Recently a friend posted something along these lines on her Facebook site: "If the state of my home resembles the state of my mind, I'm in big trouble". Clutter confuses and drains energy from you. It can even block the flow of events in different areas of your life.
Mother's Day, 12:30pm, driving around in the rain, hungry 2 year old screaming in the back of the car, another typical last minute, unorganised disaster brought to you by the Lawsons! After the 4th or 5th polite rejection, we were almost ready to throw in the towel and head for the Macca's drive-th
It has divided the nation, and the world. "SlutWalk", the international movement to decry a culture of victim blaming has kicked up a storm of conversation across the globe. But as Collin Van Uden wonders - is it the right one?
These art pieces can be appreciated for their beautiful tonality, or for the linguistic plays on words, or the use of vintage elements, for the handicraft, for the gentleness, for the ephemerality, for the celebration of aging, for talking about menopause, for their use of traditional womens craft,
Columbian politician Betancourt was captured by FARC guerrillas during her presidential campagin in 2002. She had run on an anti-corruption platform, and one of the campaign activities involved handing out condoms on the street, something which her dad was a bit uneasy with. The gesture was intended
Melissa Pirie, bicycle blogger extraordinaire for BREAZE (Ballarat Renewable Energy and Zero Emissions) discovers it's easier to maintain your bike than you might have thought. Find out how Melissa and a couple of friends went about sprucing up an old mountain bike to get it back in the bike lane.
Federal Member for Ballarat Catherine King has refused to take a stance on how revenue raised from a proposed price on carbon should be spent. Kate and Will's royal wedding has certainly revived interest in the monarchy, but Catherine King hasn't given regional climate change campaigners any royal
One of my reasons for gardening is food growing, both for me, and the other creatures that inhabit or visit my garden, including the indigenous birds, lizards, frogs and my chooks. You don't have to be an expert gardener to have something in the veggie patch all year round, or even in pots on the ve
Ballarat in the first couple of decades of gold was such a melting pot of nationalities. There were English, Irish, Scots, Cornish and welsh as well as people from all over Europe. In the district around Ballarat there were pockets of people who had all come from the same region of the Old World to
As much as we might cry foul over sensationalistic media practices, Collin Van Uden thinks that what passes for "public interest" is -- at least in part -- to blame. That we have entered into a new epoch of communication can hardly be contested. This internet thing has a lot going for it, most obvi
When life hands you lemons, make lemonade. Last week I decided it was high time I did something with the large quantity of lemons sitting in my kitchen. Whilst their scent has filled the house with a pleasant aroma, it would be devastating if they were to go to waste. So for the last seven days o
We all know there is going to be an end to this all. Most of us presume it will be when we meet our own ends one day and cannot operate as a human anymore, however that may happen.But there are some among us who spend their entire lives working out and preparing for a more all-encompassing end.The m
Thus far my column has focussed on autumn fruits, so I thought it was about time I wrote about something other than food. Last weekend I ventured to Melbourne to kick up my heels and have fun with old friends. I also managed to fit in a bit of vintage shopping and a few hours of pampering before a
An underrated end-of-season vegetable that perplexes many people. Don't know what to do with the stuff? The bulb is the bit you tend to eat and it's quite easy to cook. Like carrot, it can be sauted, boiled, baked, fried, grated and eaten raw. You'd have a hard time mashing it, but it can be stuffe
Wind back 4 years. For anyone who kept their eye on the news, or who attended the infamous Kryal Castle Raves, you will remember a rave party named Ultraworld that brought Kryal Castle's dance party days to an end.The reason was put down to excessive illicit drug consumption, with police noting that
Moving to a more sustainable life isn't as difficult as you might think... My partner and I decided back in 2007 after being hooked on British T.V. show River Cottage, that it was the life we wanted to live. So in late 2009, we packed up our single bedroom terrace cottage in the heart of Sydney's
Everything in life is political, like it or not. This is particularly evident in the kitchen, which can provide us with analogies for other parts of our lives and even traditional politics as we know it. There's no escaping it, politics is in your choice of toilet paper and office paper, which elect
The Ballarat Independent (TBI) is here. TBI is an online media offering for readers in Ballarat looking for a different point of view. TBI won't do stories on road accidents, court reports or knife crime. We are a vibrant, entertaining, controversial and funny online paper with stories that matter t
Autumn is one of my favourite months. I love the smell of wood smoke in the air, the cool mornings with clear blue skies and the abundance of fruit and nuts begging to be harvested and added to the winter store. This year the apple season has been particularly good; roadside trees have been bendin
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