Doctor Armstrong I presume?

Photo: Damian Dovarganes

If you're going to be a secret Supervillain, you can never get caught. Ever.
You lose friends, fans, sponsors & lawsuits, not to mention free entrances into swanky clubs & a place on the Queen's Christmas Card List.
You also lose honorary degrees, which are degrees you don't have to study for at all, bestowing you with the title of 'Doctor' - sans the ability to operate a stethoscope, of course.
An American university has  stripped Dr. Lance Armstrong of the honorary Doctor of Humane Letters they bestowed upon him in 2006, citing the fact that Armstrong's "actions as an athlete are inconsistent with the values of the university."
Since universities are synonymous with knowledge, learning & hard work, it's rather humorous to consider that Armstrong's acceptance speech in 2006, contained many inspiring gems that would've spurred the university's students to 'learn' from his outstanding 'values':

"For a guy who barely made it out of high school, I find it incredibly ironic that I am standing up here as a doctor," & "I would just ask that somebody send the photos to the principal at Plano East Senior High and let them know that I, in fact, graduated from Tufts and he has to call me Dr. Armstrong now."

No doubt Armstrong's former principal has been enjoying the long season of 'I told you so' recently. Unfortunately the legions of cancer survivors (both young & old) who saw Armstrong as a symbol of hope in their own battle, have not been enjoying the last few months so much.

There are con men, con artists & con-noisseurs - people who take deception to expert heights, leaving others in awe of their astounding capability to orchestrate the most elaborate & extensive webs of deception.
A few names come to mind - Charles Ponzi, Milli Vanilli, Frank Abagnale, L. Ron Hubbard & Richard Nixon.
But the 'cyclist' formally known as Doctor Lance Armstrong, looks set to go down in history as one of the greatest con men of modern times.
Personally, I'm waiting for the book & movie deals that Armstrong is probably negotiating at the moment. The proceeds should help pay back some of the millions he owes his former sponsors...

Sense, sensibility & popular mu$ic

The evolution of popular music is quite a fascinating topic. It's progress has been spurred on by technological developments like the widespread publishing of sheet music, radio broadcasting, music videos, youtube, digital media, etcetera, etcetera.
Of course, mainstream music is fueled by masses of fans, who buy into the marketing & media hype that is now the mu$ic machine, made popular because essentially; people like being dictated to.
Being dictated to means that you don't have to think much about what clothes you wear, how your hair looks, what car you drive, the places you eat at & what music you listen to. You spend most of your time finding out what people around you are into, & copying them...
Now, before you start throwing abuse my way, try to remember that I am talking about pop music in general. While there are some exceptions, the pop music scene is generally filled with carefully constructed products (in human form) that are designed to generate large amounts of income for record companies. The 'music' & 'lyrics' (& I use those in the loosest sense of the words) are meant to be catchy & easy to listen to. Constant repetition on radio stations means that while you may not like it initially, eventually it'll grow on you & then you'll find yourself singing it in the shower or the car on the way to work.
In essence, popular music is much like fashion: a minority group of 'experts' dictate to the masses, telling them what is 'good'. The masses eagerly lap it up & overnight make it look like it was their idea in the first place.
In the words of Madonna: mu$ic makes the people come together...

At this point I'd like to remind you of what else the 'experts' & the masses have considered a good idea in the past: Hitler, George W. Bush, Justin Bieber, Milli Vanilli, mullets, plastic shoes, blood-letting, the Crusades, hydrogen-filled airships, etcetera, etcetera.
Just because it's popular, doesn't mean that it's 'good' by default. Take a sober look at today's so-called "chart-toppers" & you'll see what I mean.