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Law revue terrible

Saturday, 13 September 2008 in Law, The Sydney Grind, University by Enoch Lau | No comments

“Should I care? Should I care?”

If the question is about the Sydney Law Revue 2008, the answer is no. (The quote is from the “Holding out for a US Hero” skit, the closing skit.)

Last year, I wrote about the half-executed jokes that had the potential to be so much funnier. I wish I could make a similar comment this year. This time round, the directors somehow found it convenient to expend entirely with the punchlines in jokes. Instead, it was replaced with flat, meaningless drivel so that when it got to the closing, I was pretty much clapping out of politeness instead of sincere appreciation.

The occasional joke made in bad taste is to be expected in a revue; in fact, you could say it defines a revue. Normally, I’d have a good laugh at them. But given that the rest of the revue was so flat, when the (bad) jokes came around, the audience just didn’t buy them. We even had a heckler in the audience - and I pretty much agreed with everything he had to shout out. At one stage, one of the backstage members stuffed up with the mop between skits; that was almost one of the funniest moments (!).

China, with its astronomical growth and the Beijing Olympics just past, was an obvious topical subject. They didn’t fail to deliver on that count, but the jokes were so poorly delivered that they might have been mistaken for blatant racism.

To regain the confidence of its audience, the Law Revue in future years needs to create a coherent presentation that carries some kind of energy throughout the performance. A little bit of introspection might help; I’m sure if the directors actually sat down and listened to some of their own jokes, they might agree that they weren’t quite so funny after all. There was no doubt some great talent on stage; whether this talent was used most effectively is another question.

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Why academic freedom must be preserved: University of Sydney law lecturer Ben Saul writes about preserving academic freedom from political interference.

Tuesday, 19 August 2008 by Enoch Lau | No comments

The SciTech Library

Friday, 8 August 2008 in Current affairs, Photography, The Sydney Grind, University by Enoch Lau | 4 comments

The Darlington side of main campus of the University of Sydney was a renovator’s dream. Its endless array of concrete slabs might lay claim to coherence in some kind of brutalist architecture, but I suspect the university pretty much built the Engineering and Architecture faculties out of whatever spare cash they could find at the time.

The USyd Central building adjacent to the Union’s Wentworth building is part of the Campus 2010 plan to reverse the years of neglect that have rendered other universities with substantially more attractive (and marketable) campuses. The first part of the USyd Central to open, the SciTech Library, has now been delivered, and it sure was a delivery from heaven.

When you first walk into SciTech, the thing that strikes you is how different it is from any other library that you’ve been to. With your first steps past the stylishly glassy entrance, you are presented with a large, welcoming atrium that envelops you and draws you in; the splendour and the interesting topology of the library makes you feel like you are viewing spectacular scenery from the top of a mountain. To the right is a lounge-like area, with playful, lime-green chairs that wouldn’t look out of place in an Ikea store. To the left are the book stands, and in front is a sunken valley of study cubicles. At night, the entrance area is tastefully lit up with small spotlights that cast small pools of light on the soft carpet, and during the day, there is ample natural sunlight from the wall of glass.

SciTech Library

As I intimated above, the furniture is one thing that sets SciTech apart from any other library I’ve seen. Colourful, distinctive, modern and definitely playful - as I write, some people are stacking up the lime-green chairs in various configurations, possible as the chairs are made up of three conjoined cylinders - the furniture is fitting for a science and technology library. From the jelly-coloured red and orange stools to the Ikea-like chairs, they are all inviting and very comfortable.

SciTech Library

The library, from the ground up, has been designed to be more than just a repository of books. It appears to have been designed for students to learn, to study and to collaborate. The “study valley” that I alluded to before encases you as a cocoon encases a caterpillar, drawing you away from the hustle and bustle of the outside world into a study world of your own. The hours melt away as you study in one of the the plush, multicoloured pods, or the seats that line the green river-like divider that separates the study valley from one of the computer access areas. As you meander between the mellow-coloured bookshelves, you come across islands of tranquillity, where you can sit down and enjoy a book or two. If you prefer electronic learning, power points are abundant, and there are multiple computer rooms, with desktop computers and laptops - now that is something I haven’t seen before anywhere in the university. The only minor complaint is that the wireless connection here isn’t as stable as it could be.

