Ever wanted to be given the BEST JOB EVER?!?!?!?!?!??!

No?

…wtf is wrong with you?

My World Tour, brought to you by Universal Music Australia, is offering two extraordinarily lucky people the chance to win just that.
The search is on for two talented music reporters to travel over 4 continents for free, documenting their experiences at the crème de la crème of music festivals.

The day-to-day tasks of this arduous job will include:

•    VIP access to the hottest festivals, gigs & artists around the globe throughout 2010
•    Meeting + interviewing artists and recording their experiences as they happen
•    Becoming the face of My World Tour 2010
•    Becoming a reporter for Getmusic.com.au
•    Festival and travel expenses will be paid for
•    They will be equipped with a laptop, a still & video camera, mobile phone and also receive some spending money.

Well at least they get some spending money, because before they mentioned that I just wasn’t sold at all…
The festivals they will be “required’ to visit are:

My World tour is looking for 1 boy and 1 girl between the ages of 20-30, who consider themselves to be:

•        Music-obsessed
•        Festival goers
•        Bright, energetic, adventurous, passionate
•        Personality plus
•        Multimedia/technologically competent
•        Excellent communication skills- written & verbal
•        Active social networkers

The hunt begins September 14th, so keep watching myworldtour.com.au for details on how to get your applications in. I’m predicting the same kind of frenzied hunger for the prize that an $80 million lotto jackpot pulls, so be prepared to put your pride aside because you may have to ride a few disco sticks to win this one. It’ll all be worth it when you’re sipping Moet with Daft Punk though… masks off.

In the past few years, Op Shopping has risen to popularity like an underrated ugly girl who blossoms late and wins our hearts. These days, it’s almost impossible to ask the trend-bots where they got their latest amazing outfit from without receiving a smug reply of “oh, just this op-shop I know…”

Self-satisfied show ponies.

And now the recession proof shopping method has undergone a bit of a makeover in the form of Sydney’s first ever customised Op-Shop: ‘One Noffs’.

The store will stock one off pieces, made entirely from vintage, recycled and unwanted clothes which have been remastered into fashionable gems by Sydney’s finest aspiring designers. The brilliant concept for the store was devised by The Ted Noffs Foundation, which has been empowering young people for over 40 years through various community initiatives.

How it works:
Quite simple really, if you’re studying design, love to design or have just been hiding the fact that you actually are Karl Lagerfeld, drop in to the One Noffs store and collect your garbage bag full of goodies – hand selected donated clothes.

Then, take these goodies home, get your sewing face on and get snippy. Or, when you realise you don’t actually have a sewing machine, make an appointment to go into the store and use one of theirs. Handy, right?

Designers receive a 20% cut of the sale price as well as having their bio displayed on the swing tag of any of their items. So you get free promo, you’re helping charity, and you get paid for it. Win win win.

One Noffs Store: 206A Alison Road, the corner of Avoca Street and Alison Road, Randwick NSW.

Sewing Equipment Bookings: onenoffs@noffs.org.au

Staff Contacts: Leah Greengarten greengartenl@noffs.org.au or Rupert Noffs noffsr@noffs.org.au

There’s nothing like a Kiwi accent to get Vertigo eds excited and this time it’s singer/songwriter Gin Wigmore (it probably also helps that her name is synomymous with an alcoholic beverage).

At 16, Gin won the US-based International Songwriting Contest with an acoustic ballad called “Hallelujah”, a song she’d penned in honour of her father who’d recently lost his fight with cancer. [Holy Smoke is also dedicated to her dad.] “Hallelujah” was actually one of the first songs she’d ever written, but it made Gin the competition’s youngest ever winner, and also the first unsigned artist to win the major prize, beating 11,000 songwriters from 77 countries. Pretty impressive.

Her debut album ‘Holy Smoke’ is out now and you can catch Gin at Notes in Enmore (73 Enmore Road, Enmore) on August 27.

Time poor?
Microwave happy?
I hear you my radiation friendly amigo.

Scientists are forever hyping the benefits and importance of eating breakfast, and eggs are motherflippin’ awesome, but who has time to combine these two facts into a kick ass start to the day? Not a slack-jawed, Mi Goreng junked up uni student like yourself, that’s for sure!

And not me either… Until I discovered god’s top-secret short cut that is.

The microwave egg.

