Sky and the sounding of Trumpian clarions

Political commentary Sky Australia’s RWNJ crew are arguing, just two days after the electoral blueblood bath that was Labor's (& a Greens/Teals') win, that the Liberal Party needs to shift even further to the right. (See this Guardian article.) My first thoughts are that we are indeed becoming more of an underpopulated America than ever. … Continue reading Sky and the sounding of Trumpian clarions →

Planting the Anthropocene’s golden spike

An extract from an article Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com Although there is a strong agreement among scientists that human activity has pushed the earth out of the stable patterns of the Holocene, debate is far from settled about whether this constitutes a new geological epoch and, if so, where to plant the golden spike … Continue reading Planting the Anthropocene’s golden spike →

More from TWO ROADS

From Pulpit Rock 1965 David Evans This one walked towards us with the bow-legged gait of a horseman and sat astride some rocky protrusion. I knew that walk; Uncle Philip on Dad's side walked like that. Uncle Phillip managed a horse stud. My name's David Evans. I'm named David for my father and his father … Continue reading More from TWO ROADS →

Another ‘Two Roads’ extract

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09TZS1G9X A novel and a novella The police car comes out of nowhere. Takes out his front wheel. Frank flies up and over the bars, thinking this is going to hurt, and it does. The ground hits him hard, he feels his shirt tear as he slides along, gravel working its way in. But before … Continue reading Another ‘Two Roads’ extract →

Extract from TWO ROADS

A novel and novella Two roads is a novella (Pulpit Rock) and short novel (Malleable) of ~85,000 words. The extract below comes from the novel, Malleable. It deals with... Front cover ...And Norman has wondered, would I have the strength and will to walk with those black protesters? Would I face rotten eggs and muck … Continue reading Extract from TWO ROADS →

Regarding statistics, floods and the public nuisance that social media can be

The Guardian asks: "Are eastern Australia’s catastrophic floods really a one-in-1,000 year event? Describing a flood as a one-in-1,000-year event doesn’t mean we won’t see another one until the year 3000. Photograph: Bradley Richardson/Australian Defence Force/AFP/Getty Images Scientists say describing floods as ‘one-in-1,000-year’ events can mislead the public about the probability of such disasters recurring" On … Continue reading Regarding statistics, floods and the public nuisance that social media can be →

Extract from: The Big Fat YES Debate[s]

Given the times and events it seems worth popping an extract in from my non-fiction book for upper primary students. War Hmmnn? YES to ‘that the world would be better if we only had peace’ Who'd have thought there would be people who say NO to peace? From a debating point of view, it’s certainly … Continue reading Extract from: The Big Fat YES Debate[s] →

The reader as passenger

I am reading Dan O’Brien’s excellent The Contract Surgeon and making the odd note as I go along. Not in the book, I should add (it is not mine) but in a notepad. On page 23 this rather excellent little cameo is made by a female character – ‘an old woman’ who is tending a … Continue reading The reader as passenger →

Vaccine mandates

In keeping with my occasional passion (note the oxymoron) for quick commentary on the current let us go to the idea of vaccine mandates and alleged government dictatorial behaviour or autocracy. I note that Austria may mandate restrictions for the unvaccinated depending on ICU case numbers. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/oct/23/austrian-chancellor-says-unvaccinated-may-face-restrictions-if-covid-cases-rise. This is the way the world is going; … Continue reading Vaccine mandates →