Russell Crowe talks pushing back on studio pressure for sex scenes in Ridley Scott’s ‘Gladiator’ and says ‘Gladiator II’ failed to ignite audiences in the same way as the original film because it lacked a “moral core” - Taormina Film Festival

Brilliant - in the proper sense of the word - read. It sparkles, like the water and light in Hockney’s California paintings. Free to read too, so give it a go.

It is possible to think Elon Musk is a business genius and find his politics (support for Restore Britain and the AFD, for example) abhorrent. When it comes to investment, the politics of the investor is, within (broad) reason, irrelevant, or at the very least much less important than driving growth and job creation. I think all of this is quite obvious.

Fair enough if he’s paid for himself. I wouldn’t be there if I ran a province in the depths of endless catastrophe, but that’s a different objection. Gauteng Premier Lesufi defends private World Cup trip news24.com/southafrica/news/…

This story gives you a real insight into how @geordinhl thinks, what the values are that drive him, and what his priorities are. Not content with what has been achieved, he has absolute clarity on how to take Cape Town forward for everyone.

Coming back to this. One reason Hockney became so popular is because of the paradox at the heart of his work: the “simplicity” of the style married to the sense of mystery the paintings evoke. You don’t need to be an art expert to get a lot from his work. It is both “accessible” and real art at the same time.

I don’t agree with the terrorism angle and I think the UK does itself a disservice by expanding the definition of the word like it does, but why this fool thinks hitting someone with a sledge hammer or smashing up a factory shouldn’t be a crime is beyond me. Perhaps he could tell people which causes justify that sort of behavior and which don’t?

Apparently some killjoy complained about my wine posts recently. This one’s for you, buddy. The 2019 Storm “Vrede”. A thing of some considerable beauty and inestimable joy.

One of his most famous. The most famous, I guess. So evocative. Is it banal? Is it profound? The external world stretches into the unknowable distance. Their internal worlds and the relationship between them seem equally deep and opaque. That’s what I love about great art. You can look at a painting a hundred times and see it anew each time.

Thank you David Hockney, you glorious man @LettersDesk

David Hockney, one of the most popular and influential artists of the past century, has died aged 88. ft.trib.al/YLDTpOW

David Hockney est mort 😢

Since you quote tweeted let me do the same: agreed. While that was within the rules DA members will no longer be taking advantage of that provision going forward. Happy?

Politicians cashing in on free trips to the World Cup.

Tebogo imperious.

IT'S OFFICIAL: After many years of hard work the Sanlam Cape Town Marathon has officially become the 8th Abbott World Marathon Majors race in the world. On 23 May 2027, we take our place alongside Tokyo, Boston, London, Sydney, Berlin, Chicago and New York. This is only possible because of the thousands of runners who kept on running and believing in the Cape Town Marathon. 🇿🇦 22 - 23 May 2027, here we come 🎉🇿🇦🇿🇦

Straight-up untrue. Hunt doesn’t have a mini meltdown at all. He calmly and rationally puts Hasan straight. And he’s entirely correct.

The post below sets out in its first sentence what the DA stands for - and has always stood for. One implication of the DA’s approach is that it must work forwards from its values and beliefs, and backwards from the needs of voters in real-world places as diverse as Emfuleni, Hanover Park, Chatsworth, Boksburg and Constantia. Given South Africa’s history, that’s quite a challenge, but the DA does it every day. Meanwhile, here on X, keyboard activists for the ANC, MK and the EFF tell people the DA isn’t a party for black South Africans; the rightwing says the DA isn’t a party for Afrikaners; the PA’s brigade says the DA isn’t a party for coloured South Africans, and ASA says the DA isn’t a party for Herman, Mike or Athol 😉 The frustration of a lot of these activists online is that the DA isn’t more like the party they support - more like the ANC or the FF or the PA or ASA, etc. Well here’s the thing: the DA does not exist to make the online activists of other parties happy. It exists, as I said at the beginning, to offer all South Africans the opportunity to live lives they value. So you’re going to be disappointed if the DA doesn’t do exactly as you demand in your social media posts. And look, the DA is now big and complex: it is in opposition in many places; governs outright in some; is the bigger partner in some coalitions and the smaller partner in others - and this across all three spheres of government. So yes, mistakes will be made, and hopefully rectified, but overall the DA governs better than any other party, by some considerable distance. And it does so for everyone, not just the group you happen to champion.

Hey @Khathutshelo_R. All the best for tomorrow with the launch of your campaign pledges to get Ekurhuleni Working For All #Khathu4Mayor

Two points about predicting election outcomes: 1. Have some data first, if you insist on making predictions. 2. But don’t make predictions about election outcomes. Makes a fool of the smartest people. The voters will let us know their verdict in due course.