How do you fly this bally thing?

[alexsarll]

January's done, children. We've swilled the last of that sour vintage, 2005, from our glass, and now we can make a proper start. I thought that perhaps I was just more cheerful because I'd been envisaging a world under my ruthlessly benevolent rule on the way to the station, but even without me, things are looking up. The oil industry's monkey has urged an end to oil addiction and, even more cheeringly, one of Blair's more idiotic ideas, that abhorrent Religious Hatred law, has just gone down in flames! And Blair even pulled a Galloway and missed a vote whose result he could have changed! IN YOUR FACE, LOSER! YOU AND YOUR MAD GOD ARE BOTH GOING DOWN!
So yeah, I'm feeling cheery.

Couldn't be doing with The Damned Don't Cry; it's not a patch on the song which took its name though amusingly, like Visage, it features one R.Egan. I think Mildred Pierce was the only Joan Crawford film I needed to see. I was much more impressed with The Lonely Guy; it seems very dated now, but it's still a reminder of how funny Steve Martin used to be. Strange thing is, I know I've seen bits of this film before (my parents were great fans), but I honestly don't know whether I saw the whole thing as a child or not. If I did, it was certainly at an age before anything but the ferns made sense to me.

In Mad Science news: skiing cures the deaf and transplanting the ovaries from a sheep and a pig into a 28-year-old female patient to see what effect, if any, it had on her sexual preferences will, surprisingly enough, not produce good results. NB: latter link contains pictures of oldskool Russian gays which are mostly hilarious, but may be non-work safe for some.

The news of Berlusconi's vow of celibacy is good simply because it means that a bad man isn't getting any. But by focusing on the comparison of politicians to athletes, I think this article totally misses the point as regards the potential benefits or otherwise. Politicians need some of that competitive urge, to be sure, but they ought primarily to be thinkers - and as the idiocy of most monastic philosophers shows, and Cryptonomicon reminded me, thinkers are not at their best when they're backed up.

Comments

[darkmarcpi.livejournal.com]

Listening to 'The Damned Don't Cry', my best of Visage CD, the other day, I've been trying to convince myself that, with 'Fade To Grey' being so wonderful, they must have a few other great songs. But, frustratingly, I still can't find any.

It would be brilliant if all the world powers turned round tomorrow and said to the Arab world: "Actually - we don't need your oil any more. See ya!"

Before you get all excited about 2006, let me p1ss on your chips a little bit by reminding you that this is World Cup year - and from May onwards it'll be fairly inescapable, and more in your face than any of its predecessors. So, for anti-footballists like yourself, the cold parts of 2006 may well be the most enjoyable…

[barrysarll.livejournal.com]

You don't even like 'Damned Don't Cry', you mean? I think I prefer it to 'Fade to Grey'. And I also like that one about nightclubs, though its name escapes me.

And yes, I'd love to be able to tell the Saudis and Iran and the whole lot of them "Oil? Oh yes, oil, I remember that. In fact, I think Channel 4 are doing a Saturday night of I Remember Oil. No, no call for it these days. Be seeing you!"

There's a World Cup or an Olympics every other year, I can't let them impinge on life too badly or I'd only ever be able to bear the odd years.

[cappuccino-kid.livejournal.com]

otoh, great Visage songs are:

In The Year 2525
Mind of a Toy
Malpaso Man
The Horseman
Night Club
The Anvil
The Damned Don't Cry
Love Glove

not that I've played either album for about 4 years, mind.

In The Year 2525

[barrysarll.livejournal.com]

Don't push it.
I'd back you in the rest of that list, though. Except 'Malpaso Man', because I have no recollection of what that sounds like.