After Grog Blog

BODE WARRIORS

Serious question: How much should a typo effect the rest of a newspaper article?

The confusing view from the bridge
Martin Flanagan

The game itself looked oddly familiar to me. North won because they had better players, natural footballers such as Lindsay Thomas and Matt Campbell who knew where the ball was going before it got there and used it with total awareness of what was around them.

For three quarters, the Dees kept coming back. They lack a marking forward. Brad Miller is gallant, but Jace Bode needs someone vigorous playing alongside him to create spaces for him.

Melbourne dumped Jace Bode last year, and no one seems quite sure who Flanagan is talking about - Bate? Bennell? Jetta? Petard? - least of all no one at Demonland where it got feisty and needed the sort of customarily soothing, level-headed input regularly displayed at the AGB:

Thundercloud

Are you Einstein's telling me that because one journalist got one player's name wrong the article is no good?

Nice one, Eins... Thundercloud.

There's no need for an apostrophe in your Einsteins. Everything else you right... write is now flawed.

For what it's worth: The Jace Bode error is the sort of typo journos often mistakenly include in their articles, but which should be picked up by a subbie. I stress "should" because the remaining subbies at the Age wouldn't know footy from a double-choc florentine. Doubtless Bode's name came up in despatches on Sunday and Flanagan got his wires crossed. The mistake, although a howler, is more a reflection on the paper than the pressed-for-deadline journalist.

That said, there's nothing wrong with people ribbing Flanagan/The Age over the mistake - I mean, that's what we do. But rather than drifting into outrageous indignation, we should count our blessings Flanagan has been given such a large brief to cover the Dees. And in turn given us a large chance to take the p1ss out of him.

And her: this is a worse mistake.

TOO DOWN

From the Sunday Age Giant Snodger... it's only a small mistake, but, well, someone has to do the descent thing:

THE KING OF TAUTS

Tautologies that is... the essence of quintessence:

"He's the epitome of the personification of the way Geelong play."

~~ Nathan Buckley on Joel Selwood, Friday Night Football

WHO'S "WE", SUCKER?!?

It's only March, but Mike Sheahan is already a lock for 2009's Most Pompous Footy Writing Award with this great, steaming paragraph of wank:

TONIGHT we regroup. Tonight we renew. Tonight we rejoice. The footy's back.

SPECIAL DELIVERY

Why has it taken me so long to add Jim Treacher to my reader? To get to the other side. No? Better let the experts write the jokes:

No respect, no respect at all

Last night, President Obama debuted his standup comedy act on the Tonight Show. You've heard his hilarious wisecracks about the Special Olympics and "waterheads," and here are a few of his other witticisms:

MELSKI

It's a grand old gulag:

Kazakh bellydance delivers for Dees

AN OPPORTUNISTIC supporter has delivered Melbourne a new co-major sponsor with Russian computer security firm Kaspersky signing up for the next three years.

Now to tap into that Russian oil loot.

THE BIG RED REPPLE DEPPLE

Foxtel reviews the Sam Fuller 1980 war film, The Big Red One:

Follows the exploits of an American Inventory sergeant and the members of his unit as they try to survive the horrific conditions and circumstances of World War II.

To be fair to Foxtel, they sort of got it right given the methodical way rookies came an went in Marvin's platoon. "You are?" "John Q. Rookie from Poughkeepsie." Boom. "Next!"

BEYOND THE CRINGE

Leapster injects the penicillin into the arse of Australian TV comedy, suggesting that we were too hasty in ditching the cultural cringe and would benefit from its re-introduction:

A SHORTER HISTORY OF DISMAL AUSTRALIAN COMEDY

A rock critic once made an observation, re progressive rock and/or fusion music, which went something along the lines of: To rock out in 11/8 time isn’t so much impressive or difficult as it is impossible.

I feel the shows under discussion, when considered individually, or all together (now), achieve much the same effect. Watching any of them, it’s easy to get the impression that producing comedy isn’t so much impressive or difficult, as it is impossible.

BETTER ELATE THAN NEVER

You read it here first. It is the only TV show to have its own AGB category. Without even clicking - or hovering, you cheat - on the links, regular readers already know what I'm on about.

The Wire: Get. On. Board.

For a year or so, it only appeared on overseas blogs and newspapers. In the last year there has been the occasional article in Australian papers. Last week Ross Stevenson was talking about it on the radio: "Burnso," he announced to his on-air partner at 5:37 am, "get The Wire." The word is starting to spread.

Today there is a review in the Green Guide. But come on: comparing The Wire to Underbelly is like comparing Ripping Yarns to The Body in Question, Herman's Head to Q&A, The Biggest Loser to Crusty Demons Beyond the Apocalypse, or Hugh Jackman to a singer.

The Wire is incomparable... no matter how many times I compare it. I mean, it is better than Packed To The Rafters:

Wired for DVD viewing

An obscure US crime drama, The Wire, goes beyond TV to become a must-watch DVD experience, writes Greg Hassall.

FORGET Underbelly, the most-talked-about show at the moment is The Wire, an obscure US crime drama that wrapped up production more than two years ago. Some people finished it long ago but can't stop proselytising, others are at various points through the show's five seasons. The one thing they have in common is that they didn't watch it on TV — certainly not on Channel Nine, where it aired sporadically over the years in the dead of night; not even on pay TV, where the first four seasons have aired. No, The Wire is a DVD show, pure and simple.

In the opinion of many, this writer included, The Wire is the best television show ever made. Dense and complex, brutally realistic but rich in allegory and symbolism, it demands and rewards a level of engagement that other shows don't.

FOR THE TERM OF 1TS NATURAL REGO