Bit of a jerky

HAVING read through Oprah Winfrey's guest list for her show this week (Russell Crowe, Bindi Irwin, Olivia Newton John and, well, you can probably guess the rest), we couldn't help but cross our fingers and hope there was still time for the addition of Shane Warne to flesh out the list.

HAVING read through Oprah Winfrey's guest list for her show this week (Russell Crowe, Bindi Irwin, Olivia Newton John and, well, you can probably guess the rest), we couldn't help but cross our fingers and hope there was still time for the addition of Shane Warne to flesh out the list.

That would surely be more edifying than what we've been doing, namely looking for amusing double entendres in Warnie's tweets to Liz Hurley. For example: "I screamed so loud when ride took off I'm surprised you din not hear me back in the UK!!! Really need to man up hahahahah." (We admire his principled refusal to stoop to the acronym LOL). And then there are Hurley's replies: "Oooooh, I love scary rides - remember to scream if u want to go faster!" Meanwhile, Hurley's website sells official Elizabeth Hurley organic beef jerky: "A guilt-free snack . . . Some of the meat from Elizabeth's own herd of rare breed Gloucester cattle will be used." So the fun was nothing if not multifaceted. But the party cooled a little when Warnie popped on his website last night to say, "Sadly and unfortunately, Simone [Callahan] and I split up a while ago, our close friends and family were informed at that time. It is a private matter so we did not make it public. We remain friends and will continue to be good parents." Do your bit to cheer up Warnie and buy a pair of his undies. And some jerky.

Gratis plug

SPOTTED in inner Sydney's Surry Hills yesterday: a nice French car with the registration plate, "OPRA". Our heart sank, fearing it may be an example of misfired fandom, an expensive and public typo cursed with somewhat greater permanence than the ones we commit. But it seems there's an architecture firm by that name in the same street. [Want to advertise your business here? Contact Strewth and ask us about our entirely unrealistic packages.]

Katter's corner

WHEN Wayne Swan heard Bob Katter's cry against Australian Taxation Office plans to transfer a swag of positions from Townsville to Sydney, he swung into gear with such speed that caught even Katter by surprise (Strewth, last week). His Bobness was quick to share his admiration and an unlikely bromance may be blossoming. Katter's been trumpeting praise for Swan's bank plan: "Under the Treasurer's package, banning of mortgage exit fees delivers portability and competitiveness and the ability for smaller lenders to compete with the big banks is increased through deposit guarantees. He must be applauded for putting the ute on the highway." After Kevin Rudd's experiences, we're not sure a ute would be preferred analogy of choice in Labor circles, but that's just a detail. Luckily, Katter had a few helpful suggestions to make, so it wasn't all fan club.

All locked up

CONGRATULATIONS to The Age for a welcome example of publishing candour in the form of its new website section, "WikiLeaks - the secret Australian files". Normally when we're told something's secret (so and so's secret island hideaway, such and such's secret gnome fetish), it comes complete with photos and often, an interview with the secretive celebrity. Not so here: when The Age says those files are secret, they mean it: not so much as a glimpse. They are officially more watertight than the US State Department. Julian Assange may have placed rather a lot of emphasis on being able to compare stories with the original source material, but he's probably a bit distracted just now.

Right star sign

IT'S said that the thing about horoscopes is you can read anything into them, but we salute astrologer Jonathan Cainer for taking it to a whole new level with this magnificent effort yesterday: "Let's have a psychic forecast. I'll 'send' you your prediction. You can then 'see' it in your mind's eye. We'll do this inwardly, silently and privately. And, meanwhile, for the benefit of those who don't want to participate and who hate seeing empty space on a page, here is a tune: 'Tra-la-la. Tum-ti-tum. Tiddly-tiddly-pom.' OK, finished now. What did you get? Amazing . . . that's exactly what I was transmitting." Incidentally, this was the horoscope entry for Taurus, the bull.

First for Sydney

STREWTH will admit to salivating at the prospect of one of Frank Gehry's creations taking shape in Sydney. His Dr Chau Chak Wing Building, which will house the University of Technology Sydney's business school, is due to be finished in 2013 and already has some of the wilder optimists indulging in the perennial if hitherto utterly unfulfilled fantasy that Sydney may one day have a building to rival the Opera House. As it is, Gehry's inspiration for the building is a tree house, and looks very promising in model format. This may sound familiar to viewers (or parents of viewers of ) children's cartoon, Arthur, in which Gehry's voice made a guest appearance as an architect who helps the titular character and his mates design a tree house. It could have been so different for Sydney; when Gehry appeared on The Simpsons to take the piss out of himself, he hinted all his inspiration comes from crumpled balls of paper.