Dr Liz Byrski is a writer, former journalist and ABC broadcaster. She is the author of six best selling novels including Gang of Four and Last Chance Cafe and the popular memoir Remember Me. Her new non-fiction ebook Getting On: Some Thoughts on Women and Ageing will be available online from 1 June and her next novel - In the Company of Strangers - will be released in September. Liz lectures in writing at Curtin University.
- Oh I do love the PRONK! Smiling on Mondays, yeah!! - Nel Matheson
- I have never bought anything because of a celebrity endorsement. That would be ridiculous. I'm not a big fan of most celebrities, and the ones I do love aren't the type to do silly advertisements. Also most things that are advertised just don't match up with what I'm looking for. Jimmy Choos? Very pretty, but very expensive and I don't wear leather. Swisse? I buy Cenovis because it was cheaper/what I wanted. Pepsi? Tastes shite but boyfriend loves it so that's what he buys. I have a Nespresso machine because it was affordable and easy to use, I'm not a Clooney fan in the slightest. So weird that people get sucked into this stuff. - sami
- There is no simple answer to the obfuscation caused by the mining industry. I doubt we will ever get the hard facts on the financials simply because (as any intelligent investor knows) profit and loss can be covered up by creative accounting (more the profit). In a similar vein, I no longer believe either Labour or the Liberals (which is disgruntling because I have been a Liberal supporter most of my voting life, until now). So who do I vote for now ? - Donald
- "All of the companies doing the digging have historically paid royalties to the states. But these were woefully small which is why Kevin Rudd as prime minister decided to impose a 40 per cent super profits tax on all mining and petroleum companies on the realized value of the resource deposits they extracted. As history shows, Julia Gillard renegotiated the tax with a handful of the big miners, after she ousted Mr. Rudd. The result is a 22.5% MRRT on a handful of iron ore and coal companies whose resource profits tip $50 million per annum." Why why why? Why wasn't this changed back to the original 40% in the budget? Nothing to lose, everything to gain! Big big disappointment. Thanks Monica for this piece. - Annie Also
- I feel that these celebrity endorsements of products must be very successful with a large number of people. Years ago, women's magazines used to be quite interesting, and covered many diverse topics. Nowadays, those which I find, or am given, are at least three quarters full of celebrity gossip, which does not interest me at all. Obviously, the large numbers of people who buy these periodicals are greatly influenced by what these celebrities do and wear, and are very likely to be influenced by celebrity endorsed merchandise. Years ago, I looked after an 86 year old actress, who had beautiful skin. When I asked her what she used, she said Sorbolene and witch hazel! I have since read that dermatologists recommend sorbolene as the best skin cream and that is all I have used since! I gave up using the witch hazel, when I considered it quite expensive for my budget. I recently found some lipsticks in a local pharmacy for $2. These actually last longer than much more expensive brands. A high percentage of the price of high profile brands is the advertising. If they need to advertise so widely, I wonder whether the products really are superior to cheaper goods. No celebrity endorsement would persuade me to buy anything. If a star is wearing an item of clothing which I like, I will try to make myself something similar, but wouldn't ever be persuaded to buy it. The same goes for grocery items. I find the generic brands are excellent, and I take no notice of the advertisements or celebrity endorsements! - Annamargaret
- You can also buy mining company shares on the ASX. Instead of putting your money in poker machines or deposit your money safely in one of the big 4 banks, you could also invest in an Australian mining company, maybe you'll get someof those dividends or maybe the mining company will go broke. That is the risk, if you don't want to take the risk then don't complain about those that do. - David mining investor
- Celebrity endorsements are really nauseating. The Swisse one...goodness me..what a crock. My thirteen year old daughter watches it with incredulity knowing our Nic is botoxed up and it ain't vitamins that give her youthful looks. It's easy to portray peaceful whimsy if you can't move your face! It's so embarrassing. Mind you I'm a bit of a non-conformist so celebrity endorsements just make me feel contrary! - Rebe
- Just remembered, I have fallen foul of the 'celebrity endorsement,' once ... when I was about 16/17. I lived on TAB for about a year after watching a then unknown Elle McPherson come out of the surf and not do a panicked scramble for her beach towel. First time, last time. And the product worked. I was divinely thin, a bit of my hair fell out from malnutrition but there's always a compromise, right? - Gee
- Don't watch ads but I saw the big photo of Brad Pitt at the perfume counter in David Jones and wondered what he was doing there LOL - Rhoda
- Citing either The Australia Institute or the Greens as a fact-checker is precarious given that they are committed to either the winding down or closure of mining. An August 2011 analysis by the Reserve Bank of Australia calculates that through direct labour costs (around 10 per cent of total mining operational revenue), the mining industry’s demand for domestically sourced intermediate inputs especially services (perhaps around 25 per cent of total revenue), tax and royalty payments (close to 15 per cent of total revenue in recent years), and the share of the after-tax profits owned by Australian residents (around 5–10 per cent of total revenue) suggests that overall, Australian residents accrued a little over half of the total receipts earned from current mining operations. This finding is consistent with the actual company data for spending across Queensland that can be found at www.queenslandeconomy.com.au. - Gary Doggett
ON THE HIGHWIRE PROFILE
Liz Byrski
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WHAT’S YOUR GREATEST DINNER PARTY DISASTER?
