Tuesday, March 02, 2004



Parliament Houses in Canberra and London have discovered the Blues. Even many private sector executives are starting to realise, well before the universal confessional ritual on those death beds, that no person is in a position to transfer power and assets to virtual heaven...But, should that be a cause for depression? Hardly!

Reasons to be Czeerless
The meaninglessness of modern life exposes us to such despair that we need more than a stiff upper lip to cope...
· No Degree of Separation When it Comes to Blues

The psychology of the recording industry, like that of book publishing, is now so dependent on blockbuster sales that the idea of profitability based on modest sales across a diverse catalog has nearly vanished. The business depends on the hundred-year flood, not a steady rain. Self-drown has emerged as one of the only consistently vital genres on the business best-seller list...

Blockfailures Jayson
Dear Kids, Rod and Alistair
We know that most of the time you lead a pretty sheltered life. So Mommy and Daddy wanted to warn you that next month, a bad man is publishing a book that says mean things about all of us. Worst of all, he says he was wrong and pretends to apologize, but he doesn't really mean it. You'll probably hear your friends talking about it, and you might even get teased at school, even though none of it is true.
Mommy and Daddy promised the bad man's lawyers we wouldn't say anything in public about the book until next month if they would let us read it now--even though it's not worth reading, and you shouldn't because it will just make you upset. (Your two daddies from when the bad man used to live in our neighborhood are also writing books, but they won't be out for a long time so you don't have to worry.)
Mostly, we wanted to let you know that Mommy and Daddy are very proud of you, and love you very much. And Grandpa says ditto.
Or, if you prefer, there's also this version:
To the staff:
Jayson Blair's book, advance copies of which have begun to circulate, does not merit much attention. The author is an admitted fabricator. (Chapter one begins,"I lied and I lied -- and then I lied some more.") The book pretends to be a mea culpa, but ends up spewing imaginary blame in all directions. We don't intend to respond to Jayson or his book.
But after reviewing an advance copy we did want to convey something to the staff. Some of you may find the smears hurtful, even if they are utterly lacking in credibility. It pains us that, after all we have done together to put this newspaper right, any of you should be subjected to this. We just wanted to state the obvious, that nothing in this work diminishes our trust in this amazing staff, or in the integrity of our great enterprise. Arthur has asked us to let you know that he wholeheartedly concurs.
Bluce & Shell & Rat