Most Overrated in the USA

Penguin Books has released the cover for the U.S. publication of Busted!, to be renamed Overrated! The 50 Most Overhyped Things in History. Much better title, I think (especially as it's almost the same one I used to pitch the book to Random House).

Here's a look at the cover, to be seen in American bookstores from July...

Matt wins cartooning prize

Matt Boulton, who made his name with the 50 cartoons in Busted!, has won the first heat of the newmatilda.com prize for political cartooning. Way to go, Matt! You can see his winning cartoon (and the other entries) here. He was up against some of Australia's top cartoonists, so it was no mean achievement.

He's entered a new cartoon in the second heat, so feel free to vote for him again. (Not that I'm trying to influence your vote, you understand...)

Busted in America in 2010

I can now confirm that Busted! will be published in the U.S. next year by Penguin Books... with 10 new chapters.

(These would be replacing the chapters that might not be so interesting to U.S. readers. The Gallipoli campaign, for example, is not so overrated in America.)

More news as it comes...

Matt Boulton's blog

Matt Boulton, the talented cartoonist of Busted!, has finally started a blog of his cartoons. For a regular dose of Matt's views on life, look here...

The Times They are... not the Worst

We often read that we are living in tough times (or at least, that we will soon be living in tough times). With the world economy collapsing, people losing their jobs, the Iraq War going on (and on), and the environment in such appalling shape, we can be forgiven for going all misty-eyed about the past.

Still, Busted! The 50 Most Overrated Things in History ranks The Past as the second most overrated thing - and I'll stand by my verdict. Despite the recession, the world still hasn't been plunged into a Great Depression as it was in the 1930s - and nor is it likely to be. Unemployment might soon be a "major problem" in Australia (as it was during parts of the 1970s and 1980s), but it still hasn't reached Depression-level proportions... and once again, that's unlikely.

As for the environment... well, we haven't done so well. But strangely enough, the situation isn't hopeless. The air in London or New York is far less polluted than it was 100 years ago. Indeed, if you speak to any Briton of a certain age, you will learn that the air in any major British city has vastly improved since as recently as 1960 or 1970. Even Beijing has more breathable air than it did only four years ago. (Believe me, I was there.) And while forests are still being knocked down with gay abandon, they are also being gradually regrown. In many ways, the environment is doing better now than in the past.

Of course, the war in Iraq is still a disaster. But we should remember (as we rarely do) that these terrible wars have happened all too regularly. Indeed, there is less violent conflict nowadays than there used to be. Remember, a few centuries ago, war and violence were the usual ways to conduct politics. The great leaders of the time, from Alexander the Great to the Caesars, would be considered tyrants today. Could it be that people have actually become nicer over the years? Yes, we have.

I'll stick with my assessment: The Past is overrated. Let's look at the future.

Busted 2009

It's great to hear that, after the Christmas rush, a few shops have been ordering new copies of Busted! this month. If you're looking for a copy, I understand the best places to look (for price and availability) are Dymocks stores and independent bookstores. (I'm not sure whether that means every independent bookstore in Australia, but your local indie is among your best bets.)

The Shark Cover

With the recent news stories about shark attacks on the Australian coast, you might dispute the entry in Busted! suggesting that sharks are the Most Overrated Predator. However, while they can be dangerous if you get too close (a well-known fact, noted in the book), you are still unlikely to be carried away by a shark, even if you go surfing at Sydney beaches every day with "Come and get me, ya dumb sharks!" written on your swimsuit. You still have more chance of being killed by a bee sting or a bolt of lightning.

While on the subject of sharks... Here is one of Matthew Boulton's first designs for the cover of Busted! It wasn't used in the end, because Random House wanted something funnier for the shark chapter. I have to agree, his second cartoon was much more appropriate, as was the final cover (which, of course, was not shark-related). Still... it's a striking picture.

The Most Overrated Person of 2008 (and no, it's not Nicole Kidman)

In the interviews I’ve had for Busted!, one of the most common questions has been “Who is the most overrated person alive?” Some of the radio stations poll their office in advance, and two names are most frequently suggested: Paris Hilton and Nicole Kidman.

I would suggest that Paris Hilton is not overrated. Overhyped, of course, but as everyone rates her as a first-class twit, she isn’t highly rated at all. Busted! focused on things that were undeservedly well-regarded. If anything, Hilton seems to be (brace yourself) underrated. On closer examination, it’s clear that she’s sharper than she looks, using her flair for business to promote herself as a bimbo (as Marilyn Monroe did). With the millions she’s made out of her image, the laugh’s on everyone else.

