WASHINGTON: "It's hardly rocket science," PLInkletter maintains, "more like a singalong: 'Oh give me space, lots of space, under starry skies above…'"

Be all that as it may, meanwhile:

'In other news…'

01^st October 2010

Friday: Uber 'late' to bed (sunrise), so uber late up. And with a disturbance, an hour before my one p.m. rising, when Missus Inkletter came in to let me know she was taking our over the road neighbour Deelia, who's approaching her eighties, to the doctor, for she had become quite ill.

I also had the alabaster dragon phone Bob's people (my people got in touch with Bob's people) to see if he wanted to go to the city today, as I had not planned to see him this week, and Bob was keen, so when I surfaced it was a mad rush for me to get crank up and get ready and arrive at Guildford before three.

And so we spent three hours doing the things Bob enjoys in Perth CBD, which is changing at a rate of knots again these days, with so many new skyscrapers and other projects steaming ahead. They've even ripped up half of St Georges Terrace (I can't quite get over the missing apostrophe, while also on the same terrace is St George's Cathedral, where my parents married) out front of London Court! (Some historically formed typos are worth keeping, but some aren't, and I for one wish Perth City Council would rename it.) I was struck by how thin the road base is.

And so I was rather whacked when I got home about half seven, and by half eight, after din dins, Cadbury spent the next four hours on my lap as we watched news and docos on Aunty and SBS. That cat will be the best informed feline on current affairs and politics in Australia, before the year is out.

Lateline: The Missing (Leigh) Sales Graph, instead The Tick(y Fullerton) Check Mark: Ticky Fullerton anchored Lateline tonight in Leigh Sales' stead, who is gallivanting around the United States for a while, where she will doubtless rediscover that North America has an abundance of political pricks and dickheads just as does Australia. Speaking of political pricks and dickheads, Ms Fullerton's guests tonight for the Friday night fight club were Shadow Attorney-General George Brandis and, well, I could stop there.

I won't keep you in suspense for long as to the identity of the other politician, but first, a note on Ms Fullerton's appearance: she looked fantastic, and was a just-controlled fire, as the photo demonstrates:

Her bright red jacket only failed to ignite Ticky Fullerton's hair because it is so much shorter now

The other polly was Minister for Trade Craig Emerson. Both men were on-screen, and both looked superb.

Mr Brandis opting for a black and white theme (Freudian slip?), with even a bold striped tie in black and white upon his white shirt and surrounded by his dark suit jacket; Mr Emerson came close to imitating Mr Brandis, except that Mr Emerson's tie had a dash of fire in it also:

There's nothing quite like black and white in politics: Craig Emerson and George Brandis were predictably starstruck by their own side's performances

This interview highlighted to me the fact that practice makes perfect, for these two boys got stuck into each other with overtalking a few times while completely ignoring Ms Fullerton's attempts to pull them into line. Leigh Sales is getting so much practice at controlling unruly politicians that she would have pulled them into line more quickly and probably with good humour; Ms Fullerton's interlocutors over at Lateline Business are usually in a more docile frame of mind.

Some delights for me were the use of the term 'shirtfronted' by Ms Fullerton in reference to Peter Slipper's acceptance of the Deputy Speaker role, as well as her rhyme "despairing of pairing", in regard to the obstinance of Tony Abbott's stand on pairing with the Speaker.

Mr Brandis kept up the imbecilic Opposition line that Prime Minister Gillard broke a pre-election commitment to not introduce a carbon tax: George, like I advised Joe Hockey the other day, do your best to understand what a hung parliament means and the changes it forces upon the whole of the new Government's agenda, and when you've done that, stop insulting our intelligence with your side's stupid and disingenuous line. Had you formed government you would be in the identical predicament.

Mr Emerson is spot on with his early remark that Tony Abbott (and his cohorts) "…is still sulking as a result of the Australian people not electing him, he's obviously angry with that." I haven't an abundance of respect for any Opposition we've had for decades, however, the Coalition in opposition over the last three years have been the pits of bitterness, petulance at being turfed out, and smallness of many kinds. And that has been under three different leaders, which suggests the problem is deeper than their leaders.

Sadly, yet again, I have to award the interview to Mr Emerson in terms of mature behaviour and believable statements, but not by a country mile. I say 'sadly', because Australia would be far better served by a higher calibre Opposition, which also implies, of course, by a higher calibre Government.

Well done Ms Fullerton, being thrown back into the bear pit of Lateline and performing professionally.

Oh how nice it would have been to sweeten things up with a chat with Stephen Long; hurry back Mr Long!

I managed a slower than usual late walk, on this humid cool night, around four a.m. Some hoons appeared to be yelling out at me from the local shops carpark at one stage of the walk. I am pleasantly surprised at how little untoward behaviour I encounter in the dead of night around this patch of our suburb.

Very late, well, time is so blurred and smeared around my life these days, very early, till and after sunrise, I wrote more on 'After the Rain', exhausting myself but feeling strangely alive.

+paytontedwithlove+