I’m Christian Payne, autotelic, photographer and writer. In this dispatch I seek out novelty, explore how we share, what we share and consume, plus where we might be heading. Thanks for being curious.
#TheAction
Sometimes the days morph together, but a few things I do help me punctuate time and stretch things out a little. Here’s a simplified daily routine leaving out all the visits, distractions, family outings and spontaneous adventures.
Morning: I start the day with a leisurely cup of tea and a think. The easter holidays has gifted me quiet mornings and the time to reflect on the day ahead. My wife is up and out early most days and the kids sleep in.
After feeding the dog I might jot some notes in my journal to line things up in my head. Without the pressure of an audience the words come out differently.
After the dog has eaten, I'll take her on a slow walk letting her sniff anything she wants. Which is almost everything. Apparently sniffing can really tire a dog out.
While she checks her Pee-mail I might snap the occasional photo that documents a change in seasons. Mostly in 35mm film at the moment.
Once back home I'll breakfast, perhaps chat with the local ham radio community on the local repeater before heading to the shed with a coffee. There I'll run through email and put in a few hours of writing, editing photos, audio, or video. Sometimes all three.
Midday: This week the kids are mostly entertaining themselves but we come together at mealtimes, which at lunch might be sandwiches or a light pasta dish.
Afternoon: After lunch I'll alternate between reading for 30 mins, listening to podcasts or playing harmonica along to a blues record. I might then meditate if I haven't grabbed a few mins in the morning.
If I have errands like shopping I'll do that mid-afternoon. Podcasts might also accompany me there.
Late afternoon might see another writing spurt, time on the socials or tinkering in the garden slowly building something or chopping wood. I'll then focus on preparing a meal. Cooking might be dragged out over an hour or two and I'll listen to the radio. If it's a Thursday, Friday or Saturday it’ll be with a glass or two of wine. If there's any in. If not, a weird ale. Meal time is a family affair with everybody home. A time to catch up news.
Evening: After dinner is about listening or learning for me. I might listen to some vinyl, read a book or do some research for the newsletter. The kids might need to be driven to a gaming club or walked to scouts or there might be a TV series me and my wife are working through.
Last thing at night, between 10- 11:30, before heading to bed, I'll stand in the garden with the dog looking at the stars while she has a pee and a sniff. I'll then load the dishwasher, drop a few words into my journal, brush my teeth, and if they’re still awake reading, say good night to the kids.
[No this isn’t a parody. This really is some of the stuff I do. I don’t care if it’s wanky. Obviously I’ve left out a lot of boring stuff as well as shitting, pissing and other best-not-mentionables.]
#ThePictures
I took the image at the top of this dispatch at Glastonbury 2005. Pre twitter but not pre Flickr. So it is out there but you might not have seen it. One of the best things with migrating my backups is that I’ve found thousands of images I have not seen for a very long time. Looking forward to going through them.
Thanks to Adrian for reminding me of Brave Browser and that it can block a lot of things. Including adverts on YouTube videos.
This helped me ensure some of the more important settings were activated on my new NAS drives.
#TheWords
Next time I’m accused of being pessimistic I shall remember…
“Research has recently shown that those who harbor a certain degree of pessimism “tend to foresee obstacles more readily since they expect things to go wrong, meaning that they are more likely to plan for difficulties.”” Via a Poetic Outlaws feature on Emil Cioran.
“Journalism requires a peculiar mix of skepticism and earnestness” Is the Media Prepared for an Extinction-Level Event?
#TheSound
Did you hear this podcast I recorded yesterday? It has me gushing over the new Zoom H1E. [Amzn Link] I also talk about how I use it, what it’s good for, and why I think it is pretty essential kit.
If you didn’t hear it, it might be because you either don’t care for these shiny things or cannot afford the £4/month to support my work here. If the latter is the case and you’d still like to hear it, let me know. ;-)
Right now i’m currently testing to find out which wind shield is best.
Why would you ever want to read a post by Stephen Fry?… When you can listen to him read it to you. A master narrator. He has talked about his home vocal booth and I’ve spotted a Neumann mic in some shots. No idea what he records into though. But he does use Source Connect to record high quality realtime audio on read-throughs.
It’s Record Store Day next week and I’ll certainly be paying a visit to Vinyl Revival UK. But I’ve started my LP purchasing early this week with this rare and wonderful tenth anniversary collector's edition of ‘Little Battles’ from Laura, ‘She Makes War’ (now Penfriend). It’s never been released on vinyl till now and might be my favourite of all her albums.
