Peter Jennings Way

Peter Jennings, longtime anchor of ABC nightly news (US) program World News Tonight, had a New York City street named in his honor today. The portion of 66th Street between Columbus Avenue and Central Park which is home to ABC News headquarters was renamed Peter Jennings Way. Jennings died of cancer last August. Jennings lived and worked in this block of NYC. According to his family, he knew shopkeepers and street vendors in the neighborhood. Jennings' family members said the gesture was especially meaningful to them and they hoped it would remind journalists and passers-by of his life and legacy.

TomKat Still in Sydney

Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes are staying around Sydney awhile to continue to comfort Tom's best mate, James Packer (far right in photo). They have spent time together on board the Packer cruiser, Carpe Diem, the Packer's converted icebreaker pleasure ship, Arctic P, and at the Packer property in Hunter Valley, Ellerston. To read about the connection between Cruise and Packer and the Church of Scientology, click here.

Olsen Twins in Sydney

Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen arrived tired and irritable at Sydney airport yesterday. The twins were bundled off from the airport by their body guards who manhandled the tiny pair through the airport crowd. Today at Luna Park they will attend a launch of their new clothing line for "tweens" for Big W stores. After the launch of the clothing line, the twins will stay around Sydney for a week vacationing in the east coast of Australia for the first time.

Ford & Flockhart In Sydney For Firewall

Harrison Ford and his financee Calista Flockhart are in Sydney today to promote Ford's newest film, Firewall, a crime thriller. Calista and son Liam went to Toranga Zoo for the day while Ford went to press conferences to promote the film. Ford was Mr. Grumpy during his grilling from the press, probably because the film did poorly in the US and he had to fly all the way to Sydney to promote it here, knowing that the reviews would not be good here either. When asked about Hollywood's increasingly poor relationship with the Bush White House, Ford responded, "You're at the wrong press conference pal." About life in LA, he said, "It's pretty boring, pretty simple, no involvment with the CIA or FBI, but then you never know in America." Ford's mood lightened when he was asked about another Indiana Jones movie. He said, "We're working on it, we'll get there, it's a great script and it can only get better." By the way, Calista and Liam loved the zoo.

BAFTA Winners and Losers

Brokeback Mountain won the BAFTA for Best Film and Best Director for Ang Lee with Jake Gyllenhaal walking away with Best Supporting Actor. The film also won for Best Adapted Screenplay. Philip Seymour Hoffman won for Best Actor for his role in Capote. The film Constant Gardener was a disappointment, taking only one award of the ten nominations it received. Get the entire list of winners here.

Clijsters Makes Good on Promise

Kim Clijsters promised the Antwerp crowd last autumn that she would buy a bottle of champagne for everyone in the crowd if she returned this week ranked in the WTA top spot. Well, she is Number One and she did buy champagne all around. The bill was estimated at $230,000 for 10,000 bottles of the bubbly. When Clijsters won the US Open, she shouted her home village of Bree a round of beer for every inhabitant.

Urban As Good As His Word

Australia's country-singing, Grammy-award-winning Keith Urban will travel to North Carolina Friday to make good on a five-year-old handshake deal with a car dealer who took $2,000 off the asking price of a 1994 mint-condition Chevy Impala SS on the promise that Urban would return the favor with a performance at the dealership. Urban said, "It's taken long enough, but I've finally gotten back to town to settle up." Urban bought the Chevy with his first royalty check for his hit, "But For the Grace of God."

Here's Why I Love Larry McMurtry

Larry McMurtry ( along with Diana Ossana) adapted Annie Proulx's story for the film Brokeback Mountain. Here's what he has to say about the theme of that adaption: "It doesn't present any kind of agenda, any politics at all, one way or the other at all. It just says life is not for sissies. You need strength; love is not easy. It's not easy if you find (it); it's not easy if you don't find it. It's not easy if you find it and it doesn't work out. It merely says the strong survive, but not everybody is strong." Wow, that's wisdom and proof of a Pulitzer Prize winning novelist. He understands and it shows in his writing.

