David Smiedt
David Michael Smiedt (born 2 August 1968), is a South Africa-born, Sydney-based journalist, author and comedian. He has written seven books, including ''From Russia With Lunch: A Lithuanian Odyssey'', ''Are We There Yet: Chasing a Childhood Through South Africa'' and ''Boom Boom: 100 Years of Australian Comedy''. Early life David was born in Johannesburg, South Africa, and grew up in the suburbs of Parkwood and Saxonwold. David is the youngest of three children to father, Sidney Ronald "Ronnie", and mother, Renecia, with whom he emigrated from South Africa to Australia in 1986. Having completed high school in Johannesburg, David received a Bachelor of Arts (Communication) at Sydney's Macquarie University before undertaking a Diploma in Journalism at Macleay College. Early career and journalism He began his journalism career at ''Penthouse'' magazine and has since worked across a number of lifestyle titles, including ''Cleo'', ''Cosmopolitan'', ''Madison'', ''Men’s Health'', ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countries of Namibia, Botswana, and Zimbabwe; and to the east and northeast by Mozambique and Eswatini. It also completely enclaves the country Lesotho. It is the southernmost country on the mainland of the Old World, and the second-most populous country located entirely south of the equator, after Tanzania. South Africa is a biodiversity hotspot, with unique biomes, plant and animal life. With over 60 million people, the country is the world's 24th-most populous nation and covers an area of . South Africa has three capital cities, with the executive, judicial and legislative branches of government based in Pretoria, Bloemfontein, and Cape Town respectively. The largest city is Johannesburg. About 80% of the population are Black South Afri ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Men's Health (magazine)
''Men's Health'' (''MH''), published by Hearst, is the world's largest men's magazine brand, with 35 editions in 59 countries. It is also the best-selling men's magazine on U.S. newsstands. Started as a men's health magazine by Rodale, Inc. in Emmaus, Pennsylvania, the magazine currently covers various men's lifestyle topics such as fitness, nutrition, fashion and sexuality. The magazine's website, MensHealth.com, averages over 118 million page views a month. History Started by Mark Bricklin in the US in 1986 as a health magazine, ''Men's Health'' evolved into a lifestyle magazine, covering fitness, nutrition, relationships, travel, technology, fashion and finance. Bricklin, Rodale, Inc. editors Larry Stains and Stefan Bechtel produced three newsstand test issues. The results led Rodale to start ''Men's Health'' as a quarterly magazine in 1988 and begin to sell subscriptions. Bricklin, who was editor-in-chief of ''Prevention'' magazine, appointed Michael J. Lafavore (bo ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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The Comic Strip
The Comic Strip are a group of British comedians who came to prominence in the 1980s. They are known for their television series ''The Comic Strip Presents...'', which was labelled as a pioneering example of the alternative comedy scene. The core members are Adrian Edmondson, Dawn French, Rik Mayall, Nigel Planer, Peter Richardson and Jennifer Saunders, with appearances by Keith Allen, Robbie Coltrane, Alexei Sayle and others. Early history Two double acts, Adrian Edmondson and Rik Mayall under the name " 20th Century Coyote" and Nigel Planer and Peter Richardson as "The Outer Limits", started performing at the newly opened Comedy Store in London in 1980, alongside compere Alexei Sayle who had been resident there since the Comedy Store opened in 1979. Concurrently Richardson searched for a venue to mount a play he had produced with Michael White. He planned to run the Comic Strip late at night after the play's performances. He sourced the Raymond Revuebar in Soho, but reali ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Melbourne International Comedy Festival
