Van The Man

Van Morrison’s Contractual Obligation Album:

In order to fulfill his obligation to his early solo label Bang Records,Van Morrison sat down in 1967 or so and cranked out 31 songs on the spot, on topics ranging from ringworm to wanting a danish, to hating his record label and a guy named George. Make sure you get past the first few tunes – it takes him a few to get cooking.

Got God?

New research indicates that belief in and worship of God are not only unnecessary for a healthy society but may actually contribute to social problems:

In general, higher rates of belief in and worship of a creator correlate with higher rates of homicide, juvenile and early adult mortality, STD infection rates, teen pregnancy and abortion in the prosperous democracies.
The United States is almost always the most dysfunctional of the developing democracies, sometimes spectacularly so.

Somewhere, FZ’s nodding “told you so”.

Alison Lapper Pregnant

“It is a work about courage, beauty and defiance, which both captures and represents all that is best about our great city. Alison Lapper pregnant is a modern heroine – strong, formidable and full of hope. It is a great work of art for London and for the world.”

Alison Lapper, a friend of Marc Quinn (the sculptor), was born with no arms and shortened legs due to a chromosomal condition called Phocomelia. Her mother rejected her and she was brought up in a care home. Now a recognized artist, she was awarded an MBE in 2003 and featured with her son in the BBC series Child of Our Time.