Brett Debritz’s archive

Australia’s richest man, Kerry Packer, has been added to the Celebrity Deaths Archive at the age of 68. ABC Online has coverage here.

Just a taste of things to come: my first holiday photo to be posted on this page is of the famous world heritage-listed Gordon River in northwest Tasmania, taken just a few days ago.

A grief-stricken woman – one of the survivors of the Asian tsunami who has returned for its first anniversary – spots a camera trained on her and orders the operator not to take her picture. He or she does anyway, and someone – a reporter or a producer – decides to screen the image on the 7pm news. I think someone at ABC TV News made a very bad call tonight.

Only in America … a US court has issued a restraining order against talk show host David Letterman. A woman claims Letterman and other celebrities have been sending her coded messages that have caused her bankruptcy, mental cruelty and sleep deprivation since 1994. Apparently Letterman’s at fault because he started sending her “thoughts of love” across the airwaves.

Brisbane’s B105 has announced its new breakfast team. Apparently local standups Mike van Acker and Stewart ‘Stav’ Davidson will line up with Gabby Millgate (of Muriel’s Wedding and Full Frontal fame) and announcer Ben Wasley. Reports are that the team, replacing Jamie Dunn, Penny Cooper and Dean Kesby, will be on air from January 3.

West Wing star John Spencer has died at the tragically young age of 58. Ironically, his character in the show, Leo McGarry, survived a heart attack last year. As CNN reports, Spencer did not. His name will be added to the Celebrity Deaths Archive when I get FTP access to that site again.

My annual holiday starts here. If all goes to plan, this blog will be updated every few days until mid-January, when daily updates will resume. I’ll also update the Celebrity Deaths Archive and Brisbane Theatre Calendar when I can. When I return, I plan to start work on a new look (and a slight change of direction) for debritz.com.

He may not have achieved world peace and an end to poverty yet, but Bono and his U2 bandmates certainly made some money this year. The band’s Vertigo tour, coming to Australia next year, was the world’s biggest in 2005. According to a BBC report quoting Billboard magazine, the tour grossed £146.6million over 90 days. The top 10 earners also included the Eagles, Neil Diamond, Kenny Chesney, Paul McCartney, Rod Stewart, Elton John, Dave Matthews Band, Jimmy Buffett and Green Day. Funny how, with the exception of No. 10, we hardly ever hear any of these acts on the radio.

Brisbane’s only daily newspaper, The Courier-Mail is to change size from broadsheet to tabloid sometime in the first half of 2006. The story is on The Courier-Mail’s website here. The announcement comes on the same day that Premier Peter Beattie said he would like to see another newspaper in Queensland.

Twelve European women have spent two months in bed – all in the name of science. By lying down and undertaking certain tasks they have helped scientists learn more about the effects of weightlessness in space. They were also paid £10,000 each for their cooperation. I wonder if they’re looking for male volunteers …