Alright, Safin is an excellent player and played the best tennis on the night. Granted, he also beat Federer in a similar display of wowness. Granted, he really, really did deserve the trophy after two failed attempts at the final, but did he really have to beat Lleyton? Australia’s hopes, dashed for another year.

While on the subject of Hewitt what has happened to him? He may have traded up significantly,

but can you honestly admit that he’s known Bec long enough? He was going out with Kim (which quite honestly sickened me but oh well) for 4 or 5 years, and only proposed to her last April. Bec’s been on the scene for less than 2 months and already got the diamond ring! I have a feeling that it may all be just a marketing campaign of Becky’s – I mean look at her, she was a total media whore at the tennis for two weeks, and just look at the thousands of news articles and photos you’ll find if you type Bec Cartwright into google. Soapie star come socialite…… Very sneaky work, channel 7.

I suppose the big loser in all this is Kim Clijsters. She had worked so hard for Australia’s affection, was granted honourary Aussie status by most fans of the game by the end of 2003, and then as soon as the idiot got it, she cancelled her wedding and ruined it all. And to top that, she’s crap (or more precisely injured) at tennis now! Silly girl.

Pete

Yay I’m now officially a university student!

Uni enrollment was today. I finally dropped the stupid double degree I was signed up for doing and and downgraded to a straight Science course, which I’ll major in Chemistry, minor in Biology and Psychology and elect to do Physics with a core subject of maths in second semester this year. However, it’s just part of my fiendishly cunning plan to eventually get into Biomedical Science, and maybe even swap across to the more convienient Melbourne University. I just have to put my head down and study now…. sif that’s going to happen though.

Can’t wait for O week!

Pete

By the way, as another institution of Australia Day, what do you all think about this year’s JJJ Hottest 100? Not too shabby, methinks, but it could do with a few changes. Still, not a bad look into the last year of music.

Unfortunately I didn’t listen to all of the day’s broadcast, only snippets in amongst the cricket and tennis, but oh well, at least I voted in it again, for now the 5th year. Carn the biggest music poll in the world!

1 franz ferdinand – take me out
2 missy higgins – scar
3 eskimo joe – from the sea
4 the killers – somebody told me
5 spiderbait – black betty
Read more

I must say I have been mistaken. I’ve always taken google as an evil, american company that just happened to be exceptionally good at searching for stuff. I always believed the Australian mirror was just to appease the 20 million of us around the place. However, I was humbled to find a very nice little Australia Day image to celebrate today. I suppose this may just be to shut us all up about the hugely inappropriate Christmas image of snowmen and winter animals, even though most of us had to swelter through bushfires and 30+ degree heat, but oh well, I forgive them – this is afterall a nice little makeup….

By the way for those who didn’t realise today is Australia Day. The 26th of January, 1778 was the date the First Fleet, comprising of a few dignitaries and volunteer settlers and a few hundred prisoners first landed in Sydney Cove to settle what is now Australia. Of course Australian history forgets to mention the fact that for 40,000 years previously Aborigines had lived relatively happily all over the place, but then they aren’t really Australian anyway (before you jump down my throat that is heavily sarcastic).

Anyway for something completely different, poor ol’ Molik. She gave Davenport such a run for her money, so to have lost due to a bad call by a linesman in her final service game….. that must be tough
However the tennis news isn’t all bad. Hewwy is still out there, at the end of his own 5th set encounter with Dave Nalbandian. C’MON AUSSIE!

[edit 12:00am 27/1] C’MON! Hewitt won and what a fucking match! Not being there to get pissed off with the crowd was good for me – I actually felt proud to be Australian again!

Pete

Well thats it folks. Another year of tennis down the hatch – looks like I’m relegated to the armchair for the rest of the tournament.

I don’t really know what got to me yesterday. I was pissed off with Hewitt and the way he won, although usually I’m an avid supporter of the little bastard. Maybe I just have a soft spot for Nadal and his stupidly long shorts. Anyway, I was so full of rage towards the crowd from last night that I didn’t enjoy today’s tennis – even though at least one of the matches on centre court was great. Good ol’ Dementieva.

Anyway I watched a couple of movies this evening, in between watching Federer dismantle Agassi on court. Dodgeball was a bit of a laugh, but the unexpected goodie came from Ashton Kutcher in The Butterfly Effect. I was talked out of seeing it at the cinemas by Sarah and Dave last year in South Africa, but it was really a fantastic film. Very Donnie Darkoish, and Kutcher is fantastic in the first serious role I’ve seen from him, so unlike Dude or That 70′s show (which are two great productions, if you ask me). Anyway I was suitably impressed, as I was up for a more-than-meets-the-eye film after the shallow but enjoyable Dodgeball.

