Non-physical, bodiless-selves [373]
Greetings from the shed...
I’ve given in. The heater in here is now on and although warm, I shall be bankrupt in about three hours.
#TheAction
As we nosedive into the end of the year I feel somewhat disconnected from longterm plans and projects. Still, at least I’m getting a kick out of immersing myself in the little things that exist between productivity and procrastination.
I won’t bore you with all of the ‘tidying’ I’ve had to do over the last week. Ok I will. It involved digging through broken boxes containing thousands of photos and negatives. Which I’d then flick through, reminding me of their existence. To then place into bloody expensive archive boxes. These were then placed in the attic in preparation for me to put aside the five years needed to digitise them all.
Why?… Good question. I’m not sure anyone really gives a shit about these things but me. Yet I’ve made it my job to re-engage with these memory cues. In the hope a series of dusty synapses might reboot and remind me of stories worth sharing.
I did manage to leave the house and get on the bike though. Mostly textile research. I need to see if can I stay warm cycling into winter. So far so good.
#ThePictures
I can play this now it’s December. Lovely video.
Launched last year it was Joni Mitchell’s first official music video. It was animated by Skazka Studios.com check out their portfolio.
Finally finished Andor. Really good TV. If you have seen it you’ll know what I mean, if you haven’t give it a try. Even if you are not into Star Warsy stuff. I didn’t draw any parallels at the time but one of the episodes took its inspiration from IRA funerals. There are spoilers in this article so only click it if you have finished the series.
#TheWords
I recommend reading Gia Milinovich’s MA Fine Art Digital paper entitled ‘Identifying a depiction of metamodern alienation in the Apple TV+ series Severance’ You can find it on her latest sub stack post at
. The title of this dispatch post came from there.Been writing longer posts on Mastodon. Like this and this. For me the CW button does not mean ‘content warning’… I mean it can. But mostly I use it to mean ‘compressed words’. Here is more on that.
#TheSound
It’s fun digging into the site Obsolete Sounds. It’s not just sounds but the reimagining of sounds or little packages explaining them. You can also dig into categories like Cameras, communication, video games, typewriters, etc. It’s giving me some ideas of what I might be able to capture and archive. Thanks to Chris Woods for the link.
#TheFound
Found another bargain Tilly hat on eBay. Having been on the look out for a brown one I think I have enough now. As is the routine, I check the pocket before dropping it in the wash. The last two hats arrived bearing gifts. This one also didn’t disappoint and delivered me money from Angola.
Angola has a population of about 33 million and is one of the fastest growing economies in the world. But as this wealth is not evenly distributed, it has one of the lowest life expectancies.
Small scale farmers are among those trapped in poverty. The country was once the ‘bread-basket of southern Africa’ with major exports being coffee and bananas. But almost 30 years (1975–2002) of civil war drove millions into the cities and left the once fertile lands littered with landmines. While rich in oil and diamonds, the country now depends on expensive food imports, mainly from South Africa and Portugal. The majority of the farming left is done at family and subsistence level.
In regards to tourism, Angola does have a little happening around its national parks, but at the same time the government makes it very difficult to get in. A long drawn out visa requirement puts most people off.
And what of my new found wealth? Will the notes discovered in the hat pocket get me a ticket to Angola? Nope. I have a first and second series 50 Kawanza note and at the current exchange rate they are worth around 16p (8 pence each). That’s if they are accepted at all. New notes appeared in 2020 and although there is no 50 Kawanza note. There is a 5000 worth £8.
I’d still like to visit. The ship’s cemetery and the viewpoint of the moon look like a decent place to start. But I’d be happy just to go on a food tour.
#TheConsumed
And should you wonder what a foodie might find in Angola, here is a list of ten dishes you could ask for. With its heavy European influence you would think that there’d be something for everyone. But with Portugal being its strongest influence I’m guessing it will be a meaty spread. I am tempted by the catalos (fried caterpillars with garlic).
I just checked and as I suspected meat and fish rule, but at least veganism isn’t totally unheard of. More info here.
