Creativity is the missing pillar in self-development.
— Amie McNee, We Need Your Art.

I’m reading The World in a Grain of Sand and this quote really frames what the book is about:

Without sand, we wouldn’t have contemporary civilisation. And believe it or not, we are starting to run out.

📚 Finished reading: Essex County by Jeff Lemire. Absolutely wonderful book. 500 pages of pure greatness. I’m also super happy to have read this book while living in Canada. Just makes it all hit that much harder. Get a copy this summer, you won’t be disappointed.

Was looking for a way to export my highlights/annotations from my Libby/Overdrive borrowed books. Couldn’t see a way. Quick search and it’s a simple bit of text to unlock an existing feature. No idea why this isn’t just a default setting — a slightly nicer looking place for your annotations is kobli.me.

I love that there is a Cardinal living near the house this year. I get to see him a few times a week. So rare and such a dude.

My Canonical library

One of my many vices is that I do enjoy collecting books. Most of the times I read them. Sadly sometimes I do not. I might remember how important a book was to me as it provided something very specific to me that has lasted me many years after I read it. The book changed the way I think. Sometimes the story haunts me years, even decades after I read it. This is the very best stuff. The canonical stuff.

Amongst a wide range of ‘adulting’ activities carried out this week, I have managed to review my personal collection to try and pair it down to only the very best. One idea that I am considering is a single book, the best work by any individual artist, writer, designer, philosopher. There will be the occasional writer that gets an additional book here or there, but there is always one that stands above the rest. Of course I have a range of digital books. These I feel infinitely less pressured to culling. Being able to look at a shelf of books and know ho much they mean to you because they helped you grow as a human.

⚽️ Gawd I really dislike Foden and his stupid haircut.

⚽️ Oh my. Manchester City loosing to Al Hilal. Nope, did not see that coming.

Honestly, the BBC’s biased and bullshit coverage of the genocide in Gaza can fuck right off. Take any shred of credibility, douse it in gasoline and torch it. Bunch of hacks.

Hermétique Summer from Baltic Watches is a a great collection of colours to add to this solid design. Love all the new colours (except the pink which isn’t for me). I can easily see myself rocking the turquoise, yellow or orange versions.

The Fairphone (Generation 6).. Not in the market for a new phone (my iPhone 15 Pro easily has 3 more years in the tank…at least), but if I was in the market, honestly I would have considered this as a pretty decent option. That or the Punkt MC02.

I’m a TV Person

Clearly I have become a TV person over a movie person in terms of consuming a visual narrative. The standout shows for me this year have been (anything) Yellowstone related (there are always some weak points in those shows but the highs are very high) and The Bear.

I think this was confirmed to me when we finished watching Gladiator II. I can see what they’ve done here but I just didn’t care enough for the characters, even though the groundwork for these characters was established 10-15 years ago (whenever the first movie came out).

Which then got me thinking that the most important part of any creative narrative, is the story. Without the right story, it doesn’t matter if the visuals are great. It doesn’t matter that you’ve got Denzel Washington speaking the words. It never reaches the levels it could reach. Sometimes stories need room to breathe.

Maybe I’m just wired to accept episodic material, on the basis of my steady diet of serialised comic stories when I was younger?

The Bear season 4 drops today. 10 episodes of the bear. Average of 30min each, so we’re looking at 5 hours of screen time minimum over the next few days. I can’t wait.

Took me a minute, but finally updated the style of my weekly newsletter. Very basic, but honestly that’s about the right level of complexity with email…which sucks at rendering anything fancy unless you are a backwards ninja.

Been using my Kobo to read a book for the first time. Can’t help but compare it to the Kindle and I find the software snappier and pretty much at full parity to the Amazon product…except it’s better because I get to connect my library card and download away. Magic.

⚽️ The Club World Cup is a total cash grab but I guess the way to do this is give it away for free (on the DAZN app) and then get aligned with podcasts like The Rest is Football. Not convinced about all the teams in there, but eventually it will become something teams really try to get into.

With our holiday completely upended we have tried to find alternatives. The realities of what is available in Canada comes and bites us in the ass. Even the place we went to last year and really ended up enjoying isn’t an option anymore (the pools are no longer working for the entire summer).

Soo we’ve decided to embark on a home improvement project throughout the week while we reduce our body tempo. Hopefully with a little bit more time we can find a nice 2 week get away for the summer and then finally make it to Lebanon in time for Christmas.

🍳 Bolognaise.
Another auto-pilot dish. No sun dried tomatoes was a bummer. I’ve also never done one with bacon. But it all came together perfectly.

I need a drink.

Those Americans congratulating themselves for this action by the US must understand that war in the Middle East has a long fucking tail.

First comes strength, then comes peace.
— Some idiot in the current American Government….oops sorry Bibi Netanyahu.