#TheConsumed
What are friends for? Lots of things, but they are also good for enlightening you as to the correct name for a Fat Omelette (as I called it). It’s actually called a Frittata.
I was on the way to the bottom of an instant noodle ramen the other day and pondered what a noodle sandwich might taste like. I was aware that they were a thing, but can’t remember ever having one. So I filled a slice of bread with soggy noodles and got stuck in. Not bad.
After a quick google I realised that noodle sandwiches take up a formidable part of the web. Here is the first video I found…
And here is James May trying his first Pot Noodle sarnie.
A photo of my noodle sandwich is in amongst these other monstrosities I borrowed from the web. The first person to guess correctly which one is mine, gets all Documentally posts and the podcast unlocked for a month.
Replies, comments or social media messages all welcome.
#TheBody
Today marks 237 days straight using the Balance app. The best way to explain what I get out of it is to compare it to how you might sort out any niggles in your computer. Turn it off and on again and there is a chance that will iron out any issues and it will run smoother.
Some meditation sessions have me feeling like I’ve hit a reset button. Others, like the current series on productivity I’m working through, has me full-on rewire parts of my thinking. Of course there are other ways in which to do this. But this is easy and always with me.
#TheThings
A Synology update. After a lot of faffing (and pestering friends as to what is the right and wrong thing to do (You know who you are thank you!)) I noticed that the WD Red Pro 8TB drives were not supported (recommended) by Synology. I thought that was probably because they want you to buy their brand but it appears Western Digital drives can flag up a warning after three years of use stating that the drive needs to be replaced. This clashes with Synology’s own health checks and can be a pain. So for peace of mind I returned the drives and ordered 2 Seagate IronWolf 8TB drives instead. They were over £50 cheaper even with next day delivery. Ebuyer’s customer service is some of the best I’ve experienced. So that’s something. Right now the new drive is whirring it’s way through 5TB of multimedia.
Have you ever seen anything as masculinely terrifying as the Tilta Khronos?
And by terrifying I mean it looks like some kind of sci-fi interrogation tool or soul stealing device. In case you wondered, it’s actually a rig for your phone so you can film stuff. I’d hate to attempt an interview with this.
It’s much easier to build rapport with a relaxed interviewee. And a relaxed interviewee is more likely to engage in open and meaningful communication. As well as give you authentic and honest responses.
If I were to whip this out and stick it in someone’s face i’d be more likely to get hands in the air and a “I’LL TELL YOU WHATEVER YOU WANT TO KNOW”
Perhaps that’s the intention here. There might even be a Taser add-on.
Let us for a moment pay homage to the humble, timeless and beautifully simple pestle and mortar.
Every morning when assembling my breakfast I take a handful of nuts and grind them with this ancient culinary tool
And it really is ancient. Unchanged in form and function and found in kitchens and chemists around the world since — well probably before there were kitchens and chemists. This wonderful tool transcends cultures and millennia.
And I think of this unfathomable history when i’m mashing macadamia with walnuts. How many thousands of years has a similar scene played out?
No electricity, no switches, no noise. Just a meditative pummelling and a momentary thought of those who have come before, who’ve all done exactly the same.
#TheThanks
I must thank the paying subscribers that pay $5/month to get all the content I share into this feed. This dispatch is carried on the back of patronage. The generous supporting the dream of the… daring? foolish? Who knows. But please do consider upgrading to become a paid supporter. Either way… Thank you for reading, sharing and liking.
#TheWeb
Open source hero saves the day. How might we get him those unlimited free beers?
Chechnya is banning music that's too fast or slow.
Have you added yourself to the Documentally community map like @rashbre
Amazing story of what it was like going on tour with Fela Kuti. (via Uchujin)
Stunning Helen of Troy Frescos Uncovered in Pompeii
Some of my other places include Letterboxd, Discogs, GoodReads, Flickr, LinkedIn, YouTube, Mastodon, or search ‘Documentally’ on Wire, Birdsite, Bluesky or Daft Social.
Might I see you at Thinking Digital this year? I’ll be delivering this workshop. (Free to full pass holders.)
#TheEnd
Well done for making it this far.
Next week the kids are back to school and at some point I have to liberate some whisky from a passing train.
Right now I have just cracked open a bottle of Straffe Hendrik, poured it into my favourite glass and am raising it in your direction-ish.
Have a great week!
“You can't use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have.” ~ Maya Angelou
Create.
See you out there.
Over…