Chim Chiminy... Chim Chim, Uzi

This goes in the 'so wrong' basket.

Yes, I'm aware this is the sort of thing that should go on a site like Regret the Error, but The Australian really did screw up with this headline typo. It's not bad enough that there's another case of cultural insensitivity on the part of American soldiers + heightened sensitivity on the part of Iraqis, the newspaper has to screw up the headline.

Now I'm going to have visions of psychotic chimney sweeps stuck in my head. Mary Poppins better watch her back.

[The Australian: Slapped Iraqi soldier soots dead two US troops]

Yes they can!

[ICanHasCheezburger]

calm

I started writing an entry a few weeks ago, in which I explained that I felt like I was at sea.

I'm starting to realise I've been at sea for a few years now. I've been trying too hard to find that centre, pushing too hard against the current, getting lost nonetheless - or rather, because of my pushing. I got too tired recently of pushing; and went with the flow.

Even then, I've been irresponsible lately. My finances aren't shored up. My emotional state has been a wreck. My sanity a thread in a delapidated doily.

Tonight, though, for the very first time in a while, I feel calm. It's as if I'm coming to shore.

Guess it's time to find my land legs.

fa fa fa fa

(for those scratching their heads, watch this.)

Christianity in a nutshell

This photo is not doctored in any way - I think that's the best bit about the whole thing.

Forest at the Opera House

Apologies for taking so long to get this up, but I wasn't sure how to convey the feelings of the evening. Being such a staccato/legato experience, I figured it's easier to make it read almost like a haiku.

Outside. Rain.
In Line. Hipsters. Suburbanites. Bad Cowboy boots on one girl. Yelling Teenagers. "Ben!"
Inside. Foliage. Foliage. Construction v Nature. Smoke: columns, haze. Singer. Lost Masses. Contemplation of Outside and Inside.
Outside. Posters: 39 Steps - the Musical, Hamlet @ Belvoir.
Opera Bar Alien.
Home, James.

Gossip Girl: An OC-Lover's Guide

Josh Schwartz's latest project, Gossip Girl, has started showing in Australia, exclusively on cable.

I've been debating whether to write this post given there's so many (check out a few, below) others, especially this article doing practically the same thing.

The thing is, they're just a wee bit too simplistic. Sure, you can map most of the characters from the OC pretty easily to their Gossip Girl equivalents, e.g.

Marissa Cooper is cooler and more worldly as Serena van der Woodsen.



Kaitlin Cooper gets bigger exposure as Jenny Humphrey, as does Oliver as Chuck Bass:




Luke Ward has his equal in Nate Archibald:



There's also the 'trouble' with fathers: Nate's likes a little too much of a sniff of the coke , whereas Luke's is gay. The mapping is supposed to continue in the second season, with a storyline where he gets to see an older woman played by Central Park West's Mädchen Amick (remind you of anyone?):



Seth's first girlfriend, Anna Stern, becomes Dan's friend Vanessa Abrams:



Of course, Sandy Cohen translates Eastward as ex-rocker Rufus Humphrey



And his wife Kirsten becomes the love of Rufus' life, Lily van der Woodsen (cue the semi-incestuous storyline):



But that's when it gets more complicated. For example, Little Jenny's brother, Dan Humphrey, is a bit of a mix of Seth Cohen and Ryan Cooper:



Serena's best friend and Queen 'B', Blair Waldorf, is very much the mix of Summer and Julie Cooper Nichol:



Kiki, Julie and the Noopsies get younger as they turn into the girls' clique at St Jude's:



(FYI, I've missed a few of the secondary characters in the right-hand side of the photo).

The relationship between Dan and Serena is a blend of Summer and Seth and Ryan and Marissa, with all the angsty-ness, Dan's longstanding up-until-now-unrequited obsession with Serena, and the insider-outsider aspect of the relationship:




Similarly, the friendship between Blair and Serena isn't as reminiscent of the stick-by-you Summer and Marissa as the on-off semi-but-still-ultimate-BFFness of Kirsten and Julie:

JK-BS.jpg

And the relationship between Lily and Rufus is complicated by her courting of billionaire Bart Bass, a pseudo Caleb Nicholesque character:



Finally, Luke's relationship with Marissa in the first season of OC translates to childhood sweethearts Blair and Nate:



So, that's a really basic starting guide. You know, I love it.

[People.com: Gossip Girl: The New O.C.]
[Socialite Life: Chace Crawford Checks Out An Older Woman]
[meeVee: "Gossip Girl" - "The O.C." Without the Heart]
[Muckety: Gossip Girl resurrects OC themes]
[Metromix Chicago: 'Gossip Girl'... in 'The O.C.'?]
[NY Observer: The O.C. Goes N.Y.C.]

You like Gawker Stalker?

No way!*

I just found out about this 'even better' version that News Limited have created for World Youth Day:

http://twitter.com/popedownunder

Ya - you can totally follow the pope on his visit around Sydney. It's, like, so hot right now.

*For the record, I don't care much for Gawker Stalker. Nor the pope and his brood.

Oh, no you did-int...

I'll still go watch it. Still, this has to be one of the worst mental-image inducing headings I've come across in a long time.

PS. Has anyone else seen this lovely tip to To Kill A Mockingbird?

[The PEN15 Club]

dumb idea #3,938*

How about - 'let's set the slogan for the 2008 Republican Presidential campaign to the same one used by an anti-anxiety drug'?

Great move, John McCain! Almost as good as 'Mission Accomplished'...

* [Casualties in Iraq since 'Mission Accomplished']
[Huffington Post: Jason Linkins]