bookmark_borderReview: Loop and Scoop

I love ice cream, I mean I REALLY LOVE ICE CREAM – it’s something I inherited from my Dad – but would another quality ice cream vendor really find a place alongside the Nardini’s of the world? Short answer is yes! The longer answer is a bit hot and cold…

To open a gelato and churros based venture in October, in Glasgow, does sound a bit bonkers, I mean even during the best of our summers we don’t get more than a few weeks of ‘ice cream sunshine’. But as October rolled around, so it was that Loop and Scoop burst into vibrant life. Sitting on Great Western Road, just up from Oran Mor, I passed Loop and Scoop on the bus everyday through the summer months, and I was a bit perplexed as I watched the bright orange hoardings that promised a ‘Summer Opening’ fade as the season changed and the temperature dropped. Had they missed the opporchancity?

Well it sure doesn’t seem like it as, since it opened, I’ve rarely seen it without a queue, either ‘out the door’ at peak times, or a handful of people hanging around late at night as they indulge their sweet tooth. Initial reactions on social media were good, so I knew I had to check it out for I too have a sweet tooth that needed to be indulged… and did I mention that I LOVE ICE CREAM?

And what a wonderful indulgence it is.

There is something special about freshly made churros coupled with some wonderful gelato, that really is comforting in a warming winter kinda way. It shouldn’t really work, the bulk of what you are eating is ice cream after all, but as the churros is made to order (which adds to the queues but remember, delicious things come to those who wait) it retains just enough heat to be cosily comforting.

I opted for the chocolate and hazelnut covered churros ‘loop’ and scoops of toffee apple gelato. The churros is lighter than any I’ve had, and chocolate melts slightly to create a sticky tasty mess, this dish is not one for those who don’t like getting their hands dirty! The gelato was good too, creamy enough without being sickly, and the small toffee and apple chunks added a nice additional texture. Delish!!! Mind you, next time I’ll probably stick with vanilla, what can I say, I like the classics.

They offer other items on their menu, which includes some brunch options, or you could just have churros and a dipping sauce on their own, or just a scoop or two of gelato but let’s be honest, having seen photos of their Loop and Scoop dish, it was impossible to resist their signature offering.

There is a definite rise in dessert focussed eateries in Glasgow, and whilst Loop and Scoop does have more traditional cafe food options, it’s fair to say that most people will be there for churros and gelato, so it’s just as well that they are so so good!

Loop and Scoop has been open for a few weeks now, it’s always been busy whenever I’ve passed it and, whilst part of me wonders how it will get on in the depths of winter, another part of me knows I am already planning to go back as soon as possible.


About Loop and Scoop
Background article.

You can find Loop and Scoop at 665 Great Western Road, and on Instagram @Loopandscoop & Facebook @LoopandScoop.

bookmark_borderReview: Potluck Glasgow

The joys of social media mean that Potluck has been on my radar for a while now so when I made brunch plans with a friend this place was top of the list (yes, there is an actual list), and did not disappoint.

Venturing south of the river is always an experience, I know the area reasonably well – my Gran lived in Rutherglen and I spent virtually every weekend of my childhood travelling through to visit – and it’s been great to see the growth of quality establishments in recent years.

Checking the menu the night before (cos I like to torment myself that way) revealed a great selection of glorious sounding brunchy noms. I have to admit, from the photos I’d seen, the hotcake stack was the ‘go to’ dish… although as ever the promise of chorizo on another dish had me swayed… but not for long (hey, the heart wants what the heart wants).

When we arrived, early on a Sunday morning, it was already full but as it was such a beautiful day we sat on one of the benches outside for a pre-brunch coffee and a perusal of the menu. Cue the next 10 minutes of two adults exhibiting pitiful attempts at decision making. The menu isn’t extensive but each option has something that piques your interest making choosing the ‘right’ option all the harder.

I think we had finally managed to decide when we were ushered inside.

First impressions. Bijou is probably how it wants to be described but I’ll just go with small/cosy with a definite Scandinavian influence and a nice relaxed atmosphere. We ended up sharing a table with two other people so be warned if that’s not your thing, but I don’t mind and we got share a knowing ‘ohhh I’m still so full of food’ laugh as we randomly bumped into them again later whilst partaking in a postprandial walk.

