This will be the Not Particularly Well Hidden Musical Indicator Of The Week, then. It was a very, very windy morning today, the sort that quite literally had me struggling to stay on my feet from time to time, and carrying a plastic bag to make sure bits of the newspaper didn't blow away. When the wind dropped enough to catch my breath, I found myself singing If The Town Blew Away from Daria! (the musical episode of Daria.) And then another verse of The Big Wet Rainstorm's Over... something like...

The big wet rainstorm's over.
It blew itself away.
The big wet rainstorm's over,
and I have got to say
That I am really p-roud of the way
The fence stood up today.
The big wet rainstorm's over!

(Look, this was a spur of the moment, make-it-up-as-you-go-along kinda thing.)

Anyway. My point is that I've not seen this musical for a rather long time, yet those two songs, and Manly, and Morning In The 'Burbs come to mind just like that. In spite of having the CD, I have a hard time recalling any of the songs from another show's more recent musical episode. This clearly says something about the relative quality of the two episodes in question, or my taste in musicals, or probably both.

It was also the last ever regular season Daria. The one in which Jake's sudden absence, and the casing for a new refrigerator, causes a most unexpected flashback. And *finally* we begin to get to the root of our heroine's low opinion of just about everything. What's shown on screen is a trite and simplistic explanation, clearly hinting that there's much more beneath the surface, yet it's a start. And I defy anyone to properly watch this episode and not feel some sort of emotion afterwards. Even if it's only a desire to strangle the continuity announcer who thinks it appropriate to gab over the joke in the end credits.

Ah well. This is the way the world ends. Not with a bang, not with a whimper, but with a review of what we know, and a preview of what's to come. Tying up the circle really neatly.

Ah, the halcyon days of politics as soap opera, brought back by Fame, Set and Match last night. David Mellor, very much the Oasis of the administration. Dependable, briefly good entertainment (the time when he ticked off Israel at the start of the intafada was very high class), but got too much of an ego and had to be cut down.
Alan Clark, the Frank Sinatra of the pack. Hugely talented, never predictable, and staged more retirements than is possible.
Neil and/or Christine Hamilton, whose career reminds this viewer of Bros. A meteoric rise, some entertaining moments, but a fall that was swift and bloody. His last work - 1999's Rant! No Claim Like Today's! was his least worst.
Jonathan Aitken, the Adamski of Party Tory. A wizard at what he did, and briefly popular, but then straight into a disasterous Elvis cover (or abortive libel action) and purgatory.
And Jeffy Archer, the Mark Morrison of the lot. Very popular amongst the taste-makers, bandied about his wealth while making unspeakably rubbish records. Should have been jailed for crimes against entertainment, but actually banged up for fibbing (or violence.)

Of course, all of this dates back to the days when politicians were entertaining and newsworthy. This week, the education minister resigned. Until she went, I wouldn't have been able to spot her in a crowd, even though she's the MP for the constituency next door. This is the problem with The Party's Programme. Not only is it bad for Britain, it's being performed by the faceless. Only ten of the 23 cabinet ministers appointed in the first flush of power remain. There have been six (non cabinet) ministers for Europe in 66 months. The average tenure of a football manager is 18 months.

Over in The Observer (print edition only, so no link), Gore Vidal lays charges of Negligent Inaction against the Antipresident on September Eleven. To wit, the halfwit...

• Failed to send up fighters to intercept the hijacked planes. Vidal argues that military planes should have gone up shortly after the first hijack was reported, around 0815 EDT. The official record shows nothing went up till 0940 EDT.
• Remained in a classroom, reading an educational tale about a goat. It's important for high-ranking people to have a basic education, but one would have thought little Georgie's reading class could wait a day.
• Sold the debris from WTC 1 and 2 down the river.

Much, much more on this subject (including a lot of what can only be described as Guff) at The Complete September Eleven Timeline. Watch out, it's very, very big; very, very detailed; and there's a lot of it. Vidal, meanwhile, was plugging his new book. Corporate shill.

A hostage crisis in a Moscow theatre this week was resolved by pumping in a sleeping agent, then sending in the crack troops. About 90 hostages (15% of those held) were killed by this action. Interestingly, none of the non-Russians met this fate. Will the US be launching air strikes on Russia? After all, the bear has now used prohibited biological weapons of mass destruction on her own people.

The Thurthday Thearcth....

