I think the real strength of the internet is to remind us that although life is meaningless, it is through attempting to give life meaning that we make our greatest discoveries.
Some people do that with groundbreaking music, incredible works of literature and outstanding pieces of art. However, the best people give life meaning by doing incredibly weird things online and I love them so much for that.
1. Hot Southern Baby – Cole Escola
As a playwright I, of course, love Tennessee Williams. So how could I not love Cole Escola bringing him back to life here as a hot Southern baby? This is absolute genius.
2. I’m really really sorry Nikki
🙈 ‘Your dog’s s*****d my cat.’ - It’s never a dull day for Judge Rinder!https://t.co/A4Lem9WEYL pic.twitter.com/1zaHLdy27j
— STV (@WeAreSTV) February 5, 2020
As a Scottish person I am very proud of other Scottish people’s achievements, particularly this wonderful woman Sandra who tried her best to make a sincere apology for causing a cat to have anxiety and depression. Sandra’s attempted apology comes in at about 1:55.
3. Silence – Julie Klausner
What makes this musical parody of The Silence of the Lambs (in the style of Kate Bush) transcendent is Julie Klausner’s realisation that her true calling with this artwork is to educate psychopaths how to blink. The refrain “open your eyes now shut them” could prove life-changing for sociopaths.
4. Cilla Black explaining her love for the Oxo cube
For some reason in late 2023, iconic Liverpudlian chanteuse and TV presenter Cilla Black came back from the dead to amusingly haunt us all. My particular favourite from her extensive, rediscovered archive is her explaining her love for rubbing an Oxo cube on to an orange.
5. Giulia l’arancia
Also on the theme of oranges is my new favourite animal on the internet – a goose called Giulia who knows exactly what she wants and isn’t afraid of how she’s going to get it.
6. Laura Dern ordering a kale salad
I’m a big Jordan Firstman fan and I love all of his work on all platforms, including – of course – his impressions. Here is an early masterpiece he wrote for the Gay Men’s Chorus of Los Angeles to sing about the gayest moments in film you might not have realised were gay.
7. Chloë loves toast
I really love Chloë Sevigny, especially when she pops up in the work of Natasha Lyonne. I also love comedian Drew Droege being Chloë Sevigny and I spent large chunks of my youth watching these videos.
8. Julia Davis as Sylvia Plath in therapy
I would hate to imagine a world without the genius of Julia Davis. Her incredible – and incredibly dark – sitcom Nighty Night has got me through some bad times. Here she is as Sylvia Plath in therapy. Too funny.
9. The way Nigella pronounces microwave
I can’t believe I am tweeting this.
— Scott Bryan (@scottygb) April 27, 2021
Nigella Lawson calling a microwave a “micro-wav-ay” has today been nominated for BAFTA TV ‘Must-See’ Award. pic.twitter.com/yA34hTIdJ8
My favourite TV chef of all time, Nigella Lawson, absolutely deserved a Bafta nomination for this pronunciation.
10. Maryam Moshiri, the saviour of BBC News
Even though we didn’t know it, we all really needed her and she didn’t disappoint. She’s absolutely the best person of 2023.
James Ley’s show Ode to Joy (How Gordon Got to Go to the Nasty Pig Party) runs 16-21 January as part of Sydney festival
