BlinkDash

Books blogBooksThe origins of etymythologyCall me a pedant (origin: Latin, paedagogus) but I really enjoy setting people right about their faulty philologyWhen I was a child a friend of the family would give me a book of jokes every Christmas. I would then proceed to shamble around the house like a small curse, reciting jokes in a robotic monotone with barely a pause. This would continue until whichever came first between one of my brothers hitting me, my dad snatching the book from my hands, or Mum bursting into tears.

A Filipino migrant worker hanging out laundry on the roof of a building in West Jerusalem. Photograph: Eddie Gerald/AlamyA Filipino migrant worker hanging out laundry on the roof of a building in West Jerusalem. Photograph: Eddie Gerald/AlamyRights and freedomGlobal development This article is more than 3 months oldTrapped by debt: migrant workers in Israel unable to escape conflictThis article is more than 3 months oldForeign workers in Israel often have to pay exorbitant ‘placement fees’ to secure work in the country, which has left many of them with too much debt to leave

Warner Bros This article is more than 4 months oldWarner Bros studios in Leavesden to expand, creating 4,000 UK jobsThis article is more than 4 months oldStudios behind Harry Potter films to undergo 400,000 sq ft expansion by 2027, in boost to struggling industry The Warner Bros studios behind the Harry Potter film series are to undergo a major expansion, creating 4,000 jobs and providing a boost to Britain’s beleaguered film and TV production industry.

A fresh angle: The revolutionary gaze of Margaret Watkins – in pictures Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share via Email Canadian photographer Margaret Watkins rejected traditional gender roles to become a pioneering modernist photographer with Renaissance flair Main image: ‘She invented new forms’ ... Margaret Watkins. Untitled, Glasgow, 1928-1938. Photograph: Margaret Watkins/Joseph Mulholland Collection, Glasgow Thu 12 Aug 2021 07.

Child labourLettersA history of cruelty at Cressbrook MillCountry diary | Birds | Figs | Music | Marina Hyde William Newton’s Cressbrook Mill at Water-cum-Jolly may well be “august” (Country diary, 5 November). However, in its heyday it was a place of hideous cruelty and exploitation, where “apprentices”, the starving children of London orphanages, were brought in to be worked literally to death in many cases, in pursuit of fat profits for the mill owners, Newton included.

Ben Roberts-Smith This article is more than 1 year oldBen Roberts-Smith told ex-wife to lie about his affair in order to keep children, court hearsThis article is more than 1 year oldEmma Roberts tells court Ben Roberts-Smith pointed to their children and said ‘if you don’t lie you will lose them’ Ben Roberts-Smith told his wife Emma Roberts she would lose access to their children if she didn’t lie publicly about him having an affair, during the tumultuous break-up of their marriage, a court has heard.

Travel & leisure This article is more than 3 months oldMichelin Guide to begin awarding keys to world’s best hotelsThis article is more than 3 months oldA group of more than 5,300 hotels in 120 countries to hear next year whether they have won what may become a coveted symbol The world-famous Michelin Guide, the red gastronomic bible that awards stars to the best restaurants, is to begin rating hotels using key symbols.

Femme fatal … Nathan Stewart-Jarrett. Photograph: The Other RichardFemme fatal … Nathan Stewart-Jarrett. Photograph: The Other RichardMoviesInterviewNathan Stewart-Jarrett: ‘We are obsessed with masculinity as a culture – it’s awful’Catherine BrayThe former Misfits and Utopia star loves pushing boundaries. But, as a drag queen out for revenge, in his new erotic thriller he’s ventured into truly novel territory Nathan Stewart-Jarrett loves an erotic thriller. “The Bedroom Window with Elizabeth McGovern. Body Heat with Kathleen Turner.

GD Illustration: Guardian DesignHow two lonely outsiders met online and discovered their passion – planning a massacre at a shopping mall. By Rachel Monroeby Rachel MonroeIt was an extremely online romance, as many were in 2014: they followed each other on Tumblr, then they became Facebook friends, then they started chatting. James Gamble was 19, aimless and unemployed. Lindsay Souvannarath was 22, with a newly minted degree from a small liberal arts school in Iowa and vague plans to join the Peace Corps.