So what were the skies like when you were young?

Status:

Did some more writing this afternoon. I appear to writing a short booklet on how to do composting. Not because the world desperately needs another one but it’s a subject I know back to front so I can focus on the words and sentences rather than the content, if you get me. It’s been fun noodling with how something comes across – I think I’ve always enjoyed editing and redrafting as much if not more than getting the first draft down. It’s sort of like I’d imagine stand-up comedy works. You come up with a joke in your head which amuses only you and then you iterate and improve it over many nights of gigs until finally it’s bullet proof.

Other than that the usual CFS type of day. Did some pottering, had a family visit, watched the birds.

I did come across an open call for artists which I thought I definitely wouldn’t be able to commit to but it turned out to be five sessions spread over a full year, one per season then a conclusion. That’s the sort of pace I could do! Now to see if I fit the brief (or, as I was mentored into thinking, if the brief fits my practice, such as it is).

Reading:

• The 40 most rage-inducing problems in tech — I found this list fascinating because most of these aren’t a problem for me. Either I know how to use the thing in question properly, I understand why it’s shit so it doesn’t perplex me, or I’ve developed tactics for bypassing the annoyance. So this is a one of those rare views into how “normal” people use the internet and how much they hate it. And that doesn’t make me a better person, just means I’ve been around a while, like a long-time resident of a big city who knows how to move through it with ease. It infuriates me that this shit is considered good enough. Any improvement would make my life better too. Do better, tech wankers!
• If CMAT is an affront to the male gaze and Olivia Rodrigo is indulging it, how exactly should women dress? — Laura Snapes: “Every possibility for how a woman in the public eye might look has been co-opted by an agenda that would rather tell her who she is rather than listen to who she is saying she is." I really like CMAT’s music and while I’m not so keen on Rodrigo’s stuff (because it’s totally not aimed at me) I love that she asked the Breeders to support her stadium tour, reinventing them as cool aunties for a new generation of girls. Fuck anyone who criticises these awesome women (or any woman) for what they wear.
• Cynicism is a luxury; hope is a necessity — Or, if you’re able to ignore the state of the world, that’s because it’s working in your favour. via
• American tips to beat the heat when you don’t have air conditioning — I was nodding along until I hit “swamp cooler” so I looked it up. Oooh!