Tag Archives: australia

Peanuts for Allergies – Controversial Allegations Enough to Take the Rose out of Every Cheek

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Controversial allegations have come to light that suggest senior executives at Vegemite created peanut allergies in efforts to reclaim some of their lost market share. A series of leaked emails allege operation ‘Down with P: V on Top’ was an ongoing take-down strategy that aimed to get peanut butter banned from schools and force parents to use allergy-friendly Vegemite.

One of the most shocking elements to the controversy was the alleged payment of school children to fake the illness Continue reading →

Hottest 100 Predictions – What’s Going On This Australia Day?

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Ken oath I love ‘straya. I’d potentially call myself ‘patriotic’ if it didn’t have the cringe worthy associations with racism and shame surrounding our colonial past. But I’m not here to lecture on our issues with racism, our binge drinking culture, or our national identity issues – I’m not actually clever enough to write about those things anyway. Instead I’m writing about the things I like about Australia Day, that is: barbequed meats; an obligation to eat lamingtons; and triple j’s Hottest 100. Continue reading →

Leafy Suburbia Living vs. Grimy Inner City Dwelling

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Can you feel the ocean breeze? Smell those freshly mowed lawns? Hear those birds (you know the ones, they go booooooooo-woop)? The sensations of leafy suburbia – where I’ve taken respite from my inner city life to house-sit for a couple of days – feel good. I came for a bit of peace and quiet and easy beach access, but got a whole lot more than that. And it’s hard not to compare it to my usual residence in the grimy inner city.

So how do they stack up?

In the morning…

Suburbs: Sunday morning sleep-ins may come to an abrupt halt due to the sounds of birds (seriously it’s like a fricken rainforest out here), small children and lawnmowers.

Inner city: You are gently lulled awake by conversations of friendly locals as they drift past your house on their daily trip to the rehab centre. I don’t know why, but they prefer to converse with each other by shouting from opposite sides of the street. Continue reading →

Four Simple Steps to Win the triple j Hottest 100

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So you’re a band/musician/producer and you’re bummed you didn’t win the triple j Hottest 100 yesterday? There, there, it’s ok. To help with your Sunday blues I’ve performed some critical analysis* and conducted some focus group discussions** to come up with the perfect formula to win this thing.

1. Get your song played across a number of commercial stations as well triple j

As much as many triple j listeners would pride themselves on the fact they don’t listen to commercial radio, others do. Continue reading →

TV Non-Review: ‘Problems’ by Sam Simmons

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This blog post is inspired by one of my favourite comedians, Sam Simmons. His new show Problems launched last night on ABC1 and really spoke to me.

If you’re unfamiliar with Sam Simmons imagine the weirdest thought you’ve ever had, put it in a giant moth costume, make it bald, give it a bushy moustache and dress it in bread shoes (“loafers”). I’ve seen him perform live a couple of times and enjoyed every moment of his silliness. If you know The Mighty Boosh (which you should, it’s hilarious) maybe the fact Noel Fielding described Sam as ‘weirder than the boosh’ will mean something to you.

Problems includes characters such as Sam, his cat Mr. Meow-gi, the moths that live in his couch, the $2 shop owner and more. The problems are real and the drama is heated. Continue reading →

Why We Should All Care About the Fairfax/Rinehart Situation

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Update 23/06: This post was also featured on The Urban Times. It’s a great site, you should check it out!

This week has marked major shake ups in the print and online journalism industry in Australia. This post summarises those developments and offers suggestions of how to prevent the situation from worsening. Continue reading →

TV Review: ‘Dating in the Dark Australia’ Every Episode Ever

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Dating in the Dark Australia is a reality television show that proclaims to ‘test that age-old question “is love blind?”’ Hosted by former Miss Australia, Laura Dundonovik, contestants take looks out of the equation in their search for love by going on a series of dates in total darkness.

Each week a new crop of failed Big Brother applicants (or in one case an actual Big Brother contestant) excitedly enter the Dating in the Dark house. At the ripe average age of 21, the contestants are apparently tired of the dating game and claim they are looking for “something real”, whatever that means. Continue reading →

Is the decrease in quality political journalism a threat to democracy?

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Growing up in my household, weekend relaxing was synonymous with reading the newspaper. After the grocery shopping was done I would open whatever food I’d snuck into the trolley when dad wasn’t looking and sit down to read the paper. It was usually a family affair with my parents, brother and sister peeling off their favourite sections of the paper. “Who has the Good Weekend?”… “Claire, did you leave it in the bathroom… again?” Happy days.

Now I usually get my weekend news fix browsing on my iPad or laptop. And not just one source either, I browse lots of different news websites and social media platforms to get my information. And I’m not alone on this one. Continue reading →

11 Awesome Things About My Mum

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11 Awesome Things About My Mum

My mum is awesome. I don’t thank her enough. Although who could ever thank their mum enough? She fed you, clothed you, and made sure you stayed alive. She changed your nappy for years. And then there’s everything she did for you when you were a baby.

My mum is away this Mother’s Day so since I didn’t get to see her today I thought I’d mark the occasion by sharing 11 awesome things about her (ten just didn’t seem enough). Continue reading →

Garage Sale Trail Fun

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Last weekend I hosted a garage sale as part of the annual Garage Sale Trail. Seeing as we don’t even have a garage this would appear a pretty amazing feat, but that’s just how I roll.

The Garage Sale Trail is an annual event in which everyone is invited to host garage sales or get amongst the sales as a buyer. It began in Bondi and now in its third year has spread Australia-wide. Continue reading →