The first 2012 entry for our “serves-you-right-for-trying-to-gild-the-lily” file:

The British Advertising Standards Authority recently forced the world’s biggest cosmetics and beauty company, L’Oreal, to withdraw an advertisement featuring a digitally enhanced image of English actress Rachel Weisz.

It is a matter of debate whether anyone needs to be enhanced in such a manner, but I would have thought . . . → Read More: On Beauty…

Yes it’s a little belated, but after the busy month of summer conferences most of us are back in the office this week – a little tired, but happy.  We hope the New Year has started well for you.  If you were at conference with us in NZ or Australia – thanks for attending and contributing . . . → Read More: Happy New Year!

When a supposed-to-be-regular blog goes quiet without explanation for a month, it had better have a good excuse…

Hopefully ours is. We have been busy putting the finishing touches on a new resource in time for the new year – The Hare and the Tortoise: Learning to pace ourselves in a world gone mad. It is a . . . → Read More: Need to pace yourself in 2012…?

Earlier this month the Maxim Institute hosted American public intellectual, George Weigel, for a series of evening lectures.  An expert on ethics and public policy, he suggested three things that are essential to a society if it is going to flourish: 1. A democratic system of governing;  2. An economy that is free enough to operate . . . → Read More: Squandering democracy…

A couple of months ago I wrote a piece that, among other things, suggested our news headlines were selected as much for their entertainment and titillation value as they were for their societal importance.  Now an essay has accused some within the social psychology academy of going one step further – actually setting out to conduct . . . → Read More: (Re)searching for headlines

Michael Jackson’s doctor, Conrad Murray, was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter this week for his role in the singer’s death.  As with all US trials of this magnitude (O.J. Simpson’s was the first I was old enough to remember) it has been a tabloid circus.  The fact that most New Zealanders can tell you more about . . . → Read More: Conrad Murray, Propofol, and Humility

For those of you hanging out for another dose of John Stonestreet, we are pleased to announce that last week we secured him to speak at Compass Summer Conferences in both New Zealand and Australia in January 2012.  If you haven’t heard John before – he is a dynamic and thoughtful commentator on almost every aspect . . . → Read More: John Stonestreet down under…

Last week I wrote a piece – entitled The problem with equality – Part I – that featured thoughts from Alain de Botton’s witty and insightful book, Status Anxiety.  It is fascinating to think that, ironically, democracy has amplified our level of discontentedness.  Increased equality and freedom, bring with them increased comparison.  So that the objectively . . . → Read More: The problem with equality – Part II