That's the whole tooth - Sydney Morning Herald

THE DIARY

Winning smile ... the Duchess of Cambridge, Kate Middleton. Photo: Reuters

THE Duchess of Cambridge has undergone a revolutionary new form of dental surgery to achieve the smile that has charmed millions worldwide, London's Telegraph reports. The work was reportedly done by Didier Fillion, a London dental surgeon who has also been up close and personal with  the teeth of the Monaco royal family, Kelly Brook, Sadie Frost and John Galliano.

His  colleague Bernard Touati said in an interview with The Times magazine that the Duchess's teeth ''aren't absolutely aligned. In the United States [people] want teeth that are symmetrical, monochromatic, artificial.'' ''Teeth that look like piano keys are not good, so we try to give back some details, maybe a space we don't close, or a shorter incisor,''  Fillion said. ''In Europe, we want something more adapted to each personality, not like America.

Tom Cruise's teeth are too perfect for me. I don't like teeth that look like piano keys.''  Both Fillion and Touati believe in the power of the smile. Fillion has given his Wimpole Street practice the slogan ''Smile is a language'', while Touati declared: ''We think handsome people are smarter than they really are.

A nice smile gives you selfconfidence, and self-confidence can change your life.'' Whew. It really is about time for the next flood, isn't it?

CHEWIN' THE FAT AT ICAC

Readers will be aware the Independent Commission Against Corruption has been investigating allegations the former energy minister Ian Macdonald accepted sexual services in return for giving Ron Medich access to top energy officials at a dinner in Leichhardt on July 15, 2009. The dinner is central to the investigation and last week an illuminating exchange took place between Medich's barrister, Winston Terracini, SC, Craig Murray, the recently retired head of Country Energy, and the ICAC commissioner on why business lunches were usually held in the CBD, at Beppi's, or Kingsleys Steakhouse.

Terracini: "Without going into the pros and cons of whether some of these restaurants are better than others, they all seem to be quite expensive?"

Murray: "Yes, but they are, were selected on the basis of how close they were to the city."

Terracini accepts this but presses on: "And also quite expensive?"

Murray: "Oh, Kingsleys, I think, is moderate.

Terracini: "Moderate?"

Murray: "Yes, moderate."

The commissioner: "Well, barristers might think it expensive."

Terracini: "Particularly on a Legal Aid trip . . . "

Nice. Terracini and Murray then established that Country Energy took its country visitors to a spot in Hill End for lunch. (With a designated driver? "Of course.") Incidentally, it was about the time of the above mentioned dinner that the media had taken to calling Macdonald Sir Lunchalot, something which irked him. Yet on the night he reportedly ordered four bottles of Tasmanian pinot noir at $130 a pop.

REFRESHING HONESTY

Of course, the above item is far from representative: state political experiences are arranged, like so much else these days, along a spectrum. Consider how the Minister for Education, Adrian Piccoli, sees his life's work. Piccoli last week dropped in on a couple of high schools, presented a few medals and then stopped off at Dulwich Hill Public School, where students were given the chance to ask him a few questions. According to their local newspaper, one of the students, Katherine, was impressed by the glad-handing he had owned up to but asked Piccoli: "What other things do you do in your job as minister?" Did he wax lyrical about the preparation and implementation of the various plans his department puts in place to ensure the best educational future of our youth? No. Did he indulge in a long-winded speech about the importance of government in securing resources to make sure teachers can do their jobs? No. In one of the most honest answers a politician has ever given, he reportedly said: "I sit around and have lots of boring meetings."

TREE-MENDOUS IDEA

Ordinarily commuters alighting from ferries this morning at Circular Quay would not be expected to notice the big Christmas tree which appeared overnight outside Customs House: Christmas trees are part of the seasonal furniture, after all, so we're more likely to notice their absence. But this tree sticks out a bit, being made out of junk. And some of the junk might be familiar, as it consists of commonly discarded Christmas presents (we're imagining cheap electricals, Hewlett-Packard tablets, tickets to '80s rocker reunions, Kyle Sandilands posters and calendars). The Christmas Tree of Waste (our name) is a stunt by CHOICE, which releases a study today showing how many presents are really just on their way to the tip via our living rooms, or to a rented space in storage. Whatever happened to exchanging it at the department store whence it came?

