The lost content
Posted December 19th, 2006 by debritz
I think I've finally found all the posts I lost during my webpage meltdown. Here they are:
Whoops
Sun, 2006-12-24
If you think this site looks wrong, you're right. I tried to be too clever
by updating my content management system and something has gone terribly wrong.
Hopefully I'll be able to restore it to what it was, if not make it better,
soon. Fingers crossed ...
Cold, hard logic
Sun, 2006-12-24
There are many things in this world I know nothing about. Or, perhaps, about
which I know nothing. One of them is exactly what "cold logistics"
means. That, according to the words painted on the on the sides of the
company's shipping containers, is what P&O does. I think it may have
something to do with transporting refrigerated goods, but it could also be that
they're simply prepared to do dispassionately something that makes perfect
sense.
Persona grata
Sun, 2006-12-24
If you love words, you'll love Michael Quinion's
excellent website and weekly newsletter
target=new>World Wide Words. His latest missive includes
to How I Met My Wife, an ingenious essay for The New Yorker
by Jack Winter that uses the opposites to overused words and phrases.
Christmas wish list
Sun, 2006-12-24
Want to get me a Christmas present? I've made a list
target=new>here.
Scammer's warning
Sat, 2006-12-23
Here's yet another new twist on the Nigerian scam. I've received an email
spinning me the usual not-very-plausible tale of how I could make a fortune by
helping someone claim money that is rightfully theirs but, due to unusual
circumstances, they can't access it without me - a complete stranger in a
foreign country. What makes this one different is that it makes a point of
saying the sender was warned by their lawyer not to give out too many personal
details. Why? I quote:
The reason he said I should not include them is because of ungodly act been
carried out by those Fraudster on internet because they may likely use them for
their ungodly acts.
Indeed, the world wide web is a terrible place.
From rugby to 'reality'
Sat, 2006-12-23
What's disgraced rugby star Wendell Sailor going to do with his time now
he's decided not to appeal his ban for taking cocaine? "Reality" TV,
of course. He's
target=new>ready to sign for the next season of Dancing with the Stars.
I doubt I'll be watching.
John Howard's American roots
Sat, 2006-12-23
Is the Americanisation of Australia complete? When
he called ailing DJ Stan Zemanek last night, our
Prime Minister John Howard apparently
target=new>said: "We're thinking of you and rooting for you." Has
nobody told the PM that the word "root" has quite a different meaning
in colloquial Australian English than it does in the
Stan Zemanek
signs off
Sat, 2006-12-23
It's the end of a radio era in
with Stan Zemanek
target=new>hanging up his headphones to concentrate on his health battle
against a brain tumour. Zemanek
has always been a controversial figure, but my experience of him was a pleasant
one. When I interviewed him for my radio column in The Courier-Mail
about eight years ago, he was polite, unassuming and thoughtful.
Quiz fit for a prince
Fri, 2006-12-22
A quick trivia question, inspired by my recent visit to
the Queen's homepage.
Assuming you live alone, and you invited the Prince of Wales, the Duke of
Cornwall, Duke of Rothesay, Earl of Carrick, Lord of
Renfrew, Lord of the Isles, Prince and Great Steward of Scotland and Earl of
Chester to your place, how many places would you have to set at the table?
Answer: Two. One for you and one for Prince Charles, who
holds all these titles.
A right royal podcast
Fri, 2006-12-22
Planning to see The Queen this year? No, not the movie,
the annual Christmas message from Elizabeth II. For the first time,
HRH's words of wisdom will be
target=new>available as a podcast - and you can
download it as soon as it's available by
It's all terribly amusing.
Men only
Fri, 2006-12-22
A lot has been said about
Tattersall's club voting, once again, to exclude
women from membership. While I can understand the argument that such attitudes
are old fashioned and sexist, I think it might also be instructive to look at
other clubs, businesses and associations that exclude members of one gender -
and the reasons given for doing so.