Imagine this. It’s 1966, I’m 22, married for six months and pretending to be perfect wife (this didn’t last long) with a dinner party to entertain my new husband’s business contacts from Switzerland. Moussaka is all the rage and for someone who hates cooking the recipe looks simple. To my amazement I manage to turn out an impressive looking dish, sizzling hot, cheese topping brown and bubbly, smells divine. I am stunned and relieved, my husband even more stunned and relieved. The table looks like the cover of Good Housekeeping, the guests look happy and ravenous. Bursting with domestic pride I confidently carry the moussaka from the kitchen to the dining room, but the Goddess of Domesticity had it in for me when she inspired the idea of rush matting. I trip on the edge of the mat. Moussaka is airborne, and I land flat on my face, inhaling cheese sauce, minced beef, eggplant and sliced potatoes. Moussaka is everywhere - on walls, doors, sideboard, husband and – yes - liberally spattered over guests. Husband not at all impressed, guests think it’s hilarious, fortunately they really enjoyed the bacon and eggs – which one of the wives cooked while I washed moussaka out of my hair.
THINGS MY MOTHER TAUGHT ME
My mother taught me that you don't go out to play until you've finished your work. It's sometimes a pain but I still try to stick to it. She introduced me to the joy of books and music. Taught me never to go to bed without removing my makeup and cleaning my teeth. Showed me how to comb volume 20 peroxide through my hair to lighten it, how to tap dance, and the importance of keeping the seams of my stockings straight. She showed me unconditional love and through that taught me what it means to a child who receives it. She taught me the importance of respect and consideration for others and value of manners. She also told me that if I avoided sitting on stone walls I would never have haemorrhoids - it's the only thing she was wrong about. She died 11 years ago and I still miss her dreadfully.
WHAT THREE THINGS WOULD YOU TAKE TO A DESERT ISLAND?
Well, I hope I'd have my partner with me, not much good at building things but brilliant for conversations, companionship and laughter. Gallons of moisturiser, a crate of those gorgeous chocolate elephants in red and gold wrappers. And an entire boxed set of the books of George Eliot
THE SMELLS THAT MAKE ME REMEMBER…
The scent of orange blossom and freshly mown grass brings back childhood in England and the long, light and blissful evenings of daylight saving. Gauloises cigarettes - trying to be very grown up and sophisticated when I lived in Paris in the sixties. Tea leaves and 4711 Cologne in the cafe my mother regularly took me to for afternoon tea in the 1950s. The smell of the sea on a cold wind, snogging under the pier on Brighton beach. The divine intimacy of a new baby's head - brings back the joy of inhaling the scent of my own beautiful babies now beautiful and in their forties.
WHO ARE YOUR FAVOURITE SINGERS?
Leonard Cohen is always #1 in my chart - a poet with a voice laden with emotion. And then Ella closely followed by Billie Holliday and Rod Stewart. Jessie Norman is a special favourite, Yvonne Kenny, Teddy Tahu Rhodes, and of course Placido Domingo.
LOVED THE BOOK, HATED THE MOVIE!
The Hours - wonderful book but the movie was excruciating. Nicole Kidman ridiculously miscast and wearing a false nose, playing Virginia Woolf as moody, graceless bore. The woman had sparkling wit, incredible talent, and was a rivetting conversationalist, well as being fiercely intelligent. Even Meryl Streep struggled for credibility in this, and the music was so overbearing I wanted to tear my head off. I normally love Phillip Glass but in this production it was unbearable.
WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST JOB?
My very first casual job was washing up for a very wealthy old man who threw a lot of dinner parties. He was lavish with his guests but mean with everything else and I had to do all the greasy pots, pans and plates in cold water. It was truly awful. My first full time job was as a secretary in the scientific section of a major pest control company. Part of the job was feeding the cockroaches and measuring and how much they had eaten during the preceding 24 hours. After that getting a job on the check-in desk with the then British European Airways at Gatwick Airport seemed the height of glamour and luxury, despite the fact that we had to wear winkle-pickers with three inch stiletto heels all day. We used to rub surgical spirit on our feet to harden them so we wouldn't get such terrible blisters.
DO YOU BELIEVE IN A GOD?
I do believe in in a God - one of the higher power variety. I just don't believe in the church. In fact I find organised religion very destructive to faith. I love and am fascinated by human beings but I prefer to believe that there is something greater and wiser than us. I would hate to be without any sort of faith. I find it extraordinarily comforting. It is a constant reminder about how I want to be in the world and a source of strength in hard times.
WHEN WERE YOU MOST SEXY?
Not until my fifties - I agree with Marina Go - it's all about confidence - but I have to say it's been worth waiting for!
MY FAVOURITE CHILDREN’S BOOK CHARACTERS
I just loved Eeyore, the gloomy donkey in the Winnie the Pooh books. I think he must have been the inspiration for many modern crime novels which focus on thoughtful but deeply sad an depressed detectives. From Pooh I graduated to the Famous Five and read the books over and over again - always identifying with Anne, the slightly anal, least adventurous one who would really rather stay home and dust the tent or read a book. Story of my life!
MY BEST DVD BOXED SET
The West Wing without a doubt. I was bereft when it finished and bought the boxed set as soon as it was available. Each time I watch an episode for the third of fourth time I discover something different, and gain a more nuanced understanding of some of those rapid-fire conversations as the characters walk the corridors. CJ's initially tentative relationship with Danny is one of my favourite love stories. My second favourite is The Killing. I love it that the central character is not an emotionally complex, brilliant but infuriating man but an equally emotionally complex, brilliant but infuriating woman.
MY MOST MEMORABLE MEAL
My most memorable meal is banal beyond belief but for me incredibly special. Soft boiled eggs with toast soldiers, lots of butter and a cup of sweet tea. I was seven, so it was 1951 and this was my first meal at home after a week in hospital having my tonsils out. I was supposed to stay in bed and Mum brought this on tray with a little embroidered cloth and a tiny vase of lavender springs. She sat on the bed while I ate it. The food seemed like nectar of the gods, the scent of lavender filled my bedroom and I had my Mum's undivided attention. Pure bliss.