Content-ment #216: Diversions to help cope with the madness
Finding great stories, so you don't have to
Hello. Still OK? Here's your latest fortnightly offering of ephemera that I hope will prove diverting for a while.
Back to the 80s
It feels as if I'm seeing a lot of 80s-related stuff at the moment and given that was the most memorable decade of my youth, allow me to share the following:
- Tears For Fears' Curt Smith performs acoustic version of Mad World with his daughter
- Richard E Grant has been recreating lines from Withnail & I over on Instagram and they're very funny.
- Incidentally, Richard E Grant's memoir With Nails* is thoroughly worth reading if you need distraction.
- I've also got back into The Far Side, which never fails to make me laugh
- My friend Andrea put me onto Guy Pratt's Lockdown Licks, which are eminently watchable. Pratt is a bassist who's played with pretty much anyone who's anyone over the years (Pink Floyd, Madonna, Michael Jackson, Robert Palmer, Bernard Edwards), and he just chats generally about his memories and then plays his bass part along with the record. Thoroughly endearing.
- Pratt's book My Bass And Other Animals* is his very funny retelling of exploits as bassist to the stars. Worth a dabble.
- Also, I started watching lots of mash-ups again: California Maneater is very clever, as is Sleazy Egyptian.
Not really news-related links
- What happens when a joke is followed by silence? Interesting piece from Helen Lewis after her experience of filming Have I Got News For You? recently.
- Surviving screens and social media in isolation: Cal Newport has written a couple of insightful books about screen time and work, so this is worth a read.
- Can better sleep protect us from trauma?
- Brilliant bit of work from Doncaster Council's social media team: Hat tip to Morgan Martins for pointing me towards this.
- "I'm working remotely - can I keep hiding my secret baby?" Possibly the funniest advice column you'll read in a long time.
BOOKS TO GET LOST IN
- Sherlock Holmes: The Complete Collection (Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)*: You've doubtless seen the Cumberbatch/BBC adaptation. But have you read the books? They still stand the test of time, despite being first written in 1887.
- The Humans (Matt Haig)*:You may well know Haig for his presence on Twitter and his excellent non-fiction about his struggles with his mental health. This is fiction, though, and very clever and funny.
- The Etymologicon (Mark Forsyth)*: I love this and this review sums it up perfectly. 'Witty and erudite... stuffed with the kind of arcane information that nobody strictly needs to know, but which is a pleasure to learn nonetheless.'
RANDOM OTHER STUFF
- In pictures: Sony World Photography Awards
- This guy broke the world record for most press-ups in 60 minutes: It's one way of passing time in lockdown, I guess.
- Don't visit Wales: Funny Twitter thread encouraging people to stay away during lockdown
- Rule of Three podcast: this has kept me thoroughly entertained. Each week, a comedian talks to people who make comedy about comedy they love.
- Bugs Bunny: The Rabbit of Seville: In the Phill Jupitus episode of the above podcast, he talks about Looney Tunes and this particular cartoon. Just brilliant.
- We get, and give, lots of bad advice. Here's how to stop
Quote I've been thinking about
"Willpower isn’t just a skill. It’s a muscle, like the muscles in your arms or legs, and it gets tired as it works harder, so there’s less power left over for other things." From The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg*.
The end blurb...
*This is one of those affiliate links which means that should you decide my recommendation is worth more than a grain of salt and you buy 'said item', I end up earning a pittance of money in return (seriously about 5p). It costs you nothing, by the way.
Now that's been cleared up, I'm always grateful when people send on recommendations for inclusion in here. If you ever see something you think I'd love to read, please let me know. The internet is a big space and I only search a small part of it...
I'd also love it if you could forward this to a friend if you think they might get something out of the newsletter.
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See you in a fortnight.
Rob