Love

For the record, I am normally far too cool to care about mundanities such as dish placement. But these are not normal times. Spending so much time stuck in the house has led me to fixate on weird things; when everything outside is so chaotic, there is great comfort to be had in organisation. E seems to have got like this with the kitchen cupboards, which she has rearranged multiple times (although, somehow, an errant Tupperware lid still falls on your head whenever you open one). She is also fanatical about making the bed properly, which I have come to appreciate. I try to make the bed, too, but it never seems to be up to her high standards and she always redoes it. No doubt muttering: “What kind of person does this?” … [Read more...] about How was lockdown living with my partner? So good I missed her when she went to the balcony

The pandemic has been devastating, but it could be an opportunity to build a better economy, one in which more of the wealth generated in cities is more fairly distributed and owned by us. This would require a serious national industrial and spatial plan, with a full-blooded regional and urban devolution policy. Rather than ignoring the structural changes in our midst and clinging to a model of wealth extraction and property appreciation, we should be seizing this opportunity to build an urban economy that works for ordinary people rather than global shareholders. … [Read more...] about UK cities should work for the people who live in them, not for distant shareholders

Geographically, this map could be of anywhere as it is a map of the culture war that rages mainly online, but the US has a particularly well defined and extreme version. Stylistically, I was thinking of cold war propaganda maps showing the “communist threat” in the 1950s. The Big Brother-like figure at the top is Mark Zuckerberg, the CEO of Facebook; I chose him because he is the best-known face of social media power. … [Read more...] about Be it on God, guns or Greta, social media offers neat solutions for our messy feelings

Bundesliga newcomers Arminia Bielefeld have signed Dutch center-back van der Hoorn to a three-year deal on a free transfer. "Mike is a robust central defender who also has a good passing game," Bielefeld coach Uwe Neuhaus told the club home page. "With his quality he will fit very well into our system of playing." … [Read more...] about Bundesliga transfer blog: Cordoba linked with Hertha move

"I think with any type of transformation," Jono continued, "you shouldn't always look at the easiest option, you know, two months is not enough time to be able to change your body. … [Read more...] about Rebel Wilson shares rare photo with mum and sisters after epic three-stone loss