A pregnant pause ...

Well a couple of months have passed since my last post due to a number of circumstances including school holidays, Christmas, four nights in the Whitsundays and a pregnant pause.
That's right, as my belly begins to bulge coming up to 6 months, at least I can flick through the pages of mags such as WHO where, in this current issue there's a shocker of a paparazzi pic of Pink looking chunkified at 6 months compared to her athletic form we're used to.
It's a welcome relief to the ridiculously beautiful pregnant silhouettes of supermodel mums-in-the-making such as Giselle Bundchen and more recently Miranda Kerr.
I can assure you, at the moment I would in no way attract the likes of Orlando Bloom with my waddling to the bathroom several times a night ... sometimes just two minutes apart - it is baby no.3!!
Anyhoo, journalistic wise over the past few months I've been experiencing everything from the strange and entertaining Speedy Reads in writing for That's Life magazine to the heart-wrenching once-in-a-lifetime moments of covering the aftermath of the Queensland floods in Brisbane and the 'ground zero' of the disaster zone where many people died, the little town of Grantham.
It was the first time I've been part of the Prime Minister and Queensland Premier's media convoy and stood withing a sneeze of both leaders whilst thrusting my voice recorder under armpits to get the grab.
It was the last time I ever want to see such devastation and broken hearts again.
I'm proud of the coverage I helped provide for WHO, but by God I was humbled to have sat on the grassy hilltop of Grantham and let the amazing heroes of that terrible flash flood open their wounded hearts to me and recount how they both saw people saved, and saw people die - like the shocking tale told by Jim Wilkin, pictured in my WHO article ABOVE. One look at his strained face, captured by Gold Coast photographer Luke Sorensen after our interview, says it all.
Then came Tropical Cyclone Yasi and I found myself speaking to people in Tully, Cairns and Townsville as they were literally stocking their bathrooms with blankets, torches and mattresses, and filling bathtubs up with spare drinking water for them, their babies and their pets.
Yes it's been an incredible few months that quite frankly tired me to the extent of not even posting a blog due to the meagre meaning of it in the face of what so many thousands of Australian have been facing.
But for the lucky ones life goes on, as shall this blog, and with a kick to the right of my belly-button, I bid you goodnight until next time.

And the award for the worst ARIA Awards telecast goes to ...

The somebody at Channel Ten whose job it is to check online copyright breaches must have been particularly proud of themselves to have discovered the following post on the Pedestrian TV website.
They've removed all four videos containing some of the biggest trainwreck moments from the 2010 ARIA Awards televised on Channel Ten last week, live from the steps of the Sydney Opera House.
With the following statement plastered across the video windows ... 'This video is no longer available due to a copyright claim by Network Ten' ... the somebody probably thinks they got to the website just in time to save the embarrassment caused by 'presenters' such as Jessica Mauboy making a monumental de-butt of herself, Angus and Julia Stoned, er, Stone, and Bob Mad-As-A-Katter still trying to solve the mystery surrounding ARARIA Chamberlain.
But in actual fact, nothing can save the TV Network from the aftershocks of harm the 2010 ARIA Awards caused, after initially making the music-loving Aussie public quake in their boots to Ten on the Crapter Scale
So if you missed the cringe-worthy telecast on the night of November 8 - let's face it, even I was having a life that night and doing something else (I'd like to thank GOD for that in retrospect of how awful the show was)- click on the link below to see what I mean.
Well, actually thanks to the somebody at Channel Ten, you won't see it at all - but you can read one the best ARIA Awards reviews ever penned on the Pedestrian TV website that's undoubtedly much more entertaining than the ARIA Awards ever were!2010 TRAINWRECK ARIAS RECAP
And thanks to my sleuthful friends on Facebook, here's a site that still does have a video to show you what all the fuss was about - prepare to laugh hard and think WTF? all at the same time ... ARIA AWARDS 2010 MOST AWKWARD MOMENTS

As to what I've been up to this week, well there's a cute photo of a dog climbing a ladder whilst wearing a toy tool belt with his construction worker master in That's Life magazine out now (see this week's cover above), or for something completely different, a piece in the same issue I wrote on a Brisbane nurse who flew to the Congo to help Aussie doctors operate on the poor Congolese women left to suffer with no other medical care - and soon learnt that whistling in the operating room was not advisable considering the Congolese custom was to stone women to death who dared to whistle.
By the way, the hospital was newly built because a lava flow from a still-active volcano had just burnt the previous one to the ground.
Fun place for a holiday? Hmmmm, even a coup in Fiji sounds friendlier!

I say, you say, weren't you listening?

We've all had our own Justin Bieber moments over the years growing up, haven't we?
If you're shaking your head violently and about to click back to Facebook, just reflect for a moment on your tweens.

