‘Sexist’ comments need to be put into perspective

 The Footy Show’s Sam Newman is again embroiled in a sexism controversey after a remark about a Tasmanian politician on the show. Sam insists he was inviting the poltician, Tasmania’s Economic Development and Tourism Minister Paula Wriedt, who is rather attractuve, on to the show to campaign for the state’s bid for an AFL team when he said: “It would be worthy of coming on, her.”

The remark was taken by his co-hosts as sexual but he immediately insisted he was taken out of context. Obviously this story is now headlining the news web sites and we won’t hear the last of it.

Regardless of the meaning of Sam’s comment we should take a step back and realise it will hardly damage Ms Wriedt, who I’m sure would accept any apology if it were forthcoming.

At the same time another football related sexism story has appeared online, but will not get the same attention as Sam’s remarks, despite it being far more insidious.

It has been alleged a female paramedic was subjected to sexually explicit remarks while surrounded by naked footballers in a change room in western Victoria, while treating a player who had broken his leg during a game on June 28.

As is usually the case, the keepers of the fucking thugs, the football league and club management, have refused to discuss the allegations, stating they are “speaking with Ambulance Victoria on the matter and that undisclosed “sanctions” had been applied to one of the club’s concerned.

Fuck that! Name and shame the fucking meatheads who did this and ban them from ever playing football again. If not the daily newspapers should stop reading press releases, get behind the truth of the story and if the claims stack up reveal the fuckers for the sexist pigs they are.  

Of course this won’t happen because everyone will be on Sam Newman’s back for a remark that would have went over most people’s heads if James Brayshaw hadn’t pulled Sam up.

It would be trivialising sexism if this story were blown out of proportion while the cases that did cause real harm and intimidation continued to go vicrtually innoticed.

Zoe Naylor’s cleavage

A quick look at search terms in this blog’s stats shows that in the past two days, 43 people found this web site while searching for “Zoe Naylor’s cleavage” - thanks to an earlier review I did about Gladiators.

So not to disappoint all those people hoping for a cheeky peak down Zoe’s top, here’s a lovely pic of her for everyone to enjoy.

Don’t thank me. Thank Zoe.

That’s nice dear

From the choices below, fill the in blank from the first par of this story from the Herald Sun.

Melbourne model Kelly Landry has beaten a strong field of starlets to win the prize role of …………

A) Australia’s Ambassador to the United Nations

B) UNICEF Ambassador

C) Face of Tourism Australia

D) Apprentice of the Year

E) Letter spinner on Wheel of Fortune

If you guessed E you were correct. Women have really come a long way and so has the Herald Sun in its never-ending quest for a decent local angle.

 

TV Review - Gladiators

 

Gladiators
Seven
Sunday, 6.30pm

This is crap, cheesy television at its absolute best!

What is it? A rehash of the show which took TV by storm in the 1990s where a bunch of extremely mascular meat heads who could crush your skull with their bare thighs and tear a new arsehole in a bull elephant try to stop contestants from winning certain challenges - there’s also men gladiators and challengers too.
Challenges include having to climb a stepped pyramid without being pushed off by a gladiator, clinging to ropes draped around a swinging sphere for one minute without falling off or having the gladiator remove a flag from your back, or getting through obstacle courses while being pummeled by gladiators.

First impressions: You want to hate it, but before you know it you’re cheering as a contestant throws Gladiator Amazon off the elevated podium. The hosts, Tom Williams and Zoe Naylor, who gets to show off her cleavage in ways not possible on McLeod’s Daughters,are there to simply introduce each challenge and ask a few questions to the combtatants and don’t take up any more show time than they need to.
Former Rugby League referee Bill Harrigan seems made for the job.
Gladiators include former AFL star Anthony Koutoufides, former Olympic pole vaulter and Ralph magazine regular Tatiana Grigorieva.

Verdict: Whoever at Seven thought of bringing this back is a genius. It’s fun family TV that’s almost pantomime, with heroes, villains and fun scenarios in the challenges. Seven have done a great job with the Sunday evening time slot in scheduling harmless, even old-fashioned TV that might not be everyone’s cup of tea, but hits the mark with many others, especially families.
I’d love to see the Gladiators used to tackle contestants in Dancing with the Stars and It Takes Two as they perform.

Rating: Good stuff, though I reckon it would be a hell of a lot more watchable if there were huge spikes and tigers to make things a little more challenging - yep, spikes and tigers.

