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Author: Michele Frankeni

  • ARTS AND CULTURE

    Escaping expectations

    • Michele Frankeni
    • 15 April 2024

    What is so desirable about erasing our experiences from our faces? After all, they’re not called character lines for nothing. Shaw may have said youth is wasted on the young, but really youth is wasted on the aged.

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  • AUSTRALIA

    Dressing up, down and all around

    • Michele Frankeni
    • 14 March 2024

    There just doesn’t seem to be anywhere that demands a consistent standard of dress. Even a trip to the theatre, once an occasion to dress up, has become a place of anything goes. Has the casualisation of dress gone too far? 

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  • AUSTRALIA

    Shades of grey

    • Michele Frankeni
    • 05 February 2024
    1 Comment

    With large moral and ethical questions, I find myself slipping and sliding along a continuum of 'always yes' to 'definitely no', and never fully landing on either. Am I kidding myself? Is this inability to take a side lack of moral clarity or fibre? Or should I make a decision and stick to it?

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  • AUSTRALIA

    Eureka Street person of the year 2023

    • David Halliday, Michael McVeigh, Laura Kings, Michele Frankeni, Andrew Hamilton, Julian Butler
    • 21 December 2023
    7 Comments

    To close the year for Eureka Street, the editorial team wanted to nominate who we considered to be the Eureka Street ‘person of the year’ based on this year's newsmakers.

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  • AUSTRALIA

    The card is in the mail

    • Michele Frankeni
    • 11 December 2023
    1 Comment

    Despite all the reasons not to send Christmas cards, this year I decided to revive my card-sending custom. What appeals most about card sending is it has the attraction of being almost rebellious; a small gesture of maintaining personal connections in a world that can sometimes appear downright hostile to human interaction.

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  • AUSTRALIA

    The pain of shopping

    • Michele Frankeni
    • 14 November 2023

    As Christmas (aka for many the season of shopping) fast approaches, it’s perhaps time to articulate an unpleasant truth: shopping is not a relaxing or pleasurable experience. In fact, it can be downright masochistic. Somehow as consumers we’ve been conned into accepting that all large stores need to do is be the repository for goods for sale.

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  • AUSTRALIA

    Stories of yes

    • Michele Frankeni
    • 02 October 2023

    From cherished family anecdotes to narratives that divide societies, stories have a way of bonding groups and affecting our thinking on the challenges facing our nation. It is our stories that either draw people closer or keep us from recognising the humanity in each other. 

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  • ARTS AND CULTURE

    Navigating privilege

    • Michele Frankeni
    • 23 August 2023
    2 Comments

    In the rich tapestry of the English language, 'privilege' stands out as a term both celebrated and debated. While its roots may be diverse, its modern interpretation often overlooks personal effort and journey. Amidst the vast lexicon, is there a term capturing life's effort without diminishing individual experiences? 

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  • ARTS AND CULTURE

    Generalist v. specialist

    • Michele Frankeni
    • 04 August 2023
    1 Comment

    In an era where trivia knowledge reigns, what's the value of true expertise? Distinguishing between general knowledge and specialisation, what is the importance of experts in a world where answers are at our fingertips, and what does it mean to truly 'know' something?

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  • ARTS AND CULTURE

    Ties that bind (and break)

    • Michele Frankeni
    • 27 June 2023

    When I sat down to watch Netflix series The Diplomat with my daughter, our conflicting perspectives led me to question whether age and generational expectations alter our views on relationships. I'm left wondering if I've been conditioned to expect too little, or if she's been conditioned to expect too much.

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  • RELIGION

    A Church for everyone: In conversation with Phyllis Zagano

    • Michele Frankeni
    • 26 May 2023
    3 Comments

    In a discussion with Michele Frankeni, Catholic scholar Dr Phyllis Zagano explores the question of whether there is a need for increased recognition of women in the Catholic Church, particularly regarding their potential in the diaconate. She investigates both the historical evidence for ordained female deacons and the modern arguments for their re-introduction.

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  • INTERNATIONAL

    Cheers for the five-hat royals

    • Michele Frankeni
    • 22 May 2023
    1 Comment

    During the Coronation of King Charles III, six family members from households scattered across the world unite via Messenger to share real-time commentary. The occasion was less a celebration of tradition than a moment of cross-continental bonding, reminding us of the enduring power of human connection.

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