Chadstone VIP event - UPDATE

Yes, the specials for Chadstone VIP/shopping event is up. It's nothing interesting but might be useful if you're waiting for that particular item that is never on sale.

No offers in the flyer on Apple Store. As you might know, a new and the first Apple Store in Melbourne was just opened in Chadstone last Saturday. However, CompNow (the other store that sells Apple stuff) is on the list offering $100 off any Mac purchase on the day (except for Mac Mini) and $30 off Guitar Hero for Mac, so that's $129.95.

One interesting offer is from Coles. I don't think that Coles has participated before but tomorrow, there will be a 5% discount on merchandise. Not sure whether there is any restrictions on the items.

Anyway, the offers are available here on a pdf format.

Enjoy.

Chadstone's Spring Event

Yes, Spring is here and it's time for another round of sales. It seems compulsory to have a sale on every season of the year. Thankfully, Australia (and some other parts of the world) only have 4 seasons. If we have 12 seasons, we'll have a sale every month.

Anyway, getting back to the 'event'. Chadstone will be having its usual VIP shopping event. This will happen next week on Wednesday, 17th of September. It will start from morning until night time (9 am to 10 pm) so plenty of time to shop. There will be the usual discounts (up to 50% off) and drinks to give away (after 5 pm), and some other things, such as

• runway shows, hosted by Alex Perry at 4 pm and 7 pm
• free workshop on "How To Look Good Dressed" at 11 am
• Christopher Chronis parade at 4pm

If you're heading from the city, there's a free bus that goes straight to Chadstone (stopping along the way of course). You will need to book it so that you will get a seat. You will need to call 1300 558 686 to book.

Up until today, there is no detail on the specials yet. Probably in a couple of days.

picture from chadstoneshopping.com.au

Kylie's Concert

Kylie's back. Yes, Australia's most beloved singer is back. She just announced her tour for Sydney and Melbourne in December. She initially only had one concert in each city but like we all know that's just tactics by the promoter.

Her first concert sold out in 2 minutes according to reports. Soon after the second show was announced and that too sold out within minutes. Apparently it set a new record in ticket selling history in Australia.

Now, the third show has just been announced and tickets start selling this morning (9 am) and last time I checked, there were still tickets available. So, if you haven't gotten your tickets yet, now might be the time. Go and check out Ticketek here.

Other than Kylie, there are also a lot more artist coming this way (Australia). To name a few:

• Alicia Keys
• Jordin Sparks
• Colbie Caillat
  
• MGMT
• Billy Joel
• Lady Gaga
• Simple Plan
  

More information check out Frontier Touring website.

Iron Man Review

Well, I watched Iron Man yesterday (thanks to Qantas) and it was alright (not great, just OK), typical action hero movie. I guess the first movie is always the most interesting part cause it tells you the beginning, what happened and how that 'hero' was created. This particular hero does not have super power (like Superman, Spiderman), he just have a super-brain that can develop a super-suit that has a lot of power.

The story line is pretty simple. Guy owns everything by selling weapons, get captured, given a taste of his own products, ran away from the captives (by building himself a man-suit), realise that there is other things to do in life besides selling guns and missiles, decided to stop the weapons production. Fiuh...and that's only the first part. The second part is about him creating the perfect body-suit to help people (by destroying missiles that he produced) then he was back-stabbed by his 'business partner' who creates a bigger suit for himself. They fought and at the end of the day, he won (and get the girl). Pretty simple right ?

Iron Man is played by Robert Downey Jr and his assistant is played by Gwyneth Paltrow. The villain is played by Jeff Bridges and Iron Man sidekick (in the Defence Force) is played by Terrence Howard.

One thing that was fascinating from this movie was the detail of the suit that was shown. Unlike Transformers, the transformation from a car to robot was instantaneous so you can not really look at it with great detail. But this movie was pretty detailed. All I can say is, this year, a lot of kids would want to be an engineer when they grow up.

If you like action hero type of movies (or Iron Man in particular) then go and watch this movie. The movies is packed with action and it's not boring (filled with drama like Spiderman), even managed to slip in a few jokes. I'd say it's alright (just because the story is so predictable) overall but my wife loved it and wants the DVD (or Blu Ray) when it comes out.

