Tuesday, June 30, 2009

you're not the boss of me: ultimate fighting


In recent times, the cage has been used to contain and separate bare knuckled punch merchants as each attempts to demolish the other before a bloodthirsty audience. But the theatre also is often an arena within which a bloody battle occurs; the difference being that this same battle is less actual and more psychodramatic. Two performers, one male, one female, crouch back to back in one corner of a vicious red cage. The audience is situated either side of the cage, enabling us to watch the action and ourselves simultaneously. It is an accusatory configuration; one which makes the audience complicit in the Bonka game that unfolds before us. The gentle and somewhat submissive little boy stands at attention and sometimes salutes. He so wants to be Captain Bonka, but is prevented from doing so by a diminutive yet dictatorial little girl.

The battle between these two children continues, but the world each inhabits is the insular world of the playground. Menacing chains and other assorted scratching rattles in the distance, and there is reference to a window from which the two children claim to see Tasmania. But each remains trapped within the confines of a cage that at once contains them, but also, protects both from an unseen manifestation of adulthood that may be physical, but might also be representational. Growing up ain't easy, and one great attraction of the theatre is its presentation of a space within which the Child in us all can recapitulate. Adults, or the adult world, often hinder this investigation. Thus the adult presence in this play and a refusal by the two children to readily explore its possibilities.

Characteristically though, the lights dim and a third, unseen performer wistfully chants Baa Baa Black Sheep before disappearing out the box office door. Time has passed and when next we meet the children, each has matured. Gone is the baby-talk of the Bonka game, replaced by sombre musings upon an unhappy existence and failed attempts at recapturing the incandescent playfulness of an innocent childhood. Like much theatre in Melbourne at the moment, a surrealist impulse underscores You're not the Boss of me. This show is a determined effort to break away from the tedious confines of a realism that has thankfully run its course. Appropriately, this desire for departure is also reflected in the cage that contains the performance. Exploring the surrealist world of dream, myth, memory and the dark impulse of the unconscious mind is no easy task. The imagination has a language all of its own, one that often defies conventional dramatic structures. Consequently, dialogue can imprison writers, preventing each from saying what in the visual arts, an image readily articulates. Gertrude Stein was aware of this, and so too were innovators of Image theatre such as Richard Foreman. Might I suggest that Natasha Jacobs check these two writers out. You're not the Boss of me is an entertaining if somewhat underdeveloped script, one heading straight for the American transcendental heart.


You're not the Boss of me

Writer: Natasha Jacobs

Director: Adam J. A. Cass

Performers: Sam Hall & Natasha Jacobs

Light: Richard Vabre & Kieran Smith

Sound: Brooke Taylor

Design: Luke Stokes

Costume: Camilla Mc Kewen

Production Manager: Elise Barton

June 30 - July 11, La Mama, Melb.




Thursday, June 25, 2009

[TRANS] Rumor About TVXQ's Dissolution

The managing company of Korean popular idol group, TVXQ, commented on the rumours about TVXQ's possible dissolution.SM Entertainment commented, Now, in relation to the rumor of dissolution, we recognize that it has been around, but it is completely groundless and in relation to the current activities that TVXQ has, they explained, TVXQ is now carrying out activities according to their schedule, and they have returned to Korea yesterday where they carried out the rehearsal for the 3rd Asia Tour, to be held in Bangkok, Thailand.They emphasized again that the rumor of dissolution is groundless.TVXQ is expected to leave Korea for their concert in Thailand, tomorrow morning.Source: [wowkorea.jp + yahoo jp news]Translation credits: mandasoh@iscreamshinki.netPlease do not remove without full credits Shared by: DBSKnights

Wednesday, June 24, 2009

[DOWNLOAD]4Minute ‘Hot Issue’ Silhouette Teaser


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Live Performance
Music Bank
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M!Countdown
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Music Core!
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Inkigayo
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Music Video
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1st single HOT ISSUE
192kbps
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320kbps
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Credit: lautanindonesia + uploader

[LYRIC] Stand By you-Tohoshinki

romanisation
JJ: Kimi ga sayonara wo tsugezuni dete itta ano hi kara
Kono machi no keshiki ya midori ga kawatta ki ga suru yo
YH: Kimi no subete ni naritai to kawashita yakusoku mo
Hatasarenai mama omoide ni kawatte shimau

CM: Hitori kiri de kimi ga naita ano toki
Sugu ni tonde ikeba ima mo mada kimi wa boku no yoko ni ite kureta
YC: Dekiru naraba mou ichido iitakatta daisuki tte
Kimi he no omoi wo afure dashita kotoba wa mou ima wa todokana

JJ: Kimi wa doko ni ite? Dare to doko ni ite? Donna fuku o kite? Nani shite waratterun darou?
JS: Boku wa koko ni ite. Ima mo koko ni ite. Kimi to futari de mata aeru to shinjiteiru yo

YH: Kawarazu omotte iru yo
YC: Kimi dake omotteiru yo

YH: Musun da kami no ushirosugata ni kimi o kasanete furikaeru shiranu dare ka ni nandomo kangae shita
CM: Chakushin ga atta kimi no namae kitai shitari
Kakkowarui mainichi bakari sugite iku yo

JJ: Wasurerarenai ni de uso de hontou wa wasuretakunai dake tsuyogari boku rashiisa naraba mou iranai

JS: Kimi ga inakya nani ni mo kanjinai shiawase tte
Dou ganbatte mite mo koboreochita namida wa sugu ni tomaranai

YC: Kimi wa doko ni ite? Dare to doko ni ite? Donna fuku wo kite? Nani shite waratterun darou?
JJ: Boku wa koko ni ite. Ima mo koko ni ite. Kimi to futari de mata aeru to shinjiteiru yo

YH: Dakara ima koushite boku wa mata hitori kimi no namae yonderu
CM: Kore ijou setsunasa wo dakishimete ikeru wake nado nai yo
Demo sore shika nai n dayo

JJ: Kimi ga iru dake de kagayaite mieta ano koro wa nido to modotte wa konai kedo
JS: Nani ga okotte mo nani wo ushinatte mo kimi wo aishita koto kesshite wasuretakunai

YC: Kimi ga doko ni ite, dare to doko ni ite, donna yume wo mite, nani shite waratteite mo
JJ: Zutto koko ni ite, ima mo koko ni ite, kimi to itsu no hi ni ka aeru to shinjiteiru yo

YH: Kawarazu omotteiru yo
YC: Kimi dake omotteiru yo
JS: Kawarazu omotteiru yo
JJ: Kimi dake omotteiru yo

Credits : linhkawaii @ LJ + tvxqfever.blogspot.com



translation

Since the day you left without a word of goodbye
I feel that the scenery around me has changed.
The promise I made
that I would become your everything
and the incomplete memories
have also changed.

When you were crying by yourself back then,
if only had I run to you
you would still be by my side.
If I was given one more chance,
I would tell you once again
that I love you.
But the words that contain my overflowing feelings
cannot reach you anymore.

Where are you now?
Who are you being with?
What kind of clothes are you wearing?
What are doing and laughing at?
I am right here.
Even now, I am right here.
And I still believe that we will see each other again.
You're the only one I'm thinking of.

Just once more,
I want you to stand at my back with your tied hair
asking me "Guess who it is~~~"
and expecting me to say out your name.*
Just the two of us being silly like that day by day.

I can't forget you,
But the truth is, I don't want to forget you.
I can't feel even a bit of happiness
because you're not by my side.
No matter how hard I try,
I'll end up crying
and my tears just won't stop.

Where are you now?
Who are you being with?
What kind of clothes are you wearing?
What are doing and laughing at?
I am right here.
Even now, I am right here.
I still believe that we will see each other again.
You're the only one I'm thinking of.

Therefore, I am right here
singing the song by myself.
Even though I don't have any reason to embrace this pain anymore,
I can't help doing it.

Even if I know that the days
when you were by my side making my world shine
won't come back again,
and no matter what will happen,
no matter how far I'm lost,
I never ever want to forget that my heart has chosen to love you.

No matter where you are,
no matter who you are being with,
no matter what kind of dream you are dreaming of,
or what you are doing and laughing at,
I will be here forever.
Even now, I right am here,
believing in a day that we will meet again.

This feeling won't change,
and you are the only one I'm thinking of.
This feeling won't change,
and you are the only one I'm thinking of.

