You will note that I didn't comment, nor even reference, the N.S.W. elections that came and went slower than a turtle on dope. That's because, well, I frankly couldn't give two hoots about what happened. Sure, I'm a politics fanatic, love the stuff, but that wasn't politics. That election, the way it played out, the whole deal, was just pathetic, abysmal and boring. Iemma and Debnam are up there among the most boring, incompetent and unelectable person to ever lead a party.

So, to keep with tradition, I'm not going to talk about the N.S.W. election any more. It's been done to death by a million other people. Besides, it gives me a chance to refocus my attention on Rudd running wild all over the Liberals and Nationals. Go Rudd!

Thomas.

So here's what's going to happen. Australia, Sri Lanka, New Zealand, West Indies, South Africa, Bangladesh, England and Ireland are the final eight in the cricket World Cup. Ok, so Bangladesh isn't a part yet, but all they have to do is beat Bermuda to keep India out.

Out of these eight, my pick for the final four are Australia, New Zealand, West Indies and South Africa. There are only two possibilities for change: England (who I suspect will do a soccer World Cup and bomb, though they could surprise) and Sri Lanka (who just don't have the edge that the other five teams have). Either West Indies or South Africa are the two that could be left out for sake of England and Sri Lanka in my opinion.

I can't pick how the final four will go down until I see the draw. While I think Australia will get through with the most wins, the others are just too hard to pick. Ireland and Bangladesh are given victories to all the six real teams, England is a victory for Australia and New Zealand at the least, and Sri Lanka in the same boat there. The only question is will the "World #1's" of South Africa (and it's only a hollow title while you're not either the reigning World Champions, a part of the Ashes competition or Australia) fire up, and West Indies keep up their moderate-good performance to get enough wins.

Thomas.

Bad News: Woolmer was murdered

Good News: Pakistan is out of the Cricket World Cup

Great News: India is 99% out of the Cricket World Cup

Strand-of-hope News: England could go out of the Cricket World Cup


Thomas.

I've added a new element to my page on the right hand side over there, and for good cause which I will get to soon. It's a list of the last five movies I saw, so that I, and you, can keep track of what it is I'm doing. Of course, it's the last five new movies I saw. I'm not about to put in that I watched Donnie Darko for the umpteenth time a couple of days ago.

Now, the whole reason that I put that there was so that I could inconspicuously lead into a post about the latest movie I saw, The Last Kiss. I finally saw this last night after waiting the excruciating months between the release here and the release in the United States. Why was it an excruciating wait? Because it was reported to be a fantastic movie! And if you are one who doesn't take to other people's reviews of films (in which case you've probably stopped reading by now) then having the Hollywood golden boy, Zach Braff, in the film would be selling point enough, right? Wrong. Rachel Bilson, formerly of The O.C. fame, makes her film debut, with force.

I've only seen this film the once, so giving any sort of in-depth review would in no way do it justice. Instead, I'll just say that Zach Braff appears to be unable to anything wrong. Scrubs still goes strong (when most other shows are struggling to keep their viewer base). Garden State still stands the test of time. And now The Last Kiss. I originally said that Kiss was no State, but I think if I had second and subsequent viewings, it could be treated with the same esteem I give State.

Either way, The Last Kiss comes highly recommended from me. Go see it. The acting is superb, the whole plot, the development, and certainly the script is without a doubt up among the best of this year. But of all time? I'll have to see it a few more times to make that call.

Thomas.

I have, for those who may be interested (and I have a feeling there won't be a whole lot of you), put up a few of my favourite photos from my trip (seventeen I believe) into my DeviantArt account gallery.

Linkage.

A mere seventeen from the 750+ that I took ...

Thomas.

Ok, gather round fellow readers and I might relate to you yet another narcissistic story, only this time, with a new setting. No, I am not here to critique CityRail (though I could readily do that, trust me), or rip on the hallowed and prestigious University of Sydney (also something I could easily do), I'm writing, rather, about a little trip a trophy took to the other side of the world.

Yes, on my journey, I took with me The 18 Cup, with permission of course, in order to photograph it at all the landmarks/tourist spots/points of interest that I stumbled upon. These ranged across seven different countries, from London to Galipoli, Singapore to Venice and Krakow to Hong Kong. Of course, there was nothing to take pictures of in Hong Kong as, no doubt, Communism has killed off everything except slave labour and their own economy. Singapore too was a bit bare, but I took the obligatory photos there.

