FEBRUARY

WATCHING

• Your Honour

• Happy Valley

• Grayson Perry - Full English

• Triangle of Sadness – I don’t get the hype?!

• CODA <3

• Sunburn

• TÁR

• Fleishman is in trouble - very binge-able

• A whole Lifetime with Jamie Demetriou - particularly loved the stag do, and tech support sketches

READING

• You Say Potato by Ben Crystal & David Crystal – A book about accents

• The Creative Act of being - Rick Ruben

• Hollywood’s internet baiting is a dangerous game

• The Tyranny of Faux Self-Care

  A bath bomb will not cure....pretty much anything

• From the people (person? - Shaun) that made Letters of note, and Lists of note, now there’s DIARIES of note. And it’s great. I love this entry from Beatrix Potter, who wrote her diary in code, which took 6 years to crack!

LOOKING

• The Horrorshow exhibition at Somerset house – Some fun bits and a great show to walk around.

• This beautiful, fun tablecloth from Sarah Espeute

• Mark Denton’s ‘Shit Show’ exhibition at Jealous

• https://portorocha.com/netflixisajoke Netflix is a Joke campaign – lovely, simple, type-based work. I even love the banners. Found via https://mailchi.mp/readjpeg/zip-057

LISTENING

• soul-sampled tracks - mainly hip hop

• Yeah Yeah Yeahs

• Float – new Jalelle Monae is a BANGER

• SALT

• New playlist from LWSTD https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5LErcq7SteB2f2BfvvEECW?si=64f80c9fbf4e4c31

• Gorrilaz Cracker Island

• Brian Eno

OTHER STUFF

• NPC irl lollll brilliant

• https://www.instagram.com/p/CoavjAXBdc6/?igshid=MDJmNzVkMjY= - lovely book from illustrator and NYT columnist Julia Rothman, and fellow NYT Columnist and filmmaker Shaina Feinberg

• Jazz emu at Soho Theatre … Didn’t love it. Felt like a smash-and-grab of old ideas put together to make a not so funny show. Agree with this review

• A brief history of hating my face - short film by Shaina Feinberg about living with BDD (Body Dysmorphia Disorder) I feel SEEN. Which I obviously hate hahaha…ah

• I worked on Lynx (AXE) for a long time, and I really liked this ad https://lbbonline.com/news/axes-oops-i-forgot-this-at-your-place-collection-is-designed-to-be-left-behind-on-purpose I especially like the line ‘Smells like a second chance’ and it’s such a fun idea to release a ‘collection’. Lynx is fun again, woop.

JANUARY

WATCHING

• I Daniel Blake

• Good luck to you Leo Grand – Finally got to see this

• Happy Valley s3

• I hate Susie too – wow wow wow wow wow. Panic attack much!?

• The banshees of Inisherin – What a duo. Loved it

• The Menu

• The Simpsons (to replace the news which is too depressing)

• Your Honour - Brian Cranston. So tense.

• Extras S1

• You People – Jonah Hill. Really liked this, but if it wasn’t for Jonah Hill I’m not sure I would have

• Extraordinary (Disney) fun

READING

• Still Born – Still reading…

• For the Walrus about the Doomsday clock and how it’s now the closest it’s ever been, lovely comforting read for Jan.

• Stuff about AI: The Expanding Dark Forest and Generative AI – Proving you're a human on a web flooded with generative AI content & AI: Markets for Lemons, and the Great Logging Off – What happens when most "people" you interact with on the internet are fake?

LOOKING

• Artistic scenes from Springfield by Lucas Geor. Wanted a calendar, but couldn’t get one. Simpsons scenery for your walls

• Thomas Mailaender’s ‘sunburn’ photographs – and HIS WIBSITE IS SO GOOD! It’s full of great/weird/hilarious projects.

• Loewe de puffed puffer (just a fun way of showing a puffer)

• Alex Khabbazi illustrations – wobbly cats and acid trip energy

• Animations by Geoffroy de Crécy – love this infinite skating one – shadows and light expressing time

LISTENING

• Jamie T

• Kojey Radical

• Johnny Cash

• The Cure – Just Like Heaven on repeat

• Little Simz

• Gorillaz

• Taylor Swift – I’m the problem

OTHER STUFF

• There seems to be AI for everything now, and this site shows what we can now get from the algorithms, and updates daily. https://theresanaiforthat.com/

• A time capsule idea from Spotify, found via Web Curios. https://playlistinabottle.byspotify.com/en/ Nice website

• This was fun https://pudding.cool/2020/12/judge-my-spotify/

• If The Best Copywriter Thinks Like A Strategist, Can The Best Strategist Write like A Copywriter? – Vikki Ross keeps it simple and talks words.

