Vox Pops

Very few things in life truly make me want to vomit, however yesterday morning’s breakfast interview with Christopher Pyne very nearly inspired such a violent physical reaction. According to the latest polls, Gillard is preferred PM over Tony Abbott by a long shot. But it’s not her party’s recent policy announcements that have gotten her over the line, nor is it Abbott’s spectacular floundering during Leigh Sales’s spectacular and devastating interview on the ABC 7.30 Program or even on the Today show … no. It’s been Labor’s cheap shots on Abbott’s character that have reduced the public’s faith in him. Diddy-fucking-widdums. So, because the party can’t trust him to be on the ABC ever again, Abbott didn’t go on TV to defend himself, the woefully obnoxious Christopher Pyne did.  And how Michael Rowland of Breakfast News managed to keep a straight face throughout the interview is absolutely beyond me. Let’s have a look at how this played out, blow by blow. Mich

Since I've been back after 12 months away, I've been having a great time catching up with my friends. After dinner with a friend the other night, a friend emailed me: So it was great to catch up with you last week. I have a follow up question: My brother thinks that because all news that is broadcast is "bad" that he doesn't bother watching, therefore is not informed. Is ignorance bliss? Is the outcome the same or similar if you are not in a position to change anything you observe on the 24 hr news cycle if you watch or don't watch? Thoughts? I went on to reply... ...To be honest I don't know if I can really answer your question because it's been one I've been struggling with since I came back. Before I left Australia I was a total news junkie. Probably almost in the true sense of the word... I used to have "drug" seeking behaviour, I had total withdrawals and terrible FOMO (fear of missing out). It wouldn't be unusual for

I'm at a complete loss, with only the bitter taste of incredulousness and rage left in my mouth. My mouth with a clenched jaw and pursed lips. I'm fucking pissed off. I remember in 2007 when I partied so hard I got kicked out of the pub because that bastard Howard had been voted out. I remember thinking that at LONG LAST we could celebrate and finally move on as a nation. When Rudd was ousted I was actually happy that Gillard was in and that snivelling jerk was out. Him with his overtly Christian values (I was even a little sad for him during his goodbye speech until he went all Godly and thanked his 'creator'. Fuck him, good riddance). Now we had an atheist, female prime minister who was living with her partner. I felt proud of Australia when we voted her back in, even if it was by the slimmest of margins. And I know that the odds are stacked against a female prime minister on the 'left' side of politics. I know that much of the mainstream media and industry

I'm in Hong Kong. I honestly can't tell you how I've spent the last week or so. It's been brilliant. Very little site seeing. Walk up the hill to the reservoir with Mike, met up with Kat and Craig for dinner at Oohlaa in Soho - mojitos a-plenty. Dinner and dancing last Saturday night with Mike and Phyllis's friends. True Blood. Coffee. Ferries. Doctors. Fucking opthalmologists who won't remove fucking cysts. Trying to avoid the shops. Cooking pasta or Vietnamese salmon. A holiday from a holiday. A blur of conversations about What it All Means punctuated by Steve Jobs's death. Wifi. Tours. Emails and Skype. Missing people. Talking to Pfizer folks. Wishing I felt more grateful and less sad and scared. Two little girls with one pair of skates in the plaza laughing and showing off for their parents. I have two skates but only one of me. Stay hungry, stay foolish. Above is my only diary entry for Honkers, and as you can see it was very low-key. My uncle Mike is