pap

Very good.

Thought this deserved its own thread. Michael Le Vell, otherwise known as Kevin Webster in Coronation Street, has been charged with 19 sexual offences, including the rape of a child. http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2013/02/15/michael-le-vell-coronation-street-kevin-webster-child-sex-offences_n_2692694.html?utm_hp_ref=uk ITV have already pulled his storylines from Corrie pending the outcome.

Sorry Adrian; is this supposed to be an argument? I didn't have anyone strong-arming me to buy something specific. I believe its possible to STILL buy anything you want for your partner on Valentines Day, that some people do work during the festive period and that some are bloody miserable because they are unable to afford it. If you're trying to assert that Christmas Day does not equal Valentines Day, congrats sir, you've succeeded - but you're hardly at odds with me on that point. Who is going around TELLING people when to love someone else? Seriously people, all the evils of capitalism and consumerism, and THIS is your sticking point? FFS, in terms of pure spending, Christmas makes Valentines Day look like a quick trip to the shop for a pint of milk. Get mad about the right things.

Is that iso "very well known and probably monitored by the authorities" hunt? Good site

It has HBO on it. That normally means swearing and sex at least. I should perhaps qualify my opinion. When a TV programme carries warnings of graphic sex, violence and adult language, I normally say "Excellent!". HBO is not a good TV channel to watch if you live in a shared house, though.

Turn on your TV or Radio. Look at the billboards or advertising hoardings that are plastered everywhere, the likes of Jessie "hey kids, debt is cool" J advertising Mastercard to teenagers. This is permanent, it's ongoing and relentless. You're moaning about one day a year. Perspective.

It really isn't that important to me. No holiday is. I'm not a Christian so Christmas is annual "giving it large on the gifts front". Easter is similarly spiritually empty to me, but I buy a couple of chocolate eggs for people. The funny thing is, Valentines Day gets shorter shrift than these grand occasions, and that's a shame. I admire the simplicity and universality and simplicity of Valentines Day. You don't have to believe in a sky lord, or even pretend you do. It hasn't become something else, in the way that Christmas is just a gigantic climax to the cyclical consumerist gang-bang or Easter is about fecking bunnies. It's just about appreciating your significant other. I'd argue that your defiant stance on Valentines Day, one you probably share with a load of people, is a reaction to the fact that in real life, you don't get to do what you want. Most of us are at someone else's beck and call for the vast majority of our waking hours. With so much hierarchy and direction, I can appreciate why someone might not want to be told when to love their significant other in their own time. "Take that card makers! You're not the boss of me!" (although everyone else is)

We got each other the same thing. Card and a box of chocs. I'm normally sh!te at remembering this, but have remembered this year. You can say the same thing about any holiday. Pressured to spend money at Christmas, pressured to dress up on Hallowe'en. Pressured to sort out a family holiday in the summer. If you're all for taking on the corporations, fair play to you. But your argument reads like any "hallmark holiday" diatribe you'd hear a tight uncle say.

Ender's Game. Loving it.

Ha! I'll take this to be the bitter comment of a loser in love!

People say Valentines Day is a waste of time, but it really is the general election day of romantic relationships. No-one knows what's going to happen. She's remembered, but has he? And what about the potential disparities in cost? What does it say about your relationship if you one person buys the other a much more expensive gift. Both the missus and I have employed the kids as runners and spies in the last week, just so the balance of power is not upset. That, dear boy, is what Valentines Day is all about

If he's saying that he's not an expert. He's in good company. No-one on talkSPORT is.

I was not spurned, and I'm no spurner. Spread the love, I say. Just wipe it off the curtains afterward.

Quitters.

Rightfully derided Episodes 1, 2 & 3. http://redlettermedia.com

You're not too fussed about anything, yet write about it anyway. Ignore history at your peril, kid. We're not some super-evolved branch of humanity. We're capable of making all the same mistakes as our ancestors as well as entirely new calamities.

Doesn't really work at all. These people don't want to leave Germany. It's an economic choice that many of their kids make.

I found the story about German people retiring to Eastern European rest homes interesting, precisely because of the disparities in incomes.

http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2013-01/31/grand-theft-auto-v-release-date-announced September 17 on 360 and PS3.

Surely a certain Pope would have foreseen his own abdication?

Not talking about Frank himself. I do like what he brings to that team, though. Those piledrivers from distance can kill off games immediately.

Been looking at Frank Lampard's recent performances. Can't help thinking that if we had someone with a decent long shot, could add 10 points per season.

Well, she did kidnap herself, and he can get you a toe by three in the afternoon.

Or has been actively interested in the Papal position the whole time. He may be there right now, talking about Catholicism's magnificent catchment area.

I've got some serious gaps in my Coen brothers knowledge. Fargo is excellent, and I'd have a rare measure of agreement with Chapel End Charlie on there being nothing else quite like it. I've seen true life movies before and I've seen black humour. I've not seen much of that in the same film. Frances McDormand's character sums it up neatly at the end, when she reflects on the details of the investigation and remarks upon what a waste it all was, and all for a bit of money. It's not my favourite Coen brothers film, but has a compelling message about the lust for status leading to the destruction of everything important. The Big Lebowski is probably one of my favourite films of all time. It's notoriously difficult to get on with on the first watch, but it truly is a fine wine of movies. Walter, the man represented in my avatar, is a superb character. Complete arsehole, pulls a gun to settle a bowling dispute, goes off the rails several times, can't help relating everything to Vietnam, gets tons of stuff wrong for major comic effect. You watch that movie a few times, and you realise he nails all the big calls. Fantastic movie, endlessly rewatchable.