Category Archives: Journal
Marmalade and Yogurt
A few years back a little small-goods store opened down the road. They had pricey hams and smoked meats, fancy cheeses and an array of handmade artisanal stuff in jars. The absolute star of the show for me was the … Continue reading
The Handmaiden’s Tale
Yesterday, for the dozenth time, I mistakenly referred to the Korean movie The Handmaiden as The Handmaid’s Tale, causing great confusion. Will this curse ever be lifted?
Next Steps
A couple of months ago I realised that my impression of two nineties bands, Sloan and Yo La Tengo, was completely wrong. I had somehow gotten it into my head that Sloan was a jokey version of Weezer and Yo … Continue reading
Orange
I should learn the names of more flowers and plants. For the time being I’m calling these the Orange Flowers.
21 October 2024
I listened to Smog’s Knock Knock album through headphones for the first time today it was a revelation. I’d previously only listed to it through speakers at low low volumes. Almost twenty years of living in Japan has me trained … Continue reading
PDA Memories
Just remembering that record scratch moment when I realised that PDA no longer stood for personal digital assistant. Oh, so those celebrities aren’t actually into the latest Palm or Clie or Treo. Makes sense.
Nope – No New iPhone This Year
Phew – after a few days of internal debate I’ve decided that I don’t need the new iPhone after all. The only reason I want one is for the better camera system, but I’d still really want an actual new … Continue reading
8 September 2024
After seven millions listens, the opening bass of Clairo’s Nomad still tricks me into thinking I’m about to hear Tribe’s Can I Kick It? My friend who warned me that my affection for Ben Wishaw would not get me through … Continue reading
Juna
Well, this was not what I expected when I checked to see whether Clairo had made any videos for her new album. Absolutely genius! Of course, it put me in mind of this prior art.
So domesticated
There is a square metre of carpet in my living room that is where my feet end up when sitting on the sofa and also where the cat prefers to sit when the heater is on. Sometimes feet and cat … Continue reading
Homesick
Let’s say I bought an acoustic guitar. Absolutely no experience playing one. How long would it take till I could I could play Kings of Convenience’s Homesick? It doesn’t seem that complex musically. I’ve been practicing the vocals in my … Continue reading
Water Water Everywhere
Went crazy and made a dhal (dahl? dal?) tonight without checking the recipe. Thought I was doing great till I tasted it after half an hour on the stove. Lentils still tasted and felt like hard bits of chalk. Seems … Continue reading
Saturday morning mid-July
Started this slow Saturday morning with the idea of roasting some lamb for dinner. Can’t seem to find the recipe that delivered perfection to my table last Xmas. None of the recipes on recipe tin eats or serious eats look … Continue reading
We will always be a light – 15 July
Whenever I walk past a certain area outside our staff carpark I am overwhelmed by overpoweringly thick sweet scent. Someone spilled either a thousand bottles of maple syrup or a couple of bags of fenugreek. Finished watching Barbie as our … Continue reading
Put that thing back where it came from or so help me – 10 July
I arrived early for a doctor’s appointment. Spent a few minutes trying out the new old camera.
The bones are their money – 8 July
For the last few months I’ve been thinking on and off about getting a little compact camera that I can carry around everywhere. Although they were once everywhere, the compact camera market has been decimated by smartphones. Now there are … Continue reading