Spotify, Magic Whip, Station Eleven, Star Trek: TNG

I'm listening to... Spotify

After a few weeks of premium Spotify I can't believe I waited so long to commit. So much more music at my fingertips, and significantly cheaper than my usual buying methods ($12/mth). My constant hunger for newness now has a provider :)

 

I'm listening to... The Magic Whip by Blur

A distinctly Blur album, not diminished by the time since the last studio release. Veers from mournful to playful, with lots of unusual instrumental flourishes. Fave tracks: Go Out, I Broadcast

I'm reading... Station Eleven

A different take on post-apocalyptic fiction, with a non-linear, heavily character focused tale. Some tense moments finely balanced with a mostly positive view of people despite their weaknesses.

 

I'm watching... Star Trek: The Next Generation

Other than the first season, I don't think I've seen these since they originally aired, back when I was in my teens. A JB sale last week was sufficient for me to bite the bullet and buy the full set on Blu Ray, and 10 eps in it both looks great and stands up well.

Wait But Why, Young Love and The Prodigy

I'm reading... Wait But Why

Interesting, in-depth and humorous blog posts on all sorts of topics from US Presidents, to artificial intelligence (scary), to the latest on Elon Musk's various ventures (which left me feeling more optimistic about the future).

I'm watching... Young Love

YouTube series in mockumentary style, showcasing a bunch of young Aussie talent. If you enjoyed People Like Us or Small Tales and True, then this will hit the spot.

I'm listening to... The Prodigy

Their latest, The Day Is My Enemy, doesn't have too many surprises if you've listened to their last couple of albums, but there are enough driving, crunchy beats to keep me happy. Standout tracks for me are Destroy and Get Your Fight On.

This week

I'm reading... Stephen King's "The Stand"

After reading "The Talisman" back in the mid-80s, this is only the second King book I've read (gasp!). I watched the mini-series back in the 90s, but thankfully my memory leaves plenty of gaps to be filled.

I'm watching... Orphan Black S3

A rare show which is broadcasting on free-to-air TV in sync with the rest of the world, so I don't have to dodge spoilers. After watching the first 2 seasons on DVD in under a week last year, waiting so long between eps is hard! Enjoying this third season just as much as I'd hoped, still springing plenty of surprises.

I'm listening to... American Pinup

I've been enjoying their rockabilly since the debut 2011 album "Strange Creatures" and through 2013's "Change Machine" and the promise of an upcoming new EP has me refreshing my memory. For a sample of their tunes, check out this recent live studio session.

Hopefully this will be the start of more regular posts on my consumption of pop culture :)

Excursion

A lovely stroll around Palmerville Heritage Park (known in my family simply as Landcare) on Sunday resulted in a handful of suitably autumnal pics. For more, check out my photostream.

iTunes Radio

If I only listen to the "1984" station, it's pretty good. A little sample below, with "Together In Electric Dreams" playing right now :)

Zoo

Well it's taken me a long time, but I finally post-processed my favourite photos from my trip to Mogo Zoo while down the coast last December.

Springtime

My coast garden coming to life during last weekend's visit.

Amazing how only a couple of days away can feel like a week when you really need it :)

Lucky

Phew! Without that leadership spill, the mainstream media might have had to ask some tough questions of themselves, and whether they provide any value to society. Now they get to engage in a round of self-congratulatory "I told you so!"s, and re-focus their trivia detectors on something else, to avoid at all costs actually educating the broader public, or helping to raise the level of political discourse. I'd love to think that tomorrow will begin with tough questions being asked about the lack of policy detail in key areas from the LNP, or any kind of considered analysis of party positions really, but that seems far too much to hope for...

Brighter at night

While I was up in Forster, I took a handful of starry photos. These two variations on a theme worked the best:

Dramatic

Not really, but I have to renew interest in this much neglected blog somehow...

Just finished picking up and placing back in order every one of my TV show DVDs (all 300-odd of them), as the shelf they were on fell over, scattering them across the whole lounge room, thankfully missing my brand new housemates, and seemingly leaving no damage to the discs or cases themselves. Very lucky escape all round, and an impressive demo of DVD resilience!

That's what passes for excitement in my life, happy for it to remain a rarity :)

June stats

Halfway through my year off already!

Yesterday sadly broke my 132 day walking streak, but today I jumped right back on the horse (or sneakers, as it were).

Distance walked - 65km
Drawings - 12
Books read - 6
DVDs watched - 18

The shift from books to DVDs was largely due to the bathroom construction at the reading room end of my house for much of the month, as well as my CFS flaring the past couple of weeks, making concentration difficult.

So close

Hopefully this week will see the end of my house being a construction zone!

Ensuite tiling done:

All done bar the painting:

Bathrooms - Again

Bathroom 1 is all done, bar the painting:

Ensuite deconstruction has begun:

along with reconstruction:

Close

A near miss with my phone today. As I started off on my walk, I put it through my waterproof pants pocket, seemingly into my normal 3/4 pants pocket. Half an hour later, got back to the car and went to stop Runkeeper and the phone was gone. Gasp! Luckily one of our dogs sniffed it out in some tanbark next to the car, and it was no worse for 30 minutes sitting in the rain. Phew!

Bathrooms - Continued

Waterproofing applied:

WC tiling:

Shower tiles:

May stats

Distance walked - 102km
Drawings done - 1
Books read - 16 (58 for the year)
Photos taken - 380

In short, I found the right walking balance, neglected my drawing, and did lots of reading. I've had to spend a lot of time at home as my bathroom renovations have begun, being available to make sporadic decisions. That will continue for the next month, and then I aim to venture forth a little more aggressively :)

100

Yesterday I went for a walk... for the 100th day in a row! It also marked 100km for the month, for the first time since March 2008 (and only the second time ever).

Admittedly the conditions have been quite kind during that time, but I have had the occasional day of crazy wind and rain, plus some very fatigued mornings. Overall during that time I've done 121 separate walks, covering about 260km. Sometimes I've pushed too hard, but I now at least have quiet confidence that a 20-30 minute walk every day is sustainable even when my CFS isn't dormant (well, plus not having to work at all...).

Onwards towards 200, winter be damned!

Shoot

A lovely, autumnal day out at the Cotter today, perfect for some snapping with Liv...


Construction continues...


but nature remains...


More on Flickr

Bathrooms - The beginning

So, why am I getting my bathrooms renovated? I think the duct tape says it all!

It's entirely possible that this shower is older than me, and has "survived" more than 15 housemates just since I moved in.

The vanity and WC aren't exactly pictures of 21st century style either...

Step 1 - Remove all the asbestos, leaving little else behind:

Step 2 - What's under the shower?

Step 3 - New bath in place

Which takes us up to the present. Next time I'll hopefully have something pretty to show, as things fall into place.

Bridge

Another big walking day today, already taking the month's tally above 30km. Photography is really acting as quite the exercise motivator!