Recently updated blogs

Welcome to my weekly theatre newsletter. I’d like to express particular gratitude to those of who’ve written to acknowledge my writing about my current bout of depression; on the one hand, I am more than the sum of my depression, though it is such an all-consuming force that it feels that it dominates my life right now; but on the other, I’m reminded why it is so valuable to share …

Here's a photo I've been dying to print since I took it. I love the composition of the rocks floating. The contrast of the dark rocks with the light patterned bottom of the pool. The delicate shadows of the little ripples. So how to best tackle the shadows. No white in this one so straight into colour. Here's the lino with the 2nd colour rolled on 4 colours make the …

by Maria Majewska Paweł Pawlikowski’s 2018 film Cold War is a profound account of Polish identity, cultural homogenisation, politicisation of folklore and the trauma of migration from the Soviet bloc. As a Polish migrant with a deep connection to this story, I was keen to see how this masterful, nuanced film would translate to the stage. Tragically, the Almeida’s production is an insulting missed opportunity. A reverential, faithful representation was …

Photo by Bianca Czarnock on behance, borrowed for educational purposes Dior's Dolce Vita fetes its 30th anniversary this year, being launched in 1994, when Dior was very careful with its new launches and the firm was creating mega-hits that shattered antagonism in one fell swoop. The promise of happiness, exuberance and confidence in Dolce Vita, in its flamboyant and optimistic package,

Semlor olåsta! Den här gången vi gjorde vår egen mandelmassa, använder mandel vi rostade. Detta år vi använder Camilla Hamids recept. Semlor unlocked! This year we made our own marzipan filling, using almonds we roasted. This year we used Camilla Hamid’s recipe.

Not actually my four absolute favorite riffs (Lord alone knows where I'd start with that) but four of my favorite riffs, commented on for The Wire's Greatest Riffs feature of 2004 KING SUNNY ADE -- “Eje Nlo Gba Ara Mi”, “365 Is My Number/The Message” (from Juju Music, Mango, 1982), “Synchro System” (Synchro System, Mango, 1983) The riff so good they used it thrice. Actually, that’s an underestimate. This twangy, …

I’ve been trying to pick up vector mapmaking, since the raster image editing situation on Linux is so dire — so here’s something. Full resolution here.

2024 is a leap year, meaning we add a day at the end of February that is not usually there – February 29. This year it’s a Thursday, so most of us will be going to work or school, and may only be able to celebrate in the evening. Why do we have to add leap days every four years? Our planet spins around its axis in one day. That …

A large piece of metal of unknown origin appeared on the roof of a Philadelphia home. It did not come from a plane. And, Schuylkill notes update.

A flat in Hampstead is up for sale. Boasting over 1,332 sq feet of living space, a private terrace and close proximity to Hampstead High Street, this top floor flat – with its plain white walls, battered leather seats and eclectic set of metal map chests and chairs – has an asking price of £1.8 […]

Atlantic Ocean circulation nearing ‘devastating’ tipping point, study finds https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2024/feb/09/atlantic-ocean-circulation-nearing-devastating-tipping-point-study-finds

Yellow Cab is a fascinating look at New York City from the perspective of a filmmaker. It’s adapted by Chabouté from a book by Benoit Cohen and translated from the French by Edward Gauvin. Almost ten years ago, Cohen finds himself exhausted. He doesn’t have stories to tell or energy to tell them. In order to try something different, and better understand the NYC culture he’s visiting, he decides to …

It’s been tough to find enjoyable workshop time of late. There is some work being done on the house and as cramped as my 12′ x 13′ (3.5m x 4m) workshop is at the best of times, it’s even worse when more than half of it is filled with furniture from other rooms. I’ve got about 5 […]

The systemic moral imperative seeks the distribution of power over its concentration, and thus the reduction of inequities of power. Money is usually a good proxy for power, so it's tempting to regard any redirection of money to the preexistingly unwealthy as moral. But this is both a dangerous conflation of cause and effect, and an attractive nuisance of potentially misleading measurement. In fact, the most common nominal redistributions of …

Kingston Upon Thames (or simply Kingston) is a town in the Royal Borough of Kingston Upon Thames with a population of around 43,000 people (the wider borough is home to 163,000). It historically sat in the county of Surrey, but became part of Greater London in 1965. The earliest written record of the name is from Saxon times (838) when it was recorded as 'Cyninges Tun'. Over the next few …