Words to Lyrics Ben Ho's observations from the cloud

30 March 2010

Sydney Universities Dates 1H 2010

Filed under: Forward Thinking — Tags: , — Ben @ 9:11 pm

Edit: ANU added to list.

I’ve decided to compile the semester dates for the major Sydney universities, so it becomes easy to plan your plans! And also in true Wikipedia style, I’ve listed the websites from which the information comes from, so you can verify yourself if you need to.

Hope you find this useful!

DATES 2010

Notes: As reported by the university, therefore weekends may or may not be counted. If you have additional information, please email me.

Mid-Semester Break Study Vacation Examinations Mid-year recess Semester 2 start
MQ 5 Apr to 16 Apr 8 Jun to 25 Jun 26 Jun to 1 Aug 2 Aug
UNSW 2 Apr to 11 Apr 5 Jun to 10 Jun 11 Jun to 28 Jun 29 Jun to 18 Jul 19 Jul
USYD 2 Apr to 9 Apr 7 Jun to 11 Jun 14 Jun to 26 Jun 27 Jun to 25 Jul 26 Jul
UTS 26 Apr to 30 Apr 12 Jun to 2 Jul 3 Jul to 1 Aug 2 Aug
UWS 19 Apr to 23 Apr 5 Jun to 9 Jun 10 Jun to 27 Jun 28 Jun to 23 Jul 26 Jul
ANU 2 Apr to 18 Apr 5 Jun to 9 Jun 10 Jun to 26 Jun 27 Jun to 18 Jul 19 Jul

Sources:

MQ: http://www.mq.edu.au/currentstudents/undergrads/campuslife-dates.html
UNSW: https://my.unsw.edu.au/student/resources/AcademicCalendar.html
USYD: http://www.usyd.edu.au/future_students/domestic_undergraduate/admissions/semester_dates/index.shtml
UTS: http://www.handbook.uts.edu.au/dates_academic.html
UWS: http://www.uws.edu.au/currentstudents/current_students/managing_your_study/dates/2010_academic_year_dateline
ANU: http://info.anu.edu.au/ovc/Committees/110PP_Principal_Dates

28 March 2010

Photography Roadmap 2010

Filed under: Forward Thinking — Tags: , — Ben @ 10:54 pm

I wrote about my technology roadmap earlier on, and now I’d like to share with you my ambitions for my photography this year. It’s better to write it down, than to reproduce it in verbal form when someone asks.

With the workload from university steadily increasing, less time is being spent on getting out there and shooting things. The upcoming mid-semester break invites more chances to shoot stuff, but sadly, it will still be filled with work.

The first step for the next three weeks or so, is to start again, and find things to shoot.

I’m also finding interesting places for photo shoots, because I really want to focus on portrait photography this year. Other genres that deserve my attention this year include music photography and to a smaller extent, sports photography.

For music, it is simply going to people’s gigs and shooting it. Very simple. If you have seen my work from ‘Coffee House’ in years past, you will understand what I mean.

While sports isn’t something I want to specialise in, the Winter Olympics has reminded me of the occasional sports shoots that I have done. And do you get that feeling where you want to occasionally revisit something that you like but don’t normally do/have? Well that’s how I feel about sports photography.

But let me tell you what I want to achieve with portraits. What motivates me is the thousands of ugly, disproportioned, and terrible photos on Facebook. (I might have written this before…) I want to give people nice photos of themselves, for free.

The most difficult part is to start, and that is what I must overcome soon. Because a lazy attitude won’t get me anywhere, but leave one in the pits of misery.

In the meantime, you can browse photos that I shot in the past from the links of my main website.

23 March 2010

Film Review: LOL

Filed under: Arts — Tags: , , , — Ben @ 11:09 pm

I think I’ll write short, sharp reviews because I don’t think people want to know everything about a film before they see it, just the general gist of it. See what you think.

Review: LOL (French Film Festival)

If there’s one word to describe LOL, it’s ‘parallels’. Because that’s essentially what it’s about.

Lola (Christa Theret), a student at a Paris high school has her fair share of friends, complex relationships, and a full social life. Anne (Sophie Marceau), recently divorced, juggles her professional life with raising four kids, and a renewed interest in finding love. We follow both of them, and the events of their life over the course of three trimesters.

