Autometalogolex [458]
Greetings from the shed...
But have you? I think you’re looking pretty great right now.
#TheAction
Manchester was a welcome change of scene last week. An antidote to dilute the norm. I find a day away is enough to reset and reinvigorate the mind. But two days! And one of them at TEDx… It was welcome immersion, a convivial escapade amidst fresh perspectives.
Manchester is great for exploring on foot. So I did. Snapping hither and thither.
The first evening had me enjoying great food, wine and conversation at the speakers dinner. And the following morning I was up early for Herb Kim’s TEDx Manchester.
The speakers are linked above in the TEDx link and as you’d expect, they were fantastic. There were a lot of stand out moments but I’ll give an honourable mention first to the attendees. Lovely people with a few good friends in the mix. Then Blaise and Youngr shown above were my favourite take-aways. Lots to process. I regret not making the space in my bag to grab a copy of Blaise’s book as it’s all i’ve talked about since. I’m looking forward to sharing the video of his talk.
Then there was a great performance from the live looping one man band Youngr who I’d chatted with at depth the night before. When I asked him what he felt about TikTok as a platform, (he’s big on there) he told me he deletes the app after every post. Only to download it again for the next one.
Manchester the place and its people was also great. No surprise there. The next conference I’m looking forward to will also be in The North, Gateshead and Thinking Digital in May. See you there?
#ThePictures
Here are as few more photos I took in Manchester.
I’ll upload some more to my Flickr profile. And yes I still use it. This might be my favourite shot from the trip. Reminds me of a theatre set.
Lovely little vignette on the plight of Bognor Regis. (Via Harriet Dodd via Tim LeRoy.)
This week I was chatting on the phone with Nick Turpin discussing my trip to Manchester. At one point, I commented that I'm seeing far more imagery under the street photography hashtag and I’m confused as to what the public perception of the term street photography might be.
I’ve always felt that street photography is the capturing of candid moments in public spaces, usually urban environments. It's as if the HCB spontaneous capture of something happening in front of him has been put aside, and now any photograph taken in any street can now be tagged #streetphotography.
I was certainly talking to the right person as Nick immediately directed me to CandidPublicPhotography.com. Check it out. I like Nick’s take on clarifying the increasingly ambiguous term.
#TheWords
During my lad’s recent parents evening, one of his teachers told me it was tough to find suitable reading material for him as he reads a lot. And well. We always read to the kids at a young age and the no smart devices upstairs rule has them still reading faster than we can purchase books. He prefers physical books but has a kindle (not technically a smart device) so it’s easier to furnish him with reading material. As he will be 15 soon, this week I searched around for some more grown up reading. This is what I loaded on his kindle.
[I’ve included Amazon links as if 100’s of you buy all the things listed i’ll have enough cash to buy a discounted baguette.]
The Book Thief" by Markus Zusak - A WWII story that explores themes of love, loss, and resilience.
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon - A mystery novel told from the perspective of a 15-year-old boy with autism.
The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini - A story of redemption set in Afghanistan and the United States.
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee - A Pulitzer Prize-winning novel that deals with issues of racism and social injustice in the American South.
The Giver by Lois Lowry - A dystopian novel that explores the importance of individuality and freedom.
The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho - A philosophical novel about a shepherd's journey to find his personal legend.
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury - A dystopian novel that explores the dangers of censorship and the importance of literature.
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith - A coming-of-age story set in early 20th-century Brooklyn.
Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes - A science fiction novel that explores the nature of intelligence and the human condition.
The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger - A coming-of-age novel that explores themes of identity and alienation.
There is a few in here i’ve not read so I may have to dip in. If you have any of your own recommendations please let me know.
#TheSound
As mentioned above I got to enjoy the company and work of the live looping artist Youngr. Here he is in action.
Live looping in the modern electronic sense was originally pioneered by American musician Terry Riley in the 60’s and later by Robert Fripp and Brian Eno in the 80’s and 90’s. I’ve linked their names and more below with some examples of their work. Please have a click around and enjoy.
Other artists that incorporate live looping in their workflow are Dub FX - Zoe Keating - Tash Sultana - Damien Rice - Ed Sheeran - Reggie Watts - Imogen Heap - KT Tunstall - Steve Lawson - Kimbra - Andrew Bird - Jamie Lidell - Beardyman - David Ford and Jacob Collier. There are loads more but it’s taken me an age to compile these. If you have a favourite I’ve not mentioned please drop them in the comments.
#TheConsumed
This week I probably ate five grams of plastic.
Outside of that, while in Manchester I found a place selling Varenyky. Something my Grandmother made for my Ukrainian Grandad. It’s been over 10 years since I had proper Ukrainian food.
#TheBody
Today marks my 202nd day of meditating every day. After a brief stint from between 5 to 25 minutes. Some days I feel clear headed, others energised or rested as if i’ve had a great night’s sleep. Very occasionally I have to stop because I’m hit with some blinding insight or inspiration to write or do something. There there are the odd days, normally after a rough night that I just feel a bit meh.
I’ve never had or felt negative thoughts afterwards. But according to some research done at Coventry University, meditation is not universally benevolent and about one in 12 people who try meditation experience an unwanted negative effect. If I was one of the 12, I probably would've found out by now.
#TheThings
Should you want to have a go at looping there is no end of gear out there. The three most famous pedals though are the Boss RC-30, the Electro-Harmonix 720 Stereo Looper, and the TC Electronic Ditto X4.
#TheThanks
If this dispatch was of any use to you, please consider supporting my writing with a subscription.
And thank you very much to those that do.
#TheWeb
In my opinion (and the opinion of people far smarter than me) Universal Basic Income has to become a thing if we’re to navigate and survive the massive societal changes ahead. Read more about it here.
There is still space on the Documentally community map.
I wrote a blog post. First time in ages. Supporting subscribers will recognise it.
I spent hours attempting to beat the deadline for removing content from TinyLetter. I just made it. I now need to get them on here. One thing is clear. I miss TinyLetter.
Some of my other places include Letterboxd, GoodReads, FarceBook, Flickr, Strava, LinkedIn, YouTube, Mastodon, a ham radio newsletter or search ‘Documentally’ on Wire, Birdsite or Bluesky.
‘Planetary catastrophe was inevitable in the near term, which means people would soon be living behind walled communities’
Instagram overtakes TikTok as the most downloaded app.
A few stoic quotes.
#TheEnd
I ran out of space pretty quickly in this issue. Thanks for looking at the pictures and clicking ALL the links. ;-) Yeah. Right.
Either way, if you got this far, I can say thanks for reading. Have a great weekend!
“If we don't end war, war will end us.” ~ H.G. Wells
Peace.
See you out there.
Over…
The Blue Book of Nebo is one for the list. Written in alternate chapters by a 14 year old boy and his mum about life after an undisclosed world event which leaves them alone, living in the Welsh mountains without anyone else around. Beautifully written and really compelling. Jake really enjoyed it, it was his jolabokaflod book this year. Our local indie bookshop had it as their book of the year.