For me it was a sunny day at Pacific Fair Shopping Centre on the Gold Coast, Australia, when popstars Pseudo Echo were appearing at Myer for - of all things - their hair product sponsor L'Oreal. Girls were buying hair gel like it was 1982, oh hang on, it was!
I remember riding my bike there, armed with my autograph book, pushing through the crowd to the front and swooning at their new wave hair, their baggy 80s pants pulled up to where pants shouldn't venture, and thinking this would be a defining moment in my life.
Well it was ... I now officially define it as my Justin Bieber moment - one which shall never be spoken of again, nor shall I mention the fluoro pink dress I was wearing that I had borrowed off my sister, with a green fluoro belt that looked ever so striking against the fluoro pink

So I can't but help wonder if the tween I interviewed for That's Life magazine's story out this week may feel the same in 30 years time, when she's flicking back through her scrap book and sees the article on her winning an amazing competition where her prize was being flown to meet the Biebmeister himself in Las Vegas and watch his show.
It's on the cover, but the best surprise for me was seeing what the clever sub-editor wrote for one of the photo captions inside with the article on page 15, "Kiera entered the competition 'Justin' time".
Damn I wish I'd thought of that!
Now I think I might put on the soothing sounds of one of my Sex Pistols CDs just to save face.

Desperately seeking Segue

Tonight another dear journo friend has jumped off the cliff and resigned from her respected senior position at a daily paper to do ... well that's unknown as yet because knowing her she's probably going to be at the pub until at least the end of Spring ... but anyway, it got me thinking about the trade.
A year ago I bumped into one of the wittiest guys I've ever met who studied journalism with me at university back in the '90s, but decided to postpone any employment prospects in the industry while he concentrated on his admittedly sexier career in a funk/hip hop rock band.
He played a few festivals, made several great albums and succeeded in minor to average recognition for Australian standards, but leaving the band after a decade, he was now working in a local music shop selling his former band's new CDs to strangers and insinuating he'd regretted not using his journalism degree when it was fresh and semi-appealing to employers. (Kind of made it harder to swallow considering our uni friend who became his flatmate for a decade, went on to become one of the most famous Aussie musicians this new millennium!)
Then there's the girl who started her cadetship at a rural newspaper the same day as me who now has four kids and has just finished studying as a mature age student to become a teacher so she can have more holidays with her family!
Let's not even mention the girl who, the day after our graduation, began working for her father in his used car yard and was making more money than my chief of staff within a month - nor the senior sports writer who was spotted driving trams in Melbourne!!

But journalism has somehow entrapped me and ended up being my life's work, for better or worse, and this week's segue is all about seachanges - my cover story for the new issue of Bmag features Matthew Hayden, the famous Aussie cricketer who holds the records for the highest score in Tests and One Day Internationals and that's just the tip of the iceberg. He kindly told me all about how, after spending 10 to 11 months of the year for what seemed like a century (boom tish!) married to his cricket career, instead of his wife and three children, he's making up for it.
How? He plans to take 'em fishing! And it will probably end up as footage for a new reality TV show.
Can't say I see fishing as being even the slightest bit more interesting than cricket, but I wasn't about to tell Matthew Hayden that. CLICK HERE to read the story on page 15 of Bmag.

Chile miners rock!

So will you be reading volumes 1 to 33 of the Chilean mine rescue after the longest underground entrapment in history?
I must admit I'm really digging all the news coverage - pardon the pun - it's been gold - oops again - but with so much media saturation surely it takes the whiz bang out of waiting for a book, or 33?
Then again, I couldn't get enough of watching and listening to the two Tasmanian miners (Todd Russell and Brant Webb) crying as they witnessed the Chilean rescue live - and their incredible Down Under tale took place four-and-a-half years ago.
They will always be way cool.
Then again, maybe I'm just making up for my regret of falling asleep in front of the TV just 15 minutes before they finally reached the surface back on May 9, 2006, at Beaconsfield mine.
I mean, you think they could have made it a little later than 4.47am people!!
Anyway, I love a good global-unity story like this Chile miners rescue. Anything that brings people out of their home comfort zone and empathise with people on the other side of the world must be good for the evolution of mankind ... and book sales perhaps?

(And what's all this got to do with former Miss Universe Jennifer Hawkins in a bikini, you may ask? Nothing, it's just a pretty cover for this issue of Bmag containing a story I did with restaurateur and steak expert John Kilroy, as the final of a series of articles this year on candidates in the running for the inaugural Bmag Brisbane Person of the Year awards. CLICK HERE and view pages 14 and 15.

Wow, this very minute on Sky News the last man (rescuer) is just jumping out of the rescue capsule from the mine collapse.
And the president asks him 'did you make the beds before you left?' and he replies, 'I think I forgot to turn off the lights'.
Ha ha - that's a good one.
Go Chile!!!!! Love it.
And who wouldn't share his thoughts on that 20 minute trip through solid rock to fresh air ... 'I hope this never happens again.'

