Senses working overtime #487

1 Spring is in the air at Maple Grove

2 Reading: Right Thing, Right Now - Ryan Holiday

3 Listening: Garden Fresh - John Hanlon

John Hanlon is one of my favourite NZ artists. This was his break through album in NZ (1974) and still sounds pretty great to me.

4 Reading: George Orwell on Charles Dickens (Selected Essays)

Still reading through this collection of essays. I'm up to this one on Charles Dickens from 1940. First sentence:

Dickens is one of those writers who are well worth stealing.

5 Listening: Austin Kleon's Playlist

Austin created and shared his playlist of songs that inspired The Beatles White Album (so named - actually it was just called The Beatles - and officially my favourite album of all time). Nice concept!

Overtime: 

"It's nice to have a little help, but we often resent when someone else tries to do it all for us. Each individual wants to make their own dreams a reality. If someone hands you the whole thing on a silver platter, they gift you the result, but rob you of the accomplishment.

Remember this not only when chasing your dreams, but also when supporting others. Help along the way, but let them run their own race. Your job is to live life with them, not live their life for them."

James Clear

Senses working overtime #477

1 Theme of the week: I ain't gonna work on Maggie's farm no more - Bob Dylan.

More about the song here.

2 Listening: Wonderful Life - Black

A great video to this one too. Always worth watching.

3 Reading: George Orwell - Selected Essays

4 Watching: The Yellow Birds (on Netflix)

I really loved this film. Would hold up to repeat viewings too.

5 Listening: WTWMC True Colours

Yes this is still going strong - we had a brief hiatus while Greg and his wife were overseas. But the boys are back!

Latest colour was Purple and its offshoots.

Watch in real time as offshoots of Green is up for exploration this week.

Overtime: 

"One of life's counterintuitive lessons is that you will often gain energy by spending a little bit of energy.

When you feel lethargic and like you want to lay around all day, it is usually the case that getting up and moving will make you feel better than simply sitting around. Getting outside for 10 minutes or doing the first set of a workout or simply stretching on the floor for a moment — anything to get your body moving — will often leave you feeling more energized.

If you want to get your day going, then get your body going. It's harder for the mind to be sluggish when the body is moving."

James Clear

Senses working overtime #215

1 Is it rolling Bob?
Really looking forward to seeing this on Netflix when our new TV arrives. It's one of my fav Dylan periods.

2 The Book of Kells
If illuminated medieval manuscripts doesn't float your boat, you're reading the wrong blog! This is exciting news!

3 Cultosaurus Erectus

I've been looking for a good copy of this for ages - mainly because I love the cover. Finally got a copy and lo and behold - the music is actually good too (I love the 1976 to 1981 period of the band)

4 Ten facts about Oh, The Places You'll Go!

5 1984
Just finished Keep The Aspidistra Flying. Wow. An amazing read. And I still remember reading this all those years ago. Powerful!

Overtime: Davy Jones
His vocals are fantastic on the Monkees' hit: A Little Bit Me, A Little Bit You.

Senses working overtime #114

1 Big brother

Great piece about the lasting appeal of 1984 and George Orwell's world of the fut...er...pa...er...

2 The (shudder) eighties aesthetic



3 Han Solo. I've got a bad feeling about this.

Hmm - the directors have left the film (fired) while filming it. Not a good sign, although Opie Taylor is now in charge. Read all about it.

4 Your focus determines your reality

Great article about the distracted mind.

5 When to post?
Woh - exhaustive and entertaining look at when is the best time to post, tweet, facebook message, email, and so on. Amazing stats!

Extra Texture
This week, I've been reading a book about Woody Allen's career up to the early eighties. Hence this...