Senses working overtime #399

The combination of time spent in London, Bury, and Los Angeles during this week provided a real contrast in sensual stimuli.

Here's a short selection...

1  Palisades Park and Santa Monica beach

Jacky, Wozza, Fanfa and Drew.

2 Santa Monica

Santa Monica dinosaur fountain

3  Amoeba Music

4  Barrington Avenue and Sunset Boulevard walk

Outside 'The Ugly House'

5  Last fish and chips and mushy peas before USA

At The Three Magpies before flying to LA

Overtime:  Buckingham Palace and Caffe Nero (Upper Street)

Upper Street's home away from home - Caffe Nero.

Senses working overtime #398

UK tour

This week is devoted to glimpses of our sensual delights over the last week or so as we trekked around before seeing Irene and Christine - taking in Tintagel Castle, Blenheim Palace, amid visits to Appledore, Oxford, Bury, and south Wales.

1 Clouds and snow

On the way from London to Devon

2 Appledore

Brekkie at the Royal George 

3 Blenheim Palace

4 Burr's Country Park (Bury)

Peel monument from Burr's

5 Tintagel Castle

Overtime: Irene and Christine

Irene (101), Christine and me

Senses working overtime #397

1 Confessions of a celebrity ghost-writer

2 The best way to wash your face is actually a 200 year old method

3 Why The White Lotus is the best TV show of 2022

4 This is how often you should wash your bed sheets

5 The linguistics of swearing

Overtime: Contronyms  (words that are their own antonyms)

Left can mean either remaining or departed. If the gentlemen have withdrawn to the drawing room for after-dinner cigars, who’s left? (The gentlemen have left and the ladies are left.)

Senses working overtime #396

1 Hoping you have a jazzy Charlie Brown Christmas

2 Why It Took So Long for James Cameron to Make Avatar: The Way of Water

3 The Manson girls

4 What's behind the exploding prices for pro sports franchises

5 To tell someone they are wrong, first tell them they are right.

Overtime: Persian adage - This too shall pass.

Senses working overtime #395

1 The best TV theme songs

2 The one sentence that will make you are a more effective speaker

3 The best way to pack your suitcase

4 Best of pocket 2022

5 Time for Christmas Favourites again!

Overtime: 

“In an age of speed, I began to think, nothing could be more invigorating than going slow. In an age of distraction, nothing can feel more luxurious than paying attention.”

Pico Iyer

Senses working overtime #394

1 Qatar's stadiums for the World Cup

2 New Beatle videos

I'm Only Sleeping and Taxman get stunning new animated videos.

3 Why we love the music we love

4 Walt Whitman and what makes life worth living

He would have added the FIFA World Cup every four years if it was around back in the day.

5 What happens to spelling bee champions when they get old (a.k.a. the story of Brad Williams, now 62 years old)

Brad age 12

Overtime: All of those controversies around Qatar's World Cup laid out for you here

Senses working overtime #393

1 Ten ways to calm anxious thoughts and soothe your nervous system

2 How the philosophy behind the Japanese art form of kintsugi can help us navigate failure

3 A technique to get unstuck

4 The virtue of owning books you haven't read

5 Lox

A word that has not changed in 800 years. Love this!

Overtime: Contentment 

"If you want a golden rule that will fit everything, this is it: Have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful."

William Morris (via James Clear)

Senses working overtime #392

1 Hollow City

Edward Hooper's portraits of urban alienation.

2 The Beatles' Revolver redux.

An article cunningly title 'How Peter Jackson broke up The Beatles'

3 Too many songs, not enough hits. 

And no stars. What's wrong with today's pop world!

4 Awareness and acceptance

Why it's important to build a bridge.

5 The CD revival

Overtime: Commitment

"One good day does not mean you can coast tomorrow. You never have it fully licked. Making good choices is an endless process. Many areas of life that we value most—our relationships, our fitness, our craft—require a continual commitment."

James Clear

Senses working overtime #391

1 Invisible things

2 Note by note: The making of a Steinway piano

A superlative documentary film that you can watch here. 

3 In praise of Andor

4 What happened to Rod McKuen?

5 The Anti-Woodstock ’99”: An Oral History of the Tibetan Freedom Concert

Tibetan Buddhist monk Palden Gyatso meets Flea. Yes - Flea.

Overtime: Starting

"In some areas of life, value is unlocked by starting. Even a five-minute workout or a short walk can reset your mood and benefit your body.

In other areas, value is unlocked by finishing. It does you no good to build a bridge halfway across the river. You need to complete the project to realize the value.

Do you need to start or finish? Are you building a body or building a bridge?"

James Clear