Reading

Created
Fri, 20/03/2020 - 16:58

It's a glorious sunny day in Sydney, not just warm but actually hot, with a breeze. When I hang the washed sheets out, they seem to dry before I turn around. (Just as well, for reasons I'll explain in a later post.)

I haven't settled into a routine, exactly. I do the same things each day: cook, wash, tidy, read, catch up with email, check the news, do a bit of exercise. The last two days I went out walking in the daylight, to generate some Vitamin D and stretch the legs. Tried to pick times when no-one would be on foot in my suburb, but misjudged that - met young women walking dogs, tradesmen repairing houses, and kids coming home from school. So I have been learning the new social skill of swerving 2 metres away from other people without seeming to insult them. The Corona Shuffle.
Created
Fri, 20/03/2020 - 10:14
I’ve written a ‘top 10’ overview of things to know about affordable housing and homelessness, as they relate to Canada’s upcoming federal budget. The overview is based on the affordable housing and homelessness chapter in the just-released Alternative Federal Budget. A link to the ‘top 10’ overview is here.
Created
Thu, 19/03/2020 - 13:02

This food timeline started as a way to explore the revolution in Australian food that has occurred during the baby-boomers’ lifetime, but has since expanded to include more about the previous decades (and century) as well. Also included are overseas events and trends that had an impact here. The entries are brief, but there are lots of links if you want more information.

Coronavirus leads to empty supermarket shelves

Created
Thu, 19/03/2020 - 08:17
Here are some quick thoughts on the extensive package of emergency measures announced today by Prime Minister Trudeau, Finance Minister Morneau, and Bank of Canada Governor Poloz: The Pros: The government has worked quickly and creatively to find ways to deliver support to Canadians, and fast – using the infrastructure of existing benefits, and developing new channels where needed. The [...]
Created
Sun, 08/03/2020 - 16:11
Kerrie Dougherty, one of the original founders of the DWCA, has had a long and interesting career outside the club which has seen her curating science fiction exhibitions, running Dalek races, writing books, and even undertaking academic work in space archaeology! One of her published papers, a case study of volunteer rocket retrieval in Australia, appeared in a Cambridge Scholars Publishing book that also had a paper on representations of archaeology in Doctor Who. Plus, she even wrote content for the Doctor Who Visual Dictionary. In 2020 her many achievements were formally recognised in the Australia Day honours list, where… Continue reading
Created
Sun, 08/03/2020 - 15:49
The latest season of Doctor Who has just ended, leaving much for fans to debate in its wake. There was a new Master, Gallifrey’s destruction (again) and the revelation that the Doctor has forgotten multiple lives, all lived before the First Doctor and his granddaughter ever even thought to go see the universe. One of the major players in this season was of course Yasmin Khan, played by Mandip Gill, so while we reel from the end of the series, the DWCA has presented here the interview with her that first ran back in Data Extract 241. Thanks to interviewer Kevin Suarez… Continue reading
Created
Tue, 18/02/2020 - 10:49

This food timeline started as a way to explore the revolution in Australian food that has occurred during the baby-boomers’ lifetime, but has since expanded to include more about the previous decades (and century) as well. Also included are overseas events and trends that had an impact here. The entries are brief, but there are lots of links if you want more information.

Mateus Rosé original bottle

Created
Tue, 18/02/2020 - 06:21
Permalink to this post I’ve been very lucky over the years to work closely with some extraordinary people on various research and other public-interest-minded projects through BKC. The title has been variously “research assistant,” “associate,” or “coordinator,” with lots of thinking through and writing about pressing issues with a sharp eye and a nuanced pen, […]
Created
Tue, 18/02/2020 - 06:21
Permalink to this post I’ve been very lucky over the years to work closely with some extraordinary people on various research and other public-interest-minded projects through BKC. The title has been variously “research assistant,” “associate,” or “coordinator,” with lots of thinking through and writing about pressing issues with a sharp eye and a nuanced pen, […]
Created
Sun, 16/02/2020 - 18:00
The economy is booming at last but an angry electorate showed Leo Varadker’s government that the good times are not rolling for all

In 2011, in what seemed like a laying to rest of the mad ghosts of Anglo-Irish history, the Queen was cheered to the rafters in Dublin.

But the building in which this celebration of amity took place had its own rather haunting presence. It was the spanking new Convention Centre, a glamorous, ultra-modern monument to the optimism of the Celtic Tiger years. By the time of the Queen’s visit, it looked out on a landscape of shattered dreams. From the top floor, you had a panoramic view of abandoned building sites on the other side of the Liffey, testaments to the folly that created a spectacular banking crisis, vicious austerity and deep disillusion with the political system that had brought such pain.

Continue reading...
Created
Wed, 12/02/2020 - 20:29
You may never have heard the name Edward Russell before, but you can be sure there aren’t many people who have had as much to do with post-2005 Doctor Who behind the scenes than him! Working as Brand Manager for the show from 2006 to the end of 2017, he worked on the BBC Proms, the Symphonic Spectaculars, oversaw the range of Doctor Who books, arranged photography on the show and (of course) dealt directly with the many talented people who brought the show to life. When a guest was needed for the Christmas Special it was Edward Russell who… Continue reading
Created
Mon, 10/02/2020 - 17:30

Last year we booked tradies to begin the final stages of renovating our old wooden house. Nothing too major, a few repairs and a lick of paint. So, naïve… The scaffolders arrived on Monday as planned and wrapped our little house in iron bars. Our builders found major repairs in …