Finished Reading: Mike Joyce - The Drums by Mike Joyce. A nice little memoir of Joyce’s time in The Smiths. He doesn’t dwell on court cases or royalty disputes or anything like that. Just the sheer joy of being in one of the greatest bands.📚
Read: In Another World - The Four Seasons Of Talk Talk by Graeme Thomson. A fantastic book that makes you listen to and hear the Talk Talk albums in a different light. The best kind of music book.📚
Watched: Eno . I enjoyed this. Brian Eno is still a very inspiring person. 🍿
I saw lots of posts this morning from people complaining that “person” was trending in their social media. Do they STILL not know how this stuff works?
I seem to be getting into a habit of updating CrucialTracks . Picking a favourite song brings a nice little spark of joy every day. 🎵
Watched John Oliver’s recent investigation into AI chatbots. I would be quite happy to see all of these companies sued out of existence.
Watched: PlayTime . I love this film. I think I’m becoming more like Monsieur Hulot. 🍿
I bought this portable FiiO CD player. It sounds really good. I have a bunch of CD-R discs that wouldn’t play on my older player. This plays them with no issues at all. Very pleased with the purchase.
🔗 We let four AIs run radio stations. Here’s what happened. I’m in the AI sceptic camp but I find this whole story fascinating.
Read: All the Devils Are Here by David Seabrook. I felt like taking a shower after reading this before immediately reading it again. It’s a horribly good read. 📚
I started an account just to try out the new Wordpress short-form blogging theme . It just reminded me of one of the reasons I stopped using Wordpress in the first place. That clunky interface is still the same. I don’t post nearly enough here but I will always choose the simplicity of Micro.blog.
I missed the news that Chip Taylor had died recently. We had him play a show at our local arts centre back in the 90s when I worked there. He sang all his hit songs and told some great stories. A memorable night.
Started to read: NONESUCH. by Francis Spufford. This is my fourth or fifth book by this author and every one has been written in a totally different genre. 📚
The Mets lost again. I think I’m drawn to the Mets because they’re a bit like the Scottish national football team. They’ll lift you up for a few great games then drop you back down again with a great thud and leave you wondering when the next win will come. ⚾️
Finished reading: The Motel Life by Willy Vlautin 📚
I’m going to give the Hobonichi Techo book another try this year. I’ve wasted money on them in the past but I’m determined to scribble down something every day this year.
Song of the day. This popped up on the radio this morniing. Still sounding weird and wonderful. Wall of Voodoo - Mexican Radio 🎵
No resolutions again. Just a continuation of my attempt to escape advertising, algorithms, “content”, and all forms of tech hype. I feel much better, and calmer, without those things in my life. Down with "content". Up with music, books, films.
Watched: Smithereens 🍿
I loved Northern Exposure. I need to listen to the podcast now and start a re-watch. ‘It explored the spectrum of humanity’: the enduring pleasures of Northern Exposure | Television | The Guardian .
Watched: Spinal Tap II: The End Continues . It was never going to be as good as the first one but I enjoyed it. There’s a shortage of memorable scenes but the one with Paul McCartney is priceless. 🍿
I’ve been watching a few videos of the New York Halloween parade on YouTube. It seems like a great event and a nice reminder that the US still has a beating heart.
New Work by Gary Larson | TheFarSide.com . Hooray. Gary Larson is drawing again (on a tablet).
Watched: A Better Tomorrow . Surprisingly well-acted bullet fest. John Woo’s Hong Kong films all seem to have strong male friendships at their centre.🍿
Read: The Hearing Trumpet by Leonora Carrington. This book was so good I want to read it again. 📚