Except for Carpe Diem, My-father-plays-dominos-better-than-your-father-plays-dominos (said very quickly in a monotone), is all of the Latin that I thought I knew. But it turns out there is another Latin phrase that I know: Vice versa, but now a common English phrase. Curiously while vice is a word in its own…

“I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by.” Douglas Adams This was our mantra when we were at university. For me, though, it was more of a case of the sound of deadlines hurtling, seemingly out of no-where, towards me. I recently had…

My father wanted to be an archaeologist but was given no choice but to follow in his father’s footsteps and study engineering. After retiring from a successful career as a local Government Engineer, he completed his Masters in Archaeology. He also took up painting and writing. He continued to volunteer…

Some ideas just pop. Others just fizz out. Some ideas just pop. Others just fizz out. This weeks episode of The Common Creative is Creative Fermentation. Chef Garry Flynn shares a story of his entrepreneurial adventure in making Elderflower Presse (soft drink). …

Have a 16ft wooden sailing boat called Prioni. It is a Scruffie: a lot like its owner. Once a quarter, I partake in a little regatta run by a friend at Talburpin Point, Redland Bay. …

Snyder and the Swedes sounds to me like a Scandinavian rock and roll band. The new ABBA, maybe? It is the original name of a New York Creative agency now called SNYDER, where she now represents Illustrators, Artists and photographers. Its founder, Kristina Snyder, is the guest on this week’s…

For most of my life, I considered my mother to be the creative parent. Her hands were amazing; she was an incredibly talented piano teacher, cake-icer, tatter, crocheter, sewer, folk artist, china doll maker, stuffed animal maker, and so on. On the other hand, my father was an engineer, and…

A windsock is a very clever piece of engineering. My father took early retirement in his mid-50s from his position as Chief Engineer and Manager of the Works Department at the Brisbane City Council. …

A lot of people who know me would agree that I am pretty single-minded when it comes to creativity. But now I am in two minds about it. A recent study of Nobel prize-winning economists found two sweet spots in the age of researchers who win the prize. One group…