This will hurt me...

[Ahem.] No comment.

After the farcical fake of yesterday, rather than expunge the entry, I'd bury it quickly under an authentic shocker. And what better and safer way than to dip into the grab bag of cigarette advertising? I figure that this Lucky Strike piece from the 1950s - that I lovingly title " Queer Santa's Post-coital Smoke " - should very much do the trick. ads involving gaspers, a filthy filthy habit pursued by foolish people Enjoy!

Here we have an advertisement for Ovaltine from 1945. Personally, I think that they should resurrect it, holus bolus and run the bugger again in 2008! Think of the publicity! Think of the extravagant song and dance routine that you could roll out for TV spots! Tie in a sports star endorsement (Ian Thorpe?), and their work is done!

I have spoken some about my frustration with the incessant coverage of the Olympics just gone, but it would be remiss of me to not say how pleased I was to see that Australian fellow – Matthew Mitcham – win the GOLD in the ten-metre high dive late on in the piece. You see, I have an admission to make: I am a sucker of the unrepentant, naturally flamboyant homosexual. Aussie GOLD medallist Matthew is just that, standing still you wouldn’t pick it, but even the slightest of moves (flick of an eyebrow, twitch of the calf) and there it is loud and proud . Even better was his reaction to the coded questioning by the press gallery (hushed whispers at the back, “is he gay?”), “Errr, fellas, c’mon, whattaya reckon!?!” So on that note, I was happy to farewell the Games on a high note. Thus, I have been equally been pleasantly surprised to see that this orange juice company was so happy to employ a similarly flamboyant friend of Dorothy to promote their product. In fact, I think the fellow ...

As you can see, today’s ad is not of vintage origin. Perhaps it reflects a dynamic market response to a new consumer concern. Personally, I have not dwelt too much on the topic of the violation of one’s manhole . However, I do believe that a man’s manhole is a man’s castle, and nobody should enter that castle without permission. I myself have chosen to avoid using a security lock on my own manhole , but then again I have never felt that my manhole has been under particular threat. Looking at the fellow in the ad, he does look to be an anxious chap. Look at his eyes: tense, on edge, almost frightened; I have to wonder what all this talk of protecting one’s manhole has done to his nerves. Sure, he has the peace of mind that should anyone try and surreptitiously infringe upon his manhole , there is a guard there, but at what cost to his sanity?