Category: Australia
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When You Travel Back To The Motherland And Feel Like A Tourist
Anybody who has migrated to another country will understand the conundrum of whether “home” will always be the place in which you were born or your adopted country. At this stage of life – the old AF period just prior to death – the question can become all the more poignant with our tendency to…
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Who Says Family Holidays Can’t Be Fun?
It was that time of year again last weekend. The family holiday 2018 had spun back around with all the promise of a mammogram. Admittedly, the word “holiday” is somewhat of an exaggeration. The kids will attest to the fact that the word “holiday” is something of an exaggeration. This year – at the old man’s…
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It’s OK To Be White AND A Man, Just Don’t Abuse The Privilege
Photo by Nick Fewings on Unsplash Evidently, certain people have a chip on their shoulder about the terrible onus of having white skin. I agree that it is terrible to be discriminated and victimized for your race and gender, and Pauline Hanson’s motion in the Senate last week reminded me of the backlash that has risen amongst…
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I’m More Concerned About Trump’s Policies Than The Size Of His Dick
There’s been a lot of talk about fruit and veg in the press this week. First, about the loonies here in Australia that think it’s funny to put needles in strawberries, and then there’s Trump’s mushroom-shaped penis, the image in my head of which, I can’t unsee. It’s not that I actively sought out the flagrant…
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What Are We Teaching Our Children?
Change scares people, and none more so than older people. I can personally vouch for the fact that many of us seek comfort in our dotage. Comfortable sofas, with just the right amount of back support; comfort food; comfortable clothing, and comfortable, flat shoes. We like what we know and we know what we like…
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Make A Proper Apology, Trevor, And Learn From This Experience
Portrait of an Aboriginal woman in western dress. Part of the Walter Herbert Bradshaw collection in the exhibition Unruly Days: Territory Life 1911-1921, Museum and Art Gallery of the NT, Northern Territory. Michael J Barritt on Flickr. There is no doubt that the derogatory comment Trevor Noah made five years ago about Aboriginal women was…
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Are Women Really Asking For Too Much?
According to the middle-aged male grapevine at lunch over the weekend, men are sick of opening news websites with headlines that they interpret as a personal attack since the start of the #metoo campaign. Because as they mansplained reminded me, again and again, faces red and voices raised, it’s #notallmen that abuse, rape, disfigure and…
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Car Insurance, Teens, And Just How Far Parental Responsibility Extends
Insurance is one of those dirty words that you only have to deal with once you grow up – kind of like calories and tax – and as a serial procrastinator, I always found that it was best left well alone until I needed it. But from my perspective as a parent, it is an…
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What To Watch Next? The Viewing Dilemma Faced By Every Middle-Aged Couple
As the final episode of series 3 of The Wire reached its conclusion last night (and if I’m honest, we were no clearer about what the fuck happened during its twelve episodes), the old man and I reached another crisis of epic proportions in our marriage. What to watch next? Because what to watch on…
LOUISA SIMMONDS 