goodbye gilly

i certainly didn't see gilly's retirement coming. like many people in perth, i didn't like gilly when he first arrived here. timmy zoehrer was our hometown hero and wasn't about to be replaced by a blow-in from nsw. well, that all changed pretty quickly once he got onto the field and let his gloves and bat do the talking. it also became apparent pretty quickly what sort of person he was and there was no way that you couldn't like him. he's now a fair dinkum west aussie hero and will always be remembered as such.

obviously his amazing talent will always be remembered but the thing that i reckon sets him apart from the rest of the cricket world is his deep-seated dedication to honesty and sportsmanship. he's the only international cricketer to have made a stand on 'walking' when he knows he's out even if the umpire may have missed a slight nick. cricket has always been known as a gentleman's game and gilly is the greatest gentleman of all.

goodbye gilly. i doubt we'll see the likes of you again.

killer sniffer dogs at the big day out

i've just heard on JJJ that a greens senator in the eastern states has said that police are putting the lives of young people at risk by using sniffer dogs at the big day out. now this naturally caused my ears to prick up as i'm heading to the perth BDO in a couple of weeks and i certainly don't want my life put at risk so i thought i should find out more. how exactly are they putting people at risk i wondered? are the normally placid sniffer dogs suddenly turning rabid and tearing people apart? are their fleas spreading a new bubonic plague? are they causing an outbreak of mad dog disease? well... just wait for this... this greens senator reckons they're putting people at risk because if there's sniffer dogs there then people may take all of their drugs in one hit rather than spacing them out during the day. WHAT??? now unless i've misunderstood her and she's actually of the belief that the dogs are planning on forcing pills down people's throats then i can't see how it's the dogs that are putting people at risk. surely it's their own actions in voluntarily taking illegal drugs that's putting their lives at risk.. or have i missed some crucial point here?

no country for old men

bree and i went to see the new coen brothers film, 'no country for old men', last night. wow.. it was a fantastic film. the cinematography was awesome, the acting was spot on and it was a cracking tale to boot. there were two guys sitting behind us who really didn't like it which i found stunning. but then again, i suppose they probably consider 'miss congeniality' to be high art. the fella playing the psycho bad guy was really good and portrayed a really brooding type of menace which i'm sure will stay with me for a long time. i sure would hate to get on the wrong side of a guy like that! if you like films that are chocka with atmosphere, intelligent dialogue and amazing scenery; make sure you see this!

the final word

a lot was said following the test in sydney and, as per usual, most of the vitriol was directed at the aussie team. i guess that's to be expected as people love to take pot-shots at successful teams. what i've found very interesting is the comparison of the behaviour of the indian team following their loss in sydney with the behaviour of the australian team following their loss in perth. one team lost with dignity, grace and a high degree of sportsmanship whilst the other lost with a shameful display of petulance and poor sportsmanship. one team captain congratulated the other team on their win whilst the other made excuses and offered recriminations. all teams lose games due to poor umpiring decisions: it's how they respond to that loss which defines them. those ill-informed idiots who accuse the australian side of poor sportsmanship would do well to step back, open both eyes, and simply look at the facts.

cricket

i had a great day yesterday at the cricket. the highlight for me was seeing a masterful innings from sachin tendulkar in what is likely to be his final test in perth. it was just a shame he was given out with a pretty poor decision as i'd have appreciated seeing him score a century. it was a really nice day of 37 degrees with a breeze all day to keep things cool. it was also pleasing that some of the spite (from both sides!!) that marred the second test was absent and the game was played in a really good spirit.

gram

i've been really enjoying gram parsons at the moment. i love the 'sweetheart of the rodeo' album he did with the byrds but the one that's been getting high rotation (if that's still the correct term..) on my ipod is his solo 'grievous angel' album. the highlight of the album is the cover he does of 'love hurts' with emmylou harris which i reckon is the definitive version of the song. emotion drips from every heatbreaking line and the song is brought to life. gram died of a drug overdose at age 26 but left behind a wonderful body of work. check out the youtube clip below but make sure you have some tissues handy.

only in america

an inmate in colorado is suing because he claims the prison holding him was too easy to break out of and was therefore responsible for the injuries he sustained when trying to escape. in any sensible place this would be laughed out of court but in the good ol' US of A you just never know...

link to the story here

racism is NEVER acceptable

it's been a really sad few days for cricket lovers with all the dramas that have flowed from the 2nd test in sydney. i do feel for the indian team as the standard of umpiring was absolutely dreadful and was most likely the key variable in their loss. this test had it all including a brilliant century from sachin tendulkar who is a marvel on the field and, from all accounts, a true gentleman off it. i admire gilly's stand on walking when one knows one's out but the truth is he's the only player in international cricket who does this. it seems a bit hypocritical to me for the indian team to complain that the aussies don't walk when their own players don't do it either.

but all the issues of umpires, whether players should walk or not, disputed catches etc are really just a red herring to try and take attention off the central issue of the current dispute which is what harbhajan singh called andrew symonds. the treatment symonds received from the crowds in india was disgraceful and, quite frankly, if such overt racism occurred in australia there would be an international outcry and sanctions from the ICC. just look at how murali reacted to calls of 'no ball' from aussie crowds which is tame compared to what symonds has had to endure in recent months.

the crucial principle which the ICC needs to uphold and reinforce is that racism is NEVER acceptable. it must be made clear that, no matter what is said or done, a racist response will always be punished, regardless of which country the offender is from.

2007 JJJ hottest 100

and again we get to that time of year when we vote for our favourite songs from the previous year. in the past two years my choices haven't done particularly well with 5 of my 10 last year and 4 the year before making the top 100. up until now i've been able to blame it on living overseas and having limited exposure to aussie music. well, i've been home for a few months now but my exposure to our aussie product this year still isn't great. nevertheless, below are the 10 songs i've voted for this year:

Arcade Fire - Intervention
Faker - This Heart Attack
Fratellis - Chelsea Dagger
Howling Bells - Cities Burning Down
Kings Of Leon - On Call
The Panics - Don't Fight It
Silverchair - Straight Lines
Sparkadia - Animals
VHS Or Beta - Can't Believe A Single Word
Whitley - I Remember

i'll be interested to see how they go.

EDIT: equalling my effort last year, 5 of the songs i voted for made the hottest 100. they were 'straight lines' (#2), 'on call' (#3), 'this heart attack' (#5), 'don't fight it' (#10), and 'chelsea dagger' (#59). i just had a look back at my votes for the 2006 hottest 100 and noticed that i voted for 'chelsea dagger' last year as well so i don't know how that slipped into the eligible song list for 2007. it didn't make the hottest 100 last year so it was second time lucky