Rundfunk.fm return with a month of nightly sessions transmitted directly to your radio and Internet. From 11 pm each night of December, they have a line up of excellent Swiss and international djs and musicians broadcasting the very finest tracks to compliment whatever your nocturnal activities may be. All music is beamed across the city from the heights of Schloss Sihlberg where, for 4 nights, they will also open their doors and you can party as the broadcasts are made. I have 2 x 2 tickets to give away for Friday. E-mail me.
From Friday 11pm, Schloss Sihlberg and Radio 1 (93.6)

Spezialmaterial Records are a Zurich based collective built around their love of electronic music. Since the late 90s, this group of producers, djs, promoters and musicians have become central in the electro scene in Switzerland and internationally. This Saturday they come out in full force with the Spezialmaterial Labelthrill night at Exil. 6 live acts and a multitude of djs will leave you in no doubt what the label has to offer.
Saturday 10 pm, Exil

So what do you do if you’re a hardcore punk band and feel the need to spice things up a little? You start playing mariachi music, of course! Mariachi El Bronx were an LA based punk band call The Bronx until they adopted their new name as well as full-on black charro outfits. So if you’re looking for a party filled with tequila, dancing and a horn section that rocks, be at Hafenkneipe this Sunday. I’ve seen them play live once before and I promise this will be a party not to be missed. Arriba!
Sunday 8 pm, Hafenkneipe

In a world where we’re told fulfilment is just a purchase away and self-help books detail labyrinthine ways to reach our happy place, it can take a simple story built around a simple object to cut away the nonsense and reveal an obvious truth. In this video about knife maker Joel Bukiewicz, he explains why he does what he does and in doing so reveals a pathway to something resembling happiness. Watch.

Correctly answering questions in a quiz always makes me feel good. It proves that all those times I skipped school weren’t as detrimental to my education as Miss Bradshaw told me they would be.  But this feeling is a private victory and, of course, does nothing to benefit the world. The website Freerice changes that. Answer questions from a variety of subjects and for each one you get right, they will donate 10 grains of rice to the World Food Programme. Now I can feel smug and feed the hungry at the same time. Miss Bradshaw would surely be proud.