:: Back To Banality ::

That's that I suppose. Shakers Re-Stirred has finally bitten the dust. Not that I'm down in the dumps about it. Fantastic to have the opportunity of pulling it off again - something of a relief to have a slightly less full diary...

So, I suppose it's time to recommence my ramblings on choice nibbles of neglected news from yesterday and today.

  • Atheletics News: It was reported yesterday that David Bedford has sued The Number for their impersonation of him in their infamous 118-118 "Got your number!" ads. I wondered if after Fanny Blankers-Koen's death at the weekend, her estate was planning to trademark the name "Flying Housewife". then they might be able to sue anyone who turns up to this year's Olympics in a floral dress.

  • Irony News: Following the BBC's analysis of Americans and their supposed inability to use irony, I decided to do some work on the subject. Certain webtrolls seem to get rather worked up on the issue of what exactly constitutes irony. I certainly agree with what most of what is said about Alanis Morissette's inane whine-fest "Ironic"... unless the whole thing is supposed to be some kind of hilarious po-mo ironic joke. Whether or not this self-trumpeting "ironic" site has anything to do with that linguistic phenomenon, I'll leave to your discretion.

  • Politics, Religion & Sex News: As the Government plans to Reclassify Cannabis as a Class C Drug from tomorrow, few people seem to be aware of exactly what this implies. Here's a handy quiz from the Beeb to test yourself. Those cheeky Tories have vowed to re-reclassify Cannabis should they come back into power. Just don't forget if you get the munchies that Kebabs Fund Terrorism.
The Hutton Inquiry and Phoney Tony's scraped victory on tuition fees are being done to death - I can't be bothered to comment. However, word has reached me, that the Russian Orthodox Church has declared that Chess Is Not Evil After All. Phew.
And the obligatory sex story: scientists have identified the World's Oldest Penis. Thank God there are no pictures.

  • Gadget News: My Dad bought me a hilarious present for my birthday. The so-called Mega Memory Watch has an inbuilt 128Mb Flash Memory device, which allows me to carry around files on my wrist. Or something. My Dad's idea for a suggested use was to take photos along to a party, then offer to display them on a friend's computer. Well... I suppose, but what kind of parties does he think I go to? No doubt I'll be able to astound and amuse myself by swapping files from my work computer to the home one and back again.

  • Feedback: On the recurrent theme of Pikeys, Kevs and Charvers, the following site has come to my attention - Chav Scum. The pictures are very fetching - I'm particularly keen on the celebrity profiles.

That's that. After being told that the Big Freeze is on its way, then disappointed by the lack of any London-based action, I wearily greeted the arrival of a touch of snow this afternoon. No doubt it will all have gone by the morning, but commuter services will still inevitably be disrupted for weeks to come. Shouldn't stop me going out tonight though - if it gets too snowy for transport to run, I could just about walk to this gig: