Oh dear. Poor Camille; clearly she got home knackered and flipped open the laptop in front of the television with a bottle of Pinot Noir close at hand. I adore her writing, but this article really wasn't her at her ferocious, campy best.

The jibe about Rosie O'Donnell was a massive (and obvious) own-goal. The article rambles after the first page, which is fair enough as it's meant to be a torrent of observations and opinions. Nevertheless, the journalistic struts and rivets show through badly: there are a few too many Paglia-isms, those recurring adjectives she uses like a tic. ('Banal', 'queasy', 'glibness' etc). The attempt to tie the end of the article to the beginning is lumpen and clotted (another two Paglia-isms, there.)The whole thing reeks of someone trying to write incisively whilst suffering with a raging head-cold.

Never mind. I'll keep reading Our Camille loyally. Everyone has off days.

We are watching a once fine mind self-destruct in front of us.

Does she write these things drunk?!

From a British point of view (which thus disqualifies me from commenting on American politics, but hey ho), this whole kind of affair strike us as literally insane. Religion has next to no public profile here and no role whatsoever in elections. It's all quite scary...

Beowulf isn't the earliest peice of vernacular European literature. Even if you date it to the 7th century (about the earliest date people have suggested), the very earliest Irish and Welsh material is as old a few decades older. If you date it to the 10th century, there's a huge amount of older Irish and Welsh material.

Brilliant stuff. Absolutely delighted to see La Paglia comment on Kate Bush - a true sui generis genius, and the video of 'Running up that Hill' is captured perfectly. Light, amusing, gracious, witty and sharp: Paglia back on good form.

Also she's spot-on about McCain's insane wife, who looks drugged out of her mind (again). Her eyes always look like two little black flies that have crashed into a pan of matt foundation.

Over the pond, I've been following this fascinating election keenly. This is one of those instances of an unbridgeable cultural gulf though - the idea of potential leaders taking part in a religiously-sponsored debate in the UK is simply totally unimaginable. Everyone involved would be incredibly embarrassed, and instantly would make themselves a laughing stock in the national press. So it's interesting to see.

'Family and Youth Concern' are an insane, tiny right-wing Christian organisation of the type that are rather rare over here in the UK, and they enjoy minimal public respect. (Most people will never have heard of them). They are completely irrelevant, but are always quoted by our more rapid rightwing press as though they mattered somehow.

'rabid', not 'rapid', of course!

Saw her in the street in Oxford (UK) when I was a graduate student and she was about 16. She's absolutely beautiful, I must say. (I'm gay, so no creepiness!) She was the least good of the Harry Potter actors to start with, but she has blossomed and was excellent in the last couple of movies. I hope she has a long and happy career ahead of her: though as a Cambridge academic I'm a little bit sorry she didn't apply to Oxford or Cambridge instead of joining the brain drain to the Ivy League. :)