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Under the Ice
Free diving under ice lakes: What an amazing world under there. That’s still planet Earth.
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Predictions from the turn of the 20th century
This page of predictions from 1901 about what the world will look like in 2001 is remarkably prescient in some ways, and highly amusing in others. Photographs will be telegraphed from any distance. If there is a battle in China a hundred years hence, snapshots of its most striking events will be published in newspapers […]
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Douglas Adams lays out the roadmap for technology
I’m an avowed Douglas Adams fan, and this is just pure evidence that he died way, way too soon – written in 1989: All I want to do is print from my portable. (Poor baby). That isn’t all I want in fact. I want to be able regularly to transfer my address book and diary […]
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Taylor Swift: Master Manipulator
When did you first realise Taylor Swift was lying to you? Bill Simmons: I knew Taylor Swift was lying to me once she established that she didn’t have a type. Everyone has a type. Everyone. Every single person who ever lived. Maybe you drift away from that type once or twice over eight years, but […]
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Did George Lucas predict the current political environment?
A bit more US-centric, but this gives me the shivers: A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away, paralyzing political divisions threatened democratic governments. Disputes over free trade, and the free movement of people and goods, were a big reason. Stymied by polarization and endless debates, the Senate proved unable to resolve those disputes. […]
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Australia’s Political Malaise
With Election 2016 well underway (but still with about 6 weeks to go… yeesh), it’s looking increasingly like we’re going get more of the same. What happened to Australia’s politics that made it so insipid, so unable to hold forth a discussion in which some may be worse off, but the result would be better […]
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A Blind Mind’s Eye
Blake Ross can’t visualise things like others: I have never visualized anything in my entire life. I can’t “see” my father’s face or a bouncing blue ball, my childhood bedroom or the run I went on ten minutes ago. I thought “counting sheep” was a metaphor. I’m 30 years old and I never knew a […]
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Comparing economic records
May 2016 marks 43 years and 6 months since the election of the Whitlam Labor government in 1972, and conveniently provides a mid-point for the two political parties – 21 years and 9 months of government each. Stephen Koukoulas uses this pivot point to provide a detailed comparison of their respective economic performances, and he […]
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Jury Duty
Thoughtfully written behind-the-scenes peice from a juror serving on a homicide trial: At some point, one of the older women gets out her makeup kit and gives Ally a makeover. This is literally a scene from The Breakfast Club. Edith looks up from a game of solitaire and casually mentions that she actually thinks the murder […]
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Movie Review: Star Wars: The Force Awakens
What does one say about a series like Star Wars that you haven’t already heard? It’s such a pop-culture phenomenon that you’d be hard pressed to avoid it in any English-speaking country. The revival of Star Wars by Disney’s purchase of the rights from George Lucas was huge, and with Episode VII, The Force Awakens, we can […]