As for Nicole, it’s been open season on her in the last few months. The lukewarm overseas reception of the much-hyped movie Australia, and her #1 spot on Forbes magazine’s list of the most overpaid film stars, has opened the floodgates. The media has come out in droves to complain that they’ve always found her annoying, that she can’t act (despite the Oscar) and that she’s artificial. In fact, if she ever deserved to be called “overrated”, she’s been torn to shreds so much that the word no longer applies to her.

Which brings us back to the question… who is the most overrated person on 2008? It’s almost certainly someone in showbiz, because that’s the nature of the game. Here in Australia at least, my vote goes to… CATE BLANCHETT (or The Luminous Cate Blanchett, as she is so frequently called).

I’m disappointed about this, because there is much to admire about Blanchett. I agree with everyone else that she’s a gifted actor, and she shows to the world an Australian who is sophisticated and intelligent. (Large segments of the British media must find that hard to accept.) I also love the fact that she hasn’t turned her back on Australia, and is back home working for the Sydney theatre as we speak.

Yet we tend to overdo the glory. There’s all this talk about her “golden touch”, as normally intelligent commentators and critics are smitten by her. Even the PM made her a leader of the 2020 summit! When she was nominated for two Oscars, a majority of Australian punters actually thought that she would win both of them – and when she won neither, it was an outrage.

A few points about The Luminous One…

1. Everyone says that she gave the best Dylan impersonation in I’m not There. But Heath Ledger, Richard Gere and the others were playing inner aspects of Dylan. They weren’t supposed to be doing impersonations! In the same way, have you noticed that Vivien Leigh gave easily the best impersonation of Scarlett O’Hara in Gone with the Wind? (Clark Gable didn’t even come close.)

2. Remember that Forbes “most overpaid” list headed by Our Nic? Well, Our Cate made it too (though of couse, we’re in denial about that). For the record, Elizabeth: The Golden Age really wasn’t very good. (Most critics agree with me, so there.) Her major hit this year has been Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (which also wasn’t very good), and let’s be honest, that would have been a box-office hit if her character had been played by a completely unknown actress. In fact, it would even have been a hit if she’d been played by Nicole Kidman!

3. Now Our Cate’s a “superwoman”, apparently. Having a baby and attending the 2020 Summit in the same week is impressive, but “superwoman”? A couple of years ago, my sister had a baby, looked after the previous one (without a nanny), did all the household cooking, and took up scrapbooking in the space of a week. (Admittedly, she didn’t attend the 2020 Summit.)

4. Though people praise the fact that (as well as being a great actor) she finds time to run the Sydney Theatre Company with her husband, the jury is still out on the job that they are doing. Still, a few people have been surprised that, after a year, her “golden touch” hasn’t already resulted in a golden age of Australian theatre. Her most intriguing act so far is asking STC subscribers for donations of up to $5000 to improve the toilets. Wow! If anyone really forks out this much, I’ll visit the STC just for the toilets.

5. And the 2020 summit? Do you really think she was brought in for the depth? She was actually co-leader of the Arts working group, along with one of my occasional editors, Dr Julianne Schultz, whose own qualifications added some much-needed gravitas to the team.

In other nations, the gushing might be slightly more controlled - but in her proud homeland, nobody right now is more overrated than Cate Blanchett.

Still, I do like her infinitely better than Paris Hilton...

5 Overrated Historical Events

Just in time for Christmas, my Mental Floss blog posted a list of five vastly overrated historical events, as summarised from Busted!

If you didn't get Busted! for Christmas, click here for a taste...

Last minute Christmas shopping

Some people have emailed to say that they've had trouble tracking down Busted! Apparently it's been selling out at bookshops, which is great to know... but not much use if you want to buy a copy for Christmas.

Of course, this is helped by the fact that I have a column in the Canberra Times. It might not be an issue in other places. But then, who knows? I've heard that one major retail chain is only ordering a few copies and - for reasons unknown - hiding them in the U.S. history section! Yeesh!

If you still want to get a copy for Christmas. The Random House website has a list of bookstores where it might be found.

If you have time to get it through mail order, it can be sent from online bookstores like Abbey's Bookshop, Booktopia and SeekBooks.