With its spacious skies, amber waves of grain, purple mountain majesties, fruited plains and shining seas, America is probably the most polarising countries in modern history. 

The eternal Horror Monster Hierarchy is pretty clear.  At the top are vampires, dragons, werewolves and trolls, though the coolness of both vampires and werewolves has been negatively impacted by the execrable Twilight series.  A second tranche has the Loch Ness Monster, the big orcs, the Creature from the Black Lagoon and zombies.

The Road Trip is one of the cornerstones of Western Civilisation. [1] At a fundamental level, it involves two or more people travelling long distances by motor vehicle.  It may be elaborately planned with a specific goal (“drive historic Route 66”) or spontaneous and vaguely defined (“let’s go to Mexico!”)  In most road trips, the experience on the journey is as important as reaching the actual destination.

On Friday night (New Zealand Time), Catherine Middleton will marry William Arthur Philip Louis in front of their family, friends, assorted guests and an estimated television audience of two billion people. 

There are growing calls in England for Saint George’s Day (23 April) to become an official public holiday. Apparently, David Cameron’s [1] Government is considering, to quote the reputable Daily Star, “moving the May Day bank holiday to St George’s Day, April 23, so patriots can party properly.” 

After PJ O’Rourke and (Sir) Jeremy Clarkson, probably the most influential philosophical figure in my life is Homer Jay Simpson.  I sprinkle his many jewels of wisdom into everyday conversation and throughout my professional writings.