Weeknote 45/2023
“The fact that we live at the bottom of a deep gravity well, on the surface of a gas-covered planet going around a nuclear fireball 90 million miles away, and think this to be normal, is obviously some indication of how skewed our perspective tends to be.”
Verbs
(Re)reading: Syllabus, Lynda Barry
I came across the work of Lynda Barry some years ago now, and she’s been a constant source of inspiration ever since. Barry is a cartoonist, illustrator, artist, teacher, educator and writer based in Wisconsin in the US and has an incredible legacy of graphic and visual work. Syllabus is probably her most ‘teaching focused’ work and includes teaching plans and activities, her course syllabuses, student work, and every page is incredible hand drawn, hand lettered, and hand coloured. I’ve used loads of Barry’s exercises over the years, with students and in workshops, and they’re incredible at bolstering creativity, open up spaces for expression, and tapping in to curiosity. Barry very generously shares a huge amount of what she does on Instagram and Tumblr and you can find lots of really wonderful talks and interviews with her on YouTube as well, including those stemming from her long friendship with fellow cartoonist Matt Groening
Playing: Super Mario Bros. Wonder, Nintendo Switch
I love a huge, sprawling, open-world, sandbox game as much as the next person. Zelda; Tears of the Kingdom, for example, might be my favourite game of all time. But I’m not sure that the race to have the biggest world, the biggest story, or the biggest sense of immersion is always the best way to produce a memorable gaming experience. Sometimes setting some hard constraints and letting innovation, creativity, and simple joy take over can produce something far more wonderful. So that’s exactly where Nintendo have gone with their first 2d(ish) side-scrolling platformer in nearly a decade - and it really delivers. I’ve onyl played a few hours so far but there has yet to be a level I’ve taken Toad (the best character choice, of course) through that hasn’t elicited giggles, smiles, and gasps of wonder. Who wouldn’t love a an elephant in Mario’s trademark dungarees hat, and moustache after all?
Watching: Companion, Sam Campbell
As die-hard Taskmaster fans, my wife and I have been eagerly gobbling up Season 16 which is broadcasting right now. As ever, the entire line-up of contestants is brilliant but for me Sam Campbell has been knocking out incredible moment after incredible moment. I’ve been scouring the internet for clips and appearances of Sam and there are some great sets here and there but it’s great to be able to see the full version of his comedy special Companion. If you like Sam and his entirely unique comedy style then this is packed to the gills with mind-bending genius.
Trying: Arc Browser, The Browser Company
Surely no one needs another/new web browser? We’ve got Chrome. We’ve got Safari. How on Earth could there be any need for anything else? Unless you’re deep in Linux, exploiting a 1980’s military computer system to chat-up a teenage girl, or hacking into the systems of a failing dinosaur-themed island resort, you probably don’t but browsers really haven’t changed all that much in the last 10+ years and they’re often where we spend most of our time on a computer. I heard about Arc from The Verge’s excellent Installer newsletter and have really enjoyed using it so far. In particular I love how easy it is to get columns into multiple tabs - really useful if you use a widescreen monitor like I do. I’ve also found it’s feature set for research to be natural, intuitive, and really effective, especially the ‘easels’ which allow you to set up rich content repositories like a whiteboard or corkboard. I also make use of the different profiles and spaces to handle projects, separate work and personal browsing, and interface with the companies and organisations I do work for. There’s a learning curve, but it’s a gentle one and I;m enjoying my time in Arc so far!
Listening: The Lord of the Rings, What Went Wrong podcast
I’ve had What Went Wrong subscribed in Pocket Casts for a while but with so much great podcast content to listen to I hadn’t got round to an episode yet. I picked out LOTR from the really impressive list of great films they’ve covered so far, and was pleased to see it was a trilogy of episodes! Now, I’m a geek. I know LOTR. I’ve read the books and, of course, I love the films because I have eyes, and ears, and a brain, and I really thought that I had a reasonable knowledge of the behind the scenes and making-of side of things too. All picked up from YouTube videos and DVD extras over the years, as is the way for all good trivia. It turns out that I knew nothing. The extraordinary, high-stakes, high-drama story that took place off camera is completely staggering. Set backs, push backs, casting nightmares, scheduling conflicts, enormous technical challenges, the evil presence of Harvey Weinstein, the jaw-dropping work of hundreds, if not thousands, of dedicated, passionate, grafting professionals at the top of their game. Phew…. It’s a lot. And it’s incredibly well told in the podcast which does a really impressive job of wrangling such a complex story into 3 hour-long episodes. I will definitely be looking at some of their other deep dives in the future.
Words
This week has really been all about resting and recuperating after my double wisdom-tooth extraction on Monday. The process itself proves to be relatively painless - if uncomfortable and unpleasant - and I had a really impressive experience with some super medical professionals who look after everything and kept me comfortable and well throughout. My idea of post-surgery rest is always that of relaxing in some 1920’s mountain resort where I would be playing billiards, sipping hot chocolate, taking the mountain air, and possibly solving a murder or two. The reality has been much more sitting on the sofa, playing on the Switch, reading, and eating mushy food.
Whilst in my fragile and non-murder-solving state, I did finish up Jenny Odell’s How to Do Nothing - a really interesting attempt to find ways to equip us all to resist the scourge of the attention economy by resisting, redirecting, and rethinking our relationships with technology. I think this is a hugely important topic and there’s a lot of really interesting, personal reflection in Odell’s book but overall it felt all a little too light and speculative for what I was after. I also go through Norwegian explorer Erling Kagge’s book Silence which seemed to want to be a sort of meditation on the experience of silence but really was a host of (pretty enjoyable) anecdotes about exploring various remote parts of the world.
On the menu this week has been Pappa al Pomodoro - a recipe that sounds significantly better in Italian than in English. It’s not something I’ve cooked since our time living in Italy, when I’d often make it and we’d have it chilled in the summer. I was craving something with real flavour that was also very sympathetic to aching dentition and this has been the perfect thing.
There’s some travel on the cards in the coming weeks - first to Berlin for work, and then to Switzerland for pleasure. Maybe once I get to Geneva my legendary skills as a detective will be called upon and I’ll finally get to live out that dream…