Food then. And as I am easily swayed by social media, I couldn’t step away from the pancakes.

I’ve had pancakes before, many times. I like pancakes. I like pancakes with crispy bacon and maple syrup, I like pancakes with honey and ice cream, I like pancakes with sriracha chicken. I like pancakes. Mmmmm pancakes.

I have not had pancakes like these.

To be fair though, they are described as hot cakes so there’s that..

I ordered the Pistachio Peach Hot Cakes, which comes with roast peaches, pistachios, orange blossom honey, pistachio kulfi (Indian ice cream) and pashmak (Iranian candy floss).

The hot cakes are a little smaller but taller than most pancakes and ohhhh my word these beauties are so light and fluffy that the once daunting stack that was set in front of me was easily dispatched, leaving me feeling contentedly full. The kulfi added a nice rich creamyness and the pashmak sweetened things up.

At this point I should confess that the original plan was for my friend and I to order different dishes and swap halfway through. As I’m sure you’ve already guessed, that did not happen.

But that just means we’ll need to go back again at some point. OH NO, WHAT A SHAME!

Was it worth a trek over to the south side? Very much so, and even if we hadn’t have failed at our ‘dish swap’ plan I think I’d be heading back here again anyway. The staff were relaxed and friendly, the prices reasonable, and there is nothing lucky about the food which is clearly prepared by a passionate and skilled kitchen.