Getting policy direction from Bibi Netanyahu is one of the weakest positions that a country like the US could have. Shame on you for sticking your sail to the mast of a genocidal, deplorable, murderous and odious government like the Israeli one.

Inspiration exists, but it must find you working.
— Pablo Picasso

Feeling soo deflated at the moment even though there is much to be thankful for, I’m just disappointed not to be seeing my mother and father after 6 years (see from three years ago when we tried this the last time). The universe transpired against us then just like it has now. Just frustrating, but alas others around the world have much, much existential issues to deal with that this is certainly one of pure privilege, which I understand.

It’s not even close but it does bring back memories from 3 years ago when circumstances beyond our control forced us to cancel our plans and holidays. I know that as a family we have precious few years to create memories together and the last 5 years have been a big hot mess. Seriously disappointing and just mentally annoying. Our bags were partially packed.

Bassem Youssef’s interview on Piers Morgan is a thing of beauty. So many wonderful quotes:

You don’t argue with pathological liar, you diagnose them.
Your optic nerve is antisemitic.
Israel has broken more international laws, than Diddy has violated young rappers.

The AiTelly youtube channel is a very different but massively informative channel on what’s going on in the Israeli/US/Iran war. Expect very little true information to come out, but 200 missiles used by the Iranians, from an approximate stockpile of 3,000. It will slow down but they will keep firing as it’s existential now.

Well that was quick. Flight was cancelled this morning, because of course it was. I haven’t seen my parents in 6 years and these assholes are a small part of the reason.

Then I get the pleasure of reading Western governments standing by this entitled nation of thieves. They steal land.
The steal lives.
They steal people.
They steal time.
They steal peace.

So proud of their theft they even have a saying:

If I don’t take it from you, someone else will.

Globally we are moving back towards the law of the jungle. Everything, absolutely everything I was scared about from 🍊 1.0 is coming to pass in version 2.0.

Bravo America for inflicting this muppet on the world. A failed entertainer with no concept of diplomacy.

Honestly I’m not overtly surprised by Israel’s audacity. They have been aided and empowered by the world’s biggest army and economy. We are in a time where dialogue and even pretending to try and maintain norms no longer exists. The backlash to ‘wokeness’? Regardless, this is an unhinged state, unleashed as it ‘tries to protect itself’ by preempting and blowing shit up in other countries. Lebanon, Syria and Iraq will all get dragged into this in some form or another.

Israel as a state does not have the right to exist, just like any country in the world doesn’t have a right. People have a right to exist above any bullshit ideology or man made construct defined by lines on a map.

I really wish I knew what power the Israelis have over the western governments. The more you get online the more you see people being detained for speaking their minds and trying to draw attention to something that should be a non discussion for anyone with a shred of humanity or decency.

The Israelis are abjectly horrible human beings who think their lives are more important and worth more than a Palestinian life. Starving 2 million people and systematically killing thousands in the year 2025 should not be a fucking topic of debate. This government would run out of everything without the support and help from outside its borders.

I can’t understand how and why this is still continuing apart from blind racism. And to think governments and their long arms have the right to question someone who speaks out about this. I just really don’t understand the world we live in and haven’t for quite some time.

I couldn’t help myself. I downloaded the iPadOS Beta and it really is a proper upgrade in every respect. Sure there are some rough edges, but honestly it’s just great to see my 6 year old machine been given a real boost. Great job to the teams working on this.

How the hell did we get here?

A madman like Putin is destroying a nation, for bullshit reasons. A country like Israel is allowed to commit ethnic cleansing in view of everyone. Racist and fascist views are rampant at a government level in many countries in Europe and now increasingly in the US. There is increasingly less tolerance between humans. Our home is on fire.

Actually the question shouldn’t be how did we get here, but rather how to we get out…

I’m actually really impressed with some of the new features coming to the iPad. In most cases it’s about bloody time really (Menu bar, Files in dock and Previews). Multitasking is finally implemented in a way that I will actually use.

The Freedom Flotilla is getting ever closer to Palestinian soil. Of course the Israelis are trying to do the normal intimidation of those onboard. The world is watching you assholes.

Two Basic Issue Dads.
Putting this here so I don’t forget it.

Tee-CAF (TCAF) 2025 was on this weekend. It was at a new venue this year, was at TMU on Carlton Avenue, just a short walk from the old hood. My buddy Carl Brundtland was on a panel, so we took the boys over to see what’s what and let them get a little bit of high brow comic culture. Mixed in within a bunch of exhibitors we saw some real characters. The guy with the long leather jacket, beak mask and earphones stood out. The guy with the beard and tight red dress made an impression.

