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Odd random thought of the day: Is it just me, or does Jack Valenti of the RIAA look more like a ventriloquists' dummy with every day that passes ?

In other news:
Huzzah! I finally managed to get a NEW CAR. After driving around in my battered old Rover for far too many years to mention I have at last succumbed to the delights of "new car smell" and power steering. It's not all plain sailing however. One thing I have realised is that the automotive industry seems to have moved on quite a long way since the Russell family last purchased a new motor (Elly's Mitsubishi Galant four years ago). My new Ford Focus C-Max has the most bewildering array of controls I've ever seen.

Granted I have managed to drive it around but quite what all the stalks, dials, controls, levers and other pushy bits do is still something of a mystery. Last night (for instance) we were out on a photographic job. Apparently my new motor has automatic rain and light sensors so the wipers and lights flick on without any driver assistance which is great, but when frotn and rear wipers start hammering away for all they are worth it would be really, REALLY nice if I could work out how to switch them off. I did manage to kill the front wipers but the rear ones just kept swishing away despite my best efforts to stop the buggers from operating. Time to read the manual I guess!

Still, it is a nice car and it does have a built-in MP3 player and a sound system which can be cranked up so loud I think I may have permanently damaged the hearing on my right side - cooool :)

Also, in an effort to strike a blow for car owners everywhere who can't stand pulling up the lights only to have to hear some tosser's ultra-loud, utterly crap rap tunes blaring out from a fifth-hand C-reg BMW with boy racer skirts, my car is strictly rock and metal only (and also loud only...)

Crussell's singalong tune of choice for new car owners: "Disco's Out, Murder's In" by Suicidal Tendencies.