Sideswiped: A Symphony M'Lady?
Puppets meet art, how the invention of matches changed sex, a burnt news reporter and Bear needs some sunnies and did anyone else make it through Netflix's Fool Me Once?







Mashing up puppets with classic works of art. Genius. See the full gallery here.
Curated Cut & Paste
“Egbert de Vries, a Dutch sociologist, has told of how the introduction of matches to an African tribe altered their sexual habits. Members of this community believed it necessary to start a new fire in the fireplace after each act of sexual intercourse. This custom meant that each act of intercourse was something of a public event, since when it was completed someone had to go to a neighbouring hut to bring back a burning stick with which to start a fresh fire. Under such conditions, adultery was difficult to conceal, which is conceivably why the custom originated in the first place. The introduction of matches changed all this. It became possible to light a new fire without going to a neighbour’s hut, and thus, in a flash, so to speak, a long-standing tradition was consumed.”
Technopoly: The Surrender of Culture to Technology
Back To Work Summer Media
One News: The news has been pleasant without the knobs-in-power and I’ve noticed more international news coverage, which is ace, if not a little depressing. There was a dud story all about dogs at Piha — a quick graphic to tell viewers where off leash dogs were allowed would’ve been one idea. And Ryan Boswell, did a story about being sunsmart, himself looking a bit pink and sheltering under the insignificant brim of his non-hat. Mr Crispy. No judgement here. I am from the Sunburn Generation; a quick tan is a good tan.
Comic: What it’s like having a UTI. Read here.
Listicle: Every James Bond Movie, Ranked. Here it is.
Read: An open letter to Jeremy Allen White regarding his recent Calvin Klein ads. Read here. What ad you say? This terrible, wonderful ad.


Don’t bother watching (it’s shit): Fool Me Once has set a new low bar for the Netflix adaptions of Harlan Coben novels. Some reviews have been scathing…
This from The Mary Sue.
“We’re in the era of “two-screen TV,” clumsily pieced-together products that you can watch while looking at your phone or deep-cleaning your oven… Fool Me Once is a surefire sign of our times—cynically bleak, lacking sense and substance, with the barest of nods to systemic inequality and a tilt of its empty head toward wartime atrocities.”
And this from The Independent.
“It’s TV that has the capacity to shock you – not because the plot is shocking, but because you’re shocked it’s still on. Did the final episode autoplay? Ah well, it’s over now – unlike the Coben adaptations, which will keep on coming and coming.”
Wow, so much amazing stuff as always.
Turns out there is no wisdom of crowds. "On Her Majesty's Secret Service" is #1. Surely everybody knows that?
That comic about UTIs is poignant and applicable to a lot of chronic conditions.
Jeremy Allen White - I feel like I went from comically skinny as a teen to somewhat paunchy by my 20s with nothing in-between. I felt bad, but now you are telling me the ladies don't really like this sort of thing?
"Fool Me Once" is a great example of the "Bad Money" fallacy. "Oh we've watched five episodes, can't let it go now". By the end it's hard to care who did it, I found myself wishing they'd do more ot it. Even the usually gorgeous Joanna Lumley can't save it.
Basil Brush *is* a work of art.