and so it came to pass..

So the tSS is 4 weeks out but as it was revealed just 5 minutes ago-our spooky prediction 3 months ago has come true. NSW has it's first female premier in the capable form of  Las Vegas born, American accented and former Colorado Teamster's Union organiser, 40 year old Kristina Keneally.

Keneally is the niece of Oscar winning author Tom Keneally who penned the bestseller Shindler's Ark which was turned into a blockbuster film by Steven Speilberg. Kristina was elected in a party room spill after premier Nathan Rees threw in the towel 30 minutes ago.
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# with the elevation of Tony Abbott 2  days ago to Federal Opposition Leader of the Liberal Party, tSS has slaughtered it's pet chook and studied the entrails. Ignoring our advice to stick with our pal Malcolm Turnbull and running with an Abbott/Bishop ticket ( Julie Bishop as deputy leader) the Liberals look likely to lose another 20 seats in next year's general election.
           Should PM Kevin Rudd pull a double dissolution with the full Senate up for grabs-the Greens will pick up an extra 2 seats giving it the balance of power in the upper house. 
(If only former treasurer Peter Costello had still been around-who could resist an Abbott & Costello team ?)
Prove me wrong.
(ps: we'll still be going to Mal's Christmas bash. We'll be bold here with another claim..a defection is in the air)

Talkin' 'Bout My Generation

An exhibition opens at Canberra's National War Museum today titled "of Love and War" which "looks at the impact of war on relationships and the ways in which Australians incorporated affairs of the heart into their wartime lives."

Featured in the exhibition will be works by the great Australian WW1 war artist George Washington Lambert. Lambert, one of the first of the colonies great artists has an extraordinary link with one of the world's most enduring and possibly greatest rock'n'roll bands, The Who.       
                                                                                  self-portrait :G.W.Lambert

Born in St Petersburg, Russia to an American father and English mother, Lambert's family emigrated to Australia via Germany in 1887 when Lambert was 13 years old. Winning a variety of art prizes and a scholarship to study at the Royal Academy in London, Lambert was hailed as fine portraitist and won numerous awards in the UK before returning home. In 1917 he became the official Gallipoli artist for the Australian government.

left : Pete Townshend & Kit Lambert

Fast forward to 1966 and a young ex-British army officer and budding film director sets out in London with partner Chris Stamp to find the ultimate rock band after watching the success of The Beatles and the Rolling Stones.

George Washington's grandson Kit Lambert was successful in his bid and launched the re-badged High Numbers onto the world as The Who. The Who's success has never waned and the band's music is still being used in current US TV shows. It was Lambert who patiently tutored Pete Townshend and Roger Daltrey into seeing music in a new way. And thus a new genre-the rock opera Tommy was born.

The influences for Tommy came from George Washington's son, and Kit's father, Constant Lambert, the English classical composer and conductor who swept a young rising ballet star of her feet. A scandal swept London society when it was revealed that a 16 year old Margot Fonteyn had become pregnant to Constant. An abortion followed.

There was a running theme through the male Lambert's psyche-all were convinced they would die young. And so they did. George at 57, Constant and Kit, both at 46.

# of Love and War runs to 5th May 2010                                                           
                                                      
                                                           Christopher Wood's portrait of Constant Lambert

                                                                               

Hollywood appointment

                                                                                                Marie Sutton & Gordy Willesee

Jetting out to LA today is Gordana Willesee, wife of former TV presenter turned media mogul and more recently, re-confirmed Catholic Mike Willesee.

Gordana, a make-up artist who fell for Willesee while working at the Channel Nine studios, will be checking out the latest make-up techniques at various Hollywood studios and hopes to put them into practical use back in Sydney.

Gordana's the top favourite to touch-up major celebrities before they walk the red carpet at film premieres and has worked with some of the world's major movie stars.

  She took time off for a quick lunch at Ottos at Woolloomooloo Wharf with tSS and society maven Marie Sutton and brought us up to date on some of her husband's latest projects. Following the success of his Signs From God documentary in the USA in which Willesee explores various incidents of stigmata around the world, he is busy writing a book on the same subject.

Willesee is also pushing for further research on the Shroud of Turin and is backing a scientific analysis to see if  the artifact contains the blood of Jesus Christ. The Shroud goes on public display next year for six weeks at Chapel of the Shroud in the Turin Cathedral.

The Willesee's have impecable Catholic credentials with Mike re-discovering his faith in recent years. Gordana showed us the tiny Rosary beads that bear the Papal seal given to her when she and her husband had a private audience with Pope Benedict on his recent Australian visit. Recently at an exhibition opened by Cardinal Pell, Mike snapped up all 12 life size decorated statues of Christ which now decorate the large garden of his Centenniel Park's mansion, forming a pathway to his private chapel.

