Sadly it’s behind a subscriber wall (though you can register for free for 14 days) but in the latest “Times Higher Education Supplement”:http://www.thes.co.uk/current_edition/ has an “advice column by Simon Blackburn”:http://www.thes.co.uk/current_edition/story.aspx?story_id=2013667. The piece almost defies description. The questions are in the style of (or taken straight from?) _The Sun_ and the answers are written as if by Derrida. And to top it off the whole thing is intended as an advertisement for the Truth & Realism conference. The inventive genius of it all is hard to match, so it’s folly to even try, so…

bq.. Dear Derrida,

I’m a realist about sex but my girlfriend’s an idealist. Will we ever be compatible?

A Blogger.

Dear A,

Simon Blackburn here. Derrida couldn’t make it.

I recommend a quasi-realist solution. Even if you can’t convince your girlfriend of the merits of realism, it’s important to talk as if realism is true. So next time you’re down the pub, regale your mates with extravagent tales about how prolific and extravagent the reality of your sex life is. Some days it’s more important to talk the talk than walk the walk.

No one around here knows what it is to be a ‘blogger’, but if it’s some kind of substitute for sex we don’t think it’s a good idea. I’d say stop it or you’ll go blind.

See you in St Andrews,

Simon.