Sunday Sundries: life, white privilege and lols

This week I saw Boyhood, an excellent film which I thought would be very much about maleness and masculinity. In the end I was most struck by Patricia Arquette’s role as the mum, repeatedly trying to create a traditional family set-up for her children. At the end of the film she’s upset and finding herself somewhat adrift, but I wonder if without the pressure to have the respectability of family or motherhood it’s actually the breakthrough to the start of her real life. Also can we talk about the weird facial transformation that boys undergo during puberty? From cute cherubs to weird gargoyle pre-men. Strange.

Apart from watching films this week has included a lot of denim shorts (don’t know what I’m going to do in the autumn), an interview with Formula founder and all-round wise woman Christina Rapsomanikis, and tasting delicious tomatillos for the first time.

I don’t agree with every single thing that Josh Ellis has to say in his piece ‘Everyone I know is brokenhearted’, but I don’t know if I’ve read something that articulates more comprehensively the post-internet malaise of living right now. (Zen Archery)

Queues are such a important bubble where you can observe certain behaviours and interactions. In the supermarket, at the post office, watch the queue, look at who barges past, who jumps ahead without even realising what they’re doing. Jen Dziura kicks off an article on white privilege masquerading as lifehacking with a description of a white guy trying to jump a post office queue because he ‘just had this one thing’. She goes on to say: ‘Nothing induces more rage in others than your taking what you do not deserve and not even noticing.’ (Medium)

How London boroughs got their name: I was born in Gillingas – otherwise known as Ealing – which means followers of Gillas, a local chieftain. From Dagenham to Harrow, the history of these names is fascinating. (Londonist)

If communicating exclusively in shouty neon GIFs is wrong, I don’t want to be right. Ultratext is a total life-changer.