Sharp Dressed Man - Wil Anderson

Sometimes, you just can't help but realise that the suit maketh the man, especially on telly.

In this instance, it's Wil Anderson, Aussie standup comedian and host of ABC TV shows "The Glass House" (defunct) and "The Gruen Transfer".

While Wils' style can usually best be described as casual, for Gruen, he (or his stylist/s) decided to pull out all the stops, and dress up so sharp that you can almost hear Savile Row cheering.

Related: Monster mash gives ad boss nightmares -The Age, 26/06/08.

More than 6000 spoof ads made by viewers have been uploaded to the website for an ABC television series about the advertising industry, delivering the state broadcaster the kind of viewer participation that would be the envy of the commercial world.

Johnny Diesel and the Injectors- Please Send Me Someone to Love

This track needs no explantion.  Superb.

Salt N Pepa ft. En Vogue - Whatta Man

Barry White - eat your heart out.

Affirm Humanity - Habitat for Humanity

Affirm Humanity - Habitat for Humanity

1.6 billion people around the world live in substandard housing.

Join with Habitat for Humanity (YouTube channel) as we build a new world.

My favourite Michael Jackson songs

Now all the dust has settled, here's a quickie post, just to show I'm still alive in the land of blogosphere.

Some of my favourite MJ songs:

• Rock with You
• Smooth Criminal
• Man in the Mirror
• The Way You Make Me Feel
• Thriller
• Wanne be Starting Something
• Don't Stop 'til You Get Enough

My favourite Twitter tools

So, I've been spending more time than I should tweeting, but it's all research.  For clients.  Really.

Anyway, as lists seem to be a popular blog post option, here is my contribution to the ever growing Twitter tools collection, of those I'm currently using, to my endless amusement and wastage er..., use ... good, solid research type use, of time.

1. Twitterfox (for Firefox users who don't want to install TweetDeck)
2. Twitter Analyzer
3. Twist - see trends in twitter
4. TweetStats :: Graphin' Your Stats
5. Twitoria - How Many Twitter Friends Are You Really Following?
6. Twitterholic.com  I'm King of the World!

Search for Twitter in All Places on Yauba.com (my latest favourite search engine that isn't Google.)

Chirpy Cheep, Twitter Tweet

Forgive me blogosphere, it's been two months since my last post.

I've been .... busy.  No, I'm not seeing anyone else, honest.

Just business.  You've met him you know.  Look, he's standing right over there.

He looks taunt and trim?  Of course, you look fantastic too, dear.

No, I'd never leave you, darling.

Look, I know you're feeling hurt and a little neglected right now, but I promise, I'll be more supportive.

When?  Uh, well, how's right now?

What?  You don't think I'm really trying?

Uh .... hang on a second will you?
I'll be with you in a minute ... promise ....

I'm just checking my Tweetstats and Twitterholic ranking.

No!  I swear, you're the only blog for me.

Happy Happy, Joy Joy

If you're happy and you know it clap your hands!

If you're feeling great today, you may end up inadvertently spreading the joy to someone you don't even know.

New research shows that in a social network, happiness spreads among people up to three degrees removed from one another. That means when you feel happy, a friend of a friend of a friend has a slightly higher likelihood of feeling happy too.

Happiness is contagious in social networks - CNN.com

I can hear the conversation now ... "But Mom, research shows my facebook, myspace, youtube, twitter, blog and [insert other social media obsessions here] is good fo my health."

India lands a craft on the moon

In the wake of the terrorist attacks in Mumbai, this little achievement seems to have slipped between the cracks, or is it a case of "no pictures - no coverage" deemed worthy?

BBC NEWS | South Asia | India sends probe on to the Moon

India's first unmanned lunar spacecraft, Chandrayaan 1, has sent a probe on to the surface of the Moon.

Timeline: How Chandrayaan-1 reached the lunar orbit and then sent the moon impact probe (MIP) with the colours of the Indian national flag painted on its sides to the lunar surface.  Link >>

The Monty Python Channel on YouTube

We know who you are ...

... no more of those crap quality videos you've been posting ...

... we're giving you the real thing ...

