The heart breaking horror of Valentine’s dayFeeling a little lonesome after the lovefest media scam that was Valentine’s Day yesterday? Then head to Gawker and giggle at the hundreds of Valentine’s Day horror stories. Love stinks.
February, 2010
Film review: A Prophet — intense jail house drama
Writer/director Jacques Audiard’s Oscar-nominated French jail house drama A Prophet (Un prophète) is a long, deliberating and ultimately debilitating two-and-a-half hour journey — but by god, it packs a punch, writes Luke Buckmaster.
Is raising the drinking age good policy?
With talks of raising the drinking age from 18 to 21, Geoff Munro weighs in on the debate and says rather than raising the age, we should just restrict access to alcohol and punish those who supply it.
Marieke Hardy: It’s a pity party for Turnbull and you’re all invited
It’s sad to watch Malcolm Turnbull skulk the halls of parliament, a shadow of his former self. Luckily he has some company out there in the political wilderness: Peter Garrett, writes Marieke Hardy.
PHOTO GALLERY: How we lie to our children about former presidents
Future US presidents are all kind, hard working students, right? Slate compares what children’s books say about past US presidents to the adult biographies. Never let the truth get in the way of an illustrated story.
How packaging is more than just paper
Seth Godin offers advice on how an African chocolate company should package their chocolate. Sure, it involves some glamorising of poverty, but it’s a great marketing idea.
VIDEO: Hasn’t Haiti suffered enough? The new We are the World
Oh dear. The darlings of American pop, rock and hip hop have banded together to re-record We are the World. Starring Pink, Jennifer Hudson, Celine Dion et al, it is a total cheese fest. Hopefully some good will come from this awfulness.
Business As Usual: The European crisis … Japan holds on … Canwest lifeline
The Aussie dollar’s performance against the euro has snuck up, Greece is in deeper economic woe than anyone thought, Canwest has been thrown a lifeline and the Reserve Bank to speak in today’s business wrap.
Video chat with random strangers: is this really the future of the internet?
Chatroulette, a new addictive site where users chat to random strangers, is being touted as the Next Big Thing (even though it’s really a flashback to the internet chaos of old). But be warned, the constant rejection can be heart breaking.
The sickly state of Europe
It’s a pretty sad state of affairs for the Euro and Western Europe at the moment, with the German, Spanish and Greek economies all struggling. The lack of demand for the Euro has left only France looking vaguely trouble free.
The inaugural Crikey Sports Monday week in sports wrap (official name pending)
First Dog on the Moon and Leigh Josey get together to shoot the breeze in the inaugural wrap of the sporting week that was. Rather hilariously inappropriate sporting commentary from the Crikey bunker.
Film review: The Wolfman — lacklustre lycanthropy
This remake of the schlocky 1941 film The Wolfman, starring Benicio Del Toro, is a nicely shot, solidly acted but resoundingly ho-hum textbook horror period piece, writes Luke Buckmaster.
The ultimate divorce lawyer business card
Clever business cards can really tell a lot about a company. Like the divorce lawyer whose business card tears right down the middle into two halves. Sounds like an even 50/50 divorce settlement, then.
Coorey: Slipping on Barnaby Bananas
Barnaby Joyce is trouble for both the government and the Opposition, writes Phillip Coorey. He’s lazy and gaffe-prone, but the more the government insult him, the more his fans love him.
Winer: Why isn’t Google’s Buzz bugger-up a bigger scandal?
Google did something “seriously wrong” by violating users’ privacy on Buzz, says legendary blogger Dave Winer. This should be a huge scandal, but the press is helping them cover it up.
New ABC editorial policies: lean and clean
For once the ABC has developed its new editorial standards in an atmosphere of relative calm, rather than as a result of a crisis or as a defense against attack. Margaret Simons examines the changes.
Downer: Rudd to be a one-term PM?
Rudd continually stuffed up his green credentials and now the public tide of opinion is turning against him and even Labor insiders agree, writes Alexander Downer.
A day in the life of Julia Gillard
The Daily Tele spends the day with Julia Gillard, just as the foil insulation scandal is unfolding. Some choice quotes from Jules on chicks with tattoos, Malcolm Turnbull’s “Cary Grant-ish” skin and Julie Bishop’s cat-claw.
Kevin Rudd’s “clanging gong” rings hollow
The gift of a “declaration bell” will ring a loud and clear rallying call to the Alyawarr people of NT, who just a few months ago walked off the literal cess-pit that the Ampilitawatja township had become after years of neglect. Bob Gosford reports from the ceremony.
The Olympics’ shameful response to luge death
The death of Nodar Kumaritashvili, the Georgian luge competitor who was killed just prior to the opening of the Winter Games was treated by officials “less as a tragedy than as an inconvenience”, says the NYT in a damning take-down.
Milne: Garrett’s killed more than the Iraq War
Peter Garrett is responsible for four deaths, but PM Rudd will protect him out of fear of Tony Abbott. This despite Rudd calling for Alexander Downer’s blood for a lesser incident, recalls Glenn Milne.
Polls turn on Labor
Bad news for Kevin Rudd this morning: two new polls from Queensland and WA show the Coalition leading the government 51-49. Is this election shaping up to be an actual contest?
exposed Conroy’s secret ski holiday scandal
The Sunday Tele’s expose on Communications Minister Stephen Conroy’s little ski holiday at Seven Network boss Kerry Stokes’ $15 million penthouse just before the government’s $250 million gift to the networks.
How Goldman helped Greece hide its debt
The NYT exposes how Goldman Sachs and other Wall St players helped European governments hide their mounting debts for years, using tactics “akin to the ones that fostered subprime mortgages in America”.
Is Piers Akerman fabricating quotes from the IPCC?
Is News Ltd’s Piers Akerman the source of an alarmist climate change quote that has for years been attributed to the first head of the IPCC, Sir John Houghton? That’s what the UK’s Independent is claiming.
