Latest news with #KristianHammerstad
New Statesman
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- New Statesman
Mark Hoppus Q&A: 'Enjoy every second and rage against the dying of the light'
Illustration by Kristian Hammerstad Mark Hoppus was born in 1972 in Ridgecrest, California. He is the bassist for the punk-pop band Blink-182, which he co-founded in 1992. He is the only band member to appear on all of the group's nine studio albums. What's your earliest memory? I was in my parents' closet looking for something and ended up playing with an empty spool of thread – this is how boring it was in the desert in early 1970s in California. Who are your heroes? Growing up, it was my mom's dad, Alan. He was a soldier in World War II. He fought through the war and liberated concentration camps. When he got back to the States he became a teacher. After going through probably the most brutal experience a human can go through, he came back and decided that he wanted to help educate kids and become a kind person. My hero as an adult is my wife. What book last changed your thinking? I read East of Eden for the first time maybe two years ago and I was blown away by it. I'd always know that John Steinbeck was a great writer but that story specifically affected me a lot. What would be your 'Mastermind' specialist subject? I know a lot about the City of London, its history and its inhabitants. I have always been fascinated by London. When we would tour over here my wife and I would come over a week early and we'd stay a week later. We loved it so much that we moved to London for three years; our son went to school here. I love walking through the city and learning about English history. In which time and place, other than your own, would you like to live? I'd like to go back to the early 1990s before the internet – with Sonic Youth, Nirvana and great bands like that. I miss the thingness of things, the joy of finding an object that you didn't know was there before. It's different than finding something new on the internet that you just download. What's the best piece of advice you've ever received? Right before I got married my mum gave me some advice. She said that marriage is very rarely even 50/50 – it's more of a shifting 60/40, and sometimes even 70/30. That's really given me a lot of perspective, Knowing that it's not always equal: sometimes you lean on the other person and sometimes they lean on you. Subscribe to The New Statesman today from only £8.99 per month Subscribe What's currently bugging you? European showers are the worst experience in the world. The fact that you don't have shower doors is ridiculous to me. I've showered from the dirtiest punk-rock clubs to the nicest hotels, and no matter where I take a shower there's always a soaking wet bathroom floor with a wet towel in it. What single thing would make your life better? I'm blessed beyond blessed. There is nothing in the world that could make my life better other than time with my band and time with my family. When were you happiest? I'm happiest creating a song with Tom and Travis. The moment of creation in the studio, where somebody has an idea and somebody else says, 'What about this?' and it improves the song. In another life, what job might you have chosen? I would have been an English professor. Educating others would be a joy for me and it would be a tribute to my grandfather. Are we all doomed? Absolutely. Every single one of us is doomed, so do the best you can while you're here, enjoy every second and rage against the dying of the light. Mark Hoppus's 'Fahrenheit-182' is published by Sphere [See also: Inside No 10's new dysfunction] Related This article appears in the 04 Jun 2025 issue of the New Statesman, The Housing Trap
New Statesman
14-05-2025
- Entertainment
- New Statesman
Viet Thanh Nguyen Q&A: 'My earliest memory? Being taken to school on a Vespa'
Illustration by Kristian Hammerstad Viet Thanh Nguyen was born in Buôn Ma Thuot, Vietnam, in 1971. He is an award-winning novelist and professor of English and American studies. His debut novel, The Sympathizer, won the 2016 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. What's your earliest memory? Being taken to school on the back of a motorbike, later confirmed to be a Vespa. Who are your heroes? In childhood: Spider-Man. Now: my mother and father. Which political figure do you look up to? I don't think we should look up to political figures, who are often flawed and often have to make compromised choices, or outright bad ones. We should look to political movements, whose collective virtues can outweigh individual failures. What book last changed your thinking? Rashid Khalidi's The Hundred Years' War on Palestine. What would be your 'Mastermind' specialist subject? I know how to read and write and I love stories and poems, so literature, from the perspectives of both readers and writers. In which time and place, other than your own, would you like to live? Being born in the United States in the mid 1950s was probably nice. Too young to go to war, too old to really confront the worst of the climate catastrophe to come; part of a wealthy country that still had a vibrant middle class. Of course, this answer is much more true if you are white, male, able-bodied. So the real answer is that I don't think it's so much about time and place but about resources. If you have wealth and privilege, most places and times were probably pretty good times, until the revolution came. Subscribe to The New Statesman today from only £8.99 per month Subscribe Who would paint your portrait? My daughter. She's five. What's the best piece of advice you've ever received? About my writing: focus on the process, not the outcome. My partner told me that and she was absolutely right. Unfortunately, or fortunately, it took three decades of process to become a writer. The process taught me humility and that art is a discipline and a calling, akin to a spiritual path – not a profession or a career, which is important but only secondarily so. What's currently bugging you? I was tempted