It's JUDY FINNEGAN OH TEN

Where to begin with this weekend's X Factor? It was of course all about Whitney Houston (and gladly saying goodbye to Rikki Loney), much to Moopy's delight. Her performance of Million Dollar Bill provided a plethora of talking points: a disenchanted post-performance discussion of the contestants ("I thought they were... ... YOUNG... ... A lot of... time to grow... practice. PRACTICE... practice...") with eyes transfixed on the floor; the unfortunate wardrobe malfunction; the stair-stumble and missed cue intro...in conclusion, an almost car-crash disaster that most people loved.

Cheryl might have come off better, but there's no doubt it's Whitney that people will be talking about tomorrow. Of course, the appearance has led to speculation about whether Whitney really is "clean", as well as renenewed predictions about the performance of the album and single.

Let us know what you thought. Check out:
SECOND RESULTS SHOW
WEEK 2 - SATURDAY LIVE SHOW
Rate Whitney's X Factor perf
Is Whitney really CLEAN?
I LOOK TO YOU: UK SALES PREDICTOR
Million Dollar Bill - UK CHART TRACKER

She looks like the kind of bitch who WANTED to be a fag hag but no one wanted HER

Moopy has a long history of frustration and general disgust at the Daily Mail. However Jan Moir's article earlier this week about the suspicious nature of Stephen Gately's death, and furthermore the effect that this has on the perception of same-sex marriage.

Regardless of the fact that the article is offensive and insensitive, considering it was published just days before Gately had even been buried, it contains sweeping assumptions ("Whatever the cause of death is, it is not, by any yardstick, a natural one. Let us be absolutely clear about this")

Although the article and headline have been edited several times since, along with the withdrawal of third party advertising, the Press Complaints Commission informed many Moopy complainants that it could not act, as they were not "directly" affected, despite the fact that such homophobic propaganda is offensive to anyone who reads it. Furthermore, there is a double standard when 38,000+ people can complain about a BBC radio programme few of them actually heard in its entirety.

Moir has apologised, by suggesting that her article was not homophobic and the complaints resulted from a "mischevious" internet campaign. However, regardless of how Gately died, the insinuation that this and Kevin McGee's (unrelated) recent suicide denote some kind of problem exclusive to civil partnerships, remains offensive.

Moopy hopes that the Daily Mail has finally bitten off more than it can chew. The article has certainly caught the attention of most major news outlets, we'll be keeping an eye on the fallout.

Check out:
Jan Moir and the Daily Mail are utter cunts
Lowri Turner...homophobic?

'You're VERY welcome'

Moopy, like many other sites, has been discussing the news of Stephen Gately's unexpected death since early this morning.

Many people have been fans of Boyzone for a number of years. Even if they weren't, they knew someone who was. He might not have been the best pop star in the world, but he had a presence in many people's musical upbringing.

Some posters have been sharing their memories, both recent and from their youth as Moopy collectively marks another unexpected celebrity death in 2009.

Check out:
Stephen Gately DEAD
Best Boyzone/Stephen Gately single

That Dannii thing was such a "well it sounded good in my head" moment

The X Factor went live last night, with Dannii Minogue grabbing the headlines after a misjudged comment about Danyl Johnson's sexuality.

Moopy is adamant that having watched it in utter bemusement, claims of homophobia have absolutely no grounding. But as a live lead balloon moment, it did leave the Queen of Clubs looking a bit stupid.

Furthermore, much to our annoyance, it's hypocritical that those people calling for her to be sacked are likely the same that remained silent whilst Dermot O'Leary made quips about Louis Walsh's sexuality during the last series.

Although no-one does unpopularity quite like Dannii Minogue, in this case it appears to be a clumsily worded cheeky comment which has inexplicably caused national outrage amongst braindead housewives and mentally challenged gays. Despite the immediate furore prompting some posters to predict this will end Dannii's career, the majority of Moopy is confident that she can pull it back as the series progresses.

We'll all be watching tonight to see how Dannii and perhaps more importantly, Simon Cowell handle the latest in a string of PC rows.

Check out:
Has Dannii fucked it?
First live show thread
First Show: Best Performance

The golden rule about British polling is, the poll that shows Labour doing the poorest is usually right

Now for something a bit different. Moopy isn't just about all things music-related and very occasionally, we do get down to some (mostly) serious political musings.

Amongst the growing speculation that Gordon Brown may be too ill to lead the Labour party, some have speculated this could be a chance for Gordon Brown to leave the party without losing face. Although others believe that the intention has always been for him to step aside after formally announcing the next election.

Furthermore, Moopy mostly agrees that the election is all but a foregone conclusion, despite lacking confidence in David Cameron and doubting predictions of a landslide victory. However, the exact strategy Labour should take in the next six months splits opinion somewhat. Brown could remain in office and lose seats, but protect the reputation of his successor from immediate defeat. Or he could step aside for a makeshift leader, who may retain Labour a decent minority during the Conservative term.

Ignoring the pseudo-BNP ramblings of The Sun switching their support from Labour to Conservative, the flipside is that if there were an election to lose, this would be it. The drop in budgets and higher taxes as a result of the economic climate will truly be felt during the next term. Thus the Conservatives may find theirs to be something of a blame-taking leadership.

As the attention turns to number crunching, gains and losses over the next few weeks and months, expect the culture & politics forum to get markedly busier. Moopy, as ever, will be keeping tabs on all of the important topics.

Check out:

Brown too ill to lead rumours...
EU referendum on its way?
What do you think of Sarah Brown?
Should the Prime Minister resign/be ousted?