Busy old week for the religious calendar. Tuesday marked the Lunar New Year and Shrove Tuesday, better known to food fans as an excuse to hoover up all the duck pancakes they can. It was also the start of Ramadan, which meant those who observed had to wait until sundown to get their fix. Pancake day also presaged the first day of Lent, so on the whole it was a giddy mix of feast and fast.
Going back to the Lunar New Year, the advent of The Year Of The Fire Horse holds special significance for me. It’s the first time in 60 years that both my animal and elemental Chinese zodiac signs have aligned. Not that I’m observant of such things, but the conjunction feels somehow pleasing. Here’s a little overview of what I should be able to expect.
And as a final note on a wild week, kudos to the patient folks in charge of Bedford Borough Council’s social media accounts. They really aren’t paid enough.
Wherever you are, whenever you are, whatever sign you are, welcome to The Swipe.
Rob is reading…
Chasing Smoke by Sarit Packer and Itamar Srulovich. Subtitled Cooking Over Fire Around The Levant, the whole deal makes a lot more sense once you twig Sarit and Itamar are the lovely people behind Honey & Co and, more appropriately for this venture, their live- fire joint Honey And Smoke. This is such a lovely read, full of the pair’s enthusiasm and inventiveness. Flicking through the pages and drooling at the pretty pictures, I’m dreaming of warmer weather and getting the Joe running.
Rob is watching…
How To Get To Heaven From Belfast. From the writer of Derry Girls, a freaky, funny, borderline psychedelic murder mystery. I haven’t seen this much use of fish-eye lenses since the last Yorgos Lanthimos movie. It’s a real blast, with some crazy twists and turns and, in the first ep, a great cameo from Ardal O’Hanlon wearing the worst bow tie in history…
Rob is listening…
Still listening to a lot of 70s rock right now. Derek and the Dominos’ version of Little Wing came up on the queue recently and it took me right back to my teenagerdom, living with my nan for a bit of peace and quiet while I revised for A Levels, and listening to this on a bootleg Clapton Best Of. It doesn’t have the subtlety or elegance of Jimi Hendrix’s masterful take, but it’s my favourite. It’s that big guitar fanfare at the start, I guess.
Rob is eating…
Pancakes, because they are not just for Shrove Tuesday. Here’s Richard Godwin with an important guide to get the best from your batter.
Rob’s Low-Key Obsession Of The Week…
IDIC. If you’re not a Star Trek fan you can probably skip this bit. Toxic ‘fandom’ has long hated on modern Trek, with special focus on Starfleet Academy, for excessive attention to inclusion and diversity. This sadly ignores the core tenet of the universe, as defined by The Great Bear Of The Galaxy, Gene Roddenberry—Infinite Diversity In Infinite Combinations. In other words, according to the man who created the whole thing, anything is possible. Which is, of course, the wonderful thing about SF and any act of imagination. It saddens me a little that critics can’t seem to see that. Sure, complain about the occasionally lumpy writing or scenery-chewing, but as far as I’m concerned, everything else is up for grabs and available to explore and interrogate. Throwing your toys out of the pram at the prospect of a gay Klingon says more about you than the show.
Alright, I’m done. Let’s move on.
The breakout stars of this Winter Olympics have been Ed and Tim, commentators on the slope style and Big Air contests. They are deeply knowledgeable, but it’s their surreal turns of phrase and wild enthusiasm which has turned an already brilliantly entertaining strand of the festival into absolute must-watch telly. Here’s a few examples.
I’m delighted to see a new 4K restoration of Brian Helgeland’s A Knight’s Tale is hitting cinemas this month. Loosely based on the early exploits of my hero, William Marshall, the movie mixes charm, adventure and a killer classic rock soundtrack into one irresistible whole. A lovely reminder of Heath Ledger’s talent too. Do try and catch it, especially if it’s new to you.
While we’re on the subject, what were the nutritional techniques used to keep a knight fighting fit and joust-ready? Although sources remain spotty and unreliable, there’s evidence that the Kinghts Templar embraced a diet we’d recognise as healthy and balanced today.
As humans, we find ways to communicate which can transcend the language barrier. For a pair of star-crossed lovers in Connecticut, a winning mix of technology and good old-fashioned empathy has given them the tools they need to build a life together. I love this story, with its mix of SF-nal nous and romance.
Ignore the lurid headline on this piece from SF Gate. The real story here is about the man who facilitated the Rat Pack’s adventures in Palm Springs—musician, hellraiser and the man who could out-Sinatra Sinatra, Jimmy Van Hansen.
The Man From Rattlesnake Ranch
An astonishing hot take on how people should only read modern literature gets a nuanced and thorough take-down in this must-read Thread. Let’s put it this way—I’m interested in reading Wuthering Heights to see what all the fuss is about, particularly once I discovered that most film adaptations only deal with the first half of the book!
The Moral Continuity Of Humanity
One last fashion tip.
We’re running a bit short this week—life and some actual proper writing got in the way. More on that soon.
Anyway, let’s Outro with a bit more 70s music, celebrating the release of a new documentary, Man On The Run, on Paul McCartney’s life post-Beatles. I think this is a rousing and joyful love song, and shows how clever the man could be at pulling timeless tunes out of nowhere. Amazing.
See you in seven, fellow travellers.
EXCUSES AND HALF TRUTHS 