Eyup my funky little weeknoters. How the devil are you? It’s friday, and another overly long rambling weeknote from yours truly.
Jumping right in, I saw this from Craig Mod the other day
Documentally does it really well in his newsletter/blog/email things. So we're having a shiny new WHO IS THIS PERSON? section, though it possibly needs a better title. It'll do for now.
WHO IS THIS PERSON?
I'm Dave Graham, slightly lapsed book tempter on pretty much all the socials as @dakegra. I'm a stationery geek, lover of movies, music, and good whisky. UX guy. Easily distractible with a hot beverage and cake. Owned by two cats.
This is my email newsletter/blog at which I'll talk about the shiny things which distracted me this week. The regular blog is more book reviews and shiz. Bit of a backlog though.
Hi, pull up a chair and grab yourself a beverage. You look fabulous. Have you done something new with your hair?
Reading
Finally finished Dangerous, by Essie Fox. Despite it taking a couple of weeks to read, I really enjoyed it. Lord Byron in Venice with added murder and vampiric shenanigans.
Not bought any books at all this week. This is quite unusual. It'll pass.
Just started reading The Devils by Joe Abercrombie.
I've not really read any of his books before despite many people telling me that I'd absolutely dig them, but then heard Joe talking to David Headley of the fabulous Goldsboro Books on his excellent Confessions of a Book Collector podcast and bumped it straight to the top of the TBR pile.
Europe stares into the abyss.
Plague and famine stalk the land, monsters lurk in every shadow and greedy princes care for nothing but their own ambitions. Only one thing is certain: the elves will come again, and they will eat everyone.
Sometimes, only the darkest paths lead towards the light. Paths on which the righteous will not dare to tread . . .
And so, buried beneath the sacred splendour of the Celestial Palace, is the secret Chapel of the Holy Expediency. For its congregation of convicted monsters there are no sins that have not been committed, no lines that will not be crossed, and no mission that cannot be turned into a disastrous bloodbath.
Now the hapless Brother Diaz must somehow bind the worst of the worst to a higher cause: to put a thief on the throne of Troy, and unite the sundered church against the coming apocalypse.
When you're headed through hell, you need the devils on your side.
Sounds fab, doesn't it?. Will report back.
Watching
Currently enjoying Ewan McGregor and Charlie Boorman's latest motorbike adventure Long Way Home on Apple TV. They're an amiable pair and it's nice spending some time with the boys.
Murderbot has started (also on Apple TV) and the first couple of episodes were fun. I'm not sure I ever pictured Alexander Skarsgård as Murderbot though he has the delightfully sarcastic tone down pat.
Also still watching Your Friends & Neighbors, which started well but has sort of... dragged a bit in the later episodes. Great premise, John Hamm was very promising in the first couple of episodes but I think for me it's getting a bit smug.
Need to get back to The Studio.
Listening
Another week, another gig. This time it was the fabulous Throwing Muses at the Brudenell Social Club in Leeds, which has fast become my favourite venue. It's small, the sound is great and the beer is cheap.
Didn't have quite a good a spot as for Lauren Mayberry, but got this photo of Kristin Hersh which I like.
The gig was great, though as a relative newcomer to Throwing Muses I didn't know that many of the songs. Snagged a couple of their latest CDs on the way out. Did I mention I've set up a portable CD player on my work desk hooked up to my speakers? Enjoying going through some of my CD collection. Open to suggestions for great/favourite albums to add to the list.
Also listened to the new Jack White 'No Name' album on the streaming. Will pick up a CD at some point.
The Consumed
This week's whisky for the Friday night pub/whisky/vinyl night was the excellent Deanston 18 year old. I forget which albums we listened to though.
Photos
Didn't really take any photos this week other than the one of Kristin Hersh above, or the allotment. Must do better.
I did see that Ricoh have announced they're working on the GR IV which is quite exciting as I've had my eye on the GR III for ages. Not that I need a new camera, really. Oh, and Fujifilm announced their new Fuji X Half camera which shoots half-frame portrait photos. It's a neat idea and would be fun to play around with, though I'm not sure how long it would last before it feels like a bit of a gimmick. It's also very expensive for what it is.
Other things
I spent a couple of hours down at the allotment last weekend as it's been a bit neglected for a while.
Not much else to report. Long weekend approaching, so expect I'll be down doing some more weeding!
As ever, be excellent to each other.
Smooches
D x