July 2009
OK, so the headline’s a bit cruel - you wouldn’t use this material in the front bar unless you enjoy a public humiliation, but it’s a good potted guide to beer tasting and matching a brew with steak.
It comes from BigThink.com and springs off Obama’s beer summit, offering advice on etiquette next time you’re settling a major national issue over a drink. Enjoy.
If you’re a beer enthusiast, check out our own Matt Kirkegaard, The Punch’s resident lager-and-stout expert.
We have learned two fairly rubbish lessons from Kyle Sandilands’ latest madness - or three if you count the additional proof provided that Jackie O is feminism’s giggling Uncle Tom.
The first is that Sandilands has all the warmth and genuine compassion of a National Rifle Association Christmas.
The second is that Australian radio is incontestably shit.
Continue reading "Lessons of the Kyle incident: Australian radio is rubbish" »
It’s a good thing the Aussies have their wives and girlfriends along for the Ashes tour.
Had they not been there, it’s quite probable we would have gone down to county side Northamptonshire because we’ve all been assured by Cricket Australia that the boys play better if the WAGs are in attendance.
Seeing as we have managed to win just one of the seven tour games so far, I tremor at the thought of what would have happened if CA hadn’t had the foresight to support the significant others/B-grade celebrities and female wannabes to stay with the cricketers for the first part of the Ashes.
Continue reading "WAGs aren’t about team happiness, but marketing" »
Latest 2 of 27 comments
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billige uggs says:
I’m just writing to make you be aware of what a fine encounter our girl obtained checking your web site. She learned a lot of pieces, including what it’s like to possess an excellent giving character to make the others without hassle learn specific hard to do subject matter. You… Read more »
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johnv_au says:
I dont want to sound bitter and twisted but the botox treatment here must have cost a fortune there is so much on the lips they have lost the ability to smile (Now I did say i dont want to sound bitter and twisted just an observation) Read more »
I think that we in the ALP are better than our opponents in celebrating our history and honouring our own.
Whereas Malcolm Fraser is reviled by modern Liberals and the Democrats cannibalise their leadership, we revere our former Prime Ministers.
Past differences, old feuds and factional rivalries are forgotten as we celebrate success, and forget failures. I’ve seen, for instance, left-wing delegates cheer and give standing ovations to Paul Keating, their former nemesis. For us, Labor’s history is part of our present, and our future.
Continue reading "Honouring the greatest architect of consensus" »
Latest 2 of 20 comments
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Razor says:
Funny how Whitlamesque is still a description the ALP Spin meisters will do anything to avoid. Read more »
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Steve says:
I would argue that the central philosophies of the ALP, as a labour-backed party rest on the cornerstone of a belief in structure, class and hierarchy. Having a view of a society broken down in to these so-called structures makes it easier for them to put forward their policies which… Read more »
There are few occasions when beer and politics should mix.
Barack Obama has recently demonstrated one of the few times when it can work, diffusing a race row with the offer of a peace-making beer at the White House.
Any Federal politician gingerly holding a beer in an RSL or public bar in an unconvincing attempt to come across as a man of the people is an example of when it doesn’t.
Continue reading "Trouble brewing for cyclists’ beer in trademark row" »
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Nadia says:
Nigel, guess what I saw when I was at the hardware store (that’s where I go to get you-know-who’s Christmas pensert)? A special contraption that can hold the beer can & chicken just for this purpose! So cool! Do you think that you will make this again?p/s;: re: pudding, thank… Read more »
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James McIlwain says:
Beer and Bikes ... Surely the Fun Police will come down on you like a ton of bricks. I fondly recall cycling in France in the morning (up hill), a rather lengthy lunch and a leisurely downhill trip home. Of course, the beverage of choice was wine. Vive la difference Read more »
Raised on a diet of Disney movies, contemporary society has become so besotted with the idea of heterosexual romance, marriage and weddings, we fail to see the people for the confetti and happily-ever-afters.
Caught up in a Hollywood version of what constitutes a legitimate union, we’re becoming exclusive, political and discriminatory and overlooking what should be a very basic human right: the right of the individual to form a loving, public and legal commitment to another person and have it civilly sanctioned regardless of sexuality.