Using my kidneys
Thu, 2006-12-21
My apologies if my flippant
remark about filtered water was taken the wrong way. I always drink
filtered water, because it tastes better and it is better for me than normal
tap water. As the dam levels get lower here in
I think we'll all be installing filters to keep the mud out.
Nothing but the best
Thu, 2006-12-21
There's a registered club in
with advertisements claiming you'll have "the best time of your
life". That's a big call. I wonder if they offer refunds if it's not the
case.
Courting controversy
Thu, 2006-12-21
CNN's Showbiz Tonight is
to reveal the "most controversial celebrity" of 2006 today, with Mel
Gibson and Britney Spears in contention. I wonder what criteria the judges have
used? Does it have to be a deliberate act or just
alcohol-fuelled idiocy? If it's the latter, all that proves (once again) is
that the celebs are no different to the rest of us.
Through the filter
Thu, 2006-12-21
Thought for the day: why do we drink filtered water when we have kidneys?
On the cards
Wed, 2006-12-20
Where do some people get the time to send hundreds of Christmas cards, or
write those two-page letters about everything everyone in their family has been
up to for the past 12 months? I used to have a friend who would wait until the
very last minute to send cards, so people who hadn't sent him one would feel
guilty and have no time to correct their omission before the big day. Ho, ho,
ho.
Say no to txt
Wed, 2006-12-20
Am I the only person in the world who insists on using proper spelling and
sentence structure when sending a text message? No, I'm not. I know of at least
one other person who is equally passionate about this, and I'm thinking of
starting a movement. Are you with me or R U against me?
The search continues
Wed, 2006-12-20
I've already told you what people are coming to this site for. Now Google is
in on the act, realeases its end-of-year Zeitgeist
report. The most common searches on the No.1 search engine were for:
nerd stuff, but the top Google News searches are more interesting. The list is:
hilton,
bloom, cancer, podcasting, hurricane
and celebrity big brother 2006. It surprises me that Steve Irwin isn't there.
Men-only zone
Wed, 2006-12-20
A female friend says she doesn't blame the men of Tattersall's
from
target=new>voting against a plan to allow membership for women. She says:
"If they force them to let women in, then Fernwood
(the women-only gym) should have to let in men."
Code violation
Tue, 2006-12-19
Australia's postcode system has worried me ever since I lived in Britain
(nearly 20 years ago - eek!) and discovered how the system there is
better than our four-digit system. If I ever run for elected office, I'll make
postcode reform one of my top priorities.
Why you're here
Tue, 2006-12-19
Apart from people looking for me,
target=new>Fatty Vautin and singer-songwriter
Kate Miller-Heidke, the biggest search terms that are
drawing people to this site so far this month are related to radio. People have
come here looking for information about audio dramas (presumably in the
breakfast show a couple of months ago), Gabby Millgate
and Mike van Acker (who were axed from B105's breakfast show a week ago),
B105, Nova and 612 ABC. Apart from radio info, folks dropped by to read about
Brisbane Festival this year) and my
celebrity lookalikes.
Death of a cartoon king
Tue, 2006-12-19
Joseph Barbera, who with William Hanna was the
Flintstones, Yogi Bear, The Jetsons and Scooby-
Update: Barbera and Dave Clark Five member Denis
Payton are the most recent additions to my
Wrong captain
Tue, 2006-12-19
Whoops, what's wrong with this sentence from a British newspaper report on
Matt Lucas's wedding?
The Little Britain star's friends do not seem to share his creativeness when
it comes to dressing up and at least five had turned up dressed as the evil
Captain Cook from Peter Pan.
I think they meant Captain Hook, although Cook - the British naval officer
who claimed Australian for the Crown - may be regarded as a villian
by some.
Not what the sign says
Mon, 2006-12-18
There's a sign outside a fast-food joint near me that declares: "Open
24 hrs Fri & Sat". I don't believe it. What the sign is saying is that
the place is open from
Thursday until
when I reckon it's probably open from about
on Friday until about
Sunday.
Accuracy counts
Mon, 2006-12-18
I was amused and a little confused to hear part of the call of a soccer game
on the radio, where the announcer declared: "2-3; that is a very accurate
the scoreline reflected the effort each team had put
in to the game.
