Natural splendour, real musics, wines, wordpower
On this blog, a Word power post is always an attempt to draw your attention to an essay, article, report, poem or book that is particularly worth reading.
This post’s title is in fact the subtitle of the current Quarterly Essay; Minority Report, by George Megalogenis.
If I could “prescribe” just one “essential” piece for every intelligent Australian voter to read before our next Federal election….
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This post is a pointer to two opinion pieces.
Both are particularly worth reading in light of the re-election – as leader of “our” planet’s most powerful “democracy” – of an incorrigible liar, felon, bully, ignoramus, narcissist, jingoist, misogynist (probably, also a “sex offender”) and racist.
Just published by ABC News, Carrington Clarke’s is an immediate response to Donald Trump’s victory.
The October 2024 edition of The Monthly published Tim Winston’s more finely-crafted essay, which makes absolutely no direct reference to the American presidential election.
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Hmmmmmmmm…
Look!… flying, up there, in the sky….is it a pig, or a pie?
Pelican Yoga wishes you all a happy new year, regardless!
Comments closedIt is hard to imagine how anybody could top ABC News Director Justin Stevens’ latest contribution to the ever-burgeoning array of managerial weasel-speak.
Today, when announcing the “difficult” decision to axe The Drum, “as part of a wider restructure which would see a programs team on the ABC News Channel disbanded and one executive position abolished”, Stevens delivered this 100% pure nugget of fools’ gold:
Stopping things does not diminish their previous value or contribution,
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“Our” world is so oversaturated with sensationalism, misrepresentation, haranguing, intolerance, name-calling, “cancelling”, “virtue signalling” and the “100% this versus 100% that” school of argumentation.
It has become an increasingly rare pleasure to read a measured and sensible newspaper article, devoted to a highly contentious topic.
The relevant piece was published this week in the Australian edition of The Guardian.
Fully cognisant of cats’ devastating impact on Australian wildlife, it addresses this question:
can we have cats (as pets) in a sustainable and ethical way?
You may be surprised to know that the answer is yes, albeit yes, if…
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The moment I saw this exuberantly “bird-ready” example of Western Australia’s floral emblem, I suddenly remembered one of my favourite Australian poems.
Les Murray (1938 – 2019) never became a Nobel Laureate.
Depending on my mood, I find that fact “puzzling” (at his best, Murray was so very obviously – for much of his adult life – one of the greater 20th century poets) or “utterly predictable”. (his verse was so overtly Australian, and his views were not always “palatable”)
The Quality of Sprawl’s opening verse:
Sprawl is the quality
of the man who cut down his Rolls-Royce
into a farm utility truck, and sprawl
is what the company lacked when it made repeated efforts
to buy the vehicle back and repair its image.
One CommentThe roadside billboard pictured above is in the foothills of the Nilgiri Hills.
It hopes to lure travellers into what is in fact merely yet another of the world’s millions of franchised purveyors of junk “food”, “soft” drinks, and lousy coffee.
What’s actually on offer is drearily “global”, but the billboard-hyperbole has an unmistakably Indian flavour.
Where else would a brand name even attempt to associate its burgers, pizzas, sandwiches and fizzy drinks with drug “trips” and rock music’s first “supergroup”?
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Unsurprisingly, Barbie prompted Salmon’s provocative essay, but it is not a film review,
Its headline’s question:
Has Barbie killed the indie director?
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Looking for a succinct summary of how Australia’s national government is “addressing” this growing problem?
Jon Kudelka’s contribution to Issue no 449 of The Saturday Paper, published May 13 2023, can be seen, read and grasped in less time than it takes to lay one brick…
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Natalie and Walt have just unwittingly delayed the promised leopard post!
(it will be the next one, I promise)
The photo alludes to one of my favourite Walt Whitman poems, from Leaves of Grass.
Most printed interviews with musicians are time-wasting, publicist-driven piffle.
A notable exception is The New Yorker interview, published today – worth reading, whether or not you admire/know Natalie Merchant’s singing/songs.
There aren’t a lot of people writing love songs to Walt Whitman.
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