Baza distractions

Usually a dreary, overcast, drizzly day, (which I'm sure the earth is very thankful for - drought and all that), offers me the opportunity to get some serious work done.

No excuse to keep looking out the office window at the sunshine and blue sky, wishing I was there instead of here; it's head down bum up, shoulder to the wheel and nose to grindstone (now where did that phrase come from?!). Well, that's the theory.

But today, try as I might, Mother Nature has other plans, and a Pacific Baza keeps grabbing my attention, gliding into my line of sight from my peripheral vision, as it catches all manner of frogs, spiders, tree snakes and other wee morsels, in the canopy of trees outside my window.

What a handsome looking bird! The crest, bright yellow eye and distinct chest barring really stand out against the gunmetal blue/grey plumage when viewed through binoculars, even if the magnificent rufous colouring is somewhat dulled by the damp conditions.

Whoops, gone again. Time to get back to it ....

Fertility

Forest oaks' rich profusion of russet needles

proclaim fecundity, against the blue sky blue,

Grey fantails pirouette

In the still of the night

I often walk outside at night, usually during the ad breaks on telly (getting more frequent and interminably longer on the commercial free to air networks), to see how many meteors I can spot (7 in 15 minutes last night), how many different frog calls there seem to be (5), and generally just to "commune with nature".

It's fortunate that we live on acreage far enough away from "civilization" to not have much in the way of light, air or noise pollution, but at this time of year, with the inversion layer, sound travels more easily, so I usually get treated various neighbours' taste in music ('60s and '70s folk rock this time), diesel generators, dogs barking and vehicles returning home along the network of gravel roads.

In between human activity, I can make out nature sounds from native critters like flying foxes chattering noisily when they've discovered some blossoms or seeds, bats - with their echo location (which is pretty amazing when one zooms past close to your head!) owls, frogmouths and other nocturnal birds, possums scooting along the branches in the canopy, and padymelons and bettongs foraging in the undergrowth and keeping the grass short.

But every now and then, there is no sound .... not even the wind blowing through the leaves.

It is completely and utterly still. Completely and utterly silent.

There is only my breathing and heartbeat, or tinnitus. Instinctively, I begin to breathe more evenly, deeper, relaxing into calm.

Then .... the wind picks up, a bird calls, a dog barks. The spell is broken. I return indoors.

It's full of stars

MOH bought me a telescope from Dick Smith Electronics for Xmas. We think we got it amazingly cheap, less than $130 for 75mm Celestron, but we didn't have much of a chance to use it until recently, because of the weather; overcast, grey and dreary.

But now the crisp, clear winter nights the north east coast is known for, are more frequent, we take it outside after dark, to get a close up views of all our favourites. It works a treat.

The moon - Tycho crater - WOW.

It's one thing to get a squiz through binoculars, it's another to get a steady view through a telescope. So cool! We are now skywatching with enthusiasm.

The rings of Saturn - what a buzz! Seeing them with my own eyes!

And last night, Jupiter rising, with 7 moons visible, in an almost straight line from the five o'clock mark. I've only ever been able to see the Galilean moons before.

Then a quick look at galactic centre before walking out into the paddock and pointing at the Southern Cross, just visible over our tree line, before getting cold and heading back inside to warm up.

Yahoo ... Love it!

Traffic lights and take aways

My small country town recently got its first set of traffic lights - to control pedestrians! People using a zebra crossing between two shopping precincts, strolling across the road without due regard for road traffic, often resulted in vehicles backing up though a major roundabout during peak times, so the local council put in traffic lights to control the foot traffic . Is this unusual? It may not be, but I find it amusing. Oh, and how do you know you live in a country town? I reckon it's when you still have at least 1 stand alone shop front butcher, our town has 3. How do you know when the "big smoke" has discovered your country town? When you've got a Thai or Indian or Japanese restaurant that also does takeaways. We've got 2, 1,1 respectively. ;-)

Bellinger Birdsong, morning bird calls in Australia

My first attempt at a YouTube video.
Bird song from Winter Solstice, 21 June 2005.

My Top Favourites at YouTube

My Top Favourites at YouTube