Wednesday 11 December 2013

Yeah Debates @ Jurassic Lounge - Filmmaking Vs Photography

On the 10th of October, The Yeah Sessions took part in the final season of Jurassic Lounge, held at the Australian Museum. We held two 'speed debates', the first of which was on the topic "Anyone can be a photographer, but to be a filmmaker requires real skill", during Jurassic Lounge's Film and Photography night. Have a peek at the video below:


On the affirmative:
Daniel Wittingslow
Chris Myers
Ari Mattes

On the negative:
Diana Shahinyan
Bruce Isaacs
Adam Geczy

Photo via the Jurassic Lounge Facebook page
Each speaker had strictly three minutes to make their case, and the winner was decided by the audience yelling incoherently at the end. We'll be uploading the second speed debate, on extinction and ethics, very soon!

Friday 1 November 2013

The Final Jurassic Lounge

This coming Tuesday the 5th of November, the final night of 'Jurassic Lounge' will be held at the Australian Museum, near Hyde Park in Sydney.

Jurassic Lounge has been a Sydney insitution, opening up the doors of the Australian Museum to a demographic that might otherwise not consider skipping through its elegant halls. It's sad to see it go, and the Yeah Sessions are extremely proud to be part of its ultimate night.

We're hosting a 'Speed Debate' - six speakers, three on each side, with three minutes each, and an extremely strict timekeeper - it's funny, fast and often, accidentally insightful.

Check out the Facebook event page here, the official Jurassic Lounge page here, and buy your tickets here - in fact, do that soon, because we think this one's going to sell out rather fast.

Here's our topic:

'Jurassic Park's Dr Ian Malcom was correct when he said “Dinosaurs had their shot, and nature selected them for extinction”. It’s wrong to bring back an extinct species.'

And, here's our line up of speakers:

Affirmative
- Paul Oscar
- Ari  Mattes
- Tim Dean

Negative
- Ryan Mitchell Wittingslow
- Rebecca Johnston
- Ketan Joshi

See you there! 

Wednesday 2 October 2013

Yeah Politics - 07/08/2013 - The Politics of Eurovision

On the 7th of August, we dove briefly into the tepid pond of politics.

Our fifth and final speaker was Elyse Zaccai, Yeah Sessions alumni and self-described Eurovision Overlord. Elyse discussed the various  vagaries of the politics of Eurovision, including the various under-explored chunks of context that explain why the countries vote the way they do.


Click here to view the video on Youtube, or cast your eyes to the embedded video below:


Elyse is a Eurovision enthusiast and has spoken for the Yeah Sessions before, on potions and black magic, here!

Monday 16 September 2013

Yeah Politics - 07/08/2013 - Vaccination, Policy and Media

On August the 7th, before the election, we delved bravely into the world of politics and policy.

Our fourth speaker was Yeah Sessions co-founder and co-curator Ketan Joshi, talking about vaccination - a topic that is frequently blended with politics and media. In this talk, we explore the occasional but problematic involvement of politicians in health policy, and the recent case of an Australian media outlet deciding to campaign for new laws on the access of un-vaccinated children to childcare centres.

Click here to watch the video on youtube, or cast your eyes to the embedded video below..



Ketan Joshi is co-founder and co-curator of The Yeah Sessions, and works in research and communications at a renewable energy company. 

To view the Daily Telegraph's article on 'No Jab, No Play', click here, and to read Leask and Willaby's article on the legislation, click here.

Tuesday 10 September 2013

Yeah Politics - 07/08/2013 - The Social Determinants of Health

On the 7th of August this year, we casually strolled into the dark woods of politics.

Our third speaker was Alice Gentle, who spoke at the very first Yeah Session (Yeah Science), on the demonstrable irrationality of Slime Mould. At Yeah Politics, Alice spoke on the Social Determinants of Health - going beyond the 'absence of disease' and trying to formulate a way of defining health that incorporates factors like 'walkability', physical well-being and mental health.

Click here to view the video on youtube, or cast your eyes to the embedded video below..



Alice Gentle works in public health in NSW, and is passionate about innovation in health.

