One thing I noticed while watching the tribute to Don Lane last night was how REAL the stars looked way back when.

They actually had crooked, discoloured teeth, wrinkles, pores, frizzy hair. You couldn't possibly let a person like that on television these days, they'd scare people.

Alan Alda's teeth were positively yellow, shock horror!

The bits of interviews they showed were so entertaining. People used to be able to say and talk about anything. They were able to let "themselves" through and actually interact with their interviewer in a real way.

Imagine that. Twenty, thirty, forty years ago people had to have some ability, some semblence of talent to be called entertainers. They had to have some personality (as opposed to being a personality, which these days is often an oxymoron).

They were able to take part in a television interview without having every question wrangled and edited by their 23 media coaches and image consultants.

Watching the show last night made me realise how different the media is these days, how homogonised and diluted and controlled. The stars are trotted around to promote their films, tv shows, books with well rehearsed and pre-prepared amusing quips which show nothing of themselves. They are botoxed and blow dried within an inch of their lives, so that we see a glossy, airbrushed version of a human being.

I'm definitely one for progress (you can't stop it you know) but I really wonder if we're going in the right direction (like NSW, side joke for JB, sorry) with all this bs. What do you think?

P.S. Rest in peace Don Lane, you really seemed like a top bloke.

P.P.S Rest in peace Pop (Big Jay's grandad). He passed away yesterday, exactly two weeks after Nan.

I hate being blase about tragedy but what's with this Swine Flu?

We were all going to die from the Bird Flu and SARS. Now we're all going to die from Swine Flu?

Really?

This morning on the news they said the first person, sadly a little child, has died in the US of this flu. However, they also qiuetly mentioned that in a normal year 36,000 people die of flu in the US. That's a lot of people and the rabid newsreaders don't usually scream about it year in, year out.

I'm just confused about the rise and fall of these "super" flus. They seem to bugger up already struggling economies (previously in Asia, now Mexico). But in the end they never end up being all that bad, in comparison to what normally goes on with flu every winter around the world.

So what's up? Is it just a case of distracting us from what is really happening in the world? Is it just poor media coverage/journalism (I know that one would be a big surprise for everyone!)? Is it just another round of social/health panic which seems to sweep us all up every few years?

Any ideas?

I can't cope with what passes for news these days. Whether it's tv, radio or newspapers, it's all absolute, total, unrelenting bullshit. Seriously I'm as cynical and bitter as the next person, probably more so, but how do these people live with themselves.

It's either blatant advertising, such as the so-called "Store Wars" whereby David Jones and Myer battle over the fashion stakes. Really people NO ONE CARES. There are no wars. There is just a lot of hot air aimed at getting suckers like yours truly into the department stores to buy poor quality, over priced "fashion essentials".

Or it's hysterical non-news like speculation on interest rate rises. Have you noticed how they love to beat up this story. They start at least a week before each month's Reserve Bank meeting, interviewing a whole range of know-nothing industry "experts" who basically have a 50-50 chance of getting it right. They predict the fall of modern civilisation at the merest suggestion of a rate rise and talk to all the poor over-mortgaged home owners (with their large screen tvs in the background) who may have to give up the odd Thai take away to make ends meet. The disappointment on the faces of the tv news presenters when there is no rate rise is heart-breaking.

Now we have to brace ourselves for around three months of election babble. The thought of it makes me break out in a cold sweat. If only all the politicians and the news editors could spontaneously combust - oh, the relief. To dream the impossible dream....