hardtack

There's only one fact that matters, and that is that he chose to drive with alcohol in his system. If you are suggesting that maybe it was residual from an earlier drinking bout, then he must have been extremely pizzed which if anything makes matters worse. I would disagree that I was making an issue out of it...rather, I was pointing to the fact that now he is playing at the top level, he needs to exercise more self control. You are right about those players, but that doesn't make it any less unacceptable.

Regardless of what he blew (even if it was .01), it displays a lack of self discipline, something that I would have thought was a prerequisite to becoming an elite AFL player. Sure it could normally be put down to the exuberance of youth, but in Oliver's case, he should know exactly what is required if he wants to make it at the top level of his chosen sport. We can only hope he has learnt a very important lesson - do not under any circumstances, drink and drive.

I think they ended up with an open misère.

There are no angels, but I'm sure we will be hearing a lot of that song in days to come.

Just when you thought 2016 couldn't get any worse...title says it all.

Yep, and now we've got Idiocracy.

I like the fact that one of McInerney's strengths is that he's clean below ground level.

That or a high incidence of dysentery

I loved watching kids almost choking themselves to death trying to out drink Gerry Gee while Ron Blasket (a tisket a tasket) looked on with a sadistic grin across his dial. King Corky and Princess Panda were always a bit dodgy (rumor was that PP went on to work in adult films). Happy Hammond was a snappy dresser in his plaid suits. Even as a child I could tell that Uncle Norman was a senile old [censored]; still have a vivid picture in my mind of the time he broke his leg on live TV falling down the tiered seats as he walked through his audience.

Rivers was a more than handy backman... and would have been regardless of who he played for (unfortunately, by the time he got to Geelong, injuries had gotten the better of him).

Yeah, it seems to happen to a lot of them... De Niro, Depp, Steve Martin, Oldman etc. Lure of the easy $ maybe?

He and Gudinski...had to have $20 each way...I'm a happy once a year punter (truth be known, I only found out about those connections after the race).

And what else is boxing if not violence at its most primal... I think Raging Bull is a brilliant piece of film making and one of De Niro's finest moments.

In some ways I prefer Woody's left of centre films like Zelig and Shadows and Fog.

Fair enough... I'm just not unhappy that we have him there in the meantime :-)

Not every player needs to be flexible... sometimes there can be an advantage in having a playing who is good at just one thing, and I feel that in defence that is not always such a bad quality to possess.

I think Jetta will stay ahead in the pecking order simply because the others (Wagner and Smith) lack the raw aggression that he brings to the game. I'm not too concerned over his disposal by foot as his job is more to lock the ball down and get it to someone who can move it out of defence quickly (Hunt etc). Like you, this is just my take on it.

I'll be doing my usual new year's pilgrimage to Melbourne with my youngest son, arriving on the 3rd of January and staying for about 10 days. I'm hoping this will get us the opportunity to watch 2 or 3 sessions... I remember at the beginning of this year there was one at Gosch's followed by one at Casey in the first week of the new year (hoping it will be the same this year).

Well it's funny how these things happen, but I just turned on the TV to watch some Melbourne Cup day action, and there on Foxtel's TCM channel is "5 Million Years to Earth" (aka Quatermass and the Pit)! Guess which won out for my viewing pleasure :-)

Yeah, I'm a big fan of that as well... Bruce Dern was excellent. I just have a real soft spot for 50's and 60's sci-fi.

I'm currently waiting on a number of blurays I ordered from Amazon in the UK. Firstly Lindsay Anderson's brilliant "If" and then four films from the Japanese director/actor/author/talk show host Kitano "Beat" Takeshi: "Hana-bi" (Fireworks), "Kikujiro's Summer", "Dolls" and "A Scene at the Sea". If you haven't seen anything by "Beat" Takeshi, I would recommend you try to check some out. Japan has turned out some superb directors and he is right up there with the best. They may not be everyone's cup of green tea, but there's only one way to find out for yourself.

Love, love, love it!!! Along with Forbidden Planet and Earth vs the Flying Saucers, that is one of the greatest sci-fi movies ever made.

Ok, we can go to the movies together :-)

Haha! Well, I'm guessing we won't be going to the movies together :-)

Many years ago (decades even), there was a beautiful old heritage listed pub in George Street Sydney which was standing in an area where Harry Seidler and his cohorts were constructing what is now Grosvenor Place. They suggested to the Sydney council (I think it was) that the pub was unstable and should be demolished, but their request was rejected...just a couple of weeks later the pub caught fire a Seidler suggested again that the remaining shell was a hazard and should be demolished. They were ordered to repair the facade of the building which was then incorporated into the final Grosvenor Place building to great effect. i never liked Seidler and that effort did nothing to raise him in my esteem.