Recently updated blogs

My latest pair are these Alden split toe derbies made back in 1977, still unused in their original box. It was part of their Foot Balance range made on the orthotic TruBalance last with a very long heel stiffener, which fits me really well. Here’s a closer look with lots of photos of this lovely pair. Last week I was on my yearly trip to Japan, and one of the …

*Frithjof Tidemand-Johannessen, "Birds in a landscape." Via le jardin robo.*Maynard F. Reece: Plate XI, "Forney Lake." An illustration from Waterfowl in Iowa by Jack W. Musgrove, 1940. Via le jardin robo.*Detail of a 22-page birchbark letter, ca. 1908, from Vermont, ca. 1908. Via Haec City.*From a conversation between leaves in Bambi: A Life in the Woods, by Felix Salten, 1923.*Communists and socialists demonstrating against the far right in Paris, February …

Lately I’ve been watching a number of detective/police procedurals on Prime. But these shows French, not something from the mind of Dick Wolf. In fact, I’ve never watched one of the multitudinous “Law & Order: This, That or The Other Place” shows. Which leads me to wonder why I watch these French programs—e.g., “Deadly Tropics,” “Alice Nevers,” “Cherif”—particularly given that I don’t have a lick of French language skills. Perhaps …

Sour Patch Kids is bringing its signature tangy twist to the holiday season with the 24 Days of Mischief Advent Calendar, a playful and festive treat for sour candy lovers. Each door of this limited-edition calendar hides two individually wrapped Sour Patch Kids Big Kids—one for you and one to share (or not). The calendar is not just a candy countdown; it’s a statement piece. Packaged in a sturdy, well-designed …

Here's my weekly update with a few interesting random findings that I came across the last week or two. I am going to try to make sure they're here in time for you to enjoy with your morning coffee (or beverage of choice) every Saturday or Sunday, and include some of my thoughts around them.Gear Drop 🛍️Due to popular demand I have added a new meme shirt from last week's …

Taking two Netflix stars closely associated with Madrid and Paris and throwing them together in a third European city, Bess Wohl's Barcelona is an entertaining story so full of red herrings that even trying to describe a genre for it feels like a spoiler. Its plot does hinge on quite a lot of elements that probably don't bear too much close inspection - I hear that hen dos have got …

"Cusk is unparalleled in her innovation of narrational modes for accessing the self, and her dexterity is nowhere as accomplished as in the roving narration of Arlington Park, a work of cosmophagic consciousness"

November 2024. Cambridge. A daily trip to Addenbrookes and back is an invitation to explore lesser known Cambridge, and I know some of my readers will be absolutely dying to know what a formulaic suburban Greene King local with modest food trade is like in 2024. Exactly as you’d expect. Bright, clean, dull, cheery. A quick look on my own blog reveals…nothing, though I know I visited pre-Covid and it …

As I was interviewing candidates for my “designer who can ship” position, I asked a few how they picked typefaces. One person’s answer stood out above the rest. They shared their screen to show me a folder of inspiration on their hard drive. Dear reader: the folders structure was immaculate. In that moment, I immediately realized I was talking to a professional. What is it about a clean workspace that …

RSVPed Attending Web Writer's Workshop [Online] Web Writer's Workshop is a 90 minute event on Dec. 3, 2024 to discuss all things writing on the web. Whether you publish fiction or non-fiction, introspection or ideas, you are welcome to join us for an informal chat about writing!

I picked up these two Louisiana rums at a grocery store around the corner from our hotel in the French Quarter. I was so impressed a bottle of the now-discontinued 504 Silver from Louisiana I wanted to try some other brands. Both are 80 proof pot still rums made from sugar cane juice and bottled without age in a barrel. The overly heavy grassy notes you sometimes see in cane …

Saturday 2nd November 2024 A.I. suggests I call this blog "The Quirky Pub Culture of Yorkshire" which reassures me that I'm still marginally cleverer than a robot. I guess that comment won't age well. Where were we? Ah yes, Old Hill, somewhere betwixt Birmingham and Dudley. Not for the first time in my life whilst 'in drink', I get north & south mixed up and end up waiting for a …

Recently, I asked people to send me anonymous questions again, which is always good fun until someone sends you something unpleasant. Anonymity and nasty messages, what are the odds? Anyway, I particularly enjoyed this one, as it gives me an excuse to link to one of my favourite things ever. “Favourite audience reaction in a sitcom? I know it’s difficult to choose. The reaction at the end of Seinfeld’s The …

A&E went after Reelz and the producers of Live PD for taking the show's format to Reelz, where it became On Patrol: Live (Photo by Praveesh Palakeel/Unsplash; composite by Andy Dehnart)

Sent to the front lines, soldiers in the First World War could only communicate home through letters. Although censored, these letters provided comfort to both those at home and those fighting in the trenches, and they were often reproduced by local newspapers. A British soldier writes home in a loft over a cow shed, ‘somewhere near the front’ | Illustrated War News | 30 December 1914 In this special blog, …