to say Trump, but I think he's more of a symptom. What bugs me is the lack of a powerful, global, unified left movement that can so far match the billionaires, their politicians, and the arms and fossil fuel industries. What single thing would make your life better? World peace. But more realistically, if everyone could just read a book a month, I think the world would be a better place. And even that seems unrealistic. When were you happiest? Right now, with my family, which is my real home. In another life, what job might you have chosen? Writer. It was pretty good this time around. Are we all doomed? Yes and no. That depends on how you define 'we'. The human species will adapt, get wiser, and survive, I hope. But not all of us will survive, given the inequalities between nations and within them. That makes it urgent that the definition of 'we' is as inclusive as possible, so that more of us can be saved. If we are willing to sacrifice the least and the weakest of us, there is the distinct danger that we are perpetuating conditions that will inevitably doom all of us. 'The Cleaving' edited by Isabelle Thuy Pelaud, Lan P Duong and Viet Thanh Nguyen is published by University of California Press [See also: Martin Freeman Q&A: 'My childhood hero was Jesus as portrayed by Robert Powell'] Related
New Statesman
07-05-2025
- Entertainment
- New Statesman
Martin Freeman Q&A: 'My childhood hero was Jesus as portrayed by Robert Powell'
Illustration by Kristian Hammerstad Martin Freeman was born in Aldershot in 1971. He is an award-winning actor performing both on screen and on stage. He is best known for his role of Bilbo Baggins in The Hobbit film series which won him the 2013 MTV Movie Award for the Best Hero. What's your earliest memory? My earliest memory is having an asthma attack and having to go the doctor's. I was still making my mum and sister laugh. Now, that's showbiz. Who are your heroes? My childhood hero was Jesus as portrayed by Robert Powell in the TV series Jesus of Nazareth. I don't have a hero now – just people I really admire. Paul McCartney, there's one. What book last changed your thinking? I generally get my thinking changed, or challenged, in all kinds of ways: conversations, interviews, art. What's Left? How the Left Lost Its Way by Nick Cohen was one book that changed my thinking. What political figure do you look up to? Growing up, Tony Benn was very big in our house. I love his diaries. Aside from his skill as a parliamentarian, his humanity really comes through in his writing. In which time and place, other than your own, would you like to live? There are lots of other times that I'd love to poke my nose into. The English Civil War, Victorian London (of course), Judea circa AD 32 to catch a part of an interesting story. What would be your Mastermind specialist subject? My Mastermind subject… tough one. Maybe Stevie Wonder in the Seventies? Subscribe to The New Statesman today from only £8.99 per month Subscribe What TV show could you not live without? I think The Sopranos is truly wonderful, a work of art. Peep Show is my comfort food. Too many others to drone on about now. Who would paint your portrait? I would not hate the pop artist Peter Blake painting me. What's your theme tune? I wish I had a theme tune. If I do, it changes too often to make it a theme. What's the best piece of advice you've ever received? I remember my mum saying to my brother Tim when he was in his early twenties: 'Before you know it you'll be 30. Then you'll be 40. Then you blink and you're 50.' She was basically telling him to get on with it. I definitely know what she meant. I haven't always followed it as well as I might have. What's currently bugging you? What's bugging me? That's hilarious – as if there could be less than 12 things bugging me at any given time. Let's say staff in shops not looking up from their phones. Or people dawdling along London streets, glued to their phones. Or people getting their political information from 20 second clips on their phones… you get the picture. What single thing would make your life better? A 30-hour day would make things easier, for sure. As would the blanket banning of leaf blowers that sound like a supersonic aircraft. When were you happiest? I'm very happy when I'm away with my family. Or frankly, at home with my family, being stupid and laughing. In another life, what job might you have chosen? I would love to have had the talent to be a musician. Are we all doomed? We're not doomed, no. No more than we ever were, I don't think. Martin Freeman will be performing in 'The Fifth Step' at Soho Place from 12 May [See also: David Attenborough at 99: 'Life will almost certainly find a way'] Related
New Statesman
30-04-2025
- Entertainment
- New Statesman
Larry Lamb Q&A: 'Playing Mick Shipman has made me a better man'
Illustration by Kristian Hammerstad Larry Lamb was born in Edmonton in 1947. He is an actor and radio presenter, known for his role of Mick Shipman in Gavin & Stacey. He appeared on I'm a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here! in 2016. What's your earliest memory? One steady thing, among all the chaos of my childhood: all the wider family would gather together at the Rose and Crown pub and we kids would sit around eating crisps and drinking what we called kids' cocktails. Who are your heroes? In childhood probably Desperate Dan from the Dandy because he could eat a whole cow pie while holding the horns. As an adult, Barack Obama. He comes across as an admirable, honest person who did his best to do as much good as he could. What book last changed your thinking? I was listening to a podcast about espionage, and the CIA man being interviewed happened to mention a book by a colleague of his, David McCloskey. He said that if you ever want to know what that world is like, read David's book Damascus Station – and so I did. And it quashed any interest in becoming a spy I ever had! What would be your Mastermind specialist subject? Perhaps geography and world capitals. I've travelled the lot in my decades-long career, and