What you’ll need:

- Eggs
- Toast
- Mug or Bowl
- Additions: BBQ/Tomato Sauce, Shredded Cheese, Tomato or any other vegetable that gets you going.

Step 1.
Crack one bad boy egg into a mug/small bowl. Any shape will do, just remember the wider the base, the shallower and thinner your end result will be. And make sure the mug isn’t plastic or metal either. …idiots.

Step 2.
Place egg-mug into microwave. This is where the variables come in. Starting the egg off with two 20 second turns is usually pretty safe. However this does vary depending on microwave wattage, so if you want to be safe try 20 seconds once, 15 or 10 seconds the next couple of times, then drop down to 5 second bursts until your egg is done.

REMEMBER TO CHECK YOUR EGG after each spin around the old m-wave.

Step 3:
You can tell the egg is done when the white is opaque white but the middle is still runny. Now tip this yolky bad boy onto toast or a sambo, smoosh evenly over the bread with your fork and enjoy!

Variation:
For scrambled eggs, simply crack two or more eggs into small bowl.

Add milk/ salt/ pepper/ cheese/ other herbs and goodies to personal taste, and follow same heating instructions.

Scrambled eggs can be left a little longer heating in the microwave, as there’s less chance of them “popping” (read: exploding all over your face…graphic). Just remember to keep your fork handy to re-scramble the egg after each heating.

Voila! An oil free, no-mess alternative to poached and boiled eggs. Delicious AND nutritious. Your mum can thank me later

No, not a photoshoot for Rolling Stone (we wish), it’s a photoshoot for a parody of Rolling Stone. For those of you who’ve seen our middle spread and are confused as to what we were on about, this is for you.

This was the original cover Miranda Kerr shot for Rolling Stone:

This is what our version looked like:

We’re thinking of sending a copy to Rolling Stone.

Watch what went down below. Yes we have a YouTube channel. Can I get a whoop?

For those of you interested in what the second half of the video was about. Yes, it was Alex in tights.

The Sartorialist:
Where: http://thesartorialist.blogspot.com
What: A collection of photographs capturing a stylish few on the streets.
Why: Because sometimes it’s ok to appreciate true style, and not just what General Pants tells you is cool. Yes there ARE enough holes in your jeans you slouchy layered conformist. This site attracts thousands of viewers each day, and has a cult following in fashion magazines.
Bonus: The photos of elderly gents and ladies in cummerbunds and driving gloves. Ahh to return to a time before ugg boots.

Man of Lettuce:
Where: http://www.cablog.com.au
What: Tales of the perverts, the predators, the drunk and disorderly that ride in Sydney taxis every day, as retold through the eyes of jaded cabbie Adrian Neylan.
Why: If like me the only words you’ve ever associated with cabbies come from 2am rants when the pernickety scum won’t take you home, it can restore a little Zen to your life to see just how much garbage they deal with from us. Helps explain the man inside the monster.

Garance Dore:
Where: http://www.garancedore.fr/en/
What: Vogue’s official-unofficial French blogger creates beautiful snapshots of her life through street style photos, sketches and anecdotes. Translated into English for the woefully unilingual.
Why: To remember that scoring that dream career really is possible, or to depress yourself at how shit and uninspired your own job is. Whichever half of the glass you choose to sip from.
Bonus: Try reading it in French after you’ve read it in English and pretend you could have understood all along anyway. Instant street cred.

Two Thousand
Where: http://www.twothousand.com.au
What: “A subcultural guide to Sydney”
Why: Aspiring scene whores take heed: two thousand will give you a grounding in all that’s hip and happening in your city. Follow its tips and you’ll be the next Alexa Cheung, getting all jiggy with the ‘it kids’ in no time.
Bonus: Domestic jet setters will be able to suss out what’s happening in and around Brisbane (www.fourthousand.com.au) and Melbourne (www.threethousand.com.au)

Texts from last night
Where: http://www.textsfromlastnight.com
What: This blog invites users to anonymously upload those seedy late night texts you hoped to keep safely hidden in your box of filthy filthy shame.
Why: Because people, those people who are that special kind of drunk, the kind of drunk where they’re still able to textpress themselves, those people … well they’re pretty fucking hilarious.

All to often, I’m approached in the street and asked questions on the history of Australian Astronomy.

