Welcome To Polite Island

May 17, 2013 in Entertainment, Featured, Fiction, Food & Recipes, Lifestyle, Money, People, Society, Stories, Travel

Welcome to Polite Island! You have been selected to live in this modern utopia because you embody the values of a considerate unselfish person. Polite Island was founded by a woman who was becoming increasingly frustrated with her considerate behaviour being met with inconsiderate behaviour. Instead of giving up on being a polite person and falling into pit of selfishness she came up with a plan to make the world fairer. Instead of eradicating those devoted only to themselves and who frequently engage in behaviours that can be classed as ‘douchebaggery’ we have simply excluded them from our society. This [...]

Secrets to Success from Sir Richard Branson

May 15, 2013 in Books, Celebrity, Entertainment, Featured, Lifestyle, Money, Work

He’s one of the richest men in the world, owns a bevy of successful companies, is known for outrageous PR stunts (stiff competition in his undies, apparently) and he’s going to space for God’s sake. So how does Sir Richard Branson manage, in the flesh, to be so completely unimpressive? Some might call it unassuming or down-to-earth, as though he’s just an ordinary guy untouched by fame and wealth (or a man with nothing left to prove). And he is all of those things. But he’s also just plain unimpressive – in the most compelling way possible. I was expecting [...]

My Top 5 Board Games

May 14, 2013 in Entertainment, Lifestyle, Technology

For many years the phrase “board games” has immediately reverted me back to childhood with memories of Monopoly-fuelled rage and overturned games of Connect 4. The inevitable realisation that everyone you know is actually a complete twat, and no one ever gives you a break when you’re not as good at games as anyone else. OK, so maybe that was just me. The point is, I hated board games. With the exception of Canasta and Guess Who, I perpetually avoided playing games of any kind as I knew myself well enough to know I was bound to take it personally when [...]

What Do You Do to Relax?

May 8, 2013 in Books, Entertainment, Film & TV, Health, Lifestyle, Mental Health

What sort of stuff do you do when you need to relax? As I was pulling together my thoughts for this article I started thinking about things I do in my spare time or what I do for fun, but they’re not exactly the same thing, are they? In my spare time I might do housework (not relaxing for me) or go on social media (which is fun, but not relaxing). I find playing Dungeons & Dragons great fun, but not relaxing, as it’s a fairly intense creative experience. So what I’m asking is not what you do for fun, [...]

Forget the Digital Divide, The Digital Bulldozer is coming

May 6, 2013 in Celebrity, Current Affairs, Entertainment, Music, News, Politics, Technology

I am worried about radio in the country. Not the WHOLE country, mind you, just the parts of it politicians don’t visit unless something is wet, burnt or wind blown, i.e. “the country”. What worries me is digital radio. In cities digital radio may be a wonderful thing, more choices, better quality, I hear you may even be able to pause a live broadcast. Wonderful things. What I am worried about is the thing that radio was meant to be for – getting across information. A few years ago, a lot of “regional” stations were bought up by radio networks. [...]

Movie Review: Iron Man 3

April 29, 2013 in Entertainment, Film & TV

Like every other geek in the world, I’ve been looking forward to Iron Man 3 since 2012’s The Avengers. Well, if I’m honest, I’ve been looking forward to the next instalment of Iron Man since I first heard of him in 2008. You get the idea that the now-sober Robert Downey Jnr puts a lot of himself into hard-living genius millionaire Tony Stark and he’s great fun. One of Downey’s first comeback movies was Kiss Kiss Bang Bang in 2005, directed by Shane Black, who helms Iron Man 3. It was snarky, funny, and what is now called meta, a Hollywood piss-take starring a couple [...]

Why Are There No Boys Named Sue?

April 26, 2013 in Body Image, Celebrity, Children, Entertainment, Gender, Parenting, Pregnancy & Birth, Society

In the last few years it’s become acceptable and even cool to give kids gender neutral names. That’s hardly news. However with this trend, I’m seeing a lot of girls with traditionally ‘male’ names, and very few boys with traditionally ‘female’ names. As a teacher I’ve seen some pretty out there names and interpretations of names. Calling the roll for the first time with a new class can be tricky: Me: “Elliot? Is Elliot here? Has anyone seen him?” Student: “ Um, Elliot is a GIRL, Miss!” (Rolls eyes at my apparent stupidity) Me: “Oh. Has anyone seen HER?” I’ve [...]

Real Beauty and My Ideal World

April 23, 2013 in Body, Body Image, Entertainment, Face, Gender, Health, Mental Health, People, Society, Style

Last week a Dove ad went viral and while Mandi has given her opinion, I wished to give mine. It features a forensic artist drawing a number of “real women” without seeing them – he draws by the women’s description. The women describe their perceived flaws rather than their best features. “Tell me about your chin?” the artist asks one woman. “It kind of protrudes a little when I smile”, she says. “Your jaw?” he asks another. “My mother told me I have a big jaw” she replies. After this first drawing session, the women are encouraged to spend time with [...]

“Never Say Never” And Other Stupid Sayings

April 22, 2013 in Anecdotes, Celebrity, Entertainment, Music, People

I have a friend at work who I love dearly. She’s my work BFF, and our friendship has jumped the work fence and we’ve become friends outside of the workplace. But something this friend of mine does has freaked me out a little: She’s started quoting Justin Bieber. Now the situation isn’t completely horrific, it’s not heaps of different Bieber quotes, it’s just the same thing over and over again. ”Never Say Never.” She applies it to so many things! Me: “N, I don’t see myself getting married again” N: “You know what Justin Bieber says: Never say never!” Me: “I feel like [...]

Why I Stopped Following The Following

April 22, 2013 in Film & TV

I love me some good TV, and I love me some quality drama, especially if there’s some good actoring in it. So I was looking forward to the new Kevin Bacon drama, The Following. For those of you who don’t know the show, the series follows a former FBI agent (Bacon) who finds himself in the middle of a network of serial killers, created by a  diabolical master-serial killer who uses his charisma and the Internet to create the network. I don’t mind a bit of TV serial killer either. I love Dexter and other shows in the serial killer [...]