Best Ads on TV Cadbury Gorilla

The Canne Advertising Awards follow the film Festival by about three weeks and here's one in the running...

Australia's National SORRY Day

It's SORRY Day and Reconciliation Week here in Australia! This crept up on me being away for a week but there are plenty of resources, ideas and opportunities for faith communities to reflect and act on reconciliation...

Reconciliation Australia
National Sorry Day Committee

You could also use our recent 'Sorry' themed MESH magazine for information and ideas where additional copies or a pdf could be accessed by emailing youth@nsw.uca.org.au

"The Gruen Transfer" ABC TV 9pm Wednesday

"The Gruen Transfer is named after Victor Gruen, the guy who designed the very first shopping mall. The term describes that split second when the mall's intentionally confusing layout makes our eyes glaze and our jaws slacken... the moment when we forget what we came for and become impulse buyers."

Sometimes funny Will Anderson hosts what looks like an interesting program with a rotating roster of ad execs as we get a look behind what advertisers are aiming for and how they read us and our consumer behaviour... at least that's whats happening here in Oz!!

Chalk up another 'to do list' for already busy exec producer Andrew Denton

Of course I should have added reference to the following for the afficionados:

Duncans TV Adland
Best Ads on TV

And plenty of other sites via google [watch out for XXX content on some]

'The Whitlams' and the SSO Sunday Telegraph June 1

'The Whitlams' and the Sydney Symphony at the Opera House was a great night and the band are allowing the sunday newspaper to give away a live recording of the concert/s ahead of a 'best of' collection later!!

'The Whitlams' are touring nationally in September and you can check your local newspaper here

Some Interesting Movies Around at the Moment

If you have some time on your hands there are a few films worth at least a look:

The Black Balloon rated M 93mins
An adolescents struggle to fit in while dealing with an autistic sibling

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull rated M 117mins
Same corny humour and in jokes with a less compelling storyline depending on who you ask

Iron Man rated M 126mins
Way too long but a cracker of a tale. The allegory is flimsy but it's entertaining

Narnia Prince Caspian rated M 147mins
"Hope [apparently] has a new face" and fans of the CS Lewis books won't be disappointed

"Sex and the City" awaiting ratings approval148mins
Fascinating study in exploring issues of relationship and sexuality vicariously through the different characters of Carrie and Co

"Leatherheads" rated PG 114mins
Mixed reviews for this US football based tale starring George Clooney and Renee Zellweger

And
"Speedracer" rated PG 135mins
The Wachowski brothers bring their touch to this old cartoon

"The Incredible Hulk"
Edward Norton attempts to go beyond the Eric Bana flop

"The Dark Knight"
The latest Batman instalment with the late and telented Heath Ledger
"Get Smart"

2am Pub Lockout to be Trialled

Following a set of unique CBD liquor laws aimed at curbing inner city crime and violence... the state government looks set to trial a statewide 2am lockout!!
On the whole this seems a good move given the totally out of control behaviour and inability of some patrons to make sensible late night decisions!!

However, the recent focus on young drinkers smacks of more sereotyping and less definitive action with price hikes on so called alco-pops the thin end of the face saving wedge... there are so many conflicting messages at the heart of aussie culture it's going to take more than single issue responses to help young people make better choices around alcohol and partying!!

Defence Department Document Leak

As avid newspaper readers a standard line at our place about suss stories is "we'll hear more about that!" e.g. the teary husbands appeal for information about his wife's disappearance, strange government information, erratic behaviour by celebrities or business figures etc etc...

How come when people all across the country are frustrated that despite Freedom of Information [FOI] Legislation they can rarely access sensitive information they are seeking... the name of a troop entertaining actress and tv host and the rumour of 'who knew what' is leaked to the aussie news media!!

Tania Zaetta [former co host of 'Who Dares Wins' and recent bollywood starlet] was named in a document alledging she had sex with troops in Afghanistan while touring with other entertainers. Angry Anderson was listed as source of the inuendo and denies this also... "we'll hear more about that!"

It seems Tania received $70,000 from a current affirs show to 'tell her story' and the government and military have at least four lines of enquiry underway... tremendous!!

Waratahs Win by playing some good rugby

You'd think the NSW Rugby Union was run by some of Newcastle Hunter's best volunteer rugby administrators with the way they've handled the future of their coaching position this season!!
Nobody thought they were playing their best football in March yet it seemed a little premature to announce the need for a new coach next season having already set a semi-final appearance as the benchmark for 2008.
After finishing second in the rounds the Waratahs played some of their best football last night to overcome the Durban Sharks and advance to a tough assignment in Canterbury Crusaders in Christchurch next Saturday [5.30pmAEST]!!
The Waratahs built a match plan around their defence, jolting several balls free, driving the opposition back and disrupting a side which had clearly chosen to abandon it's successful long kicking game for this match... Kurtley Beale played a composed and creative game at 5/8th although his goalkicking is still off cue...
The linchpins were Dan Vickerman's control of and stealing of the oppositions lineouts alongside Rocky Elsom's great linking play and wide channel running to threaten the opposition repeatedly!! Even Tiquiri had a solid game this week [which I have not written all year]!! Essentially they dropped less ball and so looked much better than in some of the wet track games earlier in the year... it's all good!!

It was well worth the trek to the Aussie Stadium after a long week in Melbourne and I'll be seeking a Foxtel vantage point in Wagga Wagga next week to catch the Final!!

