Back to top

July 2012

Storification: My #London2012 Week 0

A storification of my Olympic-related tweets and retweets in the five days prior to the opening ceremony of the London Olympics. Most of my #london2012 tweets from the past few months can be found under my automated Daily Twitter collection, which unfortunately hasn't been functioning properly all the time.

London Day minus two: Kim Jong Un's wedding present

The Games have begun. That traditional opening to the Olympics, unknown up till now as Women's Soccer Wednesday. The twelve teams of this Matildaless tournament got the Games of the XXX Olympiad under way, but one team received preferential treatment from the organisers. On the day it was announced that Kim Jong Un was no longer the world's most eligible bachelor, LOCOG chose the ideal present from their wedding gift register.

More on:: 

Words you can't say about the Olympics, including that one

There is a List A and List B of words that are prohibited in certain combinations. List A comprises Games, Two Thousand and Twelve, 2012 and Twenty-Twelve. List B includes London, Medals, Sponsor, Gold, Silver, Bronze. You can't use two List A terms together or one List A with one or more List B. Sounds like the opposite of opening a bank account, doesn't it?

More on:: 

Daily Twitter Posts - 25/07/2012

22:50 "social commentator"? Just as we are all guest tweeters, we are all social commentators. #lateline #
21:37 Maitland, the reality TV show capital of Australia. Insert joke here. #
21:35 "I Will Survive First Look." But will I survive the First Look? #
21:32 someone called Julia finishes second-best. Hold that thought for 2013 #
21:31 Andy wins the Brownlow #
21:28 Did they bring in the scriptwriters of the Brownlow Medal Count to do the screenplay of tonight's #Masterchef? #
21:16 so has the Herald Sun announced the wrong #Masterchef yet? #
19:10 Meanwhile, the British horse-racing industry takes an innovative gamble by trialling the metric system - http://t.co/Pmpv2Lsv #
18:44 So I can watch the start of Masterchef, switch to the ABC for Gruen Sweat then I can go back to ch10 for the last 3 hrs of the finale yes? #
18:05 Cheeky. A non-sponsor strikes back. RT @mediaguardian: Paddy Power takes action against Locog over London ad campaign http://t.co/AjdjkhuN #
17:51 Black and white television? RT @theprojecttv: At last... a Collingwood Football Club branded TV. Wait, what? http://t.co/QaM0n9o2 #
17:40 There should be a trapdoor that opens underneath people as soon as they type "Living the dream" into their Twitter bio #
08:49 My unedited comment, including Steven Bradbury quip, is at http://t.co/5ODJEsXV at 24/7/12 10.12AM #
08:45 Hmm the Newcastle Herald edited out the witty part of my comment and printed the narkier bit. #
08:30 Apparently a comment I left on the Newcastle Herald website about Jeff McCloy has made it to today's print edition. #
08:11 Thank goodness it's a fog over Sydney and not dust kicked up by those pesky outback camels http://t.co/wMp7h4rn #
07:42 Reaction to AP's new social media guidelines from @Poynter. Must say I disagree with them over RTing. - http://t.co/Rr2Djaw1 #
06:33 RT @AJELive: President of Ghana, John Atta Mills, has died hours after suddenly falling sick - http://t.co/UMyevg0m #

Daily Twitter Posts - 24/07/2012

23:13 From August 2009, how American television saw Australia's camel problem http://t.co/nI67bvhb #lateline #
23:05 Hey BOF if you want to give the NSW Shooters Party something constructive to do, send them to NT to hunt down all the camels. #lateline #
23:02 Feral camels to cause dust clouds over Sydney? #lateline #
18:04 Aiming for Olympic reinclusion. RT @IBAF_Baseball: IBAF and ISF announced their plan to merge http://t.co/mJ2WlNS9 #
10:53 Actually, it looks like my website has been taken offline by the hosts. No time to sort this out till tonight. #
10:20 Very strange. My website is currently unreachable if you include the www. at the beginning. All good without it. #
09:46 Big correction from 1062k reported earlier on. RT @meadea: Hang on: Correct broadcast time for The Shire was 754,000, down from last week. #
08:41 CNN's Effusive Coverage of Kazakhstan Is Quietly Sponsored by Its Subject - The Atlantic http://t.co/rUCqCq2f #
08:13 Right, so it was an Optus 3G outage last night http://t.co/LS9YDFyP #
07:31 Just what Newcastle needs. An outspoken climate changer denier as Lord Mayor. #not #
07:22 Sally Ride, America's first female astronaut, has died at the age of 61 - http://t.co/z9Yt7j5f #
07:18 Dick Smith on my TV. I remember the good old days when his Wizard had a "whopping" 2 kilobytes of RAM! #
00:05 Oh dear. She appears to be serious. - "Why Every Social Media Manager Should Be Under 25" http://t.co/RsWkeVXz #

