In 1980 in America’s Bible Belt, a toddler named James Luke had tumours all over his body. An IV insertion caused a linear scar on his neck, while a tumour behind his left eye blinded him and another behind his right ear was biopsied. Twelve years later, James’ mother Kathy had given birth to two healthy children and was welcoming another son. As well as being born blind in his left eye, with a cyst behind his right ear, her newborn son had a linear birthmark on his neck.
Imagine pattering into the kitchen, flicking on the coffee maker and casually leaning over to fire up your personal 3D printer, which warms up and gets ready to whip you up a plate of eggs or pancakes. So far so Sci-Fi, right? In reality this is how the CSIRO think we’ll be making breakfast 13 years from now.
The Plummery sounds like a sprawling countryside property. Its garden beds grow an abundance of vegetables, with surrounding fruit and nut trees underplanted with shrubs, herbs and flowers. Bubblegum grape shades the house and there’s a greenhouse with bananas and babaco. A quail aviary sits by the side of the house and on the southern side are avocados, feijoas and a cherry guava.
Koky Saly keeps his promises. Searching for a way to fund his charity BabyTree Projects, Koky cottoned on to using discarded fabrics to make backpacks. The sales from BeeKeeper Parade bags go towards educating children in his native Cambodia – a cause his sister Sophia was passionate about. Before passing away from cervical cancer, Sophia asked Koky to continue to inspire change in the world; five years later, he’s continuing that mission and enjoying newfound fame thanks to a recent Humans In Melbourne post.
Australia’s animal shelters are brimming, with hundreds of thousands of companion animals euthanised every year. Rescue groups are inundated, relying on volunteer foster carers to open their homes and hearts to animals in need.
They’ve worked or been caretakers (or both) their whole lives, but they are the fastest growing homeless demographic in Australia—thanks to a lifetime of gender discrimination.
One morning a spelt pancake was transformed into a lion, and with that, the direction of Laleh Mohmedi’s life also changed. Whipping up breakfast for her young son Jacob, the Melbourne mum posted a photo of the arty creation to her Facebook page. Encouraged by her friends to start an Instagram account, Jacob’s Food Diaries was born.
Climate change is at the forefront of our minds and political debates these days. This focus, while crucial, has somewhat diverted our attention from all of those other environmental issues us 90s kids grew up fearing thanks to our trusty green haired, blue-skinned friend Captain Planet.
So was the Captain and his devoted Planeteers being overly dramatic about the future of Planet Earth, or should we have taken greater heed?
Soprano Tania de Jong AM recognises the power of the voice. The act of singing has been proven to make us happier, healthier, smarter and more creative, and Tania believes it is also fundamental in removing barriers between people.
Heartened by the growing popularity of community choirs but also concerned about the siloing nature of these groups, many of which are composed of individuals from similar backgrounds, Tania established With One Voice.
The high school you attend lays the foundation for your formative educational experiences. If you were a teenager in the 90s, chances are that you also did a fair bit of unofficial distance learning at Hartley High. Starting off on Channel 10 in 1994 and moving across to the ABC a couple of years later, Australia’s Heartbreak High was one of the most watched teen shows of its time.