Whatta Schmata

I really think she looks tremendous.

Giggle For Saturday

We're big fans of Chris Lilley here at A&P, parking ourselves on the couch and watching his almost metaphysical 2007 mockumentary series Summer Heights High for days on end. Possibly the best character on the series, private school beast Ja'mie, originated on Lilley's 2005 show We Can Be Heroes: Finding the Australian of the Year. Made up of 5 characters, each in the running for the prestigious "Australian of the Year Award" because of a litany of selfless and bizarre acts, We Can Be Heroes really takes it there. My personal favorite is Ricky Wong, a Chinese physics student with a love of musical theater and Aboriginal culture. Unfortunately, I haven't yet found a venue where we American plebes can view this thing of beauty, so YouTube clips will have to suffice for now.

A New Gay Squire

Forgive the video bombardment, but I've made such a major discovery this afternoon. I often say really nego shit about Australians. I hate their accents, and, though I've never been, I think their land mass is really boring. But . . . they tend to be quite funny, being that there is so much Australian business worth having a laugh over. I'd read a bit about this fellow Chris Lilley and his programme, Summer Heights High, a Chris Guest-ish mockumentary starring him (as three krazy kharacters) and a legion of real teachers and kids. I finally watched it (on HBO On-Demand), and am over the moon (as I usually am about On-Demand televisions)! I've embedded two videos. The first is Lilley's drama instructor, Mr. G. The second is Lilley's private school exchange student, Ja'mie. The third character Lilley plays is an illiterate, Polynesian bully called Jonah. I find Jonah sort of sad (though well conceived); so I haven't included a scene of his. The slang is fantastically funny, and the recurring issues of Asian race relations and general Aussie trashiness are utterly diverting. Watch these and the available first seven episodes whenever you have the chance.