The Crusaders have shown in the last two weeks that they are not bulletproof yet contain the ability to blow anyone away at the right time!!

Go the Tah's!!

'Things Older Than John McCain'

The Republican Presidential hopeful John McCain [some would call moderate, war hero, 72 year old] has recently been forced to make his medical record public in an effort to allay fears about his health as what would be the oldest elected US President!!

Here's a fun blog to catch up on things younger than McCain!!

For example:
The Magic Eight Ball
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
Penecillin
The Postcode/Zip Code
Jack Nicholson
and the humble shopping trolley

Desert Boots are 'in'

Fashionista that I am I have noticed two articles in the last week offering wisdom as to the inherent style value of the humble desert boot!! Just when I was alllowed to wear them in the late 70s I assumed office as School Captain and had to maintain the black leather footwear... damn it!!

I rejoiced in the 80s when the ripple boot took on a life of it's own as the footwear of choice amongst the 'in' crowd!!

Neither image above captures the full glory of the brown seuede special edition!! Silver studded joins, deep stitching and the special shiny rub look from kicking footballs, mates, trees, school bags!!

John Cusack in Vanity Fair

Colleagues Cheryl and Sue have been spreading the word about a great quotable quote interview with actor John Cusack [High Fidelity, Say Anything]!!

Read it here or below

John Cusack
He may be sewn into memory holding a boom box above his head, but John Cusack, 41, will display his gravity in War, Inc., a political satire he also wrote and produced, which is featured at the Tribeca Film Festival this month. Here, the romantic-comedy veteran shows his pensive side.

What is your current state of mind?
Bloodied and slightly doom-struck, but I am comfortable with these themes. I remain basically unbowed.

What is your greatest fear?
Beyond the normal issue of the mortality of my nearest and dearest, strangely it is a fear of inertia. If I stop, I may not be able to start again.

What is the trait you most deplore in yourself?
Whenever I’m lazy enough to assume people think like me. It’s a kind of vanity that gets me in trouble a lot. Also, I tend to project a purity of heart into people who impress me, which is very child-like.

What is the trait you most deplore in others?
The inability to think for themselves. Or the need to define one’s core in five-minute sound bites.

Which living person do you most admire?
Living? Nelson Mandela would have to go down as one of the three great figures of the last century.

Which living person do you most despise?
Very tough question. They exist in the realm of war profiteers. These men and women are the lowest form of human consciousness, truly and completely spiritually f#$@%d. Theirs is an amazing satanic dance: create a new market with war, bar competitors from the aftermath, then pay your own companies at a cost-plus basis, which guarantees profits, all at the taxpayers’ expense. They are the biggest welfare freaks on the planet.

On what occasion do you lie?
Only when awake or speaking or looking at someone …

What or who is the greatest love of your life?
The great white buffalo.

When and where were you happiest?
Hunting it.

Which talent would you most like to have?
Music. It seems the closest art to prayer and where the shamans roam.

If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?
Take myself less seriously. And I would try not to be famous for at least a week or two as an adult.

What do you consider your greatest achievement?
I couldn’t say I have one besides the small amount of good I’ve done for other people.

If you were to die and come back as a person or thing, what do you think it would it be?
An angelic (not demonic) non-corporeal presence. Would like to travel light.

What is your favorite occupation?
It would be great to be a medium.

Who are your favorite writers?
I can only speak to what has inspired me lately—meaning stuff I have read or reread by Garry Wills, Bob Dylan, Cormac McCarthy, Mark Leyner, Naomi Klein, Hunter S. Thompson, and J. D. Salinger.

Who is your favorite hero of fiction?
Just happened to reread Salinger, and Zooey Glass made me very happy indeed.

Who are your heroes in real life?
Let’s go with Jesus. Not the gay-hating, war-making political tool of the right, but the outcast, subversive, supreme adept who preferred the freaks and lepers and despised and doomed to the rich and powerful. The man Garry Wills describes “with the future in his eyes … paradoxically calming and provoking,” and whom Flannery O’Connor saw as “the ragged figure who moves from tree to tree in the back of [one’s] mind.”

What are your favorite names?
I like the name Doctor Zhivago.

What is your greatest regret?
That I have lived selfishly or fearfully (when I have).

How would you like to die?
While dreaming—would be a great transition.

What is your motto?
An old Yugoslavian proverb I always come back to: “Tell the truth and run.”

He's a legend... more than one great answer from a really interesting character...

"Salam Cafe" SBS TV

Salam Cafe is a new TV Panel series on Aussie SBS TV [our multicultural broadcaster] and I caught the Sunday AM repeat of it today!! It's a panel based program with skits, street talk etc and works a bit like panel discussion, meets comedy program, meets footy show!!
The twist is the team are a bunch of young muslims who poke fun at themselves, their culture and faith as a tool for shining a light on Australian culture & attitudes... it was very funny!!
Here is one snippet of the 'street talk' styled interviews showing how unintelligently racist we can be...

Radiohead in Q

While Borders would have the latest flown in edition of 'Q' my newsagent always seems to convince me theirs is the most recent. In the April edition there is a basic yet informative stroll through all of Radiohead's admittedly stunning recordings.
It also has a glowing review of REM's new CD which I remain unconvinced about... still I notice they are at Twickenham in London on the 31st August while I am in Oxford [close!!]

The Dark Knight Trailer