Credits : linhkawaii @ LJ + tvxqfever.blogspot.com



kanji

君がさよならを告げずに 出て行ったあの日から
この街の景色や匂いが 変わった気がするよ
君のすべてになりたくて 交わした約束も
果たされないまま 思い出に変わってしまう

ひとりきりで君が泣いたあの時 すぐに飛んで行けば
今もまだ君は 僕の横にいてくれた?
できるならばもう一度言いたかった 大好きって
君への思いを溢れ出した言葉も 今は届かない

君はどこにいて 誰とどこにいて
どんな服を着て 何して笑ってるんだろう
僕はここにいて 今もここにいて
君と二人でまた会えると信じているよ

変わらず想っているよ
君だけ想っているよ

結んだ髪の後ろ姿に 君を重ねて
振り返る知らぬ誰かに 何度も勘違いした
着信があるたび 君の名前を期待したり
かっこ悪い毎日ばかり過ぎていくよ

忘れないは言って嘘で 本当は忘れたくないだけ
強がりが僕らしさならば もういらない
君がいなきゃ 何にも感じない幸せって
どう頑張ってみても零れ落ちた涙は すぐに止まらない

君はどこにいて 誰とどこにいて
どんな服を着て 何して笑ってるんだろう
僕はここにいて 今もここにいて
君と二人でまた会えると信じているよ

だから今こうして 僕はまたひとり 君の名前呼んでる
これ以上切なさを抱きしめていけるわけなどないよ
でもそれしかないんだよ

君がいるだけで 輝いて見えた
あの頃は 二度と戻ってはこないけど
何が起こっても 何を失っても
君を愛したこと 決して忘れたくない

君がどこにいて 誰とどこにいて
どんな夢を見て 何して笑っていても
ずっとここにいて 今もここにいて
君といつの日か 逢えると信じているよ

変わらず想っているよ
君だけ想っているよ
変わらず想っているよ
君だけ想っているよ

credit: dbskarchives

[HD HQ] TVXQ Tohoshinki - Stand By U & My Destiny Live Performance @ Music Fair 090620

[HD HQ] TVXQ Tohoshinki - Sky & Share The World Live Performance @ Music Fair 090620

[NEWS] Yunho as 3rd best leader chosen



Super Junior Lee Teuk has been chosen as the best leader for idol group.

A survey ‘Idol group leader who has shown the most leadership’ on community site DCInside from 16th till 23rd June and Super Junior Lee Teuk came in #1 with 15,724 votes out of 45,928 votes (34.2%).

#2 goes to TaeYeon of So Nyeo Shi Dae with 10.171 votes (22.1%). The group’s popularity and support can be shown especially with their comeback ahead.

#3 goes to Dong Bang Shin Ki YunHo with 9,850 votes (21.4%), followed by SS501 Kim Hyun Joong, SHINee Onew, and 2PM JaeBum.

credits: Kbites
shared by: dbsknights

THSK-Stand By You MV [official]


credit: YT - 720pHDscreen

[TRANS] Notification Of Change Of THSK's MUSIC JAPAN Broadcast

MUSIC JAPAN 09/06/23 10:57

During the rainy season, how is everyone getting along?
This is MUSIC JAPAN's director, 英米.

On the 21st, Sunday, [Eco Uta], by MJ's production team, was broadcasted live and it went smoothly, I'm relieved. Everyone has seen it right?

The splendid singing voices that you heard in [Eco Uta] was from Tohoshinki.

Previously, it was mentioned on this blog that the broadcast date for Tohoshinki's appearance on MJ will be on 28th June, but there have been changes made to the broadcast date.

Please note that the new broadcast date is 12th July (Sunday).

Of course, we will spend ample time talking about their new single.

Please also note that on 5th July (Sunday), the regular MJ programme will be replaced by the Wimbledon Tennis tournament.

This has been 英米, whose power inflates during rainy days!



Source: [MUSIC JAPAN Blog]
Translation credits: mandasoh@iscreamshinki.net
Shared by: DBSKnights + sweetfig

[INFO] New Age Pianist THE Yiruma Supports Idols, eager to compose songs for DBSK, SUJU & WONDER GIRLS

" I want to compose music for idol groups like DBSK"

Yiruma who returned from naval military service interviewed with Maeil Economy Star Today during his Nation Tour.


Yiruma said " when i performed Wonder girls 'nobody' during one of my performances ( Lee Hana's peppermint show) there were some fans who were dissapointed because they thought it was too 'commercial' but I'm not a traditional pianist. I want to be a music composer who can reach the general public of all ages, not just hard core classic listeners."

Yiruma have said before he wanted to give his music to the artist Sung Si Kyung. Yiruma said " I want to work with artists who have excellent talents such as Kim Bum Soo, but I also want to work with idols such as DBSK, Super Junior, Wonder Girls and etc. "


and went onto say " If I was part of the general public, I myself would want to listen to calm and simple music, not something that is too complicating. I don't think I would of chose those kind of music to listen to myself. When I write my music I always think about creating pieces that the public can easily listen and relate to as well as pieces that anyone can easily play themselves."

Yiruma who was once a hardcore fan of hiphop group "SOLID" (krn), composed dance music before becoming known as a 'New Age Pianist'


" When I moved back to Korea from England, I worked with music entertainment company, and one of my mates was thinking of trying to create a female artist, so I wrote dance music for him. At first I was thinking of becoming a Pop music composer, but back then I was too young, and didn't really have connections in the music industry. I thought that just with my confidence, I would be able to make it in the music industry, but it wasn't as easy as I thought it would be" he said with a smile.


Yiruma since then have worked with artists TEI, Kim Yeon Woo, " The Film " and " Square" albums. Created OSTs for dramas " Autumn in my Heart" , " Winter Sonata" , " Spring Walts" and for the animation movie hit " Dog Poop". Slowly also stepping in to become a composer as well in the ent industry. Recently Yiruma was recieved with a comission request by the city of Hanoi, Vietnam for the year 2010 capital event. He is working on a new music piece to play with his grand scale orchestra team for the event.



When the nation tour ends, Yiruma wants to put his solo pianist gig to the side and step into other fields. " For next year, I'm going to step into creating a grand scale orchestra team to create musical pieces for movies, dramas , and educational animation films."


Yiruma who started gaining immense popularity starting in 2006 created surprise amongst the public for giving up his British citizenship to go into the Korean National Naval Service. During his service, he married Son Tae Yeong's ( Kwon Sang Woo's wife) sister Son Hye Im and has a daughter now. Song Loanna is dedicated to his daughter.


Credits: DBSKnights + teukieca@soompi+sweetfig

[NEWS] Super Junior Filming a Movie With 2 TVXQ! Member

*squeals* i wonder who will it be?? I hope one of them is Jaejoongie *excited*
According to the news, Super Junior will be filming a movie that is based in the modern days. This is a good opportunity for the 13 individual, and different Super Junior members to perform their actual skills. In this movie, two members from TVXQ will be guest-starring, but play important roles in this modern-day movie.
Q: Who in TVXQ will get the two roles?
A:For now, it is unknown.

Super Junior and TVXQ has been gaining more and more fame since their debut, and this movie may boost up their social status in the music industry even more.

Everyone hopes that we will soon see the splendid movie starring all thirteen Super Junior members and two members from TVXQ!


English translation credits: ♡♥{東方神起}♥♡ @ onetvxq.com
Shared by: DBSKnights + sweetfig

[VIDEO] Tokyo Friends Park 2 - Tohoshinki preview


Credits: DBxtoho2 + poi

[ENGSUB] 090623 Mnet Wide Super100 My Boyfriend - Junsu

[ENGSUB] 090623 Mnet Wide Super100 My Boyfriend - #5 Xiah Junsu

[T/N : Translate from Chinese subtitles]

Credits: vishockjj / XiahKing / layla@DBSKnights
www.DBSKnights.blogspot.com

[ENGSUB] 090623 Mnet Wide Super100 My Boyfriend - Yunho

[ENGSUB] 090623 Mnet Wide Super100 My Boyfriend - #14 Uknow Yunho

[T/N : Translate from Chinese subtitles]

