A few weeks ago, the world divided into two groups: People addicted to chasing small fictional creatures around cities Luddites (like me) wondering what all the fuss is about. Whichever group you belong to, there’s no denying the incredible success… Read More ›
Lots of great articles have been published for Menstrual Hygiene Day (28 May) to raise awareness of the challenges faced by many women in managing their periods around the world. I was particularly impressed by a story reported by Kimberly Gillan. Would… Read More ›
Last Saturday, I attended a screening of a film about romance writing called ‘Love between the covers’ at the Tuggeranong Arts Centre. (You can watch the trailer and learn more about the film – here.) Beforehand, we had the opportunity to ask some published Canberra… Read More ›
Are you a lucky person? Do ideas and opportunities just seem to jump into your lap? Or do things like that only happen to other people? Sometimes it’s worth taking a chance When Carmel won a free trip for two… Read More ›
Most of us are aware that drinking alcohol helps to encourage interaction between strangers, but did you know that any beverage that makes you feel ‘warm’ inside can have a similar effect? This is because we generally equate ‘warmth’ with emotions like affection, love and comfort. As… Read More ›
I’ve just finished reading about Australia, Singapore and the Malay Peninsula during the Second World War in a novel called ‘To Love a Sunburnt Country’.(1) The story provided a fascinating insight into life at the time and how Australians responded when war… Read More ›
I recently stumbled upon an interesting site (www.convictcreations.com) claiming that the contemporary Australian dialect (‘Strine’) is “one of the world’s most advanced English dialects.” The author went on to explain that speakers of Strine can understand kiwis (New Zealanders), poms (Brits), yanks (Americans – no matter which… 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 ›
The other day I ordered ‘Fuh’ in a vietnamese restaurant. As delicious as it was, I struggled to eat this broth (full of beef slices, noodles, bean shoots and thai basil) with only a spoon and a pair of chopsticks. It suddenly… Read More ›
In Victoria (Australia), you probably would have used a Sands & McDougall Directory to find people in the days before telephone directories & the Internet. These impressive publications were compiled annually between 1857 and 1974 and listed the occupants at every business and residence,… Read More ›
While dining at a restaurant the other day, I was initially delighted when a large portion of tiramisù was placed before me. However, I soon realised that this rich dessert was likely to test my commitment to avoiding and minimising waste. Should I… Read More ›
Eye contact is our strongest form of non-verbal communication and plays a critical role in initiating emotional relationships between people (and other species). Photographers, for example, know that getting subjects to look directly at the lens of the camera is… Read More ›
This week I saw an exhibition of homeless art, stories and poetry that was displayed in shop windows along Carlisle Street, Balaclava and Fitzroy Street, St Kilda in Melbourne. It was both uplifting and heart-wrenching at the same time. The ‘No fixed address’ community… Read More ›
Do you ever feel overwhelmed by all of the information available at your fingertips? Or find yourself totally blown away by what new technologies can do and how they are changing our lives? No sooner do I begin to get my head around… Read More ›
Humans have a fascinating tendency to see faces in random things, such as clouds. This phenomenon is called ‘paleidolia’. We do the same with cars – and often ascribe personality traits to these inanimate objects based on their front end features. “Even if people don’t… Read More ›
I was gardening the other day and pulled out a whole lot of dandelions (Taraxacum officinale), planning to give them to the neighbour’s chooks. Next I was going to re-establish the vege patch and start growing my own spinach and other greens again. Then it occurred… Read More ›
If faith is where you turn when there seems to be no place to turn (to paraphrase Zig Ziglar), then comfort food is what you eat at that time. So what happens if you already feel bad and then you feel worse because… Read More ›
What do you do after a bad day at work? Some people eat or drink to excess. My friend Peter draws. Those who choose to over-indulge end up with a hangover or overweight – while Pete ends up with great… Read More ›
For fans of ‘Charlotte’s Web’, imagine if Wilbur (the pig) had instead watched Charlotte (the spider) being taken away to be slaughtered and eaten? Would animal welfare groups such as PETA and the RSPCA have objected and fought for spiders’ rights… Read More ›
I have always loved Michael Leunig’s cartoon ‘TV Sunrise’ – where a father and son sit inside watching a sunset on their television while a real sunset is clearly visible through the window. Oslo Davis did a more recent cartoon… Read More ›
It is one thing to talk about plastic bags and water bottles and other things that we can see and can make a conscious decision about (i.e. whether we buy or accept them in the first place and then how… 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 ›
Recycled paper used to be grey with lots of flecks that would invariably end up in your printer. The one advantage was that you didn’t have to actually write ‘Printed on environmentally friendly paper stock’ on any print outs as… Read More ›
It used to be hard to keep in touch when you travelled. The first time I went overseas by myself, I remember sending a telegram to my parents to say that I had reached my final destination. ARRIVED SAFE STOP… Read More ›
I was very disappointed when I found out what people meant by ‘Google glasses’. I had imagined it to be a conceptual term that cleverly described the Internet’s impact on the way we see the world. Sort of like ‘beer… Read More ›
While I really enjoyed watching the four year old in this video cross lots of things off his bucket list (and hope you enjoy it as well), it is very sobering to think that many communities still dream of having… Read More ›
Do you care about the environment? If not, do you at least care about energy prices, food security and natural disasters? Participants at a recent workshop in Australia did not think that climate change and green buildings were important issues… Read More ›
Sustainability soapbox 