Who can even say how a rumour starts and builds, writes Trevor Diogenes.
August, 2009
Lowbottom High Diaries: United in perversity
Dominick Dunne, the great gossip, is dead
The pre-eminent voice of American celebrity’s inner word is dead. There has never been a greater gossip than Dunne, reflects Helen Razer.
To whom it may concern: Am I a bad parent?
What advice do you give to a mother whose daughter wants to become the youngest person to sail solo around the world?
The canny game of Rob Oakeshott
Independent MP Rob Oakeshott is no mug. You don’t have a track record of electoral success as an independent like his without some serious political smarts. So why is he gushing over PM Kevin Rudd?
James still stuck in Kerry’s shadow
For most of his life, Kerry Packer had a reputation for being a bit of a Midas when it came to investing. Shame his son James Packer didn’t inherit the same touch.
The odd ICAC appointment of Justice David Ipp
Supreme Court Judge David Ipp was last week nominated to be the next commissioner of NSW’s anti-corruption commission. Except, there’s nothing in David Ipp’s public record to indicate an interest in these sorts of matters, writes Stephen Murray.
Tips and rumours: Bouquets and brickbats for Qantas
In today’s tips & rumours sections, Crikey’s anonymous tipsters tell us that Qantas is running on time… even if it’s pissing off frequent flyers and website users. Oh well, win some, lose some.
Time for Kevin Rudd to fix NSW
NSW ALP politics is like having to endure Big Brother all over again, a brain-deadeningly boring production of apparently limitless interest to the media. It’s time to evict some factional heavyweights.
Danby threatens La Trobe Uni over Gaza money
The Federal Member for Melbourne Ports, Michael Danby, used a former staffer and daughter of a Victorian Multicultural Commissioner to deliver an anonymous threat to a student union president.
Beck boycott a boon for Fox
Big-name advertisers are boycotting Fox News host Glenn Beck after he accused Barack Obama of being racist on air last month — but the blow-up has seen his audience numbers boom, with 3 million tuning in on Wednesday.
What a proper blokes’ ad looks like
Brands like Home Timber and Hardware and Repco know how to sell to blokes: cut the crap and market yourself as a “proper” store that knows how things “oughta be”, writes Andrew Tijs.
Suddenly vegetarian
“I will still eat meat when it seems the polite thing to do.” But beyond that, Paula Marantz Cohen, says she’s a reformed carnivore, even if she can’t quite explain her sudden repulsion to flesh eating.
Time for Twitter to cash in?
Last year, Twitter turned down a $500 million buy-out offer from Facebook. It made sense: Twitter was the hottest property going around, and its social stock is still rising. But with others on its tail, should the company quit while it’s still ahead?
Two supermarkets, one leader
Woolworths is in another class from Coles, says Malcolm Maiden. With Woolies lifting food and liquor sales by 7.4% in the last year, Coles is left to hope: surely they can’t keep this up.
The US presidency: it’s a popularity contest
After eight months in office, US president Barack Obama’s popularity rates have fallen to 51%. Check out past US president’s popularity ratings to see how long it took them to drop below majority approval.
26-year-old Aussie named new New Yorker editor
There’s a new kid on the block at the The New Yorker, with the mag naming 26-year-old Australian Amelia Lester as its new editor. Never heard of her? Neither has anyone else in the media, it seems. But a bit of digging by Mediaite reveals she is a Harvard grad and former editor of The Paris Review.
Banda Aceh: the new grief tourism hotspot
Five years after the tsunami devastated Banda Aceh, Indonesia, grief tourism is beginning. A new commemorative museum has opened and washed up boats are serving as tourist attractions.
Hands off our foreskin! Circumcision debate heats up in US
America’s Center for Disease Control has said it might recommend that all boys born in the United States be circumcised. But men have reacted strongly against such a directive.
Are you the next new media mogul?
The Economist is running a competition to find the next Mark Zuckerberg, Biz Stone or Larry Page and Sergey Brin. It’s like Idol for the internet.
Poem for the dying
Kristen Hoggatt, The Smart Set’s poet advice columnist, is asked by a dying woman for some poetic consolation. The response is surprising.
How Google won the book war
Google now hosts a virtual library of millions of entire books, as well as blurbs and excerpts, angering publishers and authors (who aren’t getting royalties), and Microsoft and Amazon (who didn’t think of it first). How did they get away with it? Scan first, ask questions later.
Video of the Day: Paper magic: croc eats girls
Cool4cats makes ghoulish paper models full of death and disaster. Here, a giant crocodile enjoys the contents of a school bus, over and over again.
Apple’s app economy worth $2.4 billion a year
$200 million worth of applications are sold in Apple’s iPhone store every month — that’s about $2.4 billion a year — according to new research that shows Apple is not only raking in the cash, it’s also completely dominating the competition in the smartphone market.