Credits: vishockjj / XiahKing / layla@DBSKnights
www.DBSKnights.blogspot.com

Top 50 Songs Being Sung at Karaoke

1위 ; 애인 있어요(이은미)
2위 ; 지(소녀시대)
3위 ; 총 맞은 것처럼(백지영)
4위 ; 8282(다비치)
5위 ; 슈퍼맨(노라조)
6위 ; 붉은 노을(빅뱅)
7위 ; 이젠 남이야(V.O.S.)
8위 ; 내 머리가 나빠서(SS501)
9위 ; 체념(빅 마마)
10위 ; 사고 쳤어요(다비치)
11위 ; 눈물이 뚝뚝(K윌)
12위 ; 노바디(원더걸스)
13위 ; 하루하루(빅뱅)
14위 ; 들리나요(태연)
15위 ; 무조건(박상철)
16위 ; 심장이 없어(에이트)
17위 ; 쏘리쏘리(슈퍼주니어)
18위 ; 사랑…그놈(바비 킴)
19위 ; 비와 당신(럼블피쉬)
20위 ; 티어즈(소찬휘)
21위 ; 날봐, 귀순(대성)
22위 ; 토요일밤에(손담비)
23위 ; 내사람(환희)
24위 ; 당돌한 여자(서주경)
25위 ; 황진이(박상철)
26위 ; 프리티 걸(카라)
27위 ; 가시(버즈)
28위 ; 다행이다(이적)
29위 ; 우연히(우연이)
30위 ; 오랜만이야(임창정)
31위 ; 스트롱 베이비(빅뱅)
32위 ; 미쳤어(손담비)
33위 ; 그런 사람 또 없습니다(이승철)
34위 ; 아마도 그건(박보영)
35위 ; 친구의 고백(2AM)
36위 ; 미워도 사랑하니까(다비치)
37위 ; 반쪽(박화요비)
38위 ; 만약에(조항조)
39위 ; 소주 한 잔(임창정)
40위 ; 고해(임재범)
41위 ; 사랑밖엔 난 몰라(심수봉)
42위 ; 나쁜 여자야(FT아일랜드)
43위 ; 듣고 있나요(이승철)
44위 ; 주문(동방신기)
45위 ; 보고 싶다(김범수)
46위 ; 랄리팝(빅뱅, 2NE1)
47위 ; 연애소설(가비앤제이)
48위 ; 슬픔보다 더 슬픈 이야기(김범수)
49위 ; 만약에(태연)
50위 ; 러브 119(K윌)
credit:here

Top 10 Most Wanted Son-in-law in S.Korea

#1. Siwon (rich, gentle, worthy of trusting)
#4. ShinDong (being chubby in general is a good thing)

Others:
#3-Kim Junsu (gentle, warm, amiable)
#5- Jung Yunho (kind-hearted, responsible,able to take hardship)
#6-Shim Changmin ( a child who learns only good,wont go astray)
#9-Kim Jaejoong (good culinary skills,warmhearted)

Credits: 允浩吧
Translation for DBSK part: DBSKnights
SJ parts translated by google;shared by stalker93 + Dbsk Dream

[NEWS] Moon Hee Jun Talks About Kim Jaejoong



Moon Hee Jun: "Even since Youngwoong Jaejoong still became H.O.T fan, he’s already attracting my attention."

Moon Hee Jun a former H.O.T member told his feeling about TVXQ member Youngwoong Jaejoong.
In one interview, Moon Hee Jun was asked about his opinion towards his hoobae (junior) "I have good relationship with all TVXQ members, but Jaejoong is the one who loves my music the most. I hope we’ll have this good relationship between us continues."

Moon Hee Jun revealed that before debuted, Jaejoong was one of H.O.T fans. When H.O.T held concert, once he saw him among the crowd, Jaejoong instantly caught his attention. “Among all audiences’ faces, I only could see Jaejoong very clearly from stage, so I always noticed his existence. While in the other hand, we didn’t have that many fan boys, so among all those fan girls who were screaming our names, of course Jaejoong stood out. I didn’t know who Jaejoong was, at that time. I ever thought myself "is he a fan of mine?"

“After TVXQ debut, Jaejoong greeted and introduced himself as H.O.T fan. When I met his father, he said to me, "Jaejoong adores Moon Hee Jun a lot, he even has your poster on his room’s wall, listens to your song, and has a dream to be a singer too." From that point, I started to hang out with Jaejoong. We talk about music while are drinking. Surprisingly, Jaejoong has the same music taste as me, which makes us bonding even better.”

In the end Moon Hee Jun stated, "Just after TVXQ debut, as they’re still at the same company SM entertainment, our music were kinda similar. However, as time goes by, now they’re building up their own unique music."

source: Naver
credits: Baidu + Mr.TVXQ
trans: sharingyoochun@wordpress
shared by:dbsknights

[INFO] オリ★スタ (Entertainment Life '09 Reader's Poll

(オリ★スタ Magazine publish by Oricon)


■ Favorite Men and Women Artist/Celebrity        

*1位 嵐 (Arashi)                 
*2位 B'z                 
*3位 桜井和寿 (Sakurai Katsutoshi)(Mr.children)
*4位 hyde (L'Arc-en-Ciel)
*5位 佐藤健 (Sato Takeru)
*6位 福山雅治(Fukuyama Masaharu)
*7位 上地雄輔(Kamiji Yusuke)
*8位 水嶋ヒロ(Mizushima Hiro)
*9位 ポルノグラフティ(Porn Graffiti)
10位 東方神起

*1位 安室奈美恵(Amuro Namie)
*2位 YUI
*3位 新垣結衣(Yui Aragaki)
*4位 綾瀬はるか(Ayase Haruka)
*5位 倖田來未(Koda Kumi)
*6位 戸田恵理香(Toda Erika)
*7位 堀北真希(Horikita Maki)
*8位 宮崎あおい(Miyazaki Aoi)
*9位 aiko
10位 上戸彩( Aya Ueto)


■ Men and Women Celebrities you want to be friends with?

*1位 上地雄輔(Kamiji Yusuke)
*2位 桜井和寿(Sakurai Katsutoshi)(Mr.children)
*3位 嵐(Arashi)
*4位 B'z
*5位 佐藤健 (Sato Takeru)
*6位 hyde(L'Arc-en-Ciel)
*7位 EXILE
*7位 ウエンツ瑛士(Wentz Eiji)
*7位 福山雅治(Fukuyama Masaharu)
10位 東方神起


*1位 安室奈美恵(Amuro Namie)
*2位 aiko
*3位 YUI
*4位 倖田來未(Koda Kumi)
*5位 上戸彩(Ueto Aya)
*5位 木下優樹菜(Kinoshita Yukina)
*7位 綾瀬はるか(Ayase Haruka)
*8位 新垣結衣(Aragaki Yui)
*9位 里田まい(Satoda Mai)
10位 Perfume


■ Stylish Male Celebrities

*1位 B'z
*2位 福山雅治(Fukuyama Masaharu)
*3位 hyde(L'Arc-en-Ciel)
*4位 水嶋ヒロ(Mizushima Hiro)
*5位 桜井和寿(Sakurai Katsutoshi)(Mr.children)
*6位 東方神起
*7位 佐藤健(Sato Takeru)
*8位 妻夫木聡(Tsumabuki Satoshi)
*9位 市原隼人(Hayato Ichihara
*9位 上地雄輔(Kamiji Yusuke)


■ Stylish Female Celebrities

*1位 安室奈美恵(Amuro Namie)
*2位 山田優(Yamada Yu)
*3位 倖田來未(Koda Kumi)
*4位 榮倉奈々(Eikura Nana)
*5位 新垣結衣(Aragaki Yui)
*6位 綾瀬はるか(Ayase Haruka)
*6位 長澤まさみ(Nagasawa Masami)
*8位 YUI
*9位 木下優樹菜(Kinoshita Yukina)
10位 戸田恵理香(Toda Erika)


■ Lifestyle, of Tokyo, the male celebrities?

*1位 B'z
*2位 桜井和寿(Sakurai Katsutoshi)(Mr.children)
*3位 福山雅治(Fukuyama Masaharu)
*4位 上地雄輔(Kamiji Yusuke)
*5位 hyde(L'Arc-en-Ciel)
*6位 水嶋ヒロ(Mizushima Hiro)
*7位 市原隼人(Ichihara Hayato)
*8位 EXILE
*9位 コブクロ(Kobukuro)
10位 東方神起
Credits: DBSKnights + hotaru@DNBN

[INFO] AADBSK3 contents revealed!

The long awaited All about DBSK III's content were revealed!

The price cost about 13, 500 yen and that include the tax. (I actually converted it to USD and my eyes went like this O.O The price is about $150)
It would be released on August 19, 2009
And they also stated the id number...which is RZBD-46344 / 9
They also said that the company is rhythm zone

The DVD is expected to be as 540 minutes long. Which is about 9 hours long..say what?! Please someone tell me I'm not going crazy...0.0 (This is what I saw from DNBN)

The footage/content of the video are:

- Saipan (I wonder what they did and those girls...something smell fishy here >.<)
- Footage of music video filming
- Couple Talk ( I want to see this!)
- Filming at Korea and MTV shop? Not really sure about this one. Maybe the promotions during Mirotic period.
- Interview in a restaurant.
- DBSK with their dogs ( I wanna see Vick :)
- Video programs in SBS

Inside also has posters and postcard. Well if it's $150 better have a lot of stuff you know.

And wanna know if I'm gonna buy it?

Of course ^^ LOL, let's wait for Korean version shall we?

