I love Buffy the Vampire Slayer, the TV show, and I'm not going to apologise for that. Just as I don't think anyone who hated it should need to. I was the right demographic to find Buffy's adventures slaying demons (that were essentially metaphors for Teenage Issues) engrossing. I was never a massive fan of the eponymous heroine - more of a Faith girl myself even if her moral compass was a bit shakier. But it was all about the writing and the characters and, let's be honest, the pretty. I had a similar love affair years later with the cruelly-mistreated Firefly. 

Why would I be apologising for my appreciation of these TV shows? Well, because earlier this week I made the dispiriting discovery that their creator and lead writer Joss Whedon is...a bit of an asshat. 

It is inviting sighs and lots of 'everyone has written about this today' comments and statements of how bored Twitter is already of this. But while I have seen a few blogs and tweets being quick off the mark to note the problems with Lily Allen's new video, I have seen far more tweets, blogs, comments and articles celebrating it. Both sides (and it does come down to 'sides', nothing divides like pop culture) seem to be touting feminism. So why the divide?

The video opens with Lily apparently undergoing some sort of cosmetic surgery in order to make her figure suitable for this comeback. It's witty, as a middle aged man wonders how someone can even allow themselves to get like that Lily mumbles that she's had 2 babies. So far, so funny. 

The UK has the worst breastfeeding rates in the world. As in we breastfeed for the shortest amount of time, not as in our breastfeeding style is the worst. Few mothers in the UK breastfeed beyond 6 to 8 weeks. In some parts of the country the figure is just below 20%. Perhaps our reaction as a society to breastfeeding is the worst. Which has caused a bit of a brainwave at Sheffield University. What if we knew these babies only had their mother's breasts on show for the money? You know, like Page 3 breasts. 

Bottle-feeding is more popular in low-income areas of the UK, it is in these areas this study would like to offer up to 200 quids worth of shopping vouchers for those who choose to breastfeed instead of bottle-feed. Through this the study hopes to find out whether financial incentive can overcome cultural, negative attitudes towards breastfeeding. 

We often find ourselves discussing women characters on TV and in films. Often they are needy, prissy and dull. One character however was spiteful, resentful, lonely, sarcastic and in some episodes vulnerable or thoughtful. It seems peculiar but this cartoon character was far more real than many other women who grace our screens. The recent death of Marcia Wallace, who voiced Edna Krabappel, Bart Simpson's long suffering teacher, means one less acerbic woman on our screens. With this and the recent teacher's strike we thought now was a good time to talk about our favourite teachers.   

I have a friend who, having once told me saying please and thank-you were silly Victorian archaisms, spends much of her time smiling widely at those who have wronged her as she says: "sorry!" This not because she consciously puts into practise the Christian 'turn the other cheek' teaching, but rather a habit that is either used to balance out my surliness or simply to keep the peace. Even she doesn't quite know why she does it. Her drink will be spilt as she's jostled at a gig, a man will aggressively make an advance on her, someone will jump the queue she's in: "sorry!" "Sorry!" "Sorry!"

I should tell you she no longer dismisses the old P's & Q's. Nor is she much of a pushover. She is an intelligent, adult woman who makes good decisions and works hard. Well, hardish. Look she's a normal woman who I love and respect and unfortunately seems to have fallen foul of the apparently female habit of over-apologising. 

I've just finished a month without booze. 31 alcohol-free days. Why and how? Near the beginning of September I heard about Sober October - basically, give up booze for a month and get people to sponsor you for Macmillan Cancer Support. I signed up. Partly because it sounded like a great way to make money for a cause that's close to my heart and that I am aiming to raise a lot of money for over the next eight months (quick disclaimer: I work for Macmillan. But I'm not writing this - or anything here - in any sort of official or representative capacity). But also because I thought a month off the sauce could be a good idea.