Thom's Link Emporium - 0020 - 6 June 2022
I waited to finish off today's Link Emporium because the strangest thing happened - England beat someone in a Test Match. The Platinum Jubilee is not really my sort of thing (but hope you've had a nice weekend, those who celebrate), but watching England eke out a win at Lords (and in the process, Joe Root scoring a century which was, precisely, his 10,000th run) made for a lovely few days. Hopefully the beginning of a lovely summer. Finally, a lupin update for those longer-running members of the newsletter:
Links
A Liam Gallagher interview in the Guardian where he answers questions from the readers and is surprisingly thoughtful: "As someone who spent the 90s having anxiety, I’ve always admired your confidence. But do even you have moments of thinking: “Can I run away and hide in a darkened room?” (ciaran1968) "Oh, many, many times, for sure. On a daily basis. But that’s life; any fears, you have to hit head on. A lot of fears are illusions, so you just have to take a deep breath and think: “You know what? It’s not that bad actually.” We all have these feelings but, at the end of the day, you’ve just got to get up and deal with it." I also really enjoyed the simplicity of "Have you ever thought of asking for a shorter microphone stand so you don’t have to crane your neck?" (YorkshireExPat) "No, but I get what you’re saying."
On RibbonFarm, Venkatesh Rao writes movingly about his aged, infirm 18 year old cat and then onto the notion of infirmity.
Ian Leslie and I share similar views on patriotism: "I’m a patriot, albeit a rather watery one. I don’t weep to the national anthem, but I’m sentimentally attached to Britain’s history, its literature, music and ideas, its countryside and its cities (well mainly the one in which I live, London). I like or at least admire its institutions and want them to endure: parliament, the BBC, the Royal Family, Pret a Manger."
Scott Alexander tests how good an AI is at designing stained glass windows
An intriguing review from Richard Brody in the New Yorker that posits that, of the Star Wars films, Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith are the only good ones. Added to that, he finds the John Williams score over the top and annoying. Not sure I agree, but it's an interesting argument.
Who owns the Houses of Parliament? Feels like it should be the state, but the thing about "the state" in the UK is that often means "The Queen”. I wonder what it’s like to own a building, large sections of which you’re constitutionally denied from entering?
Left-Wing Group Too Disorganized For FBI Agents To Infiltrate. The Onion, but plausible.
After yet another actor is bullied by racist Star Wars fans, Ryan Broderick asks when we should just give up on Star Wars fandom altogether. I think he makes a persuasive case we're already past that point:
Everyone wants to read an article entitled "The Great, Slow-Motion Humiliation of Piers Morgan", don't they? It's full of great lines like "In one episode, he got called a “c***” live on his own show by a trans rights activist, and somehow still the clip feels sad and flat to watch. The liveness is stilted, and there is no light in Morgan’s eyes as he reads half-arsed jokes from a teleprompter."
Listening
It’s that time for a breakdown of my favourite albums from May 2022. As ever, they’re not all albums from May, but they’re all from 2022.
A Light for Attracting Attention - The Smile. Two-fifths of Radiohead, and one of Sons of Kemets’s drummers form a strange supergroup releasing songs that sound like Yorke and Greenwood have been released from the confines of Radiohead and are having a sort of gloomy-tinged fun. (Spotify, Music)
Motomami - Rosalía. Spanish pop star Rosalía seems to improve with every release and Motomami might be her masterpiece. (Spotify, Music)
Harry's House - Harry Styles. This excellent pop album could well have been top in any normal month. It’s excellent but has been sidelined by two more adventurous releases. (Spotify, Music)
Timbuktu - Oumou Sangere. Excellent album from the outstanding Malian superstar. (Spotify, Music)
Mr Morale and the Big Steppers - Kendrick Lamar. There’s a lot here that’s outstanding and some of the beats and flow feel truly groundbreaking, but others feel a bit insipid. I think the biggest problem I have with albums like this, though, is that I recognise the brilliance but struggle mightily with the misogyny. (Spotify, Music)
Finally here’s my playlist from May 2022 (Spotify, Music). A bit shorter than last months two-month bonanza. I’m intending to do a “first half of 2022” album and playlist next month, so subscribe for that if you haven’t already!
Reading
Since it’s cricket season, I thought I might recommend a cricket book. People regularly come up to me and say “Thom, I’m fascinated by cricket because it’s clearly the best sport in the world, but I’d love to know more so I’m not as baffled by its brilliance when I commit to five days of watching it. As such, I’d be really interested in a book that explained the basics.”* And when this regularly occurring occurrence occurs, I tell them, you should read What is a Googly by Rob Eastaway. It’s a fun introduction to the sport and is genuinely helpful and informative.
Watching
I’ve started watching Danny Boyle’s limited series on Disney+, Pistol. It’s the story of the Sex Pistols, based on Steve Jones’s autobiography. So far it’s done a pretty good job of giving Vivienne Westwood the prominence she deserves, and unsurprisingly it’s excellently made. Well worth checking out.
Quote
If you point out the moon to a cat, she probably won’t look at the sky; she’ll come up and sniff your finger. In a similar fashion, it’s easy for us to become fascinated by a particular teaching, or teacher, or book, or system, or culture, or ritual. But the buddha-dharma—the teaching of the awakened—directs us to focus not on the pointing finger, but on the experience of Truth itself.
Buddhism Plain and Simple by Steve Hagen
* I can dream, right?