Tassie's Movers & Shakers

I have been watching, with mild interest, the Mercury's reporting of their vision of Tassie's Top 200 Movers and Shakers.

They don't say who actually compiled this list, and I'd love to know, as that is basically what this post is about. Maybe it was the result of a staff ballot. Whatever - it contains many interesting names, which leads me to wonder what exactly qualifies one to become part of this elite group, other than just featuring in the Mercury occasionally, which by definition I suppose, qualifies them as media personalities.

Some of the more questionable names for inclusion in this list are: Eboni Stocks, Mike Pook, Robert Grubb, Kristi Seymour, Andrew Palmer & Alison Whyte.

Eboni - well, I've had professional dealings with young Eboni (yeh, yeh - she and I have modelled together!!), and apart from appearing to be your average Hobart teenage girl with all the hallmarks of achieving the usual, she really didn't knock me down as your potential mover or shaker.
Mike Pook - yes, he was the weather reader on ABC-TV for yonks. Congratulations! But how the hell does that qualify you as a mover and shaker? However much you can tell about someone's personality on tele, he seemed fine over the course of the nightly 2 minutes allocated to him on Channel 2. Mover & shaker material? Definite thumbs down.
Robert Grubb - well I'll bet not many people, other than his family at South Arm, really know much about him at all. His main claim to fame (as many in this listing) is that the Merc seem to use his occasional visits to his "roots" as fodder for their utter lack of headline news most days. He had one of the leading roles in "Flying Doctors" many moons ago, but, apart from that, I think he generally flies under the radar.
Kristi Seymour - apart from being from Launceston, so not in the Merc's predominent demographic, out of all the Lonny people they could have listed, why her? I read the Merc daily from cover to cover (well, OK, I admit I DO stop and close it at the Sports pages) and have NEVER heard or read anything about this person (or her father, who was mentioned in the descriptive write-up about her). Apparently she has a booming Real Estate business in Lonny, and a "jam packed social calendar"! WOW! Well, if that ain't a Mover & Shaker, I'll eat my Oxford Dictionary!
Andrew Palmer - this guy has recently come to our collective notices because he has been dating the Southern Cross TV newsreader, Jo Cornish. He made headlines in the Merc, literally, the day before this current M & S listing was published, by getting engaged (in the Merc's opinion) in the most romantic way to Jo! He also is the son of Kevin Palmer, who was, and I believe still is, a well-known Sandy Bay hairdresser. Obviously a potentially huge mover & shaker!
Alison Whyte - remembered for her pivotal and brilliant role in the Channel 2 piss-take of all current affairs shows at the time (and particularly Ray Martin) "Frontline". A great actress. It's nice that she too returns to her home town occasionally, but does that automatically define her a M & S?

Let's look at how the Oxford Dictionary actually defines Movers and Shakers. "Mover" is described as "proposer of motion or resolution; originator of something"; "shaker" or "Shaker" is a member of an American religious sect.

Well - I think we can easily get rid of the second definition as none of them is American to start with, let alone delving into their religious persuasions!

The Mercury is creeping inevitably from 200 down to the No 1 Mover and Shaker having started at the beginning of the New Year. Todays, Part 5, are numbers 120-101. What's the betting Mary Donaldson rates up there as No1?

I want to create my own list of Movers & Shakers, but really couldn't stretch it out to number 200. I think I'll add that to my list of New Years resolutions!