For the last… well, as long as I can remember now, the story of the two men, Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran, who made the mistake which will cost them their lives has bombarded us. I don’t mean to bombard you even further, but I think it is a very controversial issue. Back in 2005 when Chan and Sukumaran, the men considered to be the two ‘ring leaders’ of the bali nine group, first entered the spotlight, I was highly unaware of what was going on. I don’t even remembering it happening, I mean I was only nine years old and I doubt I would have even known what heroin was all those years ago. When the men came back into the spotlight recently and it was confirmed that the men would face execution, I knew where I stood. I thought that despite the fact they were reformed prisoners and had gone through extensive rehabilitation, they did what they did and they can’t change that. Back when they made their mistake they knew what they were doing and how dangerous and stupid of a thing it was to do. They knew the strict laws in Indonesia and Bali and that it was very likely they would get caught, especially considering the huge amounts of illegal substances they were trafficking. Yes they were young and stupid and probably just wanted some extra cash, but they were dealing with a foreign country; they and Australia has to respect the laws and beliefs of Indonesia. I did feel very sorry for them and had no doubt they were good people and very, very regretful of their past, however, it did not change the fact that they had made the mistake.

Last Friday afternoon I was listening to Triple J hack when they brought up the execution of Chan and Sukumaran. Triple J hack is a segment on Triple J hosted by Tom Tilley where he discusses ‘current affairs, music, politics and culture with youth in mind’. Last week they had special guests rapper 360 and comedian Becky Lucas. They explored some very interesting issues regarding Chan and Sukumaran that made me think, and then I finally saw where everyone else was coming from. I’m not sure exactly when it was that I had this change of mind but there were great points made out during the whole show including one of Lucas’ comments during the show, “I really don’t like this whole rules stuff. Like all of a sudden it’s like ‘well those are the rules,’ you know and it’s those same people saying ‘well those are the rules, you know the rules,’ they’re the same people that get upset when they get a traffic fine.” That comment is so true, like really, what are rules? The rules or legal system in Indonesia in Bali is so backwards and corrupt anyway, they kind of make it up as they go along. I mean, they will give someone who committed a murder a sentence of a few years, if that or sometimes even bail. Then someone who smoked a bit of pot a will be hit with a huge sentence. It doesn’t really make sense. Especially the fact that the death penalty is still in use. The death penalty is such an old punishment which I believe should not be practiced anywhere anymore, not even for extreme cases such as murder or rape (I believe suffering with what you have done for the rest of your life is a far worse penalty)… I mean come on we’re in 2015.

Chan and Sukumaran are reformed and have done wonderful things during their time in prison. Yes, they did make a mistake when they were young and stupid, but they surely would not do it again. Imagine the stress they would be going through right now just waiting for death… That is pretty brutal. The Australian government and the Australian people have and are doing all they can to save these men’s poor souls, but unfortunately I think the time has come and there is not much else that can be done. I think the Indonesian president Joko Widodo has made his decision.

I encourage you to listen to the podcast of the Triple J hack segment I have referred to, as it is quite interesting. http://mpegmedia.abc.net.au/triplej/hack/daily/hack_fri_2015_3_6.mp3

During this week I have been preparing my self portrait, going to different locations to gather all that I need to complete ‘me’. During today’s tutorial we were given the opportunity to further our ideas and continue to work and brainstorm on ourselves. I feel as though this has given me much more of a sense of direction of where I am going with my self portrait and how I can define myself through different mediums.

Today in the Media One lectorial, the idea was presented that ‘Media is Everywhere’. Following some discussion about this idea, in small groups of 4-6 people we were allocated a certain part of the city to go and wander. A list was to be made of ALL the things/objects/sounds/visions that are considered to be types of ‘mediated communication’. As well as creating a list of all of these things, we also had to notice these things. It was a social activity so in our groups we pointed things out to each other, discussed different ideas, etc. My group were given the section of Swanson St between La Trobe St and Bourke St. There were many things around the area which quite obviously fall under the concept of media. Some of these more apparent things included:

• advertisements everywhere: on buildings, trams, screens, public boards, etc.
• public transport including announcements, timetables, etc.
• roadwork signs and traffic signs (traffic lights, stop signs, etc.)
• magazines, newspapers and books
• posters for festivals, shows and concerts
• lots of signage in general along the streets for restaurants and shops
• people using technology everywhere as it has become our way of life – heads down at screens, headphones in… smart phones, iPods, laptops, tablets, etc.
• graffiti and art on streets, alley ways, etc.
• city noises/sounds – traffic, trams, conversation, buskers, bike bells, protesters, etc.
• personal use of media: smart phones to check up on social media (Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat), text messages, camera/video recorder

As I mentioned earlier, the things which have been listed above are quite obviously media concepts or things. These sorts of mediated interactions or communications can be found in most cities or busy places, but nowadays some of the things would be found in most places. Media is now more than ever a part of society’s everyday life; it is everywhere you look. As media is now everywhere you look and there are the obvious surroundings, there is also media in forms which wouldn’t ‘stand out’ to you, but more you have to ‘notice’ them. They may not be hiding but they may be things that you wouldn’t usually associate as being a context of media. Some of these things include:

• branding on clothes making fashion statements
• mannequins in shop windows with new fashion trends
• sale signs in shop windows as well as flashing lights to attract consumers
• different cultures all through the city (China Town, different food types everywhere, etc.)
• branding on plastic bags for different stores rather than plain bags
• Police men/vehicles
• the homeless

As a tram went by while participating in this activity, I noticed the ad it had on it. For months now McDonalds have been doing the $1 frozen drink promotion, however, this particular ad was for Hungry Jacks. It looked almost identical to the McDonalds ad besides the difference in the franchise name. This shows the competition different companies have with each other, always trying to beat each other or have better deals, not only in the fast food industry but every industry.

Another aspect which stood out was the big group of people sitting on the steps at the front of the State Library. They were chanting and holding big signs saying ‘stop persecution in Tibet’, ‘stop cultural genocide’. It was a little hard to understand what was going on as I didn’t even know what the posters were meaning but this was soon relieved when one of the members of this group came to us and offered to explain what they were doing. I still didn’t quite understand but what I got from it was the many years ago (maybe 50 or so) the Dalai Lama fled from Tibet to go to India and many people followed him. He has since stayed in India and is now taking up their beliefs/practices/etc. The people of Tibet are obviously not happy about this as he is their leader but no longer following what they believe in. This was the first time I have heard of this so is obviously not a big part of media at the moment, however, every little thing people do to help their cause gets it out there and there would have been quite a number of people who would have seen this today, helping them to get their leader or guru back to where he belongs.