If Viagra has turned the penis into a ‘puncture-proof balloon’, does that mean it’s not funny anymore? (First appeared in the Independent on Sunday, 2002) Investigating the penis can be an eye-watering business. Examining the urethra of an impotent young man, using a long nickel-plated probe called a ‘No 25 Explorer’, a… Read More »Gagging For It: A Ticklish History of The Penis
Johnny Morrissey was runner-up. Which is, along with ‘sixteen clumsy and shy’, the story of his life. Always running-up, never quite arriving. All things considered, it’s probably just as well no one took any notice of me and he didn’t win. David Attenborough’s acceptance speech made me realise – after I… Read More »Johnny Morris is voted ‘Britain’s Greatest Living Cultural Icon’
Holy Mary, Mother of God! Is nothing sacred? After the shameless, pagan idolatry of the Dieux Du Stade sporno calendars, some shameless Catholic idolatry in the form the Calendario Romano. Certainly, the images are inspiring. I mean, who wouldn’t want to kneel before these divine young men and receive the… Read More »Catholijism: Rome’s Answer to Sporno?
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/10/magazine/10section3b.t-6.html?_r=1&oref=slogin
Morrissey is one of the three finalists in BBC2’s ‘Living Icon’ middle-class popularity contest. He’s up against David hush-we-don’t-want-to-frighten-the-gorillas Attenborough and Sir Paul twist-and-shout McCartney. Now, all such contests are silly by definition, even and perhaps especially when they appear on BBC2. But given the strategic use of the word… Read More »‘Living Icons’