Drawing near the end of its cycle, Semester 1 of 2015 has found its ground and managed to compile a plethora of different assessments that require my undivided attention and engagement, which are all due in the same week.

This pile of work ahead leaves me to retreat to the all too familiar battle grounds of the State Library of Victoria. A solemn place where people either come to expand their mental horizons in a tranquil, quiet state or to (like myself) battle the ever amounting work load that seems to only bury them for extended periods.

Knowing the battlegrounds quite well, I have managed to secure a table in the quite room and can now attempt to get a grasp on the struggle that is no doubt ahead.

– donandsherri

Teasing their audience with a multitude of different media each week, Tame Impala is generating a great deal of hype for their heavily anticipated new record ‘Currents’. This weeks instalment comes in the form of a new single, titled – DISCIPLES.

DISCIPLES – is a synth heavy track thats underpinned by the dreamy vocals of Kevin Parker. Clocking in at just under the 2:00 minute mark, this new single is one of Tame Impalas shortest tracks to date. It comes after Kevin Parker hosted an AMA (Ask Me Anything) on reddit last week; prompted by one of the questions to release a new track, Parker sticking to his usual carefree attitude, did just that.

The album ‘Currents’ isn’t due out until July, however if this current trend of weekly interviews, singles and AMA’s continues, there will be no shortage of material to keep us entertained until then.

CHECK OUT THE TRACK BELOW:

– donandsherri

Dedicating a whole day to read the required 5 readings and complete the subsequent 1200 word annotated bibliography proved to be a fruitful venture, having managed to complete the whole task. It did however, drive me to the point of insanity & complete and utter mental and physical breakdown.

I have come out the other side, slightly more enlightened and educated…but full of resentment and a set of sore eyes.

– donandsherri

After having had quite a busy schedule with both university assessments and personal commitments, the blogosphere would have noted a severe lack of presence from his particular site.

However, after successfully navigating all the requirements of a stereotypical student life it is safe to say (in the words of Arnold Schwarzenegger) “I’ll be back” (posting blogs, that is).

– donandsherri

13-04-15

This marked the day that I commenced taking the footage of my Nonna (grandmother) to be used for the Media Portrait.

This was both a rewarding and challenging task. Having lived a fast passed life in Melbourne for the better part of 4 years, time spent at home with my family has dramatically diminished. Being gifted the opportunity to sit down with my Nonna for an extended period of time and having the chance to finally delve into the parts of her life that have otherwise been undisclosed proved to be one of the most rewarding times spent with her. Although she was in front of a camera and prompted into opening up about aspects she would rather leave unnoticed, she managed to hold herself very well.

The total amount of footage captured was an astonishing 2 hours and 15 minutes. A lot more than the mere 2 minutes required to comply with the Media Portrait requirements, yet not nearly enough to fully understand the amazing life that she has lived and is still continuing to live.

Watch This Space

– donandsherri

After playing host to a couple of overseas friends, it had finally come time to make the much talked about and highly dreaded voyage down the great ocean road.

After years of avoiding such trips, the responsibility had fallen on me to act as chauffeur to our guests. Departing Mordor (Geelong) at 8:00am we navigated the first part of the trip with relative ease, managing to make it to Lorne by 10:00am with the obligatory tourist stops along the way. Then the traffic hit. For 40km we (and a multitude of other cars) were stuck behind a tourist, who couldn’t quite grasp then concept of a “slow vehicle turnout lane”. This pain was quickly remedied when the car made a pit stop in Apollo Bay (presumably to ask someone what a slow vehicle turnout lane is).

Pushing forward we were now at the helm of the crusade of cars behind us, and I felt it was my job to push the group as fast as we could possibly handle, taking corners at 1.05 times the recommended speed.

Stopping in at various lookouts and tourist hotspots along the way, I now managed to gain some appreciation for the road and rugged coastline we were navigating as well as the beauty it beheld.

Finishing our trek at ‘The Bay Of Islands’ (7.5 hours after we left) everyone was ready to pack it in and fold like a like a well made hotel bed sheet. This now left 3 sleeping passengers in the car with only myself and the radio to make the journey back.

Rounding out an odd 11 hours of driving, we pulled up back into the driveway and stumbled out of the car. Somewhat more enlightened than before, but definitely more tired.

– donandsherri

The inspiration for the exposé outlined in Project Brief 3 comes from my Grandmother.

Having grown up in an Italian household; family has played a strong part in the formation of my character. The connection to my family is most apparent when talking to my Nonna (Grandmother).

Nonna had grown up in Italy through the depression years and has faced some of the most horrific and ruthless challenges of of anyone that I have ever encountered, including famine, war and relocating her whole life.

It is for these reasons that I have chosen to centre the portrait around her. My biggest idol.

– donandsherri

Having found myself in a somewhat usual predicament; all first round assessments due in and not enough time to complete them all, this blog managed to get swept to the wayside in an attempt to submit all the assignments on time.

I am pleased to announce that all assignments managed to get submitted and only a few nights worth of sleep were lost to this great cause.

However, I am adamant that this will not happen again…. Hopefully.

– donandsherri

26-03-15  10:52am

This is the time I find myself sitting in the state library, an eerily quite place for the time of day, writing this blog thinking – man, when did I all of a sudden find find myself with this gargantuan amount of work due in?

Having spent the previous week travelling both directions from Torquay to Melbourne to accommodate both study and familial duties, time seemed to have dissipated in front of me and left me a week behind.

This inconvenience has disrupted as I have burnt the Peter Garrett (Midnight Oil) and managed to find myself now, only 2 readings, an assessment plan, and gathering data for my Self Portrait behind. Having had little rest in the last 96 hours, I have been able to enter an alternate state of delirium and discovered that all of the classes held this week have been highly informative and engaging.

Although I would like to avoid this current situation I find myself in, in the future – I have come to find that I am able to catch up and remain active with all material that is being given to us. A somewhat oddly pleasant thought.

– donandsherri

24-03-15

The focus of the todays Lectorial was threefold:

The first instalment was a talk about the way in which ideas, unless put into practice, are essentially useless and won’t grant you any sort of reality. It was presented by a man whose demeanour was reminiscent of the Rabbit in Alice In Wonderland.

The second phase of the Lectorial consisted of a collaborative exercise between the people either side of you developing an interchangeable story, penned to post-it notes. This exercise proved to be quite worthwhile as it not only granted me insight into the creative minds of my contemporaries, but also enabled the group to collect ideas and develop a (albeit simple) story.

Part III of the class was again a presentation by one of RMITs lecturers. This brief presentation centred around the idea of ‘editing’ as a practice, and the endless amounts of connotations that can be drawn by making an edit. The concept that I enjoyed the most from this part of the Lectorial was the idea that the images (scenes) that you choose to place on either side of the cut only act as half the reason you make an opinion…It is “the space between cuts, the collision of two images where meaning is formed”.

-donandsherri