Things you see watching TV! #2

During the football today there were ads for Today Tonight that showed a story about a real-life home eviction of a woman, who I assume has defaulted on her mortgage.

It’s quite distressing stuff. The woman claims she never received a warning and is understandably in no hurry to vacate. The officers from the Sheriff’s department obviously want to get things over with, though is there a need to tell this poor woman the sob story of “can you please leave, we have two more of these after you”.

Oh you poor fascist bastards! What sort of person does this kind of job, that forces families out of homes on behalf of banks? Whatever the merits of eviction why would anyone want to do it? Even parking officers think they’re cunts.

The things you see watching TV! #1

There I was with my daughter snuggled up on the couch watching Geelong bend over and sodomise Essendon and once again leaving Matthew Lloyd goalless. So, what could there to complain about?

Nothing as far as the footy is concerned, but when you’re sitting there watching any program with your children do you have to be subjected to road safety ads showing the aftermath of motorcycle ads, including “hands that look like they’ve been through a blender”?

I know it’s not the real thing, and the ads are there to serve a purpose, but it’s a bit much for kids to put up with.

TV Reviews - Moment of Truth & Kitchen Nightmares

 

Moment of Truth
Nine
Tuesdays, 7.30pm 

What the fuck Channel Nine? Your promos boast that “we love TV” and then you expose us to this total piece of televisual gob shite.

What is It? Who Wants To Be A Millionaire for vain fucking idiots. Contestants are asked personal questions with a lie detector supposedly detecting if they are bullshitting or not. Friends, partners or family members are with them so they are faced with either lying to protect their feelings or telling the truth for prize money, which rises incrementally up to $500,000.
It’s like Truth or Dare without the fun bits - like choosing dare and having to run down the street naked or using your elbow to make contact with your English teacher’s breast.

First Impressions: Why? What sort of fucked up individual would subject themselves to this shit?

Verdict: I hate everyone involved with this show and hope they die.
What scares me though is this sentence on the show’s website: “THE MOMENT OF TRUTH is being produced in 23 other countries, including Spain, Brazil, Germany, France, Italy and the United Kingdom.” Let’s pray this shit fails fast so Australia is not next - that said I reckon the Italian one would be worth a look.

Rating: What is it with Channel Nine and Tuesday 7.30pm? After subjecting us to Monster House (still one of Australia’s most serious unprosecuted crimes) Nine have served up a baker’s dozen of shit-stained arse!

 

Kitchen Nightmares
Nine
Tuesdays, 8.30pm 

Channel Nine was criticised for showing this in prime time after uber celeb chef Gordon Ramsay said “fuck” or its many variants 80 times in one episode. Now if my show followed that fucking pillock piece of shite Monster House or the fucking piece of shitful crap Moment of Truth, I’d fucking swear like a fucking bastard too.

What is It: Award-winning English chef Gordon Ramsay goes to struggling restaurants, before turning things around and making everyone happy - think Super Nanny but with ego-driven American chefs instead of little bastards whose parents have long mistaken them being the spawn of Satan for bad diet or Attention Deficit Disorder.

First Impressions: Like Super Nanny it’s quite formulaic -Ramsay enters a restaurant, spits the food out, tells the chef he’s the worst fucking chef he’s ever fucking encountered, and changes things for the better only for the fucking chef to chuck a wobbly before having an epiphany and using Ramsay’s advice for a happy ending. The different situations and idiot chefs make each week a unique joy to behold.

Verdict: I hate this genre of show but this makes me put the remote down and your feet up. It’s like driving by a crash scene on the freeway and gawking at the carnage despite your best efforts not to.

Rating: Fucking dog bollocks watchable.

Hi-5s for Charlie

 

One thing about being a parent, especially in the early years is having to sit with the little tackers through hours of kiddie TV shows. Because kids love things repeated you get to know these shows intimately so it helps if they’re watchable.

Alas there are slim pickings. The Wiggles are okay, but I find myself wanting to jump in the television to kick the shit out of Captain Feathersword. The Teletubbies are just fuckin’ idiots and that purple prick Barney is the one reason I’m glad dinosaurs were wiped off the face of the planet.

Hi-5 for all its mushy songs and all things nice was watchable not least because of the girls, especially Charli, and I mean this in the most respectful way. I always appreciated her charm, and her obvious like for kids. Charli has announced her retirement from the hit show, leaving just two original members. She’s a gorgeous woman and I pity anyone who has kids from this day forth and is forced to watch Hi-5 without her.