On the subject of advertising, I've been thinking about clichés that may be unique to Australia.

If this degree of rapid change was imposed on SBS, the ABC or commercial broadcasters, there would be outrage. One could easily get the impression that our Communications Minister is deliberately setting up Community TV groups for failure.

Time to vent on an activity we are all too familiar with.

I can hear it before he even gets on the bus, and I'm sitting near the back! tsh-tsheesh-ts-ts WAA-ra-WA-ra tsh-tsheesh-ts-ts Oooh yes you're so cool in your trendy open neck shirt and designer trousers. And those sunglasses must have cost more than a big weekend on the town.

A popular retailer offers us an easy gift solution by "grabbing" their plastic gift voucher and activating it online. Wow - I'll be in that! What a time saver! No queueing in busy shopping centres!

When I first joined Facebook, I knew what I wanted from the service. I was determined to keep careful control over how much personal information I fed into it.

L.A.'s Pat Grossi not only brought his band to Melbourne (drummer, keyboard player and guitar), but augmented it with a string quartet and 8-voice choir. Combined with his own soaring voice, virtuosic harp and Juno synth, I was expecting a real treat.

So it's the 21st December 2012. "As nothing specifically apocalyptic is likely to happen, I figure that, relative to the age of the earth and the relatively minuscule part humans have had in that timeline, the entire 21st century could be that one "moment" in time that may come close.

There are basic tenets and common sense in business that can go a long way towards keeping customers happy, and this gripe is largely about the questionable value of automated systems, especially when programmed by people who are not thinking through how the customer is affected by their decision

The typical Commercial TV Program promo – It's essential to have a voice-over person who is well practiced in unnaturally long vowel sounds – "Heeeee was in lerrrrrrv with herrrrrrrrrr. Sheeeee was in lerrrrrrrv with hiiiiiim ... and togetherrrrrrrrr ....

Adelaide's World of Music Arts & Dance festival started 20 years ago. We are told that this year over 4 days 87,000 attended in perfect weather to see many artists we've seen before.

Salar Aghili is a young singer embracing traditional Persian music. I was very fortunate to see him with a world-class ensemble in the gorgeous Elisabeth Murdoch Hall at the Melbourne Recital Centre on 10 Nov 2011.