1 This week:
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| Photo by Ivan Vranić on Unsplash |
2 Reading: Bill Bryson - Down Under (in Walkabout)
I enjoyed A Walk in the Woods, now onto 'Straylia.
3 Listening: Bob Welch - French Kiss
4 Watching: The Brokenwood Murders (Season 4)
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| Detective Sims |
5 Birthdays this week:
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| Ivy (1) |
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| Poppy (3) |
Overtime: Michelle Obama
Just try new things. Don't be afraid. Step out of your comfort zones and soar.
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.
Overtime: Wozza's Place
1 The feeling this week
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| 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.
1 A rainy week in Takapau
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| Photo by ERIC ZHU on Unsplash |
2 Watching: Zappa - d. Alex Winter (2020)
.webp)
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.
1 First week in August - chilly morning arrivals at school!
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| 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.
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
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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.
1 The working week...
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| 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
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.
