"Never been kissed. Shame... but it's not an advert"

Susan Boyle's arrival into pop culture coincided with the cougar renaissance, and as such the asexual spinster offers a stark alternative to the fortysomething woman as sexual aggressor. Read it here.

Why people who love conspiracy theories are part of the problem

The difference between the millions obsessed withAngels and Demons and the whack jobs denying 9/11 and the Holocaust says a lot about Obama's hopes for a new era of responsibility. Read it here.

Longing for Great Lost Works

From Shakespeare's "Cardenio" to Ovid's Getic poetry, missing texts hold tantalizing possibilities. Read it here.

"If there's something really wonderful, I'll buy one"

With that philosophy, Michael Jackson amassed an amazing collection of fancy crap. Briefly seeing it all on the auction block was a reminder that, under the weirdness, he's actually quite a dull guy. Read it here.

How to calm a crying baby

It may be five in the morning, but you've also got Dylan liner notes at your disposal. So relax, and take some advice from a dad. Read it here.

"You'd have to rethink many, many things"

That was Tony Blair discussing his new faith's attitudes towards homosexuality with a gay magazine. Unfortunately for him, there is no third way when it comes to church and state. Read it here.

"I think we should thank Mr. Kenney for the publicity"

Indeed, George Galloway won the battle to get his nutty ideas heard, and Jason Kenney ended up looking like the enemy of a raving lunatic. So who really lost? The rest of us. Read it here.