• Ordinary Folk make REALLY fun animations that explain complex ideas/things – like Nouns; Nouns are NFTs that fund ideas… the video is excellent and will get even the most sceptical person excited https://nouns.wtf/

DECEMBER

WATCHING

• The Wonder – Florence Pugh is fantastic. The cinematography is chefs kiss

• The Swimmers – I LOVED this. Sad but uplifting, and shows a different side of a refugees story (as in being a refugee doesn’t define a person)

• The White Lotus S2 – What an ending! JC death was so appropriate

• Toy Story - all of em

• Pinocchio - Guillermo Del Toro.

• Glass Onion

• The Teacher – Sheridon Smith is GREAT

• White noise – WTF!?

• Disney sketchbook series

READING

• https://www.ithoughtaboutthatalot.com/2022/mum ‘I thought about that a lot’ is a collection of 24 essays by 24 authors. Each author describes one thing they have thought about a lot in the last year. Written by 24 anonymous authors, curated by Amy McNichol and designed by Jack Sheppard.

• Still Born by Guadalupe Nettel – So far, bit cold

LOOKING

• Satisfyingly spiky videos showing off shoes – proenzaschouler shoes – Pre-Spring 2023: The Spike

• Paper Bag Archive – ‘The Paper Bag Archive is devoted to the collection, conservation, and celebration of these once-ubiquitous items. This archive provides us with a rare and timely insight, into our relatively recent consumer past.’ The Primula and Cadburys prints are in my basket.

• Painter/Artist Benjamin Thomas Taylor – an Insta find… I so want his I Want To Jump In David Hockney's Swimming Pool With You print…

• ‘Wearable poetry’ – fabulously fun earrings from Kelsey Armstrong aka Haricot Vert

• Flags of Inequality from The Pudding

• Cat obsessed artist Emi Guijarro’s illustrations remind me of old botanical prints (but make them cats)

LISTENING

• Little Simz – The gift that keeps on giving. No Thank You

• Jamie T – The Theory of Whatever

• Various Christmas bangers – new (but not new, just new to me) discovery and love is LCD Sound System’s Christmas Will Break Your Heart

• Gorillaz – Gorillaz AR experience in Piccadilly Circus https://skinnyape.gorillaz.com/

• Pearson Sound – Red Sky

OTHER STUFF

• Petersham Nurseries for afternoon tea

• My new favourite bar – https://www.lebeaujolais.london/

• Lovely copy from Art of Football (on the packaging in the post)

• PS5! Stray

• Drag at Bistrotheque

• Big Fish Little Fish baby rave – Nope…

NOVEMBER

WATCHING

• Dave – v.v.v.v. Late to lil dicky but lol

• White Lotus S2 – the title theme music is intensely, eerily, brilliant. Love the whole soundtrack by Cristobal Tapia De Veer

• Dead to Me – so much happens it’s hard to keep up, soap opera vibes, but still fun

• The Simpsons – Season 33

• The Kardashians – First time – I’ve only ever seen parodies from the likes of Benny Drama… and it’s so addictive (I know duh)

• Stutz - Jonah Hill’s film/doc with his therapist. I really liked this – Jonah’s approach is unique and although it’s earnest in nature, his relationship with Stutz brings some light and warmth. I will re-watch it as it’s sort of therapy for anyone watching.

• Wednesday (Netflix) A bit cheesy but really fun, and their are some great looks

READING

• Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin – I loved every moment of this book. It’s about gaming, friendship, love and loss. Sam, Sadie and Marx felt like special people, the type you would brag about meeting and take for granted knowing. It was great to read about individuals with a fiery passion and ambition towards their work (making video games). I loved all of the poetic sections, the mythological and Shakespearian references; the ‘Tamer of Horses’, Marx, the most charming and loveable character, dubbed the ‘CPU’ by Sam - a wonderful inside joke/jibe. I wish I could memorise all the passages that made me pause, but I’m not like Marx. Paramount is making a movie, I hope they do it justice.

• Little Labours by Rivka Galchen – Gifted to me by a friend who is also a new mom. Lovely, strange little passages that are very thought-provoking.

• Still Born by Guadalupe Nettel

• Life As Lisa Simpson By Alan Siegel for The Ringer

• Invasive Diffusion: How one unwilling illustrator found herself turned into an AI model

LOOKING

• stumbled upon an exhibition at MKII – paintings by Joshua Perkin

• Lucian Freud exhibition at the National Gallery – For £26 a ticket I was disappointed at the size of the exhibition.

