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

We’re falling for Japanese shows, falling for a son, thrilled about sexy robots and trying to hold on

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

• 
  Rethinking sexy robots

  Zendaya, who can do no wrong, rocked archival Thierry Mugler (from the 1995-1996 Fall/Winter collection) for the Dune 2 premiere. The idea of the sexy robot has finally evolved. It’s no longer a villain like Maria (or her likeness) in 1927’s Metropolis, or the arrogant, headstrong Zeisha in Love Story 2050 (2008). Our fav: Jane Fonda in 1968’s Barbarella. After Daya, of course.
• 
  Romancing the ramen

  Netflix’s Japanese dating shows are a different beast. Love Deadline gives women the power of proposal as the clock ticks and guys are randomly asked to leave. It makes you wonder what you would do. Is She the Wolf? gets five men and five women to date each other. But one woman is the Wolf, and is secretly forbidden to fall in love. There’s so much crying and lying. And what’s not to love about forbidden love? More Like This, please.
• 
  Telling ourselves he’s only 20

  Dust off the safari hats. Get those khakis ironed. Put on sunscreen. Get over your fear of lizards. Steve Irwin’s son Robert (aka, everyone’s favourite green flag) is officially single. ICYMI, he dated Heath Ledger’s niece, Rorie Buckey, for two years. We’re sorry for them. But we’re happy for ourselves. BRB, booking tickets to Australia.
• Crushed like a plastic bottle

  A Greenpeace USA report from 2022, titled Circular Claims Fall Flat Again, is suddenly all over the internet. It states that the recycling movement has been a big fail. All our garbage segregation, our Green dustbins, have made no impact. When everything falls apart, just remember what grandma said: Buy less, repair and reuse what you have. It’s the greenest idea of all.
• 
  Waiting for the memes

  Rowan Atkinson is returning for the fourth instalment of Johnny English. He’ll reprise his role as the bumbling MI7 agent. We’re excited but apprehensive. It’s easy to stray into slapstick territory. We’re looking at you, Johnny English Strikes Again. Hopefully they’ll take a leaf out Airplane! (1980) – we’re still laughing at memes and clips from that film today.
• Pining for bibliosmia

  It refers to the smell of old books. But why bother learning that word when there are no old books to be found at Delhi’s annual World Book Fair anymore? The stalls are full of cheap copies of Dan Brown, James Patterson, and, of course, JK Rowling. No rare finds, no dusty second edition of a Margaret Atwood or Ruskin Bond novel. Looks like collectors and auction houses have snapped the good stuff up already. Boo!