Blog
Public Disruption is Necessary to Force Change
Thousands of Extinction Rebellion activists took to the streets of Australia’s major cities this week in a display of peaceful civil disobedience. Across my social media feed, I’ve seen countless messages of support… Then there’s the odd comment calling them...
It’s Okay to Admit That You’re Not Okay
In Australia, September 12 was ‘R U OK? Day’, a national day of action which encourages us to check in with friends, family and workmates. Coming two days after World Suicide Prevention Day this year, it is a reminder that people who can appear to be functioning on...
Every Deportation Matters
Two nights ago, I received a notification — from social media of all places — that a Tamil family were being put on a plane and sent back to danger. I follow a Facebook page that is dedicated to aiding their legal case to stay in Australia. I only tuned in just in...
Once Upon a Time in Tarantino’s Version of Hollywood…
ing: spoilers ahead. Full disclosure: I’m not a big Tarantino fan so I may not be the target audience for his 2 hour 45 minute homage to Hollywood of the 1960s. On the other hand, I’m a huge fan of this particular era of cinema, so I was thoroughly expecting to enjoy...
America, Stop Saying You’re The Greatest Country in the World
While teaching English in Cairo, I noticed something that happened in my classes each time a discussion arose about the problems in Egypt. The student who brought up an issue was quickly shushed by others around them with the words “Ahsan min musr mafish.” I knew...
Should Elderly People Have the Right to Die?
I was in my early 20s when a 90-something year old woman asked me to help her die. Her husband was in hospital having a heart bypass operation and if he didn’t make it through the surgery, she didn’t want to go on without him. I’d been her carer for a total of two...
Every Time a Woman Is Murdered, I Wonder If It Could Have Been Me
A week ago, the body of Courtney Herron was found in a park down the road from where I live in Melbourne. She was not far from another park where Eurydice Dixon was murdered in June last year. In between those deaths, two other women were killed in a public space in...
5 Ways to Fight Climate Change When Your Government Won’t
Australia has just voted for three more years of climate inaction — the latest country to follow a terrifying global trend. It’s clear that we can’t rely on governments worldwide to take the kind of leadership required to fight climate change. It’s up to us, the...
To My Mother Who Danced With Turkish Carpet Sellers
When I visited Turkey with my mother 12 years ago, we parted at the train station in Istanbul — she was on her way to Athens and a flight back to Australia, I was headed for the Middle East, not knowing when I would see her again. When the Kurdish boy working in our...
I Became the Kind of Traveller I Never Thought I’d Be
A few days ago, I was telling a friend about the worst birthday of my life. The year I turned 23, I travelled alone to an oasis in Egypt. A local offered to drive me out to the desert which I really, really wanted to do. So I said yes. I then spent the evening in the...
The Case of Geoffrey Rush vs All the Women Who Can’t Take a Joke
Geoffrey Rush has won $850,000 in his defamation case against the Daily Telegraph, and stands to receive millions more in damages. The fact that the Murdoch tabloid is sensationalism posing as news will come as a shock to precisely no one. But Murdoch is not the real...
How to cope with a narcissist
I spent a few horrible years working closely with someone who was a full-blown narcissist. I don’t mean difficult to work with, I mean ticked every single box when I googled “what is a narcissist”. It was only after watching this person systematically destroy others...
What do you do when the world seems so terrible all the time?
It was my birthday yesterday and a friend called to wish me happiness. Instead I cried on the phone for an hour about all the things I was sad about. The day after the horrific massacre in Christchurch, I just couldn’t muster any capacity for joy. How do we go about...
What the heck is Instagram for anyway?
Build your author platform, they said. Sign up to Instagram, they said. So I did – about six months ago. And I’m gonna be honest, I still don’t really have a clue what Instagram is for. As far as I can tell, there are now a few different types of Instagrammers...
A quick guide to NOT being a terrible house guest
Have you ever had someone stay with you about seven days too long? Or got the sinking feeling after six and half days at someone else’s house that YOU might be that person? Well, don’t worry – I’ve got you covered. Based on some recent experience, here’s a list of...
Hard truths about making an indie film
I was recently told that on social media, my life looks like a series of red carpets. But while I have stood on the occasional bit of crimson to promote my independent film Zelos, the reality of making an indie feature bears no resemblance to my Instagram account...
On the importance of being part of a writing community
This week's blog is a guest post from Kailey Brennan, a creative writer from Plymouth, MA. She is the creator of Write or Die Tribe, an online community for writers of any genre or any background. She is currently working on a collection of personal essays....
How to start a cult in 5 easy steps
I have a confession to make: I’m obsessed with cults. I’ve been on a bit of a binge of movies about cults lately – from the Scientologists, Raelians and Branch Davidians to the Orange People and The Family. By watching these films, I think I’ve figured out the formula...
The plot of every single Hallmark Christmas movie
I’m not ashamed to say I’ve watched a lot of Hallmark Christmas movies in the past couple of weeks (okay, maybe slightly ashamed – but only for research purposes, I swear!) Thanks to said “research”, I have discovered that each one of these movies contains the exact...
The subtle art of being angry all the time
My partner suggested that I write this blog post. To which I replied (roared), ‘ARE YOU TRYING TO TELL ME SOMETHING, SWEETHEART??!!!’ Except I didn’t say the sweetheart part. Here’s how I mastered the art of being angry all the time — and keep my fury constantly...