If you’re the sort of person who wakes up at the same time as a rooster, you might be acquainted with the comedy shows ABC Radio National puts on at 5.30am.
These programs are usually ancient English efforts featuring members of The Goodies (I’m Sorry, I’ll Read That Again) or the late Kenneth Williams (Just a Minute*).
Other shows respectively feature experts on language and classical music, the latter group finding music by The Beatles and other ruffians beyond the pale.
Every so often, the ABC presents a program at 5.30am that’s actually - shock horror - pretty new.
Continue reading ‘Flight of the Conchords’
On a recent comments thread on LP, it was argued that LP readers are political types rather than Big Brother sorts. Well, I don’t think many people are either/or about such things, and at any rate I’ve been yearning to lower the tone of this blog for a long time. With this in mind, I’ve decided to do a celebrity gossip post today.
Madonna’s new CD: blech
Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god (not sure why I wrote “oh my god” three times other than that celebrity gossip is usually replete with repetition and hyperbole), Mariah has gotten married again.
Celebrity gossip fans will know that Mariah used to be married to some bloke and then she stopped being married to that bloke. Now Mariah is married to another bloke.
No word as yet about whether she looked too skinny and/or too fat in her wedding gown, but if I was a betting woman I’d suggest (insert body fascist comment here).
Continue reading ‘Celebrity Gossip Friday’
Okay, I relented and watched a bit of Big Brother tonight, influenced by Kim no doubt. Nothing to report on that score except that Corey has that gawky teen boy thing happening in a big way - reminds me of certain nephews I know. Anyway, after Big Brother there was a new show on called How to Look Good Naked that demanded that women celebrate their bodies, and love themselves too. Carson Kressley, that guy who was one of the “Queer Eyes”, basically talked a woman out of her bad body image. Why it takes a guy to tell a woman not to obsess about her weight is beyond me, but it’s a fun and worthy show that hopefully will influence some females to think again about the modern mania with looking like a twig. Oh, and Good News Week is on now. Haven’t watched it for ages, and now I remember why. Laugh, nope I’m not.
If you want to see glorious and evolving represenations of the Australian landscape and Australian icons, the Sidney Nolan exhibition is highly recommended. If you want to see graffiti art, take a walk around the little lanes in Melbourne’s CBD. Here’s some examples of that graffiti.
Continue reading ‘Picture this graffiti’
Reading an article in The Age this morning about the death of Pamela Bone I was struck by the following paragraph:
She married young, and between having four daughters and working such jobs as night shift in a fruit cannery, she read Betty Friedan and Germaine Greer. She went back to school, left an unhappy marriage, and brought her girls to Melbourne and a job as a court reporter at The Age. Her journey fuelled a lifelong interest in the question of personal resilience — where it springs from, and how it might be encouraged.
At a time when affluent societies seem obsessed with the notion of self-esteem (happy, happy, joy, joy), Bone’s “interest in the question of personal resilience” is something that should be promoted. Here’s hoping her story will serve as a model for other women who find themselves stuck in a “fruit cannery” (literally or metaphorically speaking) when they’re capable of so much more.
Peggy and Pencil from Year of the Dog
Australians, at least numerically speaking, are a pet-loving bunch, with dogs, cats, budgies and other creatures making up part of our families.
Recently, a ferret and its “mum” were seen outside a supermarket, perhaps waiting for “dad” to purchase whatever it is that ferrets eat.
On any Sunday afternoon, the park located not from where I live is full of dogs running around with different degrees of vigour, and owners running after them with various levels of stamina.
Continue reading ‘“I love my dog/cat/budgie etc as much I love you”’
Props to John Prescott for admitting that he suffered from an eating disorder, an eating disorder that’s probably much more common than we think:
Dr Glover, a specialist with Affinity Healthcare which operates the eating disorders unit at Cheadle Royal Hospital in Cheshire, said: “He displayed the classic traits of bulimics – the secrecy, the shame and the breakdown of trust with your family. Bulimia can be brought on by work stress. For some people, they use drink, drugs or cigarettes as an emotional crutch. For John, it was food.“John’s bravery will hopefully encourage more men to stop suffering in silence and seek treatment.” (from The Times)
We write to release old justices and abuses, to make sense of them, to contextualize (sic) ourselves. We write to tell the truth, our writings like graffiti on the surface of the moneyed culture at large. We write so that we can finally see our experiences portrayed honestly, in many dimensions. (Michelle Tea)
It was odd to hear the words “working class” being used on the radio on Saturday during a discussion about American politics.
Until a certain politically-driven controversy surrounding the assertion that some indigent folks can become “bitter” about their lot and turn to insular belief systems in response, working class wasn’t a term you heard much anymore.
While the comment that started the commotion would’ve been greeted with “tell me something I don’t already know” by a lot of people who grew up poor, it should be noted that the working class are a diverse group.
Continue reading ‘Writing to tell the truth’
There will be more photos and videos to follow, but I just want to say thanks to the people who came to the forum last night. Your interest in the topic was fabulous and thanks so much for sharing your thoughts. It was lovely to get the chance to meet all of you. You deserve a round of applause.
A photo of the forum’s speakers (Professor Chris Nash is wearing a red shirt, Matthew Ricketson from The Age is standing behind Jane Nethercote from Crikey. Jane’s attired in the striped dress). Also featured are some of the people who attended.
See you tomorrow night. Make sure to climb the stairs next to the bar and buy your booze downstairs. There will be students in the area (the University of Melbourne is just across the road), so be alert but not alarmed. Rockin’ dude (sorry, just practicing in case I run into any students).
