[frigedæg] have a great freitag

The Sumerian Inanna, the Babylonian Ishtar, the Greek Aphroditê and the Roman Venus all wish you the happiest of days on this second last day of the working week. Remember – no meat, only fish, watch your back, be fruitful and multiply and may Freya’s tears turn to gold for you.

Here are some other aspects of frigedæg which may have temporarily slipped your mind, just in case you're into friday perhaps.

[the berlusconis] lovers’ tiff goes public

As I’ll be somewhat immersed in women today, this is appropriate:

Silvio Berlusconi told some women at a TV awards dinner last week that "if I wasn't already married I would marry you right away", and "with you I'd go anywhere." Veronica, Mr Berlusconi's second wife and mother of three of his children, said the comments belittled her and she decided to make her marital spat public after failing to win an apology in private.

And he apologized. Publicly. Ladies, you now know what to do. Wash your dirty laundry in public and he’ll come crawling back to you on his knees. Works a treat. Sweet man, Berli, don’t you think?

[vladimir putin] what’s ms merkel bitching about

Vladimir’s Labrador bitch Connie nuzzles up to a shocked German whilst the honey in the background takes notes. That’s détente. Ms Merkel was lucky Volodya didn’t read her Omar Khaiyam, his last resort in times of stress.

His first resort is conversing with Connie. So nice that the protocol for meetings of heads of state has been rewritten to include canines.

I want to know who the girl in the background is, taking notes.

[phallacy] a growing problem

Google Maps and Virtual Earth have spotted a six metre-long phallus in the grass near Southampton created by Bellemoor School students, using weed killer. In December, a giant phallus appeared on the roof of Yarm School in Stockton-on-Tees. In 20 metre-high letters in a field just north of Edinburgh is the word POO and in a field near Rotherham is written ARSE.

Of course, this blog totally condemns these acts of desecration and the senseless waste of both public resources and the students’ time. The rumour that this blogger was spotted loading a canister of creosote and a groundsman’s wheeled marker into the boot [trunk] of his car is entirely unsubstantiated. Anyway, all I wanted to write was BLIAR.

UPDATE: Check this out.

[transatlantic divide] further and further apart

The news:

The CIA's clandestine program of abducting terror suspects and taking them to secret sites for interrogation unraveled further Wednesday as German prosecutors issued arrest warrants for 13 agency operatives in the kidnapping of a German citizen in the Balkans in December 2003.

This is one situation where lack of détente is a wondrous thing. Doesn’t matter that they’ll never extradite them. The simple fact of the prosecution is that the global push has met some obstacles. Goody. They’re not having it all they’re own way.

[seminar] the bad news and the good news

The bad news is that this seminar I’m at swallows up Thursday, Friday, Monday and Wednesday. The good news is that Saturday, Sunday and Tuesday appear to be freer so I hope there’ll be more posts on those days.

[thursday evening] now who said that

It would be nice if this could become a regular Thursday evening feature – a mix of quotes, old and new, not too difficult, not too easy, political and non-political and your task – to match the quote to the quoter. And easy one to start off with this evening:

The quoters

1] Thomas Jefferson
2] Charles Dickens
3] Arnold Schwarzenneger
4] Tony Blair, 1997
5] Oscar Wilde
6] Henry Kissinger [oh how I’m missin’ ya]
7] Jacques Chirac, 2005
8] Groucho Marx

And the things they said:

a] There can’t be a crisis next week. My schedule is already full.

b] Enough of talking, time now to do.

c] From the moment I picked your book up until I laid it down I was convulsed with laughter. Someday I intend reading it.

d] If you could see my legs when I take my boots off, you’d form some idea of what unrequited affection is.

e] I am not young enough to know everything.

f] "I hope we shall crush in its birth the aristocracy of our monied corporations which dare already to challenge our government to a trial by strength, and bid defiance to the laws of our country."

g] Give me your clothes, your boots and your motorcycle!

Would you try it? In all cases, the answers are at the end of the link:

Answers here.

[prisons crisis] this time not in britain

Seems the trouble’s not only in Britain but has spread across the North Sea, with a difference:

Half of all prison guards in Iceland handed in their resignation yesterday over wages and conditions and more are expected to follow. According to Icelandic law, prison guards are neither allowed to go on strike nor to resign en masse. If everyone resigns as indicated, this will leave 12 guards in Iceland. The State Prison Authority said prisons in Iceland would need to be shut down if a solution cannot be found.

I imagine the prisoners will be rehoused in British prisons.

[who] could it possibly be

1] What was her screen name?
2] What was her real name?
3] What was his screen or real name?
4] What was the story that this was taken from?
5] Who was the Doctor and how could he resist her?

[music] boy bites back at record industry

The news:

A New York teen, dubbed a pirate by the Record Industry, is counter suing them for defamation, violating anti-trust laws, conspiring to defraud the courts and making extortionate threats. They have demanded a jury trial and are filing a counterclaim against the companies for allegedly damaging the boy's reputation, distracting him from school and costing him legal fees.

Ordinarily, suing at a drop of a hat on spurious grounds leaves this blogger cold but he’d be happy to make an exception in the case of the recording industry and especially Sony, the spoilsports. Forgive me if I’m out of order but I can’t for the life of me see what’s wrong with buying a CD and sharing it online.

When it comes to thousands and thousands of songs, well maybe but firstly, go after the big boys and secondly, they’re sure as hell not clamping down for the good of the struggling artist, who gets a pittance in the first place.