Thursday, June 25, 2009

Eighties Child

I could sketch the whole of my childhood around Michael Jackson hits. First record: Thriller. First cassette: Bad. I begged my mother to get me Moonwalk for my 13th birthday (she did, and I read it straight through, fascinated). I had a red boombox, a sequined glove, too-short pants... A break-dancer wanna-be. And a horrible one at that.

But then things turned sour with a myriad of visits to the plastic surgeon, babies dangling from balconies and more sinister charges. And yet in spite of all that, a Jackson Five episode on TV or a song from Off the Wall or Thriller will still slap a smile on my face.

Colour Me Barry

Ahmadinejad Assails Obama as Opposition Urges Defiance






















Mr. Ahmadinejad’s remarks, quoted on the semi-official Fars news agency, came as news reports suggested that more than a third of Iran’s 290 Parliament members had snubbed a victory party for him Wednesday night and as opposition figures said 70 academics had been arrested after meeting with the main opposition leader...