What football isn't.

Election season – oh joy! Would anybody like to buy an analogy? It’s a bit tenuous, not going to last that long, but should see you safely over the next 800 words. So far, choosing an MP has been likened to one’s favourite pudding , something to do with monkeys , choosing a pet , and now – “It is, in part, like supporting one football team over another” .

Well, no. No it isn’t.

How to choose an MP for your (hard-working) family

Now the date of the election has been confirmed, causing gasps of surprise all over the country, many people, fed up to the pre-molars with politicians of all stripes, are wondering who to vote for. To make this process a little bit easier, let us draw a parallel with choosing a pet. Many of the same factors impact on both decisions: financial resources, work situation / time available, size and location of property, how long you expect them to last, and allergies.

Culture, Schmulture – or, what are books for?

A recent semi-discussion on the Waddya[1] thread dealt with the interesting issue of “high-culture” v “chewing-gum for the brain” (thank you BB) books. There are some books that one simply must read, the theory goes, to be anything approaching ‘well-read’ – which also function as indicators of intelligence without requiring any actual thought on the part of the read. It is enough to have read War and Peace, NapoleonKaramazov observes, as it has “become synonymous with intellect”. This reminds me a bit of the exchange in a Fish Called Wanda (now, that’s what I call culture), where Otto protests at Wanda calling him ‘an ape’: “Apes don’t read philosophy!” – “Yes they do, Otto”, Wanda responds, “They just don’t understand it.”[2]