The dragon breath dilemma

I bought a packet of mints the other day. It was an impulsive at-the-counter acquisition, because they came in a really nice tin. Cartoon of a girl transfixed by a tin in sparkling her palms, saying "Ooooh. I love it." I was in a handicraft store run by a not-for-profit community organisation, so naturally, the mints were quite expensive – Cartoon of a woman with dreadlocks saying,"That comes to $27.95…and with the mints, that’s a total of $197.95." But, as the sales girl explained, they were Fair Trade mints. Continue reading

The dog who stole Christmas

Early in his life, before he grew to loathe other dogs, our mutt had all the makings of a benign dictator-in-waiting.

He made liberal claims to territory, marking anything that crested the lofty height of three inches as his own.
Cartoon of a dog urinating vigorously against a fence and thinking, 'Mine.' Continue reading

My two favourite Doctors

Since Doctor Who is celebrating his 50th anniversary this weekend, I’m paying tribute to my two favourite doctors.

However, I don’t mean my most loved incarnations of The Doctor. I’m talking about Doctor Who (in his various guises) and someone you would recognise another doctor entirely…
Cartoon of the eleventh Doctor Who throwing open the door of the TARDIS to greet the Cat in the Hat.
Namely, Dr Seuss.

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Things that scuttle and creep

I really am quite fond of spiders. This morning when I stepped into the shower and noticed a daddy long legs lurching spastically up a silken guy wire, I wanted nothing more than to rescue him.Cartoon of a daddy long legs spider hanging upside down on a thread in the shower.He was scrambling to escape the sudden steaming monsoon with his life and legs intact, but huge drops kept ricocheting from my skin, jarring him from his thread.Close up of a spider looking alarmed and clinging tightly to a web as water drops whizz by.

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More adventures with eyeballs

Damnit! I should never have written that story about 3D glasses. Now Cyclops, the god of corneas, has vehemently expressed his displeasure.

You see, I used to wear glasses of the Extremely Correctional kind. But three years ago I had laser surgery, and bingo! My naked eyes could suddenly make out individual leaves on trees that were way over there.Cartoon of a girl whose eyes look tiny behind her very thick glasses.So when I went to a 3D movie the other week, I slid the cinema glasses onto my nose easily and contentedly watched the movie in sharp resolution.

The simplicity of it reminded me of all the times I used to struggle with half-an-octopus worth of glasses arms at the cinema.Cartoon of a girl wrestling with an octopus on her head. So that’s what I wrote about.

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Holding out for the zombie apocalypse

A couple of years ago, I had to wear a branded t-shirt for a work event and my choice was limited to an extra-small or an extra-large.

Since I’m neither of these sizes, I tried them both on. I planned to choose the shirt that looked least terrible and, more importantly, the one that was easiest to move in – since it would be a busy, running-around kind of day.
Cartoon of a girl in a t-shirt so big it comes down to her feet.
That turned out to be the extra-small one.

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3D cinema for the optically challenged

Wearing two pairs of glasses at the same time can be tricky. So, if you need glasses for everyday seeing-activities and want to catch a 3D movie, you have to adapt to the challenge.

Cartoon of a girl with glasses on, holding 3D glasses in her hand.

Here are three methods I’ve road-tested, with varying degrees of success:

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The knuckle sandwich epiphany

Back in the days Before Technology, when I was growing up, we entertained ourselves by interacting with other kids.

This usually involved riding bikes or climbing trees, making up games or going to imaginary places. But sometimes we’d talk about Really Important Stuff like –
Cartoon of a kid saying, "If you could wish for anything in the world, what would you wish for?"I would nearly always answer –
Cartoon of a little girl with a halo above her head saying, "World peace."

Or sometimes –
Cartoon of a little girl with angel wings saying, "An end to world poverty."Keep in mind, it was the 80s.

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The pursuit of sportiness

As a child, I had the misfortune of being labelled the brainy one. My younger brother scored the accolade of being sporty.

Don’t get me wrong, I saw my smartitude as a wonderful thing. When I grew up, I wanted to become a doctor and get a PhD and end world poverty. But I was less thrilled that braininess seemed to rule out the possibility of having any sporting prowess whatsoever.
Drawing of a little girl in school uniform getting hit in the head by a soccer ball.

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