Posts from — April 2009

I am considering offering this woman a guest post.

This from www.crikey.com.au

Richard Farmer writes:
Brighter than your average submission. Submissions to the Australian Electoral Commission on changes to electoral boundaries are normally very boring affairs full of figures and thinly disguised arguments of self-interest from political parties trying to gain an advantage. I hope, therefore, that the panel considering changes that will result in Queensland gaining an extra seat take note of Public Submission No 15 by Claudia Marckx. Not for her all that dull and boring stuff. Ms Marckx concentrates on the important question of who the seat should be named after and makes the case for Coulter, in recognition of Queensland entertainer Ricki-Lee Coulter.
She argues:
I submit that this choice of name would leverage synergies between reality television and electoral process, progress the cause of youth electoral engagement and help project a contemporary understanding of Queensland as a vibrant place in which young Australians, and in particular young women, are valued and recognised for their contributions to nation-building.
Further, given the understanding of the lives of working Australian families that is demonstrated in Coulter’s catalogue of songs, such a choice would also accord with modern Australian values.
 I further submit that the redistribution committee embrace youth-driven technology and make the announcement of the name of this new electoral division by way of a “tweet”.

Now the issue Ms Marckx does not address in her submission is whether the seat should be known as the Electorate of Coulter or the Electorate of Ricki-Lee. Now as many of her young fans only know her as Ricki-Lee it would make sense to ensure maximum impact for the younger voters the member of this area should be known as the Federal Member for Ricki-Lee. On second thoughts that title sounds like a name of a bad porn flick. And to any would be commentors I don’t need an outline on what the plot of that movie would entail.

After all the hype Australia’s Next Top Model Season Five finally started and it was straight into it with the final 13 bitchy antics.

Here are just a few observation on Episode 1:

• Sarah Murdoch in her first episode looked more confident and relaxed than previous host Jodhi Meares was after two seasons. She appeared to adlib at times and there was no sight of the cheap plastic clipboard that was Jodhi crutch during the elimination scenes.
• Charlotte Dawson is tall, thin, beautiful and funny, but why are the only two things moving on her face are her lips and eyeslids. She really did not need to be botoxed within an inch of her life, as it would be nice see some expression when she is spouting her witticisms.
• Is judge and fashion designer Alex Perry a straight guy in a gay guys body?
• Judge Priscilla Leighton-Clark in the Ivy scenes showed she was self conscious of her body by continually tugging on her jacket when she was standing next to the other two judges. She needs to realise she is there for her expertise as a modelling agent/business woman, not as a model/show pony. It should be ok to be a female and oversize 12 on TV. If she is feeling not great about it she should turn on Masterchef Australia and see judge food critic Matt Preston whose overblown jowls does not appear to effect his self-confidence.
• It would be a good idea for Johnathan Pease who was criticised last year for getting to close to the young modelettes from manhandling them when they came off the catwalk. Also he appears to think his new characterisation this year of being a bit of a hard nose bastard will save him from ANTM oblivion. And Johnathan stop plagarising iconic Project Runway mentor Tim Gunn’s mantra “Make it work,”.
• The  producers have got the formula right in mixing a group girls,  with a lot of boredom due to being confined to barracks which results in mega bitchiness. Why are none of the modelettes ever sighted picking up a book?
• Cassi Van Den Dungen was hilarious when she dropped the F-Bomb on the catwalk, but I would have been cursing a lot more if I had to walk in those shoes. I am surprised one of the girls is not a paraplygic from those shoes.

Laura T who we did not get to know was the first girl eliminated.

In a news report on the radio it said that the host of The Biggest Loser, AJay Rochester, had not been invited to the Logies. She apparently announced this on her Facebook page.

Ajay who has hosted all four seasons of The Biggest Loser appears unlikely now to be hosting the fifith series.

