Legends of the Sun Pig

Alex got a callback from a job application today, and he has an interview on Sunday!

Daily self-care checklist:

• Sleep: not great. Woke up several times in the night. On the other hand, because Fiona had a late start today, I was able to drift and doze around 07:00.
• Walk: 2.5km round-trip to the shops to pick up a package
• Photography: magpies are very skittish and cautious. If I want to get some good close-up photos, I’m going to have to set up a blind and be really patient.
• Bass: practicing scales
• Snacks: chocolate kruidnoten

There’s a family of black swans in a wee canal not too far from here. I cycled along this afternoon to take some pictures. They are tame and thoroughly adorable.

Daily self-care checklist:

• Retro? Go
• FIDO? Go
• Guidance? Go
• Control? Go
• TELCOM? Go
• GNC? Go
• EECOM? Go
• Surgeon? Go

Wait, wrong list.

• Sleep: Too short. By 23:30 my eyes were drifting shut, and I still had 130 pages to go in Harry Quebert, so I finished it this morning rather than last night. That still left me with only 7 hours or so, which isn’t enough.
• Walk: half-hour round-trip cycle to the swans instead.
• Photography: excellent. But I really need a bigger memory card, because I filled up my 16GB before I felt like I was done.
• Bass: no.
• Snacks: I may have bought myself some chocolate kruidnoten. Maybe not, though. Who can really say.

I pulled out my old good camera (Konica Minolta DiMAGE A200, bought in November 2005) so that I could wipe its old memory cards and take it to the second-hand shop. Wow. It feels so tiny compared to the Lumix FZ1000! I’ve got used to the new form factor so quickly. The viewfinder on the Konica Minolta is just as bad as I remember. I’ve got it good now. I’m really enjoying the Lumix.

Daily self-care checklist:

• Sleep: I stayed up too late reading (The Truth About The Harry Quebert Affair, and had to get up early to take Fiona to school, so: eh. I’m squeezing the book into almost every free moment today, and there’s an excellent chance I’ll be staying up late tonight to finish it.
• Walk: yes, good, 1 hour of walking therapy around ‘t Twiske
• Bass: no
• Photography: took some shots on my way to my walk this morning, because the light was gorgeous and there was a slight haze lingering on the fields. It didn’t translate well onto the photos, though. The one above is heavily doctored to make it look interesting.
• Snacks: a koffiebroodje in the morning, and wine gums and fudge at the cinema with Fiona. We went to see Venom, which was a fine and entertaining anti-hero romp.

I got a haircut this afternoon. My usual stylist, Ingrid, is back from maternity leave and we have a good natter and a very pleasant catch-up while she gave me an excellent trim.

Also: I tried the Oatly oat milk with some corn flakes, and it was just like eating them with cow milk (with an added slightly oaty flavour). Thumbs up!

Apart from dropping Abi off at the airport, and Fiona at school, I didn’t get out of the house today. So today’s pictober photo is from my stash of emergency interior shot ideas.

Daily self-care checklist:

• Sleep: ugh
• Walk: nope
• Bass: nope
• Photography: not really
• Snacks: finished the banana bread

I did finally get up the nerve to open and try the packet of Oatly oat milk I bought on Saturday. It’s actually good! And not in a “if I’m not going to drink milk, then is as close as I can get” sense (see: coconut milk), but in a “I would actually seek this out and drink it on its own terms” sense. It nails the mouthfeel of cow milk, and when drunk cold it tastes like whole milk that has been left to steep in a bowl of sugary oatmeal. I’ll try it in some cereal tomorrow.

Alex and I went to this, and we were both not quite sure what to make of it. The band’s idea behind the Decomposition Theory project is to fuse algorithmically generated music with a live performance (“custom-made procedural audio processes, generative music programs, and live-coded noise”). The first two tracks they played were promising, featuring heavy beats that moved the crowd, but after that it moved much more into…bleep-bloops and noise. Alex and I both came out of it quite confused. What parts were algorithmically generated, and what parts were being performed at the time? How much of the performance was algorthmically generated before the performance, as opposed to being randomly generated live on stage each night? How much of the music was a deliberately curated statement of human art, and how much did they let the machines get the better of them?

I enjoy experimental and generated music, but there was so much here that I didn’t appreciate because I didn’t understand it. Up on stage Paul Wolinski, Rob Jones, and Simon Wright (Joe Shrewsbury wasn’t present) were banging along on synths, guitars, and noise generators, and really getting into it. In the crowd, fans were swaying along to beats I couldn’t follow. I wish they had a booklet to go with the show, because I feel like I was missing something.

(So was the guy who kept shouting out “Radio Protector!” after the band finished each piece. I hope he hadn’t been expecting a “best of” concert.)