Well, it's three weeks into January and we've finally managed to do a Mixed Lollies on a Friday again. Scarlett, our eternal muse, is looking ravishing as always. She don't half scrub up well.

Chris reckons you should check out The Religious Experience of Philip K. Dick featuring brilliant drawings by R. Crumb. It's a graphic interpretation of a series of events in 1974. He spent the remaining years of his life trying to figure out what had happened to him. Also, via Arts & Letters Daily, some morbid amusement. Chris also has more on Russell Hoban, who we hope to have a chat to soon, and notes Marcel Duchamp's Urinal recently survived another attack.

The humble semicolon appears to be the literary equivalent of the Urinal, at least according to Kurt Vonnegut.

"They are transvestite hermaphrodites representing absolutely nothing. All they do is show you've been to college."

NZBC had its own discussion on the topic in comments here.

Stephen likes Mark Steyn's take on Sgt Leslie Turner's racial discrimination case against Scotland Yard. He claimed he was over promoted because he was black.

The big day out looms, and Mark warns everybody to beware glam-rock shoulder. He also offers this on being at the blunt end of a bad review and this on the vitally important political skill of being able to function while drunk. Finally two pieces on the future of the newspaper.