2025-08-15 18:26:09
The fourth and final album from Ethel Cain as we know her, "Willoughby Tucker, I'll Always Love You" doesn't stinge on minutes for your money with the shortest track clocking in at 4:45! Her first two singles, "Fuck Me Eyes" and "Nettles", definitely set the tone for this magnum opus; Southern Gothic Americana at its finest.
YouTube decided to recommend "smoke weed eat pussy" by Swedish trap-hop star Ängie. Not exactly my usual tuneage but I quite enjoyed it. A little repetitive but some lovely tones in there.
Talking Heads frontman, David Byrne, returns with a heartfelt quirky love song ably assisted by the Ghost Train Orchestra. "She Explains Things To Me" touches on a niche aspect of relationships when one person has a better grasp of social cues than the other and can explain nuance in a movie scene or metaphors in poetry. In taking the time to patiently explain, they reveal their love.
I first became a fan of Marissa Nadler with 2007's "Songs III: Bird on the Water", especially her cover of Leonard Cohen's "Famous Blue Raincoat". Opening track from her new album, "It Hits Harder" doesn't stray too far from her comfort zone; frosty, ethereal folk.
2025-08-11 22:52:03
In development or programming there exists the concept of "code smells" — little giveaways that indicate the code isn't very good or, perhaps, the writer isn't too proficient.
The more work I see generated by AI, the more I'm becoming attuned to what I'm calling "knowledge smells".
The less a person knows about a subject, the more they lean on the GenAI.
The more a person knows about a subject, the easier it is to detect the flaws in the output of the model.
Given deep knowledge, a person will write it themselves or correct the output accordingly.
If neither of these things have happened, the person doesn't know the subject well enough.
2025-08-11 01:11:43
We were just holding hands and walking past the car park on the way to the secondhand furniture shop, chatting to each other about nothing in particular, when a guy called over and said it was lovely to hear how happy we sounded. So happy together that a stranger felt it was worth commenting on 😊 #SmugMarrieds
Spoilers, _Love Island_
Actually so pleased Toni and Cach won. He is a king and she has been my favourite throughout.
I haven't actually watched the final yet (and probably won't) but The Algorithm™ spoiled it for us.
Found my dream camera for a steal on eBay. Fully cleaned and serviced, with new light seals and a mirror buffer installed. A steal but by no means cheap; I hope it lives up to the hype. I'll find out on Monday! Or, more accurately, a fortnight later when I get the prints back!
We spent the weekend in the seaside town I lived in nearly 30 years ago doing loads of touristy things which was incredibly wholesome. Feeling full of love with recharged batteries ready for the work week ahead.
I think intelligence feels “quiet” in the Dua Lipa, dignified way when it has this quality of generous sharing. It’s about appreciating others’ minds, and creating more beauty and interest for others. It looks straight through to an idea, to the world, not through a lens of: “What does this say about me?”
Eleanor Gordon Smith, "Helen Garner and Dua Lipa’s interview caused a personal crisis. How can I be ‘quietly intelligent’? | Leading questions"
2025-08-04 15:17:02
My second time making a post with Eleventy. I love it! The markdown file is so clean, there's just the header info, and then below that, a vast empty blank space. No HTML to bump into and tip over, Eleventy adds all that in for me at the end. Lovely!
Hollie
I defy anyone disillusioned with writing code to not be buoyed by Hollie's enthusiasm!
2025-08-03 22:23:41
The 100,000th song I have listened to is "Mirtazapene" by Paramore vocalist, Hayley Williams.
Except, of course, it isn't. I've been listening to music a lot longer than I've been recording listening to music.
This isn't even my first last.fm — I was an early adopter, used it for years, then deleted it before creating a new account almost immediately.
Even then, I'm not scrobbling every song I hear; live music, music in films, vinyl, car radio, kitchen radio while we're cooking. There's probably more I'm forgetting.
What I can tell you is that, of the songs I've listened to in the last decade, 100,000 of them have been logged.
Ultimately, though, it doesn't tell you an awful lot about me or what I listen to — just about what I log. And that's the issue with a lot of these trackers; they are a moment in time, not a comprehensive account.
Unless you're younger than me and your every waking second is added to a database in Google HQ 👀
2025-08-03 18:12:29
🚂
There are three of us sat around the table on this train; me, a guy who has fallen asleep watching Eastenders on his iPad, and a woman patiently explaining each-way betting to a friend on the phone. Mr Eastenders' luggage occupies the fourth seat. The train leaves on time but arrives four minutes late and I break a sweat walking briskly to my connection.
⛈️
I got a nosebleed at work and prayed to the skies for the storm to break. It started raining when I got home and I felt a bit better.
🎞️
There are seven exposures left on this roll of film before I can send them off for development. I might do a little late night still life work to practice lighting and composition.
📚
I added a feature to my little book tracking tool; "Read Next". I pull a random book from my "To be read" that is flagged as "owned". It's only a suggestion, obviously, but it was nice to have an idea and implement it in the easiest way in a few minutes. It's all working so nicely in Obsidian that, if I didn't need the "API" capabilities, I might not bother with converting it into a web app…
💩
A bird pooped on me on the way home; it's supposed to be lucky, right?
Some weeks are just weeks, no magic, no poetry.
DW