If you'd like to view the 2013 interactive budget tool, click here. For more information on the Health Impact Project in the US, click here. And click here for information on AARP's 'Sidewalks and Streets Survey'.

Sunday 1 September 2013

Yeah Politics - 07/08/2013 - Political Psychology

On the 7th of August, The Yeah Sessions dipped nervously into the muddy pond of politics.

Our second speaker was Tim Dean, speaking on the genuinely fascinating patterns we find when we look at political viewpoints from a psychological perspective, and some of the ways that our political views might be more predictable than we think.

Click here to have a squiz at the video on youtube, or cast your eyes to the embedded vid below:



Tim Dean is an established science journalist, and editor of the Australian Life Scientist Magazine. He is completing a PhD in philosophy at UNSW, researching the evolution of morality. Check out his blog here, and read his fantastic articles on ABC's The Drum, here.

Tim is also editor-in-chief of Wonder - an excellent website dedicated to rational appreciation of the natural world, and most definitely well worth checking out.

More videos coming very soon, people!

Sunday 18 August 2013

Yeah Politics - 07/07/2013 - The Mechanics of Change

On the 7th of August, we cautiously toed the murkey waters of poltics.

Our first speaker was Eran Asoulin, speaking on the varied mechanics of politcal change, exploring the history of how governments have wrought influence, and the factors that have driven this, and the way these factors operate in modern times.

Click here to have a squiz at the video on youtube, or cast your eyes to the embedded vid below:



Eran, aka Bud Petal, is an avid musician and holds a deep interest in the machinations of the political world. Check out his blog, and his band page.

Das Yeah Sessions

Tuesday 6 August 2013

Interview with 2SER 107.3 FM about Yeah Politics

On Wednesday the 9th of August, The Yeah Sessions will be hosting Yeah Politics at Yulli's in Surry Hills. It's going to be quite splendid - it starts at 6:30, get there early for delicious, delicious beers.

What we are going to be talking about really interesting things like…health, the mechanics of political change, Eurovision, political psychology, and the influence of the anti-vaccination lobby. Sounds great, yeah? Yeah!

Our wonderful speakers for the session will be Eran Asoulin, Ketan Joshi, Tim Dean, Elyse Zaccai and Alice Gentle.

50% of the Yeah Sessions (Ketan Joshi, one of the aforementioned speakers) did an interview with 2SER radio about Yeah politics. Have a listen, and be there on Wednesday night for beers, politics and fun..

Monday 22 July 2013

Yeah Science - 12/06/2013 - Holographic Optical Trapping

On the 12th of June, we trotted haughtily once more into blooming fields of science.

Our fourth speaker was Evan Tanner, delivering a truly fascinating talk about the world of holographic optical trapping. This technique involves the use of light to trap microscopic objects, including live bacteria, and then using this to manipulate these objects in real time. Put simply: the use of holograms to wreak havoc on tiny things.

Click here to watch the video on youtube, or cast your gaze to the embedded video below:



Evan Tanner is a researcher who has worked previously for Arryx Inc as a research and development manager, and studied at Stanford University in California. He has had his work published here and here.

Click here to read more about optical tweezers on Wikipedia.

Monday 15 July 2013

Yeah Science - 12/06/2013 - Are you tired, or just drunk?

On the 12th of June, we gleefully dipped our collective toes back into the gurgling river of science.

Our third speaker was Samuel Duncan, speaking on the effects of sleep deprivation on performance. Sam presents in his talk an experiment in which he is the subject - and he performs a psychomotor vigilance test before our very eyes.

The results are fascinating, so click here to view the vid on youtube, or cast your vile jellies to the embedded vid below:


Click here to view the psychomotor vigilance performance study Sam references in his talk, and click here to view the UNSW fatigue and alcohol study.

Samuel Duncan works in logistics planning and transport, and has been tracking his personal sleep data for longer than a normal person would willingly admit.

More Yeah Science, coming soon....

Monday 8 July 2013

Yeah Science 12/06/2013 - Neuroplasticity

On the 12th of June, we flung ourselves happily back into the glorious maelstrom of science.

