Archive
F. Scott Fitzgerald in the 1919-20 Pandemic
The following is a letter written by F. Scott Fitzgerald in 1920 while he was quarantined in the south of France during the Spanish influenza pandemic, which sounds very familiar even though he is more concerned with his stock of alcohol than food, let alone toilet paper. Dearest Rosemary, It was a limpid dreary day, […]
NASA’s Handy Little Sea-Level Meter
Noticed a bit of extra rust around your place lately? Probably the seaspray closing in. So how fast are the oceans rising? NASA has a handy little online meter that can show you how long to go before your nearest beachfront is redesigned. Read: submerged. Maybe your place is so high up you don’t have […]
Ronny Chieng: Fan Fiction
If, like me, you enjoyed the first season of ABC TV’s Ronny Chieng: International Student in 2017, you will probably be hoping for a second season. I confess that I enjoyed this series so much I wrote some fan fiction, i.e. this Spec Script for Season 2, Episode 1. Okay, the TV production company behind the series sent back “The Supp” to me unread (the […]
The Greatest Hero in History?
Stanislav Petrov is the former Soviet lieutenant-colonel who saved the world on 26 September 1983 from nuclear war and Mutually Assured Destruction (MAD). He followed his instincts and ignored a warning from the Soviet Union’s missile defence system that the US had launched a nuclear missile strike. Stanislav thought it was an error. And he […]
Melbourne’s Best River Walks
Melbourne has many more rivers than the Yarra, as this map shows. The best ones have well-made trails along at least one bank. In August 2009 three friends and I decided that once a year we would walk down a river in Melbourne. Our aim was to see sides of our home town that most […]
Shane Jacobson’s TV Debut in 1994
This is Shane Jacobson’s 1994 TV debut, aged about 23. These excerpts are from an instructional video on rock’n’roll lighting for Ausmusic, a not-for-profit music industry company supported by the federal Labor government of the time. The community station Channel 31 in Melbourne regularly featured Ausmusic’s instructional videos, and Shane’s videos on lighting were his […]
Hey, Donald, Sir Les is Raring to Go!
When news broke about Donald Trump’s election, Sir Les Patterson was thrilled. This happy snap shows Sir Les when he heard the news while up the bush, extending his heartwarming love affair with Australia. Sir Les immediately pitched his services to Mr Trump, citing his long and distinguished career as an international cultural attaché for […]
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