How Attitude can make a rotten Apple

January 29, 2016January 29, 2016Leave a comment

“It’s better to be a pirate than join the navy.”

-Steve Jobs

I had the pleasure of an advanced screening of Steve Jobs (2015) recently, and it got me thinking.

Do the attitudes and decisions of CEOs and people associated with a brand matter if a brand has commercial success?
Has affluenza afflicted us with a selective moral blindness?

Yes – a kind of tunnel vision.

Look down at your iPhone, iPod, iPad or Apple product:

Name the (late) CEO – what was the name of the daughter that he denied paternity of (despite a positive test) ?

Without touching the Apple product, where is it designed? Where are the parts assembled?

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Fabulous Femmes: Amy Springer

December 17, 2015Leave a comment

I have a soft spot for friends, and for lovely frocks. When the two combine for another fabulous social cause, I had to share the good work of my friend Amy in her fundraising efforts for Dressember.

Dressember uses fashion to advocate for women who’ve been exploited for their femininity. As women take on the creative challenge of wearing a dress for the 31 days of December, they are advocating for the inherent dignity of all women.

Something we can all get behind!

Meet my good (fabulously frocked) friend Amy Springer..

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My Two Cents: meeting the Hon. Stephen Smith

October 13, 2014August 6, 2015Leave a comment

On Tuesday 30th of September, former Foreign, Trade and Defence Minister Stephen Smith spoke at the monthly branch meeting of the Australian Institute of International Affairs for WA. His speaking topic was “Continuity in Australian Foreign Policy”.

But what is “continuity in Australian Foreign Policy”? What on God’s green earth does that mean?!

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One stop shop? or Top-shop? : Thrift shopping and our Social Consciousness

May 19, 2014August 6, 2015Leave a comment

I love a good pair of kicks. I love a shopping trip.

Forgive my fashionable wiles, dear readers, for this will not be a deeply political post, but it will be an interesting one [!]

I was walking out of an Op-Shop a couple of weeks ago, with a pair of shoes, a necklace and two copies of their In-House publication [a ‘pricey’ 70 cents each] and I thought to myself:

Are op-shops making people more socially conscious?

Are people actually connected with their purchases — their materialism is supporting those less fortunate, but is this making people more socially conscious?

In my own mind, initially, I begged to differ. I disagreed with my own thought[!]
I’m an avid op-shopper, but I viewed my purchases as ‘shopping’, not so much in the sense of a ‘charity donation’.
Some peruse pages of books, websites, some peruse coffee shops and bars. I peruse coat hangers, I rummage, I try, I buy — as my form of relaxation. Among my friends, I have a solid reputation as a glamorous bargain hunter.

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Politics in Kicks meets International Recovery Platform’s Shingo Kouchi

March 21, 2014August 6, 2015Leave a comment

Pictured: Your fair author and Mr. Shingo Kouchi

When: 9am, March 19th
Where: Terrace Ballroom, The Hyatt
Who: Shingo Kouchi, Senior Recovery Expert, International Recovery Platform (IRP)
What: Speaking at the Institute of Public Administration Western Australia’s “Crisis Response” event along with CEO of the Queensland Reconstruction Authority, Graeme Newton
and Office of State Security and Emergency Coordination’s Assistant Director General, Geoff Hay.

Disaster doesn’t pick a day, but if it had picked this particularly radiant Perth morning, I was in a room with the right people!

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Politics in Kicks meets Director General of ASIO, David Irvine

March 12, 2014August 6, 2015Leave a comment

Pictured: Your Fair Author and Director General of ASIO, David Irvine

When: 6pm, March 4th
Where: St George’s College, UWA
Who: Director General of the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation [ASIO], David Irvine
What: Speaking on “Intelligence and National Security in the Democratic State”

**NB: This special event, hosted by the Australian Institute of International Affairs WA was held under Chatham House Rule**

**I took extensive notes throughout his talk, this blog entry is based on them.**

I didn’t know much about ASIO, ASIS, or Secret Services until I attended this talk and had the privilege of meeting David afterwards.

This is what I learned…..

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