New Face of David Jones

Guess who is replacing Megan Gale as the face of David Jones. It's Miranda Kerr. Sounds familiar ? Alright, how about you have a look at her picture below and have a bit of a think,

Remember now ? She used to appear on Portmans' commercial, TV and massive posters which says "She Lights Up The Room". This year, she was one of the Australian model that joins other international models such as Heidi Klum in the Victoria's Secret annual Fashion Show.

Now, she will be replacing Megan Gale as the face of David Jones. The picture above is from her in-store appearance in Sydney just a couple of days ago.

Anyway, just thought I'll let you know cause you'll definitely be seeing more of her.

picture from heraldsun.com.au

No Spice Girls for Australia

There will be no reunion concert for the Spice Girls in Australia. This is sad news. The group decided to call it quit after 3 months of touring. Their last concert will be at Toronto and it's happening on the end of this month (February 26th). The official statement said that the tour needs to come to an end due to family and personal commitments for Emma, Geri, Mel B, Melanie C and Victoria.

The Spice Girls planned shows around the world (Australia, China, and so on) but sadly only Europe and US were covered in the 3 months. For Australia, one show was originally scheduled for Sydney. Further talks from promoter suggest that they might be playing other cities as well but it is unlikely after this.

One tabloid speculates that the tour ended early because Victoria Beckham is too exhausted. She wanted to focus more on her family and her fashion business.

Well, it's a really disappointing news for me. I was really looking forward to their concert if it were to reach Down Under but that's not going to happen now. So, I guess I have to be happy with their CDs.

Parting message (and official news/statement) from the group can be viewed at their website, thespicegirls.com.

picture from thespicegirls.com

Heath Ledger Gone

Australia has lost one its great actor. Heath Ledger was found dead in his New York apartment. The cause of death is still unknown at this stage but it is suspected that he overdosed.

This is a sad news for Australia and the world. Heath is to star as the Joker in the new Batman movie, The Dark Knight. He was nominated for an Oscar for his role in Brokeback Mountain.

Heath also had a daughter, Matilda with Michelle Williams his fiancee at the time. She was a co-star in Brokeback Mountain. The couple then split up in 2007.

Well Heath, good bye and may you rest in peace. We will all miss you.

picture from theage.com.au

Hamish and Andy Back for 2008

Hamish and Andy are back for 2008. They started their first show yesterday and will continue on their normal time slot 4-6pm.

I've got to say these guys are pretty hilarious. In 2007, they did quite some amazing stuff. They lived together as a conjoined twins for a week, they went to a nudist colony, Hamish did a marathon to beat Katie Holmes, Hamish had to wear a helmet for a week (cause he lost in the celebrity GP), Andy hooked up with Megan Gale, they all went in a caravan of courage all over Australia and the list goes on.

In 2008, they promised more to come. Their first show in 2008 was really a cracker. Hamish got to the bottom of Andy's alleged proposal to Megan. They also chatted with a paparazzi. They even had a recap of 2008, what a year it has been. But the best bit that I love was the song that they made for Corey, the infamous party boy.

In my opinion, it's nice listening to them not because of their 'silly stunts' but because they are two best mates that just want to have fun. They sure made me laugh. Anyway, you can podcast their show if you miss anything from their website or straight from iTunes.

Their regular show is 4-6pm weekdays on Fox FM in Melbourne (other state it's on the Austereo radio network so I think it's 2day for Sydney etc). Make sure you don't miss these boys.

picture from fox.com.au

Coincidently, this is also my 200th post. Yay.

Victoria's Secret

Everybody make sure you set your TV tonight to Channel 10. Get your recorder out, high definition TV ready because tonight, the Victoria's Secret annual fashion show will be on. It will be showing at 8.30pm.

It sure is an interesting one because Aussie model, Miranda Kerr is now joining the lovely ladies at Victoria's Secret.

If you don't know her, she was (or is) the model for Portmans (I think it's Portmans not Kookai or something else). Anyway, she appeared on prints and the TV commercial for them.

The Spice Girls also made a performance on the show. Rumour has it that they lip-sync on the show. It was completely denied, of course. I guess I'll have to check it myself tonight.

