Weekend Reading

  • Simply 69 funny jokes by 69 funny comedians
    Just 69 brilliant jokes as written by 69 brilliant comedians. What else is there to say, take it away Spike… 1. Spike Milligan “I thought I’d begin by reading a poem by Shakespeare, but then I thought, why should I? He never reads any of mine. 2.
    My kinda humour. Simple & clever. Like me!
  • This New Dating App Will Find You Someone Who Dislikes All the Same Things
    Positivity is often advised whenever you start dating someone new: Along with hiding that you still Instagram-stalk your ex’s ex and consider a box of Wheat Thins to be a suitable dinner, you’re also not supposed to constantly bring up things that you hate.
    I always find it easier to write a list of things I hate. Says more about me than I care to admit!
  • No One Rules The Deep Sea, So How Do We Protect It?
    More than half of the Earth’s surface is not subject to any form of law, and that area happens to be at the deepest part of the ocean.
    As we continue to ‘globalise’ these things matter.
  • Does An Octopus Have A Soul? This Author Thinks So
    For most of us, the idea of having our hands stroked by a rubbery arm covered in suckers is not that appealing. But for Sy Montgomery, author of Soul Of An Octopus: A Surprising Exploration Into The Wonder of Consciousness, octopuses are a source of endless fascination and wonder.
    Sharing because Octopus are crazy awesome weirdos
  • This Is Why You Probably Hate Slam Poetry, According to a Linguistic Scholar
    This article originally appeared on VICE Canada. It is a truth universally acknowledged that if you’ve ever attended a poetry slam, you probably already hate “slam voice”.
    Not been to many spoken word events recently but OMG YES TO THIS!
  • Overthinking Disney’s ‘Pinocchio’: Questions You Never Asked as a Child
    “Pinocchio” isn’t just one of the most beloved and impactful Disney films of all time — it’s a significant film, period, having inspired the world to reconsider anew the potential of animation as a truly cinematic medium.
    Whoa! Ummmm, I mean… this is one dark fucked up movie!
  • Michele Kirsch: My life as a cleaner in London
    “If you go on looking for things, you will never find them,” barked Crispin, a hearing-aid refusnik pensioner with Parkinson’s disease, and one of my former regular clients.
    Frank and engaging piece, wonderfully written too.
  • The Other Kane
    The Alien creature, at one point dubbed “Kane’s son” by Ash, demands birth from the chest of John Hurt in a spectacular and gory fashion. But though Kane was always to father the Alien, the role of Kane himself changed hands during the film’s production.
    RIP John Hurt 🙁
  • What cats can teach us about how to live
    We should celebrate the solitary hunters among us. A philosopher once assured me, many years ago, that he had converted his cat to veganism. Believing he was joking, I asked how he had achieved this feat.
    And no, it’s not ‘how to be a dickhead like a cat’
  • I Asked a Psychopath How to Stop Caring About Rejection
    Wondering what other people think is a classic problem, and rejection sucks. When the phone doesn’t ring, the invitation doesn’t arrive, or you get cut from the team or the job, it’s only natural to feel hurt. But I should say that it’s natural for most people, not everyone.
    I can’t empathise with this, which makes it all the more fascinating.
  • One Woman’s Brilliant “Fuck You” to Wikipedia Trolls
    The “fuck you” project crystallized one Friday night last year. As Emily Temple-Wood video-chatted with friends, an email pinged in her inbox: The note came from someone with a history of harassing the 22-year-old medical student. This man hates women, Temple-Wood thought to herself.
    A reminder that the internet can be very powerful. What a fantastic story of an amazing woman.
  • The art (and commerce) of Minecraft
    Since its initial release in 2009, Minecraft has matured to the point of being a platform for people who want to make art and also for people who want to make money.
    Give creative people a platform, get out of the way, be amazed.
  • Usonia 1
    Few creative professions can point to a single figure as famous in their field as Frank Lloyd Wright.
    Eye candy for design lovers.
  • 5 Books You Might Have Missed in January
    Transformation is in the air during these difficult times, and it’s not just destructive: We’re also seeing peaceful crowds gather in protest, more understanding for transgender persons, and the rebirth of good, old-fashioned resistance.
    Cos everyone should read, even Presidents!!!
  • Wikipedia bans Daily Mail as ‘unreliable’ source
    Online encyclopaedia editors rule out publisher as a reference citing ‘reputation for poor fact checking and sensationalism’ Wikipedia editors have voted to ban the Daily Mail as a source for the website in all but exceptional circumstances after deeming the news group “generally unrel
    This brings me more joy than it probably should. Ohh and throw a few quid at Wikipedia if you use it!
  • Why the Planet Earth II Episode on Cities Is So Startling
    It gives us a glimpse of our strange future. It used to happen a lot: Teetering home drunk and disconsolate late at night through the shadowy semi-suburbs of north London, I would turn a corner and find, staring placidly at me on the street, the silhouette of a fox.
    Both Planet Earth series but this episode charts a future we aren’t ready for.
  • Joyous Africans Take to the Rails, With China’s Help
    The 10:24 a.m. train out of Djibouti’s capital drew some of the biggest names in the Horn of Africa last month.
    Alas everything is political these days, the rise of China investment in Africa is a global issue.
  • Is My Novel Offensive?
    When Becky Albertalli published her first young adult novel, Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda, with the HarperCollins imprint Balzer and Bray in 2015, she never expected it to be controversial.
    Define offensive? Fuck off.
  • Nagbot Sends Mean Texts to Help You Stick to Your Resolutions
    If you’ve made resolutions, you don’t want to forget about them when the novelty of the new year has worn off. Nagbot is a fun texting app that helps you stick to your goals by texting you regular reminders. To create a nag, you enter your name, phone number, and goal into Nagbot’s website.
    If you like this, try the Carrott apps (their weather app is a joy!)