Whatever drugs the Conservative Party are on need to be shared around, that’s all we’ll say. There is no way they’re riding the wild rocket that will lead to a third Prime Minister imposed on the British public in six weeks without chemical help. No fair. We want some of that sweet sweet loony juice.
There, that’s the politics out of the way. This week, we’re keeping it as real as locally possible, reading the cue cards and rocking out with Count Crowley!
Now is the time. Here is the place. This is The Cut.
First an article which, if you can keep up with it, will spin your head like Linda Blair in The Exorcist. The Nobel Prize for Physics has just gone to a team of scientists who have proved that reality is not the clear and simple state of affairs we believe it to be. This may explain the current state of the Conservative Party.
We are obsessed with The Bear. We’ve always had a thing for cooking shows and movies—Jon Favreau’s Chef is a long time favorite. The crew of The Original Beef Of Chicagoland have our attention, as the latest in a long line of tales set in that most peaceable and easy-going of work environments…
Staying on the subject, we were fascinated by the details of how The Bear is shot—particularly the interior of the Original Beef. It’s an article on the Panavision site so gets a bit geeky about lens choice in places, but you know, hey, it’s us. Geeky is what we do.
We can’t resist. A final blast of behind-the-scenes craziness. We believe there’s only one show which is so committed to write and perform a Live show every Saturday Night. The methods the crew and writers use to squeeze the best out of the onscreen talent can be a little old school—which adds to the charm, in our eyes. Cue Wally!
One more poke at the Parliamentary rat’s nest. Truss and her crew tanked the UK economy in the pursuit of growth. There’s more than one way to define the term of course, and we wonder what this country would look like if she’d tried to apply a few of the suggestions included below.
Oh Lordy, we loves us a control panel. You know this, we keep bleating on about it, as in the Used Future post recently. Here is a particularly fine selection of big dials and proper Bakelite switches. We need more like this in the office! Initialize the fenangulator!
The next time we’re in Amsterdam, we’re making a beeline for the greatest museum in the city. No, not the ones on the usual tourist trails. The Kattenkabinet is far more special, catering exclusively to those of us who understand it’s a feline world and they merely tolerate our existence in exchange for food and skritches…
We’re into peak Spooky Season, which calls for a bit of a dance. The soundtrack comes courtesy of David Dastmalchian, who you may know as an actor popular in genre and action movies. His Polka-Dot Man in The Suicide Squad is a triumph. David is also a comics fan and writer, and has come up with a killer playlist for his monster-hunting character Count Crowley. There are some stone bangers in here. Crank it up!
We can think of no more mindful activity given the state of the world right now than quiet time spent with a pen or pencil and paper. You could just doodle. Or you could apply yourself a little and learn how to draw an iconic figure from the Studio Ghibli stable. It’ll take two minutes. Go on, what have you got to lose?
And finally. A little spooky something from ND Stevenson, who is absolutely killing it with his Substack comics. The quality of writing and art is top-notch. It may look rushed, but every line pulls at your heart. This is a seriously well-crafted bit of comicery.
We were delighted to see Little Simz win the Mercury Music Prize this week for Her Album Sometimes I Might Be Introvert. We know the feeling. Let’s celebrate her win with the epic video for Introvert, for which Editor Rob is proud to announce a small measure of involvement. It’s a powerful film for a powerful track.
See you next Saturday, intros and extros.
EXCUSES AND HALF TRUTHS 