There have been rumours circulating of her TV demise since she pleaded guilty to Centrelink fraud last year fuelled by the fact she was not included in the ad campaign for the show or for Channel Ten.

Cassi Van Den Dungan in Wayne Cooper's Show

Cassi Van Den Dungan, the controversial contestant on Australia’s Next Top Model appeared in last nights Wayne Cooper show in Fashion Week. Does this mean she is still in the competition? Or does this mean Wayne was trying to court as much publicity as possible by having the model who has had the most media coverage in the last ten days.

I am thinking the latter, as Wayne pulled another PR stunt by having his ex-partner Sarah sit in the audience even though he had been physically violent towards her this year. Full story here.

Tonight’s auditions were in Melbourne, and it was being talked up as THE  foodie city, and with the three judges being from Melbourne, it would appear the producers considered there was a brevity of foodie talent in other parts of Australia.

However the recently released Top 100 Restaurants of the world has three Australian eating establishments in it and they are all from Sydney. Yes I know I am being parochial, however I do think one of the judges could have been from Sydney. Oh and a woman.

Anyway it was the same format as the previous auditions, anyone who was put through got a lot of airtime, apart from the guy who did the Chicken Jolie which I swear I have seen similar dishes on The Chopping Block or a Women’s Weekly Cookbook circa 1972. Are there any circumstances where avocado should be put on a hot dish?

The vegetarian girl we have been seeing in the advertisments has finally shown up. Her beetroot risotto was simple but it did look nice. Obviously she had confessed all in her application form as the judges asked her about her eating disorder. Apparently recovered. She also said she was comfortable cooking meat.  We know this is not the case.

I was bemused they put through the molecular technology guy through, as I still don’t know if his dish was savoury or sweet – there were peas in it so I am presuming it was savoury. Matt Preston said that this particular cuisine had yet to take off in Australia. And he wonders why? His food looked like it was haemorraging blood.

Prediction the female former aerospace engineer who undercooked the salmon will go far in the competition.

I thought George Columbaris really found his feet tonight some of his lines were definitely amusing. However someone needs to tell him and Matt Preston to keep their hands from covering their mouths.

The second half of the show was an onion cutting competition, which culminated in 12 people being up for elimination tomorrow night.

Best Dish – The simple pasta with cherry tomatoes

Dud Dish – Tie between Chicken Jolie and the molecular technology.

Tomorrow is the last night of auditions on Masterchef Australia, and that is probably a good thing, otherwise viewer audition fatigue could set in.

I know it is a reality tv show but in Perth when that 18 year old boy cut off the top of his finger did they really have to do a close up and then find the chopped off skin. Some of us were actually eating dinner.

He did cook a nice clam dish which impressed the judges and he did get through to Sydney. Eagle-eyed Make Me A Supermodel fans would have spotted third placed Courtney Chircop, you know the one who was on with Billy, greeting him when he came out with the white apron.

Tonight the auditions were set in Perth and Brisbane, and from the footage shown it would appear you had a better chance of getting through  if you were a good looking female see Sarah Merino the spanish and half american cook who made the gnocchi, or the lady from Tweed Heads who cooked the passionfruit mango crumble, and the young law student from Perth.

Or have a hard luck story like the labourer from Mission Beach, who had driven 1500 kms, and had a deceased partner. Even though he killed (both literally and metaphorically),  a magnificent piece of fish with strawberries they were always going to let him through.

Unfortunately they are not putting through much tottie for the female viewer. They had the opportunity to let through Zach whose sister got through with her tortellini. But maybe because he named his dish from some suburban chinese restaurant, his duck and gobble gobble sauce did not draw much praise from the judges.

One thing the judges do need to work on is some repartee between them, at the moment it is either being edited out or it is not happening.

Best dish- Bug and Sage Tortellini and Passionfruit mango apple crumble (because I love desserts)

Worst dish – Fish with strawberry and lime

Here are a couple of interviews with Bob the winner of The Biggest Loser.

