The A-Team: observations

Murdock constantly plays at being a superhero, which is odd, because he is a superhero - so why the running Walter Mitty fantasies? Because he is a mis en abyme, a show-within-the-show: a boy in his baseball cap and sneakers, playing at being the toughest and cleverest and funniest. Fred Hembeck describes how the editor of Superman would ask kids for suggestions, and they'd want to see Superman being a fire chief, because they wanted to be fire chiefs. Boys want to be (for example) taxi drivers, so the A-Team are super-taxi-drivers, with car chases, gun battles, neat toys, etc; and Murdock is Captain Cab.

Face, a poor orphan who constantly cons his way into upper class life, is teased all the time that this makes him gay. A baddie calls him Hannibal's "pretty friend". Hannibal mocks him for exchanging strokes with a posh waiter ("When's the wedding?") and for stealing the identity of an interior decorator (who wears pink pyjamas). I suspect these jokes are possible because of Face's relentless heterosexuality.

ID in Oz

It's on for young and old. Not content with conning a few NSW Christian schools into teaching religion as science, Campus Crusade for Christ Australia is now individually lobbying state schools to do the same.

In the meantime, Christian Schools Australia have sent mixed messages, with their CEO supporting ID but their President recognising that it's not science.

Bric a Brac

indefatigable42 is having a yard sale! Manga, Goth comix, how-to-draw books.

Lethal cuteness with Finnegan the squirrel.

Thanks to the ever watchful capnoblivious, here are Senator Andrew Murray's wry remarks on being dragged back to Parliament to change one word in the guvmint's terror legislation.