Senses working overtime #140

1 Time photographs of the year
Some great pictures of some harrowing 2017 events. Lest we forget.

The Thomas fire in December

Protest in Charlottesville in August

Mosul in March

More here.

2 More best ofs for 2017

This time - movies. The top 20. Given it starts with The Last Jedi and includes Dunkirk - I'm paying attention! Plenty of these to catch up with in 2018!

3 Best Last Jedi article so far

I LOVED The Last Jedi - have I made that absolutely clear yet? This dude manages to nail a few of the reasons why I LOVED it so much.

4 Stanley Clarke
Excellent interview with the jazz bassman:

Some humans, they just see each other, it has nothing to do with sexuality or anything. Sometimes you meet a person and you connect, sometimes you don’t. I think it’s the basic reason why really interesting creative things get done.

5 Rian Johnson on the force

Have I mentioned I loved The Last Jedi yet? Here's some interview responses from the director on the force.

Extra Texture: Last words on The Last Jedi

1 Threads throughout the franchise
Interesting critical analysis of The Last Jedi and Star Wars tropes.

2 Luke in exile
Apparently it was George Lucas' concept from the get go. Read all about it!

3 The Last Jedi is the most intellectual Star Wars film
Which may explain why the critics love it! Wired magazine weighs in this time (I am the master).

Senses working overtime #139

1 Best-of-year starts here, yeah!

Workers aboard a bus wait to go home in Matamoros, Tamaulipas.
The Mexican state is across the border from Brownsville, Texas.

With some great shortlisted photographs from a talented bunch. Go see.

2 Gormenghast

Steerpike

Great website to accompany your reading of the brilliant trilogy by Mervyn Peake. What do you mean you've never heard of the Titus books?? For shame - seek them out!

3 Best of 2017 continues: Pocket's best reads 

Handy compedium of all the best stuff published on Pocket. Well worth your time! Go see (part 2)!

4 Bills v Colts - snow is the winner on the day

Hilarious! I watched the highlights of this game and it was as bad/good as this article tells you it was.

5 How Technicolour changed movies




Extra Texture:

In praise of Ansel Adams.

Senses working overtime #138

1 The first review is in...

...and it's a very positive one!

 2 John Wick, a celebration

Coincidentally, I re-watched this and Chapter 2 over two nights this week. This appreciation of Keanu Reeves hits the right tone.

3 Do the evolution baby
Movie trailers are how they have evolved.

4 Netflix
Some great stats here on how the world watches via Netflix, like: the highest global re-watch record was set by an American who streamed Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl 365 times in 2017. 

They tell some interesting stories about the evolution of watching stuff.

5 The last word on Star Wars: The Last Jedi for this edition

Excellent primer - what you need to know BEFORE you go and see Episode 8.

Overtime: Merry Christmas by Big Big Train

Senses working overtime #137

1 Unsplash photo of the week

Photo by Tomas Chevalier on Unsplash

2 Lessons from Whiplash

Great movie (great poster too) - here's 10 lessons from it for you to chew on.

3 Josh Rose

He's a photographer with some great tips.  

4 The Silence Breakers

Time's 'person of the year' is a diverse bunch brought together by a common stand which I applaud. Seems some folk have a problem with Tay Tay's inclusion. I don't.

5 Aristotle Aristotle was a begger for the bottle

The great man on friendship via this snazzy Medium.com piece.

Overtime - North Korean graphic design

Love it!

Senses working overtime #136

1 The 'umble sandwich exalted

The Guardian do the honours - mines a tuna bagette thanks.

2 Man paints bridge

Great human interest story about Brian Russell, a guy who works on the Golden Gate Bridge in SF.

3 Darkest hour

I started to skim but quickly settled in to read the whole damned thing. Oddly compelling and fascinating. But I do have a thing for Winston Churchill and how he saved us all, so I guess it was inevitable.

4 Infinity War

New Avengers movie and the promo is full of promise. Stay with it to the end too - I smiled!

5 Twenty-six words we don't want to lose

Great article from The Guardian (where else?) on some spectacular words that I need to drop into the conversation. Frinstance: I'm especially looking forward to some frowst this Sunday morning!

Overtime: And so this is Christmas

Great antidote to all that saccharine piped Christmas muzak in department stores as November turns to December (first day of summer in Nu Zild) - both this article and Vince Guaraldi’s cool jazz.

Senses working overtime #135

1 Next Last Jedi

A new poster is out and the countdown continues to The Last Jedi. One month to go!

2 The twins

Nice focus to this story - a profiling of the Star Wars twins Luke and Leia.

3 Graham and Stephen
Colbert that is, with Graham Nash - interesting interview.




4 Eight Four days a week!!
Let's join the movement. You know how much you love the four day week? Sign up!

5

Overtime: I heart squirrel stories!

So here's a good'un.

Senses working overtime #134

1 Stillness

A modern day Walden story by a young poet desperately seeking solace - great writing and amazing photos.

2 Hilarious

Great piece about Omarosa Manigault and what she may or may not do at the White House. Fascinating and the Trump administration in microcosm.

3 Robots 
An excellent, balanced, Vox vid on robots and future employment.




4 Dunedin's Cadbury factory

I live in Nu Zild but missed this cool story about efforts to save Dunedin's Cadbury factory - I needed the Guardian to get things sorted out.

5 Speaking of the joy of chocolate...
Great reminder from Zen Habits about appreciating things!

Overtime: One-hit wonders

Excellent run down of some great one off hits. Who doesn't love a one-hit wonder??!!

Senses working overtime #133

1 Marvel rankings

Here are the new ones now that the latest Thor is out. Fun!

2 Get journaling!

Nice reminder from the consistently awesome Thomas Oppong on the joys of keeping a regular journal.

3 Apollo 15

Apollo 15 Astronaut Al Worden took this eery photo of Earth on the way home from the Moon
4 JFK 22 November 1963

Nice piece about the fiction generated by the JFK assasination.

5 Reputation
Tay Tay's new album is out and this Vox run down of her current state of being is spot on!

Overtime - 

Culture overload from now until Christmas explained by Vox!

Senses working overtime #132

1 Unsplash photo of the week

Photo by Mike Wilson on Unsplash

2 The quiet voice

Voices in the head - apparently we all have them! 

3 More voices by Dan Rockwell
Feedback and tough conversations start in the head

4 A lot of smoke!
Great Vox summary of where the Trumpski investigation is going.

5 Search your feelings Luke

Mark Hamill talks.

Overtime

A European in San Francisco explains the unwritten laws.

Senses working overtime #131

1 Mmmm

Photo by Calum Lewis on Unsplash

2 It's Jacinda Time

Personally, I'm thrilled to have Jacinda Ardern as our new PM. Great choice Winston! She's a breath of fresh air and after nine years of no creditable opposition to the National establishment, we have a new leader. Let's do this!! Rock on!

3 Evil - call it!

Evil happens when good people do nothing. Tarantino should have spoken up against the Harvey Weinsteins!

4 Sonder
Seth Godin explains all.

5 Crossing Brooklyn Ferry
Now that you know about Sonder - read Walt Whitman's great poem - Crossing Brooklyn Ferry.

Overtime: Real life Up In The Air

It's been 43 exhausting weeks since Ben Schlappig slept in a bed that wasn't in a hotel, and he spends an average of six hours daily in the sky. He has a freewheeling itinerary, often planning his next destination upon hitting the airport. Just last week, he rocketed through Dallas, Dubai, Oman, Barcelona and Frankfurt. Yet for all his travel, it would be a mistake to call Schlappig a nomad. The moment that he whiffs the airless ambience of a pressurized cabin, he's home.

Read more about him here!