It's up to us
Mon, 2006-12-18
I've just been
target=new>Time magazine's person of the year. So have you. In fact,
we all are, if we contribute to the internet. The magazine says 2006 is "a
story about community and collaboration on a scale never seen before. It's
about the cosmic compendium of knowledge Wikipedia
and the million-channel people's network YouTube and
the online metropolis MySpace ..." All very
well, but where do I go to pick up the award?
Musical challenge
Sun, 2006-12-17
I've complained about this before, and I'll probably complain about it again.
How many times do we walk into shops and hear totally inappropriate music -
obviously chosen by the staff to suit their own taste - blaring out? I went
into a mainstream book store on Friday and was subjected to a community
alt-rock station with thrashing music and a suicidal-sounding announcer talking
in an inane and disjointed fashion - I think there was a prize for the most
ums, aahs and non-sequitors
per minute - whilst interviewing somebody about a subject that meant something
to the two of them but was unintelligible to the rest of us. I might have
stayed longer and spent more if that hadn't been the case.
Time for obsession
Sun, 2006-12-17
I admit to a number of obsessions - and I know I'm not alone in worrying
irrationally about small things. My problem right now is that the time on my
mobile phone is nine minutes too fast. However, I'm worried about changing it
to the correct time because I've become used to it being fast and I'm afraid
it'll make me late. I hope that makes sense.
Fatty update
Sun, 2006-12-17
My stats tell me a lot of people log into this site for news on Paul
"Fatty" Vautin. According to a story in
this morning's Sunday Mail, Fatty is being forced to take a pay cut to
appear on The Footy Show next year - and he's being phased out, while
Matthew Johns is being phased in.
On target
Sun, 2006-12-17
The power of radio ... within minutes of mentioning my low-profile
Friday, the average number of visitors increased ninefold.
If you're interested in weight-loss and fitness, or know somebody who is, the
site is here.
I hate spam, a lot
Sun, 2006-12-17
A call out to the following people (if, indeed, they exist):
Vernon Johnson, Zachary Myles, Elias Sloan, Tisha
Johnson, Todd Shaffer, Michael Naquin, Nick Duvall, Hubert Nance, Angel
McDonald, Amie Leblanc, Odell Glass, Taylor Rich,
Megan Peterson, Clark Elvin, Herbert Wolff, Darius Samuels, Claudia Stuart,
Roman Snow, Randy Gray, and Mr, Mrs,
Miss or Ms Market Research.
Stop spamming me!
Shopping dilemma
Sat, 2006-12-16
I've just been grocery shopping in the middle of the Christmas crush, and I
think I'll be traumatised for weeks. The experience
did me a chance to consider a moral dilemma, though. Is it a form of
queue-jumping for one member of a couple to line up at a checkout while the
other one continues to shop and brings items to them? It hardly seems fair on
the other shoppers - particularly those, like me, who are on their own. After
waiting in line for 15 minutes, I realised I'd
forgotten something I wanted, so I just had to do without.
Casting a wide net
Sat, 2006-12-16
The thing about phishing scams is that the sender
takes a punt that you actually do business with the bank he/she purports to
represent. But the person behind the latest email to hit my junkmail
folder has been a little cleverer than most. This correspondence claims to come
from the Reserve Bank of
- "also known as the Central Bank of
as it helpfully points out - and it offers different links for customers of
three of the nation's biggest banks. Three problems: the RBA doesn't do this
sort of thing, the links don't direct you to the banks' sites, and - as usual -
the grammar in the letter is atrocious.
Domestic duty
Sat, 2006-12-16
Does this only happen to me, or is it an irrevocable law of housekeeping:
Every time I do the vacuuming, it's only after I pack the machine up and put it
away that I notice the huge clump of dog hair in the middle of the floor where
only a moron could miss it.