Tasmanian Tiger

Speaking of extinction, it's too bad the Tasmanian tiger is not roaming the wilds of Tasmania anymore. It would have been wonderful to encounter this wild creature on our recent trip to the island. But the tiger was hunted to extinction by the first English settlers to the island.

Kiwi Egg Hatches in US Zoo

A premmie kiwi has hatched at the Washington Zoo. It's a North Island brown kiwi which is endangered so good news that after 30 years of trying the US zoo has been able to successfully incubate and hatch a chick. When Aussie and I were in New Zealand we expected to see the bird in the wild, but were only able to see them in an exhibit due to their scarcity caused by introduced predators and habitat reduction. The flightless bird has feathers more like hair and heavy bones and its wings end in a catlike claw. The little bird is very important to New Zealanders. It has even given them an international identity as "kiwis", a nickname the islanders embrace.

LION KING at Regent Theater Melbourne Vic

The Lion King is a wonderful production, faithful to the Disney-animated film, yet re-imagined for the stage. In the costumes the actors become human puppets who can sing and dance and play. The music is beautiful, using all the songs from the film and adding new ones which contribute to the telling of the story. When you see the birds, elephant, giraffes, cheetah, and impalas fill the stage in the opening, you know you are in for an extraordinary evening in the theater. Every minute is magic!

Picnic At Hanging Rock

Through sheer coincidence, Aussie and I found ourselves in Victoria at Hanging Rock on Valentine's Day! If you haven't seen the wonderful Peter Weir film, Picnic at Hanging Rock, it's on DVD so get yourself a copy and enjoy the mystery and illusion that is Hanging Rock. The simple plot is a group of school girls and their teacher go for a picnic at Hanging Rock on Valentine's Day in 1900. Three of the students and the teacher disappear. How and why are largely left up to the viewer to figure out. Even Joan Lindsay's novel from which the film was taken doesn't answer these questions through seventeen chapters. However, after the author's death, The Secret of Hanging Rock, also known as Chapter Eighteen, was published. In that last chapter which Lindsay deleted from the original publication, she solves the mystery of the disappearance. So after you have seen the DVD and worked out the ending for yourself, you can read about the final chapter here.

Children Find "Giant Penguin" Fossil

New Zealand children, members of the Hamilton Junior Naturalists Club, on a fossil hunt near Kawhia on the west coast of the north island, have discovered several bones of a fossilized giant penguin in a sandstone platform. The penguin paddled the waters of the planet 40 million years ago. The penguin could have looked modern man in the eye, probably standing 1.5 meters and weighing 100kg. Scientists know of 12 other extinct penguins of the New Zealand area but only have one or two bones of those specimans. This find is significant because of the number of bones found and the completeness of the skeleton. The children were not told immediately what they had discovered as their leader feared the site would be overrun and destroyed if word got out. After he worked with a team to recover the bones and move them out of the tide and surf, he let the children know about their potentially significant discovery.

TomKat in Attendance

Katie Holmes and Tom Cruise attending the memorial service for Australia's richest man, Kerry Packer, Friday at the Sydney Opera House.

TomKat in Sydney for Packer Farewell

In Sydney for the memorial service of media mogul Kerry Packer, Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes kissed and hugged for the media cameras as they cruised on Sydney Harbor aboard about a private boat with Packer's son James and Australian golfer Greg Norman. Even though an American magazine Life & Style reported the breakup of the couple due to take place after the birth, TomKat's publicist said, "It should be known that the story is 100 per cent false. Despite the malicious fallacies put forth in Life & Style magazine, the couple is looking forward to a long and happy life together as a family." The magazine's representative said, "We stand 100 per cent behind our story." TomKat attended a memorial service on Friday morning at the Sydney Opera House. James Packer is reported to be a member of the Church of Scientology, thereby revealing his connection to Tom Cruise.

Fossett Breaks Distance Flight Record

Adventurer Steve Fossett completed the longest nonstop flight in aviation history today, making an emergency landing after flying 26,389 miles in 76 hours. Fossett had the flight record when he passed over Shannon, Ireland, but was prepared to land at Kent in southern England. Instead generator failure forced a landing in Bournemouth, England, where Fossett was given a clearance for the mayday landing. Read about the history-making flight here. SirRichard Branson of Virgin Atlantic Airways, pictured with Steve Fossett at left, financed the record-breaking flight.

