My brother is married now. His bride was so beautiful I could die thinking about that dress. She fretted for months and needn't have worried. That girl would make a potato sack look good, with accessories to match! He scrubs up alright in a suit and some smashing cuff links, and chose my handsome husband... Continue Reading →
If it’s broke…
"This guy's walking down the street when he falls in a hole. The walls are so steep he can't get out. A doctor passes by and the guy shouts up, 'Hey you. Can you help me out?' The doctor writes a prescription, throws it down in the hole and moves on. Then a priest comes... Continue Reading →
Epic Heartbreak
I often hear new converts to the fantasy genre lament a story's end, or more often, a character's end. In film, books or on television, they find it hard to process the creator's decision to send the plot or characters down certain pathways and into situations they are unlikely to escape. Reading and watching fantasy... Continue Reading →
The Anatomy of Rage
I don't know if it's because I'm older now, more in tune with my personal mortally, because I'm a parent or more politically active than I've ever been, but the downing of Malaysian Airlines flight MH17 has hit me hard. Harder than 9/11 and harder than the Bali Bombing, despite both claiming hundreds of civilian... Continue Reading →
Middle Ground
I hear people often asking 'What's the big deal with Israel & Palestine?!' Well, it goes something like this... We twenty to thirty something's weren't taught a whole lot about the aftermath of World War Two and the treaties that followed Germany's defeat. In a nut shell, Palestine was a British colony and the Allies... Continue Reading →
Leave or Leave?
A great political debate currently festering in the bowels of Australia's parliament centres on the form and substance of Parental Leave provided by the government. Our previous Labor government instituted a system where any primary carer can claim a number of weeks of payments when their baby is born, at the minimum wage. This payment was... Continue Reading →
Fast Track Back From Fat
Not so long ago I was privileged to watch the BBC Horizon program by Dr Michael Mosley, The Truth About Exercise, followed shortly after by Eat, Fast, Live Longer. Seriously, watch them. They will blow a hole in your mind hole. I'd actually prefer if you watched them and didn't read anything else I have to say - that's... Continue Reading →
The Broke End of the Stick
Anyone who didn't notice my abject frustration and disappointment at the 2014 Federal Budget wasn't paying much attention to my Twitter and Facebook feeds on Tuesday and Wednesday. I don't honestly know what I expected from the Abbott Government. I must have been somewhat taken in by their clear cut promises and no-nonsense manner. Even as... Continue Reading →
A stab in the dark
I am an unashamed fan-girl when it comes to fantasy books and their awe inspiring authors. I'll do just about anything to show it too. To prove this, I'm sharing with you my greatest contribution to fan-dom - my entry in the Broken Empire Character Screen Test. If you can find it in your heart,... Continue Reading →
Alicia Wanstall-Burke 