Diary of an Oxygen Thief by Anonymous review the cult tale of a misogynists ruin

 Posted on March 27, 2024  |  2 minutes  |  226 words  |  Jenniffer Sheldon

‘The reader becomes trapped in the mind of a howling paranoid.’ Photograph: joefoxphoto/Alamy‘The reader becomes trapped in the mind of a howling paranoid.’ Photograph: joefoxphoto/AlamyPaperbacksReviewNaturalistic in style, possibly based on real events, this word-of-mouth hit about a man who hurts one woman too many is enthrallingSince the author of this short, anguished novel first self-published it in 2006, it has assumed cult status, with no shortage of readers testifying to its powerful effect. [Read More]

Incomprehensible killing of popular brown bear in central Italy sparks outrage | Italy

 Posted on March 27, 2024  |  3 minutes  |  604 words  |  Chauncey Koziol

Italy This article is more than 4 months old‘Incomprehensible’ killing of popular brown bear in central Italy sparks outrageThis article is more than 4 months oldSearch under way for two cubs after man shoots rare bear dead, reportedly telling police he fired out of fear Italian politicians and wildlife experts have condemned the fatal shooting of an endangered brown bear, as a search was under way for her two cubs. [Read More]

John Lewis removes Lollita childs party dress from sale after criticism | Retail industry

 Posted on March 27, 2024  |  2 minutes  |  331 words  |  Jenniffer Sheldon

Retail industry This article is more than 2 years oldJohn Lewis removes ‘Lollita’ child’s party dress from sale after criticismThis article is more than 2 years oldStore pulls dress from website and apologises ‘for upset caused’ after Twitter users connect name to child abuse novel John Lewis has pulled a child’s party dress named “Lollita” from its shelves after receiving criticism for stocking it. The Chi Chi London “Lollita” dress was on sale for children aged three to 11 years old on the retailer’s website for £50. [Read More]

Milein Cosman obituary | Art

 Posted on March 27, 2024  |  7 minutes  |  1324 words  |  Aldo Pusey

ArtObituaryMilein Cosman obituaryArtist who sketched some of the greatest cultural figures of the 20th century including Benjamin Britten, TS Eliot and Barbara HepworthMilein Cosman, who has died aged 96, drew many of the greatest artistic names of the 20th century. Working on commission for publishers, magazines and newspapers, she sketched Benjamin Britten, Yehudi Menuhin, Wilhelm Furtwängler, Sir Thomas Beecham, TS Eliot, Francis Bacon, Barbara Hepworth and Henry Moore, among others. [Read More]

The death of Detroit: how Motor City crumbled in the 90s in pictures | Art and design

 Posted on March 27, 2024  |  2 minutes  |  363 words  |  Chauncey Koziol

The death of Detroit: how Motor City crumbled in the 90s – in pictures Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share via Email Camilo José Vergara has spent 40 years photographing the changing landscapes of US cities. For the last of our three-part series, he pounds the decaying streets of Detroit to show the haunting skeletons of a once-booming industry town [Read More]

Why suck is a dirty word |

 Posted on March 27, 2024  |  2 minutes  |  265 words  |  Valentine Belue

LettersWhy suck is a dirty wordIf I may assist the Rev Neil Richardson (Letters, September 12), the derisive or negative use of the verb "to suck", espcially in the phrase "this sucks", is a 1950s coinage - predating the Simpsons, although originating, like them, in America. The sucking in question refers to the act of fellatio, for which "suck" has been a synonym since at least the 1920s. Like the consumption of lollies, most people experience this as a " [Read More]

Corrections and clarifications | | The Guardian

 Posted on March 26, 2024  |  1 minutes  |  173 words  |  Jenniffer Sheldon

Corrections and clarificationsCorrections and clarificationsMonique Proudlove | Hope Davis The mother of Hanif Kureishi’s son Kier is Monique Proudlove, not Tracey Scoffield as we had it in an interview (‘I’d like to see a British Muslim Sopranos’, 20 May, G2, page 8). We misspelled the name of the actor Hope Davis as “Davies” in an arts interview (‘I’ve seen how horrifying stardom is’, 11 May, G2 page 8). [Read More]

Diana Norman obituary | Crime fiction

 Posted on March 26, 2024  |  4 minutes  |  789 words  |  Jenniffer Sheldon

Crime fictionObituaryDiana Norman obituaryNovelist who drew her readers into the world of the past with her acclaimed crime seriesThe novelist Diana Norman, who has died aged 77, was best known for her historical crime series featuring the 12th-century medical examiner Adelia Aguilar, written under the pen name of Ariana Franklin. The first book in the series, Mistress of the Art of Death, was published to critical acclaim in 2007 and won the Ellis Peters Historical Dagger award in the UK, as well as prizes in the US and Sweden. [Read More]

Experience: I stabbed myself in the chest

 Posted on March 26, 2024  |  4 minutes  |  780 words  |  Chauncey Koziol

ExperienceLife and style‘The pain really kicked in and I could feel the blade rubbing against bone when I moved, which made me shiver’ I was 22 and hadn’t been a commercial fisherman for long when I got a job on a boat in Gloucester, Massachusetts. The weather can get really heavy there, but I was happy that summer’s day as we left port. The sky was clear and the water calm. On a previous trip, lobster fishing off Alaska, the waves had been 35ft high, so I thought this would be pretty easy by comparison. [Read More]

If Stevie Wonder wants to play it, pay attention!: how a bizarre new instrument found unusual

 Posted on March 26, 2024  |  5 minutes  |  967 words  |  Aldo Pusey

MusicA metre-long cross between a piano and electric guitar, the harpejji is earning famous fans and millions in revenue. But can ‘chaos bells’ or an abacus-powered synth do the same? In April 2012, Tim Meeks was at a music product trade show in Anaheim, California, when he got a tap on the shoulder. Stevie Wonder was in town. He had heard about the instrument Meeks had invented – a guitar-piano hybrid called the harpejji – and wanted to give it a go. [Read More]