Friday Five: Post-Olympic News

Now the hurly burly’s done and we’re back to the ‘real’ (i.e. non-Olympic) news, the papers make for fairly grim reading. Here is a selection of quotes from today’s press:

5 Trending Topics in Today’s News:

1. “I think fame became more exciting for me in the late 90s because I could actually use it as a means to an end. I could actually have it help my vocationfulness. I could offer comfort and upliftment and be a leader and take on that responsibility, rather than see it as this daunting thing.” – an interview with Alanis Morisette proves that she is still crazy after all these years (and her grammar hasn’t got any better either. No, it’s not ironic; it’s just unfortunate).
2. “Whatever views one may have about Julian Assange as a Wikileaks activist, it is clear that in legal and moral terms he cannot properly be described as a refugee.” - Alan Rusbridger (editor of the Guardian) explains his position.
3. “Despite being the epitome of middle-class (doctor’s daughter, grammar-school girl, boho provincial upbringing), being mistaken as a posho has been a lifetime affliction. Maybe it’s because I went to Oxford, maybe because I refuse to cultivate a mockney accent, maybe because all my friends are called Tarquin de’ath von Bunface-Toffo, I can somehow (inadvertently) pass and I am routinely lambasted for it.” – Hannah Betts offers rare sympathy to Benedict Cumberbatch who has complained that he misses out on a lot of roles because he is too posh for people to take seriously.”
4. “The world can always be divided into two types of people – those who like board games and those who don’t. Those who thrill to the news that a fancy dress party is in the offing and those who shrink from it like paper from a flame. Those who will listen politely to accounts of other people’s dreams and those who will beat the teller to death with the nearest stick. But none of these divides comes close to that which separates horsey people from the non-horsey.” – Lucy Mangan stands firmly on one side of the fence and refuses to jump it.
5. “When a new manager comes in it’s always a rebuilding process in certain respects. I’m always honest. I’m always realistic. It’s impossible to say it’s the title this year; people will laugh at me.” – On the eve of their first game of the 2012-13 Premiere League campaign (at West Brom), Stevie G’s pre-season remarks don’t exactly instill confidence.