The Melbourne International Comedy Festival (MICF) is the largest stand-alone comedy festival and the second-largest international comedy festival in the world. Established in 1987, it takes place annually in Melbourne over four weeks, typically starting in March and running through to April. The Melbourne Town Hall has served as the festival hub, but performances are held in many venues throughout the city. The MICF plays host to hundreds of local and international artists; in 2018 the festival listed over 550 shows, 6,700 performances (including more than 160 free performances) by 3,500 artists. Although it is mainly a vehicle for stand-up and cabaret acts, the festival has also included sketch shows, plays, improvisational theatre, debates, musical shows and art exhibitions. The televised Gala is one of the festival's flagship event, showcasing short performances from many headline and award-winning comics. Other popular events include The Great Debate, a televised comedy ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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The Comedy Store
The Comedy Store is an American comedy club opened in April 1972. It is located in West Hollywood, California, at 8433 Sunset Boulevard on the Sunset Strip. An associated club is located in La Jolla, San Diego, California. History The Comedy Store was opened in April 1972 by comedians Sammy Shore (1927–2019), and Rudy De Luca. The building was formerly the home of Club Seville (1935), later, Ciro's (1940–1957), a popular Hollywood nightclub owned by William Wilkerson, and later Ciro's Le Disc, a rock and roll venue, where The Byrds were discovered in 1964. When the venue reopened as The Comedy Store in 1972, it included a 99-seat theatre. As a result of a divorce settlement, Sammy Shore's ex-wife Mitzi Shore began operating the club in 1973, and she was able to buy the building in 1976. She immediately renovated and expanded the club to include a 450-seat main room. In 1974, The Comedy Store hosted the wedding reception of newlyweds Liza Minnelli and Jack Haley, Jr. The ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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St Kilda, Victoria
St Kilda is an inner seaside suburb in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, 6 km (4 miles) south-east of Melbourne's Melbourne City Centre, Central Business District, located within the City of Port Phillip Local government areas of Victoria, local government area. St Kilda recorded a population of 19,490 at the 2021 Australian census, 2021 census. The Traditional Owners of St Kilda are the Yalukit, Yaluk-ut Weelam clan of the Boon wurrung, Boon Wurrung people of the Kulin nation, Kulin Nation. St Kilda was named by Charles La Trobe, then superintendent of the Port Phillip District, after a schooner, ''Lady of St Kilda'', which mooring (watercraft), moored at the main beach in early 1842. Later in the Victorian era, St Kilda became a favoured suburb of Melbourne's elite, and many palatial mansions and grand terraces were constructed along its hills and waterfront. After the turn of the century, the St Kilda foreshore became Melbourne's favoured playground, ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Stand-up Comedy
Stand-up comedy is a comedy, comedic performance to a live audience in which the performer addresses the audience directly from the stage. The performer is known as a comedian, a comic or a stand-up. Stand-up comedy consists of One-line joke, one-liners, stories, observations or a shtick that may incorporate Theatrical property, props, comedy music, music, Magic (illusion), magic tricks or ventriloquism. It can be performed almost anywhere, including comedy clubs, comedy festivals, bars, nightclubs, colleges or theatres. History Stand-up as a Western world, Western art form has its roots in the Stump speech (minstrelsy), stump speech of American minstrel shows, which featured an actor in blackface delivering nonsensical monologue to the audience. While the intention of stump speeches was to mock African-Americans, they also occasionally contained political and social satire. The minstrel show would later influence theatrical traditions of the late 19th and early 20th centu ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Spicks And Specks (TV Series)
''Spicks and Specks'' is an Australian music-themed comedic television quiz show in which the host, Adam Hills, asks two teams, of three people each, varying music-themed questions in different games. Team leaders are Myf Warhurst and Alan Brough. Members of each team vary from episode to episode; one per team generally comes from the world of music and the other from comedy. Scores are kept, but the prize for the winners is simply personal satisfaction. Many games are named after, or otherwise reference, well known song titles. The series originally aired on what was then ABC1 at 8:30pm on Wednesday nights, with the show repeated on Thursdays on what was then ABC2 at 8pm. The previous year's season was repeated every Friday at 2:30pm on ABC1. After the show's end in 2011, and an unsuccessful 2014 relaunch featuring new hosts, a new series began airing in an hour-long weekly format from 18 April 2021 with the original hosts. Format The show's general style, employing a mix of ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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ABC TV (Australian TV Channel)
