Whatever she wants to do on her own time, that's cool. I have more of a problem with how many avatars there are around here that are only one step away from softcore porn.

[Want to assert here and now my avatar is me at a party celebrating queer culture, and may be a step away from softcore porn, but isn't intended to be.]

Hoo, totally different game. Bad moved 30 million copies worldwide, and that was seen as a huge disappointment by Jackson. Teenage Dream has sold 2 million copies globally. Chart success in the post-iTunes environment is a radically different game than it was in the '80s.

In my opinion, it's the intent that matters more than anything.

Selling trashy music to plebeians shouldn't be celebrated, in my opinion.

It's a balmy 57 degrees here in Michigan. And it snowed yesterday. It's funny to think 50s as shorts and no shirt weather.

While I'm a big pop music fan, I actually agree.

I think Teenage Dream has some sort of artistic merit, but the way you measure that is not through the amount it sells. It's been shown time and time again that there are brilliant pop albums/singles that sell next-to-nothing (for example Roisin Murphy's Overpowered, Robyn's Body Talk).

I feel with Teenage Dream, the production team should have just been audacious, and instead of padding out the album with dud tracks and filler they should have just released an EP with the following tracks:

Teenage Dream
Last Friday Night
California Gurls
The One That Got Away
Firework

That would be an extraordinarily good release. Because of its conciseness, simultaneous variance and congruence, and the fact that every single one of the tracks feels like it could be the work of a One Hit Wonder.

We went from snow a day or so ago to 74 today.

Where can I get hold of a Darkstar figure without facing exorbitant cost?

I remember when Katy Perry's first 'big' CD came out (The one with I Kissed A Girl), I wrote a review totally panning it as being horrible and unmemorable. Sadly, that site is lost forever to the mists of the Internet... and somehow, I didn't manage to stop her from continuing.

Part of me shudders when I realize this is the kind of music my goddaughter listens to.

There's one on the US eBay site for $.99, with $4.00 shipping to the UK. That's a heck of a lot cheaper than anything I can find for you domestically.

I might have an extra.

I don't see the hate she gets. Yes, her lyrics are ridiculously pedantic, and her voice is something that would maybe get her into the top 24 on American Idol, but honestly... that's the definition of a Pop Star.

Yeah, but there's nothing that says that pop has to be, you know, bad. As ABF said, Robyn's Body Talk is flipping brilliant. From ABBA to the present, there's a strong tradition of really smart Scandinavian pop. Or heck, look at Kylie Minogue. She's like Madonna, except she's a human female.

Oh wow, really? I haven't been able to pick up any of the newer sets (apart from the Watchman FF which was stocked presumably because that has wider appeal than Marvel/DC because everyone knows the source material is great), so going through all the dials I feel I need in my life (which is surprisingly few).

Wow. Interesting.

Sorry, but I thought that you were either dressed as Adam Ant or as the Last of the Mohicans.

Stunned....