Thunderheart: Great DVD Find

Inspired by true events, Thunderheart is a great movie, full of action and rich in story. Val Kilmer plays a part-Sioux FBI agent who rediscovers his lost heritage as he investigates a murder on a reservation. Graham Greene plays Walter Crow Horse, the reservation cop who knows a thing or two about investigation and how the politics on the reservation work. Slowly the young agent comes to trust and respect the reservation cop, and the bond they form saves them and saves the day for the residents of the reservation. The performance of Ted Thin Elk as Grandpa Sam Reaches is exceptional. Rent this DVD and enjoy a film that is intriguing, exciting, and entertaining.

Ledger on a Roll

Heath Ledger's new Australian film Candy will premiere at the Berlin Film Festival next week. Ledger stars as Dan, a young Sydneysider who along with his girlfriend named Candy (played by Australian actress Abbie Cornish, pictured left), becomes addicted to heroin. According to advance screenings of the movie, Ledger (riveting) and Cornish (stunning) "generate genuine heat in their romantic clinches and real sadness as their world unravels." The film is an adaption of Luke Davis's novel Candy. The reviewer remarks that this is no ordinary junkie movie as director Neil Armfield manages to depict the seduction and sheer terror of heroin addiction. His cast also includes Geoffrey Rush as a middle-class user.

Keith Urban Takes Nicole Public

Australian country singer Keith Urban had two big wins at the Grammy Awards last night. He won a Grammy for Best Male Country Vocal Performance for "You'll Think of Me" and he appeared at the music world's big night with Nicole Kidman on his arm. Though she entered through a back door to the auditorium, she was sitting front row center with him, applauding as he received his award and sang his winning song. The pair had also been together at MusiCares Person of the Year Award on Tuesday night which is a lead-up event to the Grammys. Nicole has been sporting a huge diamond on her left hand, but the couple refuses to talk about their relationship.

Around the Horn: Astros' Outfielders

Jason Lane is the wildcard in the Astros' outfield, as Lance Berkman and newcomer Preston Wilson are a lock on their positions. That leaves Willie Taveras on the bench. If that happens, it'll be the first time a runner-up for rookie of the year didn't start the following year on his team's roster. But the Astros need bats and Willie's bat is not as heavy as Lane's. Read here Alyson Footer's analysis of the Astros 2006 outfield positions.

"No Dope Smoking" Signs For Sale

After these "no dope smoking" signs were installed as street signs in Amsterdam on Feb 1st, so many of them were stolen that the local council has decided to sell them, profits going to charity. Over 400 of the "no joint" signs have been sold for $A145 so far. The council said that about 75% of the requests come from the US, but adds that there is interest from Australia, Singapore, and Germany as well.

Gay Penguins' Rights Defended

Gay rights groups had responded furiously to attempts by a German zoo in Bremerhaven to mate ten of its pengins by introducing females for breeding. The zoo flew in female humboldt penguins to bring the males to mate and produce young as the species is near extinction. But the males are not interested. The gay rights groups accuse the zoo personnel of trying to "turn" male humboldt penguins who have shown strong preference for the company of other males and have formed couples among themselves. In defense of their efforts, the zoo personnel issued this statement: "We will be delighted if the penguins form even one heterosexual couple and manage to produce first an egg and then a little one. But of course, we accept the male couples that have formed and we are not trying to enforce heterosexuality..."

Vanity Fair Cover

If you watch the video of the Vanity Fair shoot with Keira Knightly and Scarlett Johanson, you'll understand exactly what Tom Ford meant when he explained that he "stepped in" for Rachel McAdams who got cold feet and declined at the last minute before the shoot. Tom Ford, it turns out, wasn't at the shoot either. His photo was added later!

One Man One Plane One World

Steve Fossett and his team are attempting to set the long distance flying record of 25,000 miles in the Virgin Atlantic Global Flyer. His mission called the Ultimate Flight began 7 hours ago with a scary take-off at Cape Canaveral FL and will continue for 3 1/2 days. To track the adventurous pilot's flight, join his team here.

