Posts filed under 'Talkback Emails'
Good morning John,
After the 3am news you posed a question about how it is possible for the second state of origin match to have such a vastly different outcome to the first game. Well I'm glad you asked, because I've been thinking about that around this time of the year for the last few years and I have a bit of a conspiracy theory on the subject.
In this decade I count four years where the second game has been very different to the first. 2001, 2002, 2006 and 2008. (2005 almost made the cut but was a bit too close to include).
My theory is that the second game (at least) is thrown by the team that won the first game for the sake of maintaining public interest in the series, and therefore keeping the sponsors, advertisers, broadcasters and stadium owners happy. If, after the second game, either state is leading the series 2-nil, then the third game is of less general public interest because the result of the series is known and the final game is merely a chance for a team to get a clean sweep of the series, something which only the diehard fans will be particularly interested in.
Conversely, if the third game is the deciding match of the series, then it becomes even more interesting than the first two games. The amount of public interest (and therefore marketability of the game to advertisers and sponsors) is greater in this scenario, and is generally better for everyone involved.
I'm not convinced that my theory is accurate, but it does enter my mind for some serious consideration every year.
Regards,
Samuel Gordon-Stewart
Canberra
June 12th, 2008 at 04:00am
Hi Andrew,
Actually this is the second time the scores have been level in the match, not the first. The first was nil all.
Love the call.
Samuel
Canberra
May 30th, 2008 at 09:00pm
Hi Mike,
After your parting wish of a fog free day this morning just before your insightful announcement that ACTION's new direction would not fit in before the news, I felt compelled to tell you how much I like fog. I've always been quite partial to a good fog.
I do remember one day in winter of 2006 at work on a particularly foggy day when I commented about the "nice fog" one of my co-workers informed me that there was nothing appealing about a fog. Naturally I disagreed, fogs are wonderful mysterious things that change the visual landscape in a different way every time, some bits are thick and other bits aren't…and it wafts, I love a fog of varying density that wafts. There is something very special about standing in a fog with a torch and watching the beam of light change as the fog wafts past.
Regards,
Samuel Gordon-Stewart
May 28th, 2008 at 05:30pm
Good evening Stuart,
I was watching Underbelly last night and noticed something that I thought might interest you. At one stage during the show two of the characters were sitting in a car listening to Derryn Hinch talking about the latest gangland killing on your sister station 3AW. The radio was shown, and it said that they were tuned to 693 on the AM dial, however as the entire series is set between the years of 1995 and 2004, this isn't possible. During those years 3AW was broadcast on 1278 AM. They only moved to 693 AM on the 1st of May 2006 in an effort to improve their reception in some parts of Melbourne.
I hope you have a good long weekend, and a very dignified ANZAC Day.
Regards,
Samuel Gordon-Stewart
Canberra
April 24th, 2008 at 10:00pm
Good evening Gibbsy and Russell,
After the drawn AFL match on Sunday, Tim Watson on Channel Seven was arguing the point for golden point extra time, but I can't really understand why. I like the idea of having a draw and in the case of Sunday's match I think it was a fitting outcome. The Bulldogs clawed their way back into that match a couple times, and at the end Richmond just couldn't get ahead again.
I really think that Golden point is a cheap and nasty way to end a match for the sake of having a winner. I much prefer the draw, or in cases where a result is needed such as a final, a fixed period of extra time followed by a penalty shootout if the scores are still deadlocked.
Regards,
Samuel Gordon-Stewart
Canberra
April 21st, 2008 at 07:00pm
Good evening Stuart,
I agree with you that our athletes shouldn't be forced or coerced in to boycotting the Beijing Olympics, I think it is entirely their decision, but to the same extent the rest of us have a choice and I have made mine. I will be completely boycotting the Beijing Olympics, I will be ignoring and switching off all coverage and reports about it. I am considering attending the torch relay here in Canberra wearing a t-shirt which reads "Boycotting Beijing". The ludicrous claim by China that the Dalai Lama is creating the violence as part of a plot against them was the final straw for me…such an action would go against everything the Dalai Lama believes in.
I hope you had a good Easter weekend, thank you for your email last week, I enjoyed my Easter weekend even though I didn't have running water for most of Sunday.
Regards,
Samuel Gordon-Stewart
Canberra
March 25th, 2008 at 10:30pm
Good morning John,
This line that the New South Wales government have trotted out about leaving Sydney during their half day shutdown of the city for World Youth Day seems to be rapidly developing in to their new excuse for everything. They used it for APEC, now World Youth Day, I suppose next it will be "the trains wouldn't be so crowded if you didn't all live here and try to catch them, so get out of town".
Also you were asking for songs to play to astronauts. Well I think it would have be a song which fills them with confidence that their mission will be successful, so I think the best option would be David Bowie's Major Tom (better known by its actual title “Space Oddity” — thanks for the reminder Pen 15). There's nothing more reassuring than "something's wrong, your circuit's dead, can you hear me Major Tom?"
And speaking of people named Tom, congratulations to your Tom on his move to the weekday show with Jim Ball. I chatted with him briefly a couple times during the week and he seemed to be enjoying it.
