Friday, December 26, 2025

Secularised Christmas

Sidney Myer Music Bowl at Evening

Clickbait article from the Daily Mail Australia about Carols by Candlelight, held in Melbourne, Australia, on Christmas Eve. This is lazily written. All the writer needs to do is collate some social media activity, with anonymous attribution for legal reasons, and the article writes itself.

As for the event itself, it was well done as a television production. Unlike in recent years, none of the performers forgot the stage etiquette of appearing in an ensemble setting, by upstaging other performers.

This is what did not sit well with me. Why did it take almost an hour of running time before an actual Christmas carol was sung? And why was not Jesus mentioned, even once? 

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-15411465/Nine-Carols-Candlelight-viewers-slam-Sammy-J.html

Friday, December 19, 2025

Guilty before proven otherwise


Just like Lady Macbeth's "damn spot," some Australian critics see that Australia has a great collective national guilt that it can never assuage. 

Wednesday, December 17, 2025

Somebody had to say it

Josh Frydenberg, former Australian federal treasurer, and prominent member of the Australian Jewish community, delivered an impassioned speech at the makeshift memorial to the victims of the December 14 Islamist terror attacks. Evil cannot go unchallenged.  

Monday, December 08, 2025

Give your ears a treat


The Christmas song, The Little Drummer Boy, is well known to many audiences around the world. I had no idea that Bob Seger had recorded a version of it back in 1987. That's so 20th century, man. A raspy voiced singer shows that he also has an introspective side. 

Saturday, December 06, 2025

Anyone for karaoke?


This song, I Did What I Did for Maria, was a worldwide hit in 1971. It had a fairly crummy promotional film, as music videos were known at the time. 


Friday, November 14, 2025

Down in the gutter

 

Saturday, November 08, 2025

The dark times


Today marks exactly 21 years since the release of the first teaser trailer for Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith. At the time, it was believed that it would be the final Star Wars feature film. Considering the mixed reception the sequel trilogy received, perhaps it should have been.