We're a nation of oversharers, but no one needs to know this about you
It used to be the only way to know what was going on inside your average Aussie fella was to do open-heart surgery. But of late, I've noticed, we seem to have become a nation of oversharers.
For example, I was happily chatting to a woman in the doctor's waiting room about her love of riding, how it relaxed and thrilled her but could cause chafing. Five minutes later I realised she meant blokes, not horses. Clearly 'equine therapy' for middle-aged women means finding a man who is hung like one.
And that's not an isolated incident. Female friends have always traded confessions over smashed avo brunches – but not to the current extent. One gal pal recently shared explicit details about the way she eats strawberries from her lover's body. (At least she's getting one of her 'five a day'.)
I'm also privy to which high-powered female executive got down and dirty with the bartender. (Dignity is the only thing alcohol doesn't preserve.) And which circuit judge likes to pick up blokes in the park. (Which explains why she's started dyeing her hair blonde – so men can find her in the dark.)
And the fellas are at it, too. Blokes who previously wouldn't even say 'I love you' to the woman who bore their children are suddenly getting down to their emotional undies in a psychological striptease that reveals all.
I blame Harry, Meghan, Gwyneth Paltrow and all the other self-obsessed celebs who like to 'sit in their truth'.
Previously reserved male pals have taken to confiding their boudoir peccadilloes. A swim-team chum, renowned for his taciturn toughness, recently confessed how much he likes wearing his wife's underwear. I now also know which of my male friends likes to talk dirty (and I don't mean sorting the compost and recycling bins) and those with a penchant for S&M. The thought makes my toes curl; I don't like to be beaten, not even at Monopoly. Surely handcuffs are only acceptable for an undercover police officer?
And it's not just friends confessing all. Like the woman I encountered at the doctor, complete strangers are suddenly haemorrhaging every detail of their emotional lives and medical ailments. Apropos of nothing, I've been shown photos of my florist's foot fungus and my barista's armpit boil. I can't even relax at yoga because the instructor keeps divulging details about her 'arousal disorder'. (I don't think she has an arousal disorder; what she has is a job, two kids and a lazy spouse.)
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The Advertiser
23 minutes ago
- The Advertiser
Nobody cares about third place... unless you're the Veronicas
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The song brings a sense of nostalgic joy for the early 2000s; the iPhone had only just been introduced, YouTube had not peaked yet, magazines were still in high circulation, and no one lived their life through a camera lens. Plus, I suspect most listeners could name more than one of The Veronicas songs compared to half of the artists on the list. The Veronicas are not the only band that holds a sentimental spot in young Aussies' hearts; Hilltop Hoods, Gotye, Temper Trap, Tame Impala, and Thelma Plum gave us the soundtracks to our young adult lives. But I do have to say, despite our disagreements about who deserved which spot, at least we can agree that Never Tear Us Apart by INXS rightfully deserved the number one spot. There is not a more iconic song that can bring all Aussies together. Voice of Real Australia is a regular newsletter from the local news teams of the ACM network, which stretches into every state and territory. Today's is written by regional digital editor and millennial Kim Chappell, and national social producer Rachel Clark representing Gen Z. Millennial says: Picking just 10 songs to give my votes to for Triple J's Hottest 100 Australian songs of all time was like choosing between children. So many Aussie bands shaped my teens and 20s - they filled my weekends and week nights with gigs and made the soundtrack to many road trips. But after days of hard-fought decisions, I made my picks and then on Saturday tuned in to see who made the list and where they landed. The number one song, Never Tear Us Apart by INXS, is an Australian classic, and to be honest, I would have been shocked if anything knocked it off the top of the tree. But the song in spot three. That was a shock. The Veronicas! Say what?! It's not even 20 years old yet - hasn't even stood the test of time. To see The Veronicas get two songs in the countdown and long-standing Aussie legends like Jebediah get none and incredible acts like You Am I and Augie March get just one... they were robbed! As for You Am I not even cracking the top 50? In the words of many a countdown listener.... should have been higher! Gen Z says: Untouched by the Veronicas absolutely deserved to nab the third spot on Triple J's Hottest 100 Australian songs of all time list. As it is now and forever, the unofficial Aussie national anthem for all Gen Zers. The duo's 2007 hit song shaped our childhoods and teenage years, from swimming carnivals and school discos to teen house parties and nights out. Even now, when I or any of my friends hear those first few notes, we rush to the dance floor. The song brings a sense of nostalgic joy for the early 2000s; the iPhone had only just been introduced, YouTube had not peaked yet, magazines were still in high circulation, and no one lived their life through a camera lens. Plus, I suspect most listeners could name more than one of The Veronicas songs compared to half of the artists on the list. The Veronicas are not the only band that holds a sentimental spot in young Aussies' hearts; Hilltop Hoods, Gotye, Temper Trap, Tame Impala, and Thelma Plum gave us the soundtracks to our young adult lives. But I do have to say, despite our disagreements about who deserved which spot, at least we can agree that Never Tear Us Apart by INXS rightfully deserved the number one spot. There is not a more iconic song that can bring all Aussies together. Voice of Real Australia is a regular newsletter from the local news teams of the ACM network, which