Category: Uncategorized
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Doing things by the book
I felt like Moses receiving the Ten Commandments when I was given my very first newspaper stylebook. I DIDN’T SAY I LOOKED LIKE HIM. The Bible never says what Moses was wearing on the mountain or describe his attire when he came down. Exodus (34:29) only says that his face shone and that he was…
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Why I despise mint chocolate
Chocolate and toothpaste have always struck me as sworn enemies. They live on opposite sides of the sensory fence. One is rich, indulgent and unapologetically sweet. The other is clinical, minty and exists purely to undo the damage caused by the first. You don’t invite them to the same party. You certainly don’t expect them…
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I’ve decided to join the rough writers association instead
You’d think I’d been kicked in the head by a wild, bucking bull. I just can’t remember the exact year. Late 1970s? Early 1980s? Somewhere in that hazy paddock of memory, I was bestowed with honorary membership of the Australian Rough Riders Association and invited to “participate” in the upcoming national rodeo championships at Warwick. “Participate” is one…
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Sorry, I can’t change that, AI Dave
There’s a delicious irony creeping into the publishing world, and it’s getting harder to ignore. Writers are now being told by publishers that their work may be run through AI detection tools to ensure they haven’t used AI. Pause on that for a moment. A human writes a book. The book is then fed into…
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Those magnificent men in their flying… wheelbarrows
I might have an altitude problem — the result of a spoiled upbringing. Or an updraft. It began in the mid 1960s when I was six, seven, maybe eight. My father was a journalist at the ABC and he sometimes dragged his family along to potential stories at weekends. One time he interviewed a bloke…
JOHN MARTIN'S TALES 