*Bob*

Ended-up in the 2 Brewers?

As I say - Wacko has set the template for generations of arseholes for decades to come.

That wasn't you, was it - hovering outside the toilets, back in '98? Silver tank-top, false eyelashes and bumless chaps? We talked awhile. Things seemed so different back then.

ha ha! The same way you do.

Not really. Dead or alive, Wacko means very little to me beyond filling tabloid inches in a thorougly entertaining fashion - and providing some solid choices for a wedding reception playlist. But as an example of what those blessed with cash and an army of fans can get away with, when excused from the parameters that everyone else is suppose to function within, MJ excels.

You seem to have confused 'The Brewers' with 'The 2 Brewers'. Is there something you want to tell us?

Anyway, if I see another clip of either Thriller, Billie Jean or Beat It, I might have to dangle my own baby out of the window (don't worry - I'm quite well know in television circles, I'm sure I can get away with it). What we need is a three-hour special where they play Earth Song back-to-back, plus the other two decades-worth of mediocre pap - so that people can come to a balanced conclusion about his musical genius.

Yes, I read that post. You're prepared to forget that, under normal circumstances, you want those kids taken off him - on the grounds that you like Thriller. I understand completely. You're not alone. Many millions agree with you. In many ways Wacko has become THE template for the baby-buying, selfish celebs of today - all overlooked on account of them being famous. God go with him, as you say.

So, essentially: No hit records = deserves a brick through window and a visit from social services, burn in hell Hit records = 'just a bit eccentric' - we'll overlook it, rest in peace.

I agree with that, of course, Keef. Just pointing out that under any other circumstances, the passing of Jackson - a drug addict who has shown poor parenting skills - would not be sending Atila misty-eyed.

Hang on, Atila. On several other threads you're lambasted anyone who uses background / adversity / upbringing as an excuse for their dubious behaviour, but now - just because he makes some music you like - you're prepared to overlook everything? Massive double standards. This is someone who, were it not for the records, you'd be booing on Jeremy Kyle.

I'm a parent and I think they should be further away. It just pisses people off. There are never any spaces there anyway, because they're always filled by pissed-off people without children parking in them anyway, leading to even more pissed-off people with children getting pissed-off with people without children parking in them, leading to pissed-off people waiting for spaces, and occasionally tedious shouting matches. Put them on the other side of the car park, where there's infinite room to spread out, not piss anyone off, and a nice, short, safe walk round the edge on a path to the store door.

The big question on everyone's lips: who gets control of Wacko's patent for the anti-gravity boots?

Which kids? The one he dangled over a balcony like a doll - for the benefit of his fans? The two he bought as part of a financial arrangement with his nurse? The one born to another secret surrogate somewhere or other? All three with their biological roots shrouded in mystery and their mothers waved aside by way of a wad of cash? Oh yeah.. those kids. I do feel sorry for them, but I don't think the demise of The Prince of Pop is any great loss to fatherhood as a whole.

A friend of ours went alone tonight, silently, under cloak of darkness. No fuss. No send-off. Least said and all that.

God only knows how you're managing with parenthood, Keef - carte blanche to uncork anything you like from midday onwards. Although perhaps that's just me.

Riding down Friern / Barry / Upland on a motorbike, you find yourself craning your neck round junction corners, because so many cars just bop across the intersecting roads with gay abandon. Anything more than 20mph round them there parts is asking for trouble.

HeidiHi Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- 9pm should be the > cut off line, It isn't even dark at 9pm. A disadvantage when it comes to watching fireworks.

northlondoner Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Uh, i don;t get the whole children and parent > parking thing.Why do they need special parking > places? Just asking, like. The spaces between the cars are wider, so it's easier to get your anklebiters in and out of car seats etc. I think they should be further away from the main entrance though, not closer to it.

Of course there was a possibility that 'our kid' might have been woken-up. What I do is, shut my eyes and remember all the occasions when 'our kid' has woken someone else up. And then, I try to imagine those other people, all enjoying the fireworks on Saturday night. Seems to work.

You can piss in a bottle first and sprinkle if you wish.. though the 'midnight run' can be the perfect conclusion to a night 'on the pop'.. and adds a touch of derring-do to the whole shebang.

For the seriously and serially irritated, there's the Scarecrow Other than that, it's a battle of will between man and beast. They develop behavioural patterns (digging in the same place etc): you have to try and deter them until they find an easier pattern somewhere else. So fill in holes (with rubble and stuff) under sheds and fences etc and deploy deterrents around probaly digging areas. Lion poo pellets didn't work for us, but 'Get Off My Garden' is working so far (green jelly bits you sprinkle around lawn and flower beds, planter etc) - at least as far as keeping them away from major problem areas - doubt if we'll get shot of them altogether though. Human urine is also recommended is you're game.

Sun's out. Off licence is open. Think about it.

I FOR ONE am DISGUSTED at these so-called 'fireworks'. I was forced to pause 'Casualty' for a minute so I could hear the bangs properly, and the cat nearly woke-up.

When you say "won't have a pot to piss in", I assume you mean "set-up for life with somewhere to live, a lifelong income and nothing to worry about by any normal standards"?