I have been doing a lot of good stuff. I know. Amayzink! The warmer weather has given me a kick in the pants in a really good way and I am feeling very excited about life. (Even though about 27 stressful things are happening, I have decided not to turn myself inside out over them, and to concentrate on doing the best I can with the things that are good!)
So. I had a bit of a dose of Ari’s virus. Bum. But that’s kind of good in other ways, because it forces one to slow down a bit. I’m one of those people who think that having a few days off with an illness is the same as having a holiday. That is a bit demented, right? I must unlearn that and have a holiday that does not involve medicine and runny noses sometime. But I digress, because this is not the good stuff. The good stuff came on the weekend when I was feeling a bit better.
I have been taking good care of myself, in a bid to get better, drinking heaps o water and jasmine tea. Eating lots of vegetables. Trying not to stay up too late. Enjoying the sunshine. Reading. Listening to good music. Taking walks. These are good things. Probs they are not super amazing things, but they are my kind of good thing. I like the easy, simple good things, I guess.
I made a really delicious dinner last night. And today is a lovely sunny day, so I got up early and walked around the park a couple of times listening to podcasts.
I listened to a really great interview on The Sound Of Young America while I walked. It was Simon Reynolds talking about his book Retromania. Pop Culture’s Addiction To Its Own Past. It was really interesting, and talked about the revival, reinterpretation and re-imagining of music over the last few decades. It talked about the impact that technology has had on music, with software like ProTools and Auto-Tune contributing to a sameness in music in the last 15 years.
All this made me wonder whether the internet/technology has devoured music in one big gulp rendering a lot of it generic.. or whether it’s actually enabled wider access to music for the masses (and ace people like us) and given everyone the tools to make and distribute their own music in a user-friendly, democratic way. I think that it’s the usual double edged sword, actually. We can all make/access music, even though some of us don’t make/access music in the best kind of ways. I think the hunt for the pearlers in a sea of samey same is half the fun.
What do you think? Is music a constant rehash and is that problematic? Or is it a constant flow of reinvention and reinterpretation and is that excellent? Is it a good thing that it’s so easy to record and share your own music on sites like Soundcloud? Or is it annoying that there are so many mediocre artists to sift through? Is the internet a super rad way to distribute music in an instant? Or is it a super annoying way to exploit artists by sharing files illegally? Have you heard it all before anyway? Or are you celebrating old sounds played in new ways? Is this all a revolution? Or is everything just on repeat?
Apart from that I have been watching a great show with my fave gap tooth gal, Tommi Miers. It’s called The Wild Gourmets In Spain (or also perhaps known as A Cook’s Tour Of Spain.) It’s showing on ABC2 now in Australia. It’s a blooming good show, and any fella who can bake bread on a stick is a hottie, as far as I am concerned. And that is not a euphemism. You have to watch this show, because it is jam packed with fantastic recipes and wonderful people. I really LOVE it a lot. I want to eat Spanish food all the time, especially that amazing Chorizo and Watermelon Dish. OMG. That looks weird and great! I really love the way Tommi Miers cooks. She’s really fearless and doesn’t even wince when she burns herself or has to chop up a wild boar. Ugh. Yay.
Last night I cooked a delicious beef dish inspired by Ms Miers. It goes like this
In other news, I am making a scarf called the Misso-no Scarf. It is a zig-zag one in honour of Missoni. It is the exact same pattern as the Cheery Wave ripple, but I am using Double Crochet (AU) instead of Treble. It makes a zig-zag instead of a ripple, dontcha know? You are learning a lot today, right?!
xx Pip
Oh thanks Lydia! Usually I just ask for Podcast advice on Twitter and Facebook! People always have good ideas about the best things to listen to! Also I look at the recommendations below Podcasts I already like on iTunes! xx
Hi Pip! So nice to read your blog. How do you normally find the podcasts you listen to?
I stumbled across some of that Thomasina girl and her bloke the other night. It's refreshingly real. We were surprised by how much of the "butchering" was shown. Most shows are so sanitised now. And how good a shot is he? Wow.
Another great recipe Pip. Thank you!
I too like those simple things you mentioned.
My brain is too tired to think about the music/internet thing but then I'm old school, I still love buying albums, listen to music from the 90s and I don't think the internet is overly beneficial overall tbh …
Nice recipe also!
I love how your blog is full of nice compliments… I always feel happy and kinda spesh when I visit. Thanks. xo
I think being able to publish music easily on the interweb is somewhat akin to accessing affordable printing. Just because you can doesn't me you should. At the time adding to and re-interpreting if done in a meaningful way can be fantastic. Just because it is a cover or samples something that has come before doesn't discount it from being new, worthy, valuable. Did you ever read "Jane Eyre"? … and then that novel "Wide Sargasso Sea" by Jean Rhys. Rhys effectively writes a prequel so uses Bronte's characters ect for her novel – yet the piece is its very own too. Something borrowed and something new. Music is the same nah?
Sorry if I didn't explain all that is whirling on in my mind… hope you got the gist of what I'm saying. Thanks for inpiring me to think about it today.
I heart Thomasina and her recipes! Thanks for this one! 🙂
yup I love thomasina too ! and a good walk 🙂