Sinking of Titanic
Sat, 2006-12-16
Yesterday an item briefly went up on this blog
about the axing of the
season of Titanic The Musical. I took it down
at the request of the show's publicist because it turned out that I knew about
it before the cast did. It only seemed fair that they should hear about it in
person from the producer, not from the Internet. Items on
were also taken down yesterday, but they were restored last night. They are
there now if you want to know what happened and what I think about it.
Picky, picky
Sat, 2006-12-16
I was at the markets this morning and it struck me, not for the first time,
how incredibly choosy some people are about the external appearance of fruit or
vegetables that they will then take home, peel, cut up and eat. It doesn't
quite make sense to me.
Off the rails
Fri, 2006-12-15
The time: tonight, just after
The place: Central Station,
A crowd of people who've just finished their seasonal shopping spread out along
the platform. The north-bound train pulls up and it's soon obvious that the
last three carriages are locked. Everyone pushes thier
way up the platform to the centre of the train, where the guard looks stunned.
"Where did you all come from?" he asks. "It's Christmas!"
the passengers shout in unison. The guard continues to look dumfounded but
eventually does open the other carriages. It only happens every year, so I'm
not surprised Queensland Rail isn't across it.
Titanic season sunk
Fri, 2006-12-15
Titanic The Musical will no longer be
sailing into
Backers have pulled the pin on the season after poor ticket sales in
This is despite highly positive reviews for the show. There's more about this
on my other blog.
On and off the air
Fri, 2006-12-15
On my last spot for 2006 on 612 ABC, I spoke to Spencer Howson
about my weight-loss program and my web site target25.com.
Please feel free to visit and leave a comment.
Our Nic
pregnancy shock
Fri, 2006-12-15
Hold the front page. Nicole Kidman is
target=new>not pregnant. She told the Daily Mail: "One minute
I'm being told I'm too thin, the next I'm told I'm fat and it must be because
I'm expecting a baby. It's very confusing. My mum rang me up and said: 'Are you
pregnant?', and I said: 'No, Mum, you'd be one of the
first to know,' and we just laughed about it because there's not much else you
can do." OK. Is that sorted, now? Can we resume our own lives?
Coming the cooked shrimp
Thu, 2006-12-14
"
is a lifestyle superpower. The stunning climate, the
celebrated beaches, the foaming surf, the carefree joy of tossing a marinated
shrimp onto a glowing barbeque." So says Nick Bryant in
for the BBC. It's not entirely a view through rose-coloured
glasses, but it's worth a read to see how others see us.
A failure to communicate
Thu, 2006-12-14
I've just received a four-page brochure from Brisbane City Council. It's
ostensibly about what's happening in my district over the next 20 years, and it
contains lots of statements about identified needs and planned consultation
sessions but no actual facts. It's all so disengenuous,
because the councillors and council staff know
exactly what's going on - indeed, major roadworks
that have been on the drawing board for many years have already begun - they're
just trying to fool us into thinking that we'll have some say in it.
RIP Peter Boyle
Thu, 2006-12-14
Peter Boyle, who played Frank Barone in sitcom Everybody
Loves Raymond, has died at just 71. He had a long career that also included
roles in Taxi Driver, The Candidate and, most
recently, Santa Clause 3. Boyle now takes a place in the
Blake's 7: it's back
Wed, 2006-12-13
Sci-fi fans are a patient lot, so they probably won't mind that they've
waited 25 years for the return of TV cult classic Blake's 7. The BBC
series, conceived by Daleks creator Terry Nation, is
not returning to the small screen but as an "audio drama".
Tori's
B&B dream
Wed, 2006-12-13
Poor Tori Spelling. She's
so far down on her luck she's having a
sale. Sorry, it's not a garage sale, it's the
"Tori Spelling Dazzling Studio City Estate
Sale". Apparently she and her husband are going to open a B&B. I can
just see Princess Tori turning down the beds at night
and whipping up eggs, bacon, mushroom, tomato and toast for a dozen guests
every morning.
Crazy about Robbie
Wed, 2006-12-13
What is it about Robbie Williams that makes women go ga-ga?
A sensible and practical friend of mine says: "I can't understand all
these girls who think they are going to marry Robbie ... when I am."
