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 #161

1 London bound

Photo by David Dibert on Unsplash

My wife and I (plus Jerry our dog) will be living in London from August onwards as I've accepted a new job. I love London. To help celebrate check out that photo!

2 Fascinating hats!
If you live on Planet Earth you were aware of the royal weeding, er, wedding, last week. 

Here is my contribution (hey - I loved it. And yes, I may have got something in my eye at some point okay!)




3 Wow reality - what a concept

Another JFTT item on Robin Williams - a piece looking at the new biography is great for the photos alone!

4 Brain Pickings - on music

Maria Popova (great name) writes the Brain Pickings blog. Here she compiles some great writing from some great minds (including Anaïs Nin above) on the power of music.

5 Poetry corner

Curaçao

I think I am going to love it here

I ask the man in the telegraph office
the way to the bank
He locks the door and walks with me
insisting he needs the exercise

When I ask the lady at my hotel desk
what bus to take to the beach
she gets me a lift with her beautiful sister
who is just driving by in a sports job

And already I have thought of something
I want to ask the sister

Earle Birney (1966)

Overtime: You Never Can Tell

I'm digging The Immortal Jukebox blog and its unhurried unravelling style. It's run by a fellow baby boomer hepcat with the improbable name - Thom Hickey. 

In that link above, he takes on Chuck Berry's You Never Can Tell. Fabulous!

And that's us - been an awesome week. Wherever this blogpost finds you I hope you experienced some highs this week. If not - despair not, next week is just around the corner.

Senses working overtime #94

1 Do the Bartman

Nifty list of predictions made on The Simpsons that...gasp...have come true!

2 The Donald vs California
Yikes - fascinating article from the Washington Post on how California and the Trumpet are at war with each other.

3 Histography
WOW!! This site is AMAZING. If you like history, cool infographics, stories (who doesn't huh?) you will LOVE this! Hours of fun!

4 London!

I love London and these photographs are fantastic!

5 Reflect, medicate, take some time

I include this photo to remind myself that these moments are important. I haven't had too many of them lately...

Overtime 
This popped up in my YouTube alert from Abbey Road. Great song, song video and a message for the ages!

Senses working overtime #90

Okay - I'm currently on holiday and these Jewels are coming to you from Anaheim - the happiest place on earth. So - I haven't actually read many of my feeds and figured out the best of the best to share. Instead I'm gonna cheat and give you five plus images from our holiday in SF, London and LA so far...

Disneyland parade - amazing - made me want to watch
Toy Story again...and buy loads of stuff!

Me and Fanfa watch the parade in our cool new hats!

London and Fopp - my happy place!

IHOP - blueberry pancakes - o.m.g.

Riding the 101 with Samantha and Jacky.

Walking the dog in SF's Chrissy Field.

Overtime: Love those Disney parades!

Senses working overtime #47

1 National Geographic photos

This lot were unpublished (Mon Dieu!).

2 It's all the same story
I love Neil Young's comment to his audience on one of his live albums (Year Of The Horse from off the top of my head) that - it's all the same song!

This article (a long read from the Atlantic) is in the same superb vein.

3 London!

I love London and I miss it. This site makes me miss it even more. Lost locations of London. You could search around London for years and years and never get bored!

4 London! Again!!
In a similar vein - this Pinterest board called London Moments is grrrrrrreat!!

5 Wile E Coyote

Does Wile E Coyote help explain this crazy old world we all live and breathe in? Why yes, yes he does!

Overtime: I love everything about squirrels

Senses working overtime #29

1 The London Underground

Check out these great photos from the 50's and 60's.

2 Star Wars

Love these posters!

3 London

Counting down to when we fly back to London for the Christmas holidays and loving this photo - sums it up!

4 All Blacks

Senses have been boosted by our world champion rugby team who are now home and soaking up the celebrations and adulation. 

5 Cuba Mall

Yes we're back in Wellington for the weekend. Stressful traffic aside it's great to be back in a place with a decent bookshop and record store. First purchase from Slow Boat Records? Audience's Lunch album above, from 1972.

Overtime:

Senses working overtime #21

1 Writing

I've finished Murakami's Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki. It's a fantastic book. One of my all time Murakami favourites. Coincidentally I came across this quote about his writing regime. It deserves to be shared:

“When I’m in writing mode for a novel, I get up at 4:00 am and work for five to six hours. In the afternoon, I run for 10km or swim for 1500m (or do both), then I read a bit and listen to some music. I go to bed at 9:00 pm. I keep to this routine every day without variation.”

2 Speaking of morning rituals...
I read about Morning Pages recently and it made sense. I post on one of my blogs every morning before the daily grind kicks in. Since my wife gave up working nights I have had to adjust from night time writing to morning. 

Confession time - it's more of a struggle to get myself going there but I'm happy with the discipline involved.

3 London town
The current Mrs Purdzilla and I are planning a holiday back to London at Christmas this year. My juices are flowing!

The first thing we do after landing at Heathrow is grab a coffee at Costa, find that day's Guardian and plan our next move which usually involves putting on layers of clothes and heading to the Underground. 

I. Love. The. Underground!

It really opens up my senses - weird this - but I love the smell of the Underground! I also love that first moment when the train comes out of the journey into London above ground for a spell. It's like waking up in Narnia!

4 London sounds
Thought I'd throw this version of Chris Difford's immortal London tale Up The Junction into this edition on Jewels:




5 Star Wars Now

Loving this mash up style photo and link to Star Wars now photography sent to me by my favourite daughter-in-law. Cheers Ashleigh!

Overtime: I've been dipping into this article on habits all week - trying to do some self diagnosis!! It links to number two item above quite nicely!