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

This week, we’re taking French lessons, livin’ on a prayer, voting like vampires, and decluttering with a poop test

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

• 
  Learning oui failed

  How come Emily’s been in Paris for 40 episodes but hasn’t learnt more than merci beaucoup? Gabriel, in a fight with her at the end of a blah S4, drops what is possibly the show’s deepest line. “We only communicate in your language, not mine,” he tells her. Heartbreaking. We’d have loved to see Emily struggle with verb conjugation, honestly.
• 
  Getting FOMO

  Arijit Singh called Ed Sheeran on stage at his concert in London, recently. Lizzo brought out surprise guests Cardi B, Sza and Missy Elliott at her US tour last November. Eminem surprised fans at Sheeran’s concert last year. Diljit Dosanjh will soon perform in Delhi. But we don’t have high hopes. The rush for tickets aside, we’ll never see collabs as cool as the ones they have in the West. Boo!
• 
  Looking for ladies

  Lollapalooza India 2025 falls on Women’s Day (March 8). Yay for Green Day, Shawn Mendes and Glass Animals. But the lineup includes a measly six women performers out of nearly 30. Not ONE female headliner? Or, at least one set dedicated to women in music? A lost opportunity!
• 
  Turning off the Bat-Signal

  Why look up when you can look down and spot Gotham’s caped crusader? Batman is the first fictional character to get a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in California. We love that it honours the superhero, not the actors who played him. It’s vindication for the vigilante. More importantly, does this mean that DC Comics has finally won the DC vs Marvel war? Or is there another chapter brewing?
• 
  Saved by ’90s music

  Rockstar Jon Bon Jovi (That’s Millie Bobby Brown’s father-in-law to you, younglings) was filming a music video in Nashville, US, when he spotted a woman standing at the edge of a bridge, possibly considering suicide. The cops looked on as Jovi spoke to her for a while, after which they hugged and she climbed back down to safety. That’s livin’ on a prayer.
• 
  Sniffing freedom

  Princess Mahra Bint Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum of Dubai had enough of her husband’s philandering. She divorced him in July via Instagram. Her follow-up act is… so Dubai! She’s come out with a perfume called Divorce. It’s $272 a bottle. Guess all divorces are expensive.
• 
  Voting right. Renesmee Cullen

  Edward and Bella’s daughter from the Twilight series, was born 18 years go. So, she’s now old enough to vote. Would she be a MAGA supporter (as many rich folks are) or team Kamala (as so many women are)? It could be that American vampires don’t care about who’s President. Wait. Why do they even bother going to school?
• 
  Flush with new ideas

  Flush with new ideas. Pack up, Marie Kondo. We don’t care if a household item sparks joy. A better way to declutter is to ask yourself, What sparks disgust? A TikToker in the US has asked: If something got poop on it, would you wash it off or would you throw it away? A much better test for what’s worth cherishing, and err dumping.
• Naming names

  Writer Will Smith had the greatest opportunity of all time at the Emmys last week. He won the award for Outstanding Writing For A Drama Series, for Slow Horses. The first thing he said: “Despite my name, I come in peace.” Funny. But it would have been funnier to see a little drama. No wonder awards-show viewership is tanking.
• 
  Feeling left out

  Mahindra Independence Rock 2024 celebrated its 30th year by selling early-bird festival tickets for ₹30! The music festival, which returned in 2022 after a hiatus of nine years, sold out the cheap tickets in 90 minutes. Why can’t the gang make decisions quickly? See what we missed, guys!