ACIJ Conference: Back to the Source

A group of 14 Journalism students from the University of Canberra travelled four long hours on a bus to Sydney to attend the Australian Centre for Investigative Journalism Conference, held at ABC and UTS over two days.

One by one we wearily arrived at the bus terminal at 6am on Friday morning. Being journalists, the first comment from most was, “Did you hear about the chemical fire?!” The fire began in a factory and was causing a 10km exclusion zone in the northern suburbs, a breaking news story for Canberra.

As we boarded the bus we fell quietly into seats beside our UC companions, ready to begin the arduous journey.

The bus chokes and lurches up Northbourne Avenue, and when we finally hit the highway we all pull out our phones to tweet a picture of the chemical fire spewing black smoke into the otherwise clean Canberra air.

A chicken carcuss on the kitchen bench and pee on the toilet seat

Ahh, the joys of living on a University Residence.
For three years now I have endured the mess, the loud music, the gossip, the bitching and the creepy crawlies that bind the University of Canberra Ressies.
For the past two years, I have been able to overcome grotesque things that appear on the kitchen bench, until now.
For the past few days I have had a squeamish tummy (its not pregnancy dad, i assure you), I think it was from the coconut milk that I used in my curry that didnt have a used by date (but that i know for a fact has been in my cupboard for two years)… Anyhow, I could not eat much or drink much- which turned out quite well for this weight loss thing ive been trying- BACK TO THE STORY, I woke up to find a chicken carcass on the bench in the kitchen.
What. The. Fuck.

Running late for an interview… the life and times of Kimberley Granger.

My interview with Amanda Bresnan starts at midday at the Legislative Assembly.

I wake up early for my morning exercise, have brekkie, shower and put on my “I’m an awesome Journalist” clothes.

I head up to uni to pick up the new Edirol (voice recording equipment), and get the paper. I grab a coffee, as it is only 11.10am and I really need one after my late night.

I get to my car, remember I don’t have fuel and choose ignore that the gauge is on empty so I can get to Civic early.

I arrive in Civic at 11.30am, park my car right near where Google says the Legislative Assembly is and gather my equipment.

I start walking and realise with disbelief that I have forgotten my headphones. Uh-oh, big mistake.

I think, “It’s ok, there are plenty of shops around.”

Unfortunately, none of these shops sell headphones, from newsagents to the post office, nobody can help me.

Shit, now its 11.50am!

Ok, i’ll have to go without and hope for the best. So I start walking in the direction Google tells me and at 11.55am when I have not arrived at the L.A I ask some workmen where I can find it.

“Oh thats all the way down there,” he says as he points in the way I have just come.

Facebook

Al-Ahram newspaper in Egypt has reported on the birth of a baby. The extraordinary feature to this article is that the baby was named ‘Facebook’.

Apparently, the parents decided on this name to show their appreciation for the youth of Egypt, after the uprising. During what is now known as The Facebook Revolution, the youth of Egypt created events advertising protests, and kept the outside world in touch with the happenings inside the country.

This got me thinking… What other strange names have people called their children?

In New Zealand, parents were forced to change the name of their child when they called her ‘Talula Does The Hula From Hawaii’.

New Zealand has also banned these names: Fish and Chips (for twins), Keenan got Lucy and Sex Fruit.

In Sweden, a couple tried to name their son, get ready… ‘Brfxxccxxmnpcccclllmmnprxvclmnckssqlbb11116′.

Sweden has also banned these names: IKEA, Veranda and Metallica.

Malaysia banned parents from naming their child Chow Tow, which means smelly head.

In Japan, Akuna, which translates to Devil, was banned.

Back to the recent Egyptian revolution, the countries media was not encouraged (put lighty) to report on the protests by the Egyptian Government and state media outlets so the outside world would not see what was happening. Al Jazeera offices in Egypt  were raided and although no journalists were harmed in that, they had to create temporary spaces to keep reporting.

Photo by Ramy Raoof