Oh yeah and I didn’t spend a cent in hiring the movies. There’s an interesting initiative that Telstra are now dabbling in, that I noticed in other forms back in 2002 – internet DVD rentals. It’s a scheme where you select what you want to see online, then they post it out to you. Hold onto the films for as long or as short as you like, and when you’re sick of them, send ‘em back in prepaid envelopes and get more. You pay a monthly rate, so if you watch more than 4 or 5 films a month, it works out cheaper than the corner video store. ANYWAY Telstra are offering a free month long trial for all interested, so if you have a credit card (just for verification) and are Australian, what are you waiting for? sign the crap up! As long as you cancel your subscription before the 30 days end, you don’t pay a cent! How awesome, and very unlike Telstra is that?

Pete

I had a revelation today. Actually, less of a revelation and more a realisation, although you may argue that they are the same thing.

Anyway my revelation. Australia is fast approaching the US in terms of overwhelming, sickening patriotism. Granted, we have many things to be proud of. We are a country of barely 20 million, yet we have been the 4th most successful country at both the Sydney and Athens Olympics. Our per capita GDP is comparable to the best of the best, and Australians are generally happy, free people. However, is it really neccessary to flaunt this affluence? Is there a thing as being too proud? As I sat in a packed Rod Laver Arena today, I decided there was.

As many of you may know, I’ve been attending the Australian Open for the last week. Today on centre court, Lleyton Hewitt, the local boy and World number 3 took on Spanish teenage prodigy Raphael Nadal. What I witnessed saddened me, as it showed the true cockiness of the Australian people and a total lack of respect for Hewitt’s opponent, which was unneccessary and rude. Perhaps I am biased, because I admittedly don’t like the attitude Hewitt has adopted for this open. He’s attacked Tennis Australia, used unsportsmanlike conduct and has basically been an arsehole for the last month, laying a foundation of excuses for if, god forbid, he fail again in claiming the Australian grand slam.

Hewitt’s psych-up and on court antics used to be a bit of a laugh, but when he, along with the rest of the crowd applaud his opponent’s errors, I believe he’s going too far. For a crowd to boo and hiss line decisions that were clearly out for Hewitt, yet tutt Nadal when he contested calls is hypocrisy in it’s purest form and unneccessary pressure on the linespeople to bend the rules. And I suppose it’s part of playing a home crowd, but the Fanatics are about as unsportsman as they come. Although I usually love the bastards, today they just seemed to me to be loutish and crap.

Call it home tournament pressure. Call it Hewitt’s burning desire to win down under. Call it anything you want, but I call it degradation of Australian fibre. I call it jingoism – and we’re getting to be as good as the seppies at it.

Now does that make ME un-Australian? I fucking well hope not.

< --End of rant-->

Pete

Sydney makes me sick! If there has ever been a town jealous of Melbourne, it’s Sydney. Now they have taken away our tradition Logie Awards. But don’t fear, Melbourne, we will get them back.
The Australian Motorbike Grand Prix went to Sydney’s Eastern Creek, but it is now home again in Victoria.
The same thing with the F1 Grand Prix. It went to Adelaide but returned successfully to Melbourne.
Sydney’s jealousy doesn’t stop there. It eats away at Sydney that we have the AFL Grand Final at the MCG, we have the premier horse race, the Australian Open, the biggest comedy festival, the biggest flower show.
Our Christmas carols at the Myer Music Bowl is bigger than their little get-together in the Domain. And we had the first national parliament at the Exhibition Building and the first Australian Olympics.
And no matter what ther say, it rains more in Sydney.
Give up Sydney. You’re starting to look like a spoilt child.

By Warrick Middleton, published in the Herald Sun newspaper.

Stick it up ‘em Warrick! Melbourne rocks! However, it’s seems you’re starting to sound like a boasting, spoilt child.

Pete

So much for moderating posts, or arses in Phona’s case. Looks like I don’t need to do any moderating ever again. To comment, YOU now must enter in a random number. Cool hey?

Pete

Yes, maybe I am a sell out to the corporations but then who isn’t these days?

Supposedly the Google adsense bar (look over to the right) is an easy way to make a few bucks while not compromising the aesthetics of your site. I don’t know about that exactly, but then dialagranny.com never really did look good. Anyway I’m now a poverty stricken university student, so maybe this will help a bit. For now though it stays, maybe for as little as a week or two, maybe for good. I’ll see if I can get it not looking so ugly, but for now if you appreciate what you read or see here, do me a favour by clicking a couple of the links whenever you can. Especially if the content actually interests you – that’s the whole idea of advertising afterall.

Anyway I would much appreciate it if you could follow a couple of links, and will repay you in free arse moderation any day of the week.
Pete

Right I’m a mix of emotions at the moment. Firstly, I’m appalled at my own design – let’s face it: it looks horrible. Secondly I’m pleased to announce that it all seems to at least be working under the skin of ugliness, and thirdly I’m a little disappointed at the lack of comments. Yeah, you let the team down mate. YOU.

Oh and my other emotion is that of suprise. Suprise at the lack of evil comment spam. Granted, I’ve had to delete a fair few of the bastards, but they’ve all been really pleasant comment spam that doesn’t seem to advertise for anything, just compliment me on my design. Have a look for yourself:

Somehow suspicious, but also somehow warm and cuddley. I’m scared again.

Pete