shepherd

i'm not going to lie, the vocal track on this doesn't sit well with me and that style. regardless of sport has never sat well with me. that's just taste tho, not a vaue jufgment. what's certain tho, is that this all looks lovely and is well worth a watch. i've been cycling these roads off and on most of the last thirty odd years and, while i do it dofferently these days, i've never tired of it.  

mohini dey

 i prefer yesterday's vid as mohini dey's style isn't quite for me but what can't be disputed is the frightening level of her talent. here's rick beato doing his thing (and supporting and showcasing young talent!)

knulp

the video image is pure clickbait for sure but it's the content... whoever is doing the camerawork knows what musical people want for sure but it's the beautiful, flawless technique on that fretless bass that steals the show, i could watch that all day! 

spanish verb tenses

i could't find a video with a timeline and, for whatever reason, online spanish tutors seem to like a lot of verbiage (sic) with their expanations! this lad keeps it seem when he's conjugating ayudar. if you're at the stage of wanting to do a timeline like the previous french one, you've likely got all the components you need. if not, a little caution but it's still handy, if only to show you some gaps. bit of paper and a marker and you're off! 

instagram practice

 i've kept my duolingo going but now, after nearly five years, i'm finding it, other than making sure i do it every day, counterproductive in terms of actually learning. what i am getting a lot out of is spanish language instagram. it gives me the instant hit of duolingo but, and especially if it has spanish subtitles (english subtitles not helpful), i have to read and listen at a native speakers pace at the same time. my current favourites are - 

jimena gonik - a disc a day for 366 days is just a joy. and while she does the english language classics there are cantantes in here i've never heard of. brilliant!

victor del valle - i had a lot to do with hairdressers back in the day so this is well within my comfort zone. what i like is the repetitive nature of the interaction, the speed of the chat and watching victor's skills. he gets some stick in the comments for limited technique but what he's doing he's doing well so i'm not bothered.

erik dominguez - cooking! and in an accent i can actually understand!

ingemar albertsson - okay not spanish but ingemar is such a dude i can't leave him out. plus, far more than french or spanish, or even dutch, i've always struggled with comprehension in swedish. moreso now i have no chance to speak it but i don't want to let it die. there's some really specific vocabulary and the swedishness is dialled! lol

eduardo girardin - my italian is now where near not needing english subtitles but, in addition to not liking italian duo much, this reminds me of why i love italian so much

cheikh niang - more food! as with erik dominguez lots of great kitchen language. plus, west african french is where i started french as a kid, so i can't not love it

obvs i listen to more spanish than anything else but i listen to all of these more or less regularly. native speakers speaking to native speakers is great and all of them have big easy to read subtitles in the target language (except eduardo). in spanish, it's also helping me get to grips with different accents and modes of expression. i find these short clips less demanding than listening to the radio or watching something on tv (netflix spanish viewing a whole other thing!)

that said, i do like me some french radio.  i haven't found spanish speech radio i like yet but i'll do a music station. alternatively theres always the cycling in dutch, which i'm not sure if i really understand, or if i'm cheating because i know what they're talking about! whatever, it fills the house with a vibe that's not english!

french verb tenses

i'm not going to lie, the grammar of tenses and their associated word order feels like soup in my head right now. which is why i like these diagrams and why i find it very relaxing sometimes just to work along a timeline, as much to reassure myself that i do know what i'm talking about as anything else!

back button focus

 handy 

takuya nakamura

 

nina yamada

 

natalie oberg

 i'm really liking this my film story series. when i had small female relatives i found it much easier to get them motivated if i could show them women doing things they might only have associated with me!

daudi matsiko

 

cycling the cairngorms

 you couldn't get me camping now if you beat me with a stick. and i'm only slightly less keen on a bothy. but they're in a lovely stretch of the country and doing that thing that so rarely happens in these videos - binning the route and enjoying the journey. doing it at this time of year is less than ideal weather wise but you won't get eaten alive by tics and it's less tourist dense. cairngorms are just lovely, esp off the beaten track

bass fretting technique

 yt is awash wiht how to videos and no less with bass playing. that said this one covers the basics better than any other i can think off. clear, concise and useful - the dropping the wrist thing and keeping your fingers perpendicular is something i sin against frequently! lol 

gravy masala base

 this isn't quite how i make my curry base but no-one makes it quite the same way! but, if you're not doing it you should. batch cook it and you're off. the tip of the vid tho (and why i've never come across it who knows!) is the combining of the spices with water so you don't burn them. again i've made a lot of this over the years but this would've saved quite some amount of inconvenience! 

paradise lost

 

rice and beans

 rice and beans 

the quick version 

the take your time version

cycling back to sweden

 once upon a time i was going to cycle home to sweden. as it turned out there was no home to cycle to but i still look back on the idea with some wistfulness. here's somebody actually doing it - on a brompton! 

soup like medicine

 i've had a wee rush of german 'soup like medicine' vids in my feed. i'm a believer in soup for sure but i think i probably believe medicine should be more like soup! i likely wouldn't make this particular soup but, i believe, for the people who like this wort of thing, this is the sort of thing they like. and that's the key for me. my taste is not yours and vice versa. but a bit of time out, some fresh veg and a pot of soup on the stove - that always works for me!