Food for Eating: All The Superfoods

I made this delightful salad during the week, and as I was assembling the ingredients realised that I had the who's who of Superfoods all in the one bowl: quinoa, kale, blueberries, coconut oil, apple cider vinegar and avocado being the key food celebs. This recipe is fast, easy and I think most would have the staple ingredients at home already. This is great with smoky barbecued chicken, but please yourself I say. While I have never warmed to kale, I actually really enjoyed it in this, I think primarily because you remove the stems and chop the kale leaves into very manageable pieces. If like me you aren't a fan of kale, chop it a little finer - but not so much that you squash the leaves and get that horrible squidgy effect.

Who says you can't win friends with salad?

Kale, Quinoa and Blueberries Salad

Food for Thought: The Candy Diet

I love this thought-provoking piece from Seth Godin. It really ties in to some epic conversations I've had recently with some journalist friends of mine. See below and have a think...

The Candy Diet

The bestselling novel of 1961 was Allen Drury's Advise and Consent. Millions of people read this 690-page political novel. In 2016, the big sellers were coloring books.

Fifteen years ago, cable channels like TLC (the "L" stood for Learning), Bravo and the History Channel (the "History" stood for History) promised to add texture and information to the blighted TV landscape. Now these networks run shows about marrying people based on how well they kiss.

And of course, newspapers won Pulitzer prizes for telling us things we didn't want to hear. We've responded by not buying newspapers any more.

The decline of thoughtful media has been discussed for a century. This is not new. What is new: A fundamental shift not just in the profit-seeking gatekeepers, but in the culture as a whole.

"Everything should be made as simple as possible, but no simpler."*

[*Ironically, this isn't what Einstein actually said. It was this, "It can scarcely be denied that the supreme goal of all theory is to make the irreducible basic elements as simple and as few as possible without having to surrender the adequate representation of a single datum of experience." Alas, I've been seduced into believing that the shorter one now works better.]

Is it possible we've made things simpler than they ought to be, and established non-curiosity as the new standard?

We are certainly guilty of being active participants in a media landscape that breaks Einstein's simplicity law every day. And having gotten away with it so far, we're now considering removing the law from our memory.

The economics seem to be that the only way to make a living is to reach a lot of people and the only way to reach a lot of people is to race to the bottom, seek out quick clicks, make it easy to swallow, reinforce existing beliefs, keep it short, make it sort of fun, or prurient, or urgent, and most of all, dumb it down.

And that's the true danger of anti-intellectualism. While it's foolish to choose to be stupid, it's cultural suicide to decide that insights, theories and truth don't actually matter. If we don't care to learn more, we won't spend time or resources on knowledge.

We can survive if we eat candy for an entire day, but if we put the greenmarkets out of business along the way, all that's left is candy.

Give your kid a tablet, a game, and some chicken fingers for dinner. It's easier than talking to him.

Read the short articles, the ones with pictures, it's simpler than digging deep.

Clickbait works for a reason. Because people click on it.

The thing about clickbait, though, is that it exists to catch prey, not to inform them. It's bait, after all.

The good news: We don't need many people to demand more from the media before the media responds. The Beverly Hillbillies were a popular show, but that didn't stop Star Trek from having a shot at improving the culture.

The media has always bounced between pandering to make a buck and upping the intellectual ante of what they present. Now that this balance has been ceded to an algorithm, we're on the edge of a breakneck race to the bottom, with no brakes and no break in sight.

Vote with your clicks, with your sponsorship, with your bookstore dollars. Vote with your conversations, with your letters to the editor, by changing the channel...

Even if only a few people use precise words, employ thoughtful reasoning and ask difficult questions, it still forces those around them to catch up. It's easy to imagine a slippery slope down, but there's also the cultural ratchet, a positive function in which people race to learn more and understand more so they can keep up with those around them.

Turn the ratchet. We can lead our way back to curiosity, inquiry and discovery if we (just a few for now) measure the right things and refuse the easy option in favor of insisting on better.

Ice cream for breakfast? What are you feeding your mind?

Happy Friday: For the Lovers

Garance Dore has recently become engaged (you can read all about it in 4 instalments on her ever-lovely website here), and I just loved how she described that moment when a man proposes to a woman - it's so true. 

It was beautiful, touching, imperfect, and really really really moving. For hours and even days. Moving to the point that we had a hard time having a normal conversation after that. It unleashes so many profound emotions and stirs you all up inside. And you look at this man next to you and say he’s going to be your family. And you love him even more because he had the incredible courage to do that, to ask you to marry him. You know it won’t change anything and it will change everything at the same time. You hope you’re ready and up to the task.

Each year since I've been married, I've made a New Year's resolution to try to be a great wife. I think it takes a lot of work to keep a marriage dynamic, healthy and on the right track. It's easy to take people (especially the kind ones) for granted. I am terrible for that. I always try to remind myself that all that handsome hubby does for me comes from a place of deep love, and that I should respond in kind with great love - and patience. It can be hard when I'm running at a rate of knots, my mind is focused on a million different things. I often very unfairly expect him to be on my wavelength always which is so crazy. We are so different, and think so differently. I didn't marry someone similar to me for a very good reason - too annoying! Too impatient!

While I had to not-so subtly remind Handsome Hubby that it was Valentine's Day and that the perfect way to celebrate was to give me a voucher to my favourite nail bar, I still know our love is deep (in spite of his sulkiness at being forced to buy in to Hallmark-generated events). 

Happy Friday to all the lovers. x

New Year Mantra: Expectations

They say that disappointment is the difference between your expectations and reality. This is probably a fairly accurate equation, although disregards effort and work behind the scenes to achieve your expectations and transform reality. That's why I rather like Seth Godin's latest challenge regarding expectations.

Lower the expectations that you'll find an easy way out.

Raise your expectations for what you can contribute.

Lower your expectations for how effective that next shortcut is going to be. 

Raise your expectations about what technology can do for you if you patiently push it.

Lower your expectations about how an angry fight can help you win something you care about.

Raise your expectations for how much consistent daily action can transform your status quo.

Lower your expectations of finding a fairy godmother.

But raise them about the power of concrete goals that keep you from hiding.

This also reminds me of one of my favourite sayings: Dreams don't work unless you do.

A lot of people really loathe New Year's resolutions, and don't believe in hitting a reset button. To those cynics, I feel sorry for them - it's the most golden of opportunities, and the easiest mark in time to see how you are tracking throughout the year. I don't believe it's a tool for self-loathing, but a tool for self-improvement and progression as a minor cog in the wheel of humanity.

Admittedly, last year I was sporadic at best at keeping mine (last year's attempt at sending more handwritten notes tallied up to one thank you note, a number of birthday cards, and 1 Christmas card - lame!). This year, I have vowed to eat more vegetables which is an exercise also in deception for someone who hates vegetables. I am primarily eating soups with vegetables snuck in, but at least I'm a little more committed to this one. Yotam Ottolenghi - with all his chopping and pots and pans - will be my companion to 2016. I'm still trying to figure out if hot chips fall into the category of "Vegetables".

Another of my friends has boldly resolved to not buy clothes this year. Impressive. After hearing this, I immediately took back the clothes I'd impulsively and unnecessarily bought at Zara a few days prior and felt great! While I don't think I can commit to not buying new clothes for an entire year, I think it's a great resolution and kinda wish I'd thought of that. But at least by having the idea planted, it makes me think twice about my purchases, and that can only be a good thing (thank God for returns policies). For a great article on clearing out your wardrobe, and buying less stuff go here.

A little less of this in 2016

The benefits of sharing resolutions have now been proven. So... What did you resolve for 2016?

Gigi Tells The Haters to Go-Go

I just love this post from It Girl of the moment, Gigi Hadid. While I am saddened that she even has to defend herself in this way, I am realistic: it's the Internet, and there are trolls out there who will attack and denigrate even the cutest cat video out there, let alone the looming target of a good looking girl living the dream as a supermodel. Haters gonna hate.

I have thought on a number of occasions that models like Gigi Hadid suggest a shift towards a more realistic body image. She certainly makes it look very appealing!

Hey Diddle Diddle

The cow jumped over the moon.

Gosh, Australia is beautiful.

Pic courtesy of ABC Open contributor Ann Killeen in Rutherglen, Victoria via the ABC Facebook page.

Happy Friday: Performance Artist

I must admit, when I think of "performance artist" I immediately think of mime artists or clowns. The name Marina Abramovic does not automatically jump to mind probably because I haven't attended one of her performances just yet...

