http://www.thepunch.com.au/tags/writing/ Politics, political opinion, world news, sports news and the latest news and views updated live, daily on The Punch - Australia's best conversation. en Copyright 2012 The Punch penberthyd@newsltd.com.au penberthyd@newsltd.com.au Thu, 09 Feb 2012 01:45:28 +0000 Thu, 09 Feb 2012 01:45:28 +0000 Politics, opinion, world news, sports news, latest news, views, Barack Obama, Kevin Rudd, Julia Gillard, Nathan Rees, Malcolm Turnbull, Peter Garrett, Barnaby Joyce, Australian, federal politics, opinion polls, election, The Punch, thepunch, punch ExpressionEngine 1.6.7 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss 15 http://www.thepunch.com.au/images/punch-logo-rss.png http://www.thepunch.com.au/ 144 70 Politics, political opinion, world news, sports news and the latest news and views updated live, daily on The Punch - Australia's best conversation. Search The Punch keywords http://www.thepunch.com.au/search/ http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/writing-the-wrongs-of-literacy-in-australia/ Literacy is a right to which every Australian child is entitled, so it’s pertinent to consider on International Literacy Day (today, September 8) why some Australian students are still failing to achieve a minimum standard of literacy. A comparison of Australia’s performance against other OECD countries would appear to demonstrate that Australian students are on the whole performing well at school. However, a closer look reveals students from low-income families are tending to fall behind their peers. A higher proportion of socio-economically disadvantaged students in Australia are failing to achieve minimum standards in reading, writing, spelling and grammar, with the result that by 15 years of age Australian students from the lowest socioeconomic group in Australia are in general performing almost three years below that of students from the highest socio-economic group in reading. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Tory Shepherd) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/writing-the-wrongs-of-literacy-in-australia/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/writing-the-wrongs-of-literacy-in-australia/#item6670 Thu, 09 Feb 2012 01:45:28 +0000 I’m writing this with voice recognition software. If that sounds scintillating and newfangled, you’ve obviously never used what should more accurately be described as voice mutilating software. I’ll go into more detail in a minute, but, in the meantime, here are just three of the versions of the first sentence of this column offered by my voice murdering software: 1. To running splits recognition software.  2. But wearing this voice which uses raft snares.  3. List softly, Felicity, poignantly stealthily and a half. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/my-voice-murdering-recognition-software/ I’m writing this with voice recognition software. If that sounds scintillating and newfangled, you’ve obviously never used what should more accurately be described as voice mutilating software. I’ll go into more detail in a minute, but, in the meantime, here are just three of the versions of the first sentence of this column offered by my voice murdering software: 1. To running splits recognition software.  2. But wearing this voice which uses raft snares.  3. List softly, Felicity, poignantly stealthily and a half. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Tory Shepherd) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/my-voice-murdering-recognition-software/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/my-voice-murdering-recognition-software/#item4938 Thu, 09 Feb 2012 01:45:28 +0000 I’m writing this with voice recognition software. If that sounds scintillating and newfangled, you’ve obviously never used what should more accurately be described as voice mutilating software. I’ll go into more detail in a minute, but, in the meantime, here are just three of the versions of the first sentence of this column offered by my voice murdering software: 1. To running splits recognition software.  2. But wearing this voice which uses raft snares.  3. List softly, Felicity, poignantly stealthily and a half. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/seeking-tall-non-smoker-with-gsoh-and-dictionary/ Looking for love? You’d know, then, that most people have a subconscious list of attributes that his or her ideal partner must possess: ‘Must be tall’, maybe. ‘Good looking’. ‘Generous’. ‘Noble of spirit’. ‘Kind to puppies’. Some people’s lists are flexible. Most aren’t. It’s tough out there. Hate to be the bearer of bad news, but there’s a new one: ‘Must be able to write’. In an era where so much of our communication happens via the written word, writing has become as much if not more of an aphrodisiac than a fat bank balance or supermodel measurements. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Tory Shepherd) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/seeking-tall-non-smoker-with-gsoh-and-dictionary/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/seeking-tall-non-smoker-with-gsoh-and-dictionary/#item4036 Thu, 09 Feb 2012 01:45:28 +0000 I’m writing this with voice recognition software. If that sounds scintillating and newfangled, you’ve obviously never used what should more accurately be described as voice mutilating software. I’ll go into more detail in a minute, but, in the meantime, here are just three of the versions of the first sentence of this column offered by my voice murdering software: 1. To running splits recognition software.  2. But wearing this voice which uses raft snares.  