Senses working overtime #196

1 Captain Marvel

Are you really pleased that this is ready to set all sorts of records? Me too. 

See what I did there?

2 Bruce Willis

An under-appreciated talent? There is a case for that, but we've recently watched him play a brutal revenge seeking surgeon (hahahaha) in 2018's Death Wish on Netflix and, really Bruce? Really?

3 The Speaker

A superhero movie? Erm, nope. Although...

It's the way the Europeans and Yanks are styling John Bercow, the Speaker in the House of Commons, that is interesting here. 

4 Rituals and routines

Interesting article - as someone who has had his routines and rituals completely disrupted lately, I can freely attest that discombobulation is the result. This edition of JFTT is coming to you from Sunday! Yikes!

Here's a taste from the article:

As Maria Popova, founder of Brain Pickings writes, though very different in practice, routine and ritual seem to be two sides of the same coin-

While routine aims to make the chaos of everyday life more containable and controllable, ritual aims to imbue the mundane with an element of the magical. The structure of routine comforts us, and the specialness of ritual vitalizes us.

5 Star Wars Episode IX
Excitement is building. What do we know so far?

Overtime Noddy Holder

Having just finished his autobiography (Who's Crazee Now?) I figured it was time to celebrate with one of my fav Slade songs.

Senses working overtime #195

1 Breathe

My mum was a keen promoter of deep breathing. It's important, okay.

2 Jorma Kaukonen

Hoyle's ordered me a copy of this autobiography by Hot Tuna/ Jefferson Airplane guitarist Jorma Kaukonen. Hard to put down this week!

3 Ten Years After

One of my favourite bands? Not in this case - a Facebook challenge - compare ID photos from 2009 and 2019, that may have other side effects.

4 Mary Oliver
Rest in peace.

Tell me, what is it you plan to do / with your one wild and precious life?

Mary's question is a really good one.

5 John Wick 3
Loved the first two! Looking forward to this one, three, too.




Overtime Jorma Kaukonen
His version of the Rev Gary Davis song has been in my head all week.

Senses working overtime #194

1 Affective presence

Explained.

2 New movies 

New year equals new expectations for some about to drop movies.

3 Ian Hunter

Of Mott the Hoople - recently, I managed to track down a copy of Diary of a Rock 'n' Roll Star from Hoyles on Charing Cross Rd. It was expensive at nearly 20 quid but, having finished it, I can tell you it's worth it (I notice it's cheaper on Amazon but I love the Foyles experience).

4 The Dharma of Star Wars

Now onto this which I found in the Star Wars corner at the aforementioned Foyles - yes, they have a whole corner of books devoted to Star Wars. This one is a geat blend of Buddhism and the Jedi tao. Be mindful of the living force!

5 Art Pepper



This has been a constant companion this week after I bought an album at Ray's Jazz - yes - in Foyles! You don't get that experience from Amazon d'ya!!

Overtime Red Garland
Thanks to a Jamie Cullum's BBC Radio 2 programme, I've recently discovered the joy of Red Garland on piano. Enjoy!

Senses working overtime #193

1 Vinyl revival

The market for DVDs has been destroyed by streaming services like Netflix (guilty as charged - I rarely buy DVDs these days).

But...vinyl continues to grow as a format as this Guardian article reports: However, it wasn’t all bad news for physical formats. The continuing vinyl revival generated LP sales of 4.2m – up 1.6% on 2017. Some 12,000 albums were released on vinyl and the most-purchased was the Arctic Monkeys’ Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino, which became the fastest-selling LP in more than 25 years, shifting 24,500 copies in seven days after its release in May. 

2 Men Without Women

I moved onto this collection of 7 short stories by Haruki Murakami, this week. He's more hit and miss over the short format - that's the nature of the beast really, but there are some classic Murakami moments in this collection - and it's a cheaply priced entry level book at Waterstones.

3 Roger Daltrey

After enjoying his autobiography I've kept my eye out for his solo albums. His latest, As Long As I Have You, has just been released (it's good too). Since then I've found Daltrey, Ride a Rock Horse and McVicar - all on vinyl. 

All have value but taking a punt on the McVicar soundtrack has paid off handsomely. What a great album! I'd forgotten that Free Me was on there.

4 Lee Child

Picked this up for under 10 quid before Christmas - the latest Jack Reacher thriller. Lee Child never disappoints and this is a great book to read on holiday - although they usually take me a day or so - easy to read, absorbing and addictive!

5 Christmas is football!

Always a frenzy of activity over the festive period - notably Liverpool lost their 100% winning record and Man City lost three games! Loads of drama to follow on MOTD.

As to my teams - Rochdale are solid in the lower reaches of League One and the gunners wobbled. But we still beat Spurs 4-2!!

January transfer window is always interesting. We need some defenders please.

Overtime Steve Coogan
I'm a fan. Here's a Guardian article on him that's worth reading.