What a f**pping weekend it has been.

On Saturday morning (UK time) I was awakened to the shock news that Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins had been found dead in his hotel room as the band prepared to take the stage for a gig in Bogotá, Colombia. Police were quite rightly being cautious about the cause of death, but when the autopsy report came back with 10 different drugs, including benzos, opioids and tricyclic antidepressants, in Hawkins’ urine, you knew where this was heading. I will most likely be writing more about this later, when further facts have been established. Personally, I have a vision in my mind of exactly how the complete autopsy report will come back, when all of the tests are done, and how that report will be spun for the benefit of the world’s media, I’ll write more then. Because that’s not what I’d like to talk about right now.

What a shame for Taylor Hawkins and Foo Fighters.

The following day, yesterday, brought news that legendary rock band Genesis had just played their final gig, in London, perhaps appropriately. I am a huge fan of this band – in all their ‘eras’ with or without Peter Gabriel, with or without Steve Hackett, and as a trio (or not). I even loved their various solo careers; that’s how committed I was.

But I have to say, Phil Collins is now officially worse than Frank Sinatra. I think he’s on his third retirement; and, furthermore, becoming more like an embarrassing tribute artist version of himself with every tour. He may also try to kid you into believing that he has every right to perform as Genesis if he wants to. Well…OK, but to perform as Genesis you need the agreement of at least two other gentlemen and, let’s face it, it would only really make musical sense if you could persuade FOUR other gentlemen to take part as well. And he and I both know which four gentlemen I’m referring to.

The Genesis The Last Domino? tour was first announced I think back in 2020, but just as with everything else, COVID-19 ruined any chanced of it happening that year, and almost did the same the following year, but in fact the tour did begin at long last in September 2021. When it did begin, and videos began appearing on YouTube, I was shocked. Shocked, I was. It was as though Will Smith had walked up to me and smacked me in the gob.

Phil Collins sat in a chair all evening, never once went near a drumkit, and, despite all their great songs being re-tuned to suit his voice, still managed to sing every one of them flat as the proverbial pancake. In short, it was the worst performance I had ever seen by any band, either in person or on video, in more than forty years of gig-watching, concert-going and just general live music-loving. The tour should never have happened. Why Phil Collins agreed to do it is a mystery; but, a still greater mystery is why the dicky doodle doo the other two agreed to do it either.

What a shame for Phil Collins and Genesis.

But here I am about 17 paragraphs in and I’ve only just reached the topic I would like to discuss – one that happened just hours ago from the time of writing this. An incident that took place at the 94th Academy Award® ceremony in Los Angeles in which actor Will Smith climbed on stage, calmly walked up to the comedian Chris Rock, who had just made a joke about Smith’s wife, the actor Jada Pinkett Smith, (whose struggle with hair loss was so bad that she had shaved her head), and lamped him one. I’ll not go into the details of the joke because a) it wasn’t funny and b) you can read it on exactly one and a half million and four websites already.

But you see, Smith wasn’t simply at the awards as a spectator – he was nominated. His performance as the father of tennis legends Venus and Serena Williams in the film King Richard was thought good enough by the Academy® to qualify for a Best Actor® Award®, and – blow me down if he doesn’t go on to win it!

Now, here’s the kicker to this story because, being the winner, Smith has to return to the stage and make a speech thanking everyone he has ever known. But here’s the thing: because of earlier events, he also has to make a very public and very explicit apology. Not to the public, not to the man he smacked either; no, this apology was to the Academy (of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences®, in case anyone’s interested).

And in Smith’s tears, you can see very real fears that his career was suddenly and very publicly in jeopardy, and perhaps more importantly in that moment, he could find himself stripped of the one award that he and millions of other actors prize.

Smith’s justifications for his actions was that, like the man he played in King Richard, he was fiercely protective of his wife and family.

That’s bullsh*t right there, a huge pile of it; fresh, steaming, hot, stinking.

Because, let’s face it, jokes like that affect him as a man, as the chosen protector of his wife and family. And it is this pseudo-justification of the incident that have led some of the more ‘tabloid’ corners of the tabloid press to suggest that this incident was in fact staged as a publicity stunt to promote the movie.

I’m sorry, but that, too, is bullsh*t.

