Opus 1 - Submit 1st February 2007
- Release 12th February 2007

Opus 2 - Submit 4th April
- Release 30th April

Opus 3 - Submit 27th June
- Release 23 July

Opus 4 - Sumbit 23rd August
- Release 21st September

WE WELCOME EVERYTHING AT OPUS - SO JUST SUBMIT!

To be honest I am not sure what to consider natural anymore. The earth operates as a closed system, true? And unless you are an alien we were all born out of, and fed by the substances of the earth. Right? So is everything natural then? Why be concerned about artificial anything? Consider this:

To be honest I am not sure what to consider natural anymore. The earth operates as a closed system, true? And unless you are an alien we were all born out of, and fed by the substances of the earth. Right? So is everything natural then? Why be concerned about artificial anything? Consider this:

Huddled in my sleeping bag as frost renders icicles of my hair and slowly crystallizes my pillow, I stare up at the perfectly suspended bodies of pulsating fire that scatter the heavens and feel awe. Whenever I get the chance to spend time in nature I get this feeling. The width of the desert, the expanse of the sea and the sheer immensity of old growth forests all have the same awe-inspiring impact on me, helping me to gain perspective on the trivialities that seem to stress me out in city life.

No, this is not a philosophical discussion of the fact time is an illusion, just thought it might grab some attention. This is rather, a response to two articles from the last issue; “The SIMS” and “I Am Free….” Both discussed the issue of free will and fate (choice and destiny) from both sides of the argument. I personally believe this to be an irrelevant debate.

FATE and FREE WILL are constructs of the human mind. They are Absolutes. Like black and white, good and evil, they simply don’t exist in nature. It’s all varying shades of grey. So, no-one is 100% destined to do something, and, no-one is completely ‘free’. Just like black/white, up/down, blunt/sharp, etc, you can’t have one without the other. If you don’t believe me, read up on DIALECTICS, a philosophy developed by Frederick Engels.

These are the kind of basic misconceptions, I believe, to be the reason for much of the destructive conflict in the world. They stem from our need, as post-renaissance human beings, to measure, quantify, categorise, predict and control everything we come into contact with. After 400 years of this, most people have lost the ability to view the world, and everything in it, as anything but separate entities. Which, is true, but it’s only half the truth.

I think we need a global paradigm shift towards a holistic worldview, one that encompasses every thing, system, process and force, on its’ own terms, within its’ relevant context.

This view must be centred round the only universal truth that exists, that of UNITY. – “Everything can be broken down into its constituent parts, and, is itself a constituent part of a larger whole. With no upward or downward limit.”
With this perspective, people can begin to relate things together and see the patterns underlying life and nature.

I believe once people do this, they will see how pointless the debate about free will and destiny is. Just as irrelevant as the ‘Science vs Religion’ debate, or whether “God” exists or not. It’s like having a debate over who is more important, man or woman. Only ignorant people think one is more important than the other. You already know they are both equally as important, just in different, but complementary ways. 
Intelligent Design or Evolution? They are words. Words that make us believe they are separate, conflicting ideas. How about these words;
God is the Evolving Universe, or, we Intelligently Designed Ourselves.

I started out as a god-fearing Christian, then became and atheist, then agnostic, then a Pantheist. Now I choose to reject labels of this kind, because they only help disintegrate our society and views. We need terms that help integrate all our combined knowledge, experience and wisdom. Why not have spiritual beliefs rooted in science?

My views on theological issues can be summed up by a now dead comedian, Bill Hicks.
“Young man on acid today realised that all matter is merely energy condensed to a slow vibration. That we are all one consciousness experiencing itself, subjectively. There is no such thing as death, life is only a dream, and we’re the imaginations of ourselves.” I think views such as this one would aid our society in actually becoming multi-cultural. 

At the moment we have ‘micro-culturalism’, many cultures living separately in one fractured society. Instead of our current primary and secondary education systems having schools for different religions, sexes, etc, we need a move towards all schools being an even mix of boys/girls, rich/poor and Muslim, Christian, Jew, Hindu, Athiest, Buddhist, etc. If society and the business world has this mix, don’t you think it should be reflected in our education institutions. Otherwise our schools become breeding grounds for racism, sexism and most other –isms.

Also, in relation to last issues story on abortion, my adopted friend put forward the argument that “if abortion was more widely accepted, then he wouldn’t exist”. But, as I said before, this is only a half view, an incomplete picture of both sides of a story. Because, as I said, “But if it wasn’t, I wouldn’t be here.”

