac for about a week, taking into account I purchased the computer a few days before Easter, however not even  36 hours later and my new Mac had arrived! Needless to say I was as just a little bit excited to open the box. Within 20 minutes the mac was booting up and almost ready to go. One thing for sure, Apple don’t spare any expenses on their packaging.

Having never used a mac properly before this was a whole new experience for me, the set up was extremely simply and even enjoyable. Especially with the Welcome screen, which a friend and I were quite excited about. Once everything was set up I found using my new mac rather simple, there were of course a number of things which I had no idea about, luckily I had a few friends online who were able to help out and offer their wisdom.

While there are numerous Mac fans, particularly in my circle of friends, there are still those loyal PC users who have asked why I went Mac. Well the answer is simple, i wanted something different, Windows 7 didn’t appeal to me as it didn’t seam much different from vista. While Macs initially are more expensive, i have been told they have a much longer life span and these days most programs are compatible with Mac.

On the flip side, Macs have fewer viruses, a more stable operating system and more bells and whistles, which I love. One of my favourite and most used is Exposé, switching screens has never been simpler with just a four finger swipe, I can see all of my open programs and switch to one.

I guess there will always be people battling out the war between PC and Mac, however the Mac side now have one more loyal member, I may not know all the specifics but I know what I like.

As we walked into the almost dark theater there were three men walking around wearing brown coats and their faces roughly painted white, not unlike Heath Ledger in the Dark Knight. The three men were handing everyone in the audience each three Ping-Pong balls. What we were to do with them no one quite knew, though I had an inkling.

The three of us took our seats in the intimate theatre, Ping-Pong balls in hand awaiting the show. The stage was currently empty bar the three zombie looking men.

The show started with what I can now tell you was only a snippet  of the pain to come. The Dark Party it seemed was going to be a humorous mime show mixed in with stunts from Jackass.

Now I would normally say that I can tolerate some pretty gruesome things though there was one moment in the show when I will admit that I hid my face behind the back of one of my friends while the other hid behind me.

The whole show is very well acted out and even without the dialogue you form a sort of attachment to the characters, that is until they do something like eat a razor blade, run a razor over their eye lid or take a shower in sparks from an angle grinder, then you just want to hide your eyes until it is over.

While the three men were the main characters in the show, they shared their stage and tortured themselves with staple guns, rat traps, razors, car batteries, power tools and broken glass. I definitely wouldn’t recommend this show to someone with a weak stomach or even my Mother, though my friends and I really enjoyed it and spoke of it in disbelief for the rest of the evening.

What is CF?

Cystic fibrosis is the most common life-threatening genetic condition affecting Australian children today.  It is a hereditary disease that causes thick, sticky mucus to collect in the lungs, resulting in clogged lungs, lung infections and the inability to break down and absorb food due to pancreatic obstruction. Currently there is no cure for CF and sufferers have an average life expectancy of 35 years.

About the walkathon

Here in South Australia there will be two locations in which people will be able to participate in the walk, either Henley Beach or Strathalbyn. The walk is not strenuous and the emphasis is on walking at your own pace. The Great Strides Walkathon is suitable to people of all ages, so why not get the whole family involved.

For more information on the walk or to register visit Great Strides or for more information on CF visit Cystic Fibrosis in Australia.

The movie is set in the year 2019, in a world where vampires make up 95% of the population of Earth. Humans were given the option to assimilate with the Vampire population, however they refused and have now become a valuable resource. With Humans now making up only 5% of the population, the Vampires are all suffering the ill effects from the lack of food.

The main character; Edward Dalton (Ethan Hawke), a vampire and hematologist working for a pharmaceutical firm (Blood farm), has been working on finding an artificial blood supply that will eliminate the need to farm Humans. Dalton meets Elvis (Willem Dafoe) who accidentaly discovered a way to transform himself from being a vampire to being human once more and the two set off to reproduce the action.

Throughout the movie the characters are faced with a battle against ‘Subsiders’ who scour the sewers and even attack  Dalton in search for food. One scene in the movie particularly grabbed my attention, was towards end of the movie where some of the starving Vampires were chained and pulled into the sunlight. The scene made me think about how similar the actions were to those of Nazi Germany. I’m not sure as if the reference was intended, however a few similarities appeared throughout the movie.