Ultimately, a library isn’t much of a library unless it stores books. Although I find it disappointing that in the move to the new library, a large portion of the Engineering collection was moved into archival storage, because there just isn’t room at SciTech, there is something that they have done that is quite interesting; some shelves hold the book so that the front is displayed, much like special book displays at book stores.

SciTech Library

If the rest of the Campus 2010 improvements are of the quality and thoughtfulness of the SciTech Library, the university is onto a winner. The design of the SciTech library shows a thoughtfulness to the needs of students and staff at the university. I look forward to the new law library with much anticipation - and to spending many days and nights at SciTech.

SciTech LibrarySciTech LibrarySciTech Library

More photos here.

The SciTech Library: Level 1, Jane Foss Russell Building, on City Road

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2008 Semester 2 Calendar

Tuesday, 5 August 2008 in The Sydney Grind, University by Enoch Lau | No comments

I’ve created my own wall calendar for semester 2, 2008, and you are free to use it if you like it. It’s big enough to see it at a desk’s depth away and to jot down important events and assessments. The calendar is correct for the University of Sydney, and I’m not sure whether it would be suitable for use at other universities.

I have other monthly calendars and a computer-based calendar to do all my actual event scheduling, but being able to see the entire semester in full does put everything into perspective - a semester really is quite short! (I’m crossing off the days as they go by - a ticking time bomb!)

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Sydney or UNSW law school?

Sunday, 27 July 2008 in Law, The Sydney Grind, University by Enoch Lau | No comments

There are few things that law students at Sydney University and at UNSW will defend more passionately: the quality of their respective institutions - just which law school is better?

I don’t profess to have the answer to this question, because it is unfair for me to answer this question when I have only attended one of them (Sydney). However, surely, a recourse to statistics would provide us with an objective answer?

And with statistics, UNSW has proclaimed themselves the King of Law Schools in Australia. They claim:

The Faculty of Law at the University of New South Wales in Sydney leads all Australian universities for the quality of learning and teaching law. This is the second consecutive year the Faculty of Law, together with UNSW Australian School of Business, has achieved the top ranking in the business, law and economics cluster.

This claim is followed by a bunch of graphs that show that UNSW scores higher on a number of metrics, including “overall satisfaction”, “generic skills” and “good teaching” as measured by the Group of Eight. So far, this is all very convincing evidence that UNSW is better, right?

As Daniel pointed out when we were perusing these graphs together, there is a fundamental flaw with the statistics as presented. Where would they obtain measurements for metrics such “overall satisfaction” from? From their graduates of course. Unless they performed some kind of normalisation between the different universities, the outcome is liable to be affected by, for example, the difference between what Sydney and UNSW law students expect from their courses (maybe Sydney students just demand more?) or bias arising from the pride that students have in their own institution.

Clearly, statistics are one factor to consider in your choice of law school or university. However, it would be a mistake to base your decision merely on these statistics, or other statistics such as the proportion of graduates in full-time employment after a year (maybe more students from a particular university went into post-graduate study?). There is more to university than that. You need to consider the experience outside the classroom, in the form of clubs and societies and extracurricular activities. There is also a difference in culture that you need to consider. This was best highlighted for me when I watched the UNSW Law Revue last year; their jokes weren’t funny to me for the most part, yet all the UNSW-ers seemed to enjoy it; I put it down to a difference in culture.

So what do I think? I certainly don’t regret choosing Sydney University (for both my science and law degrees). I enjoy the intellectualism that pervades the place, although law students at Sydney tend to be more competitive than I find optimal.

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SUITS Computer Artwork Exhibition

Tuesday, 4 September 2007 in Goings-on, Photography, University by Enoch Lau | No comments

I’m blogging this as I sit just inside the glass wall of the Eastern Avenue complex, watching the constant stream of people walking past, both inside the building, and outside in the wintry conditions, hands in pockets, clutching a folder tightly, heads together, intensely gossiping. I’m like a fly in the corner, observing the movements of people as they go about their business at the university. If only they’d just look up slightly…

I suspect that the location of the SUITS Computer Artwork Exhibition 2007, as part of the University of Sydney Union’s Verge Arts Festival, while not disastrous, could be better. We had originally intended for them to be hung up with fishing wire from the air conditioning grate in the ceiling, but the building manager told the festival conveners that that wasn’t allowed (despite their earlier assurances). We settled for sticky-taping it to the glass wall instead, which also meant that we had to have them higher up to deter vandals and thieves.