The juxtaposition of seemingly mundane events, like a house party and an anti-drug presentation at the school complement perfectly with witty dialogue and screenplay. This along with plenty of laughs throughout make LOL a refreshing feel-good film.

When watching it last Saturday, what was interesting to note, was that at times the subtitles were necessary, not because of the French language, but because of the amount of laughter. If you want a fresh view on teenage life, then this is a film to watch.

The last screening is on Wednesday 24 March, 8:15pm at Palace Norton St cinema.

20 March 2010

Politics and Personal Agenda

Filed under: Rant — Tags: , , — Ben @ 10:11 pm

Just a quick one tonight! Again, something I want to get off my chest. Also, I promise that the review for Skirt Day will be up tomorrow morning!

I’ve just finished reading this article in the Sydney Morning Herald, and it reminded me of some similar stories during this week. The article is about NSW Premier Kristina Keneally cycling to work.

Much news has been written about the NSW Government’s commitment to make Sydney more cyclist friendly. One project that is in progress is the construction of bicycle-only lanes in the CBD. Some would infer that Keneally, a frequent bicycle rider, appears committed to completing this project to please people with a similar interest (and also to appear to have done something useful while in office)

A similar issue was discussed during the last week.

Waverley Council, who are responsible for the Eastern Suburbs and Bondi area, introduced new rules that ban smoking around parks and reserves, and outside restaurants and cafés. This was welcomed by anti-smoking groups and beach and coffee lovers.

Later in the week, Willoughby City Council, who are responsible for the Chatswood area, made a statement saying they will not follow suit yet, pending further discussion on this matter.

What you ought to know, is that the councillor who introduced the rules at Bondi was a former chain smoker who has lost a lung due to cancer. Also, the mayor of Willoughby City Council, is a reformed smoker. It seems that personal stories are now the new way to convince people into supporting policies.

Does it appear to you that politicians are doing things to satisfy their personal agenda? Granted, the entire society can never be completely happy with any decision. Do you think that public servants should keep their personal agenda out of politics?

3 March 2010

Grow(ing) up.

Filed under: Rant — Tags: , — Ben @ 4:00 pm

Before I begin, I feel that some people haven’t got the capacity to take into account all sides of this issue. So let’s set things straight.

Every time a celebrity or well-known person does something outside what we are used to seeing, there is always a group of people who will whinge about how what they have done is demeaning and offensive to greater society.

One example is when Daniel Radcliffe, who we all know and love as the actor who plays Harry Potter, appeared in a stage of production of Equus. Equus is all about a boy’s love of horses, and features Radcliffe fully nude in one scene.

Another is Lindsey Vonn, the American alpine skier. She was on the cover of Sports Illustrated recently, and not only that, but also had a section in the Swimsuit Issue.

Also from the Winter Olympics, the Canadian women’s ice hockey team were caught out on the ice drinking and smoking after their win against the United States for the gold medal.

The problem arises when someone or a group of people (e.g. a parents’ organisation) makes a lot of noise about said well-known person and condemns their actions.

Parents (especially from England) said that Radcliffe was setting a bad example to children, by encouraging them to do something risqué (possibly something related to nudity). Likewise, people said that Vonn was no longer a role model for young girls getting into snow sports.

The first thing these narrow-minded people need to realise is that celebrities and people in general mature as they get older. Daniel Radcliffe can’t play characters that are geared towards children forever, he has a career path to follow that leads to bigger and better things.

In Vonn’s case, athletes like people in general like to have some variety in life, and it is completely harmless doing a fashion shoot. Especially when you just happen to look good.

As for the Canadians, they deserved that gold medal because they won the match. So what’s wrong with celebrating? I’m hoping you’ve been to a party before.

For parents, what they need to realise is that by over-protecting your children, you are exposing them to higher risk activities in the future. For example, if your kid climbed up and fell off a tree when they were young, would you think that they have learned not to put themselves in such a risk in the future?

For narrow-minded people, if you think something is socially acceptable, shouldn’t those in the public eye be allowed to think the same?

Why are we so selective about what is correct and what isn’t? Why have we not said anything discouraging about Emma Watson becoming a major figure in the fashion world?

Have we forgotten how society learns from the risks it takes?

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