Lordy. If it wasn't for one glorious day at the beach, I don't know how I would have made it to Sunday.
Because these days only the wind, or a wave, or a board in my face, can make me forget that I live in Harperland. Or the suffocating heat, the old lady with her head in the fridge, the tragedy of Norway.
Or the long announced death of Amy Winehouse. Which is also a tragedy because she was a huge talent who changed the music scene forever.
She was sharp; had a way with words, as well as song. And, oh boy, the songs – the accolades, the awards and the artistic attention was all justified too. Back to Black, her second album, with its six Grammy nominations and five wins when she was only 24, changed the music scene for ever, with its lyrical musings on cold, dead broken hearts, illicit sex, and chips and pitta and gin.
And nobody could save her from her demons and her drug addiction.
There were many subsequent attempts to quit herself of drugs and booze for ever. She tried in the UK, she tried overseas. Her stays in these places never lasted long, because Winehouse's real problem was self-belief, an insecurity only compounded by the extraordinary worldwide success of Back to Black, which left her less sure of herself than ever before.
It's such a waste. But she did live her short life to the limit.
While we walk back and forth like ants in the barren desert of Harperland, measuring out our little humdrum lives like cough mixture. Putting ties on our straitjackets, and making a virtue out of boredom.
Yup. History will be much much kinder to Amy Winehouse than her short life was to her.
In the end, long after people have stopped telling stories of drink and excess, they will talk about Amy Winehouse's voice and her music.
The only bad thing about being gay....apart from living in a world where millions of people want to kill you...is that no matter what you do, or where you go, you can't get away from it. Everybody is always talking about you.
Even in summer when there are so many better things to do. Never mind what natural, economic, or medical disasters we are facing Teh Gays is ALWAYS in the news. From the sublime, to the horrifying, or the merely ridiculous.
Now look... many other bloggers have said it better.
But I thought I'd add my two bits, just so our many enemies don't call us lazy as well...
(1) Antonia Zerbisias is an awesome blogger and an excellent journalist. She may be wonderfully opinionated and a proud feminist, but her arguments are always based on facts. And she's a great READ. The Star should recognize that talent, and try to clone her rather than punish her if they hope to survive in the internet age.
(2) Bernie Farber is being silly and mean at the same time. It's OBVIOUS that Antonia was just having a little fun, and he should have laughed it off. Instead of kicking up such a fuss which makes it look like he's embarrassed to be called gay. Or is just trying to be censorious. Again.
I mean people often confuse me for straight and do I get offended? Of course not. On the other hand if Bernie could send me one of those t-shirts, so I can clear up the confusion right from the start, I'd appreciate it. Because I hate telling straight people "Not that there's anything wrong with being straight eh?"
(3) Kathy English sounds like a nice person caught in the unfortunate position of having to sit on a cactus and suck on a lemon. Because honestly any more priggish than that, and they'll stop calling her the Public Editor and start calling her Mother Superior. Or cast her for a starring role in The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie.
But then maybe she was just doing what she was told by Star Publisher John Cruikshank, who sounds like a boring old fart, and the second worst guy to be trapped in an elevator with.... after Ezra Levant. A guy who doesn't seem to understand that you can run a good liberal paper, but if nobody reads it you're DOOMED.
And English was just making the best of a bad situation.
Gawd. I hope so. So everybody can just chill out, leave Antonia alone, stop talking about Teh Gays.
