1. ‘Heroin stopped me dying of alcoholism’: Mark Lanegan, rock’s great survivor
‘At 29, he was living in Seattle, chain-smoking in dirty boxers and a stained bathrobe, and watching soap operas when one of his best friends kept phoning. He decided not to pick up. It was Kurt Cobain, who killed himself later that day. There would be many more deaths in the life of Mark Lanegan, a life that is amazingly still going.’
2. Mother of all sci-fi: which is the best Alien movie?
‘David Fincher’s battles with Fox over the final cut are well documented, as is the flawed decision to kill off poor Newt. But the movie boasts an impeccable supporting cast of British character actors who all enjoy themselves immeasurably, and the decision to retain the earlier films’ use of a pinched and airless setting within which the xenomorphs can wreak their mindless violence turns out to be a splendid one.’
3. Trump erupts over poll slump and threatens to sue campaign manager
‘“I’m not fucking losing to Joe Biden,” Trump reportedly said on a call with Parscale during a meeting with aides. According to multiple sources who spoke to the AP, the president cursed at Parscale repeatedly.’
4. Wildlife through the window: what readers have spotted during lockdown
‘Across the road from us, on the banks of the Taff, resides a flock of pigeons, some ducks, four geese and a bevy of mute swans. Some of these swans seem to think that the grass is greener on our side of the road, and so like to take full advantage of the new pelican crossing which has been thoughtfully provided by Cardiff council. No pelicans have been sighted thus far, but we live in hope.’
5. Jeremy Bamber lawyers seek review of CPS refusal to disclose evidence
‘Lawyers representing Jeremy Bamber, who is serving a whole life sentence for killing five members of his family in 1985, will ask the high court to review the refusal of the CPS to disclose evidence they believe could undermine his conviction. They claim the material was made available to an author working on a televised drama about the killings, but not to his defence team.’
6. My favourite game: Netherlands v Czech Republic, Euro 2004
‘The tempo was relentless but both teams played with total attacking freedom, as if there was nothing to lose. The imperious Davids hit the post with a low, angled strike, before Van Nistelrooy’s point-blank effort was repelled by the elastic Cech.’
7. Australian government agency denies threatening transparency website
‘A leading federal government agency sent a legal letter to a volunteer-run transparency website hosting freedom of information documents, warning that “website operators may be liable” for defamatory content published on their website.’
8. Bengals drop longtime quarterback Andy Dalton, clearing way for Joe Burrow
‘The Bengals cleared the way for Joe Burrow to lead the team by releasing quarterback Andy Dalton, who holds several of the franchise’s passing records but couldn’t lead Cincinnati deep into the playoffs.’
9. ‘Nearly beyond belief’: Clover Moore demands Angus Taylor explain doctored document
‘Guardian Australia first revealed the existence of the falsified document in October which was used by the energy minister to lambast Moore about City of Sydney’s travel costs . It was then fed to the Daily Telegraph which published a story prominently.’
10. Maj Sjöwall obituary
‘Not only were the novels painstakingly researched and unflinching in their descriptions of horrific crimes, but each chipped away at an aspect of contemporary Swedish life to reveal (as the authors saw it) a growing materialism and heartlessness.’