As well as the reference to Nazi Germany Daybreakers was also portrayed a dark satirical side, in which the greed of the populous for human blood could be compared  to our current mismanagement of natural resources and our dependence on fossil fuels.

In the end, the movie was pretty good, although some of the characters lacked depth, however i still enjoyed the film. With a large Aussie cast the movie delivers what it promised, a different look at a topic which has been done to death.

– W.J. Bryan

One thing I absolutely cannot stand in public however is smoking. Fair enough if you want to slowly kill yourself, by all means go ahead, I’m not going to stop you but don’t take me with you.

While I have always been firmly against smoking, thanks to one asinine woman the other day my hatred is stronger than ever. There I was innocently sitting on a park bench in North Adelaide reading a book when this woman sits pretty much on my lap and lights up her cigarette. As soon as I heard the clicking on the lighter my mind was ticking over thinking “WTF? why did she have to sit next to me and do that?” Unfortunately it wasn’t my lucky day and the smoke blew all over me and made me smell of smoke for the rest of the day. Would it have been rude of me to say anything to this woman? asking her to put it out, I really felt like it, though i decided to simply move away.

Currently in South Australia it is illegal for anyone to smoke in an enclosed public area, meaning anywhere with a roof and 70% permanent walls. Honestly though, is anyone policing this at all? I dont know how many times I have been in a café or beer garden of some description and people are smoking.

Lately I have heard whispers that the state government are looking at banning people from smoking in all public areas.  This is something I would love to see happen, though i think anyone is dreaming if they can see it actually happen. If a total ban were to be placed on people smoking in all public areas; not only will we not have to put up with people smoking on footpaths and outside buildings but we would also be dramatically reducing the number of butts left on the ground. it would be a win-win situation all round. well except for those vile people who still enjoy inhaling chemicals

Now while the article mearly presented the basic facts, stating that the woman gave the boy alcohol and seduced him 191 times over a period of 10 months while her son was sent to stay at her parents house and that she awaits sentencing scheduled for next month. I feel a bit more could have been detailed possibly with regard to her mental state or how she happened to know the boy.

Sullivan has pleaded guilty to 10 charges of causing or inciting a child to engage in sexual activity, however nothing has been said within the article about the rape of this severly underage boy or any possible sentencing for the woman. Personally i would like to see her spend time in jail and registered as a peodophile, although again nothing of the sort was mentioned in the article.

For obvious reasons the child’s name has been emmited from the story, although i would like to hear some of his thoughts on the situation. I imagine the boy isn’t exactly ashamed of the whole thing as the story only came out because he was bragging about his new shoes, a reward from Sullivan to celebrate the 100th time they had slept together.

Personally i dont know how i feel towards the boy, one part of me would like to slap him around the ears, yet the other just wants to give him a pat on the back.

A Bright glimmer in our world has been taken out of sight,
Away from our view, pursuing another bright light.
Fear not for she is still in our hearts,
Always by our side, continuing to play her part.

Eyes burning eagerly with optimism and happiness,
Not brought down by life’s cruelties and stress.
Face enlightened with laughter and cheer,
Expression permanent like a beach and it’s pier.

Be not consumed by despair nor heartache,
We cannot control God’s chosen fate.
Rather be grateful for the life she led,
The way she lived, the things she said.

Reminisce on memories to keep her spirit alive,
Simultaneously allowing us to continue on, to survive.
Let her journey of courage and determination inspire you,
Convince you to better yourself in everything you do.

Released from our world and into something new,
Another challenge to face, new aspirations to pursue.
This is not a tale of sadness nor a creator of sorrow,
But a story of inspiration and a way of life to follow.

A woman of true character and impeccable charm,
No longer within reach of earth’s continual harm.
Free from the ongoing battle, the enduring fight,
But forever in our hearts, a bright shining light.

Rest • in • Peace

Laura Ann Natt
15/11/1992 – 22/12/2009