Press 4 to express an opinion
Tue, 2006-12-12
I had cause to call the US Consulate today and, I'm
delighted (and not at all surprised) to report, the person I ended up speaking
to was extremely pleasant and helpful. While working my way through the
telephone system though, I noted that there is an option for callers to express
their thoughts on "American policy". I wonder if
overseas embassies have similar systems, and who ends up listening to the tape.
Wasting water
Tue, 2006-12-12
Today, on my way to the annual Glugs of Gosh
Christmas lunch and
target=new>awards ceremony, I did my civic duty and turned off a tap that
had been running for who-knows-how-long in a
park. I couldn't help wondering, however, whether the person who belonged to
the nearby vacant Brisbane City Council vehicle had seen or heard the running
water and done nothing about it. Surely not.
Right royal endorsement
Tue, 2006-12-12
Zara Phillips, the Queen's granddaughter, has
taken the advertising pound and is now
face of Land Rover". Not quite up there with Nicole Kidman and
Rover I suppose.
Lend me a tenor?
Tue, 2006-12-12
Now here's something I've never seen in the theatre - tenor Roberto
after being booed. According to
the understudy ran on wearing jeans to continue the performance of Aida
on Sunday night. The conductor said he had never seen a singer walk out before.
The graduate
Mon, 2006-12-11
A colleague of mine told today that she was going to her child's graduation
ceremony. I thought her children were quite young, so I asked: "What's he
graduating from?" Answer: "Primary school." Please
...
Copyright and wrongs
Mon, 2006-12-11
British musicians and record companies are
target=new>campaigning for an extension of copyright laws from 50 years to
95 years after the creation of the work. Why? because
copyright on material from the pop era, beginning with Cliff Richard's earliest
hits, is to expire soon. Obviously there has to be some sort of law on this -
otherwise we'd still be paying the ancestors of Bach and Beethoven - but I
guess it's not fair when the creator of the work is still alive. Some of them
could probably do with the extra income, too.
Play it again
Sun, 2006-12-10
Whoops. Grammy Award organisers have had to revise
the list of nominees. It
John Williams only got four nominations; they mixed him up with a classical
composer of the same name. And Ludacris should have
been acknowledged as a four-time nominee. Have we all got it straight now?
King rules - not
Sun, 2006-12-10
Ten years ago, when I was living in
friend of mine (who was living in
complained that every time he tuned-in to CNN, Larry King was on. I turned on
CNN for the first time in ages last night and, sure enough, Larry King Live
was on. King was abrupt, bordering on rude, seemingly distracted, and was no
logical flow to his line of questioning (indeed, he asked the same question
twice within 10 minutes). If it weren't for my interest in the guest - a leader
of
fundamental Mormon movement - I would have surely turned off. I wonder whether
King's always been like that or this is something new.
Famous name game
Sun, 2006-12-10
What's in a name? Specifically, what is it about certain famous names? It
seems to me that having a unique and memorable - but not too difficult -
moniker can give you a step up in the fame game. That's why And
why Marion Morrison became John Wayne and Archibald Leach became Cary Grant.
(I'm not sure, but Brett Debritz possibly veers
towards the too difficult.) One way for the rest of us to become famous is to
appropriate somebody else's name. Look at Madonna, the pop singer who is now
arguably better known than the biblical character after whom she was named.
Still, I think it's fair to say that Australian radio and TV personality Jackie
O still has some way to go before she's more famous than the deceased widow of
JFK who married Aristotle Onassis.
Sharon's surprise packet
Sat, 2006-12-09
First a warning: this is not very pleasant, so don't read on if you are
squeamish. Sharon Osbourne, the TV star wife of
often-clueless rocker Ozzy, has
target=new>revealed in a British newspaper interview that she sends a gift
to people who cross her. It is a box from the jeweller
Tiffany containing her own excrement. "I've done it for an awfully long
time," she says. "I suppose I find it funny."
