utagawa kuniyoshi

 

what, you thought cats were an internet thing? utagawa kuniyoshi begs to differ! lol but, obviously, if the thought of living with these images is just too much you can order them here from the public domain review. double win!

old english and middle english

 

the weight

 once upon a time i took a copy of vesalius' de humani corporis fabrica down to the gym where i used to go, a bold move i would say, in a country that doesn't love books, where even medical types are more often than not, ignorant even of the name vesalius. the gym lads were well up for it, so much so i left the book for them to look at while i did my sets, no banter, no jokes, just genuine interest in the illustrations and the poses.

around the same time i read sven lindqvist's (better known for a history of bombing and exterminate all the brutes bench press, a wee curate's egg of a book about his own experiences with body building, again a book i could discuss at the gym but, quite literally, nowhere else!

so when i saw that 99% invisible/nice try! were doing an episode on weights i was clearly going to listen. and entertaining it is. i did not know that weightlifting involved am american/canadian face off, that. as ever, lifting weights was part of the fight against communism, or that cross fit was in any way associated with white supremacy. but apparently so! (and there's more! lol)

chili klaus

one of the more niche swedish activities i miss is watching surströmming videos and the efforts of the legend that is chili klaus 

norsemen

 the norwegian version of this isn't available here which is a shame but the english version is pure comic genius. i've been missing the island but, at the same time, literally crying with laughter at the familiarity of this. 

ludovico einaudi

nights are drawing in and i'm practising piano, specifically this. looks easy but easy to get wrong. currently being played at half speed! lol  

paola hermosin

 a perfect combination to remind me of how much i'm rubbish at both playing guitar and spanish. i love watching her fingering in this 

danish films

reviews. well, why not? i do like a vengeance movie and i like the two leads in this. what you get tho is really nothing like what the trailer suggests (i'm guessing it was made with a more, dare i say it, english language audience in mind). a great ensemble cast, well scripted and solid characterization plus they dodge the usual tropes in favour of something that touches on a host of other subjects. i read elsewhere that this shouldn't really work but it does. stupid, funny, touching and tragic all at the same time.

if that tweaks your twinky then check out the original version of the guilty (i think it's streaming on prime). a great wee pressure cooker of a low budget movie that's almost like watching a stage play. in contrast the american remake unfortunately just goes to show the paucity of imagination in far too many of the english language films that actually get made and aired. 

schema therapy

 turns out i'm finding clinical psychology really interesting. who knew! this, on schema therapy. great vid, awful sound 

cajonmaster - bossanova

 felipe at cajonmaster is one of my favourite cajon channels. and i'm needing some bossanova in my life! 

tongue stuck

 

i fine it wearyingly difficult to keep any language alive in the uk but it doesn't mean i've lost any of the enthusiasm for the languages themselves. this article on rumpus about maintaining a language, in this case romanian, for me possibly the most fascinating of the romance languages and certainly, i think, the most neglected

hannah arendt

 decent article from lapham's on hannah arendt. which does that thing, not so often found, thTat makes me want to read the biography but, more importantly, the source text

poetry in sounds

 

a decent idea for a poetry comp!

ana vidovic

 work music, improve your day. a delight 

kierkegaard

 

skip through the world of kierkegaard. it's cheerier than it usually sounds!