For Sale: Ledger's Fishbowl in Bronte

Heath Ledger's home in Bronte NSW has floor-to-ceiling windows and glassed-in balconies which take in the ocean views in three levels, but it's a fishbowl to live in when the paparazzi are on your trail. Ledger bought the house 2 years ago and spent a small fortune on upgrades including a state-of-the-art security system and tinted glass, but after the water pistol incident on the red carpet recently, Ledger could not feel comfortable in the home. The home was originally purchased for $4.45 million, but with improvements and celebrity bragging rights, it's listing today for $6 million.

Tommy Lee Jones

Tommy Lee Jones is golden these days, starring in and directing The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada for which he has been winning awards and recognition. Here are some older movies on DVD to rent for your Tommy Lee Jones Golden Movie Time:

Coal Miner's Daughter
The Executioner's Song
The Fugitive
Men in Black
Lonesome Dove

Perth Girl on NYC Catwalk

Supermodel Gemma Ward, 18, lives in New York City but she hails from Perth, Western Australia. Gemma left Perth at age 15 to debut on the catwalks of Milan for Prada. At this season's New York Fashion Week, she is appearing for Carolina Herrera.

Gemma was discovered in 2002 when she appeared on Australian TV's Search for a Supermodel. "Gemma is one of the very, very few models who look as though they come from another dimension," says British photographer Nick Wright.

TomKat Fronts Up

Kerry Packer's memorial service will be held at the Sydney Opera House next week. Heading the A-Listers who say they will be on hand for the taxpayer-funded tribute are Tom Cruise and his pregnant financee Katie Holmes who will attend out of friendship with Kerry's son James. Cruise has tried on a couple of occasions to interest James in Scientology even convincing him to take a self-improvement course run by the church of Scientology. James Packer will take over the reins of Packer-controlled media and gaming company. James is speaking at the memorial service. Australian actor Russell Crowe is expected to deliver the eulogy. Golfer Greg Norman and cricket captain Ricky Ponting will attend along with a large group of sports identities expected to attend.

Ella Update

My granddaughter is six months old now, drinking from her cup and eating Lucky Stars! She has this new silly face she makes to get laughs from her adoring fans. She looks more like her daddy everyday. Sixteen pounds of wonder!

Kinky Not Cannibal

Previously marine biologists thought the 8 meter giant squid was a cannibal because fellow giant squid bits were found inside a specimen caught off Tasmania in 1999. Now marine scientists say that the deep-sea monsters do not mean to eat each other but that the female accidentally bits off the male during mating! "It's not intentional cannibalism; it's inadvertent," explained New Zealand-based marine biologist Steve O'Shea at the international cephalopod conference in Hobart this week.

Lagerfeld Disses Di

German Karl Lagerfeld, head designer for Chanel, has a lot to say in New York City during fashion week. Here's a sample:
On Princess Diana, "She was pretty and she was sweet, but she was stupid."
On Prince Charles new wife, Camilla, "The public does not know who Camilla is. She is the life of the party! She's sparkling, she's witty, she's ready for everything, and not pretentious, not one bit. If you had to make a choice to live with somebody, this is the one."
On Lindsay Lohan being the next face of Chanel, "I prefer Nicole Kidman and that generation."

That's odd, last year Lagerfeld said of Nicole Kidman, "She has this bizarre body make-up: endless legs and not very much in the way of breasts. What she shows to the world is not her. Her perfection is an illusion: she knows it and couldn't give a damn. There are recipes I can't divulge."

It took a week for Lagerfeld to deny he said those words. How long will it take him to backtrack on Princess Diana?

Mystical Naomi

Naomi Watts has been avidly into yoga for sometime, crediting the flexibility she gained from praticing yoga for saving her from serious injury when she fell from the mechanical arm of the big ape during the filming of King Kong. Of late she has been meditating and wearing Buddhist-style beads on her wrist. When asked about religious conversion, Naomi said, "I have some belief but I am not a strict Buddhist or anything yet. There was a lot of excitement and energy there."