View of exhibition from outside

So far, I’d say about 1 person in every 50 who walks past takes a glance upwards, pauses in momentary reflection, and then continues on their way. Part of the problem is that because of the glare from the glass, if you’re walking from the direction of Fisher, you won’t actually notice that there’s anything coming up. But of course, as the exhibition coordinator, I am liable to over-estimate the beauty of the thing that I have created.

Finally, I’d like to publicly thank Edmund for his assistance in the preparation of the artworks, and Balint for his contribution of his stunning particle simulation works.

Here are the PDF versions of the files, if you’re too lazy to head over to see it for yourself :) (warning: some of these files are BIG)

  1. Inside: title, Outside: automata
  2. Inside: balint-2, Outside: dielectric
  3. Inside: internet, Outside: balint-3
  4. Inside: apophysis-2, Outside: apophysis-1
  5. Inside: balint-1, Outside: lorenz

The Microsoft Publisher files can also be found here.

Update: I’ve uploaded them to my gallery as well.

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Verge Arts Festival 2007

Monday, 3 September 2007 in Goings-on, University by Enoch Lau | No comments

After going through the Verge Arts Festival programme booklet, I’ve jotted down the events that look pretty cool and I’ll try and attend some of them, time and company permitting (well, the last two years were miserable failures in terms of me actually attending the events I intended to attend):

  • Free Vittoria’s Organic Rainforest Alliance coffee: Wed 5/9, 12-1pm, Festival Tent, Manning Forecourt
  • Photosoc’s hats and feathers photo shoot: Mon 10/9, 11-2pm, Isabel Fidler, Manning
  • Laura Imbruglia: Wed 12/9, 1-2pm, Festival Tent
  • Jazz at Hermann’s: Wed 12/9, 5-7pm
  • Theatresports Grand Final: Wed 12/9, 7:30pm, $5 Access
  • Verge Twilight Market & Zine Fair: Fri 14/9, 6-10pm, Science Rd & Graffiti Tunnel
  • Fuck Gender, Let’s Dance: Fri 14/9, 8pm, Hermann’s Bar
  • Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban: Sun 16/9, 4pm, Main Quad - needs booking
  • SUCS Comedy Gala: Mon 17/9, 12pm, Manning Bar
  • Zombie make-up workshop: Tues 18/9, 5-7pm, Festival Tent
  • Art by Women: Wed 19/9, 5pm, The Loggia, Manning
  • Artistic Expressions of the Local Community: Thurs 20/9, 3-5pm, Festival Tent
  • Farewell under the stars: Sun 23/9, 6pm, Quadrangle lawns

Exhibitions:

  • IT Society Exhibition: from Tues 4/9, Eastern Ave - MUST SEE… not that I haven’t already seen it :)
  • Let the walls speak: 30 years of passionate dissent: from Wed 5/9, The Bevery, Holme Building
  • Art/photo/lit competition exhibition: from Tues 11/9, The Loggia

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UNSW Law Revue, M-Fest and other events of celestial magnitude

Wednesday, 29 August 2007 in Goings-on, Law, Photography by Enoch Lau | 4 comments

I’ve been meaning to blog more regularly, but I’ve just been too busy to write stuff up for your enjoyment. Sorry, I lie. I’ve just been too lazy, and there’s just so much going on in my head recently, it’s hard to concentrate on writing a coherent piece of prose.

Aiya, UNSW Law Revue 2007 (entitled Poll Fiction) was a load of shit. A complete waste of a Thursday, the leaden acting, lame jokes that lacked even the concept of a punch-line and the bright spotlights that seemed intent on burning my retinas out made the night a memorable event for all the wrong reasons. I won’t be going back any time soon la~ Fine, there were some enjoyable skits, but the drive home (thanks Tommy!) was a more interesting experience than the revue itself. Yeah, what he said. Daniel and I were youtube-ing before heading off, and we noticed a video (now deleted? can’t find it now) from someone at Usyd blasting the UNSW revue for making fun of our quad and having the UNSW Galactica joke - well, there wasn’t a Usyd quad in sight, but the Galactica got a mention. With the Galactica joke, I think it’s more likely that there’s a mole on the UNSW team that allowed Usyd to score a hit against UNSW before their revue even started.

