The Week In
Consumption
Music
Lost track of myself a little, my purported new album was Burnover by Greg Freeman, who I discovered when I first listened to this on Monday, was in fact playing in town on Wednesday (I didn’t go). Probably didn’t give it a fair shake, it was an unfocused week and while the album finishes strong, I was unprepared for the opener to have one of the the whiniest out of tune voices I’ve heard on record, which put me off somewhat. I never settled on an old record, I listened to one album by Peter Frampton, of whom I knew nothing other than Sonic Youth were in his cooler. Turns out Baby I Love Your Way was him, so I do know something after all. Let’s get back on track next week.
Books
Finished Intermezzo which was decent enough. It was filled, in typical Sally Rooney style, with sad people having sex with each other. It read at times like a crossover between James Joyce and Bret Eason Ellis, featuring a depressed nihilist with an inner monologue that often finishes mid-sentence. A lot of it was concerned with people getting overly freaked out by an image of someone else they’ve entirely invented, then meeting them in person and realising they’re ok actually. Ivan is 22 and gets in a relationship with Margaret who is 34, she freaks out over the age difference and they ultimately come to the conclusion of, ah fuck it, let’s just see what happens. Peter is 32 and in a relationship with Naomi, who is 32, but also in love with his ex Sylvia who is in constant physical pain from an accident. He drives himself to the brink of suicide trying to reconcile this until they meet each other and decide why not just carry on with both? I’m sure it goes well long term.
I seem to be on a fiction-by-women streak accidentally so I’ll probably continue it with The Mill on the Floss by George Eliot which I technically got for free because a second hand bookstore undercharged me, even after I went back and told them they undercharged me, rather than work out exactly how much I should have paid, the girl in the shop got flustered and just said “ten dollars” for the three I got.
Movies
I signed back up to Netflix after a couple of years away, and I was left alone for two days so I did some catching up. Rebel Ridge was decent, but not as good as Saulnier’s previous (just watch Green Room). May December prided itself on “look how ambiguous this situation is” before landing on “no it’s fucked up for exactly the reasons it should be”. A House of Dynamite was one of the most thrilling, incredible things I’ve seen… for the first half hour, before it goes back to do it over and over again and not have any ending whatsoever. The president at one point, minutes from a nuclear holocaust, references a thing he heard on a podcast once. I’m embarrassed to listen to podcasts and you’re the fucking president, Jesus.
TV
I don’t really remember very much that happened before now in Stranger Things and I’m mainly here for completion. Three episodes in - over three hours - and honestly it’s had enough content for one decent Buffy two-parter.
Production
Because I don’t just point my eyeballs at stuff.
Running
I’m doing more hills, all the hills I can get my hands on. Or, I was until we had a colossal snowstorm on Thursday and I took that day off, obviously, and then tried to go for a run Friday but it was a paradise of grey slush. Did 16km on the treadmill on Saturday, not my favourite pastime (I was aiming for 20, but on a treadmill did you know you can just step off and not be doing it at any moment). Haven’t really got into a regular rhythm this year because a) I’m deliberately taking the winter off and b) it’s cold as fuck most of the time.
Writing
I’ve got three shorts in the bag, one more coming tomorrow. One (probably two weeks later) ended up being about 3,000 words and an attempt to actually just be straightforwardly scary and desperately restrain myself from sprinkling jokes everywhere. Tomorrow has all the jokes. I have entirely neglected my in-progress long-form thingy, mainly because of the scary one. This is somewhat defeating the purpose of the whole exercise but I’m having a good time.
Chinese
I did some of a workbook I have perpetually looking at me from a side table. Might sign up for an exam to force myself, but the exam center website is dead. Oh no!