Julia Gillard's Coiffure

And speaking of Julia Gillard (scroll down), because she is a redhead, she is often colloquially referred to in Australia as a "Ranga" (short for "Orangutan"). She is an extremely intelligent, capable politician and has become an outstanding Prime Minister. However, because she is a woman, the media often concentrate on her wardrobe, the colour of her hair and the size of her earlobes (Yep, her earlobes!), rather than on the efficacy of her policies. A redheaded male Prime Minister, I feel sure, would not be so ruthlessly assessed and interrogated about his hair colour, fashion sense and earlobe size. Why does this happen to women in public life, but not to men?   

Kevin Rudd's je ne sais quoi

I drew this cartoon in 2007 at the height of Kevin Rudd's popularity, when he was elected Prime Minister of Australia. As it turned out, I must have had a premonition, because he rapidly became just about as popular as a bad case of herpes with the Electorate and was ousted from office by his own Party. His removal ultimately made way for the election of Australia's first female Prime Minister, Julia Gillard, in 2010. Long may she reign!

Lesbian Dilemma

Perfection

Of Christians & Dieters

Abstract Fundamentalists

Westboro Baptist Church Picket

R.I.P. Ennis Del Mar

Further to the previously posted cartoon "R.I.P. Heath Ledger" (scroll down), I drew this cartoon around the same time. The "EDM" quoted here is "Ennis Del Mar", the character Heath Ledger played so memorably in the movie "Brokeback Mountain". In the original "Brokeback Mountain" short story by Annie Proulx, "Neither of them was twenty" is how the author conveys the ages of the central characters, Ennis Del Mar and Jack Twist, when they first meet in 1963. From that description, I have estimated Ennis was probably born some time around 1944, as quoted in this cartoon. And the 2008 quoted here is, of course, the year when Heath Ledger died.

R.I.P. Heath Ledger

I drew this cartoon in tribute to Australian actor, Heath Ledger, following his tragic death at the young age of 28, on 22 January 2008. Though I do enjoy occasional outings to the cinema, I've never been what one would normally call a cinema buff. The one exception is the wonderful film "Brokeback Mountain" starring Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal, which I first saw with my friend George Chamberlain at Broadway in Sydney, on the day of its Australian release, the Australia Day public holiday - 26 January 2006. It was to be a life-changing experience for me. I left the cinema in tears and found myself in tears, on and off, for weeks afterwards. I think it had such a profound impact on me because I could relate so intensely to the characters of both Ennis and Jack in the film. I saw myself as being very much like Jack in the "It'd be some sweet life" sense, and like Ennis following Jack's death, locking himself away from reality. I became obsessed with the film in those early days and saw it many more times at the cinema. I also bought the book, DVD, movie poster and music score, and joined an American-based "Brokeback Mountain" on-line chat forum called "Bettermost", where I was to become a Moderator. I've lost count of the number of times I've read the original short story by Annie Proulx. No other film has ever had such an enormous impact on me.

Collective Celebrity Chefs

I propose making "Baloney" the new collective noun  for "Celebrity Chefs". Yep, "A baloney of celebrity chefs"! Sounds good to me!

The Sin of Presumption

And while we're on the subject of Fred Nile, Peter Jensen and Peter Akinola . . .

Pitiful Fred Nile

The Reverend Fred Nile is a clergyman and also a Member of Parliament in the New South Wales Legislative Council. He has clearly never heard of the separation of powers! He is an outspoken homophobe, who has been attending Sydney's Gay Mardi Gras Parade for many years, in order to pray for rain (I'm not making this up!). In the past 30 years, I have known it to rain on only a couple of occasions. Mostly, the parades occur on gloriously starry-skied, clear,  full-summer nights. I'm not sure whose  prayers God is listening to, but it certainly doesn't appear to be those of Fred Nile.

Don't Ask Don't Tell

Good riddance to this despicable legislation.

Happy Gays!

Sex in the City

Sarah Palin's War

Let's send Sarah Palin to the Front for a tour of duty and we'll see then if she still thinks war is a "task that is from God". 

Tony Abbott's Budgy Smugglers

Tony Abbott is an Australian politician who enjoys nothing more than strutting about in front of the media and large groups of people, wearing only budgy smugglers. "Budgy smugglers" are what Australians call Speedos, primarily because it looks like the wearer is smuggling a couple of  budgies (budgerigars) down the front of his Speedos, especially when he walks or runs and the "budgies" writhe and bounce about. Now, you may very well argue that's not such a bad look. And it is a good look, if you're young and athletic, with a physique worth admiring. Alas, however, not when one is a rightist, conservative politician, like Tony Abbott, with decidedly bigoted, sexist, homophobic views. In the case of Tony Abbott, I'm strongly in favour of the reintroduction of Edwardian, neck-to-knee bathing attire. Cover it up, Tony! It's sometimes better to retain an air of mystery.

Spain's Transsexuals

Paris Hilton's Credibility

Archbishop Peter Jensen's Moral Dilemma

Archbishop Peter Jensen is the Anglican Archbishop of Sydney in Australia. His theology is of a particularly virulent, fundamentalist strain, which puts him in the same camp as Nigeria's loathsome Archbishop Peter Akinola. In fact, they are personal friends. Archbishop Jensen is a prominent advocate of evangelical Christianity and, as such, has spoken out with some considerable venom and spite against such issues as the consecration of female bishops, stem cell research and gay rights. It would appear to be a case of "do as I say, not as I do" for Archbishop Jenson, however, because not long after his consecration in 2001, he "was accused of nepotism after appointing both his wife (Christine) and his brother (Phillip Jensen) to official positions in the Sydney diocese" (Wikipedia). So much for Archbishop Jensen's exemplary moral virtue! 

Nepotism Defined

Jobs for the boys?

Pickled Damien Hirst

I love modern art! Kandinsky, Rothko, Mondrian, Picasso, Chagall, et al. They are towering artistic geniuses of the modern era. They produced profoundly beautiful, inspirational paintings, for us all to love and cherish for ever. Alas, the same cannot be said for Damien Hirst's dead animals, hacked to pieces and floating in vats of formaldehyde. It's a cheap confidence trick at our expense. We only have ourselves to blame, for allowing our standards to be so shamelessly compromised.

Oxymoronic Celebrity Chefs

"Celebrity Chef" is my all-time favourite oxymoron. My second favourite is "Graffiti Art".

Gay Show Tunes

No matter what the world throws at us, gay people somehow always manage to maintain their sense of humour.

Archbishop Peter Akinola's Fantasy

I chose this image as the header for my Kerrytoons blog. Archbishop Peter Akinola is a senior prelate within the Anglican Church. I find it absolutely inconceivable that a man in such an exalted position of trust within the worldwide Anglican communion could make such a hate-filled, bigoted remark. Millions of people look-up to Archbishop Akinola and accept blindly what he says as the word of God. It would be simple to dismiss him as an ignorant, mindless bigot, who is more to be pitied than blamed. Alas, however, nothing could be further from the truth. He has enormous influence within his community. I can't help but wonder how many gay-bashings and murders occurred as a direct result of Archbishop Akinola's words. My only consolation is that he will have to stand before his God one day.  

Hard-bitten Westboro Baptists

Westboro Baptist Church's deranged battle cry, with a  vampiric twist. 

The Closeted Mahmoud Ahmadinejad

This cartoon is a result of the notorious speech made by Iran's President, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, in which he claimed that there were no homosexuals in Iran.

The Content of Barack Obama's Character

I drew this cartoon at the time of the American elections in 2008. It was inspired by the famous words of Martin Luther King.