This weekend, I happen to be in Hobart for work and Marina Abramovic's Private Archaeology exhibition happens to be showing at Hobart's fabulous MONA. While I have missed her in-person performance (she appeared during MONA's annual Dark MoFo celebrations which I missed by just a week), her exhibition continues at MONA until 5 October. I have great expectations, and am pretty excited to be seeing her work, and also to be heading back to MONA (it is worth visiting Hobart just for that - although let me assure you there a bunch of other reasons to visit). For Sydney-siders, Marina is in residence in your lovely city until this Sunday.

If you are unsure of who Marina Abramovic is, you may remember her from her The Artist is Present performance at MoMA in New York City. Essentially it involved Abramovic sitting in a chair for 8 hours per day for 3 months, swathed in luscious long gowns of strong block colours, as visitors streamed in and occupied the chair opposite her and met her very level gaze. (If you're wondering, there was a hole in her chair, which enabled her to go to the bathroom undetected, and without sacrificing her art). Some people cried, others laughed, some got naked while Abramovic looked on impassively. The only time she cracked was when her ex-lover appeared unannounced in the chair before her.

You try to hold it together!

I get chills every time I watch that video - there is so much communicated in that shake of his head. Wow!

You may also know her from Sex & The City - where Carrie meets The Russian. (He was so dismissive of Charlotte - eugh!)

For a little extra information on Marina, I have stolen this from a Guardian profile on her:

Abramović came out of a tough background. Her parents had close ties to the post-war communist regime of what was then Yugoslavia and her mother raised Abramović in a home run more like a boot camp than a family. In 2011, she turned what amounted to an abusive upbringing into a stage production called the Life and Death of Marina Abramović, co-starring Willem Dafoe and Antony Hegarty of Antony and the Johnsons, and in which she played both herself and her mother. "Every rehearsal I cried from the beginning to the end," she says. "Then one day Bobby [the director] said, enough of this bullshit crying. The public has to cry, not you. After three years of touring in Europe, I was free. All these stories don't affect me any more. An incredible feeling."

This was after years of critiquing the repressive nature of both her family and her country through performance art. In her piece The Lips of Thomas (1975), she carved a five-pointed communist star into her own abdomen, a monstrously sly up yours to the regime and appropriation of brutality for her own purposes. In other gallery settings, she and Ulay slammed into each other, shrieked in each other's faces, or sat staring at each other for interminable lengths of time to test, and conquer, the boundaries of what is endurable. It was thrilling, shocking, above all, moral and sailing always in the face of accusations of meaninglessness. The great danger with this sort of art, of course, is that pain is mistaken for meaning.

"In the beginning there were just masochists doing this shit and it was ridiculous. They needed to go to a psychiatric clinic," she nods. "It's more complicated to explain. In every culture, [there are those] shamans or medicine men who endured incredible physical pain, because it's a door opening to the subconsciousness. And the way we can actually control the pain – it's how to control everything. This is the key."

She also spent time in Australia with Indigenous Australians, and learnt how to "sit" from them. As she was quoted as saying in a recent interview here in Australia:

That actual root for the entire idea of performance was based here in Australia. Australian Aborigines always live in the present time. Aborigines perform in the present time, they live through the ceremonies, the performance in a certain way is a ceremony.

Ok - she's out there. And that's what I like about her and her art. She is challenging, different and thought- and conversation-provoking. She provokes conversations we should be having, and encourages us to move beyond our comfort zone. It's a shame that she has only become truly celebrated in the last 5-10 years (she is pushing 70) but as they say - better late than never. Possibly all her struggles and obscurity are what have contributed to the power of her subject matter today. Whatever it is, I can't wait to count rice at MONA this Sunday.

Happy Happy Monday - Toward Marriage Equality #lovewins

#lovewins

In a historic ruling over the weekend, the United States Supreme Court made same-sex marriage a lawful right everywhere in America.

Justice Anthony M Kennedy wrote for the majority that "No longer may this liberty be denied. No union is more profound than marriage, for it embodies the highest ideals of love, fidelity, devotion, sacrifice and family. In forming a marital union, two people become something greater than once they were."

Marriage is a "keystone of our social order" he wrote, adding that the plaintiffs in the case were seeking "equal dignity in the eyes of the law."

This decision marks the culmination of decades of litigation and activism on this most simple human right. The decision comes amid fast-moving changes in public opinion, with polls indicating that most Americans now approve of same-sex unions.

