Newsletter

Newsletter 326

One of the temptations of writing a film column is to read – or reread – the novel upon which a movie is based. Over the past decade this has given me an excuse to plunge into Great Expectations, Anna Karenina, Far From the Madding Crowd, Wuthering Heights, The Great Gatsby, and other classics. This […]

Newsletter 325

Newsletter 324

Just when the rest of the world has decided to stay home and wear a face mask I’m in the middle of a travel binge – back from India and now off to Bangladesh for the Dhaka Art Summit. The upside is that it’s suddenly easier to get a good seat on an international flight. […]

Newsletter 323

After four days in New Delhi I’m revising my opinion that Sydney’s appalling air quality, due to the bushfires, is anything like the grey haze one inhales in the Indian capital. The pollution in Delhi is really dreadful, although people are telling me it’s much better than it was last year! True or false, it […]

Newsletter 322

This is my second week without an art column and it’s vaguely gratifying that people are asking: “What’s happening?” Answer: nothing much, only a break. It hasn’t been an especially relaxing time as I’ve had a few pressing family issues, but it’s provided a little calm before the next writing storm arrives. Instead of a […]

Newsletter 321

I’m having a couple of weeks off the art column so the only new posting is a review of Bombshell, the much-anticipated account of the sexual harrassment scandal at Fox News that put an end to the careers of Roger Ailes and Bill O’Reilly. Although there is at least one scene that brings home the […]

Newsletter 320

Late again! I hope to get the newsletter back on a regular schedule soon but I’ve had a few unavoidable distractions at the beginning of this year. At this moment nobody in Australia seems able to think about anything but the bushfires. And how could it be any different? Day after day we watch the […]

Newsletter 319

If you thought these newsletter have dried up recently, that’s right. I still managed to keep the columns rolling, but gave the website a week or so off over Christmas. It wasn’t much of a break, as one of the joys of not being on staff anywhere is that there’s no such thing as holidays. […]

Newsletter 318

As we move into the dreaded Christmas season, with Sydney wreathed in smoke, it’s hard to avoid thinking about the bushfires. If Scummo is willing to call his election victory a “miracle” he might consider having a word with Jesus about the fires that are predicted to be still raging in February. Perhaps when he […]

Newsletter 317

It’s not my intention to start ranting about politics every week but the mixture of radical inertia about big issues such as climate change, and vicious pettiness in other areas, keeps fuelling my distaste of this government. When Scummo and the gang go out of their way to ignore the glaring lessons of the bushfires; […]