Enter the gladiators

I have to say, one of my favourite moments in every international football competition is the entrance of the athletes and the playing of the anthems. I always loved it, even without having to reflect about it: whatever else happens in the game, there is something noble and beautiful about the picture of twenty-two young men preparing, under the eyes of millions, to give all they have of strength, speed, skill and quick-thinking for the honour of their countries. Without the opening ceremonial, the real meaning of international competition could not be felt, and it may even be that the games would be worse or more undisciplined. There is no football fan who is not very conscious of all the dark side of the professional game; but even once you have taken it all into consideration, it is still good that people should spend their lives perfecting a skill to the best of their potential and then using it, not only for profit, but for their honour, the honour of their country, and the honour of the game.

Do this or I will come around and bop you on the nose no.3

The only good thing to come out of the MsScribe revelations affair has been that I have caught up with the details of the CharityWank affair, and specifically the health issues about a lady called Christina. The rest of it does not matter, but here is one person who, thanks to the wonders of private American medicine and insurance, is left in serious and life-threatening pain every stage of whose care sucks money from her family like Dracula. I am sympathetic to conservatives on a lot of things, but any conservative who wants to defend private medicine in the face of events like this is in my view a heartless so-and-so. However, never mind that. This lady needs help and needs help now. This is the address of her website: http://www.4christina.org/. I ASK EVERY PERSON WHO READS THIS TO VISIT IT AND DO WHAT YOU CAN. If you cannot give money, you can offer stuff to be sold on e-bay to raise funds, or even purchase items from Amazon through her rather than through any other source. Anything can help. But please, everyone who reads this, do something. And paste the address and story on your own LJs and websites. Spread the word. Get busy, dammit!

Just when you thought you had seen the worst...

I was just stunned by quite the most vile, vulgar and nightmarish ad - surely - in the history of TV advertising, on British TV, for Lynx male perfume. If you never see it, lucky you. God almighty, is there nothing that can be done against bad taste so hideous as to be far, far beyond parody?

Commitment

I am watching England-Sweden, live.

Just now, someone from among the players used the F word, loud and extremely clear. Unfortunately, my eyes were down from the screen at the time.