Other reviews: https://www.theglasgowfoodblog.com/blog/review-pot-luck

bookmark_borderWeekend Reading

  • The Unforgiving Minute
    Men, get ready to be uncomfortable for a while. While forgiveness may come one day, it won’t be soon.
    If you are a man, and you only read one thing from this list. READ THIS.
  • LEGO Lawnmower Man Kinetic Sculpture
    A kinetic LEGO sculpture of a man pushing a lawnmower. Inspired by Josh David’s lawnmower model (https://youtu.be/_1T15UydfEs), I decided it needed a figure, so combined it with the figure from my Sisyphus model.
    If you are a man and you haven’t read the previous article, sod off
  • Why we pretend to know things, explained by a cognitive scientist
    Why do people pretend to know things? Why does confidence so often scale with ignorance? Steven Sloman, a professor of cognitive science at Brown University, has some compelling answers to these questions.
    Been very guilty of this in the past (desire to be ‘liked’) and still catch myself sometimes.
  • ‘Chinning’ phenomenon on Instagram was started by this Bentley U. student as a way to get laughs
    In middle school, Michelle Liu sometimes felt insecure about her looks — especially when her friends would get together to take photographs. To ease her discomfort, Liu turned to humor, as many people do. She started making funny faces in the group shots and getting laughs.
    Brilliant. Although hadn’t heard of this until now.
  • I love spoilers
    In June, I noticed that people online were in a froth over the upcoming finale of The Leftovers, which was in its third and final season. The show sounded intriguing — and it seemed like I was missing out on a lot of TV references — so I decided to watch the pilot.
    Sharing just to make some people twitch.
  • 2017 National Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year Contest, Part II
    Jacaranda trees in Sydney, a ruined French castle seeking adoption, spooky scenes from Halloween and the Day of the Dead, and much more.
    Because our world is full of wonder (despite what the news tries to tell you)
  • 12 Incredibly Useful Things You Didn’t Know Google Maps Could Do
    Google Maps is great for just getting around. But don’t be fooled: The app is much more than a glorified Garmin. Maps has all sorts of powerful features and time-saving shortcuts that aren’t obvious, but are just waiting to be discovered.
    Handy stuff in here.
  • How the internet changed the market for sex
    “Elle” is a 63-year-old sex worker. She’s been at it for decades, and what makes her extraordinary isn’t just her longevity in the business, but her ability to adapt to a changing market.
    Good that it has helped some sexworkers be safer, bad that is has made the worst behaviours even worse.
  • If We Fire All Sexual Assaulters, Will We End Up Firing Everyone?
    Almost two years ago, I wrote about being sexually assaulted by a male friend — let’s call him “Brad” — who stuck his fingers in my vagina when I was drunk.
    As the headlines continue to roll in, some of the articles have been disturbing but very worth reading.
  • The Elegant Mathematics of Vitruvian Man, Leonardo da Vinci’s Most Famous Drawing: An Animated Introduction
    Nearly 500 years after his death, we still admire Leonardo da Vinci’s many and varied accomplishments in painting, sculpture, architecture, science, and quite a few other fields besides, most of which would have begun with his putting down some part of the formidable contents of his head on to a
    *adds to tattoo list* (yeah it’s a cliche but I don’t care)
  • iPhone X Camera Review: Guatemala
    I’m here capturing another amazing Ker & Downey adventure and have been testing the iPhone X along the way. Although I just conducted my iPhone 8 Plus Camera Review in India recently, I wanted to get out and capture the unique aspects of the iPhone X
    I’ve already been impressed but some of these are stunning. Add some decent lens add-ons and… do I need a DSLR at all?
  • The United States of Guns
    Like many of you, I read the news of a single person killing at least 26 people in Sutherland Springs, Texas yesterday.
    I kinda give up on this topic tbh.
  • Google’s Mass-Shooting Misinformation Problem
    When no reputable information is available, the search engine promotes fake news. It happened again.
    And this doesn’t help!!
  • The iPhone X Is A User Experience Nightmare
    Need proof? Just take a look at this cheat sheet published alongside the Wall Street Journal’s iPhone X review:
    Hmmm reeks of clickbait. The UX isn’t that massively different from the iPhone 8 (7/6.. it’s iOS after all)
  • Hide the iPhone X Notch with a Wallpaper Trick
    Don’t like the prominent black Notch across the top of the iPhone X screen? You can hide it with a little wallpaper trick.
    Because it’s THAT big an issue? Ehhhh nope.
  • Beyond the finish line
    It’s a literal road to nowhere.
    Go outside to a flat safe open space. Now close your eyes and run. Now do that for 26 miles. ON YOUR OWN.
  • The Bully and the Buddhist
    People can change.
  • T. Rex’s Tiny Arms May Have Been Vicious Weapons
    The precise purpose of T. rex’s relatively tiny arms has long been mysterious. Over the years, scientists have suggested that they might have been used to grasp struggling prey, to help resting dinosaurs push themselves up from the ground, or to grip tight to mates during sex.
    Yeah, so let’s stop making ‘tiny T. Rex arm’ jokes, cos it’s mean!
  • Kazuo Ishiguro: ‘Write What You Know’ is the Stupidest Thing I’ve Ever Heard
    Kazuo Ishiguro, author of The Remains of the Day, Never Let Me Go, and most recently The Buried Giant, and oh, also our newest Nobel Laureate in Literature, turns 63 today.
    Wonderul words but then, they kinda should be
  • Your Playlist May Reveal if You’re a Psychopath or Not
    Kevin Dutton, an Oxford psychologist and author of “The Wisdom of Psychopaths,” has been gathering data on musical tastes and other preferences for a psychopath study with UK broadcasting company Channel 4. More than three million people have responded to his online surveys so far.
    *turns of sharing in Spotify*
  • You’re Lousy At Picking Good Pictures Of Yourself, So Ask A Stranger To Do It
    Whether it’s a social network like Facebook or a job-seeker site like LinkedIn, most of us are guilty of overthinking our profile picture selection from time to time.
    SO TRUE.
  • From the Mixed-Up History of Mrs., Miss, and Ms.
    We’re living through some odd times when it comes to women’s rights.
    I find myself defaulting to Ms these days, but even that presumes a gender.
  • Twitter’s 280-Character Own Goal
    Twitter’s destroyed its USP. The whole point, for me, was how inventive people could be within that concise framework. USP is “unique selling proposition”. By doubling the character limit, Twitter has eliminated what made them unique.
    Yes to this. I’m not THAT bothered but already getting a sense of this.
  • Maybe the People Would Be the Times
    Almost everything of interest in New York City lies in some degree of proximity to music.
    Let’s go back to the 70s in NYC. Wonderful article capturing a place and time so vibrantly.
  • The tension between creativity and productivity
    Cory Doctorow was an early adopter of the lifehacking lifestyle and toolkit, including David Allen’s book, Getting Things Done. Allen’s book is a fantastic and inspiring read.
    Dear god yes to ALL of this (I’ve been through the GTD stuff too)
  • Swan, Late
    I discovered I couldn’t dance when I was ten years old. My parents had signed me up for a ballet course in Toronto with a dour, shriveled Romanian teacher, chosen no doubt because of our shared totalitarian traumas. In her class I felt uncoordinated, impossibly gawky.
    You are never too old, too fat, too anything! This is wonderful.
  • The Gruesome, Bloody World of Victorian Surgery
    Joseph Lister came of age as surgery was being transformed. With the invention of anesthesia, operations could move beyond two-minute leg amputations that occasionally lopped off a testicle in haste.
    To be fair, the title says it all, bloody hell! (baddummmttsshhhh)
  • When an Umbrella is More Than Just an Umbrella
    One of the endearing features of Charles Dickens’s “umbrella work” is the number of uses to which he put his brollies. They are rarely merely umbrellas but the signifiers of something else, whether through similarity, metaphor or context.
    Mind blown. Harry Potter, Mary Poppins fans, read this!

