Author: John

Hashtag

Watching Hashtag, I can’t help but notice that it’s unclear from the film’s storyline how far our protagonist’s lifestyle differs from that of a male social media influencer trying hard to keep their position near the top of the tree. In the near future the film depicts, are the menfolk participating in the influencer business… Continue reading Hashtag

Thought bubbles

To my mind, the most interesting point in this account of the producers of The Blacklist are finishing off their mostly-in-the-can-already season of TV with a little help from animators) comes towards the end: Did you want to channel the comic-book aesthetic specifically? EISENDRATH: […] In live action, you would have been able to read… Continue reading Thought bubbles

Social distancing

I found myself sat in our local bus interchange this morning, with every second seat holding a sticker reminding passengers to maintain social distancing. This is a much nicer1 approach: The restaurant at Izu Shabonten Zoo in Shizuoka, Japan is crowded! But those seats aren’t occupied by people. They’re occupied by stuffed animal Capybaras that… Continue reading Social distancing

They added WHAT to WHAT?

Intriguing idea… Against all odds, Hokkaido melon mascarpone is the greatest of the Japanese Kit Kat flavors. Some goddamned genius at Kit Kat labs tried making a melon kit kat, muttered “this could use a little cheese” as a bolt of lightning struck the roof, and a confectionary legend was born. pic.twitter.com/8yuM6lJNK9— Pinboard (@Pinboard) May… Continue reading They added WHAT to WHAT?

Nostalgia

I do believe @frankcottrell_b won Twitter today: I propose that every year on this date we celebrate @frankcottrell_b’s tweet with bunting, a day off school and parades where adults dress as whining tax exiles while children throw wet sponges at them. pic.twitter.com/C4DqsgrNgV— The Web of Evil (@webofevil) May 18, 2020 Certainly UK Twitter. [RT by… Continue reading Nostalgia

HELLO WORLD

This is What Peak Hello World Looks Like: Everybody’s done a Hello World program before. But now that I’ve got a few years of experience with the language, I set out to ask one of the most pressing questions out there – how do we make Hello World in C as convoluted and hard to… Continue reading HELLO WORLD

The Machine Stopped

YouTube’s algorithm has been suggesting this video for a couple of days now but I’d been ignoring it until a comment at Charlie’s Diary gave me a nudge towards it. Granted, the Current Situation provides comedians with a target-rich environment,1 so it’s more of a whistle-stop tour than the in-depth charge sheet that some of… Continue reading The Machine Stopped

Trees

I have to admit, this video is delightful: The fact that there’s a vanishingly small prospect of my getting an opportunity to go to Kew Gardens and enjoy that scenery for myself any time soon is just one of those things everyone has to live with given the Current Situation, I guess. I can certainly… Continue reading Trees

Halted and Caught Fire

I’ve been filling some gaps in my TV viewing with Halt and Catch Fire, a show where I’ve enjoyed season one but I kept reading commentary that suggested that the show really got good once we got to season two. As I type this 1 I’m four episodes into season two and having to fight… Continue reading Halted and Caught Fire