The classic display tables, such as D&Q and the Beguiling had the most polished stuff. My boy got all three Milo books from Peter Balsano. There were a couple of books that did stand out to me, but I just didn’t take a punt and buy anything. I think I just probably needed a lot more time to digest what was going on, which was a lot. This is the third time that I go to TCAF and I am starting to get a little bit more familiar with the setup, except the interaction with the people creating the books themselves.

Maybe next time I’ll actually talk to the creators and get a feel for what they have created.

🍳 Sri Lankan Chicken Coconut Curry.
Even managed to make fresh naan breads with this as well. Total autopilot in making this. Made 8 smaller naan breads, next time will make them bigger. Hydration was close to perfect. 2 cups flour, 150ml of water was all it needed.

Took the kids to see their new school today. It’s fascinating how different schools in the same school board can have that distinct flavour depending on the community it is serving, the teachers that are there and the building and facilities themselves. The kids will be back to packed rooms of over 20 kids, but I’m heartened by the support for kids with ADHD, recognising that we are built differently and need different things to thrive. Also Zane will hopefully get back into chess again, since there is a chess club.

🍿 I am soo here for the total collapse of Elon Musk and Trump’s bromance. Just get the popcorn out and enjoy the show. America’s greatest douchebag couple.

The Feather app for iPad looks amazing! I didn’t know such a think even existed. With Procreate and Procreate Dreams, these are seriously amazing tools for creatives of any description.

It’s not every day that a site you created and ran 15 years ago is fully online, including the bloody url and favicon and you have literally nothing to do with it any more. I can only think that someone is doing this in the hope that I contact them to ask for it and pay their ransom?

Flawless. I just imported 1800 posts that I had as markdown files. I’ve been sitting on these for a while now but was inspired by Jamie’s post. Incredibly my own site now goes all the way back to 2004 as well. 21 years on the internet. It is disappointing that Micro.blog didn’t exist during my lean years that would have kick started my writing online more. It’s about recording moments in your life that you can celebrate yourself and reflect on where you’ve been. Lots of cleaning up to do.

I now know however that a personal site is not a destination, it’s a journey.

🍳 Chicken Parm with garlic mash and broccoli.
Loved how this came together. Simple dish but looked elegant on the dish and the mash was full of garlicky flavour. Would have loved a little more heat in the tomato sauce, but alas kids and Yasmine are just not ready for that.

📚 Finished reading: Moral Ambition by Rutger Bregman. A good book to reframe your view on humanity and what each of us can or should do with their lives.

Just finished binging on 1883. What. A. Fantastic. Show. 10 hour movie is right. Some of the gunfights with the bandits felt a little much but overall the writing, cinematography, authenticity, acting and overall story was just on point. Highly recommended if you’re even remotely inclined towards period dramas.

Certainly clamouring for more of these characters but totally understand why this wasn’t ultimately extended to a second season, it works like magic that there are only these 10 episodes that tell a complete story.

You know you have a good product on your hands when you displace said item you go out and buy a replacement immediately. That’s the case with my Prostorm umbrella. Not a big fan of umbrellas in general but this thing balances build quality with price.

⚽️ Onana is such a baby. Every time I’ve ever watched this guy he’s always mega dramatic no matter the type of foul. Baby.

My eyes always rolls back hard in my head every time I hear about ‘Israel has a right to defend itself.’ No nation has a right to do the amoral and reprehensible actions this government has chosen to do. Displacing 2M people while killing 1000s is simply unacceptable and anyone choosing to defend such depravity is themselves complicit with this type of action.

🍳 Chicken Souvlaki.
This was Ryan’s choice. He really wanted this. Forgot to put garlic in the marinade. Everything came together well. Maybe a little heavy on the yeast. Maybe needed a little more salt (but I’m always second guessing this because of Yasmine and her aversion to salt).

Powerful video from the New York Times. Is it sensationalism? For all the canaries, it is not. It’s real and it’s been happening for a while.

🍳 Lamb ‘Kokkinisto’.
Excellent tenderness. This thing was cooking in the oven for 3½ hours. Perfect on a spring day like today.

Victoria Day is a day to reset after a long and harsh winter. Great book (Moral Ambition), great beer (from Wellington Brewery). Lamb in the oven.

🍳 Orzo Pasta Salada & Muhammara.
I added chickpeas in this one, and a slight tweak on the usual dressing (mustard, honey, olive oil, lemon and oregano). I think I could have either done a little less pasta or a little more dressing, but overall nice.

Reading Rutger Bregman’s Moral Ambition. Same guy who wrote one of my favourite books ever, Humankind is back. I really love his indignation and how he presents his arguments.

🍳 Tuscan Chicken. This was super easy. Sauce was great. Roasted potatoes turned out great as well. I do think I have to find a way to keep the breast juicy - note to check video on brining.

Shame on all of us for allowing an abhorrent government like the Israeli government to get away with the inhumanity they are inflicting on children and a people.

