As far as I'm concerned, this is the only argument for vegetarianism I'm interested in. It is a very good one, and I recommend giving it consideration. I, personally, try to have vegetarian lunches, or vegetarian dinner if I had meat at lunch.

I have no desire to stop eating meat entirely, but I think moderation can have a massive impact. We should all share the costs of climate change, and going without chicken on that Caeser salad should be right at the top of the list. Interestingly, this is exactly the opposite situation for me when it comes to alcohol, but the same result - I have no real desire to drink (and would happily go completely straight edge) but do so in moderation in social situations where, quite frankly, it's almost seen as offensive not to (happily, I've learned how to have a drink in hand and remain sober). I wish I could always have Coke, but I also wish to avoid unnecessary dramas.

By the way, I don't count fish in this (neither as a food nor as an alcoholic drink). They don't live on land, we don't cut down rainforests to build aquariums. Although that would be more pleasant.

On Friday, I had a moment where I suddenly thought, "you know what? I actually might finish my D.Phil. And it might be good."

Had a good weekend. First time in a long time I've had a weekend off. I could get used to it. Not allowed, though.

Oh, come on, the BBC. Why would you do this? Tomorrow: What do you think about homosexuality? Saturday: What should be the punishment for convicted paedophiles? Sunday: Do you like the Peter Mandelson? Monday: Whose better: Allah or God? Tuesday...

There really isn't any need.

I think this about covers my view on this distasteful subject. Also the expression, "I could care less".

Dear viewers of the X-Factor,

Many of you apparently came to a realisation only last night, after Simon Cowell elected not to eliminate the double act of John and Edward from the competition after weeks of deriding their performances and stating publically that their victory in this competition would destoy the programme and would encourage him to leave the country. You have apparently developed a sense of cynicism for the first time (a cynicism oddly absent in the way you have previously embraced this popularity competition mascarading as a talent contest) that Cowell only did this because he calculated he can make more money from the circus that surrounds those two boys than Lucie Jones. Indeed, it could be argued that by taking such a public stance against the two, he has himself increased their value as a commodity.

I am inclined to agree with this assessment. Please, however, do not confuse this with sympathy for your outrage.

Most of you will continue to watch this meaningless exercise. You like to claim that the programme discovers the some of the most exceptional singers in the country. That it does that on a yearly basis makes me inclined to think that there is a plentiful supply of such individuals who can be easily slotted into the producers desired show format. Most can hold a tune, but I've yet to see why we need one more of them, and why we need to spend so much time finding such a minor contribution to popular music. Once again, we as a nation and a culture have confused being good at something with being exceptional. This is how mediocrity wins.

Here's what you should do. If you care about music so much, leave the house and go and support real musicians. Go to local gigs. Buy their CDs. Tell your friends. That all this time and energy spent on one sideshow act in the name of finding the country's next top musician is troubling at best (and downright perverted at worst). We live in an age of vast informational resources. We could each discover ten great acts in one-twentieth of the time it takes for this show to runs its course. So, stop moaning, and consider doing that instead.

Of course, if you don't care about music, may I recommend you watch the X-Factor. It is the programme for you.

Yours sincerely,

Craig

Going to a wrestling show tonight. Dragon Gate is one of the larger Japanese indy promotions, and to be honest one of my least favourite. That said, live puro ten minutes down the road from me (its at the Regal on Cowley Road) is rare - this, to my knowledge is the only UK show any Japanese promotion is putting on this year, so its proximity is too much of a reason not to go.

It should be fun at least - the Dragon Gate guys may be weak at putting together coherent wrestling matches, but they can fly around all over the place which should be a spectacle. The atmosphere will probably be fairly contagious too - UK fans, wrestling starved as we are, are usually great, providing they don't try to imitate the more annoying tendencies of US indy fans (chants of "this is awesome" after two minutes of action). More on this, later.