Okay, once you’ve looked at my Gleewarts photos, now you can look at other people’s. I clicked through hundreds of photos to find the few that featured our group: Amy sleeping. Me with Hedwig. Me and the Snook. Fire dancing hippies. (Look for us between the red and yellow flags.) Sirius the Insane. Sirius drinking Ribena. (I nearly snorted Diet Coke out my nose when I clicked on that last one.) Madam Pince and Sirius. And lastly, I don’t even know this kid and I never saw him on the trip, but this is the BEST PICTURE EVER. Just the thought that all the fuss and work that went into the trip could make this kid happy MAKES IT ALL WORTH IT.

At long last, my Gleewarts Express photos are now online! Laugh with delight as wizards and witches gather before you. Tremble in suspense as the Snook grapples with live snakes. Wee in your pants at the sight of a Marauding Mancho. Go on, I dare you.

A few days ago I read this editorial at the Sun-Times about Dove’s new advertising campaign in the US. As they don’t seem to have launched the campaign in Oz, I’d heard nothing about it. Apparently they’re using “real women” instead of emaciated model types. Based on the comments Wendy mentioned in her article, I assumed that these were really big, like, obese women; still pretty but obviously a long way from traditional models. Today I took a look at the actual site. What the hell? Those women are gorgeous! They all look fit and strong and curvy and not flabby at all! (Which is good, since they’re selling firming cream, and I now want to get some.) I just can’t believe that big-name journalists like Richard Roeper would go on the record as objecting to these women. “If I want to see plump gals baring too much skin,” said Roeper, “I’ll go to Taste of Chicago.” Nice one, Dick. If I looked like these women, I’d feel like the Supreme Sexy Goddess of the World. (Maybe I do and I just can’t see it?)

This past weekend Amy and I finally got off our asses and decided to prepare our entry for the Knitty 2006 Calendar Contest. The idea is that you send in a photograph of yourself wearing an item from Knitty. We figured that the two of us in our matching Cheesylove vests in an iconic Sydney location like the Opera House would be a shoo-in to win. Right? Right. So having secured a photographer, we headed down to the Quay near sunset to best capture our amazing hotness. (My complaint that I don’t get off the couch for less than $10K a day fell on deaf ears.) We get to submit three for the contest…

Unleash your inner Jackson Pollack. How cool is that? Took me a few seconds to figure out what to do. (Link courtesy of Zesmerelda.)

Eileen’s blog has been around less than a week and she’s already created a signature meme for herself: the Awkward Friday Photo. She’s amassed a collection of bad teenage photos and she’s doling them out one per week. This week it’s the shuddering horror of a “braided frontal tail.” (The sad thing is, given the student body at my junior high school, that just as easily could’ve been a girl.) I’ve got a few of my own I should probably send to her…

In case you missed the announcement, my very own college Roomater Eileen has launched her very own weblog. I just wish she was still waitressing; the stories from that were comedy gold, people!

Whew. That was a much, much needed design update. I couldn’t stand looking at those snowflakes any longer. I think I’ve worked out all the big kinks… but let me know if you find any pages that look weird.

That sucks. The Valhalla theater is closing and the Chauvel is following not long after. I never even went there! The Snook and I have been thinking about making a standing date to go to the Dendy once a week. I suddenly feel compelled to support the local independent cinemas.

Remember Brian and Greg, the twins on The Amazing Race who flipped their jeep but still managed to beat the odious Ray and Deana in a footrace? (Remember how that was the greatest moment of that season EVER?) It appears that Brian is an aspiring actor, and on his website you can watch their audition video. It’s the FUNNIEST THING EVER. My favorite parts were the car-slide credits, the breakdancing, and the blooper reel at the end. If there’s an All-Star Race, these guys need to be on it.