Credits: DNBN + DBSKnights
DO NOT REMOVE WITHOUT FULL CREDITS

Saturday, June 20, 2009

Wonder Girls touring with the Jonas Brothers - starting JUNE 27th!! BUY TICKETS!! :D




JONAS BROTHERS US TOUR SCHEDULE
(**with WONDER GIRLS special guest appearances):

Sat, 06/27/09 @ 07:00 p.m. Rose Garden Portland, OR

Sun, 06/28/09 @ 07:00 p.m. Tacoma Dome Tacoma, WA

Mon, 06/29/09 @ 07:00 p.m. General Motors Place Vancouver, BC

Tue, 06/30/09 @ 07:00 p.m. General Motors Place Vancouver, BC

Fri, 07/10/09 @ 07:30 p.m. Allstate Arena Rosemont, IL

Sat, 07/11/09 @ 07:30 p.m. Allstate Arena Rosemont, IL

Sun, 07/19/09 @ 08:00 p.m. Nassau Coliseum Uniondale, NY

Mon, 07/20/09 @ 07:30 p.m. Nassau Coliseum Uniondale, NY

Tue, 07/21/09 @ 07:30 p.m. Nassau Coliseum Uniondale, NY

Fri, 08/07/09 @ 07:30 p.m. STAPLES Center Los Angeles, CA

Sat, 08/08/09 @ 07:30 p.m. STAPLES Center Los Angeles, CA

Sun, 08/09/09 @ 07:30 p.m. STAPLES Center Los Angeles, CA

Sat, 08/22/09 @ 07:00 p.m. Philips Arena Atlanta, GA

**Purchase tickets at livenation.com now!!
**AND... be sure to check out our newly launched, official Wonder Girls website: http://wondergirlsworld.com/!!

Hope to see many of you there!! :)

-WONDER GIRLS & JYP Entertainment-

credit: wondergirls
wondergirlsworld.com

Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Preview PV TOHOSHINKI-STAND BY U (thsk ver)



credit: YT-linikai

the tar machine


home

family

mother

father

sister

brother

strap

leather strap-spray-wind-the leather strap lets fly like the tail of an angry puma-black cat-yellow eyes-her name is holly-holly stares at her surroundings from the safety of her cane basket-the black and white tiled kitchen floor is a precipice that requires the most sensuous negotiations of the four paws of a cat-even if there was a mouse dawdling along the skirting board holly would not be interested for survival is foremost in her cat’s brain-all mice can wait-there will be time to play when the job is done


inside the house seen through the yellow eyes of holly the cat-she stands-she expands both this way and that-the fur on her back like iron filings drawn to a powerful magnet secretly implanted in the ceiling-holly’s fur-it has a life of its own as it leaves her spine-a flock of fine hair scurries along the walls of this sullen room-and i-in my decrepit bed-i wake from dreams of long ago anticipating some relief-shake the sleep from my eyes-and discover for the forty thousandth time these bluestone walls and the sound of an unseen creek trickling outside-i do not rise from this mattress of straw-it is as if i must lever this body across time-and i can no longer remember whether this exacerbated cat was once a childhood pet or has always been a black and hissing figment in my mind-my hair-black as well-yet inferior to holly’s-it hangs across my face-oily-traces of grey-how long have i been in this room-did i arrive yesterday on a star descending past the moon as it streaked across the universe-no matter-these walls-the sound of that creek-and holly’s tail insinuating itself into my ear-her unclipped claws hooked into the flesh around my shoulder blades-and rip with a flourish-and rip with another-and my skin descends toward the base of my spine in curlicues that gather between the pads of holly’s paws-i once administered pain-i have spilled blood and drank it and rubbed it across my chest-created a pattern from someone else’s misery-only to have their misery become my own in this room-behind these walls-with holly on my back inside my mind tearing pieces from me-exposing the ribs of a time that seems so ancient-if only i could find words that would adequately express this sinister dream inside a mind rupturing within the remembered blood of someone else’s misery-these words i cannot find are walls to the sound of that trickling creek i imagine runs through a field on the outside of this room-daisies-sunshine-these words are so inadequate-they do not inspire-and my dream drifts back into this room-behind these walls-exhausted-i dump my body back on this bed and realise the idyllic creek outside is just the sound of metal coils contracting beneath my weight


rupture-jenkins-and yes-i run my fingers through my hair-feel the greasy touch of whiskers covered in human oil-and yes-i remember a man named jenkins-his soul split by experience-and yes-jenkins- he wore black horn-rimmed glasses like antelope horns belonging to the twisted cape of some disfigured shaman-and his stories-they were of the blackest kites swirling in a cumulonimbus sky-jenkins stories breaking his listeners bones-scooping out the marrow they believed in-replacing it with a dowel of the blackest type-until it was jenkins who was able to make his listeners fly upon recitals of his disfigured shaman's dreams-this story of green leaves turned grey-decomposed and banking up along the seams joining the walls inside this bluestone room-and jenkins-you sit here now-your grey hair in strands across your scalp-leaving the slightest freckle revealed-what is inside your head jenkins-what sits beneath that freckle-is it a manifestation of the sprinting cancer inside your body-talk to me jenkins-tell me stories from inside your room-is it like mine jenkins-or are there many rooms-one containing a kitchen table-a silver room jenkins-you are a lucky man-let me hear the story of your silver room jenkins-tell em jenkins-explain the specifications of your room-talk jenkins-i will listen-i will abide by your regulations-it is fortified with steel-your wife stands by an ironing board-her tongue extends toward you-entering your ear-you feel the sound of her tongue entering your ear and your perceptions are momentarily disfigured-a split of the soul jenkins-your wife-she has control-for it is your ear inside her mouth when she swallows-and yes jenkins-your story is one of love floating high on air clouds whipped by currents into a cumulonimbus sky-and jenkins-what has become of this thing- this globule of ectoplasm that we thinly-that we inadequately describe as a soul-is it spread amongst green fields inside the highways and streams that make up the vascularity of your interior-are you totally diseased jenkins or is this infection confined to the flesh beneath your missing ear-talk jenkins-i will listen-talk jenkins- speak-and you are silent-and i am feeble-and jenkins-we shall sleep now-and continue our disfigured dissertation when we wake


silver room-slilver lady-the lady inside the silver dances with a broom extending up her arse and out her ear-she thrashes at experience- sweeps life into a time when her mind was frozen-when sand gathered in the corners of this bluestone room-she visits me now- the lady inside-she leaves her silver room and crawls from jenkins sleeping ear-i wake-her arms and body heave and sway in front of me-inside the mountain with a thousand caves that is her torso- those ribs the ribs of the lady inside-semicircular-smooth ivory ribs- bones of experience-i want to extend my hands through her pink flesh-to visit the interior of her torso and run my fingers along those ribs-like whalebone-the lady inside-her ribs-engraved by the finest cartographer-diagrams as yet unreadable-must get closer-leave this forlorn room of broken dreams-and yes-feel the edge of my dirty fingernail trailing along the inscriptions etched into those ribs-of pathways to the sea-of men in ships-their beards flaying in the wind- of diagrams incised upon the life of the lady inside-and it is the ship that i must see-for it is the vessel that transported my father to this house of hawthorn brick-his memories-his experiences-his fantasies inscribed upon my spine-that spineless act of pissing in a gumboot for fear that your father would rip his love away from you-and yes-it is love at the core of these wretched dreams-it is love that was ripped from me in that house of hawthorn brick-at first-its doors and windows were open to the sun-that house sucked in the juice of spring-dispersed pollen along corridors that degenerated into sand and dust-now-i sit inside this bluestone room-these cold walls-these walls made from thick ice-where memories leak into the general surrounds-memories of a man named jenkins-he sleeps next to me- the freckle on his head alive with the sound of his disfigured brain turning each thought over-each memory-of the woman inside- jenkins wife-who bit off her husbands ear for fear that he would become contaminated by the goings on inside this bluestone room- these walls-the sound of incessant dripping-gaining speed- becoming a trickle-outside i hear the creek become a river as it races towards the sea-the swirling waters of the mouth of a river regurgitating its soul into the sea-come jenkins-find your feet among the grime-do not slip-struggle jenkins-take your hand away from the place that once held an ear-listen-force yourself to listen as we chip holes through these walls of ice-feel the fresh air of a future life for both of us seep into the stale degeneration of this bluestone room- sniff-taste-hear-touch a life that lies paved and spread before us- extending through green fields into the distance-a small creek running alongside us jenkins-running with us-smooth stone experiences to come jenkins-let us walk-and when we are tired we shall sleep once more



and yes jenkins-do you see the stag-its velvet covered antlers a complex of possibilities-presenting pathways jenkins-which path do we choose-it is your turn to choose jenkins-you-the man who turned up that lucky wildcard-your life jenkins-what a laugh-it always seems to rise from somewhere at the bottom of a deck-on a ship-etched into the rib bones of the woman inside-my father-jenkins-jenkins-my father-i walk with you into walls-our heads-our eyes confronting one another yet all this time those pig eyes of yours have prevented me from seeing that you jenkins-you are that father that ripped your love from me and spat it into that bluestone gutter outside that house of hawthorn brick-i love your disfigurement jenkins-want to press my fingers into the pulp beside your temple and elicit strands of love from inside the recess of your brain-a tendon of love jenkins-i suck your love through my lips-it slithers down my throat-it burns the oesophagus-i will eat your entire mind jenkins-my father-i will eat the worms in your mind and shit them back into the sea-in the hope that- in the hope-there is no hope-there is only you jenkins



