The Eurovision Song Contest turns 50. A star-studded guest list will not perform "My Lovely Horse".
Rick Mercer visits Afghanistan. "On the second last day of the trip Guy [Lafleur] woke up and played ball hockey with the soldiers first thing in the morning, then put in a full day that ended with a four hour flight to another camp in a Herc. When we arrived Guy went and played another full game of hockey 9:00 that night."
Irvine Welsh discusses what's wrong with Scotland. "Another big difference north of the border is in the knife/weapon culture. It's still a widespread assumption, particularly in parts of Glasgow, that carrying a knife is acceptable behaviour. This probably goes as far back as the Highlander's sgian-dhu, but has more recent roots in the 'tools' culture of the city's industrial past."
Julian Sanchez gives Maggie Gallagher a thorough kicking as a reward for her general cluelessness regarding same-sex marriage. "The idea here is that there are too many cultural accretions of marriage to extend the legal institution to same-sex couples without appearing to give some kind of endorsement—conferring the cultural good vibes no less than the legal privileges. Gallagher doesn't seem able to see that the situation's perfectly symmetrical in this regard: So long as marriage (which, as she observes, was not invented by government) is bound up with the legal and political institution, the law will 'impose' in this fashion."
The Guardian's Rory Carroll explains what it's like to be kidnapped in Iraq. "The door clanged shut and a lock turned. Pitch blackness and silence. Going by previous hostage cases, this could be home for months. Still, no bag over the head, not chained to a radiator - could have been worse."
Robert Farley discusses baseball "curses". "The curse of the Red Sox evokes sympathy because it is undeserved. Lots of teams trade great players. Ruth is the greatest player, yes, but the sin of the Red Sox is different only in degree from that of every other team in baseball."
And for the two people in the universe who haven't seen it yet, SMILE!
Posted by dave at October 22, 2005 08:55 AM