Wilco is band that demand respect. A few weeks ago I put myself in credit card debt to go see the Chicago based rockers at The Forum in Melbourne, Australia. They jumped and rollicked their way through a feast of Wilco gems. It seriously rocked and the punters were salivating for more. I wrote a review of the gig and it’s been published at TheDwarf.com.au – I relished the return to music writing and injected this little nugget with plenty of cheeky machismo.
My new story has been published as a weekly feature at Eureka Street. High-tech Health in the Bush makes a case for affordable and user friendly technological innovation to effectively support the health and wellbeing of Australia’s diverse range of communities, such as culturally and linguistically diverse groups in rural and remote areas.
High-tech Health in the Bush
The story was a great way to draw on my travel experiences and research work in regional Australia, and also poorer communities in South Africa.
‘Primal Urges’ has been profiled in an article at HorrorSquad, a popular website dedicated to horror films. It’s accompanied by another indie short, ‘Tell Tale Heart’, based on Poe’s short story. You can see them both here and check out HorrorSquad for other gory goodies.
One of my stories that originally appeared in the Herald Sun, ‘Grandad Still Worth Gold To Me’, has been published in the book The Perfect Gift For A Man. This collection features 30 stories about reinventing manhood – very cool.
This book came together after an online campaign (Manweek) by Reachout and Triple J to encourage men to speak about their experiences.
All proceeds go to Inspire (www.inspire.org.au), an organisation dedicated to helping Australians lead happier lives.
Everyday Weirdness have published my new piece of flash fiction, A Shagger’s Tail. This story follows the plight of a young bloke who has just been dumped by his girlfriend via text message and comes home to find he has a new and particularly dodgy flat mate called ‘Pickles Magee’. It features giant rats, A-Team collectible figurines and late night escapades with Video Ezy shop assistants. What more could one want?
The end of 2009 is shaping up as conference time for me. I will be presenting on the use and application of ICT to communicate messages of health and wellbeing for refugee and migrant communities at:
I will also be presenting on writing for short film production at the 2009 AAWP Annual Conference: Margins and Mainstream, Hamilton, New Zealand, 26-28 November.
This article was a weekly feature at Eureka Street in May 2009. It explored the effects of gentrification on people, families and communities from lower socio-economic and/or culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds. The story highlighted how a lack of information and awareness around housing and renting options adds to the cost and challenges of relocation or finding a place to live due to gentrification.
Six Sentences published my first piece of fiction! Fast Track Facsimile is a ’short-short’ story about job redundancy, magical photocopiers and the perils of management-speak. Six Sentences is ace,heaps of cool flash fiction.
