Social and Political Rants

Because nothing should take itself too seriously, especially conventions about innovation and ideas, here is Tom Reilly taking a comic look at the TED in 2006. Enjoy!

In my RSS travels, I recently discovered a source of inspiration about which I am no doubt very, very late on  the uptake. It wasn’t that I hadn’t heard of TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design) I just didn’t know there was a place we could go to hear the speakers (rather than hoping the ABC would include them in Big Ideas broadcasts lol.)... More...

The sound and fury regarding the future of newspapers in the last couple of months has been getting ridiculous. In a speech recently, James Murdoch blamed the BBC’s “free” online news service (the BBC is funded by a license fee paid by any Brit with a TV or radio, for which I say “Thank you very much”) for the fact that he and his fellow... More...

I don’t often make sweeping statements about “how things should be” on this blog because: a) who the hell cares what I think? ; b) it’s much more fun to do that in conversation so you have the benefit of more than one brain on the issue and; c) this blog, despite the narrative disorder, does actually have general foci, namely life as a writer... More...

The irony is not lost on me that while I was spending 4 days living a life-long dream at the Sapporo Snow Festival my home state was burning. I remember Ash Wednesday in 1983 vividly, the smoke in the air and the blood-peach colour of the sun, when it could be seen, is unforgettable – that anything could be worse is beyond my understanding. Nevertheless,... More...

A quick post with some quick notes for friends of the blog and blogger For NZ. K., in case she has any time at all in her busy busy schedule on her trip home, thinking of you and letting you know we won the quiz last night! Yay! For readers waiting for the next instalment in my Moving to Japan Tips series – it will be coming next week,... More...

When in discussion about US politics lately, I have often found the situation deserved a reference to a magnificent English TV show called “Yes, Minister” (and later “Yes, Prime Minister”) and I’ve found that many of my American friends have not heard of this wonderful sitcom! I understand why it didn’t make it... More...

Dennis at Dead Things on Sticks (one of my favourite working-writer blogs which often crosses into politics) calls our attention to this wonderful monologue from Craig Ferguson . This blog doesn’t often get political but this is really about media and politics … give it a click – important points made expertly. Afterwards, head over... More...

For months before coming to Japan I read blogs of ex-pats living here to give me some insight into what the experience might be like. Since arriving, I have become involved in a small online community of ex-pat bloggers. I have now ‘met’ and communicated with many of those bloggers I used to read and it’s been both fun and a great... More...

In Japan it is still the case that most workers are "company men." Leaving a company before you retire to simply start working somewhere else is something which is only just becoming more popular but still by no means common. These days, a person gets his status from which company he works for more so than from his family name or even his... More...