School has started again, but we all know chillax time is just as important! Grind has composed a list of activities and ideas that may keep you occupied and entertained when it’s time for a break from school.

1. Riding buses to nowhere

This idea came up as we sat around doing nothing in particular. Round up a few mates, hit the buses and cruise. As students get to travel for free, provided they have student cards, a group can travel all around Darwin for free. Buses also provide luxuries such as air conditioning and, since they move, the scenery is always changing. Another advantage of riding buses is that you will get to know Darwin and its bus routes.

2. Learn something new

Not exactly an original idea, but learning to do something new, whether it be a musical instrument, a new trick on a bike, or learning to draw can be very rewarding. Some suggestions of things to learn are: Morse code, juggling, as many digits of pi as possible, and trick card shuffling. See which ones you can come up with, try them out and leave us a comment saying how you went. You’l kill some time and learn something new while you are at it.

3. Write a short story

If you are anyway interested by reading fiction, then writing a short story can be interesting. You can write a short story about a character from a book or TV show you have watched or read, or you can make up a character. Even the character creation process can be interesting, as you can give your imaginary character any trait you want, any flaw, any strength and any name. And what is great about writing your own story is that anything can happen; from your character attempts to buy a trombone in Humpty Doo to Darth Vader attempting to destroy the human race from another galaxy, its up to you. And at the same time, you practise things such as spelling (very important) and grammar, as well as putting ideas into words.

4. Cooking

If you have a well stocked pantry or fridge that is full of ingredients, then cooking can be very rewarding and keep you occupied until you have finished. If you have never cooked before, you might want to try something simple like cupcakes, and then progress from there. Cooking can win you points with your parents and friends. Also, cooking is a valued skill by the opposite sex, so keep at it.

5. Get arty farty

Whether you are into art or not, it does not matter. Just do something which involves art, whether its finger or toe painting, drawing, arranging displays or leaving encouraging messages to passers by on the footpath in chalk. It does not matter if can or cannot draw, paint, write legibly or be creative. You can also attempt to teach yourself any of these.

Note: finger and toe painting is extremely fun, but remember only to get the paint on the thing you are painting, you do not need to redecorate the floors of the house while toe painting.

6. Make something

Home made items can be a lot of fun to make, whether you decide to make a sculpture out of the pebbles in your garden or make a castle out of a cardboard box. Or, you can make small gifts out of items laying around your house. You can make jewellery out of erasers, or robots out of you old VCR, or even a chain out of paperclips. If you are interested check out:

http://dollarstorecrafts.com/

7. Make a mini movie

If you have a video camera or a digital camera that can record videos, you can make and direct a mini video. With simple items, a few friends and a bit of improvisation you can make just about any type of mini movie from a three minute action thriller involving fights with a giant cardboard box monster to a ten minute sci fi featuring an alien with a liking to a laundry basket.

8. Make someone’s day

There are a few ways to go about brightening up another person’s day. You could write a thank you letter to someone who helped you, it is always nice to be appreciated. Or, you could write to a distant friend who may be drifting out of touch; its always good to hear from different friends. Another good idea is to write a list of things you like about someone then give it to them. If you find a display of appreciation embarrassing you could find a way to give it anonymously. If there is someone new in your street or at school/work, you could welcome them and introduce yourself and things of importance, such as your friends.

If you are interested check out http://www.operationnice.com/

9. Plan world domination

Plan out how to take over with a friend. You could try any approach, from taking over the world’s security services to contacting aliens and using them to take over the world. You could write up plans, and draw arrows on a world map and label it master plan as well as include photos and plans for strategic targets. This can keep you occupied for quite sometime.

10. Write a Grind article

Whether you are a part of Grind or not, you can write a Grind article. You can write it about anything from school subjects to genetic engineering. Anything that is relevant to you is probably of interest to others, and you could write an article about it. If you have an article already written, or even just need ideas, or maybe just interested, just email: grind@grindonline.com.au

“Open up your mind”

Imagination can be defined as ‘The formation of a mental image of something that is neither perceived as real nor present to the senses.’

The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus is a sporadic drama about good and evil. The enchanting scenes open up our mind to possibilities.

The film is rather bizarre but this is no surprise considering it is directed by Terry Gilliam who has produced such films as Monty Python and the Holy Grail and Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas.

