I’ve been feeling quite ashamed of being an Australian lately – especially when I watch documentaries by Simon Reeves and other TV presenters that discuss our country’s past and present treatment of indigenous Australians and refugees. For a country that prides itself on… Read More ›
The holidays are great for relaxing with the sort of books that you don’t normally read. One of my choices this Christmas was ‘Horrorstör‘ by Grady Hendrix. The novel opens with a stench of zombies (‘the barely living dead’) that are… Read More ›
I’ve just been reading that the chances of the universe (and the planet that we call home) having been formed by a massive number of very specific random events are so slight that even die-hard atheists are questioning their (lack of) belief…. Read More ›
Many Australians are unaware of the key role that ‘sugar slaves’ played in establishing the Australian sugar industry that is now worth around $1.5 – $2.5 billion to our country’s economy. Throughout the last half of the 19th Century, South Sea Islanders (so-called ‘kanakas’) cleared the bush and… Read More ›
This post (and the amazing cloud that I saw a couple of weeks ago) is dedicated to all those who conscientiously object to the crass commercialisation of this saint’s day, didn’t receive flowers or chocolates today (but would have liked to),… Read More ›
When I heard about the Rana Plaza factory fire in April 2013, I immediately checked the labels on some recent purchases and found, sure enough, ‘Made in Bangladesh’. But what could I do? At the very least, I decided to inform myself… Read More ›
Buying antiques and pre-loved items from secondhand shops is good for the soul and for the environment – as the greenest products are the ones that are already made. Your purchase avoids these discarded treasures being buried in a landfill,… Read More ›
