I think some guy from The Age had it right when he referred to Johnny 'it's a dye-job' Warren as 'Big Chief Rain-in-the-Face'. What a whiny, self-important, hypercritical instance of the species of sports-commentator he is.

The World Cup continues apace. My favourites, Spain, crushed all opposition in the group phase, recording three wins in each of which they scored three goals. Next they face Ireland, and in my opinion no matter how much dogged spirit there is in the boys from the 'original home of good times' Spain will crush them like the green ants that they might as well be. Olé! England and Italy faltered through in boring drawn matches.

We need a shake and therefore demand more than the cold conclusion of reason
The only impossible thing is to delimit the impossible
The realm of necessity
(To restore the confidence)
(Is) The triumph of human spirit
(Triumph of the will)
Everything remains to be done ...
Stereolab, 'Au Grand Jour'

Good advice for a happy life? Maybe. At this point I'll put in a good word for Tim Powers, one of the better fantasy authors currently gracing the literary stage, if only because his action-packed works aren't just imagination-free servile subcreations of Tolkien. I'm currently reading Dinner at Deviant's Palace which is of the usual quality, and can also recommend On Stranger Tides, Last Call and The Anubis Gates.

In other news: US military doctrine changes. They're now considering launching 'preemptive strikes' against 'rogue nations' who 'support terrorist groups' and 'are building weapons of mass destruction'. What, terrorist groups like the CIA? I'm in danger of being suffocated under the weight of a massive lack of perspective here. It's like Oliver complaining about someone being pedantic or something. Oh, did I forget to mention? These preemptive strikes may involve the use of nuclear weapons. Sounds fair. Meanwhile, our fearless leader John Howard makes speeches about Australia being America's best friend (you know, kinda like a dog is a man's best friend) to a Congress stacked with interns, press figures and office juniors because the real political people can't be bothered. Of course, you can't actually tell this on the news, so it looks like he's speaking to a full hearing, so his strategy of manipulating the media in order to look like a 'statesmanlike' figure is functioning well. Nice to know you're over there fighting hard for our rights, John. It's scary when it becomes impossible to argue against US imperialism because all the old (and true) lines of attack just sound hackneyed. Nothing works! It's disgusting! And so my rant ends.