Regards,
Samuel Gordon-Stewart
Canberra
March 22nd, 2008 at 02:30am
Hi Glenn,
Yesterday you asked for ideas for showbags for the New South Wales government and for petrol companies. I would suggest merging the bags because they both want your money, aren't willing to tell you how they come up with their prices, and employ people to spend a long time telling you absolutely nothing when interviewed.
Do you think that BP will follow the New South Wales government's lead and setup an enquiry into why there is a "discounting cycle"? If that person from BP expects us to believe that they don't know why there is a discounting cycle then I think he's starting to believe his own spin.
Enjoy the Easter show.
Regards,
Samuel Gordon-Stewart
Canberra
March 21st, 2008 at 11:00am
Good morning Sandy,
Please give Fitz his morning sedative before he starts singing. It sounds like he is very excited for some reason.
It's nice to hear you both together on the breakfast show, hopefully it will happen again some time.
Oh, and Fitz, the Waratahs have no chance of defeating the Crusaders.
Happy Easter!
Samuel Gordon-Stewart
Canberran in Sydney
March 20th, 2008 at 06:00am
Good morning Jim,
I was listening with interest to the story you read about the superannuation firm signing up their customers to an insurance policy simply by sending them a letter.
It may be perfectly legal, but it sounds to me like a legal form of fraud. Whoever thought up the law which allows superannuation funds to assume that they have the permission to do virtually whatever they like with the compulsory contributions must have had a screw loose, as it makes it just a bit too easy for the people in charge of the super fund to siphon off a few percent of the takings to their cousin's company, or anywhere else they like.
I have to admit that if my super fund had done this, I probably wouldn't have noticed because my statement arrived about a fortnight ago and I didn't open it until I noticed it beside me while an ad break was running on the television a couple days ago.
It's sad to think that we've reached a point where you almost need a lawyer to read through the gibberish in the fine print before you sign anything, for fear of giving your life's earnings to the director of a super fund, or a bank, or any other institution that makes you sign something.
Regards,
Samuel Gordon-Stewart
Canberra
Article: Opt-out Insurance Becomes a Super Trap: Sydney Morning Herald, March 15
March 18th, 2008 at 04:00am
Good morning John,
I can think of one catch phrase which has been a regular part of the advertising landscape for quite some time but has almost never been used in day-to-day conversation…but may used a bit more regularly in the media depending on the outcome of the US election, and that's "Ah McCain, you've done it again".
If John McCain wins the US election, then I'd be willing to bet that this saying will be a headline of The New York Times during his term.
Regards,
Samuel Gordon-Stewart
Canberra
March 12th, 2008 at 01:30am
Good morning Clinton,
I have to agree with your comments about the Rudd government's planned advertisements against binge drinking…they won't work, because nobody will take any notice of them. In fact I think the target demographic (the under-18s) will just treat it as a case of "the adults say we shouldn't drink…well we'll show them".
And, I thought Kevin Rudd was against scare campaigns…how does an advertising campaign to ""scare the living daylights" out of binge-drinking teenagers fit in with Kevin Rudd's comments before the election about the Howard government's awful scare campaigns?
Also I think Joe Hockey would make a great federal Liberal leader…and with Brendan Nelson's approval rating lower than the unelectable Peter Costello, the sooner they switch to somebody…anybody, the better.
Regards,
Samuel Gordon-Stewart
Canberra
March 11th, 2008 at 01:00am
Good evening Stuart,
One does have to wonder if the same person is on duty at the weather bureau tonight as was there a few years back when you had the massive hailstorm and the only warning came after the event, and talked about "a chance of small hail".
It's extraordinary the time it takes them to issue storm warnings sometimes…if the activity started at 7:30 and they only issued the alert at 9:59 then there is something seriously wrong. Perhaps the weather channel should have issued their own warnings instead of waiting for the official alert if they have their own on-staff meteorologists and knew there was something happening, as they claimed when you interviewed them.
Enjoy your weekend (and don't get too wet).
Regards,
Samuel Gordon-Stewart
Canberra
March 7th, 2008 at 10:30pm
Good evening Stuart,
About these advertisements for the Advanced Medical Institute, I'm not in the least bit surprised that there have been complaints, I think it's one of their advertising tactics. The ads are very memorable, probably because of their somewhat objectionable and less than subtle content.
I dare say, if the ads were any less subtle, they'd be appearing in your inbox as spam.
Have a great night.
Regards,
Samuel Gordon-Stewart
Canberra
P.S. I don't suppose you'll be attending John Kerr's lunch on the 19th by any chance?
March 5th, 2008 at 10:00pm
Happy Leap Year Day Stuart!
Much like you, I don't fit in to any of the categories in that list of social networking "personalities" which you read out. If there was a category for "been there, done that, and closed my facebook account" then I'd fit in to that one. I had almost no use for it, still don't, and I'm much happier without the endless bunch of useless emails and notifications I used to receive from Facebook.
Enjoy the last few hours of leap year day…you won't get another chance for 1461 days.
Regards,
Samuel Gordon-Stewart
Canberra
February 29th, 2008 at 08:30pm
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