Our second speaker was Jo Dudney, talking about the varied wonders of neurplasticity. From the sex-obsessed Hank to the stroke-addled Bill, Jo explains that we're not stuck with the neural pathways we're born with, and that certain professions can lead to significant changes in the structure of our brains.

Click here to watch the video on youtube, or cast your eyes to the video below



Jo completed a masters of psychology at UNSW and a Doctorate of Clinical Psychology at the University of Sydney. For more information on neuroplasticity, try here, here or here.

Tuesday 2 July 2013

Yeah Science 12/06/2013 - Rubber Duckies at the End of the Ocean

On the 12 of June, The Yeah Sessions dove for a third time into the wonderful word of science.

Our first speaker for the night was Erik Van Sebille, physical oceanographer at UNSW, talking about the eerily beautiful story of thousands of rubber duckies (aka 'friendly floaties') sent across the world on the churning currents of the ocean, and tying the this into the tricky problems we encounter when considering the impact of garbage, pollution and plastics on ocean life.

Click here to watch the video on youtube, or, cast your gaze below (unfortunately, a technical hitch meant there's no video of the first half of the talk, but we did get audio!)



Erik is an accomplished oceanographer - he's an ARC research fellow at the Climate Change Research Centre at the University of New South wales, an Associate Investigator at the ARC Centre of Excellence for Climate System Science, and recipient of a 2013 Discovery Early Career Researcher Award (DECRA) by the Australian Research Council on "Inter-ocean exchange around Australia and its relation to regional and global climate".

You can also watch an interview with Erik on UNSWtv here.


His website is chockers with a bunch of great interactive tools, some of which he mentioned in his talk - be sure to check out Adrift.org.au, where you can simulate the impact of garbage flows, using your very own rubbery ducky!


Get in touch with Erik via Twitter, or through the contact details on his website, here, or read more about the UNSW Climate Research Centre here.

Thursday 20 June 2013

Short cuts 1 - We Are Hollywood (Or, How I learn to quit bitching and love the machine)

On the 7th of June 2013, The Yeah Sessions guest curated Short Cuts 1 - five talks delivered by film buffs at the Sydney Film Festival Hub theatrette. 

Our fifth and final speaker was Lee Launay. Lee took us through his musings on how we engage with modern cinema, including his thoughts on the surprising roots of the Hollywood, and where have to go from here. Don't miss his excellent summary of the standard Hollywood three-act-structure at 21:41

Click here to view the video on youtube, or cast your gaze to the embedded video below. 




Lee Launay is a Production Designer, Music Video Director, and above all, flirty nuisance on set, polishing Magda Szubanski's breastplates in 'Goddess, sharpening Hugh Jackman's claws in "The Wolverine" (in cinemas next month!), and drinking tea and touching things on the set of Careless Love, Wild Boys, and X-Factor.

Wednesday 19 June 2013

Short Cuts 1 - Storytelling: Why do we do it?

On the 7th of June 2013, The Yeah Sessions guest curated Short Cuts 1 - five talks delivered by film buffs at the Sydney Film Festival Hub theatrette. 

Our second speaker was Wyatt Moss-Wellington, who took the audience on a fast-paced journey through the varied reasons that story-telling occurs in modern cinema. From the daily problems of ancient humans dealing with bad berries to the happy concoction of simulated threats in order to 'feel alive', Wyatt packs into 19 minutes a broad array of brilliantly delivered reasons why we tell stories in cinema. 

Click here to watch the video on youtube, or cast your gaze to to the embedded video below...



Wyatt Moss-Wellington is a Sydney-based writer, musician and film industry PR consultant. He publishes social criticism at journalisnt.net, has released two albums of progressive folk music, plays mandolin in newgrass outfit The Lunch Mothers and recently completed a masters thesis on humanism in the cinema of John Sayles at the University of Sydney.

Here's a full list of the films Wyatt uses in his talk:

Teenage Paparazzo
Under Fire
Outsourced
Land and Freedom
The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie
Casa de los Babys
The White Masai
O Lucky Man
Klute
An American Werewolf in London
Pontypool
The Fall
Galaxy Quest
The Brothers Grimm
The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus
Chungking Express
The Room



Monday 17 June 2013

Short Cuts 1 - Vertigo: The Greatest Film Ever Made?

