Stop, smell and order your roses
For the widest choice and cheaper plants get in now and order your roses. Popular and new varieties will sell out quickly.
Columnists
The art world has been a men’s club. Now, it’s changing
Male creators, put simply, have been noticed. Given the gift of attention. But now we’re entering an era of matronage, yes matronage, and what a glorious concept it is.
Elon will get to Mars one day – but will he get to heaven?
Given that the Tesla boss is worth about $US385 billion according to Forbes, he must feel some alarm.
There’s a milk – and a political party – for everyone
In this world, deciding on your political allegiance is like buying a product that reflects on you and your personal brand.
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The curious case of Paul Hogan and his forgotten director
Graham Kennedy and Don Lane were fulsome on their praise for Peter Faiman, who directed their variety shows. With Paul Hogan, it was a different story … and it only gets juicier.
Perfectionism is a poison for our young women and girls
As a teen I suffered from the trap of perfectionism – it was a prison and I was so hard on myself. I never want to return to that former life.
Family prayers, mass in Latin… my childhood was devout
What I regarded as normal as a kid growing up in the 1960s I have come to realise was unusual. But I recall it as a comforting experience.
This has been Australia’s No.1 job for decades. My, how it’s changed
This industry started its modern transformation more than 50 years ago – but I occasionally miss the quixotic inefficiencies of yesteryear.
James Randi was a great magician – and a debunker of frauds
He was often seen issuing his $1m challenge on Larry King – a cash prize for anyone who could demonstrate psychic or paranormal ability under scientific conditions agreed to by both parties. Many tried, and all failed.
Where will mankind’s destructive impulses lead us?
There’s a sense of seismic shifting in so many arenas at the moment. The agonising wrench of great change, and what feels like a quickening into catastrophe.
Kia has replaced the Cerato with this. Is it any good?
The Kia Cerato sold a remarkable 200,000+ units in Australia but the carmaker has benched it for a new and novel petrol-powered sedan, the K4.
‘The most childish and irresponsible Mustang ever’
I always thought the electric Ford Mustang was an idiotic idea, which is why this proper Mustang – big V8, rear-wheel drive – is such a joy to drive.
We owe so much to the teachers who nurture a child’s potential
Here’s to all those teachers of generosity who make pupils believe they can actually do it; who give them the gift of confidence.
My link to the greatest Egyptologist of them all
Forget Howard Carter. The polymath Sir William Matthew Flinders Petrie was the greatest Egyptologist and is rightly deemed the Father of Egyptology.
How many Australians would fight for their country today?
Some argue that 80 years since the end of World War II, we are no longer prepared to make the sacrifices war demands. I can see the logic of this argument; I disagree with its conclusion.
I actually feel sorry for the team that designed this car
Mazda’s seven-seater CX-80 is boring to look at, terrible to drive, and it’s interior is crap. Why are car companies serving up this kind of soul-crushing homogeneity?
Why is ‘peak separation’ for men and women different?
Women often make the decision to separate by the age of 47, but why does it happen for men five years later?
What’s a champagne socialist’s favourite TV show? This treasure
I tried cocaine but am totally addicted to this. At the end of every episode I am older and wiser.
I’ve started washing the dishes again and it’s blown my mind
In the frenzy of a screen-bombed life, the antidote was under my nose all along.
Right-handers don’t know how easy they’ve got it
To live with left-handedness is an obstacle to continually surmount. Power tools, musical instruments, kitchen implements, ink pens, golf clubs: all are layered with an extra degree of difficulty.
The sliding doors moment that helped me find my passion
When I was a teenager in a small country town in western Victoria in the early 1970s, I attended a talk hosted by the local historical society. It changed everything.
Take it from an old TV critic – Adolescence is brilliant
We are in era of Netflix, the major disruptor in the movie and telly businesses. And today I wish to plug a few of its shows – safely assuming you’ve got a subscription.
In 1966, home ownership sat at 73 per cent. Look at us now
The Australia of 1966 – the time of ‘peak house’ – is almost unrecognisable today.
Ghosts are everywhere … if you know where to look
There’s no need to attend seances where, in artfully darkened rooms, fraudulent mediums spew ectoplasm and implore ghosts to levitate tables.
I have a favourite child – and I expect I’m not alone
It’s a confession from the deepest, darkest underbelly of motherhood yet no person, ever, will know which child it is.
Why I admire anyone who stands for political office
It’s popular in some quarters to be critical, even cynical, of the political class. And to be fair, there are times when the misdoings of politicians warrant criticism. But the older I get, the more sanguine I’ve become.
What does a biodiversity census of my farm reveal?
Noah could overfill his ark at Elmswood. And given the threat of climate change, we’d like to provide more passengers for his cruise ship.
Conversation is a two-way street. So why don’t men ask questions?
I came away from a recent dinner party thinking wow, not a single question from any male about my work, life, what I’ve been doing, who I am. What does this say about them?
How Gen Z is phasing out ‘aggressive’ capital letters
Each generation rebels. Perhaps this is an anti-older generation movement. A pushing back against a Boomer realm that’s messing up the planet and possibly galloping us into World War III.
This 60s counterculture group mixed humour with protest
The Yippies packed a wallop, mainly through the originality of their approach. They threatened to pour LSD into US dams so that everyone would get high … and they tried to elect a pig to the White House.
Original URL: https://www.theaustralian.com.au/weekend-australian-magazine/columnists/page/2