bookmark_borderSlava’s Snowshow

…ONE DAY I realised that I wanted to create a show that would take us back to our childhood dreams; A show which would help spectators be released from the jail of adulthood and rediscover their forgotten childhood.

Slava Polunin – creator of Slava’s Snow Show

A few weeks back a friend popped up on Facebook and asked if anyone fancied going to see Slava’s Snow Show. I’d seen a few clips of it from last year and immediately said yes. Roll forward to yesterday evening and I realised, as we took our seats, I didn’t really know what the show was about.

And I’m still not entirely sure today.

Aside from the main character, an old droopy clown in bright yellow, there are six other performers, all dressed similarly in green gowns, large clown feet and hats. They come and go, sometimes as integral parts of the performance, sometimes just to provide a moment of hilarity.

There is no dialogue to speak of but none is needed. This is largely a physical performance and, with the exception of one telephone exchange (which may be in Russian but the vocalisation doesn’t matter) the full range of emotions are expressed in a slow, controlled way, a tilt of a head, a lean of a shoulder, a beatific smile, or a simple look to the audience.

Nor is there a story as such, just a variety of set pieces that gently nudge you along, providing delight after delight. At times it teeters on the brink of something akin to tragedy, and the slightly grotesque quality of the performers adds a wonderful dark tone when needed, but then a sudden burst of physicality transforms the piece and you realise you’ve sat, rapt, with your own huge smile across your face the entire time.

Naturally what will stick in the mind of many are the prop driven extravaganzas, with the intermission preceded by a large cobweb type blanket being stretched from the stage all the way to the back of the stalls, the audience passing it over their hands and becoming one in the tangle of the fibres (which made the dash to the bar all the more interesting).

And then the finale. The weather turns, Slava is confronted with a snowstorm and suddenly giant fans start up, blasting the audience and filling the theatre with snow. Sitting in your chair, the air ripples past you, and you watch the oncoming snow storm until you are in it, with snow catching in your clothes as it swirls around you. It’s utterly utterly magical.

It turns out that Slava’s Snowshow isn’t really about the exceptional clown performances on stage, isn’t about the clever staging and use of props, and it isn’t about the perfect comic timing on display; watching a man fall off a chair three times in a row doesn’t SOUND funny but was hilarious.

At the end of the show, with massive inflatable spheres bouncing around over the audience, all I could see where smiling, happy, carefree faces. From the opening bars of La Petite Fille De La Mar (which wonderful encapsulates the off-kilter world you are about to enter) I was transformed from a curious adult looking for a diversion on a cold Wednesday evening, to a child, playing with a balloon in my parents front room at Christmas.

And, as the man himself said, that’s what the show is all about, and what a wonderful time we had rediscovering those childhood joys.

bookmark_borderiPhone X

Yes. I got THE new iPhone, not an 8 or 8 Plus, but the new shiniest of shiny one. Did you expect anything else?

