Let me start by saying that despite self-identifying as a Catholic every 5 years on the census, I am not a superstitious person. However, since Sunday morning, something strange has happened five times in my home. My shaving handle (Gillette Fusion Power) is battery operated, and it has somehow turned itself on five times in …
Author Archives: Ernest Zanatta
I, Robot – Turning a State of Disaster into a Police State?
I, Robot is the sort of movie you watch once in the cinemas and then mostly forget about. I cannot remember too much about it except it had Will Smith in it and that actress who was one of the barmaids in Coyote Ugly (yes, I have high brow taste in film). With the restrictions …
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Should we boycott Mulan?
I must admit that I was looking forward to seeing the live action remake of Mulan in the cinemas earlier this year, until the pandemic resulted in the closure of cinemas. Mulan, the latest Bond film, Black Widow, and Bill & Ted 3 are all films I have been keenly awaiting. Mulan has a great …
Fiona Patton’s Yar Yar Binks Moment
I fear the introduction of Yar Yar Binks into the Star Wars Franchise is the moment that Star Wars jumped the shark (and they did have a lot of shark like creatures on Coruscant in Episode One). Through the good fortune of meeting two fugitive Jedi, Yar Yar Binks is turned from an outcast exile …
What Happens When The Mask Comes Off?
One of my more juvenile pleasures is to watch the current season of The Masked Singer, a show which best demonstrates the rapid decline of Channel Ten in recent years. D-list celebrities perform in masks to provoke the supposedly funny reactions of mostly appalling B-list judges (except for Dannii Minogue – she has always been …
The Disaster Artist
The late Dr Hal Colebatch and I had at least one close friend in common, as well as many friendly mutual acquaintances. We also had one close ex-friend in common, who chose unilaterally to fall out with each of us separately (myself in 1998, Hal in 2012). I am fortunate that I had the opportunity, …
On Becoming A God In Central Florida
I’m the sort of person who tends to cope better than most with the lockdown which has been caused by the current plague. Living in a house with large front and back yards suits me, and in early February I had the foresight to get my NBN installed and my internet plan upgraded to unlimited …
What I Miss Most During Lockdown….
On Saturday, whilst binge watching some TV, I discovered a new show on Apple TV+, a gentle sporting comedy called ‘Ted Lasso’, about an American gridiron coach who is hired to coach an English Premier League soccer team. The new owner’s motives for doing so are somewhat Machiavellian – she got the team as part …
Silk Roads and all that
Ok… firstly a shout out to my readers in the Peoples Republic of China. It seems that I have more readers there right now than where I would like them or where I feel my words might make more of a difference (ie in the Commonwealth of Australia). I like having readers, regardless of their …
Diplomatic Immunity
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2020/aug/10/queensland-court-dismisses-student-activist-drew-pavlous-case-against-chinese-diplomat?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other Drew Pavlou, the UQ student who has become a high profile human rights activist (at great personal cost) has lost a court case where he accused the PRC consul of inciting violence against him. The case was lost on the issue of diplomatic immunity. Like most people of my generation, the term diplomatic immunity …
Lost For Words! 