January 20, 2026 – SparklyPrettyBriiiight

This book was read at Kalimna, Yeranda cottages, near Dungog in early January 2026. In the usual course of pop culture back and forth, a TV or streaming show would be watched in that medium, and then, the eager viewer would turn, if they were so inclined, to the book Continue Reading

Raising the curtain is still all kinds of happily offbeat fun: Thoughts on The Muppet Show special 2026

(courtesy IMP Awards) SNAPSHOT It’s The Muppet Show! Kermit, Miss Piggy and the beloved Muppet gang are back with a brand-new special event. Music, comedy, and a whole lot of chaos are bound to ensue when The Muppets once again take the stage of the original Muppet Theatre with their very special Continue Reading

Movie review: Is This Thing On?

(courtesy IMP Awards) One thing that strikes you pretty quickly as you exit childhood and enter the uncertain wilds of adulthood is that many of the big moments, which Hollywood has conditioned us to believe happen in big, soap operatic scenes, actually play out in far smaller, quieter ways. It’s Continue Reading

Book review: The Expert System’s Champion by Adrian Tchaikovsky (Expert System book #2)

(courtesy Pan Macmillan Australia) If you read a lot of really good science fiction, it will become immediately apparent that imagination is rarely in short supply among the boundlessly creative authors of the genre. But what will also emerge is how imaginatively fertile some of the giants of the genre Continue Reading

Songs, songs and more songs #132: Scandipop special feat. Chris Holsten, Tove Styrke, Janice, Cazzi Opeia + Agnes

(via Shutterstock) I have loved Scandinavian everything since I was kid. I was fortunate that my local country NSW library stocked the Moomins, Agaton Sax and a host of other titles and that ABBA wakened me to the emerging power and captivating creativity of Northern European pop. That love of Continue Reading

Where it all ends … thoughts on the final season of Upload

(courtesy IMP Awards) You kind of have to feel sorry for Upload. Created by Greg Daniels (Parks and Recreation), Upload has the misfortune to release right in the middle of the first year of the COVID pandemic, and while that was a boon for many shows, and likely helped some Continue Reading

Book review: The Rest of Our Lives by Ben Markovits

(courtesy Allen & Unwin Book Publishers) Laments about middle age are often viewed as a tired old cliché. But what is often forgotten in the midst of all the eyerolling and lowkey dismissals is that the cliché exists for a reason; middle age is a time when youth is walking Continue Reading

Movie review: People You Meet on Vacation

(courtesy IMDb) It’s always with a little bit of your heart in your mouth vibe that you approach any adaptation of a book by a favourite author. Will it feel even remotely like the book? (For the record, I am not a precious reader and I’m happy give adaptations a Continue Reading

Book review: Moderation by Elaine Castillo

(courtesy Allen & Unwin Publishers) Mixing a love story in with an often excoriating though wryly funny exploration of the inhumanity of big tech in the 21st century may not sound like the most viable of narrative drivers for a novel but in the hands of Elaine Castillo it is Continue Reading

UPCOMING READS: The Name Game by Beth O’Leary

(courtesy Beth O’Leary newsletter) A fresh start is waiting for Charlie Jones.But another Charlie Jones wants it too… The Isle of Ormer: population 500, soon to be 501. Charlie Jones has landed on the island to embark on her brand new life. As the manager at Ormer’s only farm shop, Continue Reading

Funny, tender, goofy – Catherine O’Hara lit up the screen every time she showed up (curated article)

(New York, NY – June 09, 2019: Catherine O’Hara attends the 73rd Annual Tony Awards at Radio City Music Hall / via Shutterstock) Article by Ben McCann, Adelaide University (The Conversation) Catherine O’Hara, the beloved actor and comedian who has died aged 71, occupied that rare position in contemporary screen culture: Continue Reading

Book review: Bookish by Matthew Sweet

Movie review: Rental Family