A reason to praise streaming
Plus: An ode to English windmills and Shooting stars
Hello,
Praise be! As I type, the sun is out (for at least 5 minutes) and the evenings are getting lighter. Spring beckons and daffodils and croci are out.
And you have a few interesting things to dive into below, so gird your loins and rush headlong into a world of curiosity and wonder.
Enjoy and see you in two weeks.
Is it really so much better now?
This is a good, thought-provoking piece. Yes, it’s US-based, but it addresses many of the issues I hear in the UK, particularly around technology and cost of living. And I love the writer’s point about meeting and chatting to people if you’re open to it.
Combine with: Factfulness (even though this came out in 2018, the points therein still stand)
Is the Great British Pub really on the edge of extinction?
If you believed everything you read in the media, there will be no pubs left in about 10 years. The truth is – unsurprisingly – a little more nuanced than that. Places to drink booze are changing and adapting. And god help you if the only food you serve is a packet of cheese and onion crisps!
BOOK OF THE FORTNIGHT
Playground by Richard Powers
Buy from: Amazon | UK Bookshop *
Oh my god, I loved this. Richard Powers had already blown me away with The Overstory, which won the Pulitzer a few years ago.
Ostensibly, it’s the story of two best friends who drift apart after college, but it also manages to weave in the climate crisis and the threat that technology and AI has on our society, without seeming heavy-handed.
It’s this sort of story and writing that makes you wonder if there’s any point doing anything creative yourself, safe in the knowledge that they’re on a level so much higher than you. Please try this – it’s so worth it.
Fancy something else? My fiction bookshelf | My non-fiction bookshelf
The one thing I most love about streaming
It’s undeniable that the streaming platforms – led by Netflix – have changed the landscape in terms of how we watch, find and demand TV.
They’ve popularised the concepts of binge-watching, mid-TV and key art, and given us more choice than most of us know what to do with (hands up who has a subscription they barely use!).
But for me, the thing that has been most enlightening about TV streaming (and Netflix is definitely the front-runner) is access to high-quality non-English language TV1.
In the UK, we’ve always been lucky with the high quality of much of our TV, and so foreign-language TV always struggled to break through2.
It wasn’t until the early 2010s that we saw the breakout of The Killing, Borgen, The Bridge, Les Revenants on BBC4 and More 4 and people realised there was some good stuff out there (as long as you could concentrate on the subtitles).
This has blown up over the past few years. Clearly, Squid Game stands head and shoulders – one of Netflix’s biggest hits and one that seemingly came from nowhere.
But if I look at my streaming history on Netflix over the past few years, it’s not hard to spot the likes of Money Heist, Call My Agent, Lupin, The Defeated, Omniscient, The Law According to Lidia Poet, Dark, The Eternauts, La Palma…
And that doesn’t get into the likes of Pachinko, My Brilliant Friend, The Bureau – all of which I’ve seen on other platforms.
You see my point? And I don’t think I even watch that much TV.
The genius of Netflix is that – once you start watching things that aren’t originally English – they serve you more of it.
Don’t get me wrong, there’s still a lot of dross out there – just because it’s in Spanish, German or Icelandic doesn’t mean it’s automatically brilliant.
But, as a linguist, I love using these shows to be entertained and also brush up on some of the languages I don’t get to use as often.
So forget the joys of Below Deck or Bridgerton – it’s foreign-language TV that I’m most thankful to streamers for.
Why would you want a cookbook on Kindle?
A chef/cookery writer3 I follow was plugging the fact you can get their latest cookbook on Kindle for just 99p earlier this week.
I’m not suggesting they shouldn’t promote it (clearly), but I’m more confused as to why you’d want it on Kindle.
One of the things I most enjoy about flicking through recipes is the pictures, which are probably more likely to get me to consider making the dish than the title and the ingredients. How does that really work on a Kindle?
I’m willing to hear arguments for, but I’m struggling to understand why.
The oral history of the best half-time Superbowl show ever
No, we’re not talking Justin and Janet(!) or even Kendrick Lemar. It’s 2007’s tour de force by Prince in the pouring rain.
And if you’ve never seen it before, read the above and then watch it on YouTube.
How we made Shooting Stars
It’s hard to believe this TV show is now 30+ years old. It was required viewing during the early/mid-90s and cemented my love for Vic Reeves and Bob Mortimer (who I’d already seen live as a student). I love this piece with memories from Vic & Bob.
History’s greatest crossovers (Part 3)
This is sublime. The fact that historical events or people can cross (in unlikely and seemingly untimely ways).
Here’s a good example:
Likewise James Stewart and Tom Cruise, the biggest movie star of 1939 and the biggest movie star of today, both appear in a famous Paramount studios photograph from 1987. Also pictured is Olivia de Havilland, who died in 2020, having played alongside James Cagney in The Irish in Us in 1935.
Listening to Loose Ends last week, I was struck by the fact that Melvin Hayes is one of those equivalent British entertainment generation spanners. He appeared in The Blue Lamp in 1950, alongside Dirk Bogarde, and appeared on Would I Lie To You? in 2024.
Designing ‘One Hundred and One Dalmatians’
It had never occurred to me why I’ve always been so charmed by the Disney film. Sure, the puppies were cute and I’ve always loved the “Cruella de Vil” song, but the animation style was the real reason – and this amazing piece digs into exactly why.
These college kids ditched their phones for a week. Could you?
The thought of not having your phone with you for longer than 24 hours would send most people into a cold sweat. Some of the consequences remind me of my time at university – we used to have a big pinboard in the entrance to the Student Union where people would leave notes to arrange meeting up (how the hell did that work?!). [NYT gift article]
Beautiful remix
I love Grant Lazlo’s treatment of old classic soul tunes. His version of “I Heard It Through The Grapevine” has become a cult classic. This remix of Stevie Wonder’s Superstition transforms it into something to chill to on a warm, hazy Sunday afternoon. Divine!
Your Sunday afternoon sorted
Unaccountably, I have no record of how I stumbled across this video, so can’t thank anyone. It’s so of another era, but for 30 minutes you can be transported to another time and another place. Make a cuppa, put your feet up and dive into the world of English windmills!
John Carter Cash talking about Ring of Fire
Johnny Cash and June Carter’s son giving his take on the iconic song and the different versions is delightful.
THE FINAL RANDOM LINKS
Invisible jumpers (this is a joy!)
Thanks for reading/listening/watching!
Rob
THANKS FOR READING
*As always my book recommendation links usually go to one of two places:
1) Bookshop.org (an online bookshop with a mission to financially support local, independent bookshops – it's an affiliate link, so I earn a tiny amount at no extra cost to you)
2) I also include an Amazon affiliate link, though, as I know lots of people still read via Kindle, even though they're taking over the world!
I'm always grateful when people send on recommendations for inclusion in here. If you ever see something you think I'd love to read, please let me know, or comment below. The internet is a big space and I only search a small part of it...
A FINAL, FINAL WORD
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I’m not talking Emily In Paris, by the way, although you might learn the odd new word of French or Italian.
If you genuinely sat through Heimat in the 80s, I salute you!
I’ve deliberately vacillated on this, because I no longer really know where many people who write cookbooks stand on this. For example, Nigella has always been very clear that she’s not a chef and clearly Gordon Ramsay is. But does Jamie Oliver still think of himself as a chef or someone who is the UK’s most successful producer of cookbooks? Hmm…
I loved Playground too. The twist at the end was unexpected. Read it in a couple of sittings.
I’ve just started Mayflies by Andrew O’Hagan. 25% in and loving the music and cultural reference nostalgia. On my kindle - sorry not sorry x