I find it fascinating and more than a little bit perplexing, that when it comes to discussions of same-sex unions, those best positioned to provide compassion and understanding resort to straw polls, prejudicial language and silencing tactics to proclaim, yet again, the almighty significance of heterosexual unions.
Continue reading "Marriage: Not that there’s anything wrong with that" »
Latest 2 of 36 comments
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g says:
“gay lobby”? I didn’t know there was one. Paranoid much? “won’t slide with the public”? well, sure, anyone over the age of 65. “accept this and move on”? tell you what - I will if you will. “you can’t force people to accept you…” So who’s problem, exactly is that?… Read more »
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Andy says:
No chase it ISNT, face that reality chump. Read more »
IT seems incredible but barely two years into the greatest depression/recession/downturn/hiccup (take your pick) the world has suffered since the 1930s, we’re already talking about bubbles again.
Experts fear the 30 per cent surge in the local stock market since March – mirroring a similar spike on Wall Street – is building into a premature and unsustainable bubble crying out to be pricked.
Reserve Bank boss Glenn Stevens reckons the housing market, fuelled by record low interest rates and the government’s first-home owners giveaway, is looking dangerously like a bubble that could need a dose of higher interest rates to deflate.
Continue reading "Human nature is to be forever blowing bubbles" »
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barbara.bell says:
My name is barbara. I came here while searching quest of something on google. hope to have a high-minded time here. Read more »
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Terry says:
Clive is correct. Markets will always be influenced by human nature and emotion. The problem comes when governments interfere with so-called free markets, they are only free when the good times roll but when it hits the fan, they get bailed out or given stimulation money. Markets should be left… Read more »
A peculiar thing about the Puddin’ was that, though they had all had a great many slices off him, there was no sign of the place whence the slices had been cut. ‘That’s where the Magic comes in,’ explained Bill. ‘The more you eats the more you gets.’ - Norman Lindsay’s The Magic Pudding
Generations of Aussie children have been captivated by Norman Lindsay’s classic story centred on the exploits of Albert, a somewhat devious pudding who had the magical quality of being anything the eater desired and, fortunately, limitless in quantity.
It’s no wonder Albert appeals to children of all ages - he epitomises the hedonistic and naïve dream of “having your cake and eating it too” (literally).
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Elizabeth says:
Perhaps Mr Rudd, Mr Swan and Ms Ellis would like to visit regional Australia and find for me - a working mum of two - these childcare vacancies. I have looked…and I can not find. Thank you Sophie. Read more »
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Numble says:
Very good article. Please can we hear more thoughtful articles like this one from Liberal politicians? Tony Abbott’s written a few lately too. Take the fight to the spin, take the fight to The Government, but do it on merits. Read more »
Recently, a private boys’ school in Queensland took the progressive step of incorporating emotional intelligence into its syllabus. Bravo.
In Western society, we have for too long adopted a blinkered approach towards education, focusing heavily on the development of cognitive skills, such as writing, reading and counting, and not those associated with a child’s emotional development.
Research and early childhood literature has shown that children who possess well-developed emotional and mental skills, have a greater likelihood of being successful later on in life.
Continue reading "Putting self-esteem on the school syllabus" »
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flower child says:
Maybe I’m missing something, but why is the school responsible for a child’s emotional development? Surely that’s entirely the role of the parents. I’m all in favour of kids participating in a range of activities, but I don’t see that playing a sport or joining the camera club necessarily contributes… Read more »
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stephen says:
I once met some of these boys from Kings, and I can honestly tell you they don’t need leadership studies, because they already think they’re top sh.t. (And to sound completely cynical, you cannot learn emotional intelligence from direct instruction ; the only way is by trial and error from… Read more »
Welcome to Friday
Today in 1890 Vincent Van Gogh died at the age of 47, two days after shooting himself.
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iansand says:
I am waiting for someone to come up with an inorganic diet. “Organic” must be the most misused word of the last two decades. The authors of the study revealed its limitations, as they should. It is a pity that journalists in search of a good headline do not have… Read more »
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Paul says:
According to the UK’s Food Standards Agency, and as gleefully reported today by the BBC, ‘Organic has no health benefits’, so we can all breath a sigh of relief and return to eating pesticide and chemical filled garbage. There’s probably no health benefits to unleaded paint then, eh? Any benefits… Read more »
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