Joaquin Phoenix (everything I’ve seen him in, he’s been excellent) and Reese Witherspoon are really good in the main roles of Johnny Cash and June Carter. Even more impressive was that they did their own vocals on the many songs in the movie.

Footy tipping has started for the year, with the Super 14 now underway as of last night. So far I’m going 0 out of 3. Great start ….not! I probably deserve it after showing a complete lack of faith in the ACT Brumbies who I tipped to lose to the Western Force (given the Brumbies’s shithouse trial form, and the illness that went through the team during the week). However, the Brumbies ended up winning quite convincingly, 25-10.

I also missed out on the Blues, well beaten by the Hurricanes, and the Cheetahs, beaten by the Bulls in South Africa. Home teams has not served me well so far. (Speaking of the Cheetahs, they are the new South African team in the competition, but why there was a need for another team from South Africa I don’t know? Probably wanted another team to fight for the wooden spoon with?)

We’re very wide ranging in our footy tipping competitions at work here in Canberra. Being in relatively neutral territory, not dominated by any one type of football, we always have tipping competitions that cover AFL, NRL and Super 14. This year we’re having 3 separate ones, in the past we’ve sometimes just had one big combined one, which was interesting for people who knew lots about AFL and nothing about NRL, or vice versa (mind you, lack of knowledge is often a virtue when it comes to picking footy winners … random guesses work as well as anything).

Scientists are working on a new surface coating, using nanotechnology, that has the potential to lead to a self-cleaning toilet or bathroom. Now that is useful. Once they master that, can we have the same brainpower applied to:

• self cleaning plates, cups, pans and cutlery
• floor coverings
• cars
• clothes - self-ironing would also be good
• self-mowing grass (as in lawn),

just for starters. I’m sure there’s lots more useful things the scientists could work on.

The AWB kickbacks to Iraq have claimed their first scalp in CEO Andrew Lindberg, whose resignation was announced today. That was always inevitable from the first day he floundered about in the witness box over his evidence, and given all the crooked dealings that have come out in the Cole Inquiry. I expect he will just be the first of many at AWB, probably including its Board, and possibly some in DFAT. Whether the list of heads to roll includes any Ministers remains to be seen.

The evidence this week and last certainly suggests there were enough bells ringing that diligent officials in DFAT, Trade and wherever should have figured something wasn’t quite right. Whether they missed the signs through incompetence or simply did not want to find a problem is something still to be probed by the Inquiry.

1. Latham charged with assault

Following his brain explosion a few weeks ago, police have charged him by summons today.

2. Cartoon violence and outrage by Moslems

I see Tim Blair gets a guernsey in today’s SMH over publishing the cartoons on his blog. Does it ever occur to the clowns carrying on with all the outrage that their behaviour over this just serves to reinforce the views that were being represented in the cartoons?

3. Craig Gower

Confirmation that he is indeed a big sook!

4. Superbowl

Pittsburgh beat Seattle 21-10, if you care. I used to quite like American Football when Don Lane used to host a highlights show on the ABC, but lost interest over the last several years.

Apparently the half time entertainment included the above, lingerie models in a mock Superbowl. And so paranoid was American TV about avoiding a repeat of the Janet Jackson “wardrobe malfunction” that they censored a couple of the Rolling Stones songs. I love the delicacy with which the offending words were described in the story:

• “You, you make a dead man cum” - was edited from “Start Me Up”, described as “a reference to a woman’s sexual sway over a dead man”
• ” Once upon a time I was your little rooster, But am I just one of your cocks” - described as a synonym for rooster.
  

Amazing, some of those American sensibilities! Its alright for every nutcase who wants to own as many guns of whatever calibre and type they like, despite the shocking record of gun violence, but too delicate to hear a rude word, or double entendre.

5. Cricket

Australia won again. Who cares? South Africa are simply a class or two below Australia, and still mentally fragile whenever they play against us. Sri Lanka only have a chance when Sanath Jayasuriya scores big - its not quite one out, all out, but in effect its not far off that.

To the person who found my blog via MSN Search, asking this question, I hope you find the answer through personal experience. Its much better than reading about it.

Publication of these cartoons in a Danish newspaper has sparked outrage across the Moslem world.

There have been violent demonstrations in many countries, including setting the Danish embassy in Damascus on fire.

Why is it that the childish cartoons in some obscure European newspaper have sparked such a reaction? Sure, they are rather stupid and insensitive images, and no doubt offensive to many, but I can’t see why people in Syria, Palestine and other places need to get themselves whipped up into such a frenzy over it. How did they get to know about them? No doubt a case of extremists whipping up anti-Western sentiments for public consumption. Why such anger? Christians see mockery of God and Jesus routinely, and while many are undoubtedly offended and upset by it, its very rare to see them get in an absolute frenzy over it. What is it in the Moslems who are reacting so violently that drives them to such angry responses? Is there something in Islam itself that drives these responses? I’m puzzled …. we hear proponents of Islam asserting it is a religion of peace and forgiveness, yet we see zealots behaving like this over something relatively unimportant (yes, offensive and insensitive but at the end of the day it shouldn’t be a big deal), and terrorists carrying out their atrocities in the name of Islam.

The eBay auction of 4 Sydney guys selling a weekend’s friendship/company attracted a bit of attention this week. In the end, despite all the joke bids that got up to something like $45m, the winning bid ended up at $1,300. The winner, with eBay user name Newidsooz, gets to hang out with the “4 blokes” in their inner Sydney pad on February 18 and 19 for a weekend that will entail “some beers, some snags, some good conversation and a hell of a lot of laughs”.

I’m curious to know who would part with $1,300 for this …some desperado without any friends, so they have to buy them, or someone with more money than sense? I suspect its someone looking for a bit of publicity, and no doubt they will drum up a bit of press attention by reporting on their weekend with the “4 blokes”. Call me cynical, but given 3 of them are in marketing, I wouldn’t be surprised if the winner was one of their mates anyway and its all a bit of a publicity stunt.

Tell the truth now - who, upon reading the post heading, and seeing the picture, or reading about this story during the week, had thoughts that 4 young guys auctioning their company had some sort of gay sex connotations?

Seems like Craig Gower is unable to take the medicine for his drunken hooliganism on the Sunshine Coast a couple of months back. His manager has met with the Penrith Rugby League Club this week, and speculation is that Gower is pissed off with the club and wants a release from his contract, to go and play elsewhere. Obviously he is unable to accept that his stupid behaviour was unacceptable - no doubt because, as a talented footballer, he’s been mollycoddled by managers and other sycophants since his early teens, and has not developed a normal sense of personal responsibility.

Like many other prominent sportsmen, rather than all the apologists hanging around him assuring him he’s the man and everyone else is wrong, he would no doubt be better off being told some home truths, in particular to grow up and stop sooking.