The sunshine state of California has long been a popular spot for America’s homeless and those living out of cars and caravans. But strict regulations banning street parking and trailers at in Venice Beach are forcing the homeless to move elsewhere.
October, 2010
Forget popular culture – how about unpopular culture?
The traditional dichotomy between high art and popular culture is a bogus old hat paradigm. It may be time to redefine the goal posts by embracing another category of art: unpopular culture, writes Marcus Westbury.
great read A tale of kindness from the commission flats
The couple living in the commission flats across from Virginia Millen’s house endure your standard sad tale of addiction, poverty and abuse. But don’t judge them too quickly.
Tracking the profits of online data sharing
The online data sharing industry is a largely invisible multimillion dollar trade which relies on selling information surreptitiously collected from web users. Ninemsn.com.au has 109 tracking devices - the most of any website in Australia, reports Nicky Phillips.
The Greek tragedy of theatre
Aristotle’s Poetics is a theatre-lovers classic. But the book has many short comings which continue to affect how drama and theatre are realised even today, says Steve Waters.
Trump for president?
Donald Trump is sounding more and more like a presidential candidate, with talk of the country being at a new low and needing to deal more with China. Is he planning a 2012 run?
Wanted: a female Bill Gates
Women are no longer expected to be stay-at-home mums but it’s still rare for them to be CEOs of major businesses. Author Gloria Feldt explains how women are more likely to keep quiet, undervalue themselves and not ask for that big pay rise.
The legalities of docu-dramas — Exhibit A: The Social Network
The release of “the Facebook movie” The Social Network brings with it two inevitabilities: a spate of imitators and a spate of lawsuits. Lawyer Aaron Moss uses the film as a springboard to discuss the legalities associated with screen depictions of real life people and events.
The US midterms election oracle
The Daily Beast collates news stories, blog posts and poll data from across the world and compiles them in the all-knowing US midterms “election oracle.”
How to miff a journo
It’s the craze everybody’s getting into: insulting online journalists. Some insults, however, hit home a littler harder than others. Paul Colgan presents a handy guide on how to get under a journo’s skin.
What to watch on Google TV
This month Google TV gets rolled out in the States with content from Amazon, Netflix and Twitter, but the major TV networks haven’t jumped on board yet. But this isn’t your average silver screen viewing experience…
A reality check on Afghanistan
Transition of power in Afghanistan won’t just run on some pre-determined calendar schedule arranged by outside forces. This is a messy and difficult battle and Afghans still need training, writes Russell Robinson.
The new top tweeter
Founder of Twitter Evan Williams has stepped aside as CEO to concentrate more on product development. Instead, former Google and Feedburner employee Dick Costolo nabbed the job in the hope of making Twitter more profitable.
Republicans set to win the battle but risk losing the war
Democrats are praying for an 11th hour miracle to save them at the US midterms, but everybody knows the Republicans will win big. However, if the Republicans carry out the Tea Party mandate they risk losing a much more important contest: the long-term battle for public support, writes Peter Beinart.
Euthanasia: peering through the grey
Niki Savva tells the story of her younger sister who was born with a terminal illness. If legal euthanasia had been an option, would doctors have encouraged her to die when it seemed unlikely she would live another day?
Why the search for a second Sydney airport is flawed
It is a reminder how desperate the federal government is to avoid building a second Sydney airport that it refuses to acknowledge the main reason why people regularly use air travel in the first place: to save time, writes Ben Sandilands.
Did Greens How to Vote cards win Labor seats?
It is clear that Greens preferences had a huge impact on Labor’s seat-by-seat victories. A much tougher question is the extent to which Greens How to Vote cards influenced the vote. Possum Comitatus scrutinizes the numbers.
No thongs, no singlets, no iPhones
Pub-goers are increasingly turning to smartphones instead of bartenders to solve trivia debates at the pub. As Derek Brown writes, perhaps drinkers should start putting down those all-knowing smartphones, before they ruin the discussion.
Racist Wallaby: Why I Oppose the NBN, and so should you
In a guest post on First Blog on the Moon, Racist Wallaby weighs in on the NBN debate. Does captioning the latest feline antics serve as a significant contribution to Australia’s GDP?
Theatre review: The Namatjira Projec — charming and insightful
The Namatjira Project might not have a mass profile but this insightful, meditative and warmly comical production has all the ingredients for exemplifying what can be achieved in Aboriginal reconciliation, writes Lloyd Bradford Skye.
Essential: are we warming to Abbott?
Julia Gillard’s image has taken a battering in the eyes of voters since the early days of her Prime Ministership, while Tony Abbott’s is slowly improving.
Govt will help small business … but no Canadian-style bank
Does Australia need a small business bank? Canada has one, Britain financiers are planning one, but the Australian government has rejected the need. Oliver Milman from Startup Smart reports.
Drought-breaking Dragons celebrate with a snarl
So, did St George coach Wayne Bennett fan the ‘choker’ taunts this year, perhaps to take his players’ minds off the pressure associated with a 31-year premiership wait for the red V? asks Back Page Lead’s Steve Mascord.
How Sydney lost another airport option
The important, but overdue action by the government to preserve airports for aviation, could have seen the Hoxton Park aerodrome turned into a Q400 or ATR-72 turbo-prop hub that would have broken Sydney Airport’s monopoly pricing grip on domestic air services.
