Christopher Scanlon
Christopher Scanlon is a writer and commentator whose writing on a wide range of topics has appeared in major Australian newspapers.
He teaches in the journalism program at La Trobe University where he co-founded Upstart, the magazine for emerging journalists, http://www.upstart.net.au/
Between 1999–2007 he co-edited Arena Magazine and continues to manage Arena’s website, http://www.arena.org.au
\Christopher has a PhD in politics, which focused, among other things, on the political ideas of Mark Latham. Consequently, he can claim the rare distinction of having read and made extensive notes on all of Mr Latham’s books — except The Latham Diaries.
Despite escaping from Tasmania in 1996, Christopher still occasionally refers to mainland Australia as ‘The Mainland’ to the appalled amusement of his more cosmopolitan friends. He lives in Melbourne with his wife Kasey Edwards and daughter Violet.
Articles by Christopher Scanlon
Tough luck geeks, we’re still smarter than silicon
For a smart guy, Steve Wozniak — the man who, with Steve Jobs, co-founded Apple — has some pretty dumb…... Read more
Fresh from his brutal coup, Abbott bemoans brutal Labor
When Julia Gillard successfully challenged Kevin Rudd for the Labor leadership, she brought the noble profession of politics in this…... Read more
10m yacht the perfect gift for the baby girl with everything
My daughter Violet celebrated her first birthday last week so naturally we bought her a yacht. Not just any yacht,…... Read more
Telcos, Australia’s torture chamber
We don’t torture people in this country. Instead we allow large telecommunications providers to roam the malls and high streets…... Read more
Deveny, Kyle, Matty Johns and TT’s rank hypocrisy
The response to The Age’s decision to sack Catherine Deveny says a lot about the Australian media and Australian media…... Read more
Politicians could experiment with just telling the truth
Gordon Brown made not one, but two public gaffes in his exchange with Gillian Duffy. The first was to be…... Read more
What a concept car can tell you about life in the future
I have glimpsed the future of motoring and it turns out that in twenty years from now we’ll all be…... Read more
A message to the selfish: children are a public good
The arrival of a newborn child does strange things to people. It warps their perspective and clouds their judgement —…... Read more
In praise of Dan Brown
‘Do not start me on The Da Vinci Code. A novel so bad that it gives bad novels a bad…... Read more
The complete* world history of binge-drinking
With the current kerfuffle about binge drinking, you might be inclined to think that drinking copious amounts of alcohol is…... Read more
Abusing the term “child abuse” is dangerous
If you took the kids to McDonald’s on the weekend then brace yourself: you may just have landed yourself in…... Read more
Pregnancy has become a competitive sport
Of the sixty-eight squillion pieces of advice doled out to pregnant women, perhaps the most useless is the message to…... Read more
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ICB: If I could offer you only one tip for the future…
Welcome to this week’s I Call Bullshit, an irregular regular column on calumny and codswallop.…
Six prominent Aussies with a case of the dreaded “yips”
The yips. It’s an old golf term which refers to golfers who lose the ability to putt. They stand…
The humourless hysteria of the holier-than-thou
In I Spit On Your Grave, a young woman is gang raped in a remote woodland. She is beaten and tortured…
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choice ringside rantings
From: Punch on: Open thread 09/02/2012
marley says:
I'm one of the older ones, so I've certainly seen a few changes in my time. When I started school I learned to write with a nib pen, dipped in an inkwell (no, I'm not kidding). My mother became a dab hand at getting inkstains out of my clothes. Flicking ink at one another in the classroom was an essential… [read more]From: I’d rather have a piece of toast than listen to crap lyrics
Erick says:
Led Zeppelin are responsible for my all-time favourite mixed metaphor: "There you sit, sit and stare, like a book on a shelf rusting." (Misty Mountain Hop) I laugh every time I hear it. Hmmm, I believe I've decided what to play on the way to work today. [read more]Gentle jabs to the ribs
No wuckin forries. These nuckin futs are tuckin fops
Well, puck me with a fitchfork. The F-word is apparently an acceptable part of Australian speech. That’s… Read more
