Get Kevin A Chop!

Earlier this week it came out that Prime Minister Kevin Rudd unleashed a bit of an angry rant at a RAAF cabin stewardness in January because she couldn't bring him his requested meat-free dish for his in-flight meal.

That rather minor incident has led to predictable outrage, but my favourite is today's claim by Opposition agriculture spokesman John Cobb that Rudd needs a bit more red meat in his diet!

Opposition agriculture spokesman John Cobb said a lack of red meat explained the Prime Minister's "toddler tantrum" and why he was "as weak as a limp lettuce".

"Without iron in their diet a person will become pale, insipid, wishy-washy, anaemic and prone to outrageous outbursts," Mr Cobb said.

"A lamb chop or steak would put colour in his cheeks and iron in his soul. If you denied me a chop, I'd have serious anger management issues."

Yes John, I'm sure it was the lack of iron in his soul that made him tired and a bit irritable. Not the 24 hour, 7 day a week job of being PM. Was he a bit of a dickhead? Sure. But seriously, is this guy looking to oust Sam's Kekovich and Neill as the next spokesman for eating plenty of red meat? I can see the ads now!

Probably not, but John wins my stupidest story of the week award. Must have been a slow news day on Sunday.

Who trampled on the marketplace of ideas?

Apparently T-Rex did.

I found this video on a trip to the Freedom Museum in Chicago. So many questions...

This same museum had an area where you could create your own bill of rights. It censored what you could say, which is pretty normal for any of those computer interaction things, but hilarious when you consider the context.

All-time classic article from my travels - 'IHOP Opens in Harvard Square'

I came across this article a couple of years ago when on holiday in Boston. It was one of the news briefs on the front page of The Tech, the student newspaper of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. And to think that MIT students are known for their science and technology skills and not their cutting edge journalism...

An International House of Pancakes finally opened in Harvard Square on Nov. 22 after its opening was delayed from the summer. The IHOP is located on 16-18 Eliot Street across from the Charles Hotel, somewhat off-the-beaten-path from the rest of Harvard Square.
According to The Harvard Crimson, the IHOP seats about 96 people. I went for pancakes at a peak time (lunchtime on Sunday), and the wait for a party of two was less than five minutes.
Unlike many IHOP restaurants, the Cambridge IHOP has somewhat restricted hours - 7am to 2am. By comparison, the Soldiers Field Road IHOP in Brighton is open 24 hours a day. The Crimson reported that IHOP applied for 4am closure, but it was turned down by the Cambridge License Commission.
Food at the Harvard Square IHOP is standard IHOP fare. The food was tasty and the service prompt. Although my table had four varieties of flavored syrup, I had to steal the 'old fashioned' maple syrup from the next table over.

It should really end with: for a story based on a bit more than lunch, read The Harvard Crimson.

I do applaud the author's fight for 'old fashioned' maple syrup though. What the hell were the other four varieties?! Having eaten in America I can only shudder at the thought.

And if you were thinking about a trip to IHOP, here's my special choice from the menu:
*Rooty Tooty Fresh ’N Fruity ®
Two eggs, two bacon strips, two pork sausage links and two buttermilk pancakes crowned with cool strawberry or your choice of fruit compote and whipped topping.

There's not a chance the Australia movie will live up to the hype

As if the upcoming Australia movie had not had enough expectation heaped upon it, now Nicole Kidman has come out and claimed the experience of filming it transformed her life. As the Sydney Morning Herald article breathlessly states:

It's clear the making of the film transformed her from the inside out: "There's a lot of emotion attached," she says.

So let's summarise the things this movie, which seems to just be a traditional love story set in WWII era Australia, is said to have achieved or is expected too.

1. Reaffirmed Nicole Kidman's sense of Australianess (even though she plays an English woman in the movie).
2. Save the Australian film industry
3. Save the Australian tourism industry
4. Generate huge amounts of international interest in and sales of Australian products
5. Helped get Kidman pregnant, as she spent her weekends swimming in the "fertility waters" in the remote region of Western Australia where they were filming.
   

Ok number 5 was a joke, but still is there nothing this movie is not going to achieve! Next thing we will hear it is going to single-handedly save us from the international financial crisis.

I guess we'll find out in November.

Rant over. The cranky pants are off!