I’ve entered a print exchange happening later in the year. It’ll be the first time I send my prints out into the world, other than to family and friends. Ideas have been bubbling for a while and today I did a rough sketch for the design.
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.
Spent a week in the Netherlands and now a good portion of the ads that top and tail my podcasts are in Dutch 😝
Finished reading: The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid 📚
I’d been avoiding reading this. Why? I stubbornly dig my heels in when people tell me I should do something. But, I finally picked it up to take on holiday and it was just what I needed. It took me entirely by surprise. And I loved it!
Finished reading: Bessie Smith by Jackie Kay 📚
Back from holiday and determined to do more with the photos I’ve taken (other than posting them here and then letting them languish in my photo library). Any recommendations for printing photo books in the UK? 📸
I’m visiting the Netherlands soon and would welcome recommendations for places to eat/drink and visit (beyond the obvious tourist stuff) in Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Delft and Utrecht 🇳🇱
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.
Finished reading: Small Pleasures by Clare Chambers 📚
I have no idea what possessed me to read this. While the mystery element interested me at first, the lazy stereotyping and abrupt ending made the whole experience supremely disappointing.
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.
Grey and damp here today so I keep returning to this lovely pic from the garden yesterday
Had a tiring week so I was going to spend the day on the sofa in my pjs. Then my buddy invited me over to mow the grass at their new place. Turns out pushing a lawn mower is my happy place ☺️
Finished reading: The Devotion Of Suspect X by Keigo Higashino 📚
A good spin on the classic detective story. Recommended in book group at work. I’ll definitely look out for more in this series.
Got lucky with our tickets for the snooker. Appears (if I’ve interpreted the order of play correctly) that we’ll be watching local boy Gary Wilson vs former World Champion Stuart Bingham 🤩
Just spent an hour thinking about and then practicing how I write my name. How’s your day going?
Crocs. With heels. I have now seen it all 😲
Finished reading: Prophet Song by Paul Lynch 📚
Brutal. The atmosphere the author creates had me on edge throughout. I think it benefitted from reading over a short period in a few big chunks.
There was a point where I had to put it down for a while and give myself space to sit with what had happened. I doubt that will be a feeling I forget any time soon.
Totally get why this won the Booker.