Author: liligans

“Notes on a Scandal” by Zoë Heller- a review.

liligans Literature

Popular travel writer and social commentator, Bill Bryson, said he had difficulty writing about Australia in his book “Downunder” because he likes this country. He said it was much easier to criticise than to praise. After you have said that something is good, that’s about it. As it turns out, Bryson’s admiration for Australia resulted in a book that was less humorous and certainly not as entertaining as his previous works.

In the same way that Bryson could not do his usual acerbic shtick in “Downunder”, I’m having trouble writing about “Notes on a Scandal”. I liked it too much to pick it to bits. Continue reading →

Not the Best and Brightest after all

liligans Politics

I know that I have made fun of the imminent Talkfest of 1000 of our best and brightest going to Canberra to discuss ideas for the future of Australia. I suggested that the date of the 2-day Talkfest should be changed to April the First.

It now looks as if that might have been a better date than the end of April. As it turns out, the Talkfest clashes with the first two days of Passover so it looks as if Jews will not be able to attend. That is a serious mistake on Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd’s, part.

Never mind. The Jews will simply have to miss out on this auspicious occasion and in a way, Australia will have to make do with the offerings of other citizens. Can’t help thinking, though, that had this error of judgement been directed at the Muslims there would have been a few Aussie flags burned and several effigies of our Prime Minister would have been cut to shreds in the streets of Lakemba.

The organisers of the Talkfest should regard themselves as being very lucky indeed. I also suspect that when it comes to Muslim sensitivities Kevin Rudd would have quickly changed the date.

The Truth about “Suite Française”

liligans Literature, So you think you're cultured?

Last year I wrote a sceptical review of “Suite Française” by Irene Nemirovsky which was not well received by readers from Amazon.com. In it I questioned whether the novel had any value as an account of the Holocaust. I am sticking to my claim and now I have support from a new publication about Nemirovsky. So it is with some vindication and a feeling of “I told you so” that I am now posting the original review which sparked an outrage in some circles. Continue reading →

The Charge of the Bright Brigade- Rudd’s talkfest cont.

liligans Politics

Yesterday I pointed out why having 1000 of the best and brightest minds descending on Canberra on one long weekend sounds like a daft idea. Too many people all at one time trying to offer solutions to this country’s problems is no way to actually listen and learn. The problem of volunteers having to pay their own way after having been selected to attend made no sense to me either. The impression that our Prime Minister was procrastinating by holding far too many talkfests instead of getting down to business was worrying me and still is.

So here is my suggestion on how the public can have an input into problems in our country. Continue reading →

Paul Syvret on Heath Ledger

liligans So you think you're cultured?

Paul Syvret is one of our best newspaper commentators. His article in The Courier-Mail on the topic of this obsession with celebrities is well worth reading.

I wrote the following to him since I also have similar views.

Dear Paul,

You poor misguided soul. Evidently, you don’t know what is important to the average reader. We want more about Heath, more about Britney, more about Amy Winehouse. We want interviews with people who never knew Heath. We want experts to tell us that it is wrong to hypothesise and then spend fifteen minutes hypothesising as does the Fox Channel . We want to hear from the masseuse (an “unregistered” masseuse…I believe that even if others wouldn’t). We want to deify Heath, cannonise Heath and we want to shed crocodile tears for him at a film event as did Daniel Day Lewis at SAG. Ever since Anna Nicole was laid to rest, dug up, laid to rest and dug up again, we have been starved of real news, so thank goodness, Heath the mumbler came to a rotten end, because now we can get our vicarious thrill.

They say that we get the media that we deserve and I used to go along with that view but am not sure sure about it any more. You and I can’t be the only people in the world who are fed up with that celebrity rubbish. I have several friends who say “Heath Who?

Rome had its Colosseum and Nero knew how to entertain the masses. Hitler, Stalin and Mao had great processions and ceremonies. We have had Live Aid and Bandaid and hands across the bridge for reconciliation which I like to call “Lemon aid”. We are still sucking on that one as I write.

Paul, the average person thrives on trivia. His or her life is quite mundane, so if celebrities can’t get their acts together, it is a comforting thought– schadenfreude is a sad but very true feeling. We are but a handful of dust and a pretty pathetic one at that.

As one cynic to another, I have to tell you that God loves fools or he wouldn’t have created so many of them. Think of it, though, if it weren’t for fools where would the fashion and entertainment industries be? How about advertising? It relies on gullibility, promise and fantasy. The entire celebrity circus is simply another facet of catering to the masses of whom there are many and growing.

Stepping off the soap box for a minute, I would like to suggest that your writing is superior to the usual Courier Mail standard and I believe you should expand your readership by going Australia wide.