


LATEST BLOG POSTS
Listen To Older Voices: Rob Greaves – Part 3
I’m Rob Greaves and it has been my pleasure to host LTOV for an...
Traditional Vietnamese Wedding is a Feast of Fun
Traditional Vietnamese wedding near nha Trang: what an honour to be invited, by Dung to...
In the new Disney Pixar movie Lightyear, time gets bendy. Is time travel real, or just science fiction?
Image: Disney/Pixar
Spoiler alert: this article explains a key plot point, but we don’t give away...
Ethereal, evocative, and inventive: why the music of Kate Bush spans generations
Image: Wikimedia
Keen observers of popular culture will have become aware of the recent inclusion of...
Did a giant radio telescope in China just discover aliens? Not so FAST…
Image: Liu Xu / Xinhua / AP
“Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence.”
– Carl Sagan (Cosmos, 1980)
This phrase...
If you’re renting, chances are your home is cold. With power prices soaring, here’s what you can do to keep warm
Image: Shutterstock
If you’re feeling the cold this winter, you’re not alone. About a quarter of...
Bunnings, Kmart and The Good Guys say they use facial recognition for ‘loss prevention’. An expert explains what it might mean for you
Once the purview of law enforcement and intelligence agencies, facial recognition is now being used...
Breaking Bread With Broken Rice: “Quiche Nha Trang”
Chà com tâm is a cold “pie” made with broken rice, cucumber and eggs –...
Battered by 9 years of Coalition government, the ABC now has a hard road of repair ahead
Image: Joel Carrett/AAP
The Liberal-National Coalition government has been defeated, but the legacy of its nine-year...
A Quiet Time in Nha Trang’s Riverside
Simply a nice pic of the quiet, shady, placid streets in Nha Trang’s Riverside residential...
Coffee is Gold, in Vietnam
Nha Trang Riverside: Beautiful new mansions.
I’m guessing the owners might be coffee merchants?
In Vietnam...
Year Wines Grenache 2021 McLaren Vale $32.00
Made with grapes from Cooter vineyard, planted back in the 1950's. A mix of ferments...
When will I be able to upload my brain to a computer?
We don’t know how much information the human brain can store. agsandrew/Shutterstock
We often imagine that human...
Eating fish has been linked to an increase in melanoma risk – but that doesn’t mean we should take it off the menu
Image: Shutterstock
You wouldn’t expect fish and melanoma to be in the same headline – but...
Mid-Morning Munchies
Having the 10.30s. Between breakfast and the noon lunch/nap.
Perhaps South-East Asians know the benefits of...
Australian frogs are dying en masse again, and we need your help to find out why
Image: A dead Peron’s tree frog (Litoria peronii) Ken Griffiths, Author provided
Last winter, thousands of dead and...
Pablo Picasso was not a lone genius creator – he was at the centre of several creative hubs, and changed the course of western...
Pablo Picasso, Spanish 1881–1973. Figures by the sea (Figures au bord de la mer) 12...
Plagiarism
One thing that has been on my mind a lot of late is plagiarism. If...
Throwing Out Shoes is a Big Deal for a Bloke
Goodbye to the Phu Quoc “Qrocs”.
They have served me so loyally, trekking through many...
Good Food at a Good Price
“When in Rome do … something different every day” That’s my take on it, anyway.
Lunch...
Virtual child sexual abuse material depicts fictitious children – but can be used to disguise real abuse
Child sexual abuse material (previously known as child pornography) can be a confronting and uncomfortable...
Listen To Older Voices: Rob Greaves – Part 2
I'm Rob Greaves and I have been the Producer and host of Listen To...
Peeling Prawns is Exercise, Yes?
I’ve had plenty on my plate, this Vietnam trip, but “exercise” has been missing.
Peeling...
Sunday essay: scary tales for scary times
Image: Edilson Borges/Unsplash
Progress, the German philosopher Walter Benjamin once wrote, is a storm. The winds that propel...
First Nations people shouldn’t have to wait for a referendum to get a Voice to Parliament
Mick Tsikas/AAP Image
The new Labor government has promised to make a significant change in the...