What better way to fight those in the dark corners of the globe by not only celebrating the freedoms we currently have, but by providing yet greater freedoms to those long-marginalised? This is what we fight for: hardwon, staunchly defended freedom. I hope our country can embrace similar ideals, but fear a few things may need to change around here before that can become reality.

But who cares? Today, love conquers all.

Shoesday: Some People Don't Have Shoes

Adelaide artist Peter Drew has been travelling Australia challenging some of our basic assumptions on this refugee "crisis" we are apparently facing. Some say Australia doesn't have a refugee crisis, and say we have a racism issue. I would argue against that - I think we have some fundamental problems with how our media reports on issues, and I believe our politicians are doing us a disservice by clouding the reality of the situation with their rhetoric and inflammatory use of words.

Peter has been travelling Australia and plans to culminate his trip this week in Canberra as we celebrate (or something) Refugee Week, which started this week. He found inspiration in our national anthem which features the lines:

For those who’ve come across the seas 

We’ve boundless plains to share 

With courage let us all combine 

To advance Australia fair

The posters are really great, and they really make you think twice (I find) when you see them - I think to myself "Am I being welcoming today?". Sometimes my resting bitch face would say "no", I have no doubt ;o)

I wanted to share some important statistics on this issue, as I think it's essential we have perspective and clarity:

Fact 1: It’s not a crime to come to Australia by boat without a visa and ask for protection
People are often fleeing their home country for dear life. And they are legally entitled to do so. 

It is not a crime to arrive here by boat without a valid visa and ask for protection. It is not illegal to flee persecution, to cross borders without documents/passports in order to seek asylum. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights enshrines the right to seek asylum from persecution. We should value this document, and the principles it espouses, much more than we currently do.

Fact 2: There’s no official queue for people coming to Australia seeking a safe place to live
It simply doesn't exist in the manner in which it is represented by our politicians and certain sections of the media. 

Fact 3: Only 1% of the world’s refugees is likely to be given safe haven in any given year
And that's a tragedy. Need outstrips supply in a major way. No wonder there are human traffickers lining up to deal in this awful trade of hope and survival.

As the Refugee Council of Australia notes:

We know from our decades and decades of experience working with vulnerable migrants that the vast majority of asylum seekers and refugees flee to escape persecution, torture and death – dangers inflicted on them because of their race, religion, nationality, social group or political opinions.

Some have seen their closest relatives and friends murdered, and their homes and villages burnt to the ground. They’ve suffered torture and their bodies, like their minds, are covered in scars that will never disappear. They are survivors. They come from all walks of life, rich and poor. They flee, simply, because they want to live.

Have you put your welcome mat out lately? And what kind of country do you want to live in? One that genuinely attempts to discharge its obligations as a privileged (in terms of development) member of the United Nations in a fair and compassionate manner? Or somewhere different?  Insular, unwelcoming and - worst of all - uninformed?

Who Wore It Better? Apple vs Penny

The Apple watch has been released today with much fanfare and excitement. The watch is available in 3 different types (Apple Watch Sport, Apple Watch and Apple Watch Edition) in different materials and finishes, at corresponding price points.

The watch has a lot to offer users, but is it really as good as the original prototype set forth by Penny from Inspector Gadget? To me, this is the ultimate watch.

As a kid, I used to scour the show bag stands at the local fair hoping there would be a Penny watch inside the Inspector Gadget show bag. Of course I didn't realise I would have to wait 20 years for said watch, and that the watch would not come with assorted plastic Penny paraphernalia (my earliest Gadget show bag had Penny's face on a ping pong paddle which seemed kinda rude at the time) nor would it retail at the imminently respectable show bag price of $10. (The Apple Watch Edition has a sapphire face and special 18 carat thing-a-me-bobs (say WHAT?!) and will retail at US$10,000).

So for $349 for the Sport or $10,000 for the Edition, is it better than Penny's watch? Buzzfeed tells it like it is:

1. Like Penny's watch, you can make calls from the Apple Watch. 1 - 1.

2. You can make video calls from both. 2 - 2.

3. Both watches synch to other devices (admittedly, the iPad and laptop are a little better than Penny's rather cumbersome book, but even so, the book was marvellous for its time). 3 - 3.

