"You, Me and Dupree" **1/2 (out of four): Mildly diverting guest-who-wouldn't-leave comedy never quite gels but gets a boost from the goofiness of Owen Wilson and the cutesiness of Kate Hudson.

The worst thing I could say about the guest-who-wouldn’t-leave comedy “You, Me and Dupree” is that - like its lead character - it overstays its welcome. “Dupree” isn’t that bad, but it does have something in common with the lovable titular man-boy played by Owen Wilson: somewhere inside this scattershot comedy there's a sweet, sincere story trying to break free. If you look past the (literal) toilet humor, masturbation jokes and gratuitous porn references, there’s the tale of a single guy with a big heart who watches his friends get married while he desperately clings to his childhood. But that probably wouldn’t sell as many tickets.

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Following on from The Muggler's interesting foray into spam poetry today, word reaches us of Austin, Texas' third great festival. Hot on the heels of SXSW and Austin City Limits, comes Spamarama - what looks to be an ongoing series of cultural events in celebration of the potted pork, that have taken place for nearly 30 years. I can't believe we missed this year's event - add it to Google Calendars for 2007 now.

Is it just me, or is calling the children's area the “Pig Pen” just a little weird, when you know it's pig's lips they grind up to make the stuff?

Cool video about Bush's attitude to everything. Good animation and catchy song.

A spokesperson for Pink Floyd has confirmed that Syd Barrett had passed away several days ago. Barrett was probably more well-known for not being a member of the band than his short, successful time with them. The story I heard in grammar-school that he went crazy from too much LSD was not that far off the mark, depending on which romantic version of it you do find.

I saw an interview with Roger Waters in which he credited Barrett as the inspiration to allow whimsy into his own lyrics. He said something like, "listen how silly this sounds, Breathe, breathe in the air, Don't be afraid to care" noting he probably wouldn't have allowed it had it not been for Barrett's wild Psychadellic romps.

Here is some whimsy from Syd Barrett, Corporal Clegg:

Corporal Clegg had a wooden leg
He won it in the war, in 1944.
Corporal Clegg had a medal too
In orange, red, and blue
He found it in the zoo.
Dear, dear were they really sad for me?
Dear, dear will they really laugh at me?
Mrs. Clegg, you must be proud of him.
Mrs. Clegg, another drop of gin.
Corporal Clegg umbrella in the rain
He's never been the same
No one is to blame
Corporal Clegg recieved his medal in a dream
From Her Majesty the queen
His boots were very clean.
Mrs. Clegg, you must be proud of him
Mrs. Clegg, another drop of gin.

Over on Anil Dash's blog, a hilarious compilation of Zidane headbutt animations. (via Waxy)

I've received three more Spam Poems since the last post:

"O6O" by Spam Poet Isiah Pritchett (IsiahPritchett@mail.ru):

"You dog, you," he said and smiled. "Well, let's go for it. First thing
exactly in harmony with his instructor's.
my steering wheel." I suddenly realized that I was running off at the mouth.
he said, "learned so much at one time that you didn't have to go through a

The other two are further odes to professional Russian Poker player Kirill Gerasimov:

"9UI" by Spam Poet Anna Knapp (AnnaKnapp@mail.ru):

"What's the matter?" asked Kirill. "Why are we just standing here?"
narrative calls for them, the super-potent protagonist never kills any-
would be in the way as far as he was concerned. We would run down, just the
in to his body, left only the narrow swept daggers of his wingtips

"8FV" by Spam Poet Emanuel Bourgeois (EmanuelBourgeois@0451.com):

'Schuhart's jar.' Like the sound of it?"
He spoke of very simple things - that it is right for a guil to fly,
My Kirill was cured. Bright-eyed and bushy-tailed.
"Touched him with a wingtip! Brought him to life! The Son of the

This has been a stellar day for Spam-Poetry, and it's not even noon yet!

First up, "717" by Spam Poetess Claudine Epps (ClaudineEpps@0451.com):

Something happens here with the shadows. But what was that silvery shine? It
sand, his parents were very much dismayed indeed.
it took for the lining. The gardens had ended by now, the clayey lot that
night and cloud and storm, for the sport of it, while the Flock huddled

The line "The gardens had ended by now" just kills.

Next we have "IZZ" from Spam Poet Marcel Block (MarcelBlock@0donnell.com):

"There is a steady leak of materials from the Visitation Zones into the
and the speed was joy, and the speed was pure beauty.
imagination? It would be nice to have a smoke now and sit for a spell and
Without warning, Chiang vanished and appeared at the water's edge

Haunting. At first you think this is going to be some kind of totalitarian future state and then it turns into a wistful meditation on the passage of time and lost love. Spectacular.

Finally, we have "MF0" from Spam Poet Aron Slater (AronSlater@01com.com):

"So now you'll have something to tell the girls about back in Sweden?"
without a single flap of wing from sand to cloud and down again.
"Listen," I said. "Kirill."
done well, at no expense to tension and suspense.

I'm pretty sure this one is about the infamous World Series of Poker call made by Russian poker player Kirill Gerasimov.

No, that's not Scaramouch on the left...that's Eva Longoria without make-up.

Eva...honey...holy crap...do not ever leave the mansion without putting...holy crap.

Actually that's Aquaman WITH make-up on the right.

Huggable Urns offers the most unique way to keep your loved one
close to your heart!

- It's not the chimp playing Ms. Pacman that I'm amazed at, it's that I think his rap is working on the trainer.
- That's right, it's just really cute women who really like getting high really alot, and it's called Girls Gone Weed.
- You know when you get a sales call, but you're just not in any sort of mood for it. I think we have an example here.
- England's early World Cup exit wasn't due to poor performance on the field, it was their hottie wives, the WAGS.
- And if you've ever watched a Friar's Roast, you've seen Jeff Ross. Here he is paying tribute to Emmitt Smith.
This is some FUNNY SHIT. I was sure he'd get his ass kicked after the Shaq's scraped knuckles joke.

And he could kill with a stare.