Social

"Man is born free but everywhere is in chains." (Jean-Jacques Rousseau)

The Oxford Online Dictionary describes theology as “the study of the nature of God and religious belief”. That’s a helpful understanding, but let’s begin with some seriously bad theology as practised by the Russian mystic and faith healer Grigori Yefimovich Rasputin. 

Because life in developed societies follows a more or less regular pattern, sociologists have managed to identify the age at which conditions are most conducive to forming a friendship. It's not that people who are not of this age are unable to form meaningful connections with other people, but at other ages, life takes us on different paths, without asking for our permission.

If shame were personified, its main characteristic would be its ability to creep into the darkest depths, avoiding any trace of light and any discussion of itself.

"Marriage: a book of which the first chapter is written in poetry and the remaining chapters written in prose." (Beverley Nichols)

When it comes to working remotely, many benefits come to mind. In practice, however, working from home can be so all-consuming that we don't know where work ends and personal life begins, and we need strategies to balance the relationship between the two.

In this heartfelt collection of interviews, six women from diverse backgrounds reflect on the joys, challenges, and lessons of motherhood and grandparenting. From raising children during communism in Romania to navigating single parenthood, depression, and cultural transitions, their stories offer wisdom, resilience, and deep love across generations. A moving portrait of motherhood’s enduring strength.

“Why are you still single?” Even though I have been asked this question countless times, I still never know how to answer it. 

Social interactions and the tools that facilitate them are changing the world in ways that even now, after all this time, we cannot anticipate.

I feel like every time I’ve tuned into the news lately, I’ve heard a story about a woman dying from intimate partner or domestic violence (DV). It is heartbreaking and sickening. 

Five decades ago, when the World Organization for Social Psychiatry was established, many thought it was a joke. Others, being more analytical, tried to prove that mental illness can only be an individual experience; that the problem always exists only in an individual and never in a group.

Urban alienation is one of the great themes approached critically by many artists.

You meet someone who is in-sync with you. You have the same hobbies and interests, you find the same things funny and you love sharing ideas with them. As your relationship grows beyond the early stages, it becomes clear that your connection shouldn’t be constricted to everyday activities, that you should broaden your horizons and try new things. You realise that your partnership has...

“In the works of Comenius one feels that a prophet is speaking; he was indeed a colossal figure, but only in recent years have his ideas received the respect they merit”.

In 2016, I noticed advertising for a new quiz show called Hard Quiz coming to ABC TV in Australia.