4. Penny's watch has a multi-functional laser beam. Apple's does not. 4 - 3 to Penny.

5. Penny's watch has a flashlight for escaping dangerous situations. Apple's does not. 5 -3.

7. Penny's watch has GPS tracking. Perfect for stalking your partner if you don't trust them (WHAT?!) or - in my best dreams - precisely identifying ice cream shops that are still open at midnight when everywhere else is shut. 6 - 3.

8. Penny's watch also has a strong magnet. In the modern, non-crime fighting world, I expect this would enable you to collect your keys off the bench from a distance as you run out the door. 7 - 3.

9. Penny's watch DETECTS RADIOACTIVITY. While you may not think that's important now, in a potentially post-apocalyptic world, I can definitely see the benefit of that! 8 - 3.

So there you have it. Penny's watch - devised 20 years ago - is still far and away the more advanced product. Sadly, it doesn't exist. While I couldn't bear to part with my beautiful, wedding-gifted Rolex, I can see the novelty value of an Apple watch. But not for $10,000!

Happy Friday: Tutu Appreciation

Every year, the Queensland Ballet hosts Tutu Day. Essentially you bring along your adorable daughters all tizzied up in a tutu and allow them run of the place to live out their wildest Sugar Plum Fairy dreams. I highly recommend attendance, and would give any adult $50 to show up in their own tutu. I still have a black tutu lying around and always think about wearing it... and then chicken out at the last moment because I think it would seem very strange indeed for a daughter-less woman to strut around in her black tutu simply because she can.

Garance Dore recently snuck behind the scenes of opening night for the New York Ballet Company's day before the opening night (as well as opening night, but those pics aren't up yet). The photos are glorious. Check them out here. Or below, because I have stolen a few shots for this blog's benefit.

Speaking of ballet... Have you seen Birdman? To me, Birdman is almost the male version of Black Swan. While it's less intense, there is still that theme of that inner voice - demonically personified - pounding its owner to reach great heights of perfection, success and personal achievement. It's an interesting film and has received a bunch of Oscar nominations. Worth watching and really interesting to see the "art" of acting (Edward Norton is so talented), but I really thought Emma Stone stole the show. She had that tragic air about her, and I found myself on edge waiting for something dreadful to happen. She also suffered some highly unflattering camera angles, but it didn't distract - she was fabulous.

Happy Friday: Chrismukkah

For anyone out there who watched The O.C. in their teenage/early-20s years, Chrismukkah requires no explanation. For those who missed out on Ryan, Marissa and the cutest couple ever (Summer and Seth), Chrismukkah is basically a blend of Judaism's Hanukkah and Christianity's Christmas.

One of the great things eaten over Hanukkah is the jam doughnut. Even though I generally am not a cake/muffin kind of girl, doughnuts and jam doughnuts just KILL me. I love them. And let's be perfectly clear here: when I talk doughnuts, I am not talking that shit you get at Krispy Kreme or Donut King. I am talking warm, just out of the deep fryer and into the cinnamon sugar bowl and into a paper bag kind of doughnut. I am a very out, and very proud doughnut snob.

Bring it on

Jam doughnuts have lots of names - sufganiyot for those hailing from Israel and consumed during Hanukkah, Berliners for those from Germany (I had these home made for me by the daughter of a family friend when I was about 8 years old and it was this moment that got me thoroughly hooked), Paczki in Poland, Pampushky in the Ukraine (eaten these too, also delicious) and in Italy they are adorably called Bombolini. Shall we travel the world and taste them all? I think we should. Bucket list now updated.

So for today's Happy Friday, as I am bound to find myself in the kitchen for much of this weekend cooking for BBQ's we're popping in to, please see the not-so-healthy recipe for jam doughnuts from Smitten Kitchen.

Jam Doughnuts
makes 16 x 2-inch doughnuts

Prep time: 1 hour, 45 mins
Cook time: 10 minutes
Eat time: 2 nanoseconds

2 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast

1/4 cup (50 grams) granulated sugar
3/4 cup (180 ml) lukewarm (not hot) milk
2 large egg yolks
Few gratings of orange or lemon zest, 1 teaspoon vanilla or 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
2 tablespoons (30g) butter softened
2 1/4 cups (280g) all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon coarse or kosher salt
Vegetable oil for deep-frying, and coating bowl
1/2 to 2/3 cup jam or preserves of your choice
Powdered sugar

Make the dough: In the bottom of a large mixing bowl, combine the yeast, sugar and milk. Let stand for 5 minutes; it should become a little foamy. Whisk in yolks, any zest or extracts you’d like to use, then butter. Don’t worry if the butter doesn’t fully combine.

