Pop culture, entertainment and current affairs humour blog for anybody trying to make it in this crazy world.

What my free iPhone means for your consumer rights

Monday, September 13th, 2010
Crowd cheers a man with a new iPhone.

This guy is almost as happy as I was when I got my new iPhone.

Your response to a malfunctioning iPhone is a fairly reliable indicator of whether or not you have your priorities right. If you shrug your shoulders and even rejoice over the freedom from work calls and emails that the malfunction affords you, then you can be reasonably certain that your responses to life’s little problems are healthy and are unlikely to contribute to your risk of heart attack or stroke. If a malfunctioning iPhone is a source of face-reddening frustration, a sharp increase in blood pressure and a string of potty language, then can be equally sure that you are too easily provoked by minor setbacks.

I am well and truly in the second category.

My iPhone was a mess. A number of faults had rendered it useless. Imagine my delight when Apple told me that I was to be responsible for covering the cost of repair because the unit was three months past its twelve month warranty. I felt like dancing a jig of glee, all over Steve Jobs’ face.

Click here to find out why Optus replaced my iPhone free and what it means for your rights

My religious experience with Russell Crowe

Wednesday, June 30th, 2010
Star of Robin Hood and Gladiator, Russell Crowe, shouting at something.

Oh shit, some plonker has mentioned the accent in Robin Hood again.

As a society, it’s been a while since we were truly religious. It’s rare that you find someone who still believes the stories of gods and goblins that were conjured up in the good old days to control the superstitious masses and provide a basis for things like monarchs and wars. A few people still say they do, but very few indeed strike me as acting like they really believe that their every thought and action is being judged by an all-knowing, all-seeing deity.

But we need something to believe in, it takes the spotlight off what’s lacking in our lives, so as a society, we now worship celebrities.  Magazines and gossip sites are our bibles, couches and movie seats our pews, big screen televisions, stages and cinema screens, the alters upon which we worship.

Since there are so many celebrities, I think we can assume our society is polytheistic. Like other doomed civilizations that have worshipped multiple deities, not all of our gods are equal. Some are ‘a-list’, some are ‘b-grade’, and others are reality television stars and breakfast radio announcers.

Imagine my delight when one of the a-listers, Russell Crowe, spoke to me. But this was no holy communion, Russell was displeased.

Click here to learn more about the wrath of Crowe

Don’t cringe at the ginge

Thursday, June 24th, 2010
Prime Minister Julia Gillard looks great in red

Nice weave, PM.

Julia Gillard has become the first Australian female prime minister, but is she the first ranga in The Lodge? Find out in my latest post for The Punch.
Click here to read ‘Return of the ranga’.

Don’t leave it to Bieber – the highs & lows of YouTube stardom

Wednesday, May 5th, 2010
Jordan Jansen wants to be the new Justin Bieber

Bieb-lieve it or not.

Not sure whether you are aware or not, but there’s this kid called Justin Bieber going around shaking his thang like it was on fire. Oh I forgot, to most teenage girls, it is.

Well, there are plenty of other kids trying to get famous on YouTube – read about the good and the ugly in my latest post for The Punch.

Click here to read The Punch story.

Abbott versus Gillard: ‘Come on pollie, light my fire.’

Thursday, April 1st, 2010

PZAHWAH4S4M6

Old media sparring partners, Australian politicians Tony Abbott and Julia Gillard

Fight! Fight! Fight!

The more I think about it, the less I care about politics, mainly because of all the distractions, stunts, negativity and opportunism that gets in the way of how the system is supposed to work, preventing our elected representatives from effectively governing the country.

Searching for my political fire once again, I turned to none other than Tony Abbott and Julia Gillard and challenged them to inspire me.

Find out about the challenge and decide for yourself which politician wins in Pro Human Writes’ latest post for The Punch.

Click here to read The Punch article.