Thanks, Buddy
Sat, 2006-12-09
I really have to share with you the latest version of the Nigerian scam that
has landed in my inbox. It purports to be from a
military sergeant serving in
who wants to give me 40% of $25 million in legal (of course) oil money if I
give him somewhere to send it. Yeah, that opportunity happens all the time. I
love that fact that it's addressed "Hello Pal" and the sign-off says
"Your Buddy" before adding "God Bless
Obviously, it's my patriotic duty to give him a hand.
B105: the full picture
Sat, 2006-12-09
OK, so next year on B105, the breakfast show will feature
Davidson. Gabby Millgate has left, and Mike van Acker
is in talks for a new role with Austereo (perhaps on
Triple M) or elsewhere in radio.
B105 update
Fri, 2006-12-08
The news from B105 is that two of its team of Mike, Gabby,
driving the show from next year. And sometime between about
from the B105 website.
B105 update
Fri, 2006-12-08
The news from B105 is that two of its team of Mike, Gabby,
driving the show from next year. More to come ..
B105: Labrat
in, who's out?
Fri, 2006-12-08
The word this afternoon in
radio is that big changes are happening in the breakfast shift at B105. I hear Hot
30 host Labrat is coming to
to anchor the program next year, and the word is that at least one person from
the current line-up of Gabby, Mike, Stav, Camilla and
Ben is getting their marching orders. I'll post more later.
What's it called?
Fri, 2006-12-08
Following my blog item and this
morning's radio discussion about the difference between the roof of a car and
its ceiling. a colleague asks: "What do
you call the ledge at the back of a car behind the passenger seats where you
put the nodding dog?" Suggestions include parcel shelf, back shelf and
back ledge. I've got a station wagon, so I really don't know.
Nicknames update
Fri, 2006-12-08
A week ago, I told Kelly Higgins-Devine on 612ABC that I don't have a
nickname. After discussions with friends and colleagues, I've discovered that I
have several nicknames. Some of them I was aware of but I didn't count because
only one person uses that particular name. It's the ones I don't know about
that have me worried.
Top-rating breakfast chat
Fri, 2006-12-08
This morning on Brisbane's
target=new>No. 1 breakfast radio program, Spencer Howson
and I spoke about automated cab dispatch systems, the not-so-secret number the
ring for telephone directory advice, whether cars have ceilings (of course they
do, because you can't call two different things a "roof"), getting
Christmas cards from strangers, and what to do if a scratch ticket you get as a
present wins.
'Tis the
season ...
Thu, 2006-12-07
... to get Christmas cards from people you don't
know thanking you for all the help you never gave them over the past year.
A matter of money
Thu, 2006-12-07
Today's moral dilemma: If somebody gave you an instant scratch-it ticket and
you won, say, $1 million, would you feel obliged to share it with them? And,
when you buy scratchies for other people, are you
secretly wishing that they won't win?
Hit me, please
Thu, 2006-12-07
Further to my item the other day
about the searches that bring people to this site, Yahoo! 7 has issued a press
release about the things that Australians were looking for on the web in 2006.
The top 10 searches overall were: Steve Irwin,
miners, jobs, cricket, recipes, petrol prices, real
estate, Workchoices, drought and daylight savings.
When it comes to entertainment-related stories, we've been looking for: The Big
Day Out, Big Brother scandal, Royal Easter Show, Academy Awards, Miss Universe,
Mel Gibson anti-Semitic outburst, Kylie Minogue
concert, George Michael arrests, Emmy Awards and Australian Fashion Week. The
top female celebs were: the late Belinda Emmett,
Madonna, Lindsay Lohan, Princess Mary,
Paris Hilton and Katie Holmes, while the top blokes were the late Steve Irwin,
the late Peter Brock, Rove McManus, Russell Crowe, Tom Cruise, the late Kerry
Packer, Ian Thorpe, the late Richard Carleton, and the naughty Mel Gibson and
Keith Urban.
Pavarotti puzzle
Wed, 2006-12-06
The BBC headline says:
postpones public outing. And I thought he was very much a ladies'
Take it from the top
Wed, 2006-12-06
I just saw an advertisement for a car DVD player which says the device is
"roof mounted". Presumably so the people in the car behind could
watch it. I think they meant it is ceiling mounted.
