http://www.thepunch.com.au/tags/celebrities/ Politics, political opinion, world news, sports news and the latest news and views updated live, daily on The Punch - Australia's best conversation. en Copyright 2012 The Punch penberthyd@newsltd.com.au penberthyd@newsltd.com.au Thu, 09 Feb 2012 19:00:12 +0000 Thu, 09 Feb 2012 19:00:12 +0000 Politics, opinion, world news, sports news, latest news, views, Barack Obama, Kevin Rudd, Julia Gillard, Nathan Rees, Malcolm Turnbull, Peter Garrett, Barnaby Joyce, Australian, federal politics, opinion polls, election, The Punch, thepunch, punch ExpressionEngine 1.6.7 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss 15 http://www.thepunch.com.au/images/punch-logo-rss.png http://www.thepunch.com.au/ 144 70 Politics, political opinion, world news, sports news and the latest news and views updated live, daily on The Punch - Australia's best conversation. Search The Punch keywords http://www.thepunch.com.au/search/ http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/biggest-moments-of-2011-16-shurley-they-cant-be-serious/ What happened Australia’s favourite middle-aged spin bowler proposed to England’s favourite middle-aged model and actor, at a restaurant at the famous St Andrews golf course in Scotland in November. Thus was born the name “Shurley” OK, so there were bigger, more important issues this year. But in terms of issues that set tongues wagging, both on this website and across Australia, this was a biggie. The engagement came after just 10 months of dating, and confirmed that Shane Warne is today just about the most famous Australian in any field of public life. Women’s mags completely crapped themselves at the news, while hair replacement therapists and slimming pill suppliers booked expensive holidays in anticipation of years of revenue to come. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Antony McMullen) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/biggest-moments-of-2011-16-shurley-they-cant-be-serious/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/biggest-moments-of-2011-16-shurley-they-cant-be-serious/#item7327 Thu, 09 Feb 2012 19:00:12 +0000 I have something of a man-crush on Karl Stefanovic. Like my addiction to surfing animal-attack videos on YouTube, I’ve taken to stalking the Gold Logie winner’s career with morbid fascination. The Today Show host is an anomaly in the news world. You don’t know how he survives, let alone thrives, but he does. What other Australian television personality, let alone journalist, can drunkenly ogle his co-host on breakfast primetime, then go on to win a Gold Logie two years later? And then, when he wins that Logie, include his wife’s arse in the acceptance speech? http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/I-love-karl-stefanovic-more-than-he-loves-his-wifes-arse/ I have something of a man-crush on Karl Stefanovic. Like my addiction to surfing animal-attack videos on YouTube, I’ve taken to stalking the Gold Logie winner’s career with morbid fascination. The Today Show host is an anomaly in the news world. You don’t know how he survives, let alone thrives, but he does. What other Australian television personality, let alone journalist, can drunkenly ogle his co-host on breakfast primetime, then go on to win a Gold Logie two years later? And then, when he wins that Logie, include his wife’s arse in the acceptance speech? feedback@thepunch.com.au (Antony McMullen) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/I-love-karl-stefanovic-more-than-he-loves-his-wifes-arse/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/I-love-karl-stefanovic-more-than-he-loves-his-wifes-arse/#item7140 Thu, 09 Feb 2012 19:00:12 +0000 I have something of a man-crush on Karl Stefanovic. Like my addiction to surfing animal-attack videos on YouTube, I’ve taken to stalking the Gold Logie winner’s career with morbid fascination. The Today Show host is an anomaly in the news world. You don’t know how he survives, let alone thrives, but he does. What other Australian television personality, let alone journalist, can drunkenly ogle his co-host on breakfast primetime, then go on to win a Gold Logie two years later? And then, when he wins that Logie, include his wife’s arse in the acceptance speech? http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/one-politician-were-all-happy-to-belt-around/ One of the many life lessons we have been taught by former South Australian treasurer Kevin Foley is that it is best to wear a disguise when buying hotpants for your girlfriend. Earlier this year it was reported that Foley had bought some raunchy undergarments for his sheila du jour from an Adelaide boutique on his return from an overseas trip. The story emerged from the store where he made the purchase, proving that the bums who were happy to take the bloke’s money were equally happy to get straight on the telephone to a gossip columnist to peddle their invasive little story. Despite being a very good treasurer and a likeable if flawed human being, it appears to be Kevin Foley’s lot in life that no form of ridicule or no level of rumour-mongering is off limits. His treatment by the public, sections of the media and his political opponents following his assault outside an Adelaide bar, even at the noteworthy hour of 4am, is something which we should reflect on now that the truth has emerged following the guilty plea by his assailant in the Magistrates Court this week. