Opinion
Summer reads
The summer I ... became a milkman
Desire helped me quickly remember the milk order for one house. But standing on the running board of a small truck that rattled and shuddered its way through the suburbs, I felt sure I would never remember what all the other houses were meant to get.
- by Simon Castles
Latest
Opinion
Coronavirus pandemic
Daring to imagine a time when numbers won’t rule our lives
Since March last year, COVID-19 numbers have dominated our days and shaped every aspect of our lives, like a chart of our emotional ups and downs.
- by Simon Castles
Opinion
Education
You know who's struggled most with home schooling? Me!
I’m surely not alone – I hope I’m not alone – among parents to have found themselves scrambling a bit in the brain department over these weeks of home schooling.
- by Simon Castles
Opinion
Coronavirus pandemic
My Labrador isn't great at social distancing, and it's becoming a problem
Dogs aren’t so good at understanding a threat that’s not right in front of them. And in that, they are not so different from us.
- by Simon Castles
Opinion
Veganism
It's starting to feel a lot like a vegan Christmas
Veganism might be more widespread and accepted than it once was, but it’s surprising how much emotion it still stirs in those who like meat on their plate.
- by Simon Castles
Opinion
Retail
Shop around? Ain't nobody got time for that
Few humans, having found some precious time, want to spend it reading through half a dozen different electricity deals written in language so opaque it makes you cry.
- by Simon Castles
Opinion
Gig economy
The term 'side hustle' puts a gloss on grim reality
The increasingly popular term makes insecurity and desperation sound like freedom and empowerment.
- by Simon Castles
Opinion
Retail
In department stores, nobody can hear you scream
Department store alone is a particular kind of alone.
- by Simon Castles
Opinion
Apps
It's come to this: locking up our smartphones so we can pay attention
It is an indication of just how deep our addiction to smartphones is that literally locking them away has become a solution.
- by Simon Castles
Original URL: https://www.smh.com.au/by/simon-castles-gxzxa5