The example above of shit writing and shit subbing comes courtesy of today’s Sydney Morning Herald and got us at The Bug wondering whether we need a new annual category for our mainstream mediocre awards …. the most breathtaking or convoluted intro of the year!

The one above is by Nick O’Malley, the paper’s national environment and climate editor, and would surely be in contention for such an honour.

Okay, ready to try to read it? Want a glass of water first? No? Okay but take a deep breath and start now!

Doug Landfear, the Californian-born local boss of Danish renewable energy giant Vestas confesses he does not know exactly what federal Nationals MP Barnaby Joyce meant when he described the company’s environmental impact statement for a NSW wind farm proposal as ‘‘nothing but a pack of poo-tickets’’, but he guessed it was not good, and says he is not entirely surprised.

Phew! The comma that should have been used after the word Vestas would have helped navigate that 62 (or so; we admit we dozed off there a bit while counting them) word essay. Maybe. Just.

So, where was the sub-editor who could have taken just a few seconds to reshape that intro – to blend some of it with the short sentence that followed – to give the reader some incentive to keep going?

The SMH still has some subs, right?

***

Speaking of subs who might still exist and the same weekend edition of the SMH, we’re going to reluctantly give a pass mark to the chap or chapette who threw this cricket heading together.

Long-term BUGers out there will know that we have long banged on about the efforts of subs to come up with a Walkley award-winning heading or three and how their efforts are sometimes very clever, sometimes clever, sometimes just a bit smart; sometimes too smart by half … and sometimes just bloody awful.

Can we be honest here? We’re either getting soft in our old age or our standards are slipping but we’re not exactly sure where Act of Todd fits in. Act of Todd. Act of God. Got it?

Maybe if this new bowling sensation hangs around and becomes a great if not a GOAT, we’re all going to see Act of Todd so many fucking times we’re going to be heartily sick of it.

Well, unless he wins Ashes series after Ashes series for us for the next two decades.