ABC TV, formerly known as ABC1, is an Australian national public television network. It is owned and operated by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, and is the flagship ABC Television network. The headquarters of the ABC TV channel and the ABC are in Ultimo, an inner-city suburb of Sydney, New South Wales. The network began operating on 5 November 1956 as the ABC National Television Service, starting in Sydney, followed by Melbourne, with other stations being established in state capitals and regional areas in the following years. In the 1960s and 1970s, the network was also referred to as ABC National Television, or ABC Television. Until the introduction of digital television in 2001, the network was the only domestic television service broadcast by the ABC. On 8 February 2008, the channel was renamed ABC1, before being rebranded as ABC TV on 20 July 2014. As of 2022, the ABC is the third-rated television network in Australia, behind the Seven Network and Nine Network ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Adam Hills
Adam Christopher Hills (born 10 July 1970) is an Australian comedian, radio and television presenter. In Australia, he hosted the music quiz show '' Spicks and Specks'' from 2005 to 2011, and again in 2021 onwards, and the talk show ''Adam Hills Tonight'' from 2011 to 2013. In the United Kingdom, he has hosted the talk show ''The Last Leg'' since 2012. He has been nominated for an Edinburgh Comedy Award, the Gold Logie Award and numerous BAFTA TV Awards. Born in Loftus, Sydney, he began performing as a stand-up comedian in 1989 at the age of 19 and, since 1997, has produced ten solo shows which have toured internationally. He has performed at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, the Melbourne International Comedy Festival and the Montreal Just for Laughs festival, earning three consecutive Edinburgh Award nominations for his Edinburgh shows in 2001, 2002 and 2003. In 2002, he scored a minor hit in Australia with his single "Working Class Anthem", in which he sang the lyrics of th ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Your Garden
Pacific Magazines was a magazine publisher operating in Australia owned by Seven West Media. In March 2020, it was acquired by Bauer Media Australia in April 2020. In June 2020, Mercury Capital acquired Pacific Magazines as part of its purchase of Bauer's former Australian and New Zealand assets. History Pacific published leading titles including Australia's best selling magazine '' Better Homes & Gardens, Women's Health, Men's Health, New Idea, Who,'' and the nation's leading fashion brand ''Marie Claire''. It has it roots in the Southdown Press, the publishers of ''New Idea'' and long owned by the Murdoch family. When News Corp Australia acquired the Herald & Weekly Times in 1987, the Australasian and Argus titles (''Australasian Post'', ''Home Beautiful'', ''Your Garden'') were added. Rupert Murdoch spun off his Australian magazine holdings in 1991 into a new company, Pacific Magazines and Printing (PMP). Seven West Media acquired Pacific Magazines in 2002, leaving PMP a ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Ralph (magazine)
''Ralph'' was a monthly Australian men's magazine that was published by ACP Magazines, a division of PBL Media between August 1997 and July 2010. The format and style of ''Ralph'' was similar to other men's magazines, such as ''Maxim'' and '' Loaded''. Content Similar to its rivals ''FHM'' and ''Zoo Weekly'', ''Ralph'' published photos of scantily-clad models and female celebrities, without revealing their genitals or nipples. This allowed for the magazine to be sold in the lifestyle sections of newsagencies, and in other retailers such as department stores and supermarkets. The magazine featured a number of recurring characters, such as Ralph Man, Frank Muddler and Gourmet Gav. Gourmet Gav, who would take on outrageous eating challenges, would earn celebrity beyond the pages of the magazine thanks to the development of Ralph TV. ACP Magazines described the magazine as: "Whether it is adventure, sport, fashion, travel, music, boys' toys, beautiful women, or life's essential h ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |