About

The Bauhaus idealThe 1919 German school's belief that form follows function and art should serve society. sits at the center of how I see the made world: simplicity and efficiency, art that meets the needs of society, no distinction between form and function, no ornamentation for its own sake. Design earns its place by working. In painting, I keep returning to the ImpressionistsParis painters of the 1860s to 1880s, led by Monet, Renoir and Degas, who chased light in loose, visible brushstrokes.. Paul CézanneFrench Post-Impressionist (1839-1906) who built pictures from planes of colour, paving the way for Cubism.'s planes, Camille PissarroDanish-French painter (1830-1903) born on St Thomas, the only artist in all eight Impressionist exhibitions.'s light, Charles-François DaubignyBarbizon landscape painter (1817-1878) who worked from a studio boat on French rivers, a forerunner of Impressionism.'s still rivers. Marc ChagallBelarus-born French painter (1887-1985) of floating lovers, fiddlers and village memories in vivid colour. and Joan MiróCatalan Surrealist (1893-1983) of playful biomorphic shapes, bold primary colours and star-like signs. for the dreamlike logic. Rembrandt van RijnDutch Golden Age painter (1606-1669), master of light and shadow, known for The Night Watch and his self-portraits., Diego VelázquezSpanish court painter to Philip IV (1599-1660), best known for Las Meninas., and Edward HopperAmerican realist (1882-1967) of lonely diners, offices and city rooms, best known for Nighthawks. for everything they say about light and solitude.

Books that unsettle tend to stay. George OrwellEnglish writer (1903-1950) of 1984 and Animal Farm, whose name became shorthand for state surveillance.'s 1984Orwell's 1949 dystopia of Big Brother, Newspeak and a state that rewrites the past. and Joseph HellerAmerican novelist (1923-1999) and wartime bombardier whose missions fed Catch-22.'s Catch-22Heller's 1961 satire of a US bomber squadron in the Second World War, named for the rule no one can escape. shaped how I read power and absurdity. Anton ChekhovRussian playwright and master of the short story (1860-1904), a practising doctor all his life.'s The Cherry OrchardChekhov's last play (1904), about an aristocratic family losing its estate as old Russia gives way. still reads truer than most things written since. I return often to John FowlesEnglish novelist (1926-2005) of The Magus and The French Lieutenant's Woman., Chuck PalahniukAmerican novelist (b. 1962) best known for Fight Club and its dark, transgressive satire., Nick HornbyEnglish novelist (b. 1957) of High Fidelity, Fever Pitch and About a Boy., and Alain de BottonSwiss-born British writer (b. 1969) who applies philosophy to everyday life, co-founder of The School of Life., writers who take ordinary life seriously without making it precious. Noam ChomskyAmerican linguist (b. 1928) and critic of US foreign policy and the media, co-author of Manufacturing Consent. keeps me calibrated. Johann Wolfgang von GoetheGerman writer (1749-1832) of Faust and The Sorrows of Young Werther, a towering figure of European letters. keeps me honest.

My taste runs wide. Stanley KubrickAmerican director (1928-1999) of 2001: A Space Odyssey, A Clockwork Orange and The Shining.'s Dr. StrangeloveKubrick's 1964 Cold War satire, with Peter Sellers in three roles as the world drifts into nuclear war., Jean-Luc GodardFrench-Swiss director (1930-2022), a founder of the French New Wave with Breathless (1960).'s Masculin FémininGodard's 1966 portrait of young Parisians, billed as a film about the children of Marx and Coca-Cola., Woody AllenAmerican writer, director and actor (b. 1935) of neurotic New York comedies like Manhattan.'s Annie HallWoody Allen's 1977 romantic comedy with Diane Keaton, winner of the Oscar for Best Picture., films that are fully, unapologetically themselves. Gadjo Dilo1997 Tony Gatlif film about a Frenchman searching for a Romani singer in a Romanian village. and Good Bye Lenin!Wolfgang Becker's 2003 comedy about a son hiding the fall of the Berlin Wall from his ailing mother. for the warmth found in displacement. David CronenbergToronto director (b. 1943) and master of body horror, from The Fly to Crash and A History of Violence.'s VideodromeCronenberg's 1983 body-horror film about a TV signal that warps reality, starring James Woods. for the dread. The Royal TenenbaumsWes Anderson's 2001 comedy-drama about a family of faded child prodigies., Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless MindMichel Gondry's 2004 film, written by Charlie Kaufman, about a couple erasing each other from memory., and Lost in TranslationSofia Coppola's 2003 film about two Americans adrift in Tokyo, with Bill Murray and Scarlett Johansson. for the particular ache they carry. Monty PythonBritish comedy troupe behind Flying Circus (1969-74) and films like Life of Brian. and This Is Spinal TapRob Reiner's 1984 mockumentary about a fading British heavy metal band. because absurdity is its own art form.

