Russell Davies

Instagraming Things

Tom was kind enough to include me in his magnificent list of 52 things he learned. Here's some proof of my point.

Deciding

"Playing sport is about taking risks – the surge up-field in search of the winning goal, the lofted six to win the cricket match, the passing-forehand winner at full stretch. But the best players don’t perceive these decisions to be risks in the way that ordinary people might. If one quality separates the best players from the merely good ones, it is their ability to commit totally to their decisions. They swing the weight of their whole personality behind the risk. After all, any sporting play that begins with the mindset, “It’s a long shot, but I might as well have a go” is very likely to fail"

From playing to punditry

New Vibe Man In Town

Strong buy

I know digital frames are always rubbish, that just seems to be one of the iron laws of the universe. But the Pix-Star actually isn't. Trust me. The website gives every impression that it's going to be a bit rubbish, and all your previous experiences will tell you that it's going to be a bit rubbish but it is actually a good thing. It syncs with Flickr and Instagram and Dropbox and Facebook and all your social doodahs. It's (relatively) easy to control from the website. It makes pictures from your digital life appear on your wall. And it's not too much money. You should get yourself one for Christmas (though Amazon seem to be out of them right now.)

Loose but tight

♫ #lastfm artists: Trouble Funk (6), Sophie (6), Orchestra D’italia (6), Trilok Gurtu (5) & GoGo Peng.. via @tweeklyfm #music

— russell davies (@undermanager) December 6, 2015

Odd week. Not much music listening. I was mostly listening to the audio book of Number Zero. Bit hard going to be honest. I suspect his sort of wordplayery would be easier on the page.

I love Trouble Funk, always coming back to them, but they seem mostly unrecordable. Only the recordings from the early days capture the loose but tight musicality and the right mix of crowd sounds. 

 

334-340

The cloud is a mind

"Harris draws particular attention to the association between minds and clouds, from the cumulus shape of the cartoon thought bubble to the early Christian belief that Adam’s mind was made from a pound of clouds. She might also have cited Sartre, who memorably described consciousness as “a wind blowing from nowhere toward the world.”

Kathryn Schulz reviews/explores Weatherland

Cove Cafe & Beach, St. Agnes

Gardens Cafe, South Cliff, Scarborough

The Cottage & Cafe, Nairbyl, I.O.M.