Daily Twitter Posts - 22/07/2012

22:40 IOC decision to award Nigeria 4x400m gold medal from Sydney 2000 comes too late for Sunday Bada, who died last year - http://t.co/mr764s5Z #
22:05 Has retained what?? MT @Tavurvur: BREAKING: People's National Congress' Boka Kondra has retained North Fly Open. #pngpol #
22:01 This week's Putting-On-A-Brave-Face Award has to go to the author of today's GWS Giants match report http://t.co/eK90o89c #aflfreogiants #
19:56 Newtown Jets clinging to top 8 on for/against after R20 of #VBNSWCup. Six weeks to go. Here's the ladder - http://t.co/49x7ywDS #
19:54 @NSWRL I see that now. I hadn't factored pts for and against. Jets need to play better though. #
19:47 Oh. Dear. #melbvotes RT @benschneiders: Why you should be cautious about what bookies predict on politics http://t.co/Q8nrY9gX #
19:34 Jingoism alert. Australia is going for a gold medal at the golf tonight. #
17:12 The smiling sawfish at the Sydney Aquarium http://t.co/cLHQCu9y #
17:00 Is that an order? RT @everyword: quit #
09:18 Labor appears to be winning the Melbourne State by-election. Stephen Mayne is 4th, here's his @MayneReport - http://t.co/w6hZoC8h #
08:43 Say what? Chris Uhlmann and Steve Lewis has written a political thriller novel together? http://t.co/iKQ1wN4i #auspol #
08:18 The Wimbledon tennis championships to start a week later from 2015. (But they will still be held in London) http://t.co/YsBRNwa3 #

Daily Twitter Posts - 21/07/2012

20:28 This is quite good. RT @atompkins: 7 tips for journalists writing about the shooting at the Aurora Colorado theater http://t.co/4D6KXFm4 #
16:48 Beaten, but the Jets still coming to meet their adoring fans. #vbnswcup http://t.co/HU8XZabT #
16:42 And the Jets have a long huddle in the centre after the game. #vbnswcup #
16:40 With Illawarra beating Auckland, that loss could tip Newtown out of the 8 by tomorrow night. #vbnswcup #
16:38 Full time. Mount Pritchard defeat Newtown 30-4. #vbnswcup #
16:31 Eddie E scores his second try for the Mounties and it's 30-4 and nearly over. #vbnswcup #
16:26 Michael Bani scores his second try for the Mounties converted by Michael Picker. 26-4 with 11 to go. Newtown are gone. #vbnswcup #
16:24 #vbnswcup action between @newtownrlfc and @mountiesrlfc at Henson Park http://t.co/05S6pLPh #
16:15 Eight thousand, nine hundred and seventy-two. You know what that number means. #vbnswcup #hensonpark #
16:10 Another try to the Mounties thru David Farkas. No conversion. Lead Newtown 20-4 after 53 mins. #vbnswcup #
15:45 Half time Mt Pritchard 16 Newtown 4. Jets defence looking a bit flaky but an entertaining first half. #vbnswcup #
15:42 Pat Galea try for the Mounties converted by Scott Jones, 16-4 after 38. #vbnswcup #
15:35 Jets score. Daniel Tupou in the corner. Blake Lazarus conversion kick into the wind gets blown back. Mounties 10-4 after 30. #vbnswcup #
15:24 Michael Bani scores for the Mounties converted by Scott Jones, leading 10-0 over Newtown after 20 mins. #vbnswcup #
15:21 Eddie El-Zbaidieh scores for Mt Pritchard after a break by Dimitri Pelo. They lead Newtown 4-0 after 17 mins. #vbnswcup #
14:54 It's @newtownrlfc v the Mounties in the #VBNSWCup today (@ Henson Park) http://t.co/SZqow1YM #
14:53 Interesting two-tone playing surface for today's #vbnswcup game @ Henson Park http://t.co/kssrxix8 #
14:25 Good to see traditional Saturday arvo footy weather is back as I head off to Mister Henson's Park #
12:30 The Photos 1440 exhibition also at @statelibrarynsw also worth seeing. Great showcase of SMH photojournos. Also closes tomorrow. #
12:25 Saw the @worldpressphoto 2012 exhibition at @statelibrarynsw this morning. Highly recommended, but hurry it ends tomorrow. #
08:29 Jessica Redfield was among those killed in #Aurora. This reflection on a rising sports journalist by friend @sportsjoey http://t.co/c9UjZYk0 #
08:11 Giant Olympic rings on the Surrey hillside. (Just don't put any in your shop window, OK?) http://t.co/ZjSWTKOt #

