Reminiscing loops [306]
Greetings from my shed...
Life goes on. And is never boring.
#TheAction
Paris, as you can imagine, was a blast. After working with James Barisic and his students for a few days I got to play tourist and wander the streets looking for great food. Which of course we found.
At the end of my four nights I felt i’d just settled in and suddenly had to leave.
Arriving home from France, I quickly fell back into the morning routine of making packed lunches and getting breakfast for everyone. I felt selfish having had an adventure. My first overseas trip since 2019 and the fresh scenes, smells and interactions filled my brain faster than I could process them. And here I was using the same tub of margarine I’d opened earlier in the week. Time and space do weird things to the brain. Especially when routine is involved.
Sometimes you quickly feel as if you’d never left. But it’s been so long since I’ve worked overseas that this felt different. I brought new eyes back with me. And a smile. And stories from a different land.
But of course I still missed home. I’m glad to be back on the bike, to be cooking for the family and reading to the kids at night. That said, I’m also planning the next trip. I’ve missed travelling and I’ll take it where I can get it.
In regards to how safe it is… I’m not sure about the rest of the world but France was doing everything way better than we are.
In the photo above I’m raising my glass to those that support this dispatch. But as this is the free-for-all email there may be some affiliate links in the text below. Not a full subscriber? You can always buy me a coffee if you feel like it.
#ThePictures
A lovely little film about a genuinely lovely guy. Ken Bone.
Via James Bruce
Found this signed self published graphic novel today in a local phone box library.
It’s called ‘Flirting With Death’ and is written by Rudra Purkayastha and illustrated by Lyndon White and Paulina Vassileva. The blurb on the back says “Six slice of death stories about biblical killers, sentient robots, doomed warriors, a giant space fish, and the Lord of death himself. Stories about life, stories about death, stories not meant for the ears of mere mortals.”
It’s a beautifully illustrated exploration of life and death and I’m toying with whether I should let my daughter read it. It’s a little dark in places as one story graphically depicts a suicide. I might read it with her and just skip that one. She’s a big fan of graphic novels and I’d hate her to miss out. It’s a quick read and you can buy it here. There is also a signed copy on eBay.
Rowan Atkinson on visual comedy.
#TheWords
I’m not sure if there will be anyone reading this who has never shot on film but it doesn’t take long to remember what there is to love.
The main difference is that right now you probably snap shots on your phone without thinking. Even if you are using a phone app aimed at pro photographers, it’s easy to shoot first, assess and adjust what you are doing to snap again.
Not so with film. First you have in your mind whether you have loaded black and white or colour into the camera. This will effect what you look for in a shot.
For black and white, try to learn to ignore the colour in a scene. Try to see in black and white. Without colour to distract you, you can look for patterns, composition, contrast, shape and textures.
But when shooting colour film you might look for complimentary or contrasting colours, or how a dominant warm colour might pop out of a receding muted background.
Also have in mind the ASA of your film. What you choose will depend on what you might like to shoot and in what environment. Once finally out and about you need to be picky. Unless you have unlimited funds and a bag full of film you might only have 36 shots at your disposal.
What you see, if you are lucky, is what you get. If you want to add a filter you need to do that before you take the shot. You can of course (if you are doing your own developing) manipulate the image in the dark room. That’s where the term ‘dodge and burn’ originally comes from. You can also scan the film and manipulate the image in your favourite photo editing app or software. But I feel it’s better to get the best imprint on the negative from the outset.
You also have to be patient. Outside of the click of the shutter there is no instant satisfaction with film. If i’m not on a particular project there might be months between the loading of a film and the developing of it.
Hence why there are no photos with these words. :-)
Need some incentive to write? Try this. If you stop writing. You lose your progress.
#TheSound
Presented in 3-D sound to immerse you in epic histories from the developing world, Scrolls and Leaves is hosted by journalists Mary-Rose Abraham and Gayathri Vaidyanathan in India.
