Zen and the Art of Washing Dishes
They say life is a series of imperfect facts and there is much we cannot control. The sequence of washing dishes is not one of them. Glassware first.
Letter to My Accountant
Dear Senior Accountant, Thank you for your very kind letter. My initial tax meeting with your very pleasant sub-contracting accountant concluded with a statement I was not expecting to hear. Not the mellifluous, “you’ll be getting a refund of a thousand dollars”. Rather, the strong and discordant “you owe the tax office two thousand.” After [...]
The Big Spin-Out: Politics by PR
The corporate world has moved on. They recognise that PR is not a professional working title for an employee and that ‘spin’ does not work in a world of high information search power and acutely tuned radar for any lack of authenticity. Politicians, however, are lagging behind.
The Benley Acquisition
Seventeen year-old Jason has work experience with Entice Events. His first project is working on The Benley Acquisition account. Comic send-up of Australian regional shire councils.
Stillborn
A man is sent by Mother to the site of a parallel universe experiment in a hospital ward. His mission is to monitor the behaviour of its caretaker, Rachel, who has become increasingly unorthodox. Speculative / Fantasy / Sci-fi short story written and first published in 1999.
The Fracture
Award-winning prose fantasy told through the voice of a neglected seven-year-old. Set in a travelling carnival, it’s a world in which the children are the adults and the adults are the children. First published 1997, later 2007.
The 45 Minute Chair
Henry makes a joyous discovery after transitioning to retirement. In the ambient ‘As Much As You Like’ restaurant, he takes his hard copy novel and determines to take them up on their offer.
Love Letter to Bundanoon
To be honest, I wasn’t sure I’d like it. I thought it was quaint. But dinky. No place for a city chick. The roads were narrow. You could hide an orphanage in the potholes. And it was creepy, all those doilies. Nonetheless, house prices were right. So I bought a place in the village of [...]
A Moment of Nihilism
Are close encounter experiences real or could there be other psychological, social and scientific explanations? First published 1996.
BLOG: Melbourne Street Art
Julian Assange and Tony Abbot feature in Melbourne’s Hosier Lane street art, March 2011.