Rolf's racist shame
Tue, 2006-12-05
Rolf Harris has
target=new>revealed he is ashamed of a racist verse in his hit song, Tie
Me Kangaroo Down, Sport. He says he has not sung the lines since 1960 - and
I'm not going to repeat them here, except to say that they are offensive to
Aboriginal people. I will applaud him for tackling the issue and
Misheard lyrics: is this a record?
Tue, 2006-12-05
After more than 25 years, I've finally worked out a tricky part of the lyric
to Mental As Anything's The Nips are Getting Bigger
- and I feel like a total idiot for not realising it
earlier. The bit in question goes like this:
Me and Pat Malone
Drinking on our ow-ow-own
It was the "Pat Malone" bit that had me stumped, and yet it's so
Fatally flawed
Tue, 2006-12-05
What's wrong with this sentence? It comes from an ABC online sport report:
struck what could prove to be the fatal Ashes blow with an unbelievable
six-wicket win over
on the final day of the second Test in
A fatal blow? Who's going to die?
And why is it "unbelievable"? It's a game where, as the
Ratings: Jones down
Tue, 2006-12-05
In the
Jones is still leading the pack - but not by the huge margin he used to enjoy.
His 2GB breakfast show is just 1.4 percentage points ahaed
of 2Day's Kyle Sandilands and Jackie O, with 702ABC's
Adam Spencer only 0.8 points further behind. Jones has, of course, been the
subject of intense scrutiny recently since the release of Chris
in recovery mode - but not in breakfast, where Merrick and Rosso
defied the station's trend and lost listeners.
Ratings: Aunty's
spin
Tue, 2006-12-05
The ABC has crunched the figures and found that Brisbane 612 ABC's ratings
result is its best in more than a decade. Among the highlights are the fact
that its the first time an AM station has been No. 1 at breakfast since 4KQ got
there in 1995; the station's equal highest share for the morning shift in more
than a decade; and the first time 612 (formerly 4QR) has beaten 4BC in the
mornings since 1998.
Radio ratings: the spin begins
Tue, 2006-12-05
The ratings are in; now comes the spin. In its press release just issued,
Nova 106.9FM is claiming the No.1 spot overall - no argument there - and in
breakfast, afternoons, drive, nights and weekends. The first and last items
carry an asterisk with the small type down the bottom reading "commercial
station". As I reported earlier today, 612 ABC beat Nova in breakfast, as
it did on the weekends. Nova does deserve applause for being the No. 1 station
overall for the sixth consecutive time, but a little credit where it's due
wouldn't have gone astray.
Disclosure: Brett Debritz has a Friday-morning
segment on Spencer Howson's 612 ABC breakfast show.
Spencer Howson
hits No. 1
Tue, 2006-12-05
Congratulations to Spencer Howson, the new king of
blitzed the final
ratings survey for 2006, leapfrogging Nova 106.9 to claim the top spot in the
all-important breakfast shift. Nova came No. 1 overall, with a resurgent Triple
M second, 612ABC third and 97.3FM fourth. There's more
target=new>here on my other blog.
Life's like a joke
Tue, 2006-12-05
Running into Peter Beattie
the other day reminded me of an old political story that goes something like
this:
Respected political veteran and Defence Minister Jim
(now Sir James) Killen is sitting in the dining room at Parlimanent
House when a young MP in the first weeks of his first term comes up and says:
"Excuse me, Mr Killen, but I am dining with a
very important constituent. He's in the rest room now, but when he comes back
it would mean the world to me - and would impress him greatly - if you could
come over and say a few words." Killen replies: "Certainly, it would
be my pleasure." So, after an appropriate time, the Minister wanders
across the room and says to the new MP: "Hello, young man ..." The MP
looks up at Killen and says abruptly: "Piss off Jim, can't you see I'm
busy?"