And when Gordana returns with her new skills she has her first client lined up-Hugh Grant when he attends the premiere of his latest flick Did You Hear About the Morgans?. But not before she is joined by Mike in LA who intends to whisk her off for a week at the Waldorf Astoria for Gordana's first visit to New York. 

Congrats, but who are you?

The New York Post discovers Dr Geoffey Edelsten & Brynne Gordon on their big wedding day except for one thing-they have no idea who they are.

Talk about fame by association. The Murdoch rag has run a piece about Seinfeld's Jason Alexander and Nanny star Fran Drescher who jetted in to attend the nuptials of the wacky pair but revealed the 2 stars hadn't actually met the bridal couple. Drescher and Alexander co-hosted the "glittering"wedding on Saturday at Melbourne's Crown Casino. They weren't alone as local radio and TV stars turned up clutching invites not knowing the bride and groom either.

The NYP also brings us the riveting news that the buxom Brynne hails from Brad Pitt's hometown of Shawnee in Oklahoma but ponders on how much Drescher & Alexander were being paid. We can illuminate here-$40K each plus first class travel and a suite at the Crown. Not bad for a lazy weekend Down Under.

And don't be surprised if the good Doc brings us news in the coming weeks of a fabulous investment he has and we can get in on the ground floor if we're lucky. He's that kinda guy.

no joy for Justin

Sydney nightclub mogul Justin Hemmes had his application against police rejected today in the Supreme Court.
Hemmes had applied to have an order overturned- from licensing police to class his Ivy and Establishment venues from today as 'type 2' venues . The classification forces bars to close earlier than usual with alcohol served only in plastic beakers as opposed to glass and is applied when there have been over 12 assaults reported.

Despite Hemmes claiming his various bars have up to 2 million patrons a year passing through without incident and that he had no time to order enough plastic beakers, the judge rejected his application with the comment: "it would have been prudent to anticipate any development" .

 This is a blow to Hemmes who is possibly one of the most gentlemanly hosts and has always had excellent security at his nite-spots. Hemmes is expected to appeal.

Santa Baby...

The last time tSS encountered the diminutive Bob Dylan was a year ago in the now closed Ritz Carlton Hotel in Double Bay. That was the inn were Princess Diana hid out on her last ever charity visit to Oz in 1996 and where INXS frontman Michael Hutchence hanged himself. The evening before his death tSS had shared drinks with Hutchence in the hotel bar.

Dylan and a friend entered a lift along with tSS and being near the operating buttons became slightly agitated as the elevator failed to respond to his repeated finger stabbing. "Swipe your room-key" was our advice and -voila !-the lift began to rise as Dylan gratefully responded, "thank's man, you saved my life". A slight exageration-he was only going one  floor. As he alighted holding 2 plastic beakers of take-away coffee tSS was rewarded with a  friendly wave.

Later we learned he had just returned from Graeme Goldberg's DeeBees cafe where he had spotted hanging amongst the flags of the world fluttering outside,a Jewish kippah and asked the waiter why it was there. That was enough to bring Goldberg from his office and 20 minutes later, Dylan left clutching his takeaway coffee after posing for a snap and signing an autograph which now takes pride of place amongst dozens of similar celebrity snaps lining the cafe's walls.

And that's by way of introducing Dylan's new Yuletide offering- Must Be Santa

Exclusive !-famous cottager to attend Mardi Gras

tSS can confirm that singer George Michael will be the guest star at the 2010 Gay & Lesbian Mardi Gras in Sydney.

Promoter Paul Dainty announced Michael's tour on Thursday and now a shift in dates has one show in Sydney scheduled for February 26th-the Mardi Gras is on the 28th February.

  It’s George Michael’s first Aussie tour since 1988 and both Dainty and the office for the Mardi Gras have refused to comment-which basically confirms he will be present.

The gay pride event, the largest of it's kind in the world , began as a political protest in 1978 when a group of protesters marched up Sydney's Oxford Street to protest the Stonewall Riots in New York. Hundreds of police officers weighed into the marchers with batons and 53 were arrested with claims of vicious bashings in police vans. 

These days the police march in the 2 kilometre parade along with thousands of gays and lesbians and colourful floats with parents and children of the marchers, representatives of the police, armed services, firefighters and hundreds of drag queens walking side by side to Fox Studios where a mass orgy party begins at 10pm and ends around 12 hours later. Politicians from the Prime Minister down send their best wishes and crowds of spectators have at times, numbered up to one million..

top Aussies..

The Sydney Morning Herald's Good Weekend magazine has published it's list of the Most Influential Australians of the past 50 years and feminist Germaine Greer has come out tops, chosen by a panel of 8 judges that included conservative historian Geoffrey Blainey, former Labor Party chairman and top egghead Barry Jones and publisher Louise Adler.

