Senses working overtime #335

 1 John Margolies

More of his fantastic images of roadside America here (nod to John's work courtesy of Laura Olin).

2 God - John Lennon

Cool Song Exploder episode. Ringo, Klaus, Billy and John all appear.

3 The Kinks

I've been catching up on their late seventies - early eighties catalogue this week - many many great moments in that period. Along the way I enjoyed this live document from 1973 and some great moments from their 1980 live album One More From The Road (I highly recommend this album). Sidebar: how good is the undervalued Dave Davies on guitar!

4 Waterloo Sunset

While watching some Kinks' videos, this version flicked up - Ray Davies at Glastonbury 2010. I cried - a combination of nostalgia and that line - 'so I won't be afraid'! Plus the greatness of the song can be a little overwhelming and this is a very affecting version!

5 The chocolate guy

You have to see this to believe it! (Courtesy of Laura Olin)

Overtime: 

“Joy does not simply happen to us. We have to choose joy and keep choosing it every day.”

– Henri J.M. Nouwen (courtesy of SwissMiss)

Senses working overtime #314

1 Hot jazz!

My love affair with vinyl continues unabated! This week I bought John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band - the new 2LP re-released set. The packaging is superb and the album still gives me tingles (and tears - the bit where he declares that he 'just believes in me, Yoko and me' - the bare honesty gets me!).

For me, it's my favourite record of all time with my favourite cover of all time, so how could I not shell out $99.95 for it even though I obviously have my original vinyl copy and two different CD copies.

2 Not worried, now that I've been vaccinated

I've now had my two doses of the vaccine and I am relieved to think that my chances of any serious covid-19 infection are extremely low. Really.

3 Photography at the centre of the art world?

4 Ballad - Diane Seuss

5 Experience: I've had the same supper for 10 years

Loved this story (and the subject).

Overtime: San Francisco's street signs.

Overtime: Marvel lettering (both of the overtimes from Laura Olin's newsletter)

Senses working overtime #270

1 Loving John

Current reading matter is Loving John - May Pang's book. I've never read it before! Scandalous!! 

She's pretty good at setting the scene.

2 Belief and plans

Steve Jobs on those things is really interesting.

3 Love Poem: Centaur

Nothing approaches a field like me. Hard gallop, hard chest – hooves and mane and flicking tail. My love: I apprehend each flower, each winged body, saturated in a light that burnishes. I would make a burnishing  of you, by which I mean a field in flower, by which i mean, a breaching – my hands making an arrow of themselves, rooting the loosened dirt. I would make for you the barest of sounds, wing against wing, there, at the point of articulation. Love,  I pound the earth for you. I pound the earth.  Donika Kelly (2017)

4 Dylan interview

He has a new album out. That's a big deal when you're nearly 80 and you've a cultural icon for six decades.

5 Solitude

Overtime: She'll be right, Icelandic style.

Senses working overtime #209

1 Baby, you're a star (Prince)
That 'you' would be music in general: I can't live without music as this selection shows.

I'm not sure if I like this new storage trend for vinyl, replicating the shopping experience. Maybe. Maybe.

2 Yesterday
I saw the shorts of this movie recently and made a mental note to catch it if I can.




3 Here today

This Netflix Joko doco travels some familiar ground (regardless of what this piece would have you believe) but it's still a must see!

4 Good work if you can get it

The world's richest musicians. Where do you think Macca featured on that list? Check your answer here.

5 Waterloo Sunset
The Kinks masterpiece goes under the Thom Hickey microscope on his great blog - The Immortal Jukebox.

Overtime: Hall and Oates

Been spending a lot of time in the Purdmobile this week (my new work car has been christened 'Sid'). Radio Wozza threw up a few Hall and Oates classics along the way and this one had me bopping and pounding the wheel like a maniac, maniac. A perfect road trip song:

Senses working overtime #203

1 Nu Zild

This week we returned to live in New Zealand (above picture is pretty much the first thing you see as you arrive at Auckland Airport) so my senses have been filled with familiar sights and smells and sounds. New Zealand life is a lot more relaxed than the UK. A lot more!

2 North Hollywood
On the way home we stopped off in North Hollywood to visit with our eldest daughter. Noho has its own feel. Which we really liked btw. The smells are interesting for a start, with cannabis being legal.

While there I visited downtown and Amoeba Music. Right by the CNN building and Sunset Blvd. The biggest independent music store apparently. Luvverly!

3 John and Yoko's room

Baby, you're a rich man: exploiting a moment part 9 - Joko's honeymoon suite at the Amsterdam Hilton has been turned into a weird kind of corporate shrine. Go look.