But, Victoria's Secret fashion show is always interesting to watch, I mean when else would you see half-naked ladies running around with wings. So, take this down Channel 10, Monday 10th December 2007, 8.30pm.

pictures from egossip.com, telegraph.co.uk

TV Shows : Strike Mode On

This season, Australian TV tried to be different with the US TV shows. Instead of waiting 6 months after they air in the States, they 'fast-tracked' it to 1 week. That's good for us but at the year when they started implementing this, the writers went on strike.

If you haven't heard, the writers association in the US is on strike refusing to write anymore scripts for any TV shows. They want fairer compensation on DVD sales or something like that. Anyway, it's been going on for weeks now and some TV shows are on halt, forcing them to end the season halfway or 10 episodes early.

Anyway, the strike is not going to stop soon and obviously you want to know what happens to your favourite TV show, what happens to the cheerleader, bionic woman, Jack Bauer and so on. Well, this guy in the US has compiled a fairly comprehensive list of what is happening to the shows. Check it out here. It will let you know what's happening with this season and how it impacts the shows. There are some shows that has no more episodes left (like Heroes), or some shows won't be aired at all (24). Some has a few episodes left up their sleeves but will finish up very soon as well.

Well, we all hope that this strike will be over soon because watching shows like this is definitely not funny at all. The link again, here.

Maroon 5 + One Republic Touring

Maroon 5 is coming back to Australia and they're taking One Republic with them as well. One Republic is a new comer but their single Apologize with Timbaland is currently number 1 in Australian charts. That single also made world record for being the most played song in a week over in UK (over than 10,000 times).

On top of the two acts, local musician will also support the concert (looks like a jam-packed concert). Both Brandi Carlile and Ry Cuming will also be supporting Maroon 5.

Here are the concert details:

• 28/03 - Perth
  
• 30/03 - Melbourne
• 31/04 - Adelaide
  
• 02/04 - Brisbane
  
• 04/04 - Sydney
  
• 06/06 - Auckland (NZ)

I still remember when I first attended their concert (when they were not 'so famous'), it was only at a small venue in Crown Casino. They then progressed to a bigger space in West Melbourne for their next show and now they're playing Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne. How amazing.

Anyway, there is pre-sale happening for Frontier Member (the touring company) and it's at 3pm Tuesday, 4th of December until 3pm the next day. The catch is you need to register with Frontier Touring (which is not a big deal).

Further details for the concert and pre-sale on Frontier's website.

picture from www.frontiertouring.com.au

Australia: You Have Decided

Well, congratulations to both Prime Minister Rudd which was elected on Saturday and Natalie Gauci which was voted to be the 2007 Australian Idol winner last night. In a weekend of voting, Australia decided whose face they want to see more on TV and whose voice they want to hear most.

Election 07
PM Rudd won the election fairly comfortably. He got plenty of seats and some say his win was historic. Well, it's kind of historic considering that there were a few seats that was taken over by his party from the Liberal.

The biggest loser on Saturday night was the Liberal party. John Howard not only lost the government, he also lost his seat. He wanted to create history by becoming the PM for the fourth time in a row but instead he made a history in another way (by losing his seat and his government). Peter Costello however, still retains his seat but made a statement to everybody that he will not be the leader of the Liberal party and now the party seems to be in a bit of mess.

Congratulations again PM Rudd, and we hope that you keep your promises and be a wise leader.

Australian Idol
On a lighter note, Natalie Gauci from Melbourne has won Australian Idol beating Matt Corby, the show favourite. She won just hours away from her birthday, making the win a sweet birthday present.

I think it's great that she won and not Matt Corby. Matt is a really really talented boy and it didn't matter whether he came second or first last night because I'm pretty sure he'll be around the (music) industry. But I do have something to say about the boy. He's been wearing the ugliest stuff throughout the competition. The outfit he wore on grand final (when he was performing) was a tight red pants and it sure made him look like Santa's elves but hey if he can pull it off, that's fine by me.

Natalie's winner single, Here I Am is on sale today. You can grab them here.

