Although yellow rose was the theme for the 148th annual, 2008 Melbourne Cup, red was the colour of the day for me and Yvonne. We couldn't escape this devil hue: Yvonne's outfit highlighted by her heels and handbag, the chafed neck from my shirt collar, and all the sunburned shoulders of racegoers on...

It happened on the train ride home from work. I was sitting there listening to my iPod when I had this sudden urge to stand up and tell the packed car that I loved every one of them. I have no idea where it came from. Perhaps it was triggered when I witnessed the girl sitting across from me sneeze, and...

Went to a show last night. It was the first proper gig I've seen since moving to Oz nine months ago. The act: Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band playing The Palace Theater in Melbourne. I'd been listening to him and his alter-ego Bright Eyes for some time now so was...

We picked a hell of a weekend to go to Sydney. On the same night as our Cirque du Soleil show was an NRL (rugby league) semi-final between Manly and NZ. We booked our flights to Sydney in time to get some cheap seats, but everything going back to Melbourne was either sold out or very expensive. We...

At the bottom of the steps that lead down from the backdoor of our 2-bedroom flat is a small courtyard. It consists of a narrow brick path, shared clotheslines in the corner, and a tiny neglected patch of grass. On either side are other fenced-off courtyards, much bigger in square footage, with large...

Why do many religious folks constantly tell people that they are going to hell? Let's give them the benefit of the doubt for a second and say that they're right. Well, they don't have to gloat about it.

Isn't it enough that they're NOT going to hell? I mean, what the hell?

Dob in a hoon. C'mon, you got five guesses to tell me what that means. Well, to be fair, I had a little more context to figure it out when I first saw it. I was on my way to the Melbourne airport when I started seeing these huge billboards straddling the highway, stretched across overpasses. This...

I hate those awkward moments. You're in a confined space with a stranger; he leans over and starts to talk. You give the obligatory laugh or short response (like "yeah" and a smile) and then you both look forward into space. Will he say something else? Should I say something now? What's the etiquette...