People think Im an aristocrat: Charles Dance on class, Game of Thrones and avoiding Jam
Posted on April 1, 2024
| 10 minutes
| 2064 words
| Kary Bruening
Charles Dance … ‘We used to talk about the smell of the greasepaint, but the smell of a film set – there’s nothing like it.’ Photograph: David Levene/The GuardianHe often plays the quintessential British hero, but the actor also makes a fine villain. He discusses his father’s death, his big break and leaving his stammer behind
by Zoe WilliamsI meet Charles Dance in a cute French bistro on Islington Green, north London.
[Read More]Rooms for swinging lovers | Short breaks
Posted on April 1, 2024
| 9 minutes
| 1833 words
| Chauncey Koziol
The ObserverShort breaksRooms for swinging loversKiss goodbye to roses and chocolates this Valentine's. If your love life is flagging, try a lion's cage, leopardskin rug or a swing to give it a boost. Observer writers check out Britain's kinkiest hotel rooms The Hempel, London
The Lioness's Den. I rolled the words around on my tongue and liked the sound. Seven months into the relationship and with things starting to slacken in the love department, a stay at a luxury hotel was just what we needed.
[Read More]A bite mark, a forensic dentist, a murder: how junk science ruins innocent lives | US justice system
Posted on March 31, 2024
| 19 minutes
| 3950 words
| Jenniffer Sheldon
Experts say there are tens of thousands of people in the US who have been falsely convicted with the help of junk forensic ‘science’. Illustration: Klawe Rzeczy/The GuardianCharles McCrory has spent decades in prison for the murder of his wife, convicted on the strength of bite mark evidence. The problem? CSI-style forensics is bad science
by Ed PilkingtonCharles McCrory is haunted by a memory from his 1985 trial in which he was accused of murdering his wife, Julie Bonds, in a bloody attack at their home in Andalusia, a small town in deepest Alabama.
[Read More]A protest against a top Israel-born chef was called antisemitic. Staff tell a different story
Posted on March 31, 2024
| 17 minutes
| 3575 words
| Kary Bruening
Chef Michael Solomonov in Philadelphia in 2016. Photograph: Lisa Lake/Getty Images for AudiChef Michael Solomonov in Philadelphia in 2016. Photograph: Lisa Lake/Getty Images for AudiPhiladelphiaMichael Solomonov’s Israel-inspired restaurant empire has come under scrutiny by pro-Palestinian protesters, who accuse him of complicity in attacks on Gaza
The 21-second clip went viral almost as soon as it was posted early on Sunday evening. It showed hundreds of protesters, some with Palestinian flags, united in a rhyming chant: “Goldie, Goldie, you can’t hide, we charge you with genocide!
[Read More]An unspoken epidemic: Homicide rate increase for Black women rivals that of Black men
Posted on March 31, 2024
| 13 minutes
| 2727 words
| Jenniffer Sheldon
Guns and liesRaceFive Black women and girls were killed each day in 2020, most of them with guns. Gender violence must be at the center of the gun debate, advocates say
The killings of Black women: five findings from our investigation
In 2020, a year of rising homicides amid a devastating pandemic in the US, the increase in the death rate for Black women rivaled that of Black men.
[Read More]Grace review a twisty race against time for John Simm's fading detective
Posted on March 31, 2024
| 4 minutes
| 766 words
| Valentine Belue
TV reviewTelevisionReviewThis ITV adaptation of Peter James’s crime novel is full of immensely satisfying action – plus a star lead performance
John Simm is one of those actors who makes you think: what must that be like? What must it be like to be so good at the thing you do that, when you come along, everyone just relaxes? To be so good that everyone knows they are in safe hands, knows they are going to be shown something great, knows they won’t have to mess about trying to make a little look like a lot.
[Read More]Kitchen gadgets review: the Selfie Toaster a boasty-toasty aberration
Posted on March 31, 2024
| 3 minutes
| 477 words
| Aldo Pusey
‘I look like a Missing poster of an Italian boxer.’ Photograph: Martin Godwin/The Guardian‘I look like a Missing poster of an Italian boxer.’ Photograph: Martin Godwin/The GuardianInspect a gadgetBreadNow you can make toasten images of yourself and eat them for breakfast. The end times are here
What?The Selfie Toaster ($69, burntimpressions.com) is a plastic box housing vertical heating elements, overlaid with bespoke cutaway plates. When bread contacts the plate, a pattern is transferred by scorching.
[Read More]Mistical, The Eleventh Hour
Posted on March 31, 2024
| 1 minutes
| 155 words
| Chauncey Koziol
MusicReview(Soul:R)Is drum'n'bass in its final hour? That's the question posed by this trio of Mancunian veterans who, according to their MySpace, don't sound like would-be saviours of a scene: "We are three blokes who drink beer and moan a lot."
Ten years since their heyday, Mistical are provocative about the state of drum'n'bass as MC DRS spits on the title track, "The same old structure that we've heard before, the same old samples now you're out the door"
[Read More]The Trump Burger: rich Iowa delicacy comes with plenty of ham | Donald Trump
Posted on March 31, 2024
| 4 minutes
| 693 words
| Jenniffer Sheldon
Donald Trump This article is more than 7 years oldThe Trump Burger: rich Iowa delicacy comes with plenty of hamThis article is more than 7 years oldTaste test of new burger reveals that while it contains far more meat than many of Trump’s policy proposals, like its namesake it has proven deeply divisive
To quote its namesake, the Trump Burger is “huge”. It’s also a little bit salty.
In order to attract some business when the Republican frontrunner was in town, the owners of the Northside Diner in Winterset, Iowa, created the Trump Burger last week.
[Read More]Why has presidential hopeful Bobby Jindal's portrait been whitewashed?
Posted on March 31, 2024
| 3 minutes
| 436 words
| Kary Bruening
RepublicansThe Bible-bashing, pro-life Louisiana politician has ended up with a painting in his office that gets one crucial detail wrong
Age: 43.
Appearance: Well, that’s the thing.
What is? Look, Bobby Jindal is the Republican governor of Louisiana and a rising star of the party, tipped for a presidential run next year.
Right. His real first name is Piyush, but he’s always known as “Bobby”, a nickname he picked up as a child because he identified with the youngest boy in the Brady Bunch.
[Read More]