macro
- adapt activities from my workshops into digital workbooks that I can sell
- refresh my freelancer away days so they can be done at any time
- focus on finding short-term facilitation gigs with small businesses and teams
- The Red Parts by Maggie Nelson
- The Gallows Pole by Benjamin Myers
- War of the Wind by Victoria Williamson
- The Bee Sting by Paul Murray
- Tokyo Express by Seichō Matsumoto
13 Assassins, 2010 - ★★★★★
There’s just something about how samurai films contrast stillness and silence with absolute carnage that no other action films can rival.
I’ve not been this engrossed in a film for some time. So glad I made the effort to go see this at the cinema in 35mm.
Nope, 2022 - ★★★★
Very enjoyable indeed. Had me keeping an extra careful eye on the weather all day today 👀
Nocturnal Animals, 2016 - ★★★
Mixed feeling an about this, and the longer it goes the more conflicted I feel. The acting is undoubtedly top notch. And there was enough suspense to keep me engaged. I even enjoyed the stylistic cuts between the different stories and times. But there’s something off. I’ve best seen it described elsewhere as “needlessly provocative”.
Gladiator II, 2024 - ★★
Heavy handed. Corny. Lacking drama and emotion. It lost me at the arrival of baboons on steroids, which is unfortunately only about 20 minutes in 😴
I Saw the TV Glow, 2024 - ★★★★
I’ve been thinking about what to say about this all week. I wonder whether my indecision has something to do with the confusion of the film itself.
My focus was more on the themes of identity than the pop culture/fandom element. I had quite a physical response to it. The ache of loneliness. A disconnection from my body. It was difficult to get comfortable in my cinema seat. I felt seen and challenged all at the same time.
There was a lot I liked about the directing. The overall atmosphere is haunting. The composition of some scenes is subtle and artistic - some of the best filmmaking I’ve seen recently. Yet at other times I felt the delivery was a bit heavy handed.
The story lost me a little towards the end but I doubt I’ll ever see another film quite like this.
Now (July 2024)
The latest look at where my energy and attention is focused now…
Freelance work
The quiet of July and August is giving me an opportunity to rethink my entire freelance business.
My plan for the rest of the year (and beyond) is to:
Part-time employment
I’ve now been in my part-time content design role for just over a year. It’s taken a while to get the service off the ground, as you might expect, but right now my time is booked up at least a month in advance.
I’m still enjoying the variety in the work, getting more involved with the strategy behind projects and leading on discovery workshops focused on user needs. This week I’ve contributed to setting up a user research project too.
There’s a seed in the back of my mind about where the opportunities are for development. I’m a team of one at the moment, and if that grows I’d love to add some research expertise into the mix. I also wonder whether I’ll need to make a decision about increasing my hours. Nothing concrete at the moment, but I want to be prepared should the conversation arise.
Activities
I’ve been really enjoying playing tag rugby over the summer. After attending a taster session in May, I signed up to join the league and was assigned a team. Over the past few months, we’ve really bonded, finishing third in the first mini-season and qualifying for the Cup competition.
At work, there’s a small group of us ‘doing PE’. We started off playing Spikeball and have expanded to throwing a ball between ourselves as we walk/jog along the Quayside.
Through the print studio I’m a member of, I signed up to take part in the 20:20 print exchange. After a lot of thinking, I tested a concept and printing of the edition is under way. I’m still finding the process a little scary, not really knowing how the final piece will come out after three blocks, each adding a different colour/layer.
Relaxing
I am reading a lot at the moment, fuelled by regular trips lunchtime to the city library. On my summer reading pile are:
Summer also means that I’m watching a lot of sport. We’re really spoiled for choice at the moment with a variety of forms of cricket and the Olympics. And as we hurtle towards the start of a new football season, my photo library is currently filling up with drafts for my Fantasy Premier League team.
This is a ‘now’ page, inspired by Derek Sivers. Intrigued by this? Read about the origins of the /now page movement then make your own.
Submarine, 2010
One of those films I chose to watch because it was leaving Netflix. I don’t know what I make of it really.
Senna, 2010 - ★★★★
It’s been a while since I’ve watched a good documentary and this didn’t disappoint. Izzy’s pick for film night and it kept both of us non-F1 fans engaged and informed.
Shifting feelings on blogging
Licorice Pizza, 2021
Gave up on the hour mark, just after Sean Penn’s character is introduced. Sometimes I don’t have the patience for films where I can’t connect with at least one character.
Licorice Pizza, 2021
Gave up on the hour mark, just after Sean Penn’s character is introduced. Sometimes I don’t have the patience for films where I can’t connect with at least one character.
Hit Man, 2023 - ★★
I enjoyed this from the comfort of my sofa on a random midweek evening. Had I paid to see it at the cinema I’d have been disappointed.
It was clearly the Glen Powell show with no depth given to any of the supporting characters. And what an odd way to end it - maybe just skip the last 5 minutes.
The Beautiful Game, 2024 - ★★
Enjoyable to watch but come the end I felt it could have been so much more. The characters deserved more depth and exploration of their stories.
Love Lies Bleeding, 2024 - ★★★★
A film of contrasts. Seedy and sexy. Tender and violent. Blurred lines between fantasy and reality. Horrific with a hint of humour running through it.
Amanda Palmer on rest and seasons
I’ve been trying to clear out my podcast feed, starting by prioritising a handful of episodes to listen to each week. I started with a 4-year-old interview with Amanda Palmer (listen or read the transcript) on the now defunct Routines and Ruts podcast.
The upside of coming to this episode now, is that there were some nuggets of wisdom that align with the current focus of both my work and my personal projects. The downside was that I’d chosen to listen while out for a run, and every few minutes I felt the need to pause and make a note of something I’d heard.
What follows are some highlights and ideas that were sparked through listening to this conversation.
Our phones have turned us into Gollum
Amanda’s point is that because our phones have become a single place where the majority of daily life happens, it’s hard to create boundaries. A thought popped into my head, probably from the one device thing, that our relationship with our phones is similar to Gollum’s relationship with the ring - if we’re not careful, we lose sight of who we are and what is important to us, just like Sméagol did.
There is no pause button for creative minds
This is a really valuable reminder, something I’ve experienced in the freelance communities I’m in, especially with creative folk and knowledge workers. The urge to keep making things and putting them out into the world is strong. There’s a pull to keep going. A fear that if we stop, maybe we’ll never start again. However, when we allow ourselves to rest, what we’re actually doing is changing gear or switching modes, and creating space for more expansive thinking.
“Your internal combustion engines are always working on something and your experience is always being synthesised into whatever is going to come out in the tray at the end of the day, whether it’s a week from now or ten years from now.”
Rest is not a reward, we don’t have to earn it
That’s it. There are no wiser words I can add to that sentence.
Everything works in seasons
Sometimes our commitments (our work, our relationships, our hobbies even) require us to be constantly on, constantly active. Sometimes there are lulls or droughts. It can be easy to feel the need to push against that, but what would happen if we accept and work with the season we’re in?
“anything in general has these cycles that you just need to take in, respect, and work around, and then have enough understanding that you don’t stack them back to back to back.”
The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent, 2022 - ★★★
Good fun… if you like Nicolas Cage. Dread to think what this might have been without the counterbalance of Pedro Pascal though who is the real star for me.