No this is not my hand

Pre-ordered

Like millions of others, I hit the Apple App Store at 8.01 on the 27th October and reserved mine, with a provisional pickup date of the 18th November. So imagine my surprise when an email landed in my inbox on the 2nd of November saying my new iPhone was available for pickup. Surely a little snafu, I thought, but I clicked ‘Select a Date and Time’ presuming it would just confirm the 18th November date. But wait, what’s this… 10am on November the 3rd is available, why that’s tomorrow… that can’t be… click click CLICK! YASSSS!!!

And so, as I had the week off I found myself backing up my ‘old’ iPhone to my laptop and heading to the Apple Store the very next day to get my new shiniest of shiny iPhones!

Pick up

I am on the upgrade programme and after experience I had last year I was prepared for a wait (let’s just say that the finance company wasn’t really geared up for the overwhelming volume of people applying). So, as well as my laptop I had a book, bought a coffee and joined the queue. A few minutes later a very nice man with an Apple t-shirt wandered down to speak to me and confirmed that I was standing in the wrong queue – there were still people queueing just in case there were any left to buy that day – and I was whisked inside and a few moments later was introduced to Abi who was going to get me my new shiny iPhone X. In other words, Abi had just become my new bestest favouritest friend in the world ever.

Abi was very pleased I’d backed up my old iPhone that morning and, after confirming some details, clicking a few buttons marked Accept, and signing my name, one of her colleagues walked past and casually placed a new shiny iPhone X in front of me.

Just like that.

With my old iPhone wiped and handed over, I was invited to grab a seat to set up my new iPhone. I took my laptop out, and started to restore from the previous backup*. As I sorted that out I finished my coffee which was still at a very nice (hot) drinkable temperature. Yup, from walking through the door to setting up the new iPhone took all of 10 minutes, and that included the handset that Abi was using dying on her part way through the process.

First Impressions

That was a few days ago now but my very first impressions were, naturally, concerning that screen. I quite genuinely thought that there was a sticker on the front of the screen but no, it really does look unnaturally NOT digital… it’s hard to explain but the OLED screen really does make the experience look more natural and ‘real’. It is gorgeous.

Day to day use is, hardly surprising, pretty similar to using any device running iOS, however there are notable differences largely around Face ID and the lack of home button.

FaceID

All told it took me maybe a day to ‘switch’ over the muscle memory on how to unlock my phone. FaceID is remarkably intuitive and works well. For the first few days I found myself watching for the unlock animation to get a visual confirmation that my phone was unlocked but pretty soon I was just lifting the phone (raise to wake) and swiping up, it feels faster than jabbing the Home button and waiting for TouchID. It has ‘failed’ twice, once where the combination of direct sun on my face and very dark sunglasses foiled it (it worked just fine every other time that day though) and once where I had the phone upside down (hey, it’s one big flat sheet of glass).

Suffice to say that I’ve already forgotten to think about FaceID which speaks volumes of how dependable it has been, which is pretty remarkable in and of itself.

A nice side effect of raise to wake and FaceID is for notifications. Lift your phone and look at it and as it unlocks the preview info for each notification slides into view. That way I can quickly decide where to do anything with them or not. This was already there but not as easily viewed back in the TouchID days. And finally, with 1Password hooking into FaceID I can now complete forms, including complex passwords, just by looking at my screen. It really is 2017, at last!

UI changes

Two main muscle memory challenges await you. One is to stop looking for the Home button, the other is finding the Control Center.

Control Center is now accessed by swiping down from the top-right of the screen where the battery/wi-fi icons are. This is the biggest change in terms of distance (it used to be accessed by swiping up from the bottom of the screen) but it’s not been a big leap, but I think that’s largely because the way you interact with the bottom of the screen now is a lot different thanks to the fact there is no Home button anymore.

With no Home button you simply swiping up to go back to my home screen and swiping right in app to go back an app in the ‘stack’. There is a thin bar on-screen as a visual cue but after a couple of hours it felt natural. I think I have caught myself looking to push the Home button once and that was on day one.

As I said, coupled with TouchID, this fundamental change is so fluid that it has already been relegated to the unconscious part of my brain. It’s just how I use my iPhone now.

