I apologise for taking so long to get one of these out again. I'm 45 years old you see, my brain has started to rapidly deteriorate now. I'm not as nimble as I used to be, there's a heat wave, I'm developing a hunchback from frowning and scouring over a keyboard for too many hours playing candy crush, I've got man-boobs and I tested positive for covid for the 14th time. All in all, I'm going downhill fast and believe I'm suffering from brain fog smog. 

 

 

..But there is hope. We're living in a world of AI and it won't be long before my boobs droop over my keys and I'm unable to type, so I called in the bots; the AI bots at; Sudowrite to be precise. These bots are AI wordsmiths to help you ‘bust writers' block’ or deal with brain smog?! Don't believe it? Try it for yourself and Damian will give you personally €500 for every signup. *

 

Enough horsing around. Here's a short summary of things to buy, read, listen to, and watch:

 

Nothing. Carl Pei and the ‘Nothing phone 1’ are both very very good. Having attempted to dabble in electronics a few years back I know how hard it can be to access the materials, logistics, and partners necessary to bring hardware to the market.

Not only is the ‘nothing’ phone beautiful, but it's also functional and exceptionally sexy. Up until this moment I had never doubted my loyalty to apple. 

 

She Will. Is a psychological horror film that anyone with a treat-brain will not be able to watch, it's a brilliant debut for the director Charlotte Colbert, but its not light. If you are still unable to deal with the realities of global pandemics, war, and blithering politicians you may need something lighter? I have it; The Gray Man with the ever stylish (and definitely not a man-boob in sight) Ryan Gosling. It's mission impossible meets Jason Bourne.

 

However, if you're looking for a sure-fire winner for a family of 5 suffering from both brain smog and treat brain then Elvis is your film. How do the likes of Tom Hanks and Nicole Kidman crank out so many hits?!

 

Mubi. I'm putting this podcast under ‘watch’ to confuse you. Mubi is the arthouse streaming service behind this podcast. A podcast all about global film hosted by Rico Gagliano. If you're into film, you'll love this.**

 

Tarzan Economics. I can hear you yawn. But give it a shot. Will Page is an accountant, turned DJ, turned Chief Economist for Spotify and his book is a very easy and fascinating read. He also has a few mixes on mixcloud featuring my friend TC.

 

Many moons ago we had a show called One Minute Wonders. There was a beauty to the simplicity of these films. The videos were 60" long and we asked one question “tell us who you are without talking about what you do." Some thrived, some failed.

I recently discovered this One Link Wonder. A similar concept. Just one link to focus on, once a week. 

 

Stefan Rohrer. The hard lines that Stefan creates are mesmerising. No matter how much of a Citroen or Vespa lover you are, Stefan exaggerates the beauty that the designers Pierre Boulanger and D'ascanio created for these iconic brands that I can't believe they would have anything but admiration for his work.

 

Navot Miller. Russel Tovey recently curated the first US showing of Israeli artist Navot Miller's work at 1969 gallery in New York. Navot's work is beautifully colourful or ‘pure pop’ as Russel refers to it.

 

Crypto Island. Whether not interested in crypto at all or crying because you recently lost your family fortune this podcast is well worth a listen. PJ Vogt of ‘Reply All’ is the host and this is a great exploration of the origins and some of the wackiness*** of the world of crypto.

 

Retro RHLSTP. Not familiar with Johnny Vegas? He was a legend in the UK standup scene back in the 90s. In this hour-long conversation Michael Pennington describes the duality of his life as director and comedian Johnny Vegas.

 

That's it for now. Thanks for subscribing. Now, get outside! And please come back again :) 

 

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