The Adventures of Dysfunctional Dan

In which I reflect on why conspiracy theories are concerning... Perhaps the most worrying outcome of the pandemic has been the rise in the belief in conspiracy theories. Previously these were views held by a tiny minority of the population and mostly revolved around relatively silly ideas like pop stars secretly dying and being replaced with a lookalike. Now there is a concerning proportion of the population that believes that the government is trying to control people with vaccines and that there is a global ring of celebrities who are trafficking huge numbers of children, as well as various other insane ideas.  How has this happened? Several researchers and journalists have found a clear correlation between the wellness community and conspiracy theories. There seems to be a direct line from mainstream ideas like yoga and meditation through to things like crystal healing and then onto full-on conspiracy theories. These ideas are spread on social media; you watch one video about cr...

In which I wax lyrical about The Jungle Book ... For reasons that I may eventually discuss, I recently found myself watching Disney's 1967 animated classic The Jungle Book . It's a film that holds a very special place in my heart. This would be my go-to VHS for many years. As long as I can remember, The Jungle Book was there. Even now, I kind of want to be Mowgli.  The animation is superb. It's a really clever balance between managing to make the animals look very much like animals whilst being able to anthropomorphize them at the same time. The designs reflect the characters really effectively too- Baloo really looks friendly and laid-back. The animation of Mowgli is really good too, allowing him to be able to attempt to replicate the other animals and also giving him facial expressions which give him more personality- he's one of the most expressive central characters in Disney history.  The film also contains some of Disney's best voice work. Sterling Holloway, ...