Other changes

Battery life seems better (than my iPhone 7) with a full day and then some; I took my phone off the (wireless) charger at 8.30am yesterday and after a lot of photos, and a lazy social media afternoon it still had about 36% left at 11pm. Obviously the camera is a step up as I now have access to Portrait mode which produces some wonderful images, but nothing that you iPhone Plus users aren’t used to. That said, I can’t wait to see how it handles taking pics at the gig I’m at this evening (Dinosaur Pile-up at King Tuts).

Wireless charging is a little underwhelming but again that’s a good sign. I bought a Samsung charger in preparation for getting the phone, popped the iPhoneX on it and it … works. That’s about all I have to say about that.

There are some noticeable differences in the form factor. Size wise it feels a little heavier than my iPhone 7 but nothing dramatic, and it’s not physical all that much bigger either, the advantage of the full-screen display is the most striking benefit. I opted for the white version and it is a gorgeous piece of hardware, and feels like a real step up in quality**.

Down side

As many others have noted, and will notice, the only thing I don’t like is the keyboard. Or rather, the space under the keyboard. I’m not quite sure why it’s there and I hope future releases of iOS ‘fix’ it.

OK, but is it any good?

This is the first iPhone that has felt like a real upgrade for quite a while. The form factor of the previous few iterations didn’t change dramatically, especially for those of us who use a case and don’t see the subtle differences in materials and bevels. The new screen is the star here though, or is it FaceID? Technically it should be the latter given the myriad of advance technology that powers it but in true Apple style ‘it just works’ and you soon forget about it.

I am still getting that tiny little moment of joy every time FaceID kicks in though, it’s so simple and really does feel like a step forward. As many others have noted, I too find my year old iPad Pro now feels pretty cumbersome… I had to manually enter a password the other day, what the..!!

Yes, I’m a bit of an Apple fanboy but putting that aside this is a stellar bit of kit. Highly advanced, beautifully crafted, it is a big step forward, possibly one of the biggest Apple has made in recent years. It’s the kind of thing people expect Apple to do, although it’s worth remembering that a lot of the features that are coming together to make this new phone a reality have been developed over the past few years. This is NOT a reaction to other handsets or companies, this is Apple doing their own thing, in their own time, with their own reasoning and compromises.

And it’s beautiful.

Ohhh and I should point out the one thing that truly hasn’t been an issue.

The notch.


* Top tip – if your current iPhone is running a BETA release of iOS, which my iPhone 7 was, you can’t restore from a backup as the new phone will be on an older release of iOS. Thankfully I also had an iCloud backup so got all the right apps and most of the settings back, just took an age to download them all again.

** Back in the day I worked for a software company – Dr. Solomons – and you could buy a CD of their anti-virus software from stores. The amount of time taken to choose the cardboard box that the CD and accompanying manual came in was largely focused on if the box suggested high quality. Heavier cardboard (and heavier paper in the manual) passed all the consumer tests. We associate heft with quality, even if only subliminally

bookmark_borderWeekend Reading

  • Why Is It You Can Sense When Someone’s Staring at You?
    Say you’re engrossed in a task, scrolling through your phone or reading a book. Suddenly that creepy, prickly feeling grabs hold of you. Someone’s staring. You turn to find out who it is. Be they friend or foe, the feeling itself seems like an eerie sort of 6th sense.
    Wait, what, you mean this isn’t just me?!

  • 80+ Epic Design Fails You’ll Find Hard To Believe Actually Happened
    For the LOLs

  • How Can We Live Beautifully in an Age of Vitriol?
    These are days of snark and bluster. How do we live better and communicate more beautifully?
    Social media is amazing. Social media sucks. Like anything, balance can be found.

  • 30+ diversity and inclusion activists and organisations I look up to
    I’m not a massive fan of listicles, and I feel like they could become exclusionary very easily, but I wanted to talk about a few individuals and organisations I look up to on a daily basis in the space of diversity and inclusion.
    Expand your bubble.