We must rid ourselves of such a black and white view of what is ‘good’ and what is ‘evil’. No baby is born inherently evil. It is the systems in place that allow people like George Bush to believe he can bring about world peace, with a ‘War on terror’. News for right wingers, WAR IS TERROR. So don’t hate, this leads to terrorism. Instead, get frustrated with Howards’ oppressive regime and use this frustration to do something positive. Show sympathy towards others and FIGHT THE SYSTEM that embraces hatred. 
Never resort to violence, because “An eye for an eye, makes the whole world blind”

So, have ‘faith’ in yourself and your own intuitions/judgements, reject ideologies (like globalisation) and do something positive for yourself, your family, our society and the ecological systems that support it all. Remember; 
“The only true ‘evil’ is when good men do nothing”

  - Timothy Webster.




addition if possible
- "If job losses are the primary reason the timber industry continues logging old growth forests, don't we have a duty to protect japanese whalers jobs. They have families to feed too."

It was the day before dole day and the well had run completely dry, I just needed that fucking cash like some desperate junkie crawling helplessly for his next fix. The sound of monotone doctors came beaming out of the television like a lighthouse, its piercing gamma rays penetrating into my consciousness, their pale green surgery wear blended into the background like camouflage.

A Salute to The Smiths

By Ross Abbs

Once regarded as something of a musical backwater, the 1980s have been enjoying a measure of rehabilitation of late. The influence of post–punk artists such as Gang of Four is clearly discernible in the twitchy guitar rock of Bloc Party and Franz Ferdinand, albeit stripped of much of its vitality in the latter case. Meanwhile, electronic outfits like Cut Copy plunder the decade’s blips and bleeps to produce a brand of synth–pop that wouldn’t be too far out of place in Alex Kidd in Miracle World. And Bernard Fanning, sad to say, sounds more like Phil Collins with every passing number one (can’t wait for your cover of Sussudio, Bernie). As yet, however, no one to my knowledge has quite managed to emulate the brand of slightly warped melancholia shot through the music of The Smiths. Led by charismatic lyricist Stephen Patrick Morrissey (known, simply, as ‘Morrissey’), The Smiths produced seven albums (three of which were semi–compilations) between 1983 and 1987 before spluttering to a halt amidst a bust–up between Morrissey and his erstwhile songwriting collaborator, guitarist Johnny Marr. Yet the brevity of The Smiths’ musical lifespan only throws into relief the fact that it was a period of focussed brilliance rarely equalled in popular music.

A Student's Guide to DVD borrowing in Newcastle

DVD is lauded as the best thing to happen to movie fans, and the worse thing to happen to cinemas, since the VCR. And it's not just movies, your favourite TV shows, sporting events and music performances can now be enjoyed ad nauseam and with commentary, subtitles and a "The Making Of..." documentary. This guide is about getting the most DVD viewing possible out of a stretched uni student budget.

 A Novocastrian Cinema Guide

By the time a person gets to university, they have likely grown out of using cinemas as a place to make-out where their parents won’t catch them. The expense, a lack of diversity and the availability of new release DVDs are all valid excuses for no longer patronising movie theatres. But going to the movies is about the experience. It’s about getting out of the house, seeing the flicks on a big screen with friends or strangers and eating (or throwing) whatever rubbish you want. So I say smuggle some food in and enjoy.

The Octapod is a not-for-profit independent arts and new media association in a big hot open space in the heart of the Civic Precinct in Newcastle. Some employees and lots of volunteers nurture a number of local creative projects, including festivals, a radio station and a magazine – all just waiting for you to get involved. Or get your own project off the ground. We can provide web hosting, funds auspicing, and professional consultation. You can become a member of the Octapod and get access to a network of like-minded creative types, kooky kids and people with know-how.

What is Freedom?

Funk and Wagnall’s Dictionary describes it as “ 1.The state or condition of being free; the condition of enjoying civil liberties. 2. Political autonomy 3. Liberty from bondage or slavery.”

Ok people, this is the place to help us promote Opus, and especially NUSA. With VSU coming in in second semester, we need to make the Student population aware of NUSA as much as possible, and Opus is a good vehicle for that. But to do that, we also need to promote Opus. So what we need are suggestions for a)Getting Opus out there b)Promoting NUSA in Opus c)Getting people to pay their fees

Can I just say that the design of the diaries is pretty poor compared to last years.
The pages give you the number of the month and not the name (thats bareable but I get sick of counting on my fingers trying to figure out which month I'm looking at).
They have left out all the important dates like battle of the bands and international talk like a pirate day.
I'm not sure if anyone has noticed but on the little flip over bit on the back cover all of the " " spaces have been replaced with "y"'s.