Top of the weekend to you all. Did you know counting down 3-2-1 as soon as you wake up and leaping out of bed to start your day is a thing some humans do?
Morning people – I will never understand you. Though this week’s final read is a timely reminder you might be on to something.
1. How to spot a lying politician
I’d always thought the clearest signal a politician was lying was that their mouth was moving. Tory Shepherd, having digested the first part of the ABC’s Nemesis series on the Abbott-Turnbull-Morrison years, discovers it’s a little more complicated than that.
And not in the George Costanza “It’s not a lie if you believe it” way. The experts agree that outright lies are politically stupid – but the most skilful politicians have ways of tapdancing around the truth.
Lying or bullshitting? “The liar knows the truth or could work it out and chooses not to,” Shepherd writes. “The bullshitter simply doesn’t care.”
How long will it take to read: Three minutes.
2. $10 for a table and eight chairs
When Armidale’s tip shop was abruptly shut down before Christmas, it left a big hole in the community. Ellie Auskelis, whose house is filled with tip shop finds, reckoned it played a similar role in people’s lives to that of a record store or bookshop. “Not like home, not like work, but an extra place where people went and socialised.”
Still, the tip shop circuit is thriving around the country. “If you have a good eye and some DIY skills,” writes Maddie Thomas, “they can be treasure troves.”
A big load of rubbish: Resource Recovery Australia, which runs 11 “reuse” shops nationally, helped divert 11,965 tonnes of waste from landfill last year.
How long will it take to read: Two minutes.
Further viewing: This spectacular bar and stools set I scored for $10 in 2006.
3. Crystal Hefner on life in the Playboy Mansion
The first rule of Fight Club is don’t talk about Fight Club. The first rule of the Playboy Mansion, according to the title of Crystal Hefner’s memoir, was Only Say Good Things.
But Hugh Hefner died in 2017, and as his third wife sees it the rule no longer applies. Her tell-all delves into their relationship and the reality of the house that Hef built – a glamorous facade, but crumbling insides riddled with mildew and dark truths.
“The whole mansion had this gross vibe to it. All the misogynistic actors that preyed on women – this was their meeting ground. And I just thought, that’s how people are.” – Crystal Hefner
How long will it take to read: Eight minutes.
Further reading: To everyone who enjoyed last week’s dissection of Poor Things, the film’s intimacy coordinator talks about the challenges of keeping the sex scenes safe.
4. The joy (and sadness) of Shamar Joseph’s heroics
My earliest cricketing memories are of the 1980s West Indies: high fives, gold chains, the gum-chewing swagger of Viv Richards. I cheered them then and I cheered them again last Sunday as Shamar Joseph – toe busted, soaked in sweat – steamed in off the long run to demolish Australia at the Gabba, just like the glory days.
But Jonathan Liew argues our celebrations should be tempered with anger – at how cricket’s economy keeps the Windies’ best players subservient to T20 franchise leagues and the boards who run them.
How long will it take to read: Three minutes.
Further reading: The scenes at the Gabba looked amazing enough on television. Geoff Lemon was there in the stands.
5. Dying people explain what really matters
Death is something that happens to someone else, or at some distant time in the future. But what if you knew when the big sleep was arriving?
Thirty people facing death share their clarity about how to live.
Arabella Proffer’s mantra: “Leave the damn house, because you never know what’s going to happen if you do. No interesting story ever started with, ‘I went to bed at 9pm on a Tuesday’.”
How long will it take to read: 13 minutes.
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