carlosfandango

When Nokia was king.

I got that one on the left in April 1995. Ruinously heavy.

Terrible quality, and retro gaming nerdery required too. If you’ve no
idea or don’t care, you can feel good about yourself.

But I’d love it if anyone does get it.

In that brilliant talk on creativity by John Cleese, he mentions how creative people