  • Google ‘drops everything’ to fix burger emoji
    Google CEO Sundar Pichai has tasked employees returning to work on Monday morning with one key objective: fix the burger emoji. The tech giant’s big cheese (sorry) stepped in after a tweet from author Thomas Baekdal highlighted inconsistencies in different tech companies’ burger construction.
    Good grief. I mean look how awful it looks. Glad Google is focusing on the important stuff…

  • Why Americans have stopped eating leftovers
    American consumers throw away 27 million tons of food each year, according to the food waste coalition ReFED, clogging landfills, generating greenhouse gasses, and costing the economy an estimated $144 billion. The solution, however, could be simple: get people to eat leftovers again.
    I’m pretty guilty of this. Mostly batch cooking for one = boredom of the same base meal 3/4 nights in a row.

  • France Is Running Out of Butter for Its Croissants
    France’s much-loved croissant au beurre has run up against the forces of global markets. Finding butter for the breakfast staple has become a challenge across France.
    Sacre bleu!!

  • Kate Maltby: Damian Green probably has no idea how awkward I felt
    Westminster is an unpleasant place this week. After the Weinstein scandal we are asking new questions about the sexual abuse of power: all to the good. But for women who work in SW1, especially those of us who are outspoken feminists, everyone has particular questions.
    More reports. How the media is handling this is unsettingly awful.

  • Sony’s Aibo Robotic Dog Is Back, With Some New Tricks
    Sony Corp. is bringing back its iconic robotic dog, aibo. The new version (which Sony is marketing as “aibo” instead of the prior “AIBO”) comes equipped with a powerful computer chip, OLED displays for eyes and the ability to connect to mobile networks.
    But can it fetch me a beer?!

  • The worst Halloween candy can also put you in the hospital if you eat too much
    Even if you’re going to gorge on candy this Halloween, there’s one type you should absolutely only eat in moderation. On Oct. 30, the US Food and Drug Administration issued a reminder that black licorice poses serious health risks if eaten in excess.
    1. It’s liquorice (stoopid merkins) 2. It’s disgusting anyway, who cares?

  • A Japanese convenience store used drones to deliver fried chicken to Fukushima
    Almost seven years after the nuclear meltdown in Japan’s northeastern Fukushima prefecture that was triggered by an earthquake and tsunami, life is very slowly returning to normal. But in some areas, the conveniences of Japan’s ubiquitous convenience stores remain out of reach.
    Whilst it’s a frivolous headline, it has deeper meaning and offers some hope for remote areas

  • The Radical Paintings of Laura Owens
    Serious but friendly, a woman who rarely jokes but readily laughs, the Los Angeles artist Laura Owens, forty-seven years old, was pleasantly dishevelled in mom attire: shirt, baggy shorts, sneakers, big glasses.
    Love or loathe. The attitude is what sells this for me.

  • I spent a week with 8,000 worshippers of the fake, fantastical cult of zumba
    If going to church called for sweatbands instead of prayer books, salsa music in the place of scripture, and a near-insane amount of neon, it might look something like this.
    Ugh. Looks horrific. Sounds horrific. Yeah same reasons ‘religion’ doesn’t sit well with me.

  • Nigella delights the nation by using her spiralizer to make chips 
    When Nigella Lawson pulled a spiralizer out of an enormous wooden cupboard on her new TV show, At My Table, last night, I tensed up. I have loved Nigella for as long as I can remember because she gives us all permission to eat and enjoy food without feeling guilty about it.
    Love or loathe. CARBS ALWAYS WIN

  • Watch a Step-by-Step Breakdown of La La Land‘s Incredibly Complex, Off Ramp Opening Number
    La La Land, writer and director Damien Chazelle’s award-winning Valentine to Hollywood musicals, attracted legions of fans upon its release last December.
    One of my favourite movies of last year, this opening number was incredible.

  • Astro-Matic Baseball: Houston’s Grand Experiment
    In the late 1980s, when people got too drunk and were kicked out of the other casinos in Lake Tahoe, they ended up at High Sierra, a place where there was no such thing as being too drunk. Sometimes they staggered over to a blackjack table manned by a young dealer named Sig Mejdal.
    I’m not a baseball fan, but this is incredible story from a few years ago, that just came true.

  • Inside The Great Poop Emoji Feud
    It’s been a trying year for the world’s most visible institutions. Congressional gridlock, partisan divide, and federal indictments torment Washington.
    Poop? POOP? It’s POO, drop that last P! Whaddya mean I’m focusing on the wrong thing?