And the winner is...

I've little time for the Oscars (see 27/2/07) and have to admit to a secret smile or two at the goings on this time (the words "piss-up" and "brewery" spring to mind) but I still find it difficult to understand why we make such a big thing of it over here - it dominated the news on breakfast television yesterday, and I have a feeling that it would have done even without what happened.  And that poor man who has to stand at the entrance to that big party that goes on trying to catch passing "celebrities" in the hope that they will spare him a few words - I think he deserves an award for persistence!

We are not amused...

So Trump has failed his first "has he got a sense of humour?" test.  He has said he will not attend this year's White House Correspondents' Association Dinner.  This is an annual event which has been going for the best part of 100 years, and it is traditional for the President to attend and indeed to be the butt of most of the jokes,  A lot of people wondered how the notoriously thin-skinned Trump would cope with that - especially after 2011 when he did attend (as the then celebrity host of The Apprentice) and was mercilessly lampooned by President Obama and clearly didn't like it. Well, now we know - he's simply avoided the issue.

Let's do it properly!

The mummified remains of Ramesses II - arguably the greatest of the Pharaohs - was on display in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo.  In the 1970s it became clear that the mummy needed some TLC and that this would require it being transferred to Paris. To facilitate this, the mummy was issued with a Egyptian passport, in which his occupation was given as "King (deceased)".  On arrival in Paris, the mummy was accorded the full honours appropriate to a King.

Ciao Claudio...

Should Leicester have sacked Ranieri?  Football is a hard-headed business and Leicester are in danger of relegation from the Premiership, which would have significant financial consequences.  On the other hand, Ranieri guided them to a totally wonderful and unexpected Premiership title last season, which must have brought in a significant amount of money.  The club said that the decision was "painful but necessary".  I can perhaps understand why they did it, but I think the way that they did it - casual, off-hand, apparently uncaring - does not reflect on them well. And as ever the players who have failed to perform are still there, pulling in the ackers!

Ouch!!

I'm sure most people know that "scapegoat" is a truncated version of escape-goat and refers to some person (or originally animal) who takes the blame for the sins of others.  But did you know that the expression "whipping boy" has a similar history? Back in the days when the Monarch was believed to be appointed by God, it followed that the Heir Apparent, who would one day become Monarch themselves must equally be divinely appointed, and as such could not be punished by ordinary mortals. So how to deal with the Heir Apparent if they misbehaved?  And here's where the whipping boy came in - he took the "six of the best" on behalf of his illustrious master. Actually it wasn't such a bad job - when the Heir Apparent succeeded to the throne, his whipping boy was often rewarded - sometimes with a peerage.

Made it, Ma! Top of the world!

It was fated to happen, wasn't it?  The new Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police - the top cop - is to be none other than Cressida Dick, who, you may recall, was in charge of the operation which resulted in the death of Jean Charles de Menezes. Apparently the buck did not "stop here" as far as she was concerned, and her career has gone all one way since then.  I wonder if she ever ruminates on such matters?

It must be true, it's in the paper!

As a follow-up to yesterday's post, of course many of Trump's comments about the dishonesty (as he sees it) of the media are OTT, but that shouldn't disguise the fact that they contain a kernel of truth. Any thinking person must be aware that the press and television news channels have their own agendas (usually dictated by their owners) and so what they say should not be accepted unquestioningly. That's not to say they are going to tell you lies (although some of them may well be) but they will try and tweak your thinking to mirror theirs.  I may be just being patriotic but if I want unbiased news, I turn on the BBC,

I have a cunning plan...

President Trump's constant categorisation of the media as "dishonest" and disseminating "fake news" is clearly part of his strategy to supplant the traditional media as the public's first port of call when they want to know what's going on.  So what he hopes is that instead of your first question being "what does the Daily (whatever) say about it?", it will become "what does Trump say about it?".  That way he will be able to control the agenda.  He's a buffoon - but a clever one.

How are the mighty fallen.

I was sorry to read that, among all the add-ons that have been published in anticipation of the latest Star Wars film, out at the end of the year, there is a story that Jar-Jar Binks has fallen on hard times, been ostracised by his people and is now reduced to performing on the streets for children.  I know that I was in the minority - maybe even a minority of one - but I always rather liked him.

Depends on your point of view

The recent spat in the Church of England between the Bishops and the General Synod is more than a disagreement between people - it is an existential split between those that believe that Christianity is a set of immutable rules, and those who believe that the Church should reflect current thinking.  The Bible specifies marriage as the union between a man and a woman and for the Bishops, that's it - and ever shall be. Their opponents would have it that the Church should move with the times and inasmuch as same-sex marriages are now generally accepted (but not by everybody - see 3/4 /14) the Church should follow suit.  I am with the Bishops - if your religion is based on the teachings of a Holy Book then that's it - you can't pick and choose - it's all or nothing. Otherwise you don't really have a religion - what you have is simply a philosophy.