How is it that we are not talking about the two people who set themselves on fire last week? Please just stop for a moment and think about this. Last week two people doused themselves in petrol and set themselves alight in an effort to harm themselves in the worst possible way. One of them has since died and the…
Author: Heather
Here’s a sentence I thought I’d never write
So here’s a sentence I thought I’d never write: I’m watching Married at First Sight. Before you close the post in disgust there’s a couple of things I want to clear up. Firstly, I would never normally watch a show like this. It’s not the trash factor I object to. I’ve been known to watch Kitchen Nightmares, Gogglebox and Geordie…
What is the point of Science?
Recently new CSIRO chief executive, Larry Marshall, has informed the organisation he wants it to operate more like a start-up company. When pressed he explained that this means scientists should be less afraid of failure and dare to try new things. WTF? Isn’t this the very nature of scientific research? I’ve been fortunate to work in universities for the last…
Malcolm: Can an entrepreneur lead a conservative nation?
This morning The Shovel ran with the headline ‘Malcolm Turnbull has used his extra hour this morning to propose, then withdraw, two new tax policies.’ I smiled wryly – clearly The Shovel perceives its audience as progressive types who would only live in states where daylight savings is a thing. But more importantly, like all great comedy, the headline was…
The Day My Front Bum Went Psycho
At one point I had an extraordinarily busy job. Not the regular, status conscious, kind of busy which is the new ‘good’ these days. You know, when someone asks you how you are and you respond ‘busy’, automatically, as once you might have said ‘good’ or ‘well thanks.’? Well, my job wasn’t that kind of busy. It was not merely…
Safe Schools
I went to high school in the ‘80s. Had you asked me then I would have said there were no gay kids at my eastern suburbs state school. I wouldn’t have understood if you’d asked about trans or intersex kids. But I could have told you about kids who were strange. Kids who didn’t ‘fit in’. And kids who seemed…
The man who mistook his wife for a wallet
In spite of my best efforts to avoid it I have heard quite a bit of talk lately about the fact that Gary Lyon slept with Billy Brownless’ ex-wife, Nicky some-one-or-other. Most recently I understand Billy appeared on the Footy show to talk about what had happened and compared his wife to a wallet. Which explains why I have now…
Meet Mischa and Nicholas
Hey everybody I want you to meet Mischa and Nicholas. They are my children. Mischa is 8 and Nicholas 6. Their full names are Mischa Sally Hilton and Nicholas Frank Miller. There’s nothing much sentimental about the first names. I haven’t known any other Mischas personally – I just really liked the name about the time I first thought about having…
Why I don’t care what happens to Cardinal Pell
There’s a woman. Let’s call her Hannah. She’s in her seventies. I met Hannah when I studied Social Work some years ago and we became friends. Of course I’ve changed her name to protect her identity. Hannah’s experience is common to so many people. You see Hannah was sexually abused as a child by a man she knew and trusted. …
To unfriend or argue, that is the question
Everyone has at least one. That ‘friend’ on Facebook who repeatedly posts stuff that makes you realise you have nothing in common or, worse still, that you find most of their views are actually objectionable. You know the type – you’ll be surfing your news feed of a lazy Saturday morning and amongst the proud parent moments, holiday snaps and…