I love looking at maps, so I think this would be my best chance. Who would paint your portrait? My two daughters, Eva and Eloise, to draw their version of me. That would be interesting, to see how your children perceive you. In which time and place, other than your own, would you like to live? I don't think there's any better time than where we are now! You can look back on other periods with interest – and I do – but our living conditions are so much better now. I wouldn't want to be living at any time other than the present. Subscribe to The New Statesman today from only £8.99 per month Subscribe What TV show could you not live without? Gavin & Stacey – it's been a pivotal moment in my life and a real pleasure to play Mick Shipman, who is so loved by so many. Playing him has made me a better man too. What's the best piece of advice you've ever received? My son's mother telling me that under no circumstances must I ever bully or dominate our son, unless I wanted to have a relationship with him like the one I had with my father. That was without a doubt the most important piece of advice I was ever given, and I followed it to the letter. What's currently bugging you? I'm 77, and I hope to live to 100. But I know it's going to bug me that, when it's my time to go, I still won't know everything. What single thing would make your life better? Winning the lottery – I'm just a regular sort of a guy! When were you happiest? Right now. The older I get, the more I love life. I understand it more than I ever did, I appreciate it more than I ever did, and I appreciate those around me more than I ever did. In another life, what job might you have chosen? Being a lumberjack. It's my favourite job, cutting a log in pieces, and when they've matured and dried out, taking a big axe and splitting them. Are we all doomed? It's too easy to say yes, but I don't believe that. Sometimes, reading the news, it might appear that we are all doomed – but there are always forces for good and who come out of the chaos. The world is a big place. Something's got to go pretty black for all eight billion people to be doomed. Larry Lamb will be at the Fleet Street Quarter Festival of Words on 17 May; click here to find out more. His novel 'All Wrapped Up' is published by Softwood Books Related
New Statesman
23-04-2025
- Politics
- New Statesman
Melinda Gates Q&A: 'A man with a gun is not as powerful as a girl with a book'
Illustration by Kristian Hammerstad Melinda French Gates was born in 1964 in Dallas, Texas. She co-founded and co-chaired the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, a charitable organisation focused on improving healthcare and reducing poverty around the world. What's your earliest memory? Being a little girl, sick in bed in the middle of the night, and my mother staying up with me, rubbing my back, being so kind to me. What book last changed your thinking? Timothy Snyder's On Tyranny: yet another reminder that we cannot take democracy for granted. Who are your heroes? One of my heroes as a child was my friend Ellen's mother, Barbara Schneider. In a time and place that expected a lot of conformity, I was struck by Barbara's ability to be no one but herself. Now, topping my list of heroes is the incomparable Malala Yousafzai, who taught the world that a man with a gun is nowhere near as powerful as a girl with a book. What's currently bugging you? The US Supreme Court has decided that my daughters and granddaughters will have fewer rights than I had. 'Bugging' isn't a strong enough word for it. I'm enraged. It's been a powerful call to action. In which time and place, other than your own, would you like to live? I think I'll have to stick with right now. When you look at the long arc of history, there has never been a better time to be born a woman. There is so much left to do to reach true equality but at least I am alive in an era when women are finally gaining representation in the power systems that can change things. Which political figure do you look up to? Jimmy Carter, who I got to know through his work in global health. President Carter was particularly obsessed with eradicating Guinea-worm disease. He used to joke that he wanted to outlive the last Guinea worm, and he actually came remarkably close. That was him: charming, funny, generous, and deeply concerned about anyone he feared the world was leaving behind. Subscribe to The New Statesman today from only £8.99 per month Subscribe What's the best piece of advice you've ever received? Easy. It came from my mother. She told me: 'Set your own agenda, or someone else will set it for you.' This was good advice for me as a young woman trying to figure out my direction in life, and it's been good advice for me as an adult deciding how I want to use my voice and resources on behalf of other women. I think about it all the time. What single thing would make your life better? Learning to fight against perfectionism earlier in my life. I got there eventually, but I wish I'd figured it out a little earlier. When were you happiest? In the delivery room. The moment they handed me my oldest daughter, Jenn – it just upended my world. It was like I was hit by a truck. I was so completely in love. And then to get to relive that moment twice over. In another life, what job might you have chosen? In early motherhood, I spent a lot of time pumping milk imagining inventing and patenting a better pump. My daughter assures me the technology has improved since then, but I wish I could have moved fast enough to design my generation some better options. In another life, Melinda French Gates: Breast-Pump Pioneer. Are we all doomed? Optimism isn't a passive expectation that things will get better on their own – it's a belief that we can make them better. So no, I don't think so at all. There are too many people working too hard to tear down barriers and keep progress moving forward. The best part of my job is having a front-row seat to that work. Melinda French Gates's 'The Next Day' is published by Bluebird [See also: The music of resistance] Related
