Brett Debritz’s archive

The year’s not yet half over and America’s Dan Freeman is already more than 500 bars into his mission to drink at 1000 different licensed establishments this year. Follow his progress here and read more about Dan here.

While the debate is raging over whether the people of Queensland should erect a statue to the late Joh Bjelke-Petersen, you may not have noticed that there’s already a shrine to current premier and self-confessed “media tart” Peter Beattie on the very busy scramble crossing at the intersection of Edward and Adelaide Streets in the CBD. It would be a great pity if the otherwise commendable traffic-light control box beautification scheme was allowed to be politicised.

The advertisements screamed: “The buzzer is back.” Temptation, as host Ed Phillips regularly reminded us at its debut last night, is “the new Sale of the Century. (Nevermind that Sale of the Century was once the new Great Temptation, which was the new Temptation.) Channel 9’s flagship nightly quiz show has a new set and a couple of “Temptation twists” – like a new question round at the end where the night’s winner can score another $100,000 (which, miraculously, he did on the very first show). Essentially, though, it’s the same old show, where the real aim is for the at-home viewer to feel superior to the on-screen contestant by shouting out the answers first. Phillips looked nervous; co-host Livinia Nixon was allowed to do a little more than previous female sidekicks; and, sadly, there was no Pete Smith voiceovers. The contestants, meanwhile, were an incredibly handsome and well-groomed lot. I wonder if the stylists will be coming in every night …

Was JFK director Oliver Stone stoned on the pills cops found when they pulled him over on suspicion of drink driving? Only the tests will tell.

A woman in Nashville, Tennesee, has been indicted for hiring a stripper to entertain at her 16-year-old son’s birthday party. They got sprung when the mother, Anette Pharris, 34, took film of the occasion to the local chemist’s to be developed. Police spokesman Don Aaron said mninors were not allowed in strip clubs, and “a person shouldn’t be allowed to circumvent that law by hiring a stripper, a lady who took all her clothes off and spent a good amount of time dancing around minors.” Pharris said: “Who are they to tell me what I can and can’t show to my own children?”

A Czech musician has identified the mysterious “Piano Man” as a former colleague, Thomas Strnad,a classically trained musician who used to be in a rock band called Ropotamo. The painist, who is been unable or unwilling to speak or identify himself, has been looked after by mental health authorities in England since being found on a beach in April. He became known as the “Piano Man” since he drew a picture of a grand piano and later demonstrated the ability to play at a professional level.

British authorities say the nation’s heatwave was to blame when the hands on the clock of St Stephen’s Tower at the Palace of Westminster, better known as Big Ben, stopped moving. It got up to a sweltering 31.8 degrees – or a rather pleasant summer’s day here in Brisbane.

Eddie Albert, the star of Green Acres has died at the age of 99. It’s a good age for a man who became an icon for a generation, and whose show pioneered the concept of a “tree change”.

Brisbane’s iconic Breakfast Creek Hotel is turning 116 and the celebrations, which will run all weekend, began tonight with a party for media and industry folks. I’m not sure what’s so special about the number 116, but not too many people were complaining about the hospitality.

The “human headline” Derryn Hinch has caused an outcry by claiming the late Graham Kennedy was gay and that he died of AIDS. In his defence, Hinch told the Sydney Morning Herald that “all history owes debts to the truth”. Kennedy’s friend Noelene Brown insists the man known as the King of Australian television did not die of AIDS. Whatever the truth of the matter, maybe we should all ask: is it relevant? Hinch insists that he is not homophobic, and that may be the case – but his comments will undoubtedly stir up homophobia in others and cloud the memory of a great entertainer in the process.