The Brunch round-up: The week and how it made us feel

Because Secret Santa groups are such a mixed bag. Who wants another generic present? A power bank, water bottle, notebook, coaster set, ghastly mug or Avengers-themed socks. It just seems like the gift-giver put no thought into the gift. Unless it’s deodorant. That’s never a good sign.

Wonka, which follows a young Willy Wonka before he became the enigmatic protagonist of Roald Dahl’s 1964 book, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, opened as the No. 1 film worldwide, grossing more than $151 million. Timothee Chalamet has already had a chart-topping release this year with Dune. Can he do no wrong? Wait. He’s dating Kylie Jenner.

Smash Mouth once said, “The years start coming and they don’t stop coming”. If you think 2023 went by exceptionally fast, you’re not alone. The internet is full of memes about how it was literally just January, wasn’t it? Now, 2024 is basically here. We don’t even have New Year’s Eve plans yet! Plus, did you hear 1980 and 2023 are as far apart as 1937 and 1980? Whaaa?.

Jamaican rapper Sean Paul (Get Busy, Temperature), has said in an interview that he doesn’t actually say ”Sean da Paul”, in the opening lines of his songs. He’s actually been paying tribute to West Indies cricketer Shivnarine Chanderpaul all this time. Howzzat for what we think is a lie? We’re still singing ‘Sean Da Paul’.

David Templeman, an Australian Labour Party politician and the Minister for Culture and the Arts, has often addressed parliament around Christmas with a song that talks about major events of the year. In 2018, he adapted the words to Simon and Garfunkel’s Sound of Silence. The clip is viral again. Will he do one this year? Or has 2023 been too morbid for songs?