John Howard is in no danger of suffering Relevance Deprivation Syndrome. Recently it's been all spotlight, all the time. From proffering his thoughts on the return of dames and knighthoods to buying into the Racial Discrimination Act debate, he has been in demand - and now the focus is global. Howard is among 24 world leaders immortalised in portraits painted by George W. Bush, the president who famously dubbed his Australian counterpart a ''man of steel'' back in their ''let's-invade-Iraq'' heyday. It's hard to precisely capture the expression Bush has planted on the Howard visage: ''I just sat on a fork'' or ''Maxine McKew did what?'' spring to mind. But Bush has told NBC he expects his efforts to be taken in good spirits. ''I hope [the leaders] take it in the spirit in which these were painted … that I admired them as leaders and was willing to give it a shot in terms of getting people to see how I felt about them.''
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Manners maketh the man (pig's arse)
Howard's old Liberal Party sparring partner John Elliott has also been enjoying a public renaissance, thanks to his appearances on Adam Zwar's ABC Agony series - Agony of Modern Manners, its fourth incarnation, which premiered last Wednesday. In Elliott's glory days of the 1980s, Australians had to rely mainly on the satirical show Fast Forward for reminders of the peculiar charms of this adornment to Melbourne's moneyed set (''Pig's arse'' gained national currency) .Today we have the man himself, couch-bound alongside his son, 3AW Drive host Tom Elliott, holding court on such matters as lift etiquette and appropriate office attire. Elliott senior is in danger of gaining a new cult following with these latest contributions, such as his observations on things going missing from the office fridge (the afternoon gin and tonic supply - ''people have nicked it'') - to surfing porn on the internet at work. ''I don't use the internet at all,'' Elliott senior told Zwar. ''I think it's secretaries' work so I let them do it. As long as you've got a clean ashtray, that's the most important thing.'' Heckler reminds you that, alas, long-ago predictions of this man being a future prime minister never came to pass.
ONJ from Parkville to Sin City
As flagged in Heckler recently, the Victorian health system is now officially represented on the Las Vegas Strip, where the Austin Hospital finds itself our first medical entity to benefit from a casino fund-raising effort. The past week has seen what may be a singular honour for an Australian - and certainly for an Australian hospital - with the proclamation of Olivia Newton-John Day, an event held to mark the launch this Tuesday of the singer's six-month performing residency at the Flamingo Hotel. The 45 concerts will help raise funds for the ONJ Cancer and Wellness Centre in Heidelberg, and in Las Vegas punters are being prodded to get on board with show promotions even emblazoned across the gaming tables. Heckler managed to get a congratulatory message to Newton-John. And despite a former Las Vegas mayor declaring the occasion a ''welcome home'' for the showbiz veteran, be assured her ethos remains more Victorian than Vegas. ''Thanks, mate,'' said Newton-John, fresh from the gambling mecca's first-ever street parade in honour of a graduate of University High School in Parkville.
Rolling high with the big wheels
While we're at it, let's note another new connection between Melbourne and Nevada's Sin City: the opening of Vegas' very own observation wheel - the appropriately named High Roller. Vegas says its version of Melbourne's Star Observation Wheel is the world's highest - and joins our twirling, troubled machine as one of only four such contraptions with motorised cabins (Singapore and London have the other two.) We wish the Vegans well with their latest tourist attraction, and hope things run more smoothly than they have here. Not that the Melbourne wheel is giving up its fight to win us over - the latest PR pitch suggests the wheel as a venue to ''bring a whole new perspective to your next business meeting or event'', with clients invited to ''join one of our daily site inspections''. One for the high-flyers. All yours, John Elliott - though we're pretty sure there will be no ashtrays up there, clean or otherwise.
