Category: Icons Of Our Time

Beyonce: Behind the Curtain

Posted on by Kelly Welles

Practically everyone wants to be famous these days.

We all know that person who reads magazines and speaks in hushed tones about the perfection therein; the flawless skin, the perfectly proportioned muscle groups, the happy, carefree, penthouse suite boasting infinity pool life that millions of dollars can afford. Perhaps we tease them gently, rib them about their aspirations, which we ourselves see through because we know that money and a designer baby doesn’t equal happiness, it just appears to when photographed in the right lighting.

Continue reading “Beyonce: Behind the Curtain” →

Sochi 2014: In Your Face, Homophobes!

Posted on by Kelly Welles

“The games have always been a little gay. Let’s fight to keep them that way.”

Canadian Institute of Diversity & Inclusion

Reports of rampant homophobia in Russia have dogged the build-up to the Sochi Winter Olympics, leaving many political leaders floundering. How to demonstrate opposition to a legislation that has stigmatised homosexuality to the extent that targeted attacks are tacitly encouraged, without rocking a boat already exhibiting distinct and dangerous looking cracks?

FYI, Dave, hiding on the poop deck with a tube of wood glue in your pocket isn’t helpful.

Continue reading “Sochi 2014: In Your Face, Homophobes!” →

One Direction: Parody With Purpose

Posted on by Kelly Welles

As an elderly person with what I like to think is fairly decent taste, I’ve never really understood the purpose of One Direction as a musical entity. I’m so uncomfortable with the whole ‘mogul grooming and primping boys for the purpose of manipulating the vulnerable, fecund areas of teenage sexuality for financial gain’ thing, that the actual music has passed me by.

The snippets I have heard makes me yearn for the touchingly disorganised and cheery console manipulation of Stock, Aitken & Waterman.

Continue reading “One Direction: Parody With Purpose” →

Miley Cyrus: Haven’t I Seen You Somewhere Before?

Posted on by Kelly Welles

madmil

“I feel like I’m one of the biggest feminists in the world because I tell women to not be scared of anything.”

Miley Cyrus, BBC Newsbeat.

Let’s not be under any illusion here. Miley Cyrus is a hardworking, savvy businesswoman who knows precisely what she needs to do to maximise her earning potential.

But she is also young, and while her desire to make the world a less frightening place for women is admirable, what she needs to realise is that her weapon of choice cuts most out of her sphere of influence before she even opens her mouth.

Continue reading “Miley Cyrus: Haven’t I Seen You Somewhere Before?” →

Brand vs. Paxman: The Beardy Politic

Posted on by Kelly Welles


Like two male cats hop-stepping around one another with their large, brushy tails pointing towards the sky, the destroyer of political souls meets the sharpest of comedic minds.

Having lost early points by claiming he only edited an issue of The New Statesman because he was asked to by an attractive woman, Brand then effortlessly harnesses that notorious passion to redeem himself. Paxman, possibly having never been called ‘darling’ in an interview before, rolls with the velvet punch and tacitly acknowledges the perfectly placed blow with a knowing nod.

Watch this. Even if you hate Paxman. Especially if you hate Brand.

The sight of two such articulate minds sparring so spikily and yet so passionately is a reminder of what politics should be and what Jeremy Paxman is actually for.

For the record, Brand almost convinces him.

They Say If You Stare At The Sun For Too Long, You’ll Go Blind

Posted on by Kelly Welles

the-sun

This week, we’ve learned two things. Saying monkey while standing in the same postcode as a black person means you are a racist and refusing to offer your seat to a pregnant woman is indicative of a general decline in chivalrous behaviour among men, but complaining about it is sexist.

Continue reading “They Say If You Stare At The Sun For Too Long, You’ll Go Blind” →

Daily Mail: Marketing-sans-self-awareness

Posted on by Kelly Welles

639a6f46-29c5-11e3-8da3-ceb91da3bbc2_web_scale_0.0857143_0.0857143__

There are very few media disasters in the world that cannot be resuscitated by a carefully orchestrated scandal. And what better way to get those arbiters of British decency, the Daily Mail, spluttering into their ‘coming over here, stealing all our’ cornflakes in the morning than a poster advertising the movie version of events leading up to the death of their favourite Royal princess, right outside the tunnel where that fatal accident occurred.

Continue reading “Daily Mail: Marketing-sans-self-awareness” →

History: Now In Glorious Technicolor

Posted on by Kelly Welles

trumpet-traquea

Big Jay McNeely, Los Angeles, 1953. Original photo: Bob Willoughby, colourised by traquea on Reddit.

Is it the absence of colour that strips the subject of humanity in black and white photos or is it my brain?

Continue reading “History: Now In Glorious Technicolor” →

Cameron vs. Fry: It’s Just Not Cricket

Posted on by Kelly Welles


British Prime Minister David Cameron has rejected a plea from Stephen Fry to ban Russia from hosting the Winter Olympics, stating that while he “share’s [Fry’s] deep concern about the abuse of gay people,” he believes “we can better challenge prejudice as we attend.”

Continue reading “Cameron vs. Fry: It’s Just Not Cricket” →

Rolling Stone: What’s Wrong With This Picture?

Posted on by Kelly Welles

o-ROLLING-STONE-TSARNAEV-570

If I was a parent, I like to think I would be less worried about Rolling Stone’s decision to put Dzhokhar Tsarnaev on their cover and more about bringing my kids up in a society so bereft of worthy, morally responsible authority figures that they’re forced to seek alternative heroes in unsuitable places, like the entertainment industry.

I’m not a parent though. So I probably won’t get involved.

Image via huffpost.