Media Under Rudd
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Time: 7:00pm - 8:30pm
Location: Prince Alfred Hotel
Street: 191 Grattan Street, Carlton
City/Town: Melbourne, Australia
Picture from Time
While in the Melbourne CBD this morning, I was handed a flyer by a young man. The young man and his two friends were wearing white t-shirts that had something like “We are all family” written on the back. One of his friends had a Chinese flag. The flyer states the following:
MEDIA DISTORTION!
VIOLENCE!
In the Memory of the Victims in the Tibetan Riot (March 14, 2008)
There has been disgraceful truth distortion in large scale by such medias like CNN, BBC, CTV, NTV, RTL, FOX, Washington Post, etc.
Right to live is deprived with violence, no freedom of speech can be secured with truth being trimmed. To stop further violation on the most basic human right to life and freedom of expression, we stand up shouting out:
No Violence!
No Media Distortion!
Discover more uncovered truth, please visit:
http://www.peaceintibet.com/
http://www.anti-cnn.com/
The flyer also contains some quotes from various sources and statistics from Xinhua. Here’s a couple of the quotes, followed by a few of the statistics:
“Tibetans gone crazy….” (ABC News)
“Oh my God, someone has a gun” “Oh my God. Oh no. That’s crazy. One hundred people are trying to stone one man.” (The Guardian)
18 civilians and 1 police officer killed; 382 civilians injured…908 shops were looted. Damage has cost a estimated loss of more than 244 million yuan (about US$34.59 million).
There’s nothing on the flyer to indicate who’s responsible for writing it, although perhaps the people who put up those websites are.
“A person’s a person, no matter how small.”
Moody youngsters take note: the film version of Horton Hears a Who! represents the character of Jo-Jo as a sensitive and hardworking genius who looks like a mini-emo rather than the “twerp” he is in the book. Even if you can’t relate to a kid who looks sad most of the time because his dad doesn’t listen, there’s plenty to enjoy in this wonderfully funny and visually delightful take on Dr. Seuss’s tale of an elephant who saves the tiny people of Whoville thanks to some clover and a willingness to believe in something even though it can’t be seen. The movie features the voices of several comedy giants, including Jim Carrey, Steve Carell, Seth Rogen and Carol Burnett as an authoritarian kangaroo. Given the kangaroo will do anything to uphold the status quo and ensure the jungle’s children don’t exercise their imaginations, it’s no surprise she’s pouchschooling her joey (a wonderful dig at the kind of homeschooling that’s all about indoctrination and keeping difference at bay). Meanwhile, the councillors of Whoville are angry that plans to celebrate their supposedly utopian community’s centenary are being disturbed by the Mayor’s warnings about the danger they’re in. Just like all the best movies for littlies (e.g. Beauty and the Beast and Aladdin); there’s humour, pop culture references adults can embrace, dramatic tension, good versus evil, and a happy resolution, while fans of Seuss’s nonstop rhymes won’t be disappointed. Alas, also like a lot of films for littlies, it’s rather sexist, with the Mayor’s daughters being vacuous and apparently unsuitable to follow in their father’s footsteps.
Continue reading ‘Horton and Lars’
One suspects a comedic musical about errant ex-footballer Wayne Carey would be a very black look at the psyche of a certain kind of male (not sure what song from Hairspray the cast might break into when Carey hits his girlfriend with a glass).
A less difficult subject for funny songs is the blokey but unthreatening Shane Warne, the former spin bowler with a beer gut, and a, errr, big thing for blondes.
Eddie Perfect, who more than entertained at last year’s Melbourne International Comedy Festival (MICF) with his turn as a kinky Alexander Downer, has returned to MICF in 2008 with a sneak peek at his upcoming Shane Warne: The Musical.
Continue reading ‘Shane Warne: The Musical (We Had To Have)’
There’s a sad moment in Helen Garner’s exquisite The Spare Room when the cancer-ridden but ever-smiling Nicola admits that what she regards as her life’s failures (e.g. childlessness, being a singleton, and lack of persistence) is compelling her to fight her illness in any way she can.
Unfortunately for her friend Helen, a writer who lets the ailing woman reside with her for three weeks out of what appears to be a mixture of altruism, love, and ego, this fight takes the form of daily visits to a dodgy clinic located in the CBD.
After finding Garner an intrusive and maddening presence in journalistic efforts such as Joe Cinque’s Consolation, it’s a relief to discover that “fictional” Helen, with all her flaws, fury and brutal honesty, is on the side of the good guys.
Continue reading ‘Helen Garner’s The Spare Room’
Was Angelina Jolie on a tram in Melbourne tonight being chatted up by a bloke who wasn’t Brad Pitt?
The success of Internet dating sites, speed dating, singles events and books that let people know how to pick up indicates that finding love these days isn’t such an easy task. For any single gentlemen reading this blog who are looking for a lady love (excuse my heterosexism and sexism) but aren’t sure how to go about it, I am happy to pass on something I heard on the tram tonight. Yes, one young chap managed to get the telephone number of a fellow passenger/female by loudly uttering such lines as:
Wow, you’re thirty, I wouldn’t have spotted that. You could be a model.
You really look like Angelina Jolie.
Yes, he actually got her phone number with those lines, so if he can do it you can too. Perhaps “Tram Romeo” has started something beautiful, but if he’s anything like some of the men mentioned in an article on The New York Times website she better read the “right” books. The item by Rachel Donadio is an interesting insight into a rather peculiar form of snobbery:
Continue reading ‘“You really look like Angelina Jolie”’
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