Dr Parnassus (Christopher Plummer) the God-like protagonist makes a deal with the devil (Tom Waits) which guarantees him mortality and later eternal life in exchange for his adolescent offspring. He thoughtlessly agrees but regrets this later when his daughter Valentina (Lily Cole) is born. He realises that Valentina will soon be taken by the devil, Parnassus pleads for him to reconsider so the devil agrees on a new gamble. Whoever collects 5 souls first keeps Valentina. Parnassus and the entourage guide people to positive, uplifting thoughts whilst the devil tempts his victims into selling their souls for evil. Tony (Heath Ledger) tries strenuously to help Parnassus by attracting people into a mirror which leads to a world of imagination, every time he leads them through the world his face changes, Johnny Depp, Jude Law and Colin Farrell convey this superbly. Each face represents an aspect of Tony’s imagination. Heath Ledger, who plays Tony, died half way through the shooting of the film forcing Terry Gilliam to improvise this alternate ending. The film is unique, there is a contrast between contemporary culture and olden day circus themes, this is portrayed throughout the movie by presenting small, plain black and white settings and colourful panorama. The best part of this film was the concept which in essence described that we all have a choice to do wrong or right, good or evil and that our actions have consequences. I went into the cinema expecting a structured, heart warming movie; instead I came out feeling violated by the erratic story line. However shortly after I felt enlightened by the spontaneous flash backs of mysterious locations and imaginative costumes. On the whole the movie was different; the highlight for me was watching the strong performance of Heath Ledger and Tom Waits.

Rated PG

Whilst thumbing this year’s programme I noticed 3 things:

1. It’s a good deal meatier than last year, there’s much more to see this August.
2. The acts are a lot more diverse, culturally as well as with intended audience, there is a LOT more for young people.
3. I was going to be incredibly broke by the end of this month, the quality of these performers astounds! I want to buy tickets for all of them!

Here at GRIND we are proud to be reporting on this year’s festival and will do our best to keep you up-to-date on the events page, with interviews with performers, and reviews of shows we loved.  Harriet and I had an afternoon chat with the festival’s artistic director Jo Duffy in anticipation of the upcoming cultural feast and we posed one BIG question to her on behalf of you all:

“Why should young people come to the Darwin Festival?”
Her response had us giddy and excited…

“Firstly”, She said “Because it’s the biggest cultural event in Darwin!” Well yeah, thanks Jo, but we had kind of figured that out already.  “Not only that, but we designed much of this year’s programme with young people in mind”….  Wait, really?  That’s awesome!  We had no idea; looking at the programme now though I can see what she meant.  There’s a veritable feast of talent for young people to ogle and boggle at, with tickets to cabaret acts ‘Tiger Lillies’ and ‘Meow Meow’ selling fast, Gothic Marionettes the ‘Grimstones’, Harry Angus from ‘The Cat Empire’, not to mention the spectacular ‘Morganics’ show about Hip Hop culture.  There’s short films for the littlies (9 years and above) and for those of us (myself and Harriet included) who like a bit of a dance there’s a silent disco on for only ten bucks a headset!  Jo was particularly proud of ‘Legal Walls’ a graffiti project showcasing young NT artists’ exploration of graffiti as “a legitimate means of cultural exchange” and there are many more free shows around town featuring a range of mediums that I can’t wait to explore.

Jo also had us grinning when she drew our attention to pricing; this year’s festival has many youth friendly events for much cheaper than usual and she told us it was specifically so that young people (on a tight budget as we are) can go to the festival!  Let’s all give Ms Duffy hugs I say, for fifteen dollar live music!  Not only that, but the Festival will be using our beloved Garden’s Amphitheatre a lot more than in past years as well as a brand-spanking-new venue ‘the lighthouse’ which Jo described as being “like a big top tent, only without the roof”, interesting description, but it will make for an intimate and fun new setting and is a major drawing card for this year’s festival which will be central to the Darwin CBD and Civic Park.

Personally, I can’t wait for this festival; I’ve already got my rather impressive pile of tickets and will be living off 20c noodles for the next two weeks because of it.  I hope to see you all there, look for me at the teddy bears picnic; I’ll be the fairy with the pink and green hair!

For more information about the festival and booking tickets you can pick up a copy of the programme at any library or tourist centre, check out their website www.darwinfestival.org.au or call 89434200