4 Jacinda-mania part two

I loved this article about our PM which appeared in The Guardian before we left the UK. I read it out to my wife and got quite emotional.

5 Great advice
I've been chain reading books of late. This is great advice from Austin:

My last book was The Beatles On The Roof - excellent on the lead up to the roof session in January 1969 with great attention to detail. 

I've stood on the footpath below and gazed up and wondered and this book fills in the gaps.

Overtime: In praise of WS Merwin (may he rest in peace)

Senses working overtime #202

1 Women power

The cover version I'm reading

After ditching the James Patterson novel (what was I thinking?), I've been reading Viv Albertine's Clothes Clothes Clothes Music Music Music Boys Boys Boys. Required reading for everyone on the planet!

2 John and Yoko
Fantastic to read that Viv was and is a big John and Yoko fan. Yoko has written many great female-centric songs (Women Power below and others) but in a week that had International Women's day, I've gone for Women Is The Nigger Of The World (even though it cuts off before the end of the song - the message is still relevant!)



3 Yoko
We didn't hear much from Yoko in the above clip, so here she is on her own...




4 Safety cycles
Did not realise the power that safe movement had for women.




5 Captain Marvel

Brie and Captain Marvel deliver the goods! 

Overtime Ending with Viv

Great article on her second volume of autobiography (To Throw Away Unopened) - now I need to find a copy of that to take home.

Senses working overtime #185

1 London Bridge station

Our train from Caterham's final destination. Great twitter account

2 Poetry Corner

from Triangles of Power Got a slice burned the roof of my mouth. Knew I would it was delicious. Eileen Myles (1991)

3 Life hacks - eating a burger the right way

I flip my burger depending on its quality - find out about why and more life hacks here.

4 White House releases doctored video
Shameful behaviour that shouldn't be allowed to stand. The video analysis here makes me feel sick.

5 Advice from Haruki Murakami
Great advice from a novelist I have a lot of time for.

Overtime - with Trump and Brexit dominating headlines - this is still as relevant as it was back in 1971.

Senses working overtime #153

1 This week's 'I Love This Photo' section

Continuing the over-the-shoulder shot theme from the last JFTT: I love this shot, taken by my wife this time, of me and our daughter at Universal Studios - our destination after riding the 101 from SF to LA. This time I'm riding the escalator!

2 Poetry corner...

For years I dug in the earth trying to discover the blue sky deeper and deeper I tunneled until one night I made stones and tiles fly into the air with no effort I broke the bone of the void Musō Soseki trans. W.S. Merwin 3 Liverpool museum exhibition I'm hoping to visit this Lennon/Ono exhibition - hopefully  during the Christmas holidays. It's free! 4 Bikes for Afri...erm, make that China Confiscated shared bicycles in Shanghai This is amazing. When we lived in China, my wife and I were  often the only people on bikes, everyone else had electric  scooters. The place, China, is vast and so is the waste!  In this case - bikes! 5 Change I love this quote: Overtime Time waits for no one. Don't people have great ideas!  Love this real time clock!

Senses working overtime #113

1 Annie and Alvy

True confession time - I'm a huge Woody Allen fan, and so I enjoyed this film review of the classic Annie Hall.

2 The Simpsons inserted

Great fun. More here.

3 Rock stars
Gotta love em.

4 21st Century movies - best of...so far
Some movies here I need to see (and some I can recommend).

5 Oh Yoko

Fair's fair - very pleased with the decision to add Yoko credit to John's Imagine. If you have read Grapefruit (Yoko's collection of stuff) you will know this rights an injustice of sorts.

Extra Texture
Arsene Arsene, give us a wave!

Fancy some stats on Arsene's 20 year reign at the greatest club the world has ever seen? Me too. Check it out fellow gooners.

Senses working overtime #65

1 Barack - the night guy

Like so many on planet Earth, I am an Obama fan. Unlike Barack, I have always carved out my alone time in the morning. Whenever it's carved out, it's important. Getting a peak into his routines is pretty cool.

2 Proxemics explained
Great little video from Vox on personal space bubbles as studied by Edward T. Hall.

3 OMG

Bobcat on a cactus! How did that happen (thanks to JW for the link).

4 Arsenal in Aussie

Adam (pictured - thanks Ashleigh) sent me this - pretty cool - Aussie tour by the greatest team the world has ever seen!

5 Bill Murray
An overview of Bill's appeal is always good fun.




Overtime
Great video of Lennon doing Imagine live.