Hacking, customising, patronising...

Why is it that when a man tinkers with something, he's hacking, but if a lady does it, she's customising?

And actually, both of them are just mucking about with whatever it is.

Top pop videos with dance routines

Rescued from boy band hell, the dance routine has been well and truly defibrillated back to life. And I for one am huzzahing heartily. I love a slightly amateurish but enthusiastic co-ordinated wiggle. Here are my favourite dance (or bike!) routines in videos, past and present. Proof that time and sweat is often better than big budgets in pop.

I'm Alive by Vincent Vincent and the Villains


What's a Girl to Do? by Bat For Lashes


The Dark of the Matinee by Franz Ferdinand


1234 by Feist


Here It Goes Again by OK GO (yes, it's been everywhere, yes it's old, but how could I miss it out?)


It's Oh So Quiet by Bjork (again, how could I not list it?)


I know there are more... Feel free to suggest them

How to make strawberries even better

Nigel Slater is my favourite food writer. His books are both a joy to read and pave the way to delicious, easy, uncomplicated food. He writes weekly for The Guardian. And his strawberry recipe that appeared two weeks ago was so good I feel obliged to share. It's dead easy and super delicious. There are loads of cheap local strawberries about right now. Buy them up.

You need
Strawberries
An orange
A lemon
Fresh mint
Granulated sugar

Cut the strawberries in half and put them in a bowl. Squeeze the orange and lemon. Pour the juice over the strawberries. Add some granulated sugar and the fresh, chopped mint. Leave to marinade in the fridge for a couple of hours. Eat. Die with pleasure.

Hey, you been working out, dawg?

I love skinny whippets, lurchers and greyhounds. But I think I love Big Wendy the dog with a six pack even more.

Peach and Mint Blast

Oh man. I'm addicted to EAT's Peach and Mint blasts. Really. You need to try one. They're pricey at £2.90 for a big one. But I know that if the sun actually emerges this year I'm going to be craving them day and night. Real mint. Real peach. Frozen. Gulp. Slaked.

Monkees Kool Aid Commercial

I don't know if there's a German word for it, but I'm experiencing another pang of nostalgia for something I didn't actually experience. After watching this Monkees advertisement for Kool Aid I just want to go to a 'den' in my 'mom and pop's' basement and guzzle sticky cool cordial.

Even though when I hear the words 'Kool Aid' it just makes me think of Jim Jones ladling out poison laced juice to his followers at Jonestown. And killing almost a thousand people

Parma violets

Ohh. I've got a hankering for the pot pourri taste of Parma Violets. If you're popping down the shop, will you get me a packet? Thanks!

Destino - Dali and Disney collide

In 1945 mouse man Walt Disney and surreal artist Salvador Dali started work on a film, Destino. The project was aborted due to financial difficulties. But when Walt's son, Roy was reworking one another of Disney's more adventurous outings, Fantasia, he unearthed some of the Destino footage, and decided to rekindle the project.

Released in 2003, the six minute film is now playing at London's Tate Modern. Disney films may now have a saccharine-sickly reputation, but this is a peek back into a world where it was still thought perfectly possible that commercial animation and high art could successfully combine.

How I wish that Disney still had some of the same dark sensibilities that threatened to emerge back then. For now, I'll watch this on YouTube, and skip to the scary bits in Snow White, Sleeping Beauty and Fantasia.

I think I'd like a mural on my wall

Yes, I do believe I would. It would add glamour to my day to day living, as well as covering up that nasty patch of damp in the back room.






I just can't decide whether to go for the dreamy fairytale castle.....














Or the tiki-tastic sunset on a desert island.









Decisions... Buy yours here anyway...

Steely-stared chipmunk

This super short video of a chipmunk fixing the watcher with an evil glare makes me laugh. Perhaps it will cheer you, too.