Senses working overtime #301

1 Cape Kidnappers

During the week I was on a school trip to Cape Kidnappers - one of the students was impatient for the next stage of things (How long are we here for? When does lunch finish? etc) so I suggested he look around and enjoy his surroundings. For instance the clouds. He then proceeded to look up and tell me the names of all the clouds we could see. It was great! He'd love this cloud atlas.

2 Rest in supreme peace Mary Wilson

Mary is the classy one on the left - she'll always be linked to her time as one of the Supremes.

3 The easy way 

Photo by Rubén Bagüés on Unsplash

Seth Godin makes a great point about taking the easy pathway ...or not.

4 Drive and listen

This is great - Laura Olin alerted me to this (from Swiss Miss' blog - check it out below) on her own newsletter/blog thingy. Cruise some of the world's most famous city streets and listen to street noise or the local radio (London has three choices of radio - sadly no Radio 2 but you can't have everything!)

5 Swiss miss

Loads of great items on the Swiss Miss blog.

Overtime: Keep going

This week's sign off: 

“You don't always have to be doing something. You can just be, and that's plenty.” — Alice Walker

Senses working overtime #300

1 Three hundred

Photo by Max Chen on Unsplash

This is the first photo that came upin Unsplash when I typed in 300. Pretty appropriate - sunrise on a new day and a fresh horizon coming into view. Three hundred weeks/posts on JFTT is worth celebrating!

2 The rest of the world

Sometimes it's hard for us in New Zealand to remember that a lot of the world is still in lockdown. Austin has reminded me in his post.

3 The greatest nature essay ever...

Austin has introduced me to Brian Doyle. Allow me to pass the favour on to you!

4 The art of collage

5  James Whatley

After a lengthy absence, he's back in my inbox with his Five Things newsletter - what's that? Oh. You're welcome!

Overtime: Striving for a balance

Senses working overtime #299

1 Writing

Intriguing verbal, visual and written communication seems to be a thread this week.

Crossing The Rubicon (from Bob Dylan's latest album) was my go to track this week.

2 The Great Gatsby

Redesigning the cover

3 PBS's 1,000 hours of interviews

Some real gems amongst this - Bowie, Patti Smith...

4 A newsletter on newsletters

5 The craziness of panes of glass

Seth Godin makes a great point!

Overtime: Cult Movies.

Here are 50 of them!

Senses working overtime #298

 1 Prince as birds

2 The power of books

Historian Barbara Tuchman on the power of books:

“Books are the carriers of civilization. Without books, history is silent, literature dumb, science crippled, thought and speculation at a standstill. Without books, the development of civilization would have been impossible. They are engines of change (as the poet said), windows on the world and lighthouses erected in the sea of time. They are companions, teachers, magicians, bankers of the treasures of the mind. Books are humanity in print."

(Source: James Clear)

3 The past 11 presidencies, explained by the TV shows that defined them

4 The first second gentleman!

5 Scattered thoughts on the inauguration

Overtime: Lady Gaga sings Star Spangled Banner during the inauguration

Best thing I heard this week! Swept away four miserable years in one fell swoop!!!

Senses working overtime #297

 1 Peanut Butter

I'd be hard pressed to live without it - it has always be that way. Here's the history of peanut butter.

2 Reading

Another thing I can't imagine being without! I have evolved and now read multiple books at once.

This is a fascinating article on the process.

Aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn’t mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoetnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be at the rghit pclae. The rset can be a toatl mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe.

3 Ed Catmull, cofounder of Pixar, on how they make great movies:

"Initially, the films we put together, they're a mess. It's like everything else in life—the first time you do it, it's a mess. Sometimes it's labeled ... "a failure" ... but that's not even the right word to use. It's just like, you get the first one out, you learn from it, and the only failure is if you don't learn from it, if you don't progress."

4 Writing from Seth Godin: 

It doesn’t have to be perfect, it can simply be the next thing you do.

5 George Lucas A Life

The more I read about him, the more I like him!

Overtime: American Graffiti

After reading the chapter on how it was made, I rewatched this during the week. It's a great film!

Senses working overtime #296

1 World of Wearable Arts at Wellington's Te Papa

During the week Jacky and I travelled down to Wellington to see the WOW exhibition at NZ's national museum, a.k.a. Te Papa. Certainly a visual feast!

2 Christopher Milne

C.R. Milne with Pooh

I'm currently reading his first autobiography -  The Enchanted Places. As A.A. Milne's only son, Christopher Robin Milne has quite a story to tell. He tells it in a pretty oblique fashion which actually adds to its appeal in a curious way. 

3 Burton Cummings

Of course, while in Wellington I also visited Slow Boat Records and Rough Peel Music. It's a rule. 

At RPM I managed to find some bargains - among them two of Burton Cummings' solo records (I'm a big fan of The Guess Who) - a replacement copy of Dreams Of A Child (my old copy was past its use by date) and My Own Way To Rock. $3 each, both in mint condition! Score

Try Break It To Them Gently why doncha.

4 Arty Bee's Books and Unity Books

are also must visit places for me when going to Wellington. I scored four more Anne Tyler novels in the process including Redhead By The Side Of The Road - her latest - first published in 2020. 

5 Pandoro Panetteria

Taste - we love Wellington's version of Pandoro Panetteria for breakfast or lunch.

Overtime: A bit more from the WOW Arts from #1 with the delightful Mrs Purdy in her element.

Senses working overtime #295

1 2021

For those of you keeping track, 2021 is the product of the prime numbers 43 and 47. If you were looking for a reason to be optimistic, that’s as good as any - Seth Godin.

2 I'm an early riser

Turns out - that's a good thing. I'm not sure why they used an image showing 8am though. Week days I rise at 4.30 and holidays it's around 6.30 usually.

3 SoCal hot spot

Our eldest daughter lives and works in Los Angeles - the U.S. hot spot for the Covid-19. It's a worry.

 
4 Important life lessons from 2020

Photo by Tsunami Green on Unsplash

5 The year in things

Starting with toilet paper!

This is great from Vox!

Overtime: Sign off from Seth

Even if no one but you reads it. The blog you write each day is the blog you need the most. It’s a compass and a mirror, a chance to put a stake in the ground and refine your thoughts.

And the most important post? The one you’ll write tomorrow.