Payday today

What Johann Hari's 'celebrity evolution' and Tony Blair not becoming President of Europe have in common.

Forgive this blog if posts are a bit thin on the ground this weekend, but after a gruelling period, I'm finally going to be able to go shopping and help the world overcome the recession.

Here, however, are a number of articles that caught my eyes this morning for either getting on my nerves or spelling something interesting.

Johann Hari in the Independent is in toss-arguing mode today. Don't dismiss celebrity culture, he writes, with a long drawn out pseudo-history of evolutionary celebrity cults. So we learn that, apparently, Christian martyrs used to be followed by paparazzi and the Latin version of Heat was issuing scrolls and wax tablets bitching about the gladiators' skin blemish.

And you also learn that, in case you think Hari has hit a bum note with all of the above, you are (suprise surprise) guilty of - you guessed it!- snobbish superiority.

The Independent also sports a chronicle of the Manic Street Preachers' first US tour in ten years as penned by novelist John Niven. Compelling read, if you're a fan.

You'll be delighted to know that the much-talked about chances of war criminal Tony Blair becoming 'President of Europe' are hopefully sinking fast. It's the Guardian's main story today, but it's also prominent in the Daily Mail: 'Boney Blair's EU bid in crisis', is the headline.

In the event you needed any persuading that Blair snatching the post would be a terrible idea, just read what ConservativeHome wrote two days ago. Vote Blair for President! was their enthusiastic headline. "He is charismatic, visionary, has natural leadership and a gift for uniting", they penned. Read that bit again: "a gift for uniting". Like, presumably, George W Bush had one for swallowing pretzels.

The Times reports that legendary off-licence chain Threshers has gone into administration. It must be to do with all those green shoots, no doubt.

Neil Robertson on Liberal Conspiracy writes about the policy of 'inclusion' in schools- not miles away from the debate we had on this blog in the last two days and that was starting to turn nasty.

Harpymarx explains why the private sector cannot run the benefit system and Angrymob poses the excellent rhetorical question: What is worse than the tabloid press?