A few thoughts on the opening of Brisbane's impressive new Gallery of Modern Art last night:
* I think it was very wise of them not to lay the carpet until after the opening. Those red wine stains are impossible to remove.
* On the subject of drinks, I had to walk a long way to find one of the non-alcoholic variety.
* I got sick of hearing about how many interstate guests were there. As if we need people from elsewhere to validate what's happening in Brisbane. Let's shake off the cringe, people.
* It's great to see they gave this sign (pictured) one last outing.
PS: Yes, I know it's not meant to have carpet and, yes, the headline on this item is meaningless, but I thought it was funny.

As I said on 612ABC with Kelly Higgins-Devine (filling in for Spencer Howson) this morning, the incident at the Walkley Awards ceremony last night does the already embattled reputation of the journalistic profession no favour.

I'm not sure if this is appropriate or not, but I can't help wondering whether Sam Moran will be a "real" Wiggle now that he's officially replaced the ailing Greg Page. Will he get the same share of the takings as the other three Wiggles or will he just be an employee on the payroll? I assume Page, as a founding member, will also continue to have a stake in the huge multinational business that is The Wiggles.

Someone wise once said that the only nickname worth having is one given to you by somebody else. I mention this because I was reminded today of a minor celebrity whose writings I used to edit many years ago. He had a falling-out with the publication in question because we refused to refer to him by the nickname he had created for himself. He's still using it, and it still doesn't ring true.

Something I'd like to see (and hear): SMS tones and ringtones that warn you about the nature of the message you're about to receive. It'd be fantastic to know if you're about to get a friendly call or a nasty one (so you've got the option of leting it go through to message bank).

Sign outside an inner-Brisbane pub: "This hotel has a dress code at management's discretion." Translation: you won't get in if we don't like the look of you, and we'll use what you're wearing as an excuse.

I was dining out last night and the waiter asked: "Was your food cooked correctly?" It's a subtle but clever twist on the more usual "How is your food", because it that excludes the possiblilty that I simply don't like it.

I guess one of the things about sending spam email is trying to convince the person at the other end to open-up the thing by pretending it comes from somebody they know. It's such a shame I don't know anybody who goes by any the following names: Wesley Rucker, Ryan Witherspoon (Reese's brother, perhaps?), Willie Toney, Vito Bingham, Myrna Melvin, Marcy Butcher, Hector Pettit, Siegmund Siebert, Randolph Love, Raul Stark or Una Leal. Apologies if you go by any of those monikers, but they just don't sound real to me.

I was just watching the SBS news and it occurred to me, not for the first time: Why do give the global weather to an audience that is in Australia? Even if audience members were intending to travel to another country - especially one that's more than a day's travel away - surely there's every chance the weather will have changed by the time they get there.

Cliff Richard says he gave British Prime Minister Tony Blair use of his villa in Barbados because the PM was looking tired after deciding the go to war in Iraq. I've been pretty tired lately, too, Cliff. I wonder if you could see your way clear ...