Robert Altman Films

In his films, director Robert Altman always swings for the fence. Here is a list of his homeruns:

MASH (1970)
McCabe and Mrs. Miller (1971)
The Long Goodbye (1973)
Nashville (1975)
The Player (1992)
Gosford Park (2001)

Kites at Sunset

Indian Ocean at Mullaloo WA with a good seabreeze

Sweet Baby James

James Taylor will be honored Monday night as the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences MusiCares Person of the Year. Taylor will be honored for his contribution to the arts, as well as environmental and humanitarian causes. During his early life, Taylor battled his personal demons but also had success in music and was a major figure in the rock-n-roll scene of the 1960's and the anti-war and integration movements. Taylor has this bit of hard-won wisdom for today's young songwriters and singers: “I would advise you to keep your overhead down; avoid a major drug habit; play every day; and take it in front of other people. They need to hear it, and you need them to hear it.”

SuitSat-1: A Dud

The unmanned spacesuit stuffed with a radio transmitter which was pushed away from the ISS yesterday orbited earth twice giving off faint signals to Japan then went silent. A spokesman for NASA said the transmissions ended probably due to cold batteries. Its unaccomplished mission was to float through space transmitting to radio operators throughout the world. At least we got a few great images of the suit with helmet and boots floating away from the ISS into space. It is expected that the suit will burn up in the atmosphere as its orbits gets lower and lower over the next weeks.

"Toxic At Any Speed"

That "new car smell" you love so much? It's toxic. The interior of new cars has been found to contain dangerous levels of various chemicals, including phthalates which have been linked with birth defects and other serious health problems. The research group found that Volvo had the lowest levels of toxins and also had the toughest policies for phasing out the toxic chemicals. The chemicals contribute to the flame-retardancy of the interiors and auto manufacturers defend their use on the grounds that cars need to have the best possible flame-retardants available in case of accident. Read the article here.

Lovely Summer Passion Fruit

Visitors to our table brought these lovely passion fruit for us to enjoy. Oh how we love the exotic fruit of Western Australia. This delicacy has a delicious flavor found nowhere else. Bring on the ice cream!

Armstrong/Crow Breakup

In an earlier post, I referred to a breakup denial by Lance Armstrong printed in response to an article about him in the Austin American Statesman. It looks like "where there's smoke, there's fire" and those rumors were true afterall. Maybe it was life in the slow lane that finished them off.

Space Suit Released Into Low Orbit

The spacesuit was pushed away from the ISS today 220 miles above the earth. It floated away feet first reminiscent of the scene from 2001: A Space Odyssey. For more information on the launch, see my earlier post Operation SuitSat.

More "Overlooked for the Oscar"

As mentioned in previous posts, we don't get the movies quickly here in Australia. Case in point, North Country started here last Thursday. Some movies aren't released in Australia at all. Presumably these movies are "too American" though I don't really understand what that means anymore as most Australian TV is American TV, a season late of course. That brings me to this article about movies which should have been considered for an Oscar, but weren't. I haven't seen most of these movies, as most of them haven't opened here. All things considered, maybe this works for us in Australia as we can still rush into the theaters and catch the movies mentioned in this thoughtful article. The article is an excellent critique of what is wrong with the nomination process in Hollywood and reveals some deserving films and performances.

Reese Witherspoon

If you loved Reese Witherspoon in Walk the Line, take a look at her debut. The Man in the Moon (1991) is a wonderful family drama directed by Robert Mulligan who also directed To Kill a Mockingbird. This film has the same feel as the earlier one, but the subject matter is different. Reese Witherspoon plays Dani, a fourteen year old who is coming into her young womanhood and falls in love for the first time. Her older sister Maureen finds true love. Of course, both sisters fall for the same boy, but the result is not what you would think. It's a thoughtful, earnest film with believable consequences. It's easy to see the Reese Witherspoon-to-come from this first performance.

Tasmanian Devils' Future Brighter

Now that scientists understand the facial tumour disease which affects the Tasmanian devil population on the island, they feel that they can manage the spread of the disease and safeguard the population. Researchers have found that the malignant tumours are infectious and spread from devil to devil by biting and fighting, feeding and mating. Cancerous tumour caused by an infectious cell-line is very unusual. Previously, the spread was believed to be viral or air-borne which would have made the disease much more difficult to manage.