Tuesday, June 16, 2009

tom the loneliest: then there's lonely


... suddenly though, the taut string concerto settles, and there are the two Toms facing off against one another. Scattered around each performer is a junk pile of milk crates, empty TV dinner packs, pornos, and a huge, black cardboard cut-out labrador named Mike Tyson. Tom #1, wearing specs that accentuate his trembling vulnerability, grapples with what appears to be a microphone stand. Tom #2, brooding, mesmeric, sits hunched up, stage left, all compressed male aggression preparing to spring forth from his hole and pummel the skull of his like-named nemesis. Somehow suggesting the furnishings of a myth, this setting as described could be any one of the following: the grim reality of lives lived in an inner suburban squat: a purgatorial waiting room, in which the two Toms hang trussed in the same suspended animation that characterises the manichean space between heaven and hell, or the interior landscape of a young man's mad mind, one haunted by jarring, disconnected words, letters and vowels expressed as stencilled graffiti stamped on the floor.

The following dialogue that occurs between the two Toms in no way contains dramatic devices, or any other contrivance. Sometimes, Tom #1 mumbles incoherently to himself in monosyllabic tones that in their repetition, threaten to induce an epileptic linguistics that will consume him. At other times, Tom #1 simply responds to Tom #2 by repeating the same words spoken over and over again. There is servility here, but like the same power dynamic that exists in all human relationships, control does not always reside with he who shouts the loudest. Chipping away at Tom #2's apparent dominance is a sly resistance that shields its face behind a veil of pragmatism. Tom #1 just wants to get on with life, whatever it is that this life maybe. He opens the door to a microwave oven, and shoves in and alongside one another two TV dinners. Sixty second button pushed and the two hot dinners removed, the basting really begins as each Tom takes his position at a table, a porno is inserted in the VCR, and the munching of steak, kidney and rice commingles with porn star/ starlet oohs and aahhs. The audience is invited to ponder this moment. In doing so, there begins to settle upon this performance a genuine sense of tragedy, if not hopelessness. One accentuated by the two Toms and the leering pleasure each derives from this sad mixture of sperm and love juice gobbled up alongside steak and kidney pie.

But amidst the chaos and confusion of lives that this performance apparently represents, there arises a pivotal moment between these two protagonists. Tom #2, all male macho-macho in a misenscene of masculinity, appropriately pulls on a blonde wig. As temptress, he fails to goad Tom #1 into allowing him to perform a blow job; even though #1 is desperate for sexual release. And here we have the tragic depiction of young men separated from their mothers, brim full of resentment and hate caused by feelings of abandonment, who in their own pathetic way attempt to recreate the presence of a mother lost, but only succeed in expressing their own contorted maternal instinct in the shape of mother as eternal whore. And yet, the improvised script is adamant that it will not make a big deal of this tragic sense of loss. The scene just IS, and nothing more. Cool, contained, and consequently, a moment of great tenderness, as the saying goes it's the quiet tragedies behind countless suburban doors that resonate loudest. And in the quiet tragedy that pervades this presentation of simple lives spiralling outward, Tom the Loneliest resonates louder that most.


Tom the Loneliest

Writer-Performers: Duncan Lake &

Julian Crotti

Writer-Director: Paulo Castro

Design: Bryan Tingey

Light: Kerry Ireland

Producer: Lenny Ceniuch

June 16 - 27, La Mama, Melb.




razor-viking: with a twist


It was November 2005, the Melbourne Cup weekend, and we had four days to complete the Razor Viking circuit. After spending Friday night at Muttonwood camp on the Wellington river, 20 km north of Licola, we drove up and over Mt Tamboritha, along the Snowy Range, and arrived at the Howitt car park.

Having just met the nine member party, I kept my head down and watched for indications of a group dynamic. Our leader, a tall, bearded man of Dutch descent named Jopie, produced a set of scales from his white Subaru Forester, and each member of the group rushed to obtain an accurate reading of the weight of their packs.

Jopie’s pack weighed 16 kg, John’s 15.5 kg, while Rod’s four day masterpiece barely recorded a reading at 11 kg.

There was much conviviality among those with feather light packs as they struck out at speed through the snowgums on Clover Plain toward Macalister Springs. While the unenlightened, myself included, brought up the rear under a humid sky and wondered what secrets in weight strategy had been denied us during our formative bushwalking years.

Lance, a nuggety man with a wild afterburn of grey hair, had decided not to chance his hand on the Razor Viking circuit. Instead, he would spend the following four days exploring the Howitt Plains area. We said goodbye at the top of Devil’s Staircase and Lance hot tailed it along a well defined track toward a comfortable night in a modern hut situated at Macalister Springs. For the rest of us the opposite was true. The next two days would see no well defined track, and no comfortable hut to retreat toward, if the weather soured.

From the top of Devil’s Staircase an untracked spur led north east, then east, during a 1000 metre descent into the valley of the infant Wonnangatta river and our first camp site. We would then cross the river, climb steeply out of the valley, circumnavigate an unnamed 900 metre hill, descend once again and cross a tributary of the river, then locate a narrow ridge running north north east; ending at a 1300 metre high point south-west of the South Viking.

But first we had to do battle with 300 metres of skin scratching scrub and a stubborn two metre tiger snake.

It was past midday and a significant change in the weather was apparent. Rain was forecast; developing that afternoon, persisting the next day, then clearing the day after. As we scratched our way through corrosive scrub, the cool alpine breezes that had been present above 1500 metres were replaced by a greasy humidity. And a scintillating morning sunshine was consumed by a diffuse curtain of grey cloud. Perhaps the sun’s disappearance was one reason why the two metre tiger snake refused to move. Rod, the man with the unbelievably light 11 kg pack, warned me of the snake’s presence as I stumbled forward through the scrub.

“That’s alright” I said.

“It’s probably more frightened of me than I am of it”.

Rod was not convinced.

“That might be so, but the snake isn’t moving. So tiptoe around it”.

And there it was, splayed across a rock, as thick as a sapling. Calm, but possibly dangerous.

A big snake moves quickly, and I was not about to be bitten. I took Rod’s advice and tiptoed from stone to stone, giving the snake much space. If a wall had have been present I would have had my back against it. But the big tiger seemed unconcerned; confirming the maxim that left alone, most snakes are harmless. It was the finest, most impressive species of tiger snake I had seen in quite a few years.


That night, camped in light forest with the southern bank of the Wonnangatta river close by, I recorded the day’s events in a notebook. The walk across Clover Plain had been a pleasant jaunt, while our 1000 metre descent had come off as planned. We were camped in an isolated spot and next morning we would embark upon an 800 metre ascent that would take us into the heart of a spectacular mountain wilderness, but already, there was something missing from this trip. What it was I could not say: the wilderness without is often as intangible as the wilderness within. But I was in little doubt that this absence would be filled over the next three days. Not, as often appears to be the case, by one single event. But more likely, by an accumulation of experience; one in which the entire trip would coalesce. That moment when the old path on which a walker treads ends, and a new path unfolds.


It rained all night and next morning when I woke it was still raining. Reluctantly, I emerged from my sleeping bag and pushed my head beyond the vestibule of my tent. A grey sky with an ominous green hue and not a single break between the clouds. Yes, it had rained all night and it was still raining. It now looked like this rain would continue unabated throughout the day.

But the rain stopped. Tent flys began to quiver. The sound of several pressure stoves blossomed in the gloom, and Hans emerged. A Swiss carpenter, his Handlebar moustache and superhero emblazoned cap indicated he was ready for action. It wasn’t long before the group had gathered at a site 100 metres upstream, where we intended to cross the rising Wonnangatta river.

There, Jopie outlined the day’s route. We were aiming for a campsite at Viking Saddle, a small clearing situated between The Viking and The Razor. The distance wasn’t great: approximately six or seven kilometres. But it would take a full day to arrive as we climbed 800 metres and attained two distinctive summits. Before negotiating The Viking’s north western cliff face, then dropping a steep 200 metres through uprooted mountain ash in an area decimated by a recent winter storm.

