Top of the weekend to you all. What a bittersweet week: “a historic window of opportunity” in Gaza somewhat tempered by an ominous warning from the White House. While we wait to see how things shake out, here’s some food for thought.
1. What ‘tourism pollution’ means for Tokyo’s future
Dylan Levi King, a translator and writer based in Tokyo, has been living in the city long enough to be stunned whenever he encounters “the transparent expressions and flashy Lycra pants” of a US tourist.
King has witnessed Japan’s post-pandemic tourist boom (and influx of migrant “guest workers”) first-hand and sees it as a symptom of an ageing nation’s existential crisis.
In a nutshell: “The tourist reminds the citizen that, as far as the future of the city is concerned, they are an afterthought.”
How long will it take to read: Ten minutes.
2. Test cricket ‘reaches for the cyanide pill’, again
Still on a high from the Border-Gavaskar Trophy? Allow Barney Ronay to bring the vibe down a notch or two. The Guardian’s chief UK sports writer has some thoughts about the future of the longest form of the game – something he reckons is in “its late Wile E Coyote years, out there suspended above the canyon floor, feet still whirring”.
First pre-Ashes punch thrown: Among the Ronay zingers to earn the ire of Australia’s media (and furious commenters) is his assessment of young opening batter Sam Konstas as a “cricketing Raygun”.
How long will it take to read: Four minutes.
3. A father’s unimaginable crimes
Caroline Darian carries what she calls a “crushing double burden” – of being the child of both a victim and a perpetrator. Her father, Dominique Pelicot, was last month found guilty of drugging his wife, Gisèle, and inviting men to rape her in a case that shocked the world.
Darian discovered during the investigation that her father had photographed her while she slept but he refused to divulge any information when she pressed him during the trial. “I was really determined to make him recognise the facts,” Darian tells Angelique Chrisafis. “And I failed.”
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“I’ll never know if it’s linked or not. It’s part of an open question – unanswered.” – Darian on sustaining a vaginal tear which required several surgeries to heal.
How long will it take to read: Ten minutes.
Further reading: In this extract from her memoir, Darian relives the moment she discovered she was also a victim.
4. How to quit your smartphone (and reclaim your brain)
August Lamm, an art influencer in her early 20s, decided to take action after her addiction to social media got the better of her.
After buying an old Nokia and going cold turkey on her smartphone she got hours of every day back – and learned how to navigate the streets without a maps app.
What about two-factor authentication for security? Lamm details four workarounds.
How long will it take to read: Four minutes.
5. When Lucy Liu butted heads with Bill Murray
Bill Murray’s onscreen persona sits somewhere between obnoxious and charming. Behind the scenes, however, he reportedly trends towards the former.
Lucy Liu, returning to big screens in Steven Soderbergh’s Presence, was having none of Murray’s shtick on the set of Charlie’s Angels. Says the actor of publicly calling out a much bigger name: “When I sense something is not right, I am going to protect myself.”
A ‘ghost film’ with a difference: The “presence” in Presence is never seen on screen but instead portrayed by Soderbergh from behind a handheld camera that spies on Liu’s character and her family.
How long will it take to read: Four minutes.
Further reading: If you prefer celebrity interviews of a musical nature, our chats with Brian Eno and Björk are for you.
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