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Antony McMullen) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/one-politician-were-all-happy-to-belt-around/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/one-politician-were-all-happy-to-belt-around/#item6773 Thu, 09 Feb 2012 19:00:12 +0000 I have something of a man-crush on Karl Stefanovic. Like my addiction to surfing animal-attack videos on YouTube, I’ve taken to stalking the Gold Logie winner’s career with morbid fascination. The Today Show host is an anomaly in the news world. You don’t know how he survives, let alone thrives, but he does. What other Australian television personality, let alone journalist, can drunkenly ogle his co-host on breakfast primetime, then go on to win a Gold Logie two years later? And then, when he wins that Logie, include his wife’s arse in the acceptance speech? http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/the-right-to-privacy-would-come-at-a-social-cost/ Paul Keating’s fondness for picking up the phone to relay his displeasure about media coverage is the stuff of legend. From the half-dozen spirited conversations I’ve had as a publisher with the former PM, the most memorable went to the issue of privacy. An item had appeared in Sydney Confidential about his daughter being spotted on a date with a rugby league player at a city bar. The article didn’t suggest any hanky-panky, simply that they had met for a drink. Keating didn’t think it should have run at all and took particular issue with the accompanying photograph, which had been tagged as digitally altered, featuring separate merged images of his daughter and the said footy star. Keating prefaced his remarks by reflecting on the level of moral bankruptcy which would attract someone to a career as a gossip writer, and indeed a career as the publisher of their work. To give you a sense of it, in his opening salvo he described gossip writers as “ugly biker’s molls who couldn’t get a root on a troop ship, couldn’t get a root on a troop ship coming home” and he concluded that whenever he rang editors about articles of this kind he routinely received a lecture about public figures and the public’s right to know which had no relationship to the “horseshit” we chose to publish. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Antony McMullen) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/the-right-to-privacy-would-come-at-a-social-cost/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/the-right-to-privacy-would-come-at-a-social-cost/#item6456 Thu, 09 Feb 2012 19:00:12 +0000 I have something of a man-crush on Karl Stefanovic. Like my addiction to surfing animal-attack videos on YouTube, I’ve taken to stalking the Gold Logie winner’s career with morbid fascination. The Today Show host is an anomaly in the news world. You don’t know how he survives, let alone thrives, but he does. What other Australian television personality, let alone journalist, can drunkenly ogle his co-host on breakfast primetime, then go on to win a Gold Logie two years later? And then, when he wins that Logie, include his wife’s arse in the acceptance speech? http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/Dude-wheres-my-massively-oversized-deluxe-trailer/ Like anyone who has ever had to perform some form of work, I despise wealthy celebrities. Their constant tears in interviews, their overuse of words like “journey” and “dreams” and their inability to empathise with anyone other than rare amphibians and cyber-bullied American Idol contestants make them difficult to like. They are a strange and reptilian breed whose thirst for never-ending attention and gaudy bling can repulse even the gentlest of souls – which is why it pains me to take their side on rare occasions. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Antony McMullen) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/Dude-wheres-my-massively-oversized-deluxe-trailer/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/Dude-wheres-my-massively-oversized-deluxe-trailer/#item6424 Thu, 09 Feb 2012 19:00:12 +0000 I have something of a man-crush on Karl Stefanovic. Like my addiction to surfing animal-attack videos on YouTube, I’ve taken to stalking the Gold Logie winner’s career with morbid fascination. The Today Show host is an anomaly in the news world. You don’t know how he survives, let alone thrives, but he does. What other Australian television personality, let alone journalist, can drunkenly ogle his co-host on breakfast primetime, then go on to win a Gold Logie two years later? And then, when he wins that Logie, include his wife’s arse in the acceptance speech? http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/a-vain-love-the-fig-jam-phenomenon/ Love is all around. It’s in the air, on the air and online. Unfortunately it’s mostly self love. Studies show narcissism is on the rise. Far from being mythological, some say it is now an ‘epidemic’, with people falling so hard for themselves they can no longer relate to others. US congressman Anthony Weiner’s self love overflowed onto Twitter, leading to punderous headlines, turgid analysis, and a drooping career trajectory. Silly Weiner obviously looked in the mirror one day and thought: “Wow. That is just so good I can’t keep it to myself.” Narcissism covers a spectrum of self love; from a healthy self esteem through to unhealthy self infatuation, which can lead to abusive, controlling behaviour, a lack of empathy towards others. It’s this far end, where self love overrides all else, that is getting out of control. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Antony McMullen) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/a-vain-love-the-fig-jam-phenomenon/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/a-vain-love-the-fig-jam-phenomenon/#item6068 Thu, 09 Feb 2012 19:00:12 +0000 I have something of a man-crush on Karl Stefanovic. Like my addiction to surfing animal-attack videos on YouTube, I’ve taken to stalking the Gold Logie winner’s career with morbid fascination. The Today Show host is an anomaly in the news world. You don’t know how he survives, let alone thrives, but he does. What other Australian television personality, let alone journalist, can drunkenly ogle his co-host on breakfast primetime, then go on to win a Gold Logie two years later? And then, when he wins that Logie, include his wife’s arse in the acceptance speech? http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/back-off-haters-biebers-got-talent/ I respect Justin Bieber. Not begrudgingly respect—no, no, no. Plain, vanilla, true, deep respect. The kid’s good. I can acknowledge this. There is no doubting that the immense Bieber whinging permeating through the (adult) world of social media is vastly unfounded. Of course, such facts won’t bother those who’ve gleefully ingested the Haterade. One has to wonder if we’ve just become more adept at smugness for smugness’ sake - because it’s definitely not the music industry that’s changed. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Antony McMullen) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/back-off-haters-biebers-got-talent/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/back-off-haters-biebers-got-talent/#item5495 Thu, 09 Feb 2012 19:00:12 +0000 I have something of a man-crush on Karl Stefanovic. Like my addiction to surfing animal-attack videos on YouTube, I’ve taken to stalking the Gold Logie winner’s career with morbid fascination. The Today Show host is an anomaly in the news world. You don’t know how he survives, let alone thrives, but he does. What other Australian television personality, let alone journalist, can drunkenly ogle his co-host on breakfast primetime, then go on to win a Gold Logie two years later? And then, when he wins that Logie, include his wife’s arse in the acceptance speech? http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/the-perils-of-breasts-bottles-and-babies/ So, radio personality Jackie O crossed a quiet, leafy, Double Bay pedestrian crossing while bottle-feeding her six-week-old daughter and made the mistake of being photographed. Mothercraft and Nannies director, Jenni Waldron, tut-tutted in the Daily Telegraph that “it would be best to sit comfortably in a chair and hold your baby correctly while feeding”. She was probably caught off guard too. Jackie felt compelled to explain herself on air: ‘I was running late and Kitty was screaming…’. Yes.  I feel like doing that myself when I read stories like this.  feedback@thepunch.com.au (Antony McMullen) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/the-perils-of-breasts-bottles-and-babies/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/the-perils-of-breasts-bottles-and-babies/#item5524 Thu, 09 Feb 2012 19:00:12 +0000 I have something of a man-crush on Karl Stefanovic. Like my addiction to surfing animal-attack videos on YouTube, I’ve taken to stalking the Gold Logie winner’s career with morbid fascination. The Today Show host is an anomaly in the news world. You don’t know how he survives, let alone thrives, but he does. What other Australian television personality, let alone journalist, can drunkenly ogle his co-host on breakfast primetime, then go on to win a Gold Logie two years later? And then, when he wins that Logie, include his wife’s arse in the acceptance speech? http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/instead-of-paying-them-to-tweet-lets-pay-them-not-to/ RIP Lady Gaga, Kim Kardashian, Justin Timberlake, Usher, Serena Williams, and Elijia Wood. For today at least, they are dead, digitally speaking. They are amongst a host of celebrities who have signed on to stage their “digital death,” that is, they have temporarily pulled the plug on their Twitter and Facebook lives until their loyal followers stump up $1 million for World AIDS Day. But this cyber stunt raises an interesting possibility – what if we like this blessed silence? What if we find we don’t crave their incessant inanities and misspelt, mangled English? feedback@thepunch.com.au (Antony McMullen) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/instead-of-paying-them-to-tweet-lets-pay-them-not-to/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/instead-of-paying-them-to-tweet-lets-pay-them-not-to/#item4601 Thu, 09 Feb 2012 19:00:12 +0000 I have something of a man-crush on Karl Stefanovic. Like my addiction to surfing animal-attack videos on YouTube, I’ve taken to stalking the Gold Logie winner’s career with morbid fascination. The Today Show host is an anomaly in the news world. You don’t know how he survives, let alone thrives, but he does. What other Australian television personality, let alone journalist, can drunkenly ogle his co-host on breakfast primetime, then go on to win a Gold Logie two years later? And then, when he wins that Logie, include his wife’s arse in the acceptance speech? http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/cult-leader-oprah-will-send-her-followers-down-under/ The screams are still ringing in my ears. Oprah’s audience, and every Australian Tourism authority, are no doubt still trying to recover their composure after the mass hysteria that followed her pronouncement that she and several hundred of her bestest fans were bound for the positively Jules Verne-esque destination of “the other side of the world”. Later this year, Winfrey and her troop of ardent devotees will be flown to our shores courtesy of Captain Kangaroo himself John Travolta. The Opera House will form the particularly scenic backdrop for the taping of an episode of her talk show which reaches 44 million people each week. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Antony McMullen) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/cult-leader-oprah-will-send-her-followers-down-under/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/cult-leader-oprah-will-send-her-followers-down-under/#item4054 Thu, 09 Feb 2012 19:00:12 +0000 I have something of a man-crush on Karl Stefanovic. Like my addiction to surfing animal-attack videos on YouTube, I’ve taken to stalking the Gold Logie winner’s career with morbid fascination. The Today Show host is an anomaly in the news world. You don’t know how he survives, let alone thrives, but he does. What other Australian television personality, let alone journalist, can drunkenly ogle his co-host on breakfast primetime, then go on to win a Gold Logie two years later? And then, when he wins that Logie, include his wife’s arse in the acceptance speech?