Senses working overtime #333

1 An accidental collection - Haruki Murakami

This shirt is from the Ventura Surf Shop, in Ventura County, an affluent surfing mecca near Santa Barbara. It sounds pretty nice, but will going there really improve your life? That much I can’t say.

2 The best cover letter ever - read by Benedict Cumberbatch

3 Refusal to mourn 

In lieu of
flowers, send
him back.

Andrea Cohen (2021)

4 Kickback City - Rory Gallagher

I've been a fan of Rory's for a long long time. My lovely cousin Christine in the UK gave me this for my birthday this week. It's a triple CD pack - a pulp fiction/crime noir novella by Ian Rankin and 2 CDs of Rory (a compilation of studio tracks, and one live CD). It's a pretty cool idea - Rory's favourite writing genre and his music.

5 Something's missing - John Mayer

Something great about this song from his Heavier Things album. It's been on repeat in the Purdmobile this week.

Overtime: The last word

Malaysian politician Tunku Abdul Rahman on patience:

"Some people think that as soon as you plant a tree, it must bear fruit. We must allow it to grow a bit."

Source: Leaders of New Nations (via James Clear)

Senses working overtime #332

1 Zoom dysmorphia

We’re also used to seeing our own reflection when our faces are relaxed – the concentrated frown (or bored expression) you wear in a Zoom meeting jars with the image of yourself you’re used to seeing in the mirror. “Changes in self-perception and anxiety as a result of constant video-conferencing may lead to unnecessary cosmetic procedures, especially in young adults who have had increased exposure to online platforms including videoconferencing, social media, and filters throughout the pandemic,” write Kourosh, Channi Silence and other colleagues.

 

2 The office building - Helen Hoyt 

We kissed there in the stone entrance, In the great cool stone mouth of the building, Before it took you. We kissed under the granite arches. And then you turned and were gone And high about and above were the hard towered walls, The terrible weights of stone, relentless, But for the moment they had been kind to us, Folding us with arms While we kissed.

3 Cats and domino

Cat lovers will enjoy this.

4 Andy Warhol's advice to Iggy Pop

5 Dried roses - Robert Creeley 

“Dried roses…” Were these from some walk All those years ago? Were you the one Was with me? Did we talk? Who else had come along? Memory can stand upright Like an ordered row of stiff stems, Dead echo of flowering heads, Roses once white, pink and red. Back of them the blackness,  Backdrop for all our lives, The wonders we thought to remember Still life, still life. Robert Creeley (1999)

Overtime:  

"Many people wish they started sooner. Almost nobody wishes they started later."

James Clear

Senses working overtime #331

 1 White Rabbit

Jack and Grace explain White Rabbit's creation

2 Matrix 4

(Yes, White Rabbit makes this trailer!)

3 Instead - Seth Godin

Instead

A simple substitute might change a habit.

Instead of a snack, brush your teeth.

Instead of a nap, go for a walk.

Instead of a nasty tweet or cutting remark, write it down in a private notebook.

Instead of the elevator, take the stairs.

Instead of doomscrolling, send someone a nice note.

Instead of an angry email, make a phone call.

Instead of a purchase seeking joy, consider a donation…

4 Poetry corner bonanza 

1) For Henry's Bar - Joseph Rios

(He's on a mission to find his grandpa)

2) Morning Love Poem - Tara Skurtu

Morning Love Poem Dreamt last night I fed you, unknowingly, something you were allergic to. And you were gone, like that. You don’t have even a single allergy, but still. The dream cracked. Cars nose-dived off snow banks into side streets. Sometimes dreams slip poison, make the living dead then alive again, twirling in an unfamiliar room. It’s hard to say I need you enough. Today I did. Walked into your morning shower fully clothed. All the moments we stop ourselves just because we might feel embarrassed or impractical, or get wet. Tara Skurtu (2017)

5  Overlooked movies

Overtime: 

“You can’t build a reputation on what you are going to do.” Henry Ford

Senses working overtime #330

1 This week sprang into spring!

 

2 Blooming good time's ahead!

3 A Sharp Left Turn - Mike Chunn

4 The Ladder Song 

Track 2, Side 1: on high rotate as I read Mike's book.