#TheThings
I’ve got a little cycling trip on the cards and bought one of these in the hope I won’t miss my laptop. Hoping I can share both audio and photos to my phone.
So far I can tell you that it works. I have added an affiliate link to the image and words above so you can purchase this and thank me for revolutionising your otherwise cumbersome workflow.
Rode are still releasing updates thick and fast. My Rode NT-USB mic is still doing well for conference calls and voice work so I’m not too tempted by the NT-USB+. Although USB-C would be a nice to have. The Video Micro II though has definitely got my attention. The Rode Video Micro was a liberating innovation when it first came out. A lightweight, affordable, simple to use compact on-camera mic that used plug-in power. If you came to one of my video production workshops you would have seen me using it with my phone and in some instances if the client had budget, giving them out to participants. It was also my goto mic if I needed to isolate wind noise. You might remember this video.
Despite great value for money etc I found the original delivered decent audio for vlogging but I’d choose something else should I want to do a piece to camera indoors. From what I’ve heard online, the New Video Micro II delivers a fuller sounding voice and might also be a decent option for recording podcasts when travelling light. The thing that really interests me though is the new shock mount.
The last one was a little bulky and I’m loving this new form factor while selfishly wondering if it might work with a certain bit of tech I’ve recently purchased. The OM system LS-P5 is a fantastic little audio recorder but is so sensitive it’s virtually impossible to use handheld if you are out and about.
Having struggled to find a small shock mount system that I could hold it with, I made my own using a piece of plastic cut from a ring binder, a short 1/4” camera mount screw and a spare rubber earbud cup. You can see it in action in this photo taken during my chat with Stuart Mackintosh in issue 371.
The closeups show the rough and ready finish (I do have a MkII in the pipes), and the squished earbud rubber between plastic and recorder. I must have at least 30 of the little things. You tend to get spares for size adjustment and I’m glad to have finally found a use for them.
Anyway, it works great for both interviews and field recording but I’m now wondering if the new Rode ‘HELIX™ isolation mount system’ will fit over my recorder. If not, I bet I could mod it. Whether it will be as good as my minimalistic ‘Strip-mount-EZ-screw™ with rubber bulge' is yet to be seen. (I might have to work on the name. Suggestions always welcome in the comments.)
#TheThanks
I never tire of saying thank you to those able to pay the $5/month to get all the content I share into this feed. If you get something out of this dispatch, please upgrade. Either way… Thanks for being a part of the community.
#TheWeb
DavidHughes (supporting subscriber) has very kindly given me a discount link for All Flows, the creative design and tech festival. This link will get you s 10% off the ticket price. If you do happen to get to Milton Keynes for some learning and inspiration let me know and maybe we can have a little Dispatch meet up.
Tut tut Bob Dylan and his robot autographer.
Looks like the history books might have to be rewritten to include this new roman emperor and a new Egyptian queen.
Thank you Adam from South Norwood country park for adding yourself to the Documentally community map. There is no one from Angola on there though. Someone must know one of the 33 million people living there. If you do and you can get them to subscribe there will be a gift for both of you. ;-)
Having made the most of the never ending Black Friday sales I stocked up on micro SD cards and used this handy guide to work out what I was buying.
Kathryn Corrick shared this link should you want to analyse your Twitter data.
I have some photos here on Flickr, or search Documentally@octodon.social to find me on Mastodon. I’m still @Documentally on birdsite but visit less regularly.
#TheEnd
Thanks for reading. Off to see Jonathan Pie tonight. This time next week I’ll be cycling round the Isle of Wight with a good friend of mine. Slowly, on Bromptons. I see from the map there are two of you there, @Madelinep and @Simonperry. Maybe we’ll bump in to one another.
As I’ll be on the road, it might be I only post short multi-media to the subscriber feed. Either way I’ll speak to some of you then and everyone else in two weeks. Untill then take care of yourselves. Stay warm and do what you can to make those around you happy.
“Life beats down and crushes the soul and art reminds you that you have one”
~ Stella Adler
Hang in there.
See you out there.
Over…
