Five Things #213
ipswich sky by Ross Farley.jpg

This week’s Five Things…

  1. An interesting conversation with philosopher and author Agnes Callard on "the challenge of aspiration — who we are versus who we would like to become"

  2. And another equally interesting conversation with another philosopher and author, Michael Sandel, on Ed Miliband and Geoff Lloyd's podcast, Reasons To Be Cheerful.

  3. What on earth would we all do without our morning coffees?!

  4. Scammers are coming up with some cunning ways of stealing your money. Definitely worth having a read of this.

  5. This is clever. One drum beat performed in four parts.

That's all for this week. If you enjoyed it, sign up to get the next one delivered straight to your inbox.

Five Things #212
i see the moon by ross farley.jpg

This week’s Five Things…

  1. Boxing bag drumming is a thing and this guy is very good at it.

  2. Oliver Burkeman's final column. The secrets to a "fairly" fulfilled life.

  3. Demi Adejuyigbe remembers and celebrates another 21st September.

  4. I'm in the market for a 1760s tea pot exactly like this one.

  5. A great collection of photos. Tough to pick a favourite, but the smiling fish is tough to beat.

That's all for this week. If you enjoyed it, sign up to get the next one delivered straight to your inbox.

Five Things #211
cloud by ross farley.JPG

This week’s Five Things…

  1. Think you know what emotions are? Think again!

  2. I really enjoyed reading Christoph Niemann's new book Pianoforte. The illustrations are great.

  3. A fascinating and important episode of the You Are Not So Smart on masks and the psychological reasons why some people have become so opposed to them.

  4. This was a terribly sad yet inspiring thing to read. Life can be so unfair.

  5. Lindsey Buckingham doing what Lindsey Buckingham does best. I love these isolated vocal tracks from iconic recordings.

That's all for this week. If you enjoyed it, sign up to get the next one delivered straight to your inbox.

Five Things #210
Ipswich sky by Ross Farley.JPG

This week’s Five Things…

  1. That's the tastiest synthesizer I've ever seen.

  2. The science behind rhythm and timing. If you think you have no rhythm, there is hope! According to the article "only 2-3% of the population are 'beat deaf'" and timing can improve with practice.

  3. I would have loved to have taken a bike-bus to school. What a great idea.

  4. I really enjoyed this episode of the Econ Talk podcast with Margaret Heffernan on her book Unchartered. They covered many topics including: dealing with uncertainty, memory and why people (and businesses) should experiment more.

  5. I'm not very good at smiling for photos so I totally relate to this!

That's all for this week. If you enjoyed it, sign up to get the next one delivered straight to your inbox.

Five Things #209
Red sky by Ross Farley.JPG

This week’s Five Things…

  1. I just finished reading Zadie Smith’s short collection of essays, Intimations. It was very good!

  2. Alexander The Great’s mum, Olympias, was pretty hardcore. If you’re interested in history and like long podcasts, this is for you!

  3. You may remember, in 2017 a painting supposedly by Leonardo Di Vinci sold at auction for a record $450m. It blows my mind that someone would spend so much money on a painting, let alone one in such poor condition and with so much doubt hovering over whether it really is a Di Vinci! The Guardian’s Today In Focus podcast tells the crazy story.

  4. Really enjoyed this: Why Every City Feels The Same Now

  5. The panel heater gets my vote: Cat v panel heater: Which is better?

That's all for this week. If you enjoyed it, sign up to get the next one delivered straight to your inbox.

Five Things #208
melton by Ross Farley.JPG

This week’s Five Things…

  1. That’s one old shark.

  2. Adam Buxton interviews Helen Lewis and Zadie Smith. I really enjoyed both episodes, he's a great interviewer.

  3. Roman Emperors like you've never seen them before. I'm glad to see Marcus Aurelius looks as wise as he has always has in my imagination!

  4. If you like plants, check out Patch Plants. They have a good selection which they'll deliver straight to your door. There's lots of information on how best to look after the plants too, which will hopefully mean they'll live a little longer than it might have done otherwise!

  5. A lot of effort went into making Netflix's "ta-dum" sound. The Twenty Thousand Hertz podcast tells the story. A great episode.

That's all for this week. If you enjoyed it, sign up to get the next one delivered straight to your inbox.