On the 7th of June 2013, The Yeah Sessions guest curated Short Cuts 1 - five talks delivered by film buffs at the Sydney Film Festival Hub theatrette. 

Our third speaker was Dr Bruce Isaacs, talking about the recent Sight and Sound poll that saw Vertigo pushed into the top spot as the 'greatest film of all time'. Bruce discusses his love for the film, and explores the features of Vertigo he feels make it worthy of being called 'The greatest film of all time'. 

Click here to watch the video on youtube. 


Bruce Isaacs is a lecturer in Film Studies at the University of Sydney. He has published work on film history and theory, with a particular interest in film style and technology in the era of Hollywood. His most recent work, 'The Orientation of Future Cinema: Technology, Aesthetics, Spectacle' (Bloomsbury) was published in March 2013. He adores all things Hitchcock, but Vertigo has a very special place in his heart

Sunday 16 June 2013

Short Cuts 1 - Re-Queering Australian Cinema

On the 7th of June 2013, The Yeah Sessions guest curated Short Cuts 1 - five talks delivered by film buffs at the Sydney Film Festival Hub theatrette. 

Our second speaker was Sophia Davidson Gluyas. She talked about 'Moving the pictures': Reading Buffy's queer tendencies, queer interpretations of Peter Weir's 'Picnic at Hanging Rock', and the direction she hopes Australian cinema might turn in how we read, counter-read and watch Australian film.

Click here to watch the video on youtube, or cast your eyes to the video below:


She completed her Arts degree at the University of Sydney in the Art History and Theory department in 2006. In 2010, Sophia retired young from her budding career as a theatrical agent to return to her studies and write an honours project on 1970s Australian cinema. Sophia is currently very cold in Melbourne writing her PhD on lesbian visibility in 90s Australian cinema at Deakin University in the School of Communication and Creative Arts. Sophia is one fifth the team who launched the Melbourne cell of Filmonik (aka Kino) last month. Sophia likes Dr Who, David Bowie, and is afraid of Clowns.


Thursday 13 June 2013

The Yeah Sessions on the wireless

Ladies and gents,

Yeah Sessions co-founders/co-curators Kim Wilkins and Ketan Joshi were interviewed last night on Eastside 89.7 FM's Drive program as part of Yeah Science - have a listen!


The night was a huge success, and we want to thank our speakers, who generously donated their time, and to all the people who came along for a yarn. We learnt a lot about rubber duckies, sex, London taxi drivers, holographic trapping and fatigue responses times!

Wednesday 12 June 2013

Short Cuts 1 - The Glorious Role of Product Placement in Films

On the 7th of June 2013, The Yeah Sessions guest curated Short Cuts 1 - five talks delivered by film buffs at the Sydney Film Festival Hub theatrette.

Our first speaker was Kim Wilkins, who talked about the glorious and varied role of product placement in films. From James Bond to Repo Man to Gossip Girl, Kim takes us through the odd and fascinating trends in product placement that we're barely aware of when we're seated in the cinema.

Click here to watch the video on youtube, or cast your gaze below to the embedded video.



Kim is currently writing her PhD at the University of Sydney in contemporary American film and has given numerous presentations on this topic. In her spare time, she is co-editor of the journal Philament, and is co-founder and co-curator of The Yeah Sessions. She looks like a child but drinks like a fish.

Tuesday 28 May 2013

Yeah Film - 17/04/2013 - Porn

The fourth talk at Yeah Film, held in April 2013, was delivered by Daniel Adam Wittingslow, relaying his experience working as a editor and re-toucher in the adult entertainment industry. Daniel chats about his experiences (varied, for sure) in the industry, and the ways that porn leads the charge in major changes to content distribution in major industries like cinema, music and publishing.

Click here to view the video on youtube, or cast your peepers to the embedded video below!


Daniel is related to Yeah Sessions alumnus Ryan - check out his talks here, here and here.

