[Picture courtesy BBC Radio 4]

Some wonderful tribues to John Peel across the blogosphere: Hydragenic, Leah, Billy, Billy again, David, Huwge and Richard.

Aside from his legendary status in the music world, if you’d like to undertand why the nation is mourning this lovely man, go listen to this week’s edition of Home Truths.

Have you seen that short video clip where la Shrub gives the world the benefit of his finger? I’d not linked to it, thinking it was fake.

Oh how wrong I was. Here is the current President of the United States showing his true colours. He looks as if he’s scared that his daddy is just around the corner, might have seen him misbehaving and will ground him for a month.

Thanks to Michael [who also brings our attention to this article on Republican efforts to bring black voters in] and to Karan who also knew I’d appreciate it.

This week’s special US election debate will be held in Miami. The panellists:

Michael Moore (campaigner; director of Fahrenheit 9/11 and Bowling for Columbine)
David Frum (ex-speechwriter for George W. Bush)
Sidney Blumenthal (ex-White House adviser to President Bill Clinton)
Richard Littlejohn (columnist for The Sun)
Lida Rodriguez-Taseff (chair of the Miami-Dade Electoral Reform Commission)

BBC 1 tonight [Thursday 28 October 2004] at 22:45 BST. Bring your own popcorn, this could be cracking television.

For those who have access to BBC World: this special edition of Question Time USA will also be screened on BBC World on Saturday 30 October at 08:10, 14:10, 21:10 GMT and again on Sunday 31 Oct at 18:10 GMT.

UPDATE: The video is now available on the BBC website. Good old auntie beeb. I can sit and swear at Littlejohn over and over again.

Go immediately to this BBC website and watch Greg Palast’s video (top right hand column) on the despicable actions being taken by the Republican party in Florida.

Another sad death, the wonderful John Peel. I’m not sure how well known he is outside of the UK but you can find out more from a thirty minute Front Row tribute [click on “Latest Programme”]. Warm, funny contributions from the likes of Andy Kershaw and Paul Gambuccini.

He will be missed.

1. Put both lids of the toilet up and add 1/8 cup of pet shampoo to the water in the bowl.
2. Pick up the cat and soothe him while you carry him towards the bathroom.
3. In one smooth movement, put the cat in the toilet and close both lids. You may need to stand on the lid.

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I’m very much on the mend today - thank you all so very much for your wonderful comments, advice, emails and for generally keeping my chin up when I couldn’t keep anything else up. So to speak.

A few pictures and then I’m off to have a nose at what you’ve all been up to:

What did you do at school today, son?

Protest on the fairway

In my next life I’m gonna be a bear

…there’s the fact that I’ve read more fiction* in the past few days than in the past year (3 a day and rising). And now I’m chuckling at all your comments.

On the minus side there’s the pain. At the risk of offending around 30% of you, I think I might have had a glimpse of the pain involved in childbirth. And many of you have more than one? Sheesh.

Fingers crossed, it seems to be easing a little. It only took two hours to get downstairs this morning and I’ve been able to sit on the sofa, venturing out on little walks across the room without the zimmer (actually, this is more like our homemade version). I’ve got the number of a highly recommended ch*ropracter but she’s away until Tuesday - even if the pain has gone (oh please, please, please), I’ll still make an appointment and get some advice. Might even start gentle yoga. I hear that there’s a good Yoga for Wrinklies class nearby.

* For totally absorbing, pain-forgetting reads, I can recommend this, this and this.
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I’m having my annual bout of backache agony but unlike other times, I can’t sit for longer than a few minutes in this computer chair. I owe quite a few email replies (coming soon!) and I’m keen to know what you’ve all been posting but bloghopping is going to have to wait a wee while - I’m off to have another hot bath.

Do this amazing mathematics exercise.

It will take only 20 seconds. What you have to do is to follow the instructions. Do not read the outcome before having made all the calculations, ok?

Let’s start!

1. Decide the number of times you wish to make love during one week.

2. Multiply this number by 50.

3. Add to the result 44.

4. Then, multiply by 200.

5. If, this year, you have already celebrated your birthday, add 104. If you have not celebrated it yet add 103.

6. Last step: to the result you have obtained, subtract your birth year (for example, subtract 1968, 1973, etc.).

Once you have made the subtraction, you should have a number with five figures.
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