Daily Twitter Posts - 20/07/2012

21:45 Ach. Just realised I have been listening to Ray Hadley for ten minutes. *mutes TV* #nrlgldbri #delay #
21:41 91% of Madagascar's lemurs threatened with extinction http://t.co/bjCXCef2 #
21:02 @johnkgreens sorry John that tweet was hugely inappropriate at this point of time #
21:01 And a big #fail to @johnkgreens for attempting local political point-scoring in the wake of a tragedy in the USA :( #
18:58 Dear LOCOG, you are a totally miserable organisation. Here is yet another reason why: http://t.co/CD8KdMSw #london2012 #
18:51 And didn't that go well. RT @TheParraEels: Chris Anderson concludes mentor role with the Eels http://t.co/BDohEc8O #
17:34 You know you want it! RT @CSLewisU: New #android #app: C. S. Lewis Quotes http://t.co/sgD9MT88 #
15:53 Yes, but I'll stick with @triplehfooty :) MT @newtownrlfc: Great news that @2GB873 will be broadcasting weeks 2 & 3 of the #VBNSWCup finals. #
15:48 @monkeytypist all happened in stages I suppose. No DST that year, 2nd tower was hit by the plane just after 11 from memory #
14:39 Of course, I should add that the Twin Towers fell down shortly after midnight on September 12, 2001 #
14:27 Monday, July 21, 1969, 12.56pm. I remember it like it was yesterday. Australians should not be commemorating the Moon landing on July 20. #
14:20 Memo world: the anniversary of the Moon landing is tomorrow. Like, 22 and a half hours away, everywhere. #
09:45 That afternoon being July 21. RT @TroveAustralia: ‘On a July afternoon He saw a man named Armstrong Walk upon the moon’ http://t.co/hJocVzGU #
08:34 Wondered why I was hearing an infomercial on #ABC1. Looked up and it was a ski resort PR operative giving a snow report on @breakfastnews #
07:40 Avoids trademark issues. RT @bradatslice: It's a shame tattooists don't come with spell-check Would you laugh or cry? http://t.co/0TqImUpA #

Cricket in the Olympics - But when?

It has been 112 years - two years longer than an Allen Stanford prison sentence - since two club sides from Great Britain and France played what, to date, has been the one and only game of cricket at the Olympic Games. We may not have to wait so long again for the sport to return to the modern Games, but there will be many hurdles to overcome first.

Daily Twitter Posts - 16/07/2012

20:53 Wow. The bunnies did it! #nrlsydsou #
20:43 Is ch10 softening up its viewers before the yet to be revealed launch of Andrew Bolt Tonight? #theshire #blb #
20:18 What, to learn to read one? RT @TV_Rev: I can’t wait for each and every one of them to sign a book deal. #TheShire #
09:44 Ducks http://t.co/kPzjDKZq #

Pages