At some point in the past couple of years, comedian and actor Russell Brand has come to be regarded by people who should know better as a sort of cross between Socrates, Oscar Wilde and Gandhi.

Events this week have seemed more than usually random and chaotic - to the point where many people lost track of which side was using which conspiracy to divert whom from what.

I was told Team New Zealand would not win because Larry Ellison "does not lose". As though that was bad in a competition, or unusual when two rich men fight over something.

The images of themselves that people have chosen in an attempt to earn our support on billboards are unrelievedly unflattering, says Paul Little.

Do big testicles really make for bad fathers? And conversely, do the possessors of small ones excel in the paternal role?

When something like the Miley Cyrus VMA hoo-ha happens it's good not to react too quickly; better to let things sink in and allow the dust to settle so the perspective is clear.

News that Canterbury University is throwing $3,000 at students with top marks to enrol down south has been reported as though there was something unusual about it, writes Paul Little.

A reflective David Bain. Fonterra always made it clear it was in the business of making dairy products, not friends. Even its milk-in-schools programme was acknowledged as a strategy to build consumers of the future.

Religions do a little good and a lot of bad, says Paul Little.

Few things are less reassuring than a multinational corporate playing the "we care" card.

Children in early-childhood education, ages 3 to 5, are to be given ID numbers.

Everyone talks about how awful life as a member of the royal family must be. But you'll have noticed it's not so bad that it deters those in that situation from regularly turning out new royals.

Auckland Council commissioners who want to ban begging have lost the plot. They do not recognise that no one wants to beg. We live in a society that encourages winners to take all and beggars to take what they can get.

Among his other enthusiasms, George Orwell was passionate about the English language being used correctly, and the right way to make a nice cup of tea. Those topics inspired some of his best essays.

Sir Ray Avery, an inspiring foe of all varieties of bullying, tells a story that illustrates the bystander effect perfectly, says Paul Little.

Paul Little says the rage with which commentators reacted to the KickStart breakfast programme provided delectable examples of hysteria.

Just about everyone agrees that the moves to permit psycho-active substances to be sold if they can be proved to be safe are A Good Thing. One of the few areas for dispute is whether or not they should be tested on animals.

Holy Trinity Cathedral needs $12 million for "essential upgrades". Things must be bad, writes Paul Little.

The collapse of the petition organised by those parties to oppose state asset sales was as comical as anything the lunkheads on the other side of the house have managed in this, the Year of the Great Ineptitude.

The Serious Fraud Office will not prosecute anyone over the collapse of Hanover Finance because ... well, it's too hard.

Paul Little asks how many Colin Craigs does it take to change a light bulb? At least 20. One to change the bulb and the other 19 to slowly and in very simple language explain the joke to his supporters.

My supermarket has enhanced my customer experience by reducing its services even further by introducing self-scan checkouts.

Paul Little writes: The debate over the Auckland Unitary Plan has coalesced around a simple and simplistic choice.

Some time ago Paul Little monitored the Government Electronic Tenders Service, a site on which government contracts are listed so freelancers and others can tender for them.

Congratulations to the Black Caps for ... well, for not losing. If ever you wanted evidence this country lacks a certain oomph, then the reaction to this week's test series draw with England is all the proof you need.