If I was in Will Smith’s shoes, and I felt in superior physical shape to another man who’d just made a cheap crack about my wife, I’m pretty sure I would have done the same as Will Smith – let me just get that out there. But that does not stop me from the view that Smith ought to be stripped of his award. I would expect the same to happen to me if it was me, and even if it didn’t happen, I would feel that I did not deserve the award anyway. Oh yes, and that’s before we get to:

The Academy® Awards® are now officially the most pointless thing that everyone associated with movie making dreams of receiving. The Smith Smackdown just made the Oscars® newsworthy again, and maybe that’s the point – we’ve all just fallen for some Smith-bait, or smackbait or something like that. If you are not connected with movie making in anyway, you most likely don’t give a rat’s ringpiece about the Oscars®. If you are, then the chances are an Academy® Award® is all you dream of. And that is why Will Smith bubbled like a b*tch during his speech.

What a shame for Will Smith and the cast & crew of the film King Richard. x

It would be remiss of me not to rant to some degree on the topic of Vladimir Putin‘s decision to invade the sovereign state of Ukraine, apparently to save it from “de-militarisation.”

The events that have occurred since February 24, 2022 are so many that they can all be summed up in one simple question: What the hell does Putin think he is doing?

One of his initial excuses at the time of the invasion was his annoyance at what he called “continuing NATO agression” (not an exact quote), to which NATO shrugged its collective shoulders and said, “We haven’t done anything!” (again, not an exact quote).

That just about sums up the level of Putin’s lies to and deceit of his own population. His egomania has evolved to such a degree that no-one can question his authority even in the slightest without bringing a change of underwear.

As both of you know, I am a pacifist, against all weapons, and would much rather both sides were able to lay down their arms and Russia leave quietly and unceremoniously, leaving Ukraine to be a sovereign nation once again.

But, we know this can’t happen.

Therefore, what are the citizens of Ukraine supposed to do? Lie back and think of Ukraine while the Russian army simply rolls in and takes over once again? Of course not!

I have never seen an act of collective bravery in my lifetime as I have seen from Ukraine in recent days, starting with its president, Volodymyr Zelensky. This man, a former TV comedian, ought to be in line for a Nobel Peace Prize, if he isn’t already. His bravery and leadership should be an inspiration to every world leader on the planet.

And the many thousands of men and women over there who have sacrificed all they have; nay, even their very lives, to keep the nation free for those who are unable to fight for whatever reason. And, in doing what they are doing for their country, they are providing an example, once again, for the citizens of the world to follow and take to heart should – God forbid – the worst happen in their (our) own country.

If Joe Biden ever offered Boris Johnson a free back door exit out of the country and to safety, I fear I do not foresee him saying without hesitation I need ammunition not a ride. I do not see the people of the United Kingdom running to the aid of our military heroes in the same way that the Ukrainians have, for fear they might miss the eviction episode of Strictly Come Dancing.

I’m very proud to say I saw the people of Ukraine stand up against the deranged dictator Vladimir Putin. I admire them, and I only wish that I had the courage to do the same. I admire President Zelensky, and I despise Putin for this unprovoked attack, his reasons for doing it, and also his behaviour, like the spoilt bully in the school playground, once he discovered that his victims are fighting back far stronger than he ever expected them to. He is not getting his way, so he sends them – and the entire Western world – a chilling nuclear warning which he thinks is going to change anything. It does not. Even my pacifist eyes can see that if Putin were ever stupid enough to use a nuclear weapon, he would very likely consign Moscow and the rest of civilized Russia to be bombed out of existence; not to mention what would happen to the rest of the world.

So, people of Ukraine: don’t give up, defend your nation to the last man, as I am sure you will. You are very inspiring. I do not like war, I do not condone it. But you have shown great courage. It is not for me to say, don’t fight because I hate war, because I am not in your situation and I fully endorse your decision to defend your property with everything you have, for what that’s worth, and I hope that your Western friends and neighbours will answer any call for help in the near future should it be required. I also hope that Putin is forced back out of Ukraine with minimal bloodshed and that he is isolated from the rest of the world politically for what he has done – not to mention my fervent wish that someone has the courage to remove Putin from office and imprison him as soon as is convenient. x