What Simply Works!

It’s in yesterday’s entertainment headline news that the group The Wiggles is the top money grossing entertainers in Australia.* They earned an estimated 45MIL AUD from last year alone! Wow! Kylie Minogue, Nicole Kidman and Russell Crowe were a bit behind the “colorful” group.

With their year-round world tour and concerts in Australia plus their TV shows, DVDs and other merchandise, it’s not surprising that they’re making huge money! Kudos, to you guys!

*Rated by Business Review Weekly

In a little over two months, the US will have a new President. Both contenders for this top post have officially accepted their party nominations and therefore marked the start of the 60-day campaign.

During the televised rallies and conventions, it is noticeable that many celebrities from the likes of Oprah Winfrey and Jessica Alba support Barack Obama. Winfrey was even in tears after Barack’s acceptance speech.

The supporters of the first African-American presidential candidate wear Obama t-shirts or sweatshirts, put up posters and flags to help in the campaign.

This is indeed a tight presidential race. People all over the world have their eyes on the US. I, too, have been following the news and campaign-related updates. I have never been this interested with the US politics. Like most of us, I wish for the best candidate to win and for the country to be in a better economic state.

I’m so happy that my favorite show, The Chopping Block, is back on TV. Many new local shows, which I’ve come to love, are aired after a two-week break to give way to the Beijing Olympics.

I would like to someday visit Matt Moran’s popular restaurant, Aria, in the city of Sydney. For sure, if we will frequent that plus his other equally famous eating places, I will need a good supply of diet pills.

The Australian Olympians had a warm welcome this morning from their safe journey from Beijing. There was a ceremony held at the hangar where the Prime Minister Kevin Rudd and Opposition Leader Brendan Nelson were among the officials who welcomed the athletes.

And as expected, the star of this year’s Olympics is no other than Stephanie Rice. She bagged three gold medals and broke world records in swimming. She is indeed a glamour girl turned golden girl. Aussie Aussie Aussie, Oi Oi Oi!

[photo credit: olympics.com.au]

A year after Kathleen de Leon-Jones’ left Hi-5, Tim Harding and Charlie Delaney are now out of the popular kids’ group. Tim left in 2007, after a motorcyle accident that left him on a wheelchair for weeks. He was replaced by Stevie Nicholson. Then, early this year, it was Charlie Delaney’s turn to go. She had a good 10 years with the group and has since moved on to more mature TV shows. She was replaced by Casey Burgess.

My little girl at 21 months maybe too young to understand all these, but I can tell that she still prefers the original group. She’s no longer interested to watch the latest Season 10 and still prefers the old Hi-5 DVDs.

Know more about Hi-5 from their official site:

http://www.hi-5.com.au/swf/home.html

There are so many ways to keep fit and healthy. There’s regular exercise, maintaining a healthy and balanced diet, having a positive outlook in life and taking supplements. Not so long ago, I have been offered to try various supplements ranging from fish oil based to tea-based vitamins.

I tried this brand called Herbalife once or twice some years ago but never followed through. I’ve never outgrown my dislike in taking medicines or vitamins of any shape or form. But I guess, at my age now, I need supplements now more than ever.

With the growing demands of a toddler, a household to manage and my future plans to go back to the workforce, I know I need to check whether herbal nutrition is good for me. The Herbal life brand has so many kinds of fitness and personal care products. I just need the discipline to start a nutrition regimen.

The movie The Dark Night, which will hit cinemas next month, is rumored to be the reason for Heath Ledger’s death. It was in the news that Ledger took this role to heart that he did not manage to separate reel life from reality. He was “obsessed” with his role as joker and was advised by the production staff to seek counseling.

Ledger took a deadly combination of anxiety and sleeping pills that resulted to an overdose. It would have been better if this is just some addiction that can be helped in a drug rehab but unfortunately, it resulted to a loss of life.

No matter what they say, many are waiting for this movie (including me). I liked his acting since The Patriot in 2000 and I’m pretty sure he has given a stellar performance in Batman’s latest installment.

Last month, Gordon Ramsay made headlines once more when the Catholic church made a statement that his reality shows Hell’s Kitchen and Kitchen Nightmares be taken off the air.

It is a known fact to many of his viewers that his cussing are at times “uncalled for”. Not that I am justifying his foul-mouth manner but his wife said that he only cusses when he is under tremendous stress. There were several occasions in his shows that he was being his jolly self and he still curses.

When Hell’s Kitchen debuted here in Sydney, I watched it from beginning to end and find the format of Kitchen Nightmares better. I think his image and skills are being made to “commercialized” that his new show lost its luster (at least for me).

Also, my husband and I have started veering away from Channel 9 whenever Ramsay is on because we fear that our daughter, 1 1/2 years old, would pick up the swear word.

A pre-school teacher made headlines a while back when she posed nude with her husband on Cleo magazine. Lynne Tziolas was sacked from her teaching job and in return slapped the school with a lawsuit. With the divided opinions between the community and the public, hundreds of students and parents demanded for her return to the school. The department granted her job back — but not without conditions. She is only allowed to work as a casual teacher.

She is adamant to get an apology from the school department and is still hopeful to win her ongoing battle with the Department of Education and Training.

Read more about it (and see the controversial photo), here.

Hi-5 star Kellie Hoggart tied the knot with production manager Addam Crawford this month. One can tell how much they want to get married when all they needed was 10 weeks to prepare everything!

Kellie’s long time relationship with Hi-5 co-star Nathan Foley ended in 2006 months before their planned wedding date. I scoured for articles on the internet regarding the split-up but there was nothing that divulged the reasons.

Despite the break-up, both Kellie and Nathan performed professionally on screen. I can tell, my daughter loves Hi-5 so much that we’ve been followers of this group for over a year now!

[Photos snatched from: Woman’s Day and News.com.au.]

Back in 2005, when Kylie Minogue openly shared her battle against breast cancer, many women came rushing to hospitals and clinics to get mammogram screening. This is how the term “Kylie Effect” was drawn.

She said in one of her interviews that if she has had a second opinion then the cancer would have been treated earlier and would not have caused her the pains of undergoing treatments. What happened then was that the first doctor she saw brushed-off the idea of her having cancer and it was at a more serious state when the cancer was discovered by another doctor.

You might ask what is the “twist” about in my post title. Last month, one news feature covered the spillover effects of Kylie’s proactive campaign on breast cancer awareness. One doctor said that there were a big number of women seeking to have mammogram tests although they do not show any signs of a probable cancer — signs like lumps on the breast, discharge, swelling and many more. Somehow, the Kylie Effect has brought unwanted fears along with her aggressive campaign.

[photo swiped from BBC]

I like George Clooney. He looks so suave, confident and handsome. Until his 2-minute Nespresso commercial aired. Na-turnoff ako. He looked so old and sickly.

With Madonna Decena and Charlie Green making big news in the Filipino communities all over the world, here in Australia we have Demi Sorono. Although she placed 4th in the recently concluded So You Think You Can Dance, she is still a star!