Audi is finally a contender in the EV market
There is a lot going on with this Audi – including, to my horror, Car Karaoke. Reviewing it did start to make me feel more like a nerdy technologist than a revered motoring expert. But here’s my verdict.
Columnists
Australia’s fastest-growing job may surprise you
Something came out of leftfield early this decade to downgrade the café from its position of prominence in our national consciousness.
It might be the best Tassie riesling I’ve tasted
Two years since Haddow + Dineen’s pinot noir grapes were devoured by a gaggle of geese, the winemaker has bounced back with a riesling masterclass.
If BMW continues to produce cars like this – then it has a problem
BMW coupes are meant to be fast, sleek, and sexy – the paragon of ultimate-driving-machine excellence. What on Earth happened with this one?
How Monopoly began its life on the left wing
Our story begins in 1903, when an American lady named Lizzie Magie, an ardent anti-monopolist (and follower of Henry George’s views on taxation), created The Landlord’s Game.
Can BYD blow away HiLux and the Ranger with an electric ute?
There has been a lot of frothing excitement about BYD bringing this, the first-ever PHEV ute, to market. Prepare to be surprised by what this ‘quiet giant’ has to offer.
Five stars wouldn’t do justice to Lambo’s new supercar
I wasn’t interested in Lamborghini’s new hybrid supercar – until they loaned me one for a week. God, driving this car is exciting. It’s like you’re in charge of a solar system.
How Indian immigration will shape our culture in coming years
The fastest rising immigrant force in Australia this decade (and likely beyond) is the Indian community with its range of languages, religions, cuisine and commitment to multi-generational households.
The odd coincidences that happen after loved ones die
Is the grief-struck human mind so desperate to find solace, proof, belief, that we seam meaning into tugging occurrences with no meaning? Or do the coincidences have meaning beyond us?
The unexpected start to my friendship with Lady Joan Lindsay
My story begins with a telly show I did half a century ago, when the ABC sent me to review an exhibition of Norman Lindsay’s paintings. Knowing little of art and less of Lindsay I was perfectly unqualified, but that didn’t stop me.
The label ‘neurodivergent’ needs a rebrand
In our rigidly judgmental social order we have parents despairing at oddball children and teachers frustrated, but those kids’ singular minds should be recognised as gifts. There will be a Jeff Bezos or a Bill Gates among them.
Even in tough times, I’m optimistic for the future
In today’s world, in which many Australians are suffering the effects of a cost-of-living crisis, what is the hope on the horizon?
Scapegoating is an ugly tactic in politics — but it works
Fear of the Other is a winning formula: it gets column inches, inflames grievance, unites a group in a sense of indignant rancour. It’s ugly psychology, and it’s un-Australian.
We’re a sponge for America culture — up to a point
There are skirmishes where American and Australian culture are fighting for supremacy, if not for survival.
This can’t be a supercar — it’s far too easy for a tall, fat bloke to get in
Driving a supercar was once akin to taking control of a monster that runs on a combination of molten lava and absinthe. In this McLaren Artura Spider, it all feels a bit too accessible.
Midnight on the Doomsday Clock looms. Will we ever learn?
More pandemics, old and new, are in the wind. A war is raging on Europe’s doorstep. And joy of joys, Donald Trump has secured a second term in the Failed Sate of the US. It seems the only thing we learn from history is how to repeat it.
This EV sports car hits 100km/h in just 2.4 seconds
This is quite possibly the fastest car I’ve ever driven – at least in a straight line – which makes it a useful tool for impressing and occasionally terrifying other people. But it does not make it my favourite vehicle ever.
Here’s why I’m a devout Shakespearean
I believe the Second Coming has already come, and occurred in Elizabethan England.
A population crash will change our world
Humanity has never previously been in a position of sustained, structural contraction. We must get used to the idea, and position ourselves to take advantage of it.
These emblems of country Australia are disappearing
Where are the windmills? These giant steel flowers on their Eiffel struts dotted our stock routes and paddocks for a century and a half.
It’s a looker, but can this LandCruiser carry a dead sheep?
If you’re looking for a proper off-road vehicle, the options are limited. So no wonder there’s a buzz around the new Toyota LandCruiser.
Why don’t we embrace eccentrics in Australia anymore?
The recently departed, singular filmmaker David Lynch had the strength to be exactly himself. Parts of the world venerate independent thinkers like him but our nation is not one of them.
Isn’t it time for a puff of prettier smoke to announce a female Pope?
We’re used to female PMs and Premiers. We’ve even survived a few queens and women as GG. Even the Ancient Egyptians had a female Pharaoh. It’s time for change at the Vatican.
Caring for elderly parents, and your kids? Welcome to ‘Generation Sandwich’
With ageing parents and adult kids requiring support for longer many of us are finding ourselves aged 50 and being squeezed into caring for two generations of family.
What invention has changed the way we live for the better?
Mobile phones and the internet have delivered greater connectivity, yet I’m not convinced this makes us feel happier and more secure than we did a generation ago.
Not even Musk can escape the great democracy of death
For all his trillions and SpaceX toys under development, Elon cannot escape the gravitational pull of mortality or the feeling of dread that fills the soul when contemplating the cold mechanics of the universe.
Why is tech making everything so complicated?
In this sleekly automated modern world everything, actually, seems to be taking longer, with more grunt and grumble along the way.
What, if any, parts of our modern life will survive 1000 years?
The best way to consider how we might live a thousand years from now is to go back a millennia to 1025, a time that predates the Norman Conquest of Britain.
Who comes out on top in the battle of the mini-vans?
Between the Kia Carnival and Hyundai Staria there can only be one winner – and by ‘winner’ I mean one which I hated significantly less than I expected to.
Secrets of growing dragon fruit revealed
Ever wondered how this beautiful tropical fruit is grown? The answer will astonish you.
Original URL: https://www.theaustralian.com.au/weekend-australian-magazine/columnists/page/3