Well, don’t you look a bobby dazzler?!
Here we are, 68% of the way through the Januaryest January Of All Time. (I called you a bobby dazzler to give you a bit of a pick-me-up, to be honest.) How are you wading through the treacle, Treacle?
In this house, watching Around the World in 80 Days seems to be soothing souls. I mean David Tennant helps, as he often does. Apparently it’s “lively” and “thrilling”. Whatever. For me, the definitive version will always be the ridiculous animation from the early 80s, complete with a posh lion and a wincingly twee soundtrack. If you really want a comfort watch, get on that.
Whichever version you prefer, you may be interested to know (as I was) some of the real life events behind the story. They’re low on anthropomorphism, sadly, but high on drama.
See you next week, and in the meantime, may you “find a pot of gold, just sitting where the rainbow’s ending”.
ps - if you want the opposite of a comfort watch, try Yellowjackets. It’s sharp and horrible and it’s keeping me up at night.
Let’s dabble!
The pole dance
Preet Chandi recently attempted to smash the glass ceiling "into a million pieces" by becoming the first woman of colour to ski unaccompanied to the South Pole. Shame she didn't get to go 90 million years ago, when the Antarctic was as warm as Italy...
I Love You But I’ve Chosen Darkness
^^ One of my favourite band names, and imo, a perfect seven-word short story. According to cave-exploring madman author Robert MacFarlane, our being drawn to the darkness “is an ancient longing” - but what do these places of “awe and horror” tell us about us as a species?
Keeping a cool head
Ever wondered what's to blame for brain freeze? Satisfy your curiosity now. Spoiler: it's not asylum seekers, the Covid vaccine, or Mollie Mae.
House guess
Which of these is true?
a) Chopsticks pre-date forks by 4,500 years.
b) The keys to Roman doors could be up to 3 feet long.
c) Plates were once made out of bread.
Answer: all of them. To be honest, I could believe the last one in particular because (as I may have mentioned before) I once ate a spoonful of coleslaw, and the spoon was cheese.
Give us a smile, love
Are you, you know - feeling a bit shit right now? Me too. Here are five Darwinian-inspired tips for being a bit happier - race you to the freshwater stream, babes.
And finally…
A week after we said goodbye to Ronnie Spector, why not swot up on your Ronettes hits with this ace selection of songs via Rolling Stone? Personally, I’ll be rewatching the cracking intro of Dirty Dancing.
That cat!