I shop at IKEA, therefore I am.

Serving as a monolith of mass consumption in the concrete jungle of today, Ikea has become nothing short of an ‘Ikon’, reknowned for its unending product range, superhuman scale and those quirky Swedish names it has for everything.

Infomercials — Great Entertainment or Serious Advertisement?

Marketing as a whole can be seen as a dirty, manipulative business, but the infomercial quadrant is seen more as a joke then threatening. Most people cringe at the idea of watching them, but despite all this the industry…

Asylum Seekers

Refugees, boat people, asylum seekers, illegals — whatever term you use it’s almost certain you have a strong opinion on the topic. To me it seems a well-known fact that most of the misconceptions on refugees have been created by politicians and the media as a political ploy for votes. Yet when…

Crowd-pleasing chemical met with mixed reactions

Food and science have a long-standing relationship — one that is both interesting and puzzling.

But only recently has the interest of, and danger in, its relationship come to our attention.

Contagion: the spread of viral facebook posts

Viral Facebook posts appear to be fast becoming this decade’s Letter to the Editor. Like a contagious disease they spread rapidly and the symptoms make themselves known by appearing on our News Feeds. I find they are usually caught from people like…

Gillard’s New Street Cred

On the tenth of October 2012, Julia Gillard performed the seemingly impossible, that is, momentarily wiping that smarmy look from Tony Abbott’s face. How? With the weapon of speech — powerfully broadcast by Gillard within a parliamentary debate and reinforced even further by her…

Marrying Your Vote

The U.S Election campaign is heating up with age old arguments coming out of the woodwork to decide who will run the most powerful nation in the western world. But are issues gay marriage like really relevant?

Red Bull Gives You Streams

At my place, Red Bull Rampage is awaited with eagerness. Alarms are set and early bedtimes adhered to so that live streaming of the freeride mountain biking event can be watched bleary-eyed at an absurd hour of the morning. This is possibly an unheard of event outside the mountain…

Halloween Sprouts more Fears than just Ghosts and Ghouls in Australia

With the coming of the end of October many Australians are looking forward to the fun of Halloween, but some have concerns that it is just another way Australia is becoming “Americanised”. Many Australians are…

Behind the Beard: A Cover Story

Food saver, lip curtain, chinstrap and handle bar. These misleading monikers serve to make even the most frivolous scruff of facial-hair appear functional or better yet, essential to one’s everyday life. Now, while I’ve gazed in wonderment at the astonishingly high…