Senses working overtime #590

1 A rinse and repeat week

A hectic week at work (two late night parent interview sessions, disruptions to daily timetables for a House competition and visiting speakers, after school PD, mid-winter illnesses) meant I had little time for enriching the senses with new books or TV shows.

So, I kept going in fits and starts with those Bill Bryson, Gary Snyder and Owen Wister books when I could, and finished watching Lawmen: Bass Reeves. That was it.

However, I did manage to maintain my blogging rituals, so those are my jewels for the week.

2 Baggy Trousers

3 Destination Records

4 Goo Goo G'Joob

5 The Purdzilla Show

Overtime: Wozza's Place

Senses working overtime #589

1 The feeling this week

Photo by They CallMe ZEUS⚡ on Unsplash

2 Reading: Bill Bryson - A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail

Over the years, I've read quite a few of his books but somehow I've missed this one until now (and Down Under which I'll get to eventually). It's great too - funny as all get out.

3 Listening: Tom Waits - Nighthawks at the Diner

My favourite album this week. If you want just one track try Eggs and Sausage (In a Cadillac with Susan Michelson). First up is the hilarious intro, then the song.

4 Watching: Lawmen: Bass Reeves

5 Reflecting: Who am I, really?

I really enjoyed writing my Wozza's Place blog entry this week - the last in a series of self-examinations.

Overtime: Marcus Aurelius

The happiness of your life depends on the quality of your thoughts. 

Senses working over time #588

1 A rainy week in Takapau

Photo by ERIC ZHU on Unsplash

2 Watching: Zappa - d. Alex Winter (2020)

I bought this BlueRay DVD a while ago from JB Hi Fi and watched it while Jacky was away in New Plymouth this week - she would have hated it, so I've been waiting for my opportunity. It was okay, but how do you cover all the various Zappas in a two-hour documentary? Impossible, but this is fine as a taster to the weird and wacky Zappa universe.

3 Reading: The Virginian - Owen Wister

After the superb Three Days in June by Anne Tyler (she is a brilliant writer - I love her books), it's change-up time - with a western and a collection of essay (below).

4 Listening: Bongo Fury - Frank Zappa and Captain Beefheart.

The 50th anniversary edition came as a 5 CD set. I love the original album and the set on Spotify (3 discs) has two complete concerts - the third comes with an unscheduled intermission for a bomb threat.

Some of it is great and some is terrible. The great though, like Pound For A Brown in 2 parts, is really great.

5 Reading: The Practice of the Wild - Gary Snyder

A collection of his essays originally printed in 1990.

Overtime: Harriet Beecher Stowe

Never give up, for that is just the place and time that the tide will turn.

Senses working overtime #587

1 First week in August - chilly morning arrivals at school!

The Iona College chapel at 7.00am this week

2 Reading: Three Days in June - Anne Tyler

3 Listening: Wozza - Wonders (on our Friday night road trip to NP)

4 Watching: Alone Season 13

It's a bit painful waiting a week for each new episode but the show is engrossing, so it's worth the pain.

5 Reading: Joan Didion

I loved this passage about Joan Baez from Slouching Towards Bethlehem.

Overtime: Anne Tyler  

Someday I'd like to be given credit for all the times I have not said something that I could have said.

Lead character Gail in Three Days in June.

Senses working overtime #586

1 R.I.P. Glen Hansard

Sadly, and suddenly, a great talent is gone. I liked reading this piece about him as well as rewatching Once and listening to his work again this week. That was comforting.

2 Watching: Once

Promo for the film is here.

3 Listening: The Swell Season, The Frames and solo albums

4 Reading: Mojo Magazine 390 

5 Listening: U2 - War

Always my go to at fraught times. And the Irish connection seems especially relevant at the moment.

Overtime: Taylor Swift

It's possible to climb to the top without stomping on other people.

Senses working overtime #585

1 The working week...

Photo by Sergej ***** on Unsplash

...included two walks along Kopanga Road, as I got back into the groove after a two week break from school and a lingering cold.

2 Reading: The Guardian Weekly Vol 215 No. 3

Paradoxically, the return to work was accompanied by a slowing down in reading time and a return to The Guardian Weekly.

3 Listening: UFO -Mechanix

Try Let It Rain

4 Viewing: Alone: World Championship (season 13)

5 Anticipating: The Odyssey - Christopher Nolan

Overtime: Steve Jobs

The people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones who do.

Senses working overtime #584

1 This week was all about reading

Photo by Hümâ H. Yardım on Unsplash

Three days spent reading and marking essays by four classes and two days of planning for the term ahead were accompanied by two books and a Mojo magazine.

2 Read: Borden Chantry - Louis L'Amour

3 Listening: Seven Moons - Robin Trower and Jack Bruce

4 Reading: Slouching Towards Bethlehem - Joan Didion

5 Reading - Mojo magazine #389

Overtime: Albert Einstein

Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance you must keep moving.