There are various methods for crossing a fast flowing, swollen river. Hans, that Man of Action, and being a carpenter, could not contain a biblical impulse. Fully clothed, he entered the river on the south bank and exited via the north. Like Moses parting the Red Sea.

Soon, we had all managed to successfully cross the river, and regrouped on the north bank while considering the next, and perhaps most difficult obstacle of the entire walk. A ‘One in Two’ climb out of the river valley to a small ridge running east to west, separating the Wonnangatta from one of its myriad tributaries. Steep, but short; yet combined with a 22 kg pack and overbearing humidity... Well, I need not say any more.

Once the tributary was crossed we fought our way through a patch of dense, wet fern and other harsh vegetation, before emerging on a pleasant slope that was the beginning of the spur to our first 1300 metre highpoint, south west of the South Viking.

As we followed the spur upward there occurred several changes in the landscape. The spur narrowed and turned to rock. Sub alpine grasses and mountain ash were replaced by protruding tufts of spinifex and the ubiquitous snowgum. The thick humidity present at 700 metres was swept away by the snap of an alpine wind. Cloud coagulated around us, the mist rolled in, and one of our party, Michael, a visitor like myself, disappeared from view.

The ‘One in Two’ climb straight after breakfast had curbed the group’s enthusiasm, but Michael appeared to have suffered a little more than the rest of us. Having some inclination toward the mysteries of first aid, and that almost transparent 11 kg pack, Rod left the leader’s group and joined Michael at the rear.

Nobody in the party had traversed, or knew of anyone who had traversed, this route to the South Viking. (I had dropped off the summit once before, but had chosen the relatively gentle descent of a broad spur further east). We did not know what to expect as we approached the South Viking in heavy mist. Until, the sight of a sheer, hulking perpendicular bluff that appeared to block any further ascent made its intimidating presence felt. Momentarily, it looked as if we would be forced to spend excruciating hours battling scrub in hostile country by pushing horizontally east, before Jopie’s navigational skill eased into gear.

Viewed from a great height we must have looked like a procession of colourful ants teeming over stonework, as we negotiated an interconnected system of channels in the escarpment, soon reaching the summit of the South Viking. The difficult aspect of the ascent was over: the South Viking, and The Viking, were connected by three low lying saddles. We hurried through each saddle, arrived at the summit of The Viking, hauled packs through a rock chimney, picked up the track to Viking Saddle, and descended through an apocalypse of trees ripped from the ground by a mini tornado.

I was thankful not to have been camped in the saddle on the night that monster tore through the bush. Hearing a fully grown tree hit the ground is unnerving enough. To have 50 or so crashing around a tent at night would have been a bushwalker’s nightmare.

A large group had already arrived at the saddle. With the inclusion of our eight tents, a small colony appeared. The sky cracked open once again, and this time the rain was permanent. Confined to our tents we were wet, hungry and tired. But we were well and truly alive. Not that there was ever any question over the safety of the party. But city life can dull the senses; and a sophisticated urbanite soon forgets his primal origins.

After an hour of heavy rain, the weather shifted. A noticeable breeze blew into the saddle via the headwater of the West Buffalo river. At dusk, a break appeared in the eastern sky. Someone from the other group had persisted in the rain, and lit a campfire. A strange shamanic conduit, it drew others to its primal dance. Shadows flickered across orange faces alive in the darkness, smoke rose into the night air, and I fell asleep and dreamed of prehistoric times.


As predicted, the rain cleared overnight. We were off early, picking our way through fallen timber as we climbed toward The Razor. To my surprise, there was such a thing as a promising grey sky. But an hour later, as we emerged from the forest and scrambled up the conglomerate slabs of The Razor, low cloud still enveloped the northern face of The Viking.

Even so, it was the first unrestricted view we’d had of the surrounding area for two days.

Standing on the crest of one of many conglomerate slabs there was visible the many sloping spurs and interconnecting ridges descending north toward the remote Catherine river. To the west, the Australian Alps Walking Track fractured as it struggled along intractable rock toward Mt Despair. This was to be our intended route for the day; the objective being Mt Speculation. But Jopie had other ideas.

Having walked the circuit several times I had never reached the summit of The Razor. Once on the summit, after a slow kilometre of rock hopping and trackless terrain, the side-trip proved eminently worthwhile.

An increase in temperature flushed low lying cloud from The Viking’s north eastern flank. The cliffs marking the Australian Alps Walking Track’s easterly descent to Barry Saddle appeared. Vertical, and like the weather beaten brow of a forlorn, lost explorer, the mid mountain cloud closed in once again and The Viking disappeared.

An hour later, after reclaiming our packs, we were back on the walking track leading west toward Mt Despair. In spite of slow going along the southern crest of The Razor, the mood of the group had lightened. The most difficult aspect of the walk was behind us. Hans was telling tall stories once again. We would soon be setting the pace along an obstacle free track over Despair and down to Catherine Saddle, a headwater of the Wonnangatta river. But as a gash in the cloud widened, and blue sky and sun appeared for the first time in two days, we discovered there was no irony intended in the name ‘Mt Despair’.

It was a relief to finally see the sun. But why had it chosen to appear, and why had the temperature increased, just as the ascent of Mt Despair began ?

In the past, a solid rest after considerable physical exertion had always left me ready and willing. But the cumulative stress produced by carrying a heavy pack through rough country for three days, was beginning to tell. And we still had the severe climb from Catherine Saddle to Camp Creek, just prior to the summit of Mt Speculation, to complete.

It was well past 5.00 pm as we descended the grassy, sun drenched western slopes of Mt Despair. After a hard day, this was not a great time for preparing to climb one of the higher mountains, (1630 metres), of the Wonnangatta Moroka sector of The Alpine National Park.

At Catherine Saddle, two routes presented themselves.

A foot track headed straight up the north eastern flank of the mountain. While the old Wonnangatta Track, (also ambitiously referred to as Speculation Road), followed the 1200 metre contour around the same flank, then ascended Camp Creek via a shallow valley.

Bob and Michael chose to follow the contour. I was tempted, but on a blind impulse followed Jopie, Rod, Tim and Hans over an embankment and up the hill.

Half way up, I wished I’d chosen the contour. Without exaggeration, I thought my lungs would pop. But after 20 years of bushwalking, during which I had walked the entire Australian Alps Walking Track, and been whacked by second stage hypothermia on Mt Anne in South West Tasmania, I had integrated into my bushwalking a highly sophisticated technique for dealing with mind altering pack carries up the steep flanks of mountains.

Growling.

Believe me, growling will get a beaten walker to any summit, anytime. Although the worried look I received from Hans suggested I had completely lost my marbles. But growl I did, and once again it got me up the mountain. Yet I was grateful that Tim, a trainee nurse, was also present. In case my growl became a heart murmur and I collapsed in cardiac arrest.

Finally, we reached Camp Creek. After some slow tent erecting, during which I found it difficult to recognise the front end of the tent from its rear, water was obtained from Camp Creek.

Bob and Michael arrived, a small fire was lit, and once again, cloud descended upon us; dampening everything except our spirits. We settled in for a restful night as the temperature hovered at five degrees.

We were high in alpine country, directly beneath the summit of a 1600 metre mountain. We may not have been able to see past our noses, but our bellies were soon full. For the first time during the entire trip the opportunity presented itself to sit around the fire and share what was already a memorable experience. From intimations of shamanic ritual and prehistoric dreams, to a bushwalker who chose to growl, instead of howl, when confronted by cardiac arrest. But soon, we were all so tired, each one of us silently slipped away, disappeared within a lick of mist, and quietly went to sleep.


Birdsong broke the silence; what species of bird it might have been, I had no idea. Instead of going back to sleep, I lay on my back in the dark as the bird’s repeated rhythms crystallised the thoughts in my sleepy brain. Somewhere in the valley below a second bird of the same species responded to the first bird’s solo. A fugue ensued; something was afoot in the natural world, I could feel its aura surrounding my tent.

A high mountain sunrise was one thing, but this show was otherworldly. Tim and I were up and out of our tents; captivated by a violet streak illuminating the tip of a distant mountain. No one else was awake. We were two children watching the birth of a new world. I had seen many a sunrise during my 20 years in the mountains, but this was THE sunrise.

After an hour frolicking in the mellow light of a glorious mountain morning, it was time to get serious. Before us lay the Crosscut Saw; a ten kilometre rocky spine separating the Wonnangatta and Howqua rivers, leading back to Macalister Springs. Our trip along the Razor Viking circuit was drawing to a close.

