DazeBlog

Books blogBooksWhatever happened to What-a-mess?Frank Muir's delightful books about the small, imperfectly formed Afghan hound seem to have disappeared. We really should set about finding them.Creative chaos ... What-a-mess Frank Muir, the popular comedian and radio presenter who died in 1998, kept Afghan hounds as well as cats. From these tall, elegant, recherché creatures, he drew the inspiration for a character who delighted me when I was just old enough to read alone - the Afghan puppy Prince Amir of Kinjan. [Read More]

Portrait of the weekCultureAristotle with a Bust of Homer, Rembrandt (1653)· View the work online · Archive Artist: Rembrandt van Rijn (1606-1669) is such a universal artist that we tend not to place him in a school or fashion, but the movement that makes most sense of his themes and radical innovations is the Baroque - the theatrical, emotive art and architecture that swept Europe in the 17th century. Rembrandt, born in Leiden but from 1632 onwards dominating the art world of Amsterdam, rejected the patient naturalism of Dutch art for a dramatic juxtaposition of portraiture and history, reality and myth, that is a one-man Dutch Baroque. [Read More]

‘I think there’s such strength in vulnerability’: Honor Swinton Byrne, star of The Souvenir Part II, photographed in The Londoner Hotel. Photograph: Suki Dhanda/The ObserverAfter her acclaimed debut in Joanna Hogg’s semi-autobiographical film, the actor returns in its sequel, starring again alongside her mother, Tilda. She talks about her unconventional upbringing and her off-screen life studying psychology by Claire ArmitsteadYou’re an 18-year-old school leaver, working in a florist’s and all set for a stint volunteering in Africa, when your godmother asks if you’d like to appear in a film. [Read More]

Assistant Chief Constable Darren Martland says an 18-year-old man is being questioned over the murder of Jordan Watson, 14 GuardianUK news This article is more than 8 years oldMan, 18, arrested on suspicion of 'savage and brutal' murder of Jordan WatsonThis article is more than 8 years oldPolice appealing for help from public after 14-year-old Jordan was revealed to have died from multiple wounds to his head and neck An 18-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of the “savage and brutal” murder of a boy found dead in a cemetery. [Read More]

Dan BrownReviewIn his fifth blockbuster outing, professor of symbology Robert Langdon takes on the battle between science and religion Origin is the fifth of Dan Brown’s gazillion-selling books starring Robert Langdon. As fans of 2003’s The Da Vinci Code will remember, Langdon is professor of religious symbology at Harvard. But, like renowned academic archaeologist Indiana Jones, you seldom see him marking term papers or preparing lectures. Instead – in this case dressed in a tailcoat throughout – he spends his time careering between renowned buildings (theBilbao Guggenheim, Barcelona’s Sagrada Família and so on) solving Crystal Maze-style puzzles, being chased by baddies and uncovering world-changing secrets. [Read More]

The amazing world of sport Sport Quail fighting is a big money sport in Afghanistan - video Abdul Majeed has caught quail to sell as fighting birds since he was 15, making up to £650 for the best quality fighters. Quail fighting has been a tradition of Afghanistan's Pashtun community for over 100 years. The sport has been making a comeback after it was banned by the Taliban. [Read More]

Dr ­Dillner’s health dilemmasHealth & wellbeingAlthough recent research has linked goth culture with a higher risk of depression and self-harm in teenagers, most are perfectly happy. Stigmatising the sub-culture further is not going to be helpfulFirst parents had to worry about the emotional fallout of One Direction splitting up. Now they have to fret about what subculture their teens belong to. A study in The Lancet Psychiatry shows that if your child is a committed goth, they are three times more likely to self-harm than other teenagers. [Read More]

The 20 best British science fiction films – in pictures Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share via Email To coincide with the BFI’s sci-fi season and its digital re-release of 2001: A Space Odyssey, we thought this would be a good time to look at some of the British greats of the genre. Since the 1970s co-productions and foreign investment mean it’s hard to say exactly what a British film is, so for this gallery we have decided to look at films set in Britain [Read More]

Top 10sFictionThese stories by authors from Elizabeth Gaskell to Jeanette Winterson show how societies in turmoil turn on the most vulnerable ‘It is easy to blame the dark,” Sylvia Plath writes in Witch Burning. Stories of witch-hunts show us how the dark is given a name; they talk to us about anxiety and belief and our hunger for scapegoats. All those pious fantasies of women suckling their familiars! Witch-hunts are just a metaphor now, we hope, but we’re drawn to them as much as we ever were. [Read More]

Pro-Palestine supporters gather for a rally at the News Corp building near the Rockefeller tree lighting in New York, New York, on Wednesday. Photograph: David Dee Delgado/Getty ImagesPro-Palestine supporters gather for a rally at the News Corp building near the Rockefeller tree lighting in New York, New York, on Wednesday. Photograph: David Dee Delgado/Getty ImagesNew York This article is more than 1 month oldThis article is more than 1 month oldDemonstrators say they are using event as ‘educational moment for our fellow New Yorkers’ [Read More]