He thanks Tiffany for making him go on the program.

Here is the one in Who Mag

Here is the TV Week interview.

Bob the Roadhouse owner was The Biggest Loser winner this year. He lost over half his body weight in three months, and now only weighs 80.2 kilos. His partner in weight loss crime, his daughter-in-law, Tiffanycame runner-up.

Bob quoted Return of the Jedi when he said “There is no try only do.” He looked sensational, and he was a very popular winner.

It looks like Cameron has saved his marriage, as he said his wife was impresed by his weight loss.

I was disappointed Sharif didn’t win.

And how many times did your tears well up at your eyes, as over the three months we went from slightly disgusted by their weight to their biggest fans.

Sean won $30,000 for being The Biggest Loser not in the top four to lose the biggest percentage of his body weight.

Big thumbs down to www.news.com.au for putting up the winner on their website at 8.48pm, when the winner was not announced on TV until 10.30pm.

The much hyped Masterchef Australia debuted tonight on Channel Ten, and its first hour showed that it has the potential to be a very entertaining reality TV show.

Sarah Wilson former Cosmopolitan editor  was not shown much, but I am sure this will change once the eliminations commence. She seem relaxed in front of the camera, as well as being warm and encouraging to the amateur chefs without being fake.

Also she looked natural ie not overdone with make up or slick hair styles. This was refreshing.

It is good that they are all unknowns as the show is about the contestants and format rather than the “stars”.

The judges of chefs George Colombaris, and Gary Mehigan, and The Age food critic Matt Preston seem to be still working out their roles and style. They just need to ensure they don’t blend into each other. Matt Preston has made sure he stands out with his signature cravat, and foppish hair. At this stage he seems to be the most memorable judge but he does have the advantage of actually working in  the media so would know some of the tricks.

Just an aside – I do find television sexist. All of the judges were veering from plump to overweight, however there is no way Channel Ten would have put in an overweight ageing female chef or judge in that role. They would deny this and I would happily be proved wrong on this one. Yes I know Bonnie Lythgoe and Marcia Hines are over fifty, but both are in very fine fettle, and neither would be able to produce a muffin top.

The only negative and it is only a slight criticism was the editing of both the Sydney and Adelaide auditions. There was very little suspense. Each time the producers were unravelling the story of the auditionee, the way they showed it meant you could tell whether they were going to get the white Masterchef apron. For those who did not watch it being given a white apron meant you were through to the next round – the top 50.

Just a query the former professional golfer who made the Singpore Chilli crab said he had opened a cafe five weeks ago. I thought one of the rules was you could not cook professionally. Now I know he said he was pulling coffees, but I would be curious to know whether he was ever in the kitchen.

Dish of the Night (the one I think I would have liked the best) - Singapore Chilli Crab

Dud of the Night – The pasta with cream, chilli sauce and extra sour cream.

The Biggest Loser – Couples finishes up tonight, and the $64 million question is who is going to win? And will they share the prize with their partner in weight loss?

The people that are left in the mix are Sharif, Sam, Tiffany and either Bob or Nathan.

It would be great if a female won it, however if I had a preference I think Sharif would be a worthy winner. He just seems like a quality guy, as does Bob and Tiffany.

Tiffany reveals in the latest addition of TV Week, that she is hoping to be pregnant by the end of the year. You go girl. The weight loss appears to have really sparked up her marriage. She was saying how it is like her husband and her are on second honeymoon, except she was even fitter.

She admits she is still exercising 10 hours a day because of the weigh in at the finale, however she said after this she will have to get back to reality and work out only 1 hour a day.

I would be interested in knowing if Cameron’s weight loss has helped his marriage to his wife Donna. She gave him an ultimatum to lose 60 kgs or else. And it appears he has managed to nearly do this. The Herald Sun has an article about him and is daughter Sammy’s weight loss.

Sam is now engaged and is looking forward to her wedding.