I recently explored the Atari 2600 Plus, diving into games like “Circus Atari” while appreciating the aesthetics reminiscent of the 1970s—a simpler yet complex time marred by events like Watergate. The era’s unique charm extends beyond games to cars and fashion, reflecting a broader nostalgia. The Cairnes brothers’ film, set in this period, cleverly intertwines horror with a late-night show backdrop, capturing the essence with detailed authenticity and strong performances, particularly from Ingrid Torelli and David Dastmalchian. Despite some narrative prolongation, the film impressively conjures the 1970s vibe along with some big scares.

Many artists have an unmistakeable style.  Van Gogh’s brushstrokes are unlike anyone else’s; they may be imitated but never repeated.  Hemingway’s prose is clipped and edited to a degree dissimilar to another author’s.  No one used cinematic montage like Sergei Eisenstein did.   Similarly, a Guy Ritchie production bears hallmarks of its own. Characters are […]

Regency and Georgian romantic dramas remain very popular; is it because we long for the constraints of civility?

The early days of the web were magical; how did a tool for infinite connection turn into one fostering endless division?

All things eventually decline; is the phenomenon of far right populism a symptom of this?

After my Swedish grandmother died in 1996, my family and I sorted through some of her belongings.  We found a few German-language books among her personal effects.  Hidden in their dusty pages was a hastily printed Deutsche Mark; I was struck by how crude and jagged the text was.  It was my grandmother’s souvenir from […]

There has been a constant expectation that something would pop Trump’s balloon: backing Kevin McCarthy may be it. 

Perhaps it was inevitable that Reverend Warnock would win the Georgia runoff.  Reverend Warnock was by far the superior candidate.  Warnock did not discuss the relative merits of being a vampire or a werewolf on the campaign trail.  He had no stench of hypocrisy.  He did not have the backing of Donald Trump. Whoever persuaded […]

For years I didn’t think of myself as being autistic; I merely thought I was odd…I’ve been on a journey of self discovery.

I am old enough to remember the dot com boom. It was like the Palaeolithic Era. It was well before the “tech bros” had evolved, though the Neanderthal versions were there. At the time, I worked for a start up that was attempting to turn itself into a major corporation. The original owner was still […]