Danish Royals to Visit Australia

A spokeswoman for the Danish Royals told the Danish weekly B.T. today that Frederik, Mary and Christian will make a private trip to Australia this year. She did not announce a date or agenda for the trip. It is assumed the trip will include a visit to Tasmania, Mary's home state.

Around the Horn: Astros' Middle Infielders

Adam Everett is the Astros' shortstop and Craig Biggio is the second baseman. So where does Chris Burke fit into the lineup? Read Alyson Footer's report here.

Crikey, Mate!

First, get a pigeon. Then strap to its back a miniature backpack filled with a GPS satellite tracking receiver, air pollution sensors, a basic mobile phone, and a miniature camera. Hook it up to an interactive map on a website. What do you have? A pigeon blogger

Read this.

Operation SuitSat

Another empty suit, but this one has something to say...

The astronauts on board the International Space Station have a plan for this old Russian spacesuit. It'll be stuffed with old clothes, batteries, and a couple of electronic boxes and tossed overboard where it will become a cheap, homemade satellite and you can listen to the series of messages it will transmit. "All you need is an antenna, the bigger the better, and a radio receiver that you can tune to 145.990 MHz FM," says Frank Bauer with NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center. "A police band scanner or a hand-talkie ham radio would work just fine." The mission begins this weekend and ends when the batteries run out.

Yummy Maple Butter

Use this butter on pancakes, muffins, waffles, pound cake, and any other bread. It's so easy and yummy.
2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
1/4 cup pure maple syrup
2 tablespoons honey
1 piece parchment or greaseproof paper

In a mixing bowl, using a spatula mash the butter with the maple syrup and honey until well blended. Roll it up in the paper, like a tube and twist the ends. Chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.

Practical Maybe, but not Romantic

Happy Valentine's Day, Darling! Here's your rock lobster!

A Tasmanian lobster company is tying rock lobsters with red ribbon and offering them as a "romance pack" for Valentine's Day. According to Amanda Way, the company owner, "We're making seafood sexy - my husband laughs at that one," she said.
"I do believe that there are a lot of women out there who would prefer to get a beautiful fresh lobster than just a box of chocolates and I hope you guys are listening out there."

Larry McMurtry

Much-lauded Brokeback Mountain was filmed from a screenplay written by Larry McMurtry and Diana Ossana. McMurtry is one of America's best known authors. His novels are the basis of some excellent films. McMurtry's writing credits:
Horseman Pass By - novel on which Hud was based
The Last Picture Show - novel and screenplay
Terms of Endearment - novel with screenplay by James L. Brooks
Lonesome Dove - novel with screenplay by Bill Wittliff

Top Ten Smart Foods

1. wild blueberries
2. dark leafy greens
3. salmon, sardine, herring
4. spinach
5. red wine, or better yet, grape juice
6. whole grains and brown rice
7. hot cocoa
8. nuts, notably walnuts and almonds
9. olive oil
10. garlic

Read the entire article here.

Oscar Nods: Overlooked and Overrated

Overlooked were Cinderella Man and its star Russell Crowe. You could argue that Crowe's behaviour doesn't suit the Academy, but you can't argue with the quality of the performance or the film. As a result of the indifference for the film and its star, Ron Howard was also overlooked as the film's director.

Eric Bana was wonderful as Avner in Munich but overlooked for Best Actor.

Naomi Watts acted her little heart out in King Kong and she was terrific. She should have gotten a Best Actress nod. Sandra Bullock, overlooked for Best Supporting Actress, gave a gut-wrenching performance in Crash, outstanding in a wonderful ensemble cast.

Questionable nominations in my view were Judi Dench for Mrs. Henderson Presents and Keira Knightley for Pride & Prejudice. Although I loved both movies and both performances, Judi Dench plays this role in many films and Keira Knightley was great in Pride & Prejudice, but she was miscast for the part of plain Elizabeth.

Where is Grizzly Man in the nomination for Best Documentary feature?