Ode to Awkwardness: 2011

Friday, October 14, 2011

Through the looking glass

A feature article I did for a university assignment about glasses. Fun story (:

N.B. Had to get rid of the photos cause they were too big.

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Catcher in the Pry
13th October, 2011

The catch of the day isn’t some big fish, sports miracle or single model; it’s the person prying the world behind the latest designer glasses. Through the looking glass, Simon Pham investigates.

In today’s auction, we have the infamous Adolf Hitler’s specs. Often refusing to use his glasses, the Nazi leader read his speeches and official documents from a special typewriter with large print and huge lined spaces. Believing it would undermine his authority, there are few photos of Mr Hitler in his glasses.

It was his hidden ‘weakness’.

Once upon a time, people who wore glasses were ‘nerdy’. More accurately though, they were simply blind as a drunk after Oktoberfest. Just over half of us have eye problems according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics. With screens in use more than ever, and mums are extending their ‘don’t sit too close to the TV’ nagging to iPods and the like. The future looks blurry, and corrective vision may soon be the norm.

As people pass the age of 45, they are likely to suffer from presbyopia which requires vision correction, typically solved by reading glasses. This doesn’t just happen without some denial though. Karen Tse, Prevue Eyewear Optometrist says: “I think a lot of people who are in their 40s onwards, when it’s their first pair and they’ve never worn glasses, some find it quite intimidating.

“I suppose because it’s a sign of getting older, and sometimes it’s hard to convince them it’s perfectly normal and it’s not a sign of anything.”

Perhaps if everyone wears glasses it’ll be okay. This however doesn’t seem to be in issue for the young and carefree.

A recent study in the United Kingdom suggests that school children prefer to squint than be teased for wearing glasses. Nearly a third of all school aged kids in the UK who wear glasses experience bullying and teasing. Of these, one in six prefer to squint in class than wear their glasses.

On a brighter note, Vision Express opticians who conducted the study also found that eight out of 10 children surveyed believed that seeing celebrities wear glasses in public was helping them become more accepted by their peers. Despite the craze caused by glasses wearer Harry Potter however, corrective eyewear may be just ‘too cool for school’.

On the other side of the globe, Annalisa Armitage from My Image Consultant says this just isn’t the case in Australia. “My eight and ten year old didn't know what I was talking about when I asked them if teasing went on. The ten year old, a year ago, actually bought some glasses for $10 (her own money) from Paddy's market and wore them to school until her teacher told her she shouldn't wear glasses unless she needed to. She was inseparable from them for a few months.

“Gone are the days that glasses are purely functional, indeed glasses are seen by
many to be a critical fashion accessory.

“When we look at some-one we look at their face and mostly at their eyes. Glasses are always in the frame.”

Glasses, the new star of wardrobes? Photo: Simon Pham

Framed with style and... well, a frame, glasses are still the most practical option there is according to Optometry student Morag Stewart. “Glasses are simple, quite low maintenance and don't come with the risks associated with contacts.

“They can add to or alter your appearance, the extent depending on the type and style of frame chosen.

“Many have multiple pairs that go with different sets of clothes or different events such as formal occasions, casual wear and work wear.”

And it’s these formal occasions where glasses can make or break a person’s first impressions.

A third of British adults think glasses make someone look more professional, and just over 40 per cent think they make people look intelligent according to a UK study conducted by the College of Optometrists. Specs are also popular amongst subcultures such as the emo, punk, indie, hipster, goth, and more generally, counter culture fashion.

University of New South Wales Optometry Professor Mark Willcox says glasses offer people a sense of comfort. “Some people like to "hide" behind their glasses - using them as a barrier to the world”

In more secretive worlds, it’s also been the symbol of the library/ teacher sexual fantasy of men. As one fan of the pornography industry who did not wish to be named says: “Nothing’s hotter when a girl takes her glasses off, shakes her hair, and softly nibbles her lower lip.”

Scoping the future

Glasses taking and displaying photos? Photo: Polaroid

Contact lenses and laser eye surgery will become cheaper through technological developments.
Shortsightedness may be curable through eye drops in a decade or more.
Some glasses will feature miniature telecommunication devices and GPS locators which is great news for people who always lose things.
Polaroid are designing glasses with a built-in camera which also allow you to display your images to others around you.
The ability to adjust the prescription of the lens of your glasses.
Some iPhone apps claim they can train the eye to correct itself.

But let’s not take for granted the wide access we have to corrective eye care. According to the World Health Organisation, 90% of people with visual impairments live in developing countries. Furthermore, 80% of blindness is avoidable. Executive Chair of Optometry Giving Sight, Professor Brien Holden says: “The problem is that over 600 million people who need glasses cant wear them because they do not access to an optometrist.

