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Wednesday, May 22nd, 2013

Michael Coombes

Mother's Day memories

A book before bed.Surely it's every kid's evening ritual.In my house, Miss Four chooses the book. For some reason last night she decided we should read my baby book.It's been years since I've opened it. I didn't even know where to start looking.I ha...
May 10, 3:27 pm
Don't hate me because I'm beautiful

This opinion piece is in response to an article featured in The Age on Thursday, where Geoffrey Barker said attractive female journalists have no credibility."The curling wand and the make-up box trump the notebook and pencil every time," the retire...
May 3, 10:20 am
The best time of year

What’s your favourite part of the year, here in south east Queensland?I bet a whole bunch of you just answered ‘spring’. It’s the end of winter, after all.The heat seekers would go with summer for those amazing beach days.Perhaps new settlers from f...
April 12, 9:41 am
The waiting list waiting game

It was an innocent choice.It was going to be a long wait.Eric Clapton. "He'll help me make it through," I thought to myself.So I pulled up his From the Cradle album, put in my headphones and hit play.I had clean forgotten the first song was Blues be...
March 25, 9:42 am
Smoke signals beat Twitter. It’s a miracle!

Black smoke. No.White smoke. Yes.For centuries, the most basic of signals has served to tell the world there’s a new kid on the Papal block.Apparently, Conclave’s election of Pope Francis happened more quickly than expected.But for me (a non-Catholi...
March 15, 9:01 am
Is the Broncos’ biggest fan this bloke from NSW?

Would you move house to be be closer to your team?Would you move cities?State?I reckon I've found the Broncos' number one fan. The bloke who turns passion into terrifying obsession.He doesn't just answer 'yes' to all the above questions. It's an emp...
March 7, 10:37 am
How a children's book brought two worlds together

No black. No white.No rich. No poor.No pity. No envy.Just pride.The pride was mine. The rest was youthful purity.I had been nervous. How would a four-year-old react, taken out of her comfortable suburban surrounds in Brisbane and thrust into a third...
March 1, 11:18 am
Dancing around the money issue

Oh dear Lord.I've become one of 'those' parents.And I never saw it coming.Working away on a Saturday. The phone rings."You now have a box of chocolates to sell."Sudden, swift and inescapable."We're almost half way through the term," the accompanying...
February 21, 11:16 am
Love is in the air. So what's that smell?

You can smell it coming.Valentine's Day.Forget the florists, it's a chemist's dream as the world's hay fever sufferers rush to stock up on antihistamines.All those triggers.The flowers. The perfume. The BO.Yep, body odour.A Roy Morgan survey landed ...
February 14, 10:04 am
White hot Coldplay colour the Cauldron

White hot Coldplay colour the Cauldron“We’re going to play the best f***ing concert we’ve ever done,” Chris Martin thundered.50,000 Queenslanders roared.I grinned. It was already the best f***ing concert I’ve ever seen. And they were only two songs ...
November 22, 7:22 am
Show us your tips. Solving Australia's service slump

Is hospitality in Australia becoming less hospitable?I remember a time when the customer was always right. Within reason.Now the customer's lucky to get a grunt of acknowledgement and even luckier if their order gets filled accurately.A friend and I...
November 8, 8:53 am
Is it time to give Halloween the silver bullet?

I’ve got a great idea.Let’s tell our children to take lollies from strangers.It’ll be fun.Tell you what, let’s make it easy for those strangers to give our children candy.Let’s go to their homes. Knock on their doors. Ask for lollies.What could go w...
October 31, 11:40 am
Not so Psyrious. The true meaning of Gangnam Style

Did you see Psy?Here, in Australia, he went Gangnam Style on the X-Factor. And an unbelievable crowd turned up to watch him perform for Sunrise in Sydney's Martin Place.All those people caught up in the hype. All memorising and practicing this odd l...
October 19, 7:40 am
Joining the cult of convenient coffee

How convenient the clever people who started our modern calendar chose BC and AD to denote the ancient past and the current era.They are so easily customisable.BC - before child.AD - after delivery.Although I'm only now approaching 4AD, BC does seem...
October 11, 10:15 am
Is Apple about to fall far from the money tree?

Imagine. You're the world's biggest boxing fan.You're lining up to get tickets to the most anticipated bout of the year.You say g'day to the bloke behind you in the queue.Then you realise, it's Muhammad Ali.If you're into soccer, imagine it's Diego ...
September 26, 9:48 am
Soundtrack of a Young Life

How often did you promise yourself that you would not become your parents?It may have been every time a decision went against you.Or the way they dressed you and your siblings in matching outfits.The terrible dad jokes at family gatherings.Perhaps t...
September 19, 9:15 am
ALL MEN ARE CREATED UNEQUAL - THE VIRGIN CONUNDRUM

Imagine you're just sitting there. Minding your own business. Hurting nobody.Perhaps you've just started listening to some of your favourite tunes. Or have got to the last chapter of that book that's had you captivated.Then someone comes up and trea...
August 13, 11:44 am
Oi! Aussie! It’s time for a new chant

“Aussie, Aussie, Aussie. Oi, Oi, Oi.”Seriously, is that the best we’ve got?This proud nation of talented people has produced a solitary war cry.We’ve managed to stretch one word and a grunt into a nine syllable chant that’s supposed to magically ins...
July 6, 10:24 am
Rodeo Drive cheaper than Queen Street Mall

When was the last time you drove in to the city?If you’re anything like me you avoid it as best you can.It’s not just the traffic on the way in, it’s the cost when you get there.In Brisbane, an hour on the side of the road will set you back $4.20. I...
June 21, 12:00 am
For Mums. Passed and Present

When we were kids, our playground was the beautiful waters of Lake Macquarie.We used to go prawning - dragging our small nets through the seaweed.Mostly, it was for bait. But sometimes, if we caught enough, mum would cook us up prawn crepes.It's one...
May 13, 12:00 am