It can also be downloaded on Telstra Bigpond Music (other online retailers will get it on Monday). She will also be touring on the new year and tickets for that will be available on Monday. For more details, check the website australianidol.com.au

pictures from theage.com.au, heraldsun.com.au

Voting Week

This week is BIG for Australia. It is voting week. It is the week where Australia decides its new prime minister and its new Australian Idol.

Federal Election
This is happening next Saturday, the 24th of November. Instructions have been sent out to household on the method to vote. Basically you'll get two papers, white and green, and there are different instructions on how to fill them.

And by the end of the day, Australia will know whether they will have a new prime minister or the same old one.

I think Australia need a new leader and Kevin Rudd is perfect for it. However, I'm just not pretty sure about his staff. I believe John Howard is old school but I think he has stronger staff. But the problem of voting John Howard is that in a couple of years, you'll get Peter Costello, which I don't think cut it to become a PM. He's a nice guy though but for some reason, I wouldn't want him to be the PM. I think it is still 50-50. There is still a chance for both parties to win.

One thing that I find impressive of Kevin Rudd is his willingness to appear at television and radio shows (FM not AM). This might be his strategy to reach young people votes and I think it's working. He showed up at Rove Live yesterday, this morning at 9am and Fox FM breakfast show. Even though he was still careful in answering all the questions, he was more relaxed and it's not really boring to listen or watch him. He did avoided Rove question on who would he turn gay for but I think he would have been in a big trouble if he did.

Australian Idol
After several weeks of Idol competition, it comes down to the final two, Matt Corby and Natalie Gauci. Their last performance was last night, and they previewed the winner's song as well. The announcement will be on Sunday night at the Opera House.

I would say that both singers are pretty good. I want Natalie to win though because I think she's got a great voice and her fashion sense is way better than Matt. I think the winner's song sounded nicer from her. Don't get me wrong, I think Matt is fantastic as well. He's 17 and multi talented. He can perform with a pyjama and the girls will still adore him.

Anyway, we'll know the result soon enough. In the betting market, Matt is tipped to win. If you missed out with their last performance, you can still check it out at the Idol website.

picture from theage.com.au, australianidol.com.au

Hamish to Beat Katie Holmes [UPDATED]

Hamish from Hamish and Andy said on the show last week that Katie Holmes record of 5-and-a-half hour on a marathon recently in New York was rubbish and believe that he can beat her time. Andy, being a good friend, offered Hamish to try it out (do the whole marathon - 42km) and prove it that he can be Katie Holmes. This is on TODAY (Monday).

At the moment, Hamish is running on the tracks in Albert Park with Andy following up the back in a golf cart. Their show will start at 4pm and by 5.20pm, they will know whether Hamish has indeed beat Katie Holmes. If you want, you can go there and cheer him on.

Anyway, to listen to their show last week, you can podcast them here and don't forget to tune into their show this afternoon to check the result. This will be fun.

UPDATE
Hamish has finished the marathon and beat Katie's record in the marathon. He has finished 5 minutes earlier than Katie's time. Congratulation Hamish. I really didn't think that you could do it but you did. Amazing.

24 Season 7

The TV drama hit series, 24, is coming back next year for another season. It will premiere on the 13th of January 2008 in the US. The trailer for the new season has been released and can be viewed here.

However, I'm not sure whether the recent protest by the writers in Hollywood will effect the show. I have read somewhere that 24 will be one of the show that will be affected. I guess we could only wait and see.

ARIA Awards 2007

Well they say it's the biggest music night in Australia and probably it was. Australia's biggest music stars assembled in Sydney on Sunday night. There were Missy Higgins, Silverchair, Powderfinger, Sneaky Sound System, Operator Please, John Butler Trio, Ricki Lee, Damien Leith, Shannon Noll, Keith Urban, Delta Goodrem, The Veronicas, Chaser's Boys and many more. Nicole Kidman was there as well accompanying husband, Keith Urban.

There were great performances on the show I must say. Sneaky Sound System delivered a great mix of their current hits and it was fantastic. I'm not a big fan of them but after their performance I am definitely buying their album. John Butler Trio also performed with Keith Urban but I didn't get a chance to see the performance so I can't comment on it.

