A Good Reason To Leave Avondale Heights?!?

Saw the above campaign poster on a wall just off Military Road last night. Much as some might find it reassuring to think that our rather inauthentic local federal MP loves Avondale Heights (read the small print in the bottom right hand corner), one of my friends suggested that this is a good reason for …

McDonalds now has competition on Good Friday

I usually only actively practice my Catholicism once a year or so – I sometimes attend the Italian service of the Stations of the Cross at the local Catholic Church in the evening of Good Friday. Last night, I chose not to do so, as it was dark and gloomy at 7.30pm. But I did …

Shen Yun Dance Company is touring Australia

I am not really into attending the ballet or opera or such high culture – my main interest in the performing arts is watching Shakespeare and other great plays live. However, when out for a walk yesterday, I noticed a huge banner in the front window of the local pizza joint promoting a tour which …

On The Blandwagon – The 2022 Election Campaign So Far….

When covering the 1988 US Democratic Convention, the recently late P.J. O’Rourke aptly titled his article ‘On The Blandwagon’. Less aptly perhaps, he included this essay in his next book, ‘Holidays in Hell’. He probably should have waited a few years and then included it in the much more suitably titled ‘Holidays in Heck’. Coverage …

Vox Populi Vox Dei – Reflections On The Upcoming Federal Election

Most days, I enjoy reading the Pearls Before Swine comic strip, which alternates between childlike innocence (in the character of Pig), and dark cynicism (in the form of Rat). One story arc from 2016 saw Rat, the anti-hero of this comic, run for US President, mostly on the platform of being more likeable than either …

BROO resolve their boardroom stoush

As the holder of a microscopic small share holding in the ASX listed craft brewer Broo Ltd, I have been quite interested in following the recent developments in the company, particularly the apparent falling out between the founder, Kent “Groges” Grogan and the recently appointed new board member. In the past couple of days, a …

When is a sound thrashing warranted?

Today at the Academy Awards ceremony we had the unscripted entertainment featuring soon to be Oscar winner Will Smith slapping presenter Chris Rock. Apparently, the cause of offence was a feeble joke about Will Smith’s wife, Jada Pinkett-Smith, starring in a remake of GI Jane. Presumably her baldness, rather than her poor choice in movie …

When The Beer Goes Sour: The BROO Boardroom Stoush

Did you happen to know that most of the well known beer brands in Australia are now foreign owned? Japanese to be most precise. Kirin have long owned the portfolio of beers held mostly under the Tooheys umbrella, and Asahi have sometime in the past decade ended up as owners of what used to be …

Elvis Costello may always have been Woke, but he is still a good musician

Declan McManus, who is most commonly known to us as the singer Elvis Costello, is someone of whom I have been a moderate fan since the late 1980s. I was rather saddened but somewhat unsurprised by his recent announcement that he will no longer be performing ‘Oliver’s Army’, his anti-military song (the British Army traces …