An issue of age
Tue, 2006-12-05
A day after
Kay McGrath complained that it's difficult for women over 40 in the media, the
federal Opposition elects a male leader who's 49 and a female deputy who is 45
and they call it generational change. Quite right, too, given that
call them the young guns.
Right royal do
Mon, 2006-12-04
One of the best things about being The Queen is that one can decide to
target=new>send one's son instead of oneself to the usually awful Royal
Variety Show.
Maaaaaate
Mon, 2006-12-04
I know it's a great Australian tradition to call each other
"mate". But surely there is something unAustralian
about a cab driver calling his passenger "mate" approximately 35
times during a 10-minute drive - especially when we'd never clapped eyes on
each other before and are unlikely to again.
Sunrise for Rudd
Mon, 2006-12-04
As The Sunday
Telegraph predicted yesterday, one of the big factors in Kevin Rudd's
in the ALP leadership ballot was his regular slot on Channel 7's successful
noted that the breakfast TV appearances alongside the Liberals' Joe Hockey have
"helped Rudd break out of his foreign-affairs straitjacket and establish
himself as a cheerful, knockabout member of the
family
Call me a cab
Mon, 2006-12-04
On the subject of automated phone services, how long will it be before we're
confronted with them when calling a cab? It's already happening in Sydney,
where I twice had to hang up because I didn't know exactly where I was and was
being driven mad by the machine asking me: "Did you mean ..." With
the Telstra system I usually shout or sing down the phone line until I get a
real person, but I couldn't make that happen with the Sydney taxi company.
That's not a very friendly way to treat a stranger in
biggest tourist destination, and I suggest there's a lesson there for
cab companies if they are contemplating similar changes.
PS: A
told me that there were plenty of vehicles on the roads, just not enough
operators to book them. That appeared to be the case when I was on hold for 10
minutes on two separate mobile phones outside La Boite's
Roundhouse Theatre in
Kelvin Grove, recently. I then walked the very short distance to
Grove Rd
Phoney
choices
Mon, 2006-12-04
I don't believe my eyes. Sensis is actually
advertising the "secret" number that gets you free telephone
directory information. In the paper this morning, they're owning up that
calling 12223 is free for Telstra residential and payphone customers, but
they're also trying to upsell us to Call Connect on
122456 (99 cents) or 1234 ($1.40 plus 80 cents connection charge). The only
problem with the free number is that it's an "automated service"
which presumably means you have to talk to one of the "voice
recognition" computers that are soooo
frustrating.
Farewell to the Snake King
Mon, 2006-12-04
The Snake King
target=new>is dead.
Ali Khan Samsudin, 48, who gained worldwide fame for
locking himself in small places with poisonous snakes
has died after being bitten by a king cobra. He's now earned his place in my
Times a'changing?
Mon, 2006-12-04
It's not really on-topic, but I wonder if
will soon have an Opposition Leader who knows the difference between Rove
McManus and Karl Rove, and can speak to the leaders of the world's most
populated nation in their own language? I expect the result of the Kevin Rudd
challenge against Kim Beazley will pop up
target=new>here and here
as soon as it's known.
GoMA:
good?
Sun, 2006-12-03
Is
Modern Art worth a visit, or the money the State
Government has spent on it? Have you been? What do you think?
target=new>Click here to have your say.
Stats entertainment
Sun, 2006-12-03
I was just checking my site stats - November was, once again, a record month
(thank you all) - and was drawn to the data on the searches that bring people
to debritz.net. I discovered that if I wanted to drive even more traffic here -
and why wouldn't I? - I should contrive a single blog
item that includes mention of Paul "Fatty" Vautin,
Kate Miller-Heidke, Tracey Spicer,
12th Man, Marnie Titheradge,
Borat, celebrity deaths and Brett Debritz.
There, I've just done it.
PS: If you genuinely want to know what I've had to say about any of the above
people, you can, of course, use this site's new internal search engine.
Farr and away
Sun, 2006-12-03
I had the great pleasure of chatting to Jamie Farr from M*A*S*H on
Thursday. My story is in the ie section of The
Sunday Mail today, and there's some bonus audio on