The Yeah Sessions is guest curating talks at the Sydney Film Festival Hub - Short Cuts 1 will be five talks given by passionate film enthusiasts from academics and industry members. It's free, and it will be glorious - come check it out, and be sure to grab tickets for the Sydney Film Festival!

Sunday 19 May 2013

Yeah Film - 17/04/2013 - The Ethics of Torture Porn

On the 17th of April, The Yeah Sessions delved into the complex, illustrious world of film.Talk number three was delivered by Patrick Condliffe and Jason Archbold - exploring the numerous ethical issues that orbit the recent trend of 'torture porn' in mainstream cinema.

Click here to watch the video on youtube, or cast your eyes to the embedded goodness below.


When not researching elusive Australian authors Patrick Condliffe lurks in basements watching Giallo classics and pretending that he's Sergio Leone. Check out Patrick's Sydney University academia page here. Jason researches the ethics of the apocalypse and dabbles in the existentialism of the boxing ring, and occasionally asks himself 'what would Paolo Di Canio do?'

The Yeah Sessions is guest curating talks at the Sydney Film Festival Hub - Short Cuts 1 will be five talks given by passionate film enthusiasts from academics and industry members. It's free, and it will be glorious - come check it out, and be sure to grab tickets for the Sydney Film Festival!

Friday 10 May 2013

Yeah Film - 17/04/2013 - A Brief History of Film

On the 17th of April, The Yeah Sessions delved into the complex, illustrious world of film. Our second speaker was Alex Robinson, cinematic enthusiast, talented drummer and photographer extroadinare. Alex talks about the history of film - spanning from the very first photographs to modern technologies used in photography and cinema.

Click here to watch the video on youtube, or cast your eyes towards the embed below.


The Yeah Sessions is guest curating talks at the Sydney Film Festival Hub - Short Cuts 1 will be five talks given by passionate film enthusiasts from academics and industry members. It's free, and it will be glorious - come check it out, and be sure to grab tickets for the Sydney Film Festival!

Wednesday 8 May 2013

Yeah Film - 17/04/2013 - Badfilms / Shit Movies?

On the 17th of April, The Yeah Sessions delved into the complex, illustrious world of film.Our first speaker was Kim Wilkins, talking about badfilms (yep, one word) and shit movies. Kim explores Gigli, a terrible movie starring Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez, and the eternal cult film The Room, described by its aloof director as 'a film with the passion of Tennessee Williams'.

Click here to watch the video on youtube, or cast your eyes towards the embed below.


To watch The Room in full, click here!

Kim Wilkins is doing her PhD in film theory at Sydney University and is co-founder and co-curator of The Yeah Sessions. See her thesis description here.

The Yeah Sessions is guest curating talks at the Sydney Film Festival Hub - Short Cuts 1 will be five talks given by passionate film enthusiasts from academics and industry members. It's free, and it will be glorious - come check it out, and be sure to grab tickets for the Sydney Film Festival!

Monday 6 May 2013

The Yeah Sessions @ Jurassic Lounge - Potions and Superstitions

The Yeah Sessions were proud to guest program a set of speakers for a night of Jurassic Lounge - we present the second talk below - Elyse Zaccai, cat about town and hopeless romantic talks about potions, superstitions, spells, and the nutty things we do for love.

Click here to hop over to the Youtubes, or cast your gaze below for the embedded vid:



Jurassic Lounge is a weekly variety night held at the Australian Museum featuring art, live music, drinks & new ideas.Their summer season has wrapped up, but keep an eye out for future announcements via their Facebook page, or Twitter.

Sunday 5 May 2013

The Yeah Sessions @ Jurassic Lounge - A Brief History of Barbarous Names

The Yeah Sessions were proud to guest program a set of speakers for a night of Jurassic Lounge - we present the first talk below, as Yeah Sessions repeat offender Ryan Mitchell Wittingslow returns to speak on the history of barbarous names - from Abraxas to Bahomet to Ththee, Ryan explores the meaning, or lack thereof, in magical words.

Click here to watch the video on youtube, or simply cast your devilish gaze upon the video below.