So, tracking my progress through my holiday, the first stop was Singapore, followed by England, then Turkey, and Poland, with the last significant photos in Italy. The points of interest for these places are as followed:

• On the tray table on the first leg of my trip.
  

Singapore:

• Hotel window;
  
• Back seat pocket in a taxi;
• Boat Quay;

England:

• In the snow that greeted me upon arrival in shorts and shirt (Come on! I had just come from sweltering Singapore!);
  
• At the ANZAC cemetery in Harefield;
• At a pub (The Swan);
• Stonehenge;
  
• In front of the London Eye with the River Themes towards the foreground;
• Downing Street;
• With The 18 Cup champion, sitting beside a lion at the foot of Nelson's Column;
• At the British Museum.

Turkey;

• ANZAC Cove (and again);
• Lone Pine;
• The Nek;
• In front of John Simpson's gravestone;
• In surviving trenches (and again);
• Chunuk Bair;
• Kalyon Bar;
• Inside the Blue Mosque.

Poland:

• Auschwitz;
• The Salt Mines.
  

Italy (Venice):

• On the Rialto Bridge, overlooking the Grand Canal;
• St. Mark's Square.

Italy (Florence):

• In front of the Duomo di Milano;
  
• With the Pontevecchio Bridge in the background from Piazza Michelangelo;
• With the Duomo di Milano in the background from Piazza Michelangelo;
• Where The Cup should have been (*).

Italy (Naples);

• A view of the Mediterranean;
• With some castle/fort behind;
• With the city behind.
  

Italy (Rome):

• The Colesseum;
• Pompeii (and again)(and again);
• Trevi Fountain (and again);
• Quirinal Palace (residence of the Italian President);
• The Sistine Chapel;
• On one of The Pope's carriages;
• St. Peter's Square;
• St. Peter's Basilica (and again);
• Julius Caeser's something or other (burial place, place of his pyre?);
• Monument of Vittorio Emanuele II;
• A view from the Monument of Vittorio Emanuele II;
• In front of Communist posters in Rome;
  
• Hotel Bar after spending my last Euros.

And, if you had the patience and want to click each of those links, you would have found, yes, the photos. Apologies for being in some of them; I know that I make an awful photo, it's nothing new. Anyways, as is evident, The Cup has done quite a tour and, it should be known, went international after an impromptu defense in England against two Pom poker players. Without worry or second thought, the current champion stepped up, won, and became the first international champion to see the record books. Of course, some have raised the question "What if you lost?", which is simply like asking "When will Gilchrist bowl?": it's just not happening.

As a side note, the prize pool for the night was two pounds per player (to keep in line with the Australian rules, standards and regulations for The 18 Cup tournament).

I should also warn any 18 Cup players that should they travel abroad or be approached by tourists who, for some strange reason, think they are nationally and internationally renowned for their elite and masterful poker skills that they go along with the ride, lest I be found out to be lying! So I might have embellished some truths ... well, I certainly wouldn't have been lying about myself when I said some of the things anyway.

Thomas.

Went to post ... jetlag kicked in ... now I'm not posting.

Thomas.

Things I learned from my trip:

- The free Internet-enabled computers at Singapore Airport are no good for posting comments on blogs
- Istanbul sucks
- Don't walk into a British pub and say "Who wants to drink!"

Yes I have returned, triumphant and victorious. Alas, my chariot broke down, so I had to hitch a ride with Qantas, but none the less, I'm here in one piece.

Which is slightly better than The 18 Cup is, let me tell you.

While on my gallivant around the world I thought up quite a few interesting blog posts, then drowned some of them in beer, then started to think of them again, and to make sure I didn't forget them again (because the drinking never really stopped) I wrote them down. The last thing I wrote was on a Qantas napkin, and it's quite full. So rest assured, along with the boring, long and somewhat uninteresting stories that you get with a Jet-setter, you'll get the standard, boring, long and somewhat uninteresting blog posts that you get with this Jet-setter.

However, not tonight. Yesterday's thirty-six hour day has knocked the wind out of me, and it seems that tonight and my return to university tomorrow will be used to catch up on sleep. Damn jet-lag.

Thomas.