3. List softly, Felicity, poignantly stealthily and a half. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/heres-to-the-funniest-movie-ever-made/ Is Flying High the funniest movie ever made? This month the comedy classic Flying High (aka Airplane!) celebrated its 30th anniversary – and I’m pretty much certain it is still the funniest movie of all time. No other film comes close to the sheer number of jokes packed into a trouser-dampening 88 minutes, so many quotable lines and visual gags that simply refuse to age like almost every other comedy. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Tory Shepherd) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/heres-to-the-funniest-movie-ever-made/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/heres-to-the-funniest-movie-ever-made/#item3922 Thu, 09 Feb 2012 01:45:28 +0000 I’m writing this with voice recognition software. If that sounds scintillating and newfangled, you’ve obviously never used what should more accurately be described as voice mutilating software. I’ll go into more detail in a minute, but, in the meantime, here are just three of the versions of the first sentence of this column offered by my voice murdering software: 1. To running splits recognition software.  2. But wearing this voice which uses raft snares.  3. List softly, Felicity, poignantly stealthily and a half. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/i-hate-bad-writers-with-a-fiery-passion-in-my-heart/ They come from far, they come from wide. They come with a fire in their bellies and a penchant for the written word that not even a million monkeys on a million typewriters could even dream of topping no matter how many sonnets they secured or peanuts they procured with their feverish and dexterous opposable thumbs. They are, of course, and without a shadow of a flickering doubt - bad writers. The bad writer is a mystery for the ages. A mystery, wrapped in a riddle, snug as a bug in a tightly woven and off-white or eggshell coloured woollen rug. The fact remains that since man has walked the earth since time immemorial, our command of language above all is what has set man apart from beast; what has separated the men from the boys (by men I of course mean men, and by boys I mean animals). feedback@thepunch.com.au (Tory Shepherd) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/i-hate-bad-writers-with-a-fiery-passion-in-my-heart/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/i-hate-bad-writers-with-a-fiery-passion-in-my-heart/#item3448 Thu, 09 Feb 2012 01:45:28 +0000 I’m writing this with voice recognition software. If that sounds scintillating and newfangled, you’ve obviously never used what should more accurately be described as voice mutilating software. I’ll go into more detail in a minute, but, in the meantime, here are just three of the versions of the first sentence of this column offered by my voice murdering software: 1. To running splits recognition software.  2. But wearing this voice which uses raft snares.  3. List softly, Felicity, poignantly stealthily and a half. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/you-are-either-with-us-or-you-are-with-the-cultural-terrorists/ Do any of you really care less about what the media thinks about itself? To all the philosophers out there, yes, I get there’s an infinite regress being set up here. I am, after all, in the media talking about the media talking about itself. But forget that for a moment and answer the question. I bet for most of you it’s no. But gauging from the readers’ commentariat of many online publications, for a small, but significant minority of media audiences, it’s a big yes. What I want to know is: how did such a tedious trend take off? When did the media become obsessed with itself? And, more importantly, when did readers start to mirror this obsession? Admittedly, I didn’t spend too much time researching the historical roots of this phenomenon. But I have a feeling that although it’s always been around, the media’s obsession with itself, and your obsession with this obsession, really took off during what the media likes to call the ‘Culture Wars’. I’m pretty sure I heard someone at a dinner party crammed with smug lefties say quite authoritatively that the phenomenon had something to do with the rise of a political movement called ‘neo-conservatism’ and the neo-cons’ need for an enemy against which they could define themselves. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Tory Shepherd) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/you-are-either-with-us-or-you-are-with-the-cultural-terrorists/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/you-are-either-with-us-or-you-are-with-the-cultural-terrorists/#item3331 Thu, 09 Feb 2012 01:45:28 +0000 I’m writing this with voice recognition software. If that sounds scintillating and newfangled, you’ve obviously never used what should more accurately be described as voice mutilating software. I’ll go into more detail in a minute, but, in the meantime, here are just three of the versions of the first sentence of this column offered by my voice murdering software: 1. To running splits recognition software.  2. But wearing this voice which uses raft snares.  3. List softly, Felicity, poignantly stealthily and a half. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/disproving-the-porky-that-shakespeare-was-bacon/ I probably know as much as anyone reading these words about the life of William Shakespeare. That’s not the boast it sounds like – it’s a statement about how little there is to know about the biographical details of the greatest writer in the language. He died nearly four hundred years ago, and he’s been celebrated for at least three hundred, but the documentary discoveries about Shakespeare have been few and far between. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Tory Shepherd) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/disproving-the-porky-that-shakespeare-was-bacon/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/disproving-the-porky-that-shakespeare-was-bacon/#item3269 Thu, 09 Feb 2012 01:45:28 +0000 I’m writing this with voice recognition software. If that sounds scintillating and newfangled, you’ve obviously never used what should more accurately be described as voice mutilating software. I’ll go into more detail in a minute, but, in the meantime, here are just three of the versions of the first sentence of this column offered by my voice murdering software: 1. To running splits recognition software.  2. But wearing this voice which uses raft snares.  3. List softly, Felicity, poignantly stealthily and a half. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/well-readhead-breathing-life-into-anniversary-journalism/ Note: This Well Readhead entry by Leigh serves as an introduction to the special one-off piece she has filed, which is published directly below. I may be telepathic. I can foresee what will appear in this year’s Christmas Day package on the 7pm ABC news - a grab from the Catholic Archbishop, a grab from the Anglican archbishop, shots of the homeless being served lunch at a shelter, shots of kids unwrapping presents if the reporter’s lined up a family early. There could well be vision from Bethlehem of a Nativity re-enactment. The Pope in St Peter’s Square obviously. If the journalist gets really lucky, there might be some quirky sidebar such as a surfing Santa or a dog that can bark jingle bells.  And call me crazy, but I’m going to predict that on Christmas Eve on Channel Ten, the price of prawns will be skyrocketing. Every journalist knows that there are certain stories that show up annually on the assignments board.  They’re so formulaic, the packages are almost identical from year to year: Australia Day, Anzac Day, the Easter Show (cue reporter piece-to-camera on a sideshow ride) and New Year’s Eve (Sydney’s fireworks are always the best in the world).  feedback@thepunch.com.au (Tory Shepherd) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/well-readhead-breathing-life-into-anniversary-journalism/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/well-readhead-breathing-life-into-anniversary-journalism/#item2375 Thu, 09 Feb 2012 01:45:28 +0000 I’m writing this with voice recognition software. If that sounds scintillating and newfangled, you’ve obviously never used what should more accurately be described as voice mutilating software. I’ll go into more detail in a minute, but, in the meantime, here are just three of the versions of the first sentence of this column offered by my voice murdering software: 1. To running splits recognition software.  2. But wearing this voice which uses raft snares.  3. List softly, Felicity, poignantly stealthily and a half. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/the-new-internet-vomit/ A journalist has written a story complaining newspaper stories are too long. He says people like their stories short. Punchy. That’s why newspapers are dying, he says. That’s why the internet is alive. The story was written by Michael Kinsley. A columnist for The Atlantic. Mr Kinsley complains that a 1,456 word report in The New York Times, on Obama’s health reforms, was too long. Mr Kinsley’s article, complaining about journalistic “verbiage”, ran to 1,940 words. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Tory Shepherd) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/the-new-internet-vomit/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/the-new-internet-vomit/#item2280 Thu, 09 Feb 2012 01:45:28 +0000 I’m writing this with voice recognition software. If that sounds scintillating and newfangled, you’ve obviously never used what should more accurately be described as voice mutilating software. I’ll go into more detail in a minute, but, in the meantime, here are just three of the versions of the first sentence of this column offered by my voice murdering software: 1. To running splits recognition software.  2. But wearing this voice which uses raft snares.  3. List softly, Felicity, poignantly stealthily and a half. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/this-week-at-the-punch/ Here’s a few things we learned this week: lip-synching and Kevin Rudd are predominately out, keeping university colleges safe is in and we’ve all got something to ask Tiger Woods. A selection of some of the best writing from this week @ The Punch follow after the jump. And if you’re looking for something else to help pass the afternoon,  watch the video above about a National Geographic photographer. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Tory Shepherd) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/this-week-at-the-punch/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/this-week-at-the-punch/#item1724 Thu, 09 Feb 2012 01:45:28 +0000 I’m writing this with voice recognition software. If that sounds scintillating and newfangled, you’ve obviously never used what should more accurately be described as voice mutilating software. I’ll go into more detail in a minute, but, in the meantime, here are just three of the versions of the first sentence of this column offered by my voice murdering software: 1. To running splits recognition software.  2. But wearing this voice which uses raft snares.  3. List softly, Felicity, poignantly stealthily and a half.