Well not really, but if I were, I’d be left with no answers and most likely resort to throwing a DVD of ‘The Dish’ in their face before bolting.

If you, like one in three Australians, share this crippling ignorance of our impressive role in the history of astronomy, weep no more.

UTS Library is hosting Markets Forum again, and Dr Nick Lomb from Sydney Observatory will present a talk on the History of Australian Astronomy. He has spent over 30 years with the Observatory, so he’ll teach you more than either Deep Impact or Buzz Lightyear ever could.

2009 is the International Year of Astronomy, marking the 400th year since Italian scientist Galileo turned a telescope to the sky and asked ‘Sup?’

Things will get a little political when Dr Lomb looks at the Governments role in the past and future developments in Australian Astronomy, both the good bits and their ugly friends too.

It’s being held this Thursday the 23rd of July at 1pm – 2pm. No RSVP required and best of all it’s free, so take off (HA!) on down there and maybe learn a thing or two.

Feel free to BYO lunch.

Venue: Blake Library (City Campus)
Lecture room 4.g, Level 4
Cnr Quay St and Ultimo Rd
Haymarket

Ever dreamt of being a television presenter? Watched ‘So You Think You Can Dance?’ and wondered how the heck Natalie Bassingwaithe and her squinty-eyed-stunned-mullet self could have scored a gig presenting when you haven’t?

Your free ride to fame has arrived.

Channel [V] is looking for fresh, young hosts to step up for the 2009 presenters search. What have you got to lose? James Mathison and Yumi Stynes were discovered through precisely the same way, so this shit does happen.

The hunt is on for a presenter with a kickass knowledge of music, a passion for writing and an undeniable ‘it’ factor, to score an enviable role in music television. The winner will join current VJs Renee Bargh, Danny Clayton, Kyle Linahan and Jane Gazzo.

Details of live auditions to be held around the country are yet to be announced, but registering at www.channelv.com.au will ensure you’re kept up to date on all the latest during the competition.

Lucky finalists will then compete against each other at Homebake 2009 in front of a live television audience. The winner will be announced at Homebake during a television broadcast.

Quit your day job and go for it! You know you want to.

Slide by Somedays* on Wednesday 24th June and you’ll be in for a mouthful of contentious culture from Sydney artist Frank Fable.

The exhibit, titled ‘Deconstruction of this lonely city’, was created during Fable’s two-month retreat to the bush, an exercise undertaken in order to express better the loneliness one can feel when surrounded by the bustle of a big city.

The work is gritty and disruptive, yet somehow dreamlike enough to remain aesthetically pleasing. The vivid prints are all interwoven with Fable’s signature satire and sick humour.

To get a taste that will leave you wanting more visit www.frankfable.com.au

The show runs until the 20th of July. Don’t miss out.

*Somedays – 72B Fitzroy St, Surry Hills, NSW 2010

What do Spain, Germany, France, Italy, Argentina and China have in common?

They’re actually the same country?

Incorrect. Shame on you.

The correct answer for those still playing is in fact that they are all possible destinations for the ABBEY Language Travel program. And that amazing opportunity you’ve been waiting for to become cool with life experience is here – ABBEY is currently looking for interested student participants.

The aim of the tours is to improve language fluency and speaking confidence, so two weeks of language lessons are included. Très Bien, Oui Oui, C’est Magnifique, J’adore! …and all those other half-assed attempts at sounding French which prove I really do need to sign up for one of these trips.

So if you’ve ever dreamt of being the token ‘exploited yet wildly desired foreign exchange student’ from the moving pictures, throw off your snug little security blankie and sign up!

Places are still available for Spanish learners (beginners to advanced) to join the upcoming tour to Buenos Aires this October. If you’re still dithering on the fence, there’s currently a June special of $4700pp for the combined flight and tour package. This 17 day package covers the costs of lessons, accommodation, all meals, transfers, excursions, activities etc.

Spain! Just imagine: sexually charged Matadors and Flamenco dancers on every corner, friendly bulls ready to charge enemies for your amusement, a free flowing river of Gazpacho for all …and various other things I’m sure are as common in Spain as riding your skippy to school is in Australia. Check out a fellow UTS student’s more atypical and politically charged experience in the country here.

Full detailed information packs for planned 2009-2010 tours are available at www.abbeylanguagetravel.com/LanguageExcursions2009-10.pdf

Comprender?