The Wireless Go II has had an update and will now work with RØDE’s free podcasting software RØDE Connect. Check out this video for more info. Another amazing update to their line. I’d still like to see RØDE enable the downloading of audio from the Wireless Go’s into the mobile app but this update is still going to revolutionise lots of workflows.
I wish I’d remembered to stash a tape of actuality or found recordings in Paris. Maybe I should nock up something digital for my next overseas trip. When not @Audiocaching I've started recording digital objects and sticking them on USB sticks to then hide. (Sometimes in a cassette case). They are not on the blockchain but I still call them NFT's. (Not For Tape).
#TheConsumed
If I can’t find decent coffee, I’ll drink mediocre coffee. That’s most coffee available out in the wild. I try not to drink bad coffee. That’s instant coffee or filter coffee that’s been boiling on a hot plate for a few hours.
At home I make pour over coffee. For me that’s the simplest way of getting a decent cup. Out and about I tend to order either a Cortado or a Flat White. There’s a subtle difference between a flat white and a latte.
A latte has more milk and is foamier, especially on top. A flat white is a smoother richer tasting coffee due to the micro-foam being consistent throughout. Plus it’s stronger due to a double shot in a smaller fixed size.
As a little antidote to this pretentious description of my favourite cafe bought coffee, here is a little video.
Our first batch of Red Falstaff apples ripened and were eaten within the week. Pretty tasty. It’s a hardy tree that’s easy to grow and produces a crunchy creamy apple that tastes far better than anything shop bought.
Just in case you were wondering why online recipes tend to start with someone’s life story… all is revealed here.
#TheThings
I dropped my 12” MacBook into the Apple store as it needed a new battery and keyboard. Well it needed the battery, but the keyboard was a free fix as the original MacBook had a known issue and although mine was fine I figured why not get the latest version. They told me it would take ten days but it was done in four.
In the interim I’ve been enjoying using my 4th generation iPadAir with the Apple Pencil 2. I spotted a few serious pencil users adding a ‘Paperlike’ matt screen protector to their devices. This adds a little friction when using the pencil on the glass and is meant to feel more like writing on paper. After some research I decided to go for a similar screen protector that appeared to out perform the Paperlike.
The Bellemond matt screen protector is £10.50 for one while the Paperlike is £34 for two. Why do Paperlike they send you two? Well from what I can see they don’t seem to last very long.
I’ll let you know how I get on with the Bellmond.
You know when you pop into Aldi and find yourself looking at the tools and tech in the middle aisle? Recently I came out with this bike stand for £19.95
It wasn’t so much a spontaneous buy as I’ve been looking for one for a while. Most cost around £50 though. I think this was a bargain. I can now oil, maintain and clean my bike with ease. Really pleased with it. Sturdy and well made, the stand is also great for holding a 7m telescopic pole with a ham radio antenna on top. So it’s win win. In fact this week I took delivery of an antenna I could very easily have made and popped it on a pole.
A half wave 11 meter dipole (for 27Mhz CB radio). This also cost less than £20 and I think that If I did want to build one the parts would have cost over a tenner.
#TheWeb
This patent describes how one vehicle (a Toyota) can grass up another vehicle for a traffic violation.
Who is that in Loubejac who’s forgot to add their name to the community map?
You shouldn’t have a favourite murder. True crime is rotting our brains.
Twitter and TikTok are getting into NFTs. More on this here.
Great post on the austerity kitchen about how to survive at sea. Might come in handy if I ever do a proper sailing trip.
#TheEnd
This time next week I might not be in my shed. I also might not be in England. I really hope to do more audio as well. If you have £3.60 spare, subscribe and i’ll update you from wherever I happen to be. If not, let me know and I’ll sub you a subscription. It would be great to have you onboard.
“If you’re searching for a quote that puts your feelings into words – you won’t find it.
You can learn every language and read every word ever written – but you’ll never find what’s in your heart. ~ Ranata Suzuki
Carry on.
See you out there.
Over…
People who make it all the way down here are also the kind that might buy me a coffee.