Articles written by Marcelle Mccallum

What is Helium

About me - Marcelle Mccallum

I am a not so sun-burnt Aussie who is mother to four carpet sharks, err beautiful children. Their father is shared by our cats and I, though he doesn't seem to mind this state of affairs. I hold a BA in books 'n' stuff from UQ. We share our little 'Aussie

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Home & Garden > Cleaning Kitchens How to reduce hazardous products in your kitchen: 1 of 18
Eliminating hazardous cleaning products from your house is not as difficult a task as it seems. Nor does it solely benefit the environment. Everyone in your household will be healthier for it, and you won't get nasty headaches from breathing in toxic fumes each time oyu clean.There is not a single cleaning product you can't h... More..
Relationships & Family > Acquaintances & Co-Workers Weird neighbors stories: 3 of 35
It was the mid 90s and a bunch of us needed to find places to live before uni went back for another year. By chance, one of us stumbled upon a house big enough for all takers but a few blocks from campus. The house should probably have been condemned, but that turned out to be one of the more minor quirks to this large share ... More..
Home & Garden > Home & Garden (Other) Recycling: Creative ideas for household discards: 2 of 20
There is so much that you can recycle if you put your mind to it a little. We all know about putting glass, cans and plastics in the recycling bin. But is there a way of re-using these products before they are finally recycled? There sure is. Quite a lot of household waste can be used.Kitchen Discards:More and more food comes... More..
Relationships & Family > Dating Psychology Ten reasons you should marry a geek: 1 of 10
There are many, many reasons you should marry a geek. A much maligned section of society, geeks are some of the most caring and sympathetic people you will find. And I'll let you in on a little secret: girls are geeks too! But on to the ten reasons I have chosen a geek to spend my life with, and you should too. 1. Attention s... More..
Creative Writing > Memoirs Testimonies: Parenting twins: 2 of 17
PLEASE NOTE: If you are looking for coherence or logic you are definitely in the wrong place. Herein are the ill-conceived, desperate ramblings of a sleep deprived mother of four. I make no apologies for sentences that are three lines long or jumping from one thing to another with little continuity or logic. Check back in a f... More..
Arts & Humanities > Fantasy & Science Fiction Why you don't need to be a geek to enjoy science fiction: 3 of 22
Science Fiction is such a broad genre that you don't need to be a geek to enjoy it. In fact, some of my fellow Science Fiction followers are the least geeky people I know. Ranging from the oft-thought of hard science fiction to vast arcing space operas Sci-Fi offers up something for everyone. In fact, many of you will have al... More..
Entertainment > TV Show Reviews Television reviews: Doctor Who: 4 of 17
As a child, my mother used to wait eagerly for the next installment of Doctor Who: Adventures in Time and Space. As a child, I, in turn, did the same thing, and now, nearly fifty years later, my children do the same thing. Thanks in part to it's nature, Doctor Who has always been able to change adapt to the current fashions, ... More..
Creative Writing > Memoirs My true garden story: 74 of 298
As renters, we always prided ourselves in adding or reinvigorating the gardens of the properties we lived in. One of them was a typical sprawling queenslander with a very large back yard. The central feature was of course a beautiful old mango tree accompanied by a frangipani. When we first arrived, there was a dirty, messy t... More..
Politics, News & Issues > Pulitzer Center What responsibility does the world bear for rehabilitating child soldiers from the horror of serving in armed conflict?: 24 of 82

One of the most shaming moments I have had in relation to my national pride was when my government declared they would no longer accept refugees from Sudan. Including the Sudanese children who had not only their childhoods, but potentially their lives ripped away and altered for the political purposes of a few. Were it our ow... More..
Pets & Animals > Cats (Other) How to deal with your cat's death: 8 of 25
Losing anyone, who is part of your family is terrible, but when it is the pets we choose to keep with us, on the understanding that we will look after and care for them, it can be particularly difficult. I was recently reminded of this in the most harsh of terms, so much so that I, and my family, are still reeling from the lo... More..