— By hand: Add half of flour and stir with a spoon until combined. Add second half of flour and salt and stir as best as you can with a spoon, then use your hands to knead the dough until it forms a smooth, elastic round, about 5 minutes. Try, if you can, to resist adding extra flour, even if it’s sticky. Extra flour always makes for tougher/dryer doughnuts and breads. Sticky hands and counters are always washable!

— With a stand mixer: Add half the flour and let the dough hook mix it in slowly, on a low speed. Add second half of flour and salt and let the dough hook bring it together into a rough dough. Run machine for 3 to 4 minutes, letting it knead the dough into a smooth, cohesive mass.

Both methods: If the dough is already in the bowl, remove it just long enough to lightly oil the bowl. Return dough to bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let rest at room temperature for 1 hour, or in the fridge overnight.

On a lightly floured counter, roll dough to a 1/2-inch thickness. Cut into 2-inch rounds; no need to re-roll scraps unless you wish; I like to keep the odd shapes for getting the hang of frying before cooking the final doughnuts. Or, if you’re vehemently against scraps and re-rolling, you can make small square doughnuts, which are surprisingly cute. Let cut dough rise for another 30 minutes, loosely covered with a towel.

Fry the doughnuts: Heat 2 inches of oil to 175°C in a cast-iron frying pan (I like using one because it so delightfully re-seasons them) or heavy pot. Use your dough scraps to practice and get an idea of how quickly the doughnuts will cook. Then add about 4 doughnuts at a time to the oil, cooking on the first side until golden brown underneath, about 1 to 2 minutes. Flip doughnuts and cook on the other side, until it, too, is golden brown underneath, about another minute. Drain doughnuts, then spread them on a paper towel-lined plate to absorb extra oil. Repeat with remaining doughnuts.

Fill with jam: When doughnuts are cool enough to handle, place jam in a piping bag with a round tip with a 1/4- to 1/2-inch opening. You can fill doughnuts from the tops or sides; I did half with each. Press the tip of the jam bag halfway into the doughnut, and squeeze in the jam until it dollops out a little from the hole. Repeat with remaining doughnuts.

Finish doughnuts: Either generously shower doughnuts with powdered sugar on either side, shaken from a fine-mesh strainer, or roll the doughnuts gently in a bowl of powdered sugar.

Eat at once. Don’t forget to share. 

Garance Dore Loves Denim + Denim Too

Ergo, so should you.

Garance Dore's tips for the dark art of denim on denim:

• If you’re feeling like you are on denim overload, add a non-denim layer, like a leather vest or jacket.
• To kick the farmer feeling, go for a pair of heels (the ones here are Gianvito Rossi).
• Layer it on. Here we have overalls, a denim shirt and a denim vest. The more denim, the merrier.
• Try a total look and do all the same color denim (if you’re feeling a little less bold, mix dark and light).

Chic Spice

Due to laziness and a lack of time to read every review of New York Fashion Week (yep! It's that time of year again!) available.. I am swiping this review of Victoria Beckham's latest, much admired collection. She is on fire - definitely one of the darlings of fashion in New York this northern hemisphere autumn.

Words taken from The Guardian - written by Jess Cartner-Morley.

Anyone still doubting the respect the Victoria Beckham name commands in the fashion industry would have been silenced by the scene at the New York Public Library on Sunday morning. At fashion week, a designer's status can be calculated before their show has even begun, by who is there and how dressed up the audience are. This show commanded a royal flush of the queens of modern fashion – Anna Wintour, Anna dello Russo, Natalie Massenet, Harper Beckham – and almost the entire row wore five-inch spiked heels.

But Harper, who chose flat bootees, was as on-trend as one would expect from a junior style icon. The surprise of this collection was that most of the shoes were flat summer boots open at the toe and heel – a hybrid of biker boots and gladiator's sandals – with only the slinkiest cocktail dresses paired with stiletto heels. This was the first Victoria Beckham collection to include shoes, a natural next step after dresses and handbags, especially for a woman who is world-famous for her near-Olympian prowess on heels. (Remember the 6½in pump she wore to the royal wedding while seven months pregnant?)

