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It’s been quite a year for celebrity deaths. We seem to have lost more significant personages than usual and celebs in general seem to be popping off at an alarming rate, mainly the really good ones. Rik Mayall, Philip Seymour-Hoffman, Robin Williams, Joan Rivers, Elaine Stritch, Richard Attenborough, Sid Caesar, Harold Ramis….. the list goes on. Yesterday as if making some kind of point, death took two took great artists actor Billie Whitelaw and photographer Jane Bown and today the bloke who did the theme tune to The Wonder Years, Joe Cocker. By 2015 there might be no people of any talent or skill left, just reality show contestants and crooked politicians and celebrity chefs. Only the good die, the bad and useless carry onwards, wasting oxygen and creating global warming in order to annoy people who aren’t even born yet. At least I am safe. Ironically my lack of fame means that I am going to live forever.
It seems to have been a particularly horrible year, until you think what was happening 100 years ago and realise that things have been worse. I am happy to see the back of this year, though 2015 seems to be holding promise of change. Hover boards and the return of the fax machine not withstanding.
We braved the living Hell of the Westfield shopping centre three days before Christmas. Why have all these idiots left their Christmas shopping until the last second? It makes it very difficult for me to do mine. Plan ahead a bit folks. It’s not like the shops aren’t open all the year round. What a palaver!
We’ve been enjoying “Burning Love” on Netflix. It’s a beautifully executed pastiche of dating and Big Brother style shows, which could be absolutely awful, but the performances are exceptional and there’s a beautiful subtlety to it as the monsters within each participant reveal themselves. Whilst its victims are the shallow, publicity-seeking, cack-handedly emotionally manipulative contestants, it perhaps also speaks of love and the human desire for it and ability to flip from one love to the next. You’ll recognise lots of American comedy stars in it, some famous, others familiar from smaller parts in sitcoms and it was nice to see Rob Delaney popping up in season 3. It shows that it is possible to pastiche the kind of massive characters that you might think were beyond parody. It works on quite a few levels and I am enjoying the way that some of it is hammered home, whereas other bits you have to discover for yourself. Michael Ian Black who plays the host is fabulous, and I love the implication that the series is on a financial decline (the prize is $900), but that also he may be having the mental breakdown that such a hollow character would certianly be on the verge of. Ken Marino (hard to believe he's the guy from Party Down) and June Diane Raphael are horrific and wonderful, but if I start listing all the good performances I will have to write down all the actors, so give it a watch.
Series 1 (at least) is on youtube. 
