You may, dear reader, have wondered What is the purpose of Posh Spice? and forlornly torn your hair, unable to think of an answer.

But fear not! I am here to help.

The purpose and meaning of Posh Spice is so that we can all look at David Beckham - with his talent, good looks, fortune, and, what appears to be, amiable personality - and think There, but for the grace of God, go I!

And that's all thanks to Posh. There can be a purpose and meaning to even the most (seemingly) useless things.

WaPo has a poll regarding whom (out of nine nominees) is the 'most deserving of induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame?

The nominees are:

• Jeff Beck
• Little Anthony and the Imperials
• Chic
• Run-D.M.C.
• The Stooges
• War
• Wanda Jackson
• Metallica
• Bobby Womack

All together now: Metallica!

Which, sadly, stupid WaPo readers/poll voters don't understand: they have Jeff Beck as their leader. Ditto sad Althouse readers. What's wrong with people? Can't we just all get along and vote Metallica?! Like sane people?! With good taste in music?!!

*WaPo's original ... or rather, 'original' (I use those scarequotes advisedly) headline. Don't blame it on me ... blame it on the boogie.

Does Wall Street hereby become less of an alluring destination for our best and brightest? "Banker" has much less of a sexy ring than "Investment Banker". - Damir Marusic, DoubleThink Online

According to Political Punch, Sen. Obama will have to wrest that Beretta from Sen. Biden's cold, dead hands (or whatever).

So, come on Joe, let's get some oomph into this campaign, eh?! A shootout between you and Sarah?! You know it's what we've all been waiting for!!!

Betting my money on Sarah, boys ... any takers?

Who said politics was boring?!

PS. The tune is awfully catchy. You have been warned.

According to Deluxe Celebrities (scroll down), when the makers of the Brazilian rum Leblon cachaça threw a party in NY's financial district, the invitations apparently read:

Lose your job? Owe taxes? Foreclosure? Who knows how to muddle through economic turmoil better than the Brazilians[?!]

And they named their brand official sponsor of the 2008 Recession.

We all know that there's no such thing, of course ... nevertheless: when in the shits do as the Brazilians do (have a Brazilian?) is perhaps not a bad motto in itself?!

Politics schmolitics. Let's concentrate on the important stuff:
if Sarah Palin was your mother what would she have named you?

Me she would have called Nixon Hailfire Palin. For some reason I can't stop laughing. Don't you think it would have suited me just so ridiculously well?! What's a woo to a hailfire?! Can one rename oneself here on /.?

I do not think it means what you think it means.

Unless you happen to especially dislike four-letter words regardless of language, in which case not so much.

Sometimes, I am just gripped by this sudden urge to scream Cockatoo, cockatoo!

I don't know why really.

Sometimes, I am also gripped by the sudden urge to laugh like a rabid hyena. I have no idea why that would be either.

Laugh or cry. Your Choice.

Alan Beattie, via FT's Gideon Rachman, writes about the current G8 (... or whatever) meeting:

By reporters everywhere

An ineffectual international organisation yesterday issued a stark warning about a situation it has absolutely no power to change, the latest in a series of self-serving interventions by toothless intergovernmental bodies.

"We are seriously concerned about this most serious outbreak of seriousness," said the head of the institution, either a former minister from a developing country or a mid-level European or American bureaucrat. "This is a wake-up call to the world. They must take on board the vital message that my organisation exists."

[...]

The intervention follows a resounding call to action in the communiqué of the Group of [number goes here] countries at their recent summit in a remote place no-one had previously heard of. The G[number goes here] meeting was preceded by the familiar interminable and inconclusive discussions about whether the G[number goes here] was sufficiently representative of the international community, or whether it should be expanded into a G[number plus 1, 2 or higher goes here] including China, India or any other scary emerging market country that attendees cared to name.

The story was given further padding by a study from an ambulance-chasing Washington think-tank, which warned that it would continue to convene media conference calls until its quixotic and politically suicidal plan to ameliorate whatever crisis was gathering had been given respectful though substantially undeserved attention.

Actually, everything is Obama now. It's a Sign O' the Times:

In Rickrolling and Racial Transcendence, Reihan Salam writes (in what felt like a long, loooooooooooooooooooooooooooooong exposé of Astley's video and its mystical and metaphysical - oh, sic yeah - meaning):

'[A]lthough he [Astley] is pale and British, he sounds ... black and American. [...] As an exemplar of "blue-eyed soul," Astley could be condemned for appropriating a primarily black form of musical expression. But not only was he not condemned -- he was embraced by music-lovers of all colors, not least the acrobatic bartender featured in the music video itself. [..] Could it be that Rick Astley's "Never Gonna Give You Up" is the soundtrack for the Age of Obama?

White boys sounding like black boys? How unusual. Yes, it must be a sign that Sen. Obama will presently be titling himself Pres.

Dear Mr Salam, have you ever heard of Elvis? He's still the King.

Can you tell the difference? Take the quiz and find out.

A mere 6/10 makes yours truly Barack Obama: so smart I might just be the Second Coming. (They sure have dumb down the requirements for that one these days.)

An Australian swimmer posts party pictures on her Facebook page: in one she might be pole dancing (fully dressed) with another girl and in some others she is at some sort of masquerade dressed in some sort of police uniform (some pictures here). The prissy bunch in Swimming Australia throws a hissy fit and demands and achieves the removal (censoring) of the photos due to their 'raunchy' nature.

Seriously, did some hyper-inflation hit 'raunchiness' when I wasn't looking?!? Is everything super-sexy now?

Swimmers are people who spend most of their time in swimming costumes (with great bodies to show for all their splashing about) - which is the way we, the public, normally see them: at competitions dressed in tight, revealing, body-hugging cozzies! And my God, how pervy are you if you think pictures like these ones too sexy?! Yes, she is a young, good-looking girl, and yes, she is wearing a police uniform cap, but really??! What's next Swimming Australia? Swimming in burqas? That whole parrot-cage Taliban-mandated outfit when they're out of the pool?

I agree the (Western) world has maybe become a tad over-sexualized with girls sticking it in the camera at any given or ungiven moment, but I really don't see that we will in any way solve that problem by labelling just about everything, everybody and his dog as 'sexy', 'raunchy' or 'pornographic'. On the contrary.

I'm reminded of Mrs Cohen in Life of Brian (I'm paraphrasing):
- Mum, why is my nose so big?
- Sex, sex, sex, that's all you ever think about, Brian!