Robert Leckie’s tome on the United States Marines’ battles in the Pacific is intense as it is detailed – nearly 600 pages – and covered in a way that I found at times shocking, but also captivating. This book looks at the battles the Marines fought, often in great detail, from their landings on Guadalcanal
This week I’ve deliberately taken a bit of time out of Twitter, both because of uni commitments and also because sometimes it gets very addictive! In stepping back and reflecting, I’ve come to the realisation that when it’s used really effectively, Twitter is a great place to share information, news, and build a community. We’ve
At the outset, let me declare I’ve been a Melbourne Football Club supporter since I can remember. Flower, Grinter, Stynes. I wore number 2 on my school footy jumper and treasured the autographed photo from Robbie Flower. Barassi was a name spoken with the same reverence as Ted Whitten. That said, I knew little of
Some months ago I posted the article below and for some reason it’s come up as one of the most read pieces on my blogs in the last few weeks – I’m not sure why, but it has. It’s a long article but some months later, I think the issues it raises are just as
Despite the fact that the Hurricanes are my adopted former home town team, I’m still on a massive high after the Melbourne Rebels’ win against the ‘Canes last night at AAMI Park – aptly also known as the Stockade. The Rebels’ article this morning really put the crowd’s passion and the team’s belief in themselves in
It’s a sobering thought that for my school’s Year 12 class, next year will be twenty (count ’em – twenty!) years since we filed out of school for the last time. Yesterday I was a kid on the bus, talking with some mates about how life would be when we were really, really old –
General Colin Powell, is, arguably, one of the most well-known Americans of the past decades – a solider, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, National Security Advisor, and then, eventually, Secretary of State. The biography on him, by Karen deYoung, is, to be honest, very long – but that’s not necessarily to its detriment.
The Australasian premiere of New York-based writer and pianist’s John Bucchino’s show ‘It’s Only Life’ is very, very good. At the outset, let me say I’m a Bucchino fan. Ever since I heard David Campbell’s rendition of ‘Taking the Wheel’ I’ve been intrigued by this seemingly effortless mix of thoughtful commentary on life and ripping music. I’ve
Respect. It’s something we offer of ourselves to people who deserve, for whatever reason, a mark, an acknowledgement, a recognition, of their role and who they are. Sometimes, it comes begrudgingly. Sometimes it is not offered at all – as, it could be argued, we saw yesterday with the interview of the Prime Minister on
On the road to Hamilton, between Lismore and Cressy, is a little place – so small that it’d be hard to be called a hamlet (it’s so small it doesn’t even get on the local shire’s map). It is known as Berrybank. There is virtually nothing there, just a crossroads, with the CFA station off the