Everybody actually look stunning last night. Anyway, I didn't realise that Megan Gale is really tall (really tall). She was presenting an award and the winner looks tiny compared to her.

Here are the winner's list:

• Album of the Year, Silverchair's Young Modern
• Single of the Year, Silverchair's 'Straight Lines'
• Best Group, Silverchair
• Best Female Artist, Missy Higgins
• Best Male Artist, Gotye
• Breakthrough Artist — Album, Sneaky Sound System's Sneaky Sound System
• Breakthrough Artist — Single, Operator Please's 'Just A Song About Ping Pong'
• Best Rock Release, Silverchair's Young Modern
• Best Pop Release, Sarah Blasko's What The Sea Wants, The Sea Will Have
• Best Urban Release, Hilltop Hoods' The Hard Road Restrung
• Best Independent Release, John Butler Trio's Grand National
• Best Adult Contemporary Album, Josh Pyke's Memories & Dust
• Best Blues and Roots Album, John Butler Trio's Grand National
• Best Children's Album, The Wiggles' Pop Go The Wiggles
• Best Comedy Release, Dave Hughes' Live
• Best Country Album, Keith Urban's Love, Pain & The Whole Crazy Thing
• Best Dance Release, Sneaky Sound System's Sneaky Sound System
• Best Music DVD, You Am I's Who Are They, These Rock Stars Live At The Mint

images from theage.com.au, ninemsn.com.au

Loop Mall in Chadstone

Well, if you've been to Chadstone Shopping Centre lately, you probably saw a lot of construction works going. Yes, Chadstone is revamping, inside and out. Part of the revamp is to create a walkway from the Kmart section to the Toys R Us section and hence, create more stores for the centre.

This work has now been completed and it's opening on Monday. It is called the Loop Mall. The Loop Mall will have 44 new stores. For full listings of the new stores, click here.

Also, with there are some specials at the moment from the new stores at Loop Mall. Check it out here.

TV Shows

Well, this year the time we (Australia) watched US drama series will change. Instead of waiting until next year for the new season to start, we get the new episodes a week after it has been shown in the US.

All the US (fall) series has begun this week and we will get to watch them next week. OK, I lied. Not all shows that screened in the US will come back next week. For example, no Grey's Anatomy yet.

Here are some of the new and returning shows next week:

• Heroes - Ch 7 - Thu Oct 4 - 9:30pm
• Bionic Woman - Ch 7 - Thu Oct 4 - 8:30pm
• House - Ch 10 - Wed Oct 3 - 8.30pm
  

Not a lot but it's better than nothing and if you're still not up to date with the shows, get them on DVD here.

Bikini Troops

What do you get when you gather 1000 over girls wearing just bikini? The answer is a world record. Yesterday, 1010 girls gather at Bondi beach with just a bikini to break the world record for the largest swimsuit photo shoot ever.

The attempt was a success, they got a spot in the Guinness World Records. It will be included with the book next year.

The shoot itself was sponsored by Cosmopolitan magazine (and a razor company). At one point, the girls were asked to line up to make the letter C, O, S, M, O and be photographed from the sky.

The shoot will be reported in the January issue of Cosmo which sells around December.

I was just thinking, we should do it in Melbourne as well. I wonder if Melbourne can beat the record.

pictures from heraldsun.com.au, cosmopolitan.com.au

Foxtel Price Increase

Although I haven't actually got the news from Foxtel, I have seen reports that there will be an increase in the subscription price from 1st of December 2007.

The price increase for the channel groups:

• Get Started - $37.95
• My Sport - $17.95
• My Movies - $15.95 (no change)
• My Complete Movies - $28.95
• 1 of My Escape or My World or My Playtime - $16.95
• 2 of My Escape or My World or My Playtime - $22.95
• 3 of My Escape or My World or My Playtime - $25.95
• Platinum - $105.95

Individual channels:

• RAI - $19.95
• Antenna - $19.95
• Adults 1 - $24.95
• Adults 2 - $34.95
• Games World - $6.95

The price increase will see the Lifestyle channel be included in the Get Started package from December 1st.

There will also be a new channel called Showcase that will show Emmy award-winning dramas, feature documentaries and also Australian exclusive drama. The channel will be included with My Movies package for no extra cost.