5 The music lounge (Maple Grove)

I have spent a lot of time in here over the Level 4 lockdown: the place I teach and work from.

Overtime: The last word from Mike Chunn (only fair as he's dominated my week)

Which Split Enz song would you like never to hear again?

I love every one of them. To the bottom of my heart. They are the craftwork of three genii.

Senses working overtime #329

This week I've been outside our property once (Friday afternoon for a 30 minute walk to buy some groceries at the local 4 Square) so my senses have been stimulated by rural things or else by things happening in my music lounge where I've set up an office, or elsewhere inside Maple Grove

With that in mind - here are this week's jewels:

1 Frosty mornings from a window 

 

Most days this week started with a lovely frost and then were followed by days full of brilliant sunshine. Spectacular late winter scenes ensued!

2 Equaliser 2

Post Olympics' TV has been pretty barren of thrills and spills. Stallone's Rambo Last Blood was unrelenting graphic violence and pretty yucky. But Denzil's second go around as The Equaliser was on the money - stylish, violent yes - but not OTT, with interesting characters and storylines. Worth our time!

3 Iron Butterfly

In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida was the standout song on my songtrack this week - just the right amount of heavy/spaced out dumbness required for Lockdown. The live version on the pictured album is particularly spaced out. Jacinda would like it!

4 How Do You Live?

Finished this one and moved on to finishing off Mark Manson's counterintuitive approach to living a good life and my copy of The Arabian Nights.

5 Sunset - Effie Lee Newsome 

Since Poets have told of sunset,  What is left for me to tell? I can only say that I saw the day Press crimson lips to the horizon gray,  And kiss the earth farewell.

Overtime:  RIP Don and Charlie

Not a great week for rock fans. First Don Everly and then Charlie Watts left Planet Earth behind.

First album I reached for was Get Yer Ya-Ya's Out. Not only is Charlie the cover model but Mick's classic throwaway line is on it - Charlie's good tonight, inne!

Senses working overtime #328

1 Tokyo Olympics - every sport!

2 Questions for technology - Austin Kleon

3 Time dilation - Seth Godin

Photo by Jon Tyson on Unsplash

4 Jimmy Connors

How Jimmy Connors won a point by launching his racket in the air in 1996. What a freak that guy was - certainly miss his OTT celebrations (courtesy of Swiss Miss).

5 Delta - how the pandemic now ends

Photo by Fusion Medical Animation on Unsplash

In simple terms, many people who caught the original virus didn’t pass it to anyone, but most people who catch Delta create clusters of infection. That partly explains why cases have risen so explosively. It also means that the virus will almost certainly be a permanent part of our lives, even as vaccines blunt its ability to cause death and severe disease.

Overtime: 

Author and journalist Mitch Albom on time:

"Try to imagine a life without timekeeping. You probably can’t. You know the month, the year, the day of the week. There is a clock on your wall or the dashboard of your car. You have a schedule, a calendar, a time for dinner or a movie. Yet all around you, timekeeping is ignored. Birds are not late. A dog does not check its watch. Deer do not fret over passing birthdays. Man alone measures time. Man alone chimes the hour. And, because of this, man alone suffers a paralyzing fear that no other creature endures. A fear of time running out."

(Courtesy of James Clear)

Senses working overtime #327

1 Jack Kirby 101

Nice little primer on the king of comics.

2 The male gaze theory

Photo by Nate Johnston on Unsplash

Men look at women, women watch themselves being looked at - John Berger (1972)

3 Welcome 2 Prince's America

4 How to gain more from your reading

5 Megan Fox is no longer hiding

Overtime:  

Mary Oliver - Instructions for living a life (courtesy of Austin Kleon via Swiss Miss)