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I knew Diana Bliss. Not well, though I'd been to the home she shared with Alan Bond at Cottesloe Beach in Perth and had basked in the same dazzling charm that those who knew her better have recalled in the wake of her tragic death. I will never forget the day we met because even though I was there to see her celebrated husband, we both knew who we … [Read more...] about #53 REMEMBERING MISS BLISS

The passing of Kim Jong-il followed the script of all tyrants who aren't defeated by war or revolution - a black-clad news reader weeping as she made the announcement that the self-styled "Dear Leader" was dead. There would have been onions at the ready throughout North Korea -if only onions could be had. But in a blighted country whose inhabitants … [Read more...] about # 52 DEATH OF A TYRANT

Never mind gay marriage, falling house prices or impending holidays in Paris or Buenos Aires. The smartest, sexiest people at your average office Christmas party this year are engaged in intense banter about the Higgs boson. The Higgs what? Yes, the Higgs boson. And it's boh-sun not bos-son. What on earth are they on about? Don't you know, stupid? … [Read more...] about # 51 THE GOD PARTICLE

As if the looming global financial crisis isn't enough to cause the odd palpitation this holiday season, Australia has been plunged into a full scale debate about the pros and cons of gay marriage. Arguably, this is the work of one man - the famously gay (and strangely grey) Greens leader, Bob Brown, who wields gay marriage as one of the many … [Read more...] about #50 THE GAY WEDGE

Meryl Streep's portrayal of Margaret Thatcher in The Iron Lady is being greeted with superlatives, so much so that the movie is now the most anticipated offering of the New Year and critics are describing Streep as a shoo-in for best female actor at the 2012 Academy Awards. The performance has been variously described as "astonishing" and "uncanny" … [Read more...] about #48 TRIUMPHANT IRON LADY