Every summer I feel anxious to capitalise on the opportunities of longer days and less teaching work. It doesn’t always pay off. This year I am happy to have finally completed some music. I am also some way into what I’d like to record next, which is unusual for me. Today I released the video below, and on Friday I will release the whole album.
You may recognise the scenery and character from earlier blog posts. We shot this video using my Sony Nex VG-10e, an APSC camcorder with interchangeable lenses. They made it in a weird limbo period before DSLRs really took off and handicams hadn’t yet died off. I love it for the ergonomics and lightweight kit.
This month has been preparing for a conference paper that I have to give in August and doing some creative endeavours. I also managed to read more and watch more than usual, in an attempt to keep up with my yearly targets. What a geek. I’ve also taken to reading some classic books (in the same way that I resorted to classic films when I found TV dull.) I went through a phase of bingeing on ‘smart thinking’ books that weren’t very smart at all, so I figured I needed more classics in my life. Obviously not Classical classics like Homer, but more recent stuff that some would consider the ‘canon’ of English lit.
READ: In Cold Blood – Truman Capote, 007 Diaries: Filming Live and Let Die – Roger Moore, Around the World in Eighty Days – Jules Verne, Lolita – Vladimir Nabokov, Bournemouth in 50 Buildings – Paul Rabbitts & Liz Gordon, Hit Makers – Derek Thompson
WATCHED: Char-ac-ter, X, American Masters: Mike Nichols, How to Marry a Millionaire, People Just Do Nothing – Big in Japan, Ballad of a Righteous Merchant, Eraserhead, Capote, The Lady in the Van, The African Queen, The Life of Brian, Will Work For Views, Il Postino, L’Avventura, Les Diaboliques, Pickpocket, Banshees of Inisherin, Shadows, Faces, Jimi Hendrix: Voodoo Child, Barbie, Oppenheimer, Top Gun: Maverick
