:: Tis The Season ::

I'm feeling pretty smug this year, as I seem to have managed to finish all my Christmas shopping a full week earlier than I normally would. Like everyone else I've done much of it online and not set foot on hellish Oxford Street. And I've even found the perfect online outlet to spend all my Christmas money: Threadless is the coolest T-Shirt site ever. Not only is it cheap, but all the designs are submitted by members of its own online community, of which I've now become a part. Each design is printed in a limited run of 150 (some of the most popular are reprinted), which means you're highly unlikely to bump into someone wearing the same one. And the best thing? The T-shirts are incredibly cheap. They're normally $15 a pop - but are currently on offer at $10 each. With only $6 for international mail delivery, that's still inexpensive the the point where I could order a new one to wear to bAsTaRd each month.

Lava Lamp is off to Gay Paree this evening, a journey I'll be emulating in just under 2 weeks' time. Talking of gay, though, I wasn't convinced by all the arguments in this piece from Tuesday's Grauniad. For what it's worth, I've concluded that there can only be a combination of factors at play - the nature vs nurture debate is not clear cut. Surely some would have us believe that homosexuality is a means for social advancement: the recently published homosexual agenda can only be seen as proof of this fact. I topped up my poof credentials at a recent Zucco rehearsal by consuming some of the world's gayest biscuits.

The Arts world received a boost when it was announced that free entry to national museums has been guaranteed for another three years. The world's tallest bridge has just opened, and Tom Wolfe walked off with the Bad Sex In Fiction Award: "Slither slither slither slither went the tongue", indeed...

Special prizes for journalistic excrement must go to the following. In an article about the Dark Materials Director quitting, the following slip provoked a giggle "His Dark Materials is an amazing story, and at this point we have such a strong screenplay I'm confident we'll have real interest from A-level film-makers." I really doubt that sixth-form home video fanatics are the type of people they're hoping to attract. And the following headline is worthy of Taxloss on a bad day (only kidding!): Schröder faces Turkey basting. One word to that: NO!

Schadenfreude may be one of my less appealing traits, but I couldn't help stifling a giggle when I read about Jimmy Krankie falling off a beanstalk. I thought it was going to be Rod Hull all over again. Don't know about you, but I've always found The Krankies to be one of the most sinister children's acts around. The merest whiff of "Fandabidozi!" makes my flesh go cold.