The element of surprise has been a part of the Victoria Beckham label from the start. She surprised the industry first by announcing she was becoming a designer, surprised it again with a debut that garnered raves and then surprised it yet again by keeping pace as the level of expectation rose each season. Having now reached a point where the quality of her clothes is not news in itself, she must now find new ways to pique interest each season.

With more separates than dresses, long, loose silhouettes alongside the short, tight ones, and a sleek, minimal colour palette of ivory, black and orange, this collection had a new, laid-back ease. With the striped runway, the wooden bench seating and the simple centre-parted hair of the models, the mood of the show had more in common with a cool Paris fashion week production – a hint of Celine – than with the rarified, ultra-ladylike atmosphere of the grand hotel suites in which Beckham showed her early collections of corseted dresses to fashion editors.

Backstage after the show, Beckham said that she had focused on separates rather than dresses because "there's a lot more to think about, and I wanted to challenge myself. Tailoring is so difficult, and I am incredibly particular about shoulders, so it has taken me a long time to come up with a perfect jacket." Being a sharp businesswoman, she was also keen to stress that the body-conscious aesthetic that first made her name was still very much part of the label. For evening, lingerie-detailed, scuba-tight cocktail dresses were a delicate, downtown update on the Victoria Beckham signature.

The Beckham brand will always be about celebrity as well as fashion. But in the fashion industry, Victoria is increasingly viewed as a working designer, with her husband the celebrity to be stared at.

As his wife conducted post-show interviews backstage, David Beckham held Harper in his arms, smiling patiently as models queued up to snap endless iPhone photos of father and daughter.

Victoria looked tearful as she took her catwalk bow. "I can't believe I cried," she said afterwards. "I'm not really a cryer. But this matters so much. It matters more than it probably should."

ANZAC Day

It's Anzac Day here in Australia, a day to commemorate not only the anniversary of the first major military insurgence by Australian and NZ soldiers during WWI, but also a day to commemorate all those other Australian and NZ soldiers who have gone out to battle to fight for us, our freedom and for the political, economic and social freedom of others.

I'm not going to bang on about this at all. I'm going to let the echoes of Paul Keating (former PM) do it for me. He gave this incredibly moving speech in 1993 (actually on Remembrance Day) at the gravesite of the Unknown Australian Soldier in Canberra (at the War Memorial) . I often come back to this (and other PK speeches - I adore him)... So. Here it is!

We do not know this Australian's name and we never will.

We do not know his rank or his battalion. We do not know where he was born, nor precisely how and when he died. We do not know where in Australia he had made his home or when he left it for the battlefields of Europe. We do not know his age or his circumstances – whether he was from the city or the bush; what occupation he left to become a soldier; what religion, if he had a religion; if he was married or single. We do not know who loved him or whom he loved. If he had children we do not know who they are. His family is lost to us as he was lost to them. We will never know who this Australian was.

Yet he has always been among those whom we have honoured. We know that he was one of the 45,000 Australians who died on the Western Front. One of the 416,000 Australians who volunteered for service in the First World War. One of the 324,000 Australians who served overseas in that war and one of the 60,000 Australians who died on foreign soil. One of the 100,000 Australians who have died in wars this century.

He is all of them. And he is one of us.

This Australia and the Australia he knew are like foreign countries. The tide of events since he died has been so dramatic, so vast and all – consuming, a world has been created beyond the reach of his imagination.

He may have been one of those who believed that the Great War would be an adventure too grand to miss. He may have felt that he would never live down the shame of not going. But the chances are he went for no other reason than that he believed it was the duty he owed his country and his King.

Because the Great War was a mad, brutal, awful struggle, distinguished more often than not by military and political incompetence; because the waste of human life was so terrible that some said victory was scarcely discernible from defeat; and because the war which was supposed to end all wars in fact sowed the seeds of a second even more terrible war – we might think this Unknown Soldier died in vain.

But, in honouring our war dead, as we always have and as we do today, we declare that this is not true. For out of the war came a lesson which transcended the horror and tragedy and the inexcusable folly. It was a lesson about ordinary people – and the lesson was that they were not ordinary. On all sides they were the heroes of that war; not the generals and the politicians but the soldiers and sailors and nurses – those who taught us to endure hardship, to show courage, to be bold as well as resilient, to believe in ourselves, to stick together.

The Unknown Australian Soldier whom we are interring today was one of those who, by his deeds, proved that real nobility and grandeur belongs, not to empires and nations, but to the people on whom they, in the last resort, always depend.

That is surely at the heart of the ANZAC story, the Australian legend which emerged from the war. It is a legend not of sweeping military victories so much as triumphs against the odds, of courage and ingenuity in adversity. It is a legend of free and independent spirits whose discipline derived less from military formalities and customs than from the bonds of mateship and the demands of necessity. It is a democratic tradition, the tradition in which Australians have gone to war ever since.

This Unknown Australian is not interred here to glorify war over peace; or to assert a soldier's character above a civilian's; or one race or one nation or one religion above another; or men above women; or the war in which he fought and died above any other war; or one generation above any that has been or will come later.

The Unknown Soldier honours the memory of all those men and women who laid down their lives for Australia. His tomb is a reminder of what we have lost in war and what we have gained.

We have lost more than 100,000 lives, and with them all their love of this country and all their hope and energy.

We have gained a legend: a story of bravery and sacrifice and, with it, a deeper faith in ourselves and our democracy, and a deeper understanding of what it means to be Australian.

It is not too much to hope, therefore, that this Unknown Australian Soldier might continue to serve his country - he might enshrine a nation's love of peace and remind us that, in the sacrifice of the men and women whose names are recorded here, there is faith enough for all of us.

Role Models

I thought you might enjoy this little snippet from TV program MamaMia which airs on Sky TV here in Oz - it's a Gen Y guy discussing what it is he likes about Sam de Brito.



He writes an article about it here also. I read Sam's blog ritualistically. It has become a habit so deeply a part of my life that it's almost as habitual as brushing my teeth before bed (drunk, sober, sick whatever - those teethy pegs get cleaned). I really enjoy his male perspective on things, and his endeavours at honesty (even when it's been painful for him - and my heart broke a little for him when his relationship broke down around this time last year) and bringing male issues into the world of public discussion. Having known far too many men and boys who have suffered depression and, with some of these lives ended too soon, I really believe Sam's voice is one that we should take heed of. And yes, I do believe he should be teaching sex ed/life skills at school - including to the girls!

The thing I really liked about the 2 minute snippet I've linked to above though, is the acknowledgment that in a sea of voices - bloggers, tweeters, writers, Facebook gurus etc - we can still find a voice that cuts through the din. We really do listen to the relevant bits, and I suppose that gives a bit of heart to that tribal issue, and the growing homogeneity of information I discussed earlier this year. I must admit, while I love the pretty pictures on blogs scattered widely across the blogosphere, my favourite blogs are the ones that tell a story of discovery and growth in an honest way.

What are you favourite kinds of blogs and why?

Straddling the Seasons with Style and Aplomb

God I hope I spelt "aplomb" correctly... I also wanted to use "straddle" because it is such an evocative word. Whether it's good or bad is really up to your imagination, isn't it?

I read this fantastic article on transeasonal dressing, which I felt obliged to share. Because dressing between the seasons can be confusing, particularly when the weather is totally whack. One minute there's a bushfire blazing on the outskirts of town in dry heat, the next it's pouring with rain and you're contemplating a return to opaque stockings and wool. Tough. All your questions - and more! - answered below.

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Swap Coats For Trenches

Pack away your heavy coats and invest in a light trench. It will be your all-weather saviour. Trenches have all the tailoring of your favourite winter coat without the extra weight. Slip it on over a dress or jeans and a t-shirt for an instantly pulled-together look.

Swap Dark For Light

Cream, pale grey and tan are great colour options for this time of year. The key to comfort is layering, so choose pieces that you can peel off and on. Try switching a black blazer for a neutral tone and layer it over a sleeveless shift or silk blouse to instantly freshen your outfit.

Swap Tights For A Tan

Time to lose the opaque tights. I know! Make the transition easier by using a fake tanner (the daily spray-on/wash-off blends are fantastic emergency options) or try a pair of new–season cropped, slim-fit trousers. This style looks best with a single-breasted blazer, silk blouse or mid-length trench. Dial up the colour with a pair in hot orange, fuchsia or cobalt blue.

Swap Boots for Sandals

Ankle boots without stockings work well with dresses all year round but it's time to swap heavier styles for peep-toe pumps or flat sandals. This means a pedicure. You can update your entire look with one of summers' hottest nail polish shades: neon yellow or pink, pale grey or creamy coffee.

All images courtesy of guest editor, Paula Joye.