More English Ales

• Second place: Fursty Ferret. Clean, clear.
• No place: Tribute - How the hell did this get into the photograph?
• First place: Old Hooky - Strangely bitter and sweet at the same time. This is the one I'll look for next time.

Fursty Ferret and Old Hooky deserve their place among the quality ales previously sampled.

Gandhi, Martin Luther King, John Lennon and Madonna

Madonna has said she "wants to be like Gandhi, Martin Luther King, and John Lennon".

I'm all for it... so long as she wears a nappy, gets a tan, then gets shot.

Haiku

My Haiku Obscure shadow climbs, Existing onyx joins in: New minds still differ. Get Your Haiku

Top English Ales

Having lived in England for more than a decade, I have some English ales to recommend.

• In third place: Tangle Foot. Not to be underestimated.
• Runner up - Bishops Finger. A favourite when guests come 'round.
• Outright winner - Hen's Tooth. Bottle conditioned, dry - just right.

Victoria Beckham

Now I wouldn't normally comment on fashion, but I'm hoping this new look from Posh catches on. Think of the savings to the family clothing budget!

Even with a few more kebabs inside (which the doctors must surely recommend), you could loosen the binding-twine, shake out some more sacking, and it's still a top look. Respect!

Visual Arts

Of all the visual arts, sculpture and photography do it for me. Only one of them works on a computer screen.

Check this moon over waterfall by Harry Reid.

Saturn, the Sun and Earth

This magnificent photo from the Cassini-Huygens mission to Saturn shows a view looking back at the planet with the Sun emerging at the bottom. The Earth is visible just left of the bright rings (in the large image). This view is possible because the Cassini spacecraft is protected from the full glare of the Sun.Click on the photo for the full size image. (And make sure your browser is showing 100%) It's worth it.

From the NASA site: "Interior to the G ring and above the brighter main rings is the pale dot of Earth." A full explanation is here.

Elbow Through Picasso

An American casino tycoon has put his elbow through a crappy painting by Picasso. Why do I find this funny?
'Boy With a Pipe' was up for sale at a record $139m. I like the seller's pragmatic, "Thank goodness it was me!"

Go on Mr Wynn, just finish the damn ugly thing off.

Walking Along

Click on this photo by Vad Plashevsky for the larger image.

Any idea what is happening where, or even when, in this stunning black and white shot?