Sisters, a salesman and spooky ghost stories

What are the odds of three sisters breaking their wrists and having their arms in a cast all at the same time?
Well excluding them all being in the backseat of a car driven by their aging grandma who still thinks you should stop in the middle of a roundabout when you see another car approaching, or riding one of those three seater bicycles The Goodies had in the 70s, it's pretty darn slim.
Even weirder when they are way past the age of swinging on the monkey bars and doing handstands on the lawn.
In this week's issue of That' Life, I spoke to one of the sisters who beat those millions to one odds and had it happen to her.
All in their 40s with kids and their own lives unfolding around them, they managed to all break their wrists within days of each other.
And to top off the freak factor, all three women were exactly the same age apart as myself and my two sisters.
Plus, wait, there's more, when I rang her to tell her we would be doing the story, she was at lunch with her two sisters sitting next to her at the time she answered her mobile.
I told her she should march her sisters to the nearest newsagency and all buy lotto tickets! Seriously!!
The only thing I and my two sisters can manage to pull off together is all turning up late for a dinner at Mum's when we are in the same city.
If you've ever had anything freaky happen to you and your siblings all at the same time let me know - you could be my next That's Life topic ...
COMMENTS are welcome on this blog :)

In the same issue there is also a story on a 16 year old who bought his first car for $1 and sold it for $150 when he was just 10 years old - now he's up to his 12th car. Jealous? I admit I am!!

And last but not least, I wrote a Spooky Story about a ghost sighting at a reunion dance where a couple thought their friend walking towards them looked a little pale and wasn't feeling too well - then the next day they heard he'd been dead for six weeks. NO WAY? YES WAY!!!!!!!!!
A new issue is out tomoz so you'll probably hear from me again real soon.
BOO!

Best jaw dropper this week!

Best jaw-dropper of the week is watching the moment Sarah Murdoch's mouth opens in shock (see green arrow) as she is told via her earpiece, live to air, that she's just about to shatter a young girl's dream and make another's come true, twice in one night.
Every cloud has its silver lining, especially when you're the new Australia's Next Top Model, Amanda Ware, 18, from the Gold Coast.
It was a crazy couple of minutes last night in Sydney when the wrong winner was announced live to air.
It's all over the net as one of the biggest fails so here is a little graphic of the key moments from the winner who eventually loses, to supermodel hostess Sarah Murdoch's sincere 'oh no I'm so so sorry' apology, and back to the loser transformed into winner.

When I spoke to fashion designer and judge Alex Perry mid ANTM season, he said there would be some surprises, but not even he could have seen the bomb dropped on stage at the live final - poor Kelsey Martinovich had already delivered an entire thank-you speech and just as supposed runner-up Amanda began her gracious bow out, you can see Sarah's jaw open as she hears the mistake via her earpiece.
Today Alex Perry defended the show saying it was not a publicity stunt, and knowing him, he's 100 per cent.
Plus Sarah is a sincere personality - she's always been super nice everytime I've crossed her path at events such as Australian Fashion Week last year.
Embarrassing mistake, yes, YouTube gold, yes, epic fail for live TV, well yes if you were Kelsey's relatives and friends watching from around the country, but no in terms of global attention - any publicity is good publicity and that two minutes was unbeatable.
Watch the vid here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d_OowbhjJXE

RANDOM Q & A: What makes you think of The Goodies? For me it's string, people named Kenneth, hearing A Walk in the Black Forest, and black puddings. Leave a comment :)

Now, any chance I can get I'll mention Brad Pitt, so Brad, if you're reading, this blog post is for you since you have a keen interest in architecture. Just put whichever of your seven children you're holding, down in front of the TV to watch re-runs of the Brangy Bunch for two minutes and read on ...
When you drive through a city, its architecture can speak a thousand words, but you rarely think of the person behind the building. So it was quite interesting to speak with Michael Rayner for the new issue of Bmag (Brisbane Magazine), one of Australia's top architects who has designed some of Brisbane City's iconic buildings and bridges, and other structures throughout the world.

Plus he has just designed his own house on the banks of the Brisbane River with an indoor swimming pool in the middle of the house, joking he planned it that way to give his kids space from their parents as they grew older. That kinda beats a bike for Christmas doesn't it!
You'd need an Olympic size pool though, wouldn't you Brad, to fit the whole family, the nannies, the chef, personal trainer, chauffeur, lawyer, agent and security guards in all at once?
Plus your Oceans Umpteenth mate is on the cover, so click HERE & go to pages 14-15.
There's also a Home/Living story in this issue of Bmag on a new home at Springfield Lakes which the owner told me was so luxurious, he can't bear the thought of going on holiday anywhere to lower his standard of living! He laughed, but I think he was only half joking. Click HERE & go to pages 42-43.

And want to say "g'day" to new readers who've just joined me from Canada, the United States, France, Germany and the UK, and via a translator, 'gidday' to the New Zealanders.