Once or twice in a century, Easter and Anzac Day share the same date – it last happened in 1943 and will occur again in 2038. But curiously, in the way we calculate Easter it cannot fall after Anzac Day, it must always be a forerunner, perhaps the template on which great tales of sacrifice and renewal are patterned.
The themes that run through both stories are rich and deep; of sacrifice, the death of innocence, companionship, compassion, =And the birth of a new reality
Ach Have an ethical Easter
When her daughter died, Edith Piaf slept with a man to pay for the burial. The melancholy grit of Piaf’s voice was hard-earned. From her father she learned an entertainer's sense of timing, techniques for tugging on the audience's heartstrings, and the sort of patter likely to produce a good take No Regrets
Heartstrings Morals vary dramatically across time and place
Each time I write something I promise myself I'll never do it again. The fallout goes on for months. Increasingly, like of late, it turns dangerous
In the wake of sedition threats by the Indian government, Arundhati Roy describes the stupidest question she gets asked, the cuss-word that made her respect the power of language, and the limits of preaching nonviolence.
• The Un-Victim - I'm impatient to die [Sure, the future of publishing looks grim. But not entirely. A new literary culture is taking root in the digital world Do you love books?; Long-form journalism is the only homegrown American literary form ]
• · Are you forgetting how to remember? Here’s a tip: Try picturing Lady Gaga swimming in a giant tub of cottage cheese The lost art of total recall
Are you forgetting how to remember? ; In The Fugitive, Stanley Fish sees a story about liberalism's central tension: Society and responsibility on one side, absolute freedom on the other Save it for HBO
• · · Biological and cyberwars are stealth businesses. Fingerprints are rare; the perpetrators often unknown. Does retaliation have a future? The New Virology; We have neither money nor power, but cinema can make our voices heard - Sexual economics 101: Men represent demand, and women supply. It's a catchy formula, and perhaps obvious, but it little resembles reality The Meet Market
• · · · The current blueprint for political revolution blends Gandhi, Monty Python, and corporate-style marketing savvy... Revolution U
; Researchers in Siberia have managed to breed foxes as tame as dogs. It's a feat that might unlock the genetics of violent behaviour Only a handful of wild animal species have been successfully bred to get along with humans. The reason, scientists say, is found in their genes.
• · · · · The Internet isn't making you stupid or unhappy or less productive. But it might be subverting your creativity Smarter, Happier, More Productive; A senior traditional owner, Yvonne Margarula, says her Mirarr people are "deeply saddened" that for more than 30 years uranium that should never have been disturbed on their land at the Ranger mine in the Northern Territory has been exported to Japan to be used by nuclear power companies, including at the stricken Fukushima plant, which was heavily damaged by the tsunami last month and has been leaking radiation. a sacred dangerous power
• · · · · · Landshare, the process by which land owners allow fellow city dwellers to use their land without charge, seems to be catching on. It began about five years ago in north America and Europe Breaking ground;shift towards academic qualifications, and crafts skills have become devalued. The sorcerer apprentices