Ricky

On the Passing of Judy Heumann

It is with great sadness and deepest respect that we at TPGi offer our condolences to the family of Judith (Judy) Heumann, often referred to as “the mother of the disability rights movement”, who died on the 4th of March, 2023. Judy was a trailblazer all her life through the simple device of refusing to …

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All Of Us

Following another review in The Saturday Paper, I looked up online a play that is part of the UK’s National Theatre At Home subscription streaming service. The play I was interested in is All Of Us, which tells the story of Jess, a woman who is a therapist, has a doctorate in psychology and has …

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Copenhagen Cowboy

It’s not very often that a newspaper review inspires me to watch a particular film or TV series, but I have to admit if it wasn’t for Peter Marlborough’s article in The Saturday Paper, I probably wouldn’t have watched Copenhagen Cowboy. I’m really glad I did because it’s an extraordinary piece of work, a TV …

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American Gangster

I was flicking around the streaming services last night and came across a movie called American Gangster. Released in 2007, it stars Denzel Washington as a 1970s drug boss and Russell Crowe as the cop who nails him. That sounded interesting enough. I started watching and found it engaging enough to stay up much too …

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What I’m Watching

Gee, there’s some great things to watch on telly at the moment. Here’s four that I’ve found irresistible. Mr Inbetween (Foxtel, Binge): Australian drama about a hitman. Scott Ryan wrote and produced this and plays the lead character of Ray Shoesmith, an army veteran who starts the series as a bouncer at a nightclub with …

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Gnocchi, Chicken & Spinach Bake

Serves 4 Ingredients 500 gm gnocchi 500 gm chicken breast, chopped into chunks salt & pepper 80 gm butter 2 tblspn olive oil 2 medium shallots, sliced 4 cloves garlic, chopped 1-2 tspn fresh thyme 1-2 tspn fresh oregano 3 tblspn plain flour 350 ml chicken stock 120 ml light cream 150 gm fresh baby …

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Major Labels, by Kelefa Sanneh

It’s not often I give up on a book, but Major Labels has defeated me. The subtitle “A history of popular music in seven genres – Rock R&B Country Punk Hip-Hop Dance Pop” should give you a clear idea of what the book is about. The author covered rock and roll, hip-hop, and pop music …

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Bulldozed, by Niki Savva

I very much looked forward to reading this over Christmas, but I have to say I was a bit disappointed. Perhaps I should start by saying I wasn’t aware this is the third book in a trilogy about the Liberal National Government of Australia from 2013-2022 (although probably not planned as a trilogy). The Road …

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Stella Maris, by Cormac McCarthy

This is the companion novel to The Passenger. Where the earlier (by a matter of months) book was the story of Bobby Western: salvage diver, former race car driver, son of an atomic bomb scientist and person of interest to government agents – Stella Maris comprises 170 pages of dialogue between Bobby’s sister Alicia and …

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