The Journal
Entertainment
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Baz Lurhmann’s Australia
I finally got around to seeing Baz Lurhmann’s Australia. I cannot remember ever having seen a film so offensively bad. It is three hours of unmitigated drivel. My mother-in-law said about half way through ‘This thing…
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Stories In Common
Reader James T suggests I should have given Andrew Bolt credit for my comments on James Cameron’s film Avatar. Proper referencing is important for one’s intellectual integrity. It is also polite. When I write about a…
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On Journalism
From Jeff Lindsay’s Darkly Dreaming Dexter: You don’t have to take an IQ test to become a reporter. Even so, I always hope for just the smallest glimmer. And I’m always disappointed. Perhaps I saw too…
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Wild Things
This afternoon Kathy and I went to see the movie of Maurice Sendak’s Where the Wild Things Are. We were the only adults in the cinema who were not accompanied by children. I wrote in April: if…
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Beautiful Music to End the Day
Two songs by Jewel. Thoughtful lyrics, and what a rich, pure voice. Angel Standing By Hands – If I could tell the world just one thing, it would be that we’re all OK – not to worry…
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WoW Fifth Birthday
World of Warcraft is five years old. If you log on over the next few days there is a free pet, the Onyxia Whelpling. But even more fun are the Mohawk Grenades:
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Australia – Where The Bloody Hell Are You Buried?
Absolutely tasteless, but beautifully done and hilarious, the real Australia: Well, no more tasteless than that other Australian tourism promotion.
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Didn’t See That Coming
From the Epic Fail blog (link below) via Mark Shea (link on the right), just because it’s funny. see more Epic Fails
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Nicholas Sarkozy is a Nitwit
Firstly, for his gushingly warm congratulations to Barack Obama on his totally unmerited win of the Nobel Peace Prize: By awarding you its most prestigious prize, the Committee is rewarding your determined commitment to human rights,…
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Solar Power is a Waste of Energy and Resources
Seriously. I wrote earlier this year about the Kangaroo Island Council’s decision to partner with the Federal Government in a scheme to subsidise the installation of solar panels on houses on the island. About 200 households applied…
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Two Bits of Musicial Genuis Disguised as Comedy
Dudley Moore: Victor Borge:
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Art Without Bludging Off the Taxpayer
I know, I’ve said it a thousand times before, almost all subsidies are a waste of time, and end up costing more than any benefit they provide. There are three reasons: First, if you are getting…
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Ridiculously Hot Sauce
Read this column by Jeremy Clarkson for the fun of it. It’s just a silly story about not realising how hot a bottle of hot sauce was going to be. But in passing, it makes a point I…
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An Australian Film Worth Seeing
I know, it sounds like an oxymoron. But it might just be true. I haven’t seen Paul Hogan’s new film Charlie and Boots yet. Philppa Martyr has, and has written an intelligent and amusing review, full…
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Sexist Ads
The two major Australian grocery retailers are both currently running offensively sexist ads. The Coles ad is the less offensive of the two. ‘You shouldn’t be taxed for being a woman’ it says. So Coles will…
