Like Bob Hawke before him, George W. Bush gave up drinking before taking on high office. This video from an American late-night show suggests he may have suffered a relapse.

I'm bald and pudgy, (arguably) cute, almost like a baby. Can Madonna please adopt me? I'd like to be rich.

A day earlier than usual, Spencer Howson and I chatted on 612ABC this morning about Opera Queensland's 2007 season launch, my answer to the traffic chaos, the oratorio Not the Messiah, little shampoos from hotels and ubiquitous branding.

The smoking cowboy known as the Marlborough Man has topped the list of "The 101 most influential people who never lived". A book just launched in the US also lists Big Brother from George Orwell's 1984, King Arthur, Santa Clau, Barbie and the Loch Ness Monster. Perhaps we should add to the list the current star of the Doonesbury comic strip, Fear Itself.