From the summit of Mt Speculation there was that descent through the bluff at Horrible Gap. During which Bob lost his footing and hung suspended in mid air from a rickety tree branch. There was also that climb to Mt Buggery, the name of which elicited a grim laugh from Tim as we encountered its sharpness. Without doubt, there was the pain derived from four days of cumulative stress upon a body that did not recover after the climb to Buggery’s summit. Every step, every adjustment of the load upon my back, every swivel of the hips and resulting unobstructed view into river valleys east and west, procured within me an ecstatic sense of the Victorian Alps: their inspiration, my infatuation, and the wonder that makes bushwalking in those alps an exhilarating experience. There was all this and more as we cracked jokes after meeting up with Lance on the heath at Macalister Springs, before arriving to fresh fruit at Howitt car park.

But that moment of truth all bushwalkers strive for had passed.

As we left Camp Creek and climbed toward the summit of Mt Speculation, that old path had ended and a new trip had begun to unfold.



Razor-Viking access

There are several conventional vehicle access points surrounding the Razor-Viking Wilderness area. But even today, each involves a considerable undertaking. The closest ‘roads’ into the area are the East Buffalo Rd. emanating from Myrtleford to the north; and from the south, the interminable Howitt Rd. From the west, the Circuit Rd. provides rough access for conventional vehicles as far as the eastern side of Mt. Stirling, but that’s about it. As for an easterly approach; well, the tracks are precarious and the terrain very, very steep.

For the first time visitor, The Australian Alps Walking Track traverses the celebrated Crosscut Saw, heads over Mt. Despair, then dissipates to a pad beneath the south eastern crest of The Razor, before continuing to Viking saddle. East of The Viking, at Barry Saddle, the A.A.W.T. can be followed in reverse. This is perhaps the shortest approach to The Viking’s summit, but do not be deceived. A climb up the mountain’s north eastern flank will test the hardiest walker. Several spurs approach the South Viking from the floor of the Wonnangatta valley. But once again, be prepared for some serious off-track walking. While an approach from the remote Catherine river to the north involves a waterless and dubious ascent through the north western cliff face of The Razor, and is not recommended. At all times, stay safe and enjoy your trip.



Monday, June 15, 2009

dreaming global new media


When considering the presence of an economic bias in global new media, it is important we understand what the term ‘Global new media’ means. So let me begin by explaining that global new media is not hard copy newspapers and magazines. Nor is it national television or radio networks that fail to transcend temporal and spatial boundaries within a global context. For example, while a reader might struggle to find a printed edition of Melbourne’s ‘Age’ newspaper in the Australian city of Darwin, the internet, and its various incarnations in the form of news and entertainment owned by media alliances such as ninemsm, mean global new media is characterised by a capacity to transcend traditional understandings of national sovereignty, resulting in previously impermeable and clearly defined temporal-spatial borders becoming porous.


Prior to the development of the internet, if a publisher wanted to send copies of The Age newspaper to Bangkok, he or she relied on air freight. Now, these barriers of time and space have dissolved. In Bangkok, a reader of The Age simply logs on at the newspaper’s website and reads from its electronic edition. In this sense, Appadurai’s ‘Mediascape’, minus his emphasis on pre electronic forms, and the ways in which this simulacra of images drawn from advertising, cinema, and the internet create within the minds of individuals “Imagined worlds”, (Appadurai, 1997, 33-36), or a global new media dream, means that the presence of an economic bias embedded within global new media requires it be articulated and specifically understood. For as Singer points out in his plea for a reflective consideration of the disparate attitudes toward global poverty, (Singer, 2002, 179), globalisation has an ethical dimension. As communication theorists, we would be derelict if we did not recognise and abide by these, our ethical responsibilities.


It is one thing to claim that an economic bias exists within global new media, but it is a more difficult task to examine the three areas within which this bias resides. The World Trade Organisation, although not explicitly a media outlet, employs the internet as a powerful tool for expressing its views on a global scale. (www.wto.org/ May 07) Despite the W.T.O.’s claim that it does not favour commercial interests and free trade over environmental, human, and animal rights, Singer shows the opposite to be the case. He also concludes that not only does the W.T.O. erode national sovereignty by “good discipline” such as “Friedman’s golden straitjacket”, it is also undemocratic in theory and practice. (Singer, 2002, 101) Clearly, the W.T.O., as an organisation that evolved from G.A.T.T. for the purpose of promoting free and unprotected trade on a global scale, contains within its charter, and its actions, a bias favouring economic imperatives. A specific example of this bias occurred when the W.T.O. forced the U.S. to lift its embargo on the importation of Mexican tuna caught in nets that also trapped and killed dolphins; thereby emphasising the importance of free trade over environmental and animal rights. (Singer, 2002, 65) Once this view is expressed via the internet, it then becomes a prime example of the bias present within the debate surrounding global new media.


The second area that contains a bias toward economic imperatives, is the discourse. Here, I am referring to the ten schools of thought within the academic discipline known as Communications. Of course, schools such as the Technological Determinists and Economic Rationalists have an explicit profit motive. But claiming that an economic bias is implicit within each individual school, and the combined universal system of thought that is Communications theory, requires a subtle distinction.


By discussing the term discourse, I am referring to the mode of communication and its linguistic expression; its letters, words, sentences and paragraphs, their origin and social values, their prejudices and connotations, theorists from all schools use when expressing ideas about Communications. So when Barr uses terms such as “information rich and information poor”, we know that as a theorist residing at Left of the political spectrum, he is advocating social justice and the interests of people over the accumulation of profit. (Barr, 2000, 145-165) But sometimes, we fail to recognise that the terms used by Barr and others not only contain an economic connotation, their concerns also reside within a framework of statistics, percentages, and numbers that is indicative of economic thinking. So when Barr justly points out that more mobile phones exist in Tokyo than do in the entire continent of Africa, we are disturbed by this statistic. (Barr, 2000, 145-165) But if we accept McLuhan's maxim that ‘the medium is the message’, then Barr’s statistic can also be interpreted as one emphasising that mobile phones, their quantity, are of equal importance as the many human beings in Africa who do not own a mobile phone. Considered this way, the message is mixed; which also means that the discourse is biased in favour of the accumulation of property, and economic interests. This objectification of human beings, no matter how altruistic, contains assumptions of order, unity, and the existence of universal truths that are not just consistent across the ten schools of thought, they are also integral within the capitalist project of Modernity. (Ang, 1990, 366-380)


The third and most surreptitious area that contains a bias toward economic imperatives, is the structure of the information used in the debate and discourse surrounding global new media. By structure, I mean digitised information comprised of algorithmic code; that is, mathematical equations consisting of patterns of numbers used in the construction of computer files. So when Scharmen notes that the “component parts of the online soul are small pieces of marketing data”, (www.sevensixfive.net May, 07) this view is consistent with Posters revisiting of Foucalt’s postructuralist interpretation of the surveilling power of Bentham’s panopticon.


In The Mode of Information: poststructuralism and social context, Poster extends Foucalt’s linguistic analysis of the surveilling power of language to include digitised information. In doing so, he develops the idea of the ‘Superpanopticon’. According to Poster, digitised information is fundamentally different from its older analogue counterpart. Where analogue information was a mode constructed of natural materials such as metal shavings, digitised information, in the shape of computer files, is purely mathematical: patterns of numbers within the mainframe and nothing more. Consequently, analogue information’s capacity to accurately represent the ambiguities of human beings - via the inclusion of phenomena such as external noise - is eliminated by the decidedly unambiguous representation ushered in by the digital revolution. Further, Poster connects this inaccurate representation, or ‘Bodies corporate’, with a marketing database where each individual’s personal details are collated for the purpose of ascertaining their potential for increasing profits. (Poster, 1990, 85-98)The innocuous use of a credit card results in the corporatising of a user’s identity; his or her age, marital status, shopping habits etc..., and the inclusion of these personal details in a database profiling each individual’s susceptibility to marketing strategies. Not simply an issue of privacy, the structure of information used in the debate and discourse of global new media contains an inescapable bias toward economic imperatives.


So unless an individual becomes a Zarathustrian monk, little can be achieved by attempting to overcome this omnipotent bias toward the economic. Conversely, passive acceptance of this bias might have positive results for the world’s population; that is, if it wasn’t for the knowledge that in the year 2000, three of the world’s richest people had more assets than the combined G.N.P. of forty nine of the poorest countries on earth, and one fifth of the world’s 6.3 billion people survived on US $ 1 a day, (Purchasing Power Parity adjusted). (Singer, 2000, 89) And even though by citing such statistics I can also be criticised for doing that which I have just criticised others, namely, using an economic framework of percentages and numbers in support of a point of view, then this paradox highlights the dilemma faced by the Communications theorist in the 21 st century; or what some might concur is the Postmodern period.