• exploring the myth of the nuclear family
• why do i feel so empty and lonely after having sex because you're a bloke?
• joe eat world
• bbc2 the most famous britons
• shimelle laine
• "red leather jacket" uk female
• red light districts in uk
• sheryl crow detergent commercial
• childrens itv fame academy they're gonna love that at Witanhurst Manor! It's so bad, it *must* be ITV!!!
• crap show on bbc fame academy it's good, and it's right
• "channel 5" ulrike
• leonardo dicaprio penis size 2.73.
• northside take five ooh! a rather great song from 1991.
• why do the royal air force wear black ties

Remember Herasey? The group created out of POPSTARS almost twenty months ago, had one big single and some more flop ones, then split. Marleene (or whatever her name is) from the grope appeared on FRANK SKINNER last night, and bleated about being recognised by counter staff at a well-known disfunctional catalogue shop. She went in to the fame game, she knew the perils of selling her credibility for a fast buck. Blame anyone? Blame the people who market these people who will get exactly fifteen months of fame and no more. (Mr Gagagagagates has 28 weeks left.)

Best bit of blatantly untrue celeb gossip we've heard lately? Mr Major and Mrs Currie at it like bunnies. We're still laughing at the implausibility of that idea.

Most tittilating bit? Billie "Just call me chuck" Piper.

Useless stat. A Google News search for "john leslie" returned 8 hits at midday Wednesday. It returned 41 today. Scavange, salvage, and survive, with honour, indeed.

Dave Farqhar's Silicon Underground is one of those sites I can visit for a bit of mental stimulation. Much of it concerns cutting edge technology. Some of it concerns religion. Some of it is musings on life. This is a brief comment on getting stung that has mutated into a complete life-story of the demise and fall of a scam operation. Ever ordered something from GPS Computers..? Beware multiple posts, and over 200 comments, but there is a good story there.

A correspondent to the UK Gameshows list suggests there's a curse on the future careers of BLUE PETER presenters. Let's have a gander down memory lane, with help from TV Cream...

Christopher Trace - now dead.

Leila Williams - spent ages as a pub landlady, now retired.

Anita West - airbrushed out of history for 36 years.

Valerie Singleton - accomplished newsreader, hosted BACKDATE, last seen with lesbians on BANZAI!

John Noakes - still dining out on his life with St Shep.

Peter Purves - regular at Crufts, hosted STOPWATCH, now edits Top Dog. More ... Peter Purves Dot Com.

Lesley Judd - went on to THE ADVENTURE GAME and MATHS IS FUN and corporate videos.

Simon Groom - now working on BBC Radio Sheffield and running Simon Groom Productions while waiting to take over father's farm in Dethick.

Chris Wenner - Popped up in DOCTOR WHO in 1984, but has vanished since. Not to be confused with the C4 News journalist.

Tina Heath - dropped a sprog, then vanished.

Sarah Greene - GOING LIVE and Mrs Mike Smith. The world of Corp Videos beckons also.

Peter Duncan - Not to be confused with the MP for Galloway and Upper Nithsdale. Made the movie BARNUM.

Janet Ellis - cruelly sacked, now back working with comedians on Radio 4 and Channel 5 and Mother Of Sophie.

Michael Sundin - died of an AIDS-related ilness circa 1989.

Mark Curry - to CATCHPHRASE and daytime telly. Not to be confused with the star of "Hangin' With Mr Cooper."

Caron Keating - more daytime telly - ITV this time.

Yvette Fielding - daytime telly on C5 beckons, as does CITY HOSPITAL, UNDER OFFER, and that paranomal programme on UK Living.

John Leslie - haven't seen him in the papers today.

Diane-Louise Jordan - hosts SONGS OF PRAISE.

Anthea Turner - AM:TV doyenne and beat Eubank in CELEB BIG BROTHER. More Google hits than any other BP presenter.

Tim Vincent - EMMERDALE and FULLY BOOKED and Graham Norton and THE CLOTHES SHOW. BBC Wales, mainly.

Stuart Miles - who? To HOLIDAY, apparently.

Katy Hill - wed and ditched within months. Left LIVE 'N' KICKING as the show was neither. Does that mean she's available? Reeyow.

Romana D'Annunzio - who? Back to theatre, it says here, performing panto in Stevenage. Makes a minuscule 38 Google hits, less than 0.4% of Anthea's.

Richard Bacon - just missed filling Chris' shoes in LIQUID NEWS. Would have made a good job, too. Does host RENT FREE, is not the MP for Norfolk South.

Konnie Huq, Simon Thomas, Matt Baker, Liz Barker - still there.

Unfortunate timing for E4's documentary on celebrities saying and doing the wrong thing. Just this morning, the unexpected words "John Leslie," uttered on live national television, could bring down a decent presenter. Last month, there was a brief flap about how two people from Grimsby got a reputation as an oddball couple, changed their names, and moved down to an area near Suffolk. There are links between these facts and other, more familiar stories, but the bizarre Contempt Of Court rules mean that I can't link the fact and the story. Yet a brief search of Scottish papers will give the information to draw the two together.

Perhaps the first instance of this phenomenon came over Christmas 97. An unnamed Cabinet minister's underage son had been caught dealing in cannabis in a London pub. Before he could be named, father took out an injunction preventing that. Never mind that the number of Cabinet ministers in that category was exactly two (Mr Blair, the Prime Minister; and Mr Straw, then the Home Secretary,) we couldn't guess. Unless we were in Scotland, in which case we could openly speak of Mr Straw's son dealing in drugs. We could also do it overseas, and it was reported as simple fact in the Canadian press the next weekend. After a week, Mr Straw gave up the ghost and everyone could name him.

Do the Contempt Of Court rules have any reasonable basis? They're a hold-over from the days when everyone in a community knew everyone else, and if gossip spread about, it would prejudice a fair trial. They also have a chilling effect on free speech. For instance, I reckon I know how the alleged crime in a case of Major interest was done, and why there would be a completely bizarre but perfectly logical defence that would completely reverse the tables if this case were to be tried in the US. Because of the Contempt Of Court ethos, I don't feel safe to publish that information at this time.

The spread of the internet has made it trivial to circumvent these restrictions on speech. Ten years ago, you had to know someone who knew someone to find out about the rumours between Mr Portillo (then Chief Secretary to the Treasury, now backbencher) and Mr Lilley (then, as now, Dead Silly.) Now, it's amazingly trivial to find out about which annoying Pop Idle Sad Loser is miming to the talky bits between songs on his promo tour. Maybe the law will reflect the new reality in fifty years...

Zeitgeist record of the week from U2.

The Q awards. The only awards sponsored by Britain's leading four-weekly rock magazine. It doesn't go heavily in for R&B, thumbs its nose at rap, and doesn't care much for real innovation. Let's go for safe, samey tunes.

Radiohead won the Best Act In The World Today for the second straight year, after their groundbreaking release of absolutely nothing. Lead singer Thom Yorke promised more of the same.

Coldplay got best album, for "A Rush Of Blood To The Head." An interesting choice, perhaps unlike the disk itself.

Unexpected winner of the Best Single award: it went to pop queens Sugababes for "Are Freaks Electric". Very good choice. Pop also took Best Video for Pink's "Get The Party Started." If hits to this website were any judge of popularity, it's a walkover for Marilyn Manson's "Tainted Love". Girl in the video = Leigh Chyler. Don't ask again.

Best new act, apparently, is the Electric Soft Parade; best live act, The Hives. Both are loved by Q writers and very few others. Best Producer went to Moby, a sort of belated nod to his work on "Play."

Q Innovation gong to Depeche Mode, for their years and years of ground-breaking electronica, then recording the same album every four years since 1989.

Q Inspiration: Echo And The Bunnymen, which is surely deserved, and nothing to do with the group's 4CD box set in all good stores now.

Q Classic Songwriter: Jimmy Cliff, which is surely deserved, and where's the box set?

Q Merit Award: Tom Jones. Nothing to do with *his* 3CD set, obviously. Lightweight.

Q Unwanted Award: Simon Cowell. You'll be hailing him as a nostalgic hero in 2015, so you will. See also: Pete Waterman circa 1989.

The awkward sort of weather. Humid, sometimes hot, sometimes cold. Is it polite to open windows on public transport in this weather? Maybe. Is it polite to shut them? At times. If there's a dispute, who gets priority? The person sitting next to the window? The person who is too hot? Too cold? On some old trains on the Paris Métro, there's a sign that says in the event of dispute, the window is closed. Why can't we have something that simple over here?

My complete Winamp playlist. Watch out, it's massive.

Earthquakes (plural) struck Manchester today. Given that chelle is safely in chelleville, I can but assume that Mr David Beckham dropped his wage packet.

Wandering around town over the weekend looking for new boots, I noticed that the christmas decorations are up. Already. It's only (checks calendar) week 42, still nine and a half weeks before the spending splurge is over. Yet my local supermarket has had baubles and tinsel in aisle 30 for the best part of a month, mince pies have been coming out of the bakery for a fortnight, and rolls of wrapping paper have been handily placed in just the correct position to support a basket at the checkout. And in the city centre, lights were going up already.

On the one hand, putting this gawdy stuff up so soon will desensitise towards it - by the beginning of December, tinsel and glitter will be more passé than flares. On the other hand, I can't disparage shopping early without being hypocritical - the sister's prezzie got bought last weekend, and the cards came with a mere 362 days to spare.

Two links: An in-joke and the railways fares manual. We await publication of the routing guide to determine why Finsbury Park to London via Cambridge is disallowed; total ridicule is not an acceptable answer.