Greer was chosen  "for revolutionising how women thought about themselves and forcing men to rethink women, too." Coming in third is the antique clock collector and former Labor PM Paul Keating for "formenting the culture wars and refashioning the economy". 

 Scot's born chef and best-selling cook-book writer Margaret Fulton, philosopher Peter Singer and builder A.V.Jennings received kudos for changing the way people cook, think and view homes they live in.

Writer Patrick White, much beloved by intellectuals earned a guernsey and the singing budgie Kylie Minogue clocked in at number 20 for, as Blainey puts it : "showing what the girl next door could do"

handy guide to those climate skeptic Liberal Party MPs

As featured in Climategate in the Telegraph.co.uk

Tony Abbott MP: known as the 'Mad Monk'. Disciple of the late Catholic powerbroker , communist conspiracy nutter,anti-capitalist and Franco & Mussolini admirer B.A.Santamaria-who caused the split within the Labor Party that kept it out of power for 2 decades. The Mad Monk looks like doing the same favour to his Liberal Party.

Senator Erca Abetz : known as the Tasmanian Devil  Born in Stuttgart, West Germany and makes Attila the Hun look like a Girl Guide. Great-nephew of SS-Brigadeführer Otto Abetz, Nazi German ambassador to Vichy France from 1940 to 1944.

Sophe Mirrabella MP : "Ginger Group" member who wants tax cuts for the rich and reduced spending.on the poor. Denies there was a 'Stolen Children Generation' and when pregnant was told by Labor's Belinda Neal MP in Parliament "if you think evil thoughts you will give birth to a devil "

Senator Nick Minchin : Liberal Party Senate leader and right-winger who wants compulsory voting abolished, total privatisation of anything not nailed down and abolition of labour market controls. Famous quote as the infamous WorkChoices went down in flames at the last general election : "The Australian public don't seem to agree with our policies-in fact they violently disagree"

Tony Smith MP : former research assistant at the conservative think tank Institute of Public Affairs Championed the abolition of compulsory student union fees for which a decade of new university students vow to never forgive him for. No other distinguishing features.

more woes

As Justin Hemmes ponders a decline in fortune at his $50M Ivy nightclub complex with the economic dowturn, local police at The Rock's police station have classed the club and his nearby restaurant and bar complex Establishment, with a 'level two' restriction under new laws that come into force next Tuesday.

The restrictions are applied to venues that have had 12 to 18 reported assaults but as Hemmes points out-this number pales in comparison with the over 2 million visitors who pass through his venues each year. Not helping his cause is the alleged sexual assault of a female patron last month.

The restrictions can have a dramatic affect on liquor sales with bars having to cease serving alcohol 30 mnutes before closing time and with drinks served in plastic beakers, something that would not help the uber-chic feel of Hemmes' watering holes. It's reported Justin borrowed heavily to build Ivy after the amazing success of Establishment with it's award winning restaurants, boutique hotel and various bars.

Earlier this year Hemmes put up for sale the mansion that sits above his parents harbourside, abbey style home where Justin still lives. The house was used as a guest lodge but was passed in with a bid of only $6M just as the financial crunch hit like a tsunami wave.

Hemmes is currently appealing in the NSW Supreme Court with cries of foul that the arbitary imposition of the restrictions is unfair.

On the brighter side, Justin's recently ill dad John, and mum Merivale, both looking a picture of health, gave tSS a cheery wave today as they cruised up leafy Macleay Street in Potts Point in the latest Roll's convertible. Both are justly proud of Justin's entrepreneurial achievments which have surpassed his father and mother's fashion and property empire, and daughter Bettina's skills in decorating her brothers nite-spots.
On Tuesday night Justin's Hemmesphere bar played host to a small select reception for visiting singer Robbie Williams who was the special guest star at last night's ARIA Awards.
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Distant Cousins ? # 1:

     
 Luke Steele                                                                                                             Billy Idol

                                                                                    

tango success in the US

Hearty congratulations to tSS friend and local TV presenter Kym Johnson who has just won the American Dancing With The Stars with a perfectly executed tango with Donny Osmond.

pretty in pink

As Opposition Leader Malcolm Turnbull survives a leadership spill-for now, that lovely lass from the Welsh village of Barry, Deputy Prime Minister Julia Gillard is featured in the new Christmas edition of the Australian Women's Weekly out tomorrow.

Gillard 48, one the countries most popular political figures who has impressed many in her tough role as Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations and is tipped to be the next, and first female PM, shows off her soft side as she describes returning to her father's mining village in Wales to visit relatives.

Living with hairdresser Tim Mathieson Gillard,a former left-wing socialist leader is regarded as stodgy PM Kevin Rudd's best asset. Liberal knockers who have described the pic (above) as a "publicity stunt" can look forward to the article on their very own shadow treasurer Joe Hockey in the same mag who is bathed in a pink glow as he describes the joys of fatherhood.