Archive for the ‘Sydney’ Category

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Barry Hall, motivational speaker

11 Jul 2008

Barry Hall’s current suspension from the Swans may be the best thing that ever happened to him. If today’s article in the Fairfax papers is any guide, Barry has a promising future as a business motivational speaker.

Titled I must be proactive to get through these confusing times, Hall’s article is a cornucopia of corp-speak buzzwords: “on the front foot”, “source”, “going forward”, “timeframe”, “worst-case scenarios” and so forth.

You have to admire his honesty and he definitely has a commanding stage presence. A bit more coaching on the language - a few end-to-ends and a best practices or two - and he’s got it made.

Posted in Sydney, sport/boofheads, violence, wordy things | No Comments »

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Bob Carr: genius

19 Mar 2008

Former NSW premier Bob Carr was often criticised for being too cosy with business. Especially with the development of large infrastructure projects such as the Sydney Airport railway line, Cross-City Tunnel and Lane Cove Tunnel, many believe Carr ignored the interests of citizens to get better deals for his mates in construction and investment banking.

However, recent events have revealed Carr’s true nature: a socialist subversive, intent on swindling the corporate fat cats for the benefit of the good people of New South Wales.

What all these projects have in common, the latest being the Lane Cove Tunnel,  was that once these projects failed to achieve their ridiculously inflated income projections, the investors wrote off the billions they spent or sold off their stakes at a drastically reduced price.

This was all a deliberate strategy on Carr’s part. He was willing to wear the endless criticisms of being a capitalist stooge and big-business crony, because deep down he knew that within a few years, he would effectively have given the citizens of this great state a beautiful gift: free roads and railways!

What better way to build infrastructure than to con a bunch of investment bank money men, lured by false and unachievable promises of revenue, into paying for it?

Cost to taxpayer: zip. Cost to business: who cares?

It’s no wonder Bob went straight from Sussex St to Macquarie Bank. After the people of NSW helped themselves to such an enormous free dinner, Bob’s going to have to wash a lot of dishes to make up for it.

Posted in Sydney, money, politics | 1 Comment »

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Perspective

21 Aug 2007

“[My last visit to a strip club] was probably in Sydney, three decades ago with a group of mates, male and female. That’s the main reason people go to Sydney, isn’t it?”
- Victorian Premier John Brumby

“Four years ago Kevin Rudd got drunk and took himself into a strip club. Four years ago John Howard, sober, took Australia into the Iraq war. I think the electorate can judge which one did the more harm.”
-Senator Bob Brown

Posted in Sydney, politics, sensitive stuff about chicks | 1 Comment »

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To Lenny Ann Low, SMH reviewer

26 Jul 2007

I am fed up with you following me around and reviewing everywhere I go.

Every time you write up a venue, for weeks afterwards ordinary decent people can’t get a table or a drink for all the throngs of rubbernecking pleb Herald readers trying to be cool.

Piss off and ruin someone else’s life, or I’m getting an AVO.

Posted in Sydney, media, turtleneck wearing latté sippers, violence | 2 Comments »

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Inner-city dilemmas

4 Jun 2007

Having wasted a month interviewing countless freaks, weirdos, persons of dubious financial solvency, persons of dubious hygiene and the occasional very nice person (who, inevitably, would turn the place down), I resolved last week to give up on finding a flatmate for my beloved Newtown terrace and to get a place on my own where I can sit on the couch in my undies and watch ABC and SBS whenever I like.

Of course the big question is, where? Having lived in Newtown or thereabouts for something like seven of the last eight years, the people at the deli, milk bar, pub and a couple of cafés know my name. But I think it’s time for a change. That’s mainly because when you tell people you live in Newtown, they always assume you are gay or a communist. Or a gay communist.

Of course the other areas under consideration have similar baggage. Surry Hills - wanker. Potts Point/Rushcutters Bay/Elizabeth Bay - pervert. Darlinghurst - gay or a drug dealer. Or a gay drug dealer.

So far the places I’ve looked at in Darlinghurst have either been noisy or depressingly run down. And most of the places in Potts Point appear to have micro-kitchens with a tiny bar fridges and no stove or oven. Honestly, who could live like that? It’s inhumane!

It might just be easier to stick with Newtown and let people assume what they will. At least being a gay communist means everyone gets to be equally fabulous.

Posted in Sydney, turtleneck wearing latté sippers | 3 Comments »

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It’s off to work I go (more than five minutes late)

9 Mar 2007

The SMH reports Sydney buses are “slow, unpredictable and far less reliable than official figures claim”, touting the story on its website front page with the headline “bus shock”. I don’t think anyone who catches buses regularly would be in the least bit shocked.

Still, you have to wonder about the Herald’s methodology - sitting for an hour, in the late morning after the peak, at five different bus stops and counting the number of buses that were more than five minutes late.

The article cites the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal criticising the way the State Transit Authority measures punctuality. But at least it has more statistical integrity than the Herald’s little exercise, which seems to have been deliberately calculated - by choosing the busiest roads and the off-peak periods - to get the worst possible result.

But at least someone in this benighted election is talking about public transport, unlike either of the major parties. Labor knows it’s bad and the Libs know they can’t fix it. Ho hum.

Posted in Sydney, damned lies and statistics, media, politics | No Comments »

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AIDS ads? FABULOUS!

31 Jan 2007

You’d think with a subject as serious as the rise of the HIV infection rate, even the Herald could manage a slightly respectful and serious tone. And you’d be wrong.

Ruth Pollard’s article Surge in HIV figures a grim reality starts out gloomy and serious enough, but this only lasts until around the point where she tells us:

Australia has an internationally respected record in HIV, containing the epidemic mostly amongst gay men and limiting its spread in the broader community.

So it’s only gay people dying. That makes it OK. Respected, even.

Read the rest of this entry ?

Posted in Sydney, damned lies and statistics, marketroids, media, money | No Comments »

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At least I still have the hat

2 Apr 2006

When I moved to Sydney 10 years ago, tonight was pretty close to what I expected it to be like. Having bought myself a very stylish top from a very good local designer earlier today, met up with one of my regular crews and went to a rooftop party in a building up on top of the hill in North Bondi, with a spectacular view of the city, harbour bridge and North Sydney. Live band and DJs, party full of beautiful and interesting people. Most of them rather friendly.

(To this I attribute two factors:
1. It was a hat theme party, so everyone had to wear hats. My friends got me a very silly rajah/Aladdin-style hat which was a great coversation starter, and
2. Esctasy. Lots of it. In everyone else but me.)

Moving on from the party, saw a friend's band play in a beautiful high-ceilinged, art deco bar. Great looking venue, really good band. The crew went off clubbing but I was tired and went home.

Read the rest of this entry ?

Posted in Sydney, drugs, old | No Comments »

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Hypocritical? Moi?

23 Feb 2005

Yet another SMH letters page reject . . .

Jamie Kennedy’s comments may have got up a few people’s noses, but as usual Sydneysiders’ actions speak louder than their words. As of Tuesday afternoon, the most read stories on the Herald’s website were: Paris Hilton’s phone list, rugby players in trouble for sexual assault, which Simpsons character is gay, the always entertaining gossip mags roundup and a bunch of angry travellers stranded in Melbourne.

What were Kennedy’s gripes again? Obsessed with celebrity, too uppity, not ‘real’. As if!

Posted in Sydney | 3 Comments »