The miner was the Australian founding director of an international resources company. One of its operations was in a mineral-rich but impoverished African country. Driving the dusty roads between the capital and the remote mine, he noticed herds of bony, undernourished cattle belonging to the local villagers. Concerned for the potential harm the dust […]
A cultural Christmas tale
My daughter and I stood before this Christmas tree creation when it was done, watching it glitter with the reflected fairy lights, and thought it beautiful. Two years previously, a deciduous tree had died in our garden. As we took it down, I saw that the two top branches tied together made an almost perfect […]
Stories shine the light on truth, and so much more . . .
Every now and again along comes someone who rocks your world. They make you laugh, while telling stories that shine the light on truth. Genius. In this case, a young man, who I rather wish was my son. When Donald Trump became President, I was bemused by the strength of my response. After all, he […]
Why do your stories matter?
What do you define as a story that matters? You’re telling stories all the time – what happened as you woke up, went to work, talked to a friend; your diet, exercise routine, plans for a holiday, dreams for the future. Every time you recall an interview from the radio, an article online, or […]
Have you tried to change your page name?
Tying to line up the ducks is probably a mug’s game, especially if it starts with trying to change your Facebook page name. The process is presumably automated, given my case number: #10155515998717457! If so, while I respect the growing artificial intelligence in our lives as the precursor to an intelligence way greater than ours in […]
Chameleon words
POTUS. Not a word but an acronym, POTUS is everywhere – in social media and most main stream media outlets as reference to President Trump, currently The President of The United States. Its recent and frequent use made me question when I had first heard it, mistakenly believing it was a newly created acronym. […]
Stuff, Jane Goodall, and the rag and bone folk
Hard rubbish day somewhere. Sad planet day everywhere. For years, hard rubbish was a joyous event. Time to get rid of stuff, spring clean and chuck out the stained rugs, lumpy mattresses, smashed plant pots, polystyrene packaging, broken electrics – fridges, TVs, washing machines, heaters, coolers – and whatever else may have reached its obsolescence date. […]
Fight or flight. Or clarity and calm?
How clarity defies evil Mordor comes to mind at the moment. For those of you who are not a Lord of The Rings fanatic, Mordor is a place of doom. It is the seat of the Dark Lord Sauron, whose increasing power over Middle Earth will be complete when he possesses The One Ring […]
Pivoting on purpose, and in principle
Do you know or remember the song MacArthur Park? The laconic Irish actor, Richard Harris, who played King Arthur in Camelot way back in the 70’s sang it. He had to employ an army of sopranos to sing the closing chorus because there was no way he was going to meet those notes. Ever. The lyrics […]
Managing your book cover design on a budget
Book cover, brochure or ebook for that matter Before the book cover comes writing the book. It’s a punt – writing a book. To begin with, it’s as if you’ve hit up your Lizard brain with truckloads of mind-altering substances, so frenzied the ‘whatever-do-you-think-you’re-doing’ diatribe. Interestingly, the antidote –an equivalent of intense counselling and doses of valium – is continuing […]
