Just received two of these (tiny!) ESP32 CAM modules through the mail. Crazy cheap, built-in WiFi, Bluetooth and a more than decent camera for the purposes I will be using them for: installing them inside our hedgehog house for some live-streaming hedgehog extravaganza. 😎🌱🦔📹
📚 Finished reading The places that scare you by Pema Chödrön. This book proved to be an excellent introduction to Buddhism for me. Mainly because Chödrön has a very accessible writing style. But also because a lot of Buddhist concepts are pretty similar to those in Stoicism.
🌱 Plum flowers. Big chance we finally will get a good harvest this year (for the first time in 5 years.)
📚 currently reading: Fantoomgroei
I’m embarking on a new cooking adventure: exploring the fine art of fermenting with this rather simple Korean kimchi recipe. We will know more in three days!
🎵 My week in music (week #10 & 11 2021)
Two new albums that stood out to me were Aai by Mouse on Mars (anarchic artificial intelligence indeed: it’s more of a showcase than a pleasant listening experience) and (the more pleasantly experimental) Distractions by Tindersticks.
We had general elections last week and it didn’t turn out the way I hoped: the left got decimated, the populist right got even bigger. So this is what I’m holding on to:
“I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it”
Evelyn Beatrice Hall 💬
🌱🐝 Bumblebee queen feeding on our blooming almond tree (totally ignoring the prepared bumblebee houses right beneath it…)
🎵 🇳🇱 Lou Ottens, inventor of the cassette tape, dies aged 94
He not only invented the cassette, but also helped with the development of the CD. What a career.
🎵My week in music (week #8 & #9 2021)
Last week I discovered the atmospheric sounds of Sarah Lipstate aka Noveller. I hadn’t heard from her until I found out she was responsible for a big part of the sound of Iggy Pop’s latest album (which I like very much).
Finally received the custom made picture frame for a great birthday present I got from close friends: an abstract screen printing of a Redbreast Robin! (Part of BLOCBIRDS, an artproject by Studio 212 Fahrenheit.)
📚 According to my Goodreads list I already started reading A Distant Mirror years back, but the bookmark revealed I never got past the foreword. This time, I’m determined to read it all the way to the end, since it will be great research for my upcoming project on city bells.
🎥 Captain Marvel (2019) ★★½
90s music in The Marvel Universe… It just didn’t work for me.
🎥 Billie Eilish: The World’s a little Blurry (2021) ★★★½
Katy Perry, backstage with Billie Eilish at Coachella: “..and I love you, and… ehm…, I just wanna say that… this is gonna be wild for ten years… it’s gonna be crazy… If you ever wanna talk, because it’s a weird ride…”
🌱🦔 Meanwhile our little hedgehog is still fast asleep, hibernating in its shelter. Couldn’t resist to take a peek inside…
🌱 🐝 Cleaning and preparing our bumblebee houses for the new season. Some people already spotted bumblebee queens flying around, so fingers crossed🤞
🎥 Nomadland (2020) ★★★★½
Definitely one of the best films of the past year. Written, directed ánd edited by Chloé Zhao, who instantly made it to my list of favourite film makers. And Frances McDormand is such a great actress, I just can’t get enough of her.
🍺 Razende Swaen Tripel by our local brewery De Leckere ★★★★
🌱 Just a matter of days before the new gardening season breaks loose…
🥾 Some last traces of snow and ice served as proof that it was still winter, but otherwise it felt like spring during our afternoon walk through Polder Kockengen, Utrecht.
🎵 My week in music (week #7 2021)
I’m getting at an age where a lot of my longtime musical heroes come to pass away. This week, U-Roy died at age 78. There was a period in my life when I listened to reggae and dub for weeks in a row. And U-Roy was among the most played artists.
Sometimes you just need to follow the recipe! (From Flavour by Yotam Ottolenghi & Ixta Belfrage.)
❤️ I really like the NASA Perseverance Mars mission logo.
🎥 Star Trek: The Search for Spock (1984) ★★★
🎵 My week in music (week #5 & 6 2021)
The past two weeks I delved into the beautiful sounds and music of Jon Hassell. I really love his unique blend of World Music and Ambient Electronica.
And in honour of Chick Corea I gave some of his compositions a listen too.