Over the weekend, I went to Malaysia Fest 2007 (photos) and got myself a dose of Malaysian culture. I can see why it’s true that Malaysians are said to live to eat… the food, having Malay, Chinese and Indian influences, was quite interesting and tasty =) Of course, it helped that I had a guide who lives to eat, so Ru Jih, if you actually read this, many thanks for a great day out, wouldn’t have been the same without you :P … hope it didn’t make you too homesick~

The other thing that’s happened recently is, of course, the lunar eclipse. Conclusion: I need a tripod. These black rectangles are awful - you really can’t do a shutter speed longer than 1/60s if you’re holding the camera with your hand, and when the moon’s that dim, you’d need at least a few seconds of exposure. Still, it was a very beautiful thing to watch, and literally out of this world.

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Law revue: shred the lame jokes please

Friday, 17 August 2007 in Goings-on, Law by Enoch Lau | No comments

The singing, dancing extravaganza that is the SULS Law Revue is back in town, and judging from previous years, this was one revue that I couldn’t miss. (I’ve also been missing my daily dose of law while doing honours, so I just had to go!) I still recall last year’s French Hakka, and the oh-so-wrong Kirby sing-and-dance - and both of these left me with high expectations about what my peers can do (while dressed and undressed).

Shred - the greatest story in litigation ever told - started with the cast telling us about Australian values in lyrical fashion. I had hoped for something about Shrek, or even something about Shred, but no, we didn’t get anything related to the title this year apart from a malfunctioning fax machine that happens to eat documents later on. The first half of the revue was a bit flat I thought. As many commented, the ideas behind the skits and the jokes were fantastic, but the execution was lacking: the jokes climaxed at the start or in the middle, the punch-lines often lacking. The songs were premised on what could’ve been really great ideas, but the words in them just didn’t carry the amusement throughout. Law students are said to be left while at uni, and right when they start working, but the Liberal horse was flogged well beyond death during the show.

I guess they saved the best till last, for the second half almost made up for what was lacking in the first. The anti-piracy video (a parody of the ones you see before movies) was so hilarious (”copyright is… a chose in action”), but according to Daniel, the idea was copied from the UQ law revue. We heard a song about the snail in the ginger beer bottle from Donoghue v Stevenson, and the Facebook prayer (”deliver us from MySpace”). Backyard Blitzkrieg transformed backyards and Hitler’s words to great effect. Oh, and the nude scene… a tradition, but the best I can say about it is that it has potential to be worked a little deeper. The ending was a saving grace though: the APEC song (to the tune of YMCA) was well written and carried the joke throughout.

I’d have to say that this year’s wasn’t the best Law Revue I’ve seen, but as the Director noted in the official programme, this year saw the departure of much of the talent from last year. I expect the lame, tacky or tactless joke or two in a revue, but as with all jokes, timing is of the essence. If the better skits are anything to go by, we should have plenty to laugh ourselves silly in coming years. Still, the law revue is a quality production, and a night well spent - I’d recommended seeing it.

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Law Ball

Saturday, 11 August 2007 in Goings-on, Law, Photography by Enoch Lau | 2 comments

Sydney Uni’s law students had their annual shebang last night - and what better way of showing off extravagance than to have it at the Sydney Town Hall. Complete with elegant red carpet, a seemingly endless supply of alcohol, and more staged poses and camera flashes than the paparazzi could muster, Sydney’s future legal fraternity, including the who’s who of the Sydney University Law Society, partied the night away to loud music, oblivious to the potential damage to their hearing and hence the potential for consequent multi-million dollar lawsuits. The atmosphere was indeed well-staged; the night’s entertainment, started off by a performance on the Town Hall’s famed organs and quartet pieces — evidently a nod at high culture — complemented the thematic lighting displayed on the ceiling, a combination as satisfactory as the champagne that accompanied the fine dining on offer. In the end, nothing was altogether surprising, nothing out of the ordinary to make the conservatives present cringe — there were the Asians who hung back chatting and playing with their camera phones, the adventurous and the drunk who removed articles of their clothing, and the economic misers among us who eagerly awaited the presentation of desert, going around to deserted tables and eating theirs too. A few Cinderellas would have lost their glass shoes by the end of the evening. And hence fun was had by all; of course, when dawn breaks and the alcohol wears off, it’s back to the books and the clerkship applications.

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See more photos

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