THE PRICE OF FAME

Fairfax Media has won a UNICEF Brass Ring award for its fund-raising success Bread for Good. The brainchild of Herald journalist Helen Greenwood, the initiative asked diners to donate $2 or more for their bread order for a week in September. In NSW and Victoria, some 280 restaurants took part, raising $80,000. But the Herald isn't the only one to take a creative approach. At the fund-raiser at which the Brass Ring award was announced, author and television presenter Tara Moss auctioned the name of a main character in her latest, as yet untitled, book. Moss tantalised bidders with the promise the winning bidder would "end up looking good and be a cold-blooded killer". That was enough to draw in Geoff Rosamond, of the Human Group, who forked out $1750 for the privilege of having a fictional murderous doppelganger. Still: an assassin named . . . Geoff? Tara, you are going to have your work cut out.

STAY IN TOUCH

WITH ... JUSTIN BIEBER'S LATEST LOOK

FIRST it was the haircut, now Justin Bieber looks like he might be making an even bigger image change, branching out into the pseudo Goth world of steampunk – and nobody's happy. Fans of the  teen singer have gone into high alert after he was photographed wearing a brass, leather and assorted mechanalia gauntlet in the video for his new Christmas song Santa Claus is Coming to Town.

Created by Canadian artist Ian Finch-Field, the futuristic/retro glove (yes that's a contradiction, but that's steampunk) has angered fans of the singer who are worried he's taking a dark turn, but that's nothing compared to the collected cries of horror from the steampunkers who are sure he's dealt their beloved style the ultimate blow by turning their niche look into mainstream. ''Steampunk has officially been murdered by Justin Bieber,'' moaned one subculture blog, saying the mere fact the popster has sampled anything to do with it is ''the death knell'' of their lifestyle. ''Steampunk is dead,'' another website moaned, ''Justin Bieber killed it.''

Bieber hasn't said a word about it, but Finch-Field seems unaffected, saying: ''To each his own,'' he said. ''I'm getting a lot of flak from people saying I'm selling out. They think there's going to be a whole bunch of teenyboppers running around ... not knowing what steampunk actually is.''

Which might happen but as long as they're cashed up teenyboppers, Finch-Field probably won't mind. The original glove sold for $10,000 and the artist has 10 similar models for sale, with part of the proceeds going to his local animal shelter

WITH ... SANTA'S HELPERS

YOU know the silly season has begun when you stop to ask yourself just what is the collective noun for multiple Santas? An avalanche of Santas? A blizzard? No, it has to be a sack of Santas, doesn't it? Darling Harbour certainly played host to just such a sackful of sweating Santas yesterday as some 300 or so participated in the third annual Variety Santa Fun Run. Of course, it's customary to wear fancy dress on fun runs, but in this case if you really wanted to stick out you'd have to wear shorts, singlet and sneakers.

WITH ... NEWS OF THE NEWEST RUDD

JESSICA RUDD, the writer daughter of the former PM and present Minister for Foreign Affairs, announced on Twitter yesterday that she is pregnant: "Albert and I are thrilled to announce we're expecting a baby in late May." This unleashed a chirrup-storm of congratulatory tweets from well-wishers, including a sweet little verbal jig from mum, Therese Rein, which Rudd retweeted: "I'm gonna be a grandma . . . I'm gonna be a grandma . . . Dances with joy. (Abby and Jasper are smiling broadly too)." What struck us was not simply J-Rudd's palpable relief at being able to pass on the good news at the end of the first trimester, but the following exhalatory recognition of the little things counting: "Thanks for all the gorgeous tweets. Meanwhile, how great are maternity jeans?"

Contact diary@smh.com.au or 9282 2350 or twitter.com/thesmhdiary