How much internet ‘brain rot’ have I got to be able to write this quiz?
A little bit of bonus quiz action for a Monday. “Brain rot” has been announced as the Oxford word of the year, covering “overconsumption of material considered to be trivial or unchallenging” especially through endless scrolling online, or reading the…
A one-line spoiler-free review of everything I watched in the cinema in November 2024
I’ve ditched the usual blurb about “not being a movies person, but anyway…” because since I started going to the cinema regularly in 2022 I’ve turned into the kind of guy who downloads the London Film Festival brochure and meticulously…
Thoughts on … an absolutely mad FA Cup match between Leyton Orient and Oldham Athletic
Well I have been to A LOT of football over the years, but I don’t think I’ve ever quite experienced anything like yesterday’s second round FA Cup match at Leyton Orient, against Oldham Athletic. Oldham used to be in the…
A Black Friday plea from a small independent retail business
In the past on Black Friday™ I used to live blog it for the Guardian, initially as a pseudo-affiliate marketing link ploy, and in later years with a view to promoting small sustainable businesses in the UK that got in…
Blake’s 7 and the rare occasion of the internet being lovely
The other day a very rare thing happened, which is I posted something on social media, had a little moan, and then somebody replied politely and changed my mind. I think the last time anybody had a nice interaction like…
Lovely Token Homo cult movie screenings in London
Over the last few weeks I’ve been to a handful of cinema screenings by Token Homo, who bills himself as putting on “queer, cult, and curious cinema events at venues across London”, and they have been great. Not only have…
Riba’s ‘Difficult Sites’ exhibition in London is worth 20 minutes of your time
At the weekend I went to see a new exhibition at the Royal Institute of British Architects (Riba) at their HQ near Great Portland Street called Difficult Sites: Architecture Against the Odds. It isn’t a big show – you can…
I’ve been reading 2000AD again and Thistlebone and Brink are great!
Borag Thungg! When things like Woolworths go bust, people who haven’t been to Woolworths for years feel sad and say “Why can’t the old things I liked survive?”. So at the start of the pandemic I worried about things going…
A one-line review of every gig I’ve been to in October 2024
This monthly series is probably more for my benefit than yours, but maybe your interest will be piqued by one of the reviews. Maybe you’ll scroll straight past. Maybe you’ll unsubscribe thinking what did I see in this blog in…
A one-line spoiler-free review of everything I watched in the cinema in October 2024
I’ve ditched the usual blurb about “not being a movies person, but anyway…” because since I started going to the cinema regularly in 2022 I’ve turned into the kind of guy who downloads the London Film Festival brochure and meticulously…