Television raised me badly and I'm grateful for it. MASHUS sitcom (1972-83) about a Korean War army hospital unit, its finale among the most-watched broadcasts in US history., HerbieThe Volkswagen Beetle with a mind of its own, star of Disney's Love Bug films from 1968., Knight RiderUS series (1982-86) starring David Hasselhoff and KITT, a talking, self-driving Pontiac Trans Am., Murder She WroteUS mystery series (1984-96) with Angela Lansbury as crime writer and amateur sleuth Jessica Fletcher., MacGyverUS action series (1985-92) whose hero gets out of trouble with a Swiss Army knife and whatever is lying around., Perfect StrangersUS sitcom (1986-93) about a Chicago man and his distant cousin Balki from a fictional Mediterranean island., Married with ChildrenFox sitcom (1987-97) about shoe salesman Al Bundy and his gloriously dysfunctional family., Quantum LeapUS sci-fi series (1989-93) about a scientist leaping into other people's lives to set things right., SeinfeldUS sitcom (1989-98) about four New Yorkers and the minutiae of daily life, famously a show about nothing.. The formative years. A soft spot for British television above anything else. CouplingSteven Moffat's BBC sitcom (2000-04) about six friends dissecting dating and sex., Peep ShowBritish sitcom shot from characters' POV with running inner monologues, 2003-15, a cornerstone of modern cringe comedy., Friday Night DinnerChannel 4 sitcom (2011-20) about two brothers back home for their family's weekly Jewish dinner., LovesickBritish sitcom (2014-18) about a man contacting his past partners after a diagnosis, first titled Scrotal Recall., CrashingPhoebe Waller-Bridge's 2016 Channel 4 sitcom about young property guardians living in a disused hospital., We Are Lady PartsNida Manzoor's Channel 4 comedy (2021-) about a Muslim women's punk band in London., Riot WomenSally Wainwright's 2025 BBC drama about women in midlife who form a rock band., genuine and relatable in a way that rarely travels but always lands.

I grew up on Command & Conquer Red AlertWestwood's 1996 real-time strategy game set in an alternate Cold War, famed for its live-action cutscenes., Warcraft IIBlizzard's 1995 real-time strategy game of orcs versus humans, a LAN-party staple., and Sid MeierGame designer (b. 1954) born in Sarnia, Ontario, co-founder of MicroProse and creator of Civilization.'s CivilizationSid Meier's 1991 turn-based strategy game, building an empire from the Stone Age to the space age., strategy games that rewarded patience and punished overconfidence. Theme HospitalBullfrog's 1997 hospital management sim, full of invented illnesses like Bloaty Head. and Pizza Tycoon1994 German business sim (Pizza Connection at home) about running a pizza chain, mafia dealings included. for the management itch. Prehistorik 2Titus's 1993 French platformer starring a club-wielding caveman. and Atomic BombermanInterplay's 1997 PC take on Bomberman, up to ten players blowing each other up in a maze. for chaos in a small room. SWOS 96-97Sensible World of Soccer 96-97, a top-down Amiga/DOS football game famed for depth in tiny sprites. remains the greatest football game ever made. Counter-StrikeTeam shooter of terrorists versus counter-terrorists, born in 1999 as a Half-Life mod. and BattlefieldDICE's large-scale multiplayer shooter series, launched with Battlefield 1942 in 2002. for the multiplayer years. FIFAEA Sports' yearly football series from 1993, renamed EA Sports FC in 2023. and CM/FMChampionship Manager and its successor Football Manager, the football management sims by Sports Interactive. for the ones that never really end. Cyberpunk 2077CD Projekt Red's 2020 open-world RPG set in Night City, rough at launch and redeemed by its 2.0 update..