Ryan is doing a PhD at Sydney University, researching transhumanism and bioethics. Check out his academic profile here, read some of delectable writing here, and get in touch with Ryan via his Twitter feed.

Jurassic Lounge is a weekly variety night held at the Australian Museum featuring art, live music, drinks & new ideas.Their summer season has wrapped up, but keep an eye out for future announcements via their Facebook page, or Twitter.

Wednesday 1 May 2013

Yeah Technology - 09/01/2013 - Motion Capture in Film

The fourth talk at Yeah Technology was delivered by Bhautik Joshi, a visual effects research engineer at Lucasfilm, San Francisco.

The talk was about the recent advances in motion capture technology - in particular facial motion capture. Bhautik also explores future technologies in his talk. Clicky here to watch the video on the youtubes, or have a squiz below for the embedded vid:




Bhautik lives in San Francisco, and is a keen and innovative photographer. See:

His blog: http://cow.mooh.org/
An interview: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JMo9tEd684Y
His Twitter page: https://twitter.com/bhautikj
His Vimeo page: http://vimeo.com/bjoshi
His Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/captin_nod/

Video clip credit:
The clip used in this video was made by David Lewandowski
http://dlew.me/
http://twitter.com/badmocap
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iRZ2Sh5-XuM

Wednesday 24 April 2013

Yeah Technology - 09/01/2013 - Redundant technology

Ladies and gents,

Apologies for the absence of updates on this somewhat un-tended blog. Since Yeah Technology in January this year, we've had Yeah Jurassic Lounge and Yeah Film - both of which have a huge bounty of videos coming up soon.

For now, we're filling in some gaps from Yeah Technology - below is the fifth talk from Yeah Technology, featuring Tom Geiser talking about redundant German technology - insane freighters that scaled the length of the Neckar, Donau and Elbe rivers on enormous metal chains.

Clicky here to watch the video on youtube, or cast your gaze upon the video embedded below


Stay safe, lovers.

Tuesday 29 January 2013

Yeah Technology - 09/01/2013 - Moral Objects

Yeah Technology was held at Yulli's Bar & Restaurant in Surry Hills, on the 9th of January 2013.

The third talk was on 'moral objects', and the intersection of ethics and technology. Click here to watch the video on youtube, or have a peep at the video embedded below.



Delivering this talk was Yeah Sessions regular Ryan Mitchell Wittingslow. Ryan is a profligate man of philosophy, and in this talk he explores the implications that technology holds for us, in terms of extensions to the human self, and the moral values we attribute to objects in our vicinity.

Ryan is doing a PhD at Sydney University, researching transhumanism and bioethics. Check out his academic profile here, read some of delectable writing here, and get in touch with Ryan via his Twitter feed. 

Monday 28 January 2013

Yeah Technology - 09/01/2013 - Language, Education and Technology

Yeah Technology was held at Yulli's Bar & Restaurant in Surry Hills, on the 9th of January 2013.

Our second talk was on the integration of technology into education - the talk can be viewed by clickering here, or by casting your gaze upon the video embedded below.



Delivering this talk was Annabella Zanetti, an English and ESL teacher with a rich history in a variety of institutions. She has a keen interest in how technological advances can be utilised effectively in classrooms - in this talk, she discusses the broad implications of how we currently deploy electronic aids in schools, and how this might change in the future.

Sunday 20 January 2013

Yeah Technology - 09/01/2013 - Sustainability @ Yulli's

Yeah Technology was held at Yulli's Bar & Restaurant in Surry Hills, on the 9th of January 2013.

We were lucky enough to have Karl as our first speaker at Yeah Technology - we've edited and uploaded the video, which can be viewed by whacking a clicky here, or by casting your eyes upon the video embedded below. 



The talk was delivered by the inimitable Karl - the co-owner and co-founder of Yulli's restaurant. The venue in which we host the Yeah Sessions has been a staple of Crown St for a while now, and its popularity grows every day. Karl's focus on injecting a philosophy of sustainability into the bar, through the use of various new technologies, is a significant move, and will hopefully encourage the adoption of these ideas across other establishments in Sydney.