But here is the difference: being a devotee of the Postmodern school, I subscribe to contingent rather than universal truths; to disorder and chaos rather than order and unity; to a system of belief that accepts Capitalism as a precondition of existence - repugnant it may at times be, and who attempts to resist its formidable influence via irony and the furthering of community interest. Unlike the Social Justice, Liberal Pessimist, and Neo Marxist schools who seem content within their undying belief in the certainty of their argument and each argument’s subscription to the irrevocable presence of a universal truth. But this discussion of global new media should not be one during which binary opposites attempt to politely refute the arguments of its co-accused. (Flew, 2005, 20-39) For consistent with Postmodern thinking there are too many uncertainties to consider when attempting to unravel and articulate the deft intricacies of what Appadurai has termed: “the image, the imagined, and the imaginary”, (Appadurai, 1997, 31), or this global new media dream.


But before we unravel Appadurai’s conception of global new media in the Postmodern world, it will help to ascertain exactly what is meant by the term ‘Universal truth’. Here, I am specifically referring to the ten schools of thought comprising the discipline known as Communications, and the closed system or universe within which the ten schools reside. Each school of thought and the predetermined truth underpinning its existence, combine to create a discipline that is itself predetermined. For example, the Technological Utopians are telling us everything is fine in Communications, while the Liberal Pessimists are telling us everything is not. Similarly, the Economic Rationalists attempt to sell us the benefits of market fundamentalism, while the Neo-Marxists are out to convince us that it’s the revolution that counts. Of course, similarities and differences occur both within and between the ten schools. But as Mark Finn pointed out in a recent lecture, and I paraphrase, the further a theorist moves away from the centre, the more each of the schools begin to resemble one another.


One important feature of this resemblance is certainty, even if each school is only certain in opposition toward the view of its direct opponent. Of course, the Postmodern school is also defined by a clear commitment to principles of community activism and the possibilities for individual liberty present in global new media. However, what differentiates the Postmodern school from its nine counterparts is an explicit commitment to uncertainty. By allowing for the possibility of an indeterminate rather than a predetermined truth, the postmodern school subverts the fundamental principles upon which the system of thought it resides within are founded upon. Open rather than closed, it challenges assumptions of unity, order, rationality, and objectivity that are characteristics of Modernism and its erroneous presumption that Communications can be explained by systemic thought that will eventually arrive at a universal truth. Further, as Ang notes, this predetermined system we know as Communications contains an unnerving resemblance to the strategies of market segmentation. (Ang, 1990, 375) Students, (Buyers), are sold a particular school of thought by teachers, (Sellers), in the knowledge that this acquisition will result in successful graduation and improved career opportunities. In this sense, Wark’s description of Education as a means for creating “Wage slaves”, (Wark, 2004, 062), is not only apt, it is consistent with the capitalist mode of production that is, once again, implicit within the project of Modernity.


Whether in the debate, the discourse, or the structure of the debate and discourse, we cannot escape this bias toward economic imperatives. This is not to say that global new media should deny its economic dimension. Clearly, economics is as important an element within the area of Communications as water is to life. But like any ecology, or a living system within which there also resides political, social, cultural and technological concerns, (Flew, 2005, 177-199), when one dimension such as economics dominates and begins to consume all others, it becomes a voracious tyrant.


As Singer repeatedly shows throughout his appraisal of globalisation, devotion to economic imperatives for the purpose of increasing profit does not necessarily result in an improved standard of living and therefore, a better life. Rather, national sovereignties are eroded, ending in cultural disintegration. Government alliances with powerful multinationals spawn tyrannical regimes; where the democratic right to protest is dealt with via political assassination. The social hiatus between western affluence and third world poverty becomes an irrevocable and intractable source of deep despair. And, of course, this is not to mention the long list of environmental, animal welfare, intellectual property, privacy and human rights issues that arise when the thirst for profit becomes insatiable. (Singer, 2002, 58-117) Given that global new media is not just complicit within the globalisation process, it is an inextricable part of economic expansion on a global scale, what then are the rights and responsibilities of the Communications theorist when confronted by globalisation, and its sometimes sordid consequences ?


Let us begin by ascertaining exactly what is meant by the phrase ‘Rights and responsibilities’. Here, ‘Rights’, refers to the Communications theorist and his or her right to receive an unbiased appreciation of Communications theory. If we accept that Communications studies is biased in favour of economic imperatives, (and this is difficult to refute), then at very least this bias infringes upon the moral right of a student to receive an education free of prejudice.


Now it may be that valid reasons exist for this prejudice; reductions in government funding, university business models, and an emphasis on vocation, rather than the acquisition of knowledge, are several. But this does not eliminate the fact that a prejudiced education remains a prejudiced education, regardless of why it is implemented. Instilling an economic bias within students of Communications, who may well perpetuate this bias within a global new media environment, might, for example, increase the ‘Digital Divide’, or contribute to the capacity of tyrannical regimes to breach human rights. It follows then that the Communications theorist has a ‘Responsibility’ not to misrepresent him or her self, as well as others whom he or she may be representing. By ‘Responsibility’, I mean an ethical obligation to discuss global new media in such a way that it not only corrects the current imbalance favouring economic interests, but actively seeks to establish a discourse that dismantles the present false and misleading doctrine promoting systemic thought and universal truth. In doing so, the Communications theorist remains true to what should be his or her first impulse for attending university: an understanding that while knowledge will always be a pursuit, education forever remains a commodity. Taking practical steps to instill an open and indeterminate discourse within the discipline of Communications means the student upholds his or her responsibility to discuss global new media is such a way that it opens, rather than closes, a variety of possibilities in Communications theory.


Dreaming global new media is one of these possibilities. By contrast, Flew limits his discussion of global new media to an introductory analysis of the five dimensions of globalisation: the economic, technological, political, social and cultural; both within and between which there occurs an interplay of intersecting ideas. (Flew, 2005, 177-199) Communications plays a role in each of the five dimensions. It is first and foremost an economic, then a technological force. One capable of administering considerable political, social and cultural clout on a global scale. The alliance between Fox and Telstra, and its political, social and cultural presence both nationally and internationally, illustrate Flew’s rather cautious summation of corporate power in the space of flows. But New Media, an introduction is just that; a thorough introduction to the significance of global communications. But any introduction to any topic should also be a point of departure, even if this takes the Communications theorist on a trip back to the future. Although published in ‘97, Appadurai’s Modernity at Large: Cultural Dimensions of Globalisation, and its conception of global new media, as a strange, disjunctive dream,(Appadurai, 1997, 22-47), curiously resonates as an extension of Flew's analysis, even though Appadurai's book was published five years earlier. But perhaps this is indicative of the conservative discipline Communications has become in 2007.


In Appadurai’s conception of globalisation, we not only see a correction of the current bias favouring economic imperatives in global new media, we see what amounts to a successful attempt to hybridise the discussion. Unlike Flew, Appadurai segments globalisation into a conceptual tapestry of five landscapes: ethno, techno, media, finance, and ideoscapes; landscapes that less intersect, and more overlap. Rather than economics dominating the entire paradigm, each scape is an entity in its own right; one with its own idiosyncratic and peculiar trajectory. The financescape is the flow of inconceivable amounts of money on a global scale via mediated forms of communication in the shape of electronic transfer, and all five scapes participate in its successful completion. Ethnoscapes provide the labour - be it mechanical or informational - while the economic ideology of late capitalism is distributed globally via forms of communication dependent upon technological development for its continued success. Each thread in this global tapestry overlaps with another, perhaps many times. But rather than being consumed by the economic imperative, each scape continues along an indeterminate path that is responsive to other paths in a peripheral manner; one more consistent with the term ensemble, rather than tyranny.


Of course, Appadurai’s conception will not solve the gross, shameful, and seemingly intractable inequalities and deprivations that Singer illuminates. But underpinning his conception of globalisation is a spirit of cooperation, rather than conflict: a dream that respects the rights of the individual as he or she works to shape an ensemble: a system of thought within which greed and predetermined binary oppositions become secondary to that basic human desire of wanting to make a worthwhile contribution to the world we all inhabit, and to play a small yet significant role in this global new media dream.




Bibliography


Ang, I. In the Realm of Uncertainty: the Global Village & Capitalist Postmodernity, from The Media reader: continuity and transformation, Hugh Mackay & Tim Sullivan (Ed’s), London, Sage Publications, 1990.


Appadurai, A., Modernity at Large - Cultural Dimensions of Globalisation, University of Minnesota Press, Minneapolis, 1997.


Barr, T. Newmedia.com.au, St. Leonards N.S.W., Allen & Unwin, 2000.


Flew, T. New Media: an introduction, 2nd. ed., Melbourne, Oxford University Press, 2005.


Poster, M. The Mode of Information: Post Structuralism & Social Context, Cambridge & Oxford, Polity & Blackwell, 1990.


Singer, P. One World: the ethics of globalisation, Text Publishing, Melbourne,, 2002.


Wark, M. A Hacker Manifesto, Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 2004.