Music for me spans more ground than makes sense on paper. Claude DebussyFrench composer (1862-1918) of Clair de lune and La Mer, a founder of musical Impressionism., Erik SatieFrench composer (1866-1925) of the spare, hypnotic Gymnopédies., and Richard WagnerGerman composer (1813-1883) of vast operas like the Ring cycle and Tristan und Isolde. on one end. BauhausNorthampton band formed in 1978, often called the first goth rock group, known for Bela Lugosi's Dead., Siouxsie and the BansheesLondon post-punk band (1976-96) led by Siouxsie Sioux, behind Spellbound and Happy House., Love and RocketsBand formed in 1985 by three former Bauhaus members, best known for So Alive., and Echo & The BunnymenLiverpool post-punk band formed in 1978, known for The Killing Moon. somewhere in the middle. KraftwerkDüsseldorf pioneers of electronic music, formed in 1970, behind Autobahn and The Man-Machine. and Karl BartosKraftwerk percussionist and co-writer from 1975 to 1990, later a solo electronic artist. for the architecture of electronic sound, Wax TailorFrench producer Jean-Christophe Le Saoût, known for cinematic trip-hop built on film samples. and TrentemøllerDanish producer Anders Trentemøller, whose dark, melodic electronica broke through with The Last Resort (2006). for the texture of it. Pink FloydLondon band formed in 1965, behind The Dark Side of the Moon and The Wall., DioRonnie James Dio's own band, formed after his years in Rainbow and Black Sabbath, behind Holy Diver (1983)., and the whole NWOBHMNew Wave of British Heavy Metal, the late-70s movement that birthed Iron Maiden, Def Leppard and Saxon. and 90s heavy metal canon for the sheer weight. Wu-Tang ClanStaten Island hip-hop collective whose 1993 debut, Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers), reshaped the genre. and Rage Against the MachineLos Angeles band formed in 1991, fusing rap and metal with radical politics. for the aggression with something to say. Andrew BirdChicago violinist, whistler and songwriter known for looped, layered indie folk., Michelle GurevichCanadian-Russian chanson singer whose smoky, half-spoken songs sound like a lost Soviet film score., WarhausSolo project of Balthazar's Maarten Devoldere, all smoky, late-night songs., BalthazarBelgian indie rock band from Kortrijk, formed in 2004, known for its twin-vocal grooves., and KhruangbinHouston trio blending Thai funk, dub, and Middle Eastern psychedelia, almost always instrumental. when the mood calls for something slower and stranger. The Black KeysAkron, Ohio blues-rock duo of Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney, behind Lonely Boy. and Kaiser ChiefsLeeds indie rock band behind I Predict a Riot and Ruby. when it doesn't. Psychedelic funkLate-60s and 70s funk shot through with fuzz, wah and studio effects, from Sly Stone to Funkadelic. and synth punkPunk played on synthesizers and drum machines, from Suicide in the 70s to DIY scenes today. fill the gaps. Big John PattonBlue Note organist (1935-2002) of soul jazz records like Let 'Em Roll. holds everything together.

Sport at its best is about character under pressure. Abebe BikilaEthiopian marathon runner who won Rome 1960 barefoot, the first Black African Olympic gold medalist. running barefoot through Rome to win gold is still the greatest underdog story ever told. Brian CloughEnglish manager (1935-2004) who took Nottingham Forest from the second tier to two European Cups. and John Benjamin ToshackWelsh striker and manager who took Swansea from the fourth tier to the top flight, later coaching Beşiktaş. for proving that conviction matters more than resources. I was rooting for the Phoenix SunsCharles Barkley's Suns lost the 1993 NBA Finals 4-2 to Michael Jordan's Chicago Bulls. in the 1993 NBA Finals and never quite got over it. Allen IversonPhiladelphia 76ers guard and 11-time NBA All-Star, played a brief late-career stint at Beşiktaş in 2010-11. and Jason WilliamsNBA point guard nicknamed White Chocolate, famed for no-look passes, a 2006 champion with Miami. for playing with a kind of freedom the sport rarely allows. Les FerdinandEnglish striker associated with QPR, Newcastle and Tottenham, with a 1988-89 loan spell at Beşiktaş. and Atiba HutchinsonCanadian midfielder and national-team captain, a Beşiktaş mainstay from 2013 to 2023., both players who gave everything the game asked. Gabriela SabatiniArgentine tennis player, 1990 US Open champion and 1988 Olympic silver medallist. and Roger FedererSwiss tennis player, winner of 20 Grand Slam singles titles, eight of them at Wimbledon. for grace under competition. Mika HäkkinenFinnish Formula One driver, world champion with McLaren in 1998 and 1999. for dignity in a sport that doesn't always reward it.