Meanwhile, a Ugandan minister of parliament has proposed legislation to enforce a penalty of death for the “offence of aggravated homosexuality.”

Well then.

The first is another from Charlie Brooker. Its subject matter — intellectual property — has already been flogged to death, but despite this, it’s still an article worthy of your time, since he has, as always, a novel, amusing take on things. He begins:

Overvalued, irksome, conceited, pudge-faced, balding, boring, awful celebrity art nob Damien Hirst has apparently become embroiled in a ludicrous feud with a 19-year-old graffiti artist called Cartrain. Hostilities erupted in 2008, when Cartrain created a sarcastic collage that included an image of Hirst’s stupid bling-encrusted skull “artwork” (the one that reportedly sold for £50m at auction, although that figure is disputed by virtually anyone who still retains some degree of faith in humankind).

He then tells more of the intruiging, almost unbelievable story that’s developed between Hirst and Cartrain, and goes on to compare it to the stand-off that’s developing between today’s youth and the record and movie industry big-wigs.

The second article is far more solemn. Although posted on the Language Log, its main subject matter is homophobia, with only one or two references to linguistic phonomena. I was going to describe it in more detail, and even include a quotation consisting of the poem with which it finishes, but I think it would spoil much of the emotional effect of the post. Instead, I compell you to go and read it now, this instant.