Taking Time Out from the Local Food
Taking a break from the local Vietnamese food, brunch is the “Time House muffins”: 2...
Smooothe Your Way into the Day
Travel’s eternal question: what to have for breakfast?
Mango/passionfruit/strawberry “smoothie” nails it. Natural, nutrional, fibre. 25k...
Fennel looking a bit feeble? Growing enough veggies to feed yourself depends on these 3 things
Image: Shutterstock
Farming inside city boundaries is on the rise as countries become more urbanised and people seek...
Grattan on Saturday: If the Albanese government did what really needs to be done, it would be a very big target
Image: Mick Tsikas/AAP
Usually the speeches of treasury secretaries are relatively bland, echoes of their political...
Crunch Time When You Can’t Read the Menu
I wish I could read Vietnamese.
A prawn brunch: I order soft-shell prawns/shrimp fried in...
Moving to Canary Islands – When a Dream Comes True
It’s been a red letter week for me. After a six-week rigmarole pulling together all...
‘Food sequencing’ really can help your glucose levels. Here’s what science says about eating salad before carbs
Image: Shutterstock
Biochemist and author of the Glucose Revolution Jessie Inchauspé says tweaking your diet can change your...
Hidden costs, manipulation, forced continuity: report reveals how Australian consumers are being duped online
Image: Shutterstock
Australian consumers’ choices on websites and apps are being manipulated through online designs taking...
Book Review: Riebeckite by O.R. Lea
About Riebeckite (Bruised Moon Sequence Book 1)
Dangerous spores gather on Earth after an asteroid strikes...
Yes, women might ‘feel the cold’ more than men. Here’s why
Image: Shutterstock
We all have different preferences for when it’s the right time to bring out...
Need to renew your passport? The weird history of Australian passports explains how they got so expensive
Image: Shutterstock
Now borders are open, Australians are applying for and renewing passports in droves. Wait times have doubled.
The...
“The Storm, Nha Trang”
Late in the hot afternoonIt slinks from its LairDeep in the indigo mistof the Annamese...
JOSMEYER Le Fromenteau Pinot Gris 2019 $70.00
Organic, Biodynamic
I must confess Pinot Gris is not my usual choice.
However it was a cold...
Why is lettuce so expensive? Costs have shot up, and won’t return to where they were
Image: Shutterstock
Lettuce prices are skyrocketing. Twitter users are posting photos of iceberg lettuces for A$10 and $11.99, well...
A new book argues Julian Assange is being tortured. Will our new PM do anything about it?
Image: Lefteris Pitarakis/AP
It is easy to forget why Julian Assange has been on trial in...
June’s Happening – Memo Music Hall, David Heard’s Memorial, The Union Hotel
Hello June Bugs,
Special delivery of an enormous thank you to everyone who made it to...
You Happy, Me Happy, Buddha Happy
A real, down-to–earth, quasi honest South-East Asian market. This is fair dunkum tourist shopping.
Here,...
Excellent choice, Sir
The menu shows 5 items: you must guess which is the only item available? This...
AFL stars strung up in rope at the NGV
Five Australian Rules football players were strung up in the Great Hall of the National...
Young Australian voters helped swing the election – and could do it again next time
Greens supporters celebrate on election night. James Ross/AAP
The 2022 federal election saw a significant move away from the...
View from The Hill: Ten women in shadow cabinet, and Nationals grab trade job
Image: Russell Freeman/AAP
Angus Taylor will take the key shadow treasury post in a 24-member shadow...
Dingo by Sally Dingo
This is one of those books I wish I’d read years ago, many years before...
4 reasons our gas and electricity prices are suddenly sky-high
Image: Shutterstock
Gas users and the incoming government are describing Australia’s sudden east coast energy crisis...
Listen To Older Voices: Rob Greaves – Part 1
Listen To Older Voices has run for 25 years, but comes to an end on...
The Proof of the Pizza is in the Tasting
Travel Editor Tip No.5: Only trust cooks who eat their own food.
Vietnam, with its capacious...