Australians Sure Know How To Celebrate a Life

Smiles, swimming, and shirtlessness: According to this picture, some mourners had more fun at Heath Ledger's wake on Saturday than one usually does at a wedding.

The Australian Prime Minister is a Purple Archmage*

In a nationally (his nation, not ours) televised interview on Sunday, Australian Prime Minister John Howard said that al-Qaida leaders in Iraq should "be praying as many times as possible for a victory, not only for [Barack] Obama but also for the Democrats" in the 2008 U.S. presidential elections.

When Howard's opponent for a fifth term, Labor candidate Kevin Rudd (who's pulling away from Howard in the latest opinion poll, a fact some are theorizing is motivating the the current PM to shoot his mouth off) pointed out that Howard's comments could harm Australia's future with a possible Democratic U.S. administration, the conservative Howard--a steadfast supporter of George W. Bush in the Iraq War--did not waiver in his douchebaggery, telling Parliament at Canberra, "I'm doing nothing of the kind. I don't retract anything I said."

Way to go, John...you've proven that you really are a fan of George W. Bush in that you've begun modeling your behavior after his in three easy steps: (1) say things that make you obstinate buffoon, then when (2) people point out that you're acting like an obstinate buffoon, giving you an opportunity to amend your stance, (3) act like even more of an obstinate buffoon until the entire world has turned against you.

Then you'll have them right where you want them.


*"Purple archmage" is Australian for "dick".

Rugby Fans, Including Russell Crowe, are Afraid of Girls

Hasn't the rap on rugby always been that it's the manliest sport that a sport can possibly be, what with the lack of protective equipment and heavy emphasis on "scrumming" making American football look like a little girl's tea party by comparison? Add Australians to the mix and you've got to figure that it's time to hide the women and children, right? Make it an Australian rugby team owned by Russell Crowe and, well...it's reasonable to assume that the women and children have no chance and it's time to save yourself. Isn't that what fans of rugby would have the world believe?

If the fans in question are fans of the South Sydney Rabbitohs club (see? rugby's ostensibly so manly that teams are called "clubs"), which is part-owned by Russell Crowe, they don't have a leg to stand on. The club has cut its cheerleading squad due to a conclusion by Crowe and the rest of the ownership that skimpily clad cheerleaders detract from the game and "make spectators uncomfortable". And with that decision, nearly 200 years of manliness associated with the sport have been flushed down the toilet in the inappropriate, non-swirling way. (Do the wussifying effects of Crowe starring in A Good Year know no bounds?)

Scantily-clad gyrating women make you uncomfortable, do they, rugby fans? So brutal violence is something to be celebrated by the whole family, while sex is something to be afraid of and hide from. Not only does that not sound like a particularly masculine point of view, it doesn't even sound Australian.

As a matter of fact, it sounds strangely...American.

[Ed. note: This blog's not even two weeks old and I've already twice posted an image of Russell Crowe on it. What's my deal?]