stretches into every state and territory. Today's is written by regional digital editor and millennial Kim Chappell, and national social producer Rachel Clark representing Gen Z. Millennial says: Picking just 10 songs to give my votes to for Triple J's Hottest 100 Australian songs of all time was like choosing between children. So many Aussie bands shaped my teens and 20s - they filled my weekends and week nights with gigs and made the soundtrack to many road trips. But after days of hard-fought decisions, I made my picks and then on Saturday tuned in to see who made the list and where they landed. The number one song, Never Tear Us Apart by INXS, is an Australian classic, and to be honest, I would have been shocked if anything knocked it off the top of the tree. But the song in spot three. That was a shock. The Veronicas! Say what?! It's not even 20 years old yet - hasn't even stood the test of time. To see The Veronicas get two songs in the countdown and long-standing Aussie legends like Jebediah get none and incredible acts like You Am I and Augie March get just one... they were robbed! As for You Am I not even cracking the top 50? In the words of many a countdown listener.... should have been higher! Gen Z says: Untouched by the Veronicas absolutely deserved to nab the third spot on Triple J's Hottest 100 Australian songs of all time list. As it is now and forever, the unofficial Aussie national anthem for all Gen Zers. The duo's 2007 hit song shaped our childhoods and teenage years, from swimming carnivals and school discos to teen house parties and nights out. Even now, when I or any of my friends hear those first few notes, we rush to the dance floor. The song brings a sense of nostalgic joy for the early 2000s; the iPhone had only just been introduced, YouTube had not peaked yet, magazines were still in high circulation, and no one lived their life through a camera lens. Plus, I suspect most listeners could name more than one of The Veronicas songs compared to half of the artists on the list. 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So many Aussie bands shaped my teens and 20s - they filled my weekends and week nights with gigs and made the soundtrack to many road trips. But after days of hard-fought decisions, I made my picks and then on Saturday tuned in to see who made the list and where they landed. The number one song, Never Tear Us Apart by INXS, is an Australian classic, and to be honest, I would have been shocked if anything knocked it off the top of the tree. But the song in spot three. That was a shock. The Veronicas! Say what?! It's not even 20 years old yet - hasn't even stood the test of time. To see The Veronicas get two songs in the countdown and long-standing Aussie legends like Jebediah get none and incredible acts like You Am I and Augie March get just one... they were robbed! As for You Am I not even cracking the top 50? In the words of many a countdown listener.... should have been higher! Gen Z says: Untouched by the Veronicas absolutely deserved to nab the third spot on Triple J's Hottest 100 Australian songs of all time list. As it is now and forever, the unofficial Aussie national anthem for all Gen Zers. The duo's 2007 hit song shaped our childhoods and teenage years, from swimming carnivals and school discos to teen house parties and nights out. Even now, when I or any of my friends hear those first few notes, we rush to the dance floor. The song brings a sense of nostalgic joy for the early 2000s; the iPhone had only just been introduced, YouTube had not peaked yet, magazines were still in high circulation, and no one lived their life through a camera lens. Plus, I suspect most listeners could name more than one of The Veronicas songs compared to half of the artists on the list. The Veronicas are not the only band that holds a sentimental spot in young Aussies' hearts; Hilltop Hoods, Gotye, Temper Trap, Tame Impala, and Thelma Plum gave us the soundtracks to our young adult lives. But I do have to say, despite our disagreements about who deserved which spot, at least we can agree that Never Tear Us Apart by INXS rightfully deserved the number one spot. There is not a more iconic song that can bring all Aussies together.
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American's scathing review of popular Aussie fast food joint
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Sydney Morning Herald
a day ago
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Media and tech firms are bending the knee to Trump. Only satirists say how small he is
We haven't heard this much talk about the presidential anatomy since the other guy in the Jeffrey Epstein files was in the Oval Office. President Donald Trump, a master at minimising others, is now being literally minimised on South Park by the crass and fearless creators of the cartoon. I could have told Trump that it's best not to provoke brilliant satirists. I learned that lesson the hard way 20 years ago. When I wrote Bushworld: Enter at Your Own Risk, about the tangled father and son saga that led to the invasion of Iraq, I wanted Pat Oliphant, a lacerating political cartoonist, to do the book's cover. I wheedled until that acerbic Aussie finally agreed. When the drawing came back, it was dazzling: a tiny, jangly-eyed George W. Bush under a big cowboy hat, his hands braced at the guns on his holster. He was walking down the driveway of an overgrown haunted version of the White House with a gargoyle hanging from the trees. Oliphant had given the president the body of a bug. Even though the book was harshly critical of W. and his scheming advisers, I was worried that the sketch might be a bit too disrespectful to the president. The cartoonist was a firm believer in 'stirring up the beast,' as he called it, taking a torch to the lies and hypocrisy of the powerful. So, naturally, he was contemptuous when I suggested that we make W. less buglike. But, faced with more wheedling, he reluctantly agreed to take another crack at it. I waited nervously. When the new illustration came in, W. no longer looked like a bug. Pat had made the president look more like a monkey. And he was even smaller.
