Stories by media students at Ultimo TAFE
STORY AND PHOTOS BY AMANDA PARKINSON The phone rang, I was busy. The phone rang, I was still busy. The phone rang, I didn’t notice. The phone rang, I answered it. As I sat laughing with a friend, ignoring my phone, a woman – a woman I call mum – sits numb, desperately trying to […]
By Amanda Parkinson Photos taken by the child, distributed as sexting, made viral by peers and justified as ‘selfies’ … are they child porn? The Tender Age, co-directed by David Williams and Fraser Corfield explores the impact of social media on adolescents’ sexual maturity. The play, inspired by the infamous on-air lie detector test with Kyle […]
STORY AND PHOTOS BY AMANDA PARKINSON With a little hustle and bit of bustle, hordes of curious art buffs cram onto the ferry bound for Cockatoo Island. Once an orphanage, then a shipping yard, now the historic island plays host to the 18th Biennale Sydney. This year’s Biennale, entitled “Stories, Senses and Spheres” transports audiences […]
Tyranny has fallen at the hands of young freedom fighters and Libyans rejoice the death of dictator Muammar Gaddafi. After eight months of civil war, the National Transitional Council (NTC) now faces the task of restoring peace to the country and organising its first democratic election. But the task is not easy. With oil production down and […]
A country far from home opens AMANDA PARKINSON’S eyes to a world vastly different from her own. Egypt’s ancient culture and diversity of landscapes was the perfect stage for an introduction to the Middle East. Featured photo: Egyptian sunset. Photo: Pixabay/CC
Apostle birds, Gulargambone, NSW. Photo: Brett Donald/flickr BY AMANDA PARKINSON Farming is changing. Most farmers are used to the tweeting of birds on their land, but Australian farmers are doing a lot of the tweeting themselves. Farming group AgChatOz is an organisation whose aim is to use social media site Twitter to connect rural […]
BY AMANDA PARKINSON Aunty Simone calls the kids in for dinner. Silence falls over the street. Looking around, only few homes are lit; most are boarded up, the residents gone. In mid-September The Block‘s 75 residents were issued with 60-day eviction notices as developers prepare to demolish and rebuild the site. The Block is bound […]
By Amanda Parkinson Skaters and local council have united to push for a skate park in the $6 billion Barangaroo redevelopment, but local opposition has forced the proposal to be refused twice now amidst fears it would spark antisocial behaviour and noise complaints. Locals fear their community will be ‘tagged’ with graffiti and become a local […]