Banning booze

Some people are upset about the Tube becoming an alcohol-free zone. Sounds like a sensible idea to me. In fact, I'd go further. Why not outlaw Big Macs and kebabs too? And mobile phone renditions of "The Flying Dutchman"?

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Notebook

One of the debates Boris had many times with his friends in his room at Balliol was whether "bogusness" or "bogusity" is the noun that goes with the word "bogus". Twenty years later, when telling Esquire magazine why the Rolling Stones are one of his favourites, he plumped for "bogusness": "What I like is the bogusness of it. I love the idea of these four middle-class white kids pretending to be rough around the edges." Oxford offered an inexhaustible supply of bogusness, and for Boris that was part of its attraction.

Andrew Gimson, "Boris: The Rise of Boris Johnson".

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Unhip

If you hear strange squeaking noises, they could well be emanating from an artificial hip. American surgeons and manufacturers are increasingly concerned about a possible design fault,  and naturally the lawyers are starting to smell blood:

Not good. One troubled customer has even posted a demonstration on YouTube.

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End of the line

Not that I want to harp on about mortality, but as someone who's written quite a few obituaries over the years, I couldn't help noticing that there's a new online site where you can read all about dearly departed VIPs.

[Via John Naughton]

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Reputations

I almost forgot to add my entries to Alex's poll of over-rated and under-rated presidents. So here goes. I only have two candidates for each category.

Over-rated

1. Ronald Reagan. A decent man who is now in the process of being deified.

2. Woodrow Wilson. His idealism helped ensure that the war to end all wars led to the next one.

Under-rated

1. Dwight D. Eisenhower. The quiet, undemonstrative soldier.

2. Richard Nixon. I know, I know... I'm not going to try to persuade anyone on this. Yes, he earned his disgrace. All I'll say is that my view of his character changed after I read Stephen Ambrose's epic biography.

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