“And even if they could find an optometrist, they cant afford them glasses. It is called uncorrected refractive error and it is a major world health concern.”

For more information, visit: http://www.vision2020australia.org.au/news-events-world-sight-day-faq.cfm.

World Sight Day will be held on the 13th October.

Poll: What is your preferred solution of vision correction?

a) Glasses
b) Contact lenses
c) Laser eye surgery
d) None, I’d rather squint
e) Other alternative (please specify)

Saturday, October 8, 2011

RIP Steve Jobs.

The click wheel on the iPod goes round and round
Round and round
Round and round
The click wheel on the iPod goes round and round
All day long

Music everywhere. A character in the movie scene that is my life, everyday.

Crazy people make the world go round.

Thank you, Steve.

Sunday, October 2, 2011

Grave mistakes

Mum jokes Sister jokes
Kitchen jokes

But is this a joke?

Rookwood cemetery's priest and nun headstones. Guess who own the bigger ones at the front.

Sexism prevails.

Monday, July 18, 2011

How do you turn a hobo into a farmer?

What's with all these hobo camps at parks. If all hobos turned into farmers, maybe, just maybe our parks would blossom with fruit trees, you could bring home a vegetable or two to cook for dinner too.

Oh how I miss you Moree Memorial park and your mandarin trees :)

Monday, June 20, 2011

Weird is how I like it best

This came with the Phở gà đặc biệt (Special chicken noodle soup -> lots of weird chicken parts) at Pho An Bankstown today, a chicken consomme with a perfectly intact soft boiled egg yolk? I need to learn how to make this!

Tuesday, June 7, 2011

Distinction, but the exclusiveness of the Journalism industry strikes again!

The Manly Daily doesn't accept articles by students, which probably also means they don't let their work experience kiddos do anything either. If I ever become an editor-in-chief, I'm gonna give everyone a chance... well, eventually (:

It's not me who sufferers though, it's those with bladder conditions, I'll try my hardest to get something published for you guys one day! :)

Story 2a

15^th May, 2011

By Simon Pham

Manly visitors are surrendering to nature’s call more than ever.

There are nearly four public urination charges recorded every week according to the Manly Police.

In a recent weekly message on the Council website, Mayor Jean Hay said: “Irresponsibility is more the likely cause for such anti-social behaviour as urinating in public than a lack of available amenities.”

There are 33 public toilets in the 16 square kilometre Manly area. However, few of these are open after midnight.

Most cases of public urination occur during the late hours on Friday or the weekend. At a recent council meeting, Mayor Hay and the majority of the council rejected a proposal to extend public toilet hours due to the possibility of encouraging “anti social behaviour” as stated in the Council meeting’s minutes. The Council also said that more signage will be made to inform people where these few 24 hour toilets are located.

However, for those with urinary and bladder conditions, such as Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis, collectively known as inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), late night toilet access issues are claimed to be solved by the ‘Can’t Wait’ card. The card is an initiative of Crohn’s & Colitis Australia (CCA), and given to CCA members to outline their condition, and need for urgent access to a toilet to others.

When asked about the authority of the ‘Can’t Wait’ Card, Doctor Scott Smid, an IBD expert from the University of Adelaide, said:

“It’s up to the discretion a shop proprietor or small business etc to allow a member of public to use their facilities.

“They may be under the incorrect perception that they may soil or otherwise contaminate and infect the loo.

“More community awareness is needed.”

Demand for toilets has forced some people to even come to licensed venues with toilets. With a 255.4 per cent increase in offensive conduct incidents in the North Sydney area according to the recently released NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research 2010 report however, shop owners may be hesitant in offering their toilet facilities.

Watervue Restaurant at the Corso employee, Riy Felice, said: “The restaurant’s toilets are only for customers.

“People at the beach and visiting Manly should really have their own toilets.”

However, according to a CCA survey, more than half the IBD respondents were denied access to a toilet after explaining their illness and even after showing their card.

The CCA survey also said that the worst offenders were petrol stations, cafes and retail shopping strips.

An employee from a private cleaning company for Manly Council, who did not wish to be named, said: “The conditions of the public toilets I clean can be pretty appalling, so I don’t blame shop owners for keeping out randoms and troublemakers.”

According to Doctor Smid, “IBD sufferers have to go to the toilet just like the rest of us, but they may not have adequate control at moments related to episodes of urgency, diarrhea, etc, so they may have to go more often or at unexpected or unpredictable times.”

IBD affects more than 61,000 Australians, and is expected to rise by 23 per cent in 2020 according to the CCA.

May is National Crohn’s and Colitis Awareness month.