Even bigger shame (and a colossal fuck you) on those funding, supporting and enabling these monsters.

🍳 Greek feast. Biftekia. Mustard potatoes. Tzatziki. Greek salad. Freshly braked pita bread. It all came together perfectly.

Setting things up for the spring and summer.

I really don’t know why it’s felt this way, but spring seems to have taken a really long time to get going. I am reviewing photos from last year and it seems as though last year was maybe a couple of weeks ahead of the curve. No big deal really now that things have begun moving by Mother Nature.

⚽️ Really fun game in the end. Giving goals to Mount, Garnacho and Amad being the only real positive I can see in this game. Shame we couldn’t have equalised because that would have been even better.

⚽️ Amass having a shit time of it at the moment.

⚽️ Mason Mount scored, only for the second time ever, but I’ll totally take that.

⚽️ Luke Shaw as captain. I really don’t care how this game goes but getting some minutes for kids is fun.

Trying to watch the last season of The Handmaid’s Tale and it’s all just a little too intense and weirdly close to home. Just a little too uncomfortable. Maybe I’ll be able to finish it some other time.

📚 Finished reading: No. 5, Vol. 1 by Taiyo Matsumoto. 3/4 of the way through this but just didn’t really click for me. Maybe if I was younger this might appeal more.

It was at least 15 years too late. I tried to finish reading No.5, but it just didn’t click. Some stories and character are meant for a younger me. Love the art, so going to see if Ping Pong is more to my current liking.

Trafford Watch Co is a company that I have been following with great interest. Their latest Daytripper I-70. My only comment is that $800 it is really up against some stiff competition. I would be much happier to drop $500 or $600 on this, considering it is a Miyota movement and a leather strap.

🍳 Creamy Mushroom Risotto. This turned out great. A little too much black pepper maybe, but the lemon hit at the end was a wonderful touch. Great meal after yesterday’s lamb meat fest.

Week 1 - Finished art work from Zane and I. Hopefully we can get some momentum and do the same next week.

⚽️ Never been a fan of all things Bournemouth football club. The kit, the logo and the stadium all…suck a little to a lot.

And week one is done. Have to give Zane credit for kicking my ass into picking up a pencil again and facing a blank page. One drawing per week. No more. No less.

Art session with Zane. I think we are going to make this a regular fixture in our house moving forward. Great fun.

I never get excited about spring until I start to see the first shoots of green. I’ve seen a couple this week, so give it another 1-2 weeks and spring is officially here (even in the 6 season sense). My step count has absolutely taken a nosedive this year, but it was bloody cold this winter, so really looking forward to being a lot more active in the weeks and months ahead.

⚽️ Two bloody shots the entire game and the second goes in. Just stupid.

⚽️ Op. That didn’t last long. They’re on again. Because of course they are.

⚽️ That was a pretty boring game of football. Good to see Bruno and Dalot (and uncle Casimero) rested though.

Spring book reading. And I’ve got more upstairs. Doubt I’ll be able to get through half of this stuff, but it is wonderful having all this option available to me.

Fixed the bikes for the season. Unlocking is very nearly over. I have yet to see a single green shoot from any tree yet but the weather is getting warmer and I can get out of the house without a jacket or beanie. Been a pretty long one this year.

During our move, I misplaced some of hardware for our outdoor Ikea furniture. Ikea has a replacement parts area on the website. Ordered the missing pieces, which are being replaced for free. Wonderful service.

⚽ Oh. My. God. That match was something. I was at the optometrist (first time in my life), and we’re 2-0 up. Then I go in and we’re 2-4 down!!! Then as I’m walking to the car, we won the bloody thing!

The Atlantic must have seen how popular David Frum has been recently to The Hub subscribers, so they’ve given the man his very own show, The David Frum Show.

In between all the stupidity and madness coming out of The White House, it’s good to remember that there are some seriously smart people in the US. It’s just that their political system is seriously fucked and can be manipulated by a reality TV parody mafia boss that looks like a 🍊.

This morning was another train adventure with Ryan. Go train out to Rouge Hill.

Carney’s Checkmate. How Canada’s quiet bond play forced the tariffs to be dropped. Now that is what I call a power play. The 🍊and his cronies are so dumb.

This is not a uniquely American problem. Liz Truss lasted less than a lettuce in the UK and did much damage to the economy because of sheer ignorance.

In world politics change requires diplomacy and discussion, not negotiating life a parody mafia boss you baboon.

Reminds me of one of my favourite quotes:

Talent hits a target no one else can hit; Genius hits a target no one else can see.
—  Arthur Schopenhauer

Lovely new design for Blogroll.org. Type selection is on point and the colours are just right for this time of year.

🍊 He’s shorted the market. He’s fucking around with the world. Unbelievable really. Monkey with a machine gun.