Where does creativity spring from? Brian Koppelman’s fascinating podcast with Geddy Lee of Rush offers some possible answers to this impossible question.*
Recent Posts
Brian Eno’s diary: A very strange time indeed
Brian Eno’s wonderful 1995 diaries A Year with Swollen Appendices (finally back in print) offer an endless wealth of wit and inspiring ideas, and a fascinating snapshot of a past world that is both recent and long, long gone.
Stay whole
Gentle reader: How are you coping as 2020 grinds on? What is helping you through all this? What is keeping you whole?
Creativity: Take a jump into the unknown
Creativity is in all of us, in one form or another. But how do you get that creativity out? This post spotlights some wise words on creativity from Neil Morrison and John Cleese.
Sketchtober FIVE (Goofy skeletons, determined women!)
The fifth and final weekly set of pics from Sketchtober, my October daily drawing challenge, with Halloween skeletons, moonlit moggies, some determined women – and even a seasonal pumpkin!
The ghosts of Soho record shops past
Soho’s record shops were magical places for me and for so many others. This post takes a saunter through Soho’s record shops and ponders how places change and evolve.
David Ogilvy’s genius: Of great writing, giants and Russian dolls
David Ogilvy was the advertising genius of the 20th Century. He was also generous in sharing his wisdom on the art of writing.
A better normal
What would make a better normal for you in the post-pandemic world?
Forbidden Planets,Tin Pans and London’s eternal trick
Forbidden Planet turns 42 today (Saturday 29 August 2020 = #FP42)! This post celebrates both FP’s status as London’s foremost comic shop and London’s ever-changing brilliance.*
The possibilities are infinite
What do you want the post-pandemic world to look like? The possibilities are infinite. The world doesn’t have to be the way it was.
2000AD: Five memories of the future
2000AD memories! This post celebrates the first forty(-ish) years of 2000AD – and all its inspirational joy and anarchy – through five memories of the future.
A Tweet from Sir: Of @StephenFry, Oscar Wilde and secrets
Stephen Fry has helped shaped my words and my outlook on the world for more than 30 years. This post celebrates what Stephen Fry means to me, and considers whether “the secret of life is in art”.
Peak surreal
2020 has been at times profoundly surreal. The cavalcade of surreal events is showing no signs of slowing down. Have we even arrived at peak surreal yet?
This is out of your control
So much of what is happening now is out of your control. But not everything. Kind words and supportive gestures can mean the world.
Reset
It’s never too late to reset. To mark the 2020 fourth of July weekend, some reflections on change and the need to learn from past mistakes.
To listen with compassion and empathy
This is a time for some of us to speak. It’s a time for others to listen with compassion and empathy. A post inspired by the powerful words of Shereen Daniels.
Take yourself out of the story
What happens when you take yourself out of the story? This post is inspired by wise words from Naval Ravikant on choiceless awareness – the art of taking yourself out of the story.
How do you look at life?
How we can we understand and learn from the disruption to our lives caused by the coronavirus pandemic?
The not-so-immaculate conception of Basil Fawlty
BASIL! When was Basil Fawlty created? We can pinpoint the exact date of the not-so-immaculate conception of Basil Fawlty via Michael Palin’s The Python Years: Diaries 1968-1979.
Ready to imagine another world
What do you want the post-pandemic world to look like? This post is inspired by wise words and thoughts from Arundhati Roy, Naval Ravikant and Scott Adams.
Everyone is
There is no right way and no wrong way for us to respond to this situation. Everyone is lost in this maze. But there is a path through.
Nothing manmade remains long
Nothing has felt stranger than these times. But social isolation also brings things into sharper focus. It reminds us of all we have now, the luxury of life and the beauty of love.
Time suddenly alters completely
The coronavirus-driven halting of everyday live has given us all so much time. But there is so much worry and dread to fill that time. How are you coping?
Make me unselfish
It is only natural to feel overwhelmed by the novel coronavirus pandemic. But we are not powerless. Small acts of altruism and of mutual aid can snowball into real, positive change.
My ridiculous life
Gentle reader: How improbable is your life? How ridiculous does it seem that the pieces fell into place exactly as they did, to give you exactly the life you have?
Farewell, Lord Sabre (Andrew Weatherall RIP)
Andrew Weatherall’s death was a truly jolting moment, the saddest of losses. This post is my personal tribute to this musical maverick, this genius gentleman raconteur. I am also honoured to host Tim Scott’s tribute to Lord Sabre.
You can prove anything with facts
“You can prove anything with facts,” as the excellent Stewart Lee would remind us*. And that is no bad thing.
#7songs: Beasties, beer spraying and Saṃsāra
I think you know what time it is… This an update of my 2015 post, celebrating the Beastie Boys, and including an unwitting encounter of the Yauch kind in Soho Square.
Monty Python’s Bicycle Repairman sketch: It was 45 years ago today
Bicycle Repair Man’s superhero origin story took place on the first ever day of filming for Monty Python’s Flying Circus, with cameras starting to roll on Tuesday 8 July 1969!
Sketchtober FOUR (Where Rodin meets Batman)
The fourth weekly set of pics from Sketchtober, my October daily drawing challenge, featuring mogs and rockers, Dark Knights and noted sculptors.
Sketchtober THREE (Morticia, Oscar, Dracula!)
The third weekly set of pics from my October daily drawing challenge, taking in Morticia Addams, Oscar Wilde, Count Dracula and some rather lovely flowers.
Sketchtober TWO (Scribbly Dylan)
The second weekly set of pics from my Sketchtober daily drawing challenge, taking in Cleo the dog, John Lennon and a distinctly scribbly Bob Dylan!
Sketchtober ONE (Life’s a bony cabaret!)
Welcome to Sketchtober! I’m doing a brand-new ink drawing for every day of October 2020. This first round-up of my daily Sketchulence finds Mr Skeleton channelling Liza in a rather fabulous manner.