• Enikő Katalin Eged – Pattern designer and illustrator. Love her textures and colours. I think they are digital illustrations, but they look like they could be collages.

• Daisy Tortuga – Made the Simpsons egg cups I saw in the DIY Art shop on Shacklewell Lane. Her ceramics are so much fun – I love her ‘Spurts Diroct’ mug.

• Byron Kim, Sunday Paintings – Musings written over a painting of the sky. A journal of the weather and the painter’s thoughts/feelings. Very lovely. There are a lot of paintings to explore as they began this in January 2001!

• https://hannanorbergwilliams.myportfolio.com/ – Spooky images with a slurpy wobbly feel.

LISTENING

• New Manga! Run For Your Life

• Graham Coxen

• Mount Kimbie, Dom Maker - f1 racer (feat. Kučka) YUMMMM

• Shirley Ellis – instant mood lifter. Have been singing the name game to my baby every day

• Lots of Radio 6 / Rinse FM for FUN!

OTHER STUFF

• 100 Years of the BBC - 15 seconds of fame. such a fun idea, and a funny ad.

• https://www.diyartshop.com/ – Great little shoppe on Shacklewell Lane with loadsa art and crafty bits – I’ll be getting all my Christmas presents from here

• England V South Africa at Twickenham

• Nike’s NFT/Web 3 foray

• https://pudding.cool/games/words-against-strangers/ Word game from The Pudding

Daisy Tortuga

OCTOBER

WATCHING

• The Bear - intense, fast-paced, emotional, and intriguing. The camera darts around, with lots of frenetic close-up shots that give each half-hour episode an urgent appeal. Oh and it helps that ‘Bear’ is a sexy bear.

• Am I being Unreasonable? Loved. Dark comedy/thriller. Daisy May Cooper is brilliant. Very smart writing. I laughed a lot and loved/hated all the characters appropriately. The actor that plays her son is great. Excited about all the things to come from DMC, and she’s just announced they’ve commissioned another series so GET IN

• The Watcher – Naaaaah. Abandoned

• Candy - wow what a fucked up story. Jessica Biel is very good.

• The Witcher - Not sure why, as I’m a big fan of Tim Key and Daisy May Cooper, but (clearly) I didn’t rush to watch this. It’s good, but nothing on Am I being Unresonable.

• Bullet Train - IDK. Brad - yes. Generally entertaining, but lost interest. Maybe one too many characters, looong scenes of action/fighting and lots of laboured gags. Some fun cameos – I liked Channing Tatum’s (which is in the trailer). Strange Guy Ritchie/Tarantino mashup that drags.

• Life and Beth - Amy Schumer. This is a bit of a hidden gem on Apple TV. I really like AS in acting roles (not a fan of her standup) and this is funny and quite sweet.

• Lots of The Simpsons – Tree House if Horrors. I’ve read about the latest, and desperately want to watch it.

READING

• Are You the Same Person You Used to Be? New Yorker article

• How to save the west from itself - interview with Yuval Noah Harari for the Times magazine. He has now written a children’s book, ‘unstoppable us, how humans took over the world’ which I will buy for my niece but will read to pretend I’ve read Sapiens.

• Dave Grohl autobiography

• Tomorrow, and Tomorrow and Tomorrow

LOOKING

• ‘https://andreaserio.wordpress.com/portfolio-2/

• GAIA at Southwark cathedral – A massive floating planet made by Luke Jerram

• Edward hopper’s paintings (read about a documentary coming out about him which prompted me to have look at his work)

• Wildlife photographer of the year exhibition at the Natural History Museum

LISTENING

• Gabriel’s – Live at a new venue opposite TCR. Weird vibe, was not expecting such a huge venue. Amazing voice.

• Murkage Dave – His new album, The City Needs a Hero has grown on me a lot. Saw him live at Islington Assembly Hall. He was great, Manga St Hilare joined too – always great.

OTHER STUFF

• Mother Goods – found via Webcurios. Mother’s website where they’ve put together the more ‘pro active’ / noncommercial ideas, which is obvs inspired by MSCHF. Which I think is great, maybe this will mean more of this kind of stuff… The bulletproof loungewear is a favourite.

• http://realtime.info/ – The Internet, in ‘real-time’.

• Stayed at The Pig at Bridge Place which was fabulous. Food not as ‘hAaaaMmmmazzing’ as expected though.

• Saw an ad IRL that I actually liked. Well not IRL, but as I was scrolling on Instagram. Motatos – A Swedish-founded company that aim to prevent perfectly good products ending up in landfill.