American Pastoral review: The American Dream dissolves into a bleak nightmare in this all too relevant film November 10, 2016 A film exploring the frailties of the American Dream couldn’t be more relevant, yet there’s little that rings true in this adaptation of Philip Roth’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel about the generational shifts in post-war American politics. The novel occupies a profound place in the US literary canon, so it seems an odd vehicle for Ewan [...]
Kricket Soho review: this former pop-up is so good it will make you question your life February 1, 2017 I’m ambivalent about pop-ups. I want to like them, to buy into the democratisation of the food business, to support the little guy who isn’t propped up by hedge-funds or millionaire parents. But my god, they can be terrible places to eat. I’m haunted by memories of burgers that seemed destined to never arrive at [...]
Brighton & Hove Albion chief Paul Barber explains off-field strategy of a Premier League club in waiting March 4, 2017 In less than a decade Brighton & Hove Albion have evolved from a mid table League One side playing at a converted athletics stadium to fewer than 10,000 fans, to a Premier League club in waiting who call the state of the art 30,000 capacity Amex Stadium home. Brighton have been amongst the Championship promotion contenders in three of the [...]
Rhythm Paradise Megamix is worth dusting off your 3DS for October 20, 2016 Videogames excel at wish fulfilment. For example: we’ve all dreamed of being a little rabbit travelling across an ocean by rhythmically jumping off the backs of a line of giant turtles, or being a floating bow and arrow shooting at ghosts, or a set of tweezers plucking hairs out of onions with faces drawn on [...]
Seatbelt laws created a new danger – and a lesson for investors April 18, 2017 Australia was first to enact seatbelt legislation in 1970, creating some unexpected results. It underlines an important point for investors about risk, according to value investing blogger Kevin Murphy. No matter what anyone may tell you or try to do, attempts to reduce risk in any system – investment or otherwise – only succeed in [...]
Blame discredited elites for the decline and fall of the West in 2016 December 19, 2016 “The more I practice the luckier I get.” – Golfing great Gary Player In essence, political risk analysis is like nothing so much as American baseball: there is an undoubted element of chance to the game and even the best player strikes out with soul-destroying regularity. Saying this, it is not dumb luck that the legendary [...]
Team Sky star-signing urges public to look at the facts in Wiggins saga November 30, 2016 An Olympic gold medalist team-mate and new Team Sky signing has hit back at criticism of Tour de France winner Sir Bradley Wiggins. Owain Doull said the outrage surrounding Wiggins’s controversial use of therapeutic use exemptions (TUEs) on the run-up to his 2012 Tour de France victory had been “blown out of all proportion”. Wiggins’s [...]
Following the High Court’s ruling on Article 50, is an early general election now a distinct possibility? November 3, 2016 Alex Morton, director at Field Consulting, says Yes. Prime Minister Theresa May should call a general election in the spring, and the High Court ruling gives her even more of an excuse to do so. The UK economy is going to turn in the next few years, regardless of Brexit. By 2017, we will be eight [...]
Interiors: We ask the experts how to snazz up your dinner table before the Christmas hordes arrive November 11, 2016 Staying in is the new going out; we want to bring friends home to warmth and hospitality. Being able to light intimate candles for dinner is one of the overlooked joys of shorter days. However, with the trend for simplicity, and sharing, we need to be careful not to make boring choices when it comes [...]
BP and Shell optimistic the market is turning November 2, 2016 BP and Royal Dutch Shell reported their latest financial figures for the third quarter and both companies showed some improvement, a sign that the oil markets are starting to find their footing. A few days ago, some of the other oil majors released third quarter earnings, revealing the ongoing damage being done to the balance [...]