Olympic Scandal: Faux BoJo, or No?

Boris Johnson waves the Olympic flag or IS it Boris Johnson???

Another Olympic scandal tops the headlines this morning as it is revealed that, in a substitution reminiscent of the opening ceremony’s switched songstresses and faux fireworks, London Mayor Boris Johnson did not, in fact, attend the closing ceremony at all, but instead was replaced by a sophisticated computer-generated animation.

Bojo gone Olympics, or is it really so?

This shocking swap was insisted upon by the Olympic organizers, who had substantial reservations about Mr. Johnson‘s ability to accept and wave the flag without falling down, offending several of the participating nations, or fatally wounding a spectator in a misguided, yet historically correct, attempt to re-create one of the bloodier Olympic events of the Classical Age. After all, the Mayor’s track record is a very public one indeed.

Bojo in typical mode

The artificial Boris was, in fact, a compromise reached between the organizers and the British delegation. Originally, the Olympic ceremony management had planned to simply replace Mr. Johnson with a more attractive, dramatically-trained, lip-synching version of the same type.

Cary Elwes would do in a pinch. He could pinch me any time!

It is understood that many in the Mayor’s own office have approached the Olympic organizers for permission to continue to use the replicant back home.

Boris Johnson’s Ping Pong Speech

Again I say: oh, Boris. Don’t ever change.

Boris Johnson, Mayor of London gives quite possibly the greatest Olympic speech ever made; quite certainly the most entertaining. But why didn’t he bring up Poodle Clipping? That was an Olympic sport!

“Virtually every single one of our international sports were either invented or codified by the British, and I say this respectfully to our Chinese hosts who have excelled so magnificently at ping pong,” he said in a tongue-in-cheek speech.

“Ping pong was invented on the dining tables of England in the 19th century and it was called wiff waff.

“There I think you have the essential difference between us and the rest of world.

“Other nations, the French, looked at a dining table and saw an opportunity to have dinner. We looked at a dining table and saw an opportunity to play wiff waff. That is why London is the sporting capital of the world.

“And I say to the Chinese, and I say to the world: ping pong is coming home.”

Text excerpt from Sander Cohen’s Muse

Quiz: what kind of piercing are you?

Yep, this one rings all the right bells, although we can all agree the LAST thing I need is more holes in my head.


You Are an Eyebrow Piercing


You are unique, quirky, and more than a little eccentric.

You cultivate the weirder sides of your personality, and you don’t mind sharing them.

Ever since you were a kid, you’ve had strong opinions. You’ve never been like everyone else, and you’re okay with that.

And you’ve always been able to tell people exactly what you think – even when they don’t want to hear it.

You love to create, dream, imagine, and communicate. You live in your own universe.

And unlike most people who live in their own little world, you’re happy to invite anyone in!

The Forgotten Man

Some of the discussions I’ve been having recently have got me a bit touchy on certain subjects, which some of the quicker on the draw of you may have noticed. This relates to one of them, and William Powell says things so much better than I could that I figure I should just stand back and let him have at it.

From My Man Godfrey, and as true now as it was then. Skip ahead to 2:30-4:00 to watch the real fun:

Do the Math

Now, I don’t know about you, but we at the ol’ raincoaster blog get many, many emails daily. In fact, each of our personalities gets many, many emails daily, some from one another, so the globally-expanding raincoaster email problem is something like the Katamari Damacy of the inbox. This is partly because we are so, so very popular and partly because we superstitiously fear that, if we run out of things to read, the world will end.

And so, so as to save said world because lo, we are softies indeed, we have subscribed to a number of email newsletters. Some, such as everything from the Poynter Institute, are dry enough to take care of those pesky melting ice caps, but some, such at the one I received today, are not.

Those would be the Girly Newsletters. Your Godivas; your Agent Provocateurs.

And today, the Agent Provocateur newsletter contained some enticing sales; indeed, were I possessed of sufficient cash or credit and secure in the expectation of obtaining more of same through, say, employment or something, I would instantly have clicked through and purchased myself a spiffy set of the sexy-yet-not-vulgar Liliana or Francoise without a second thought, but alas, I am not.

Still, what caught my eye was, perhaps, not what would catch yours. Even so, there was one line in the newsletter which, I am sure, will be of as much interest to my readers as to me, regardless of their gender and/or preferences.

The Marilyn. At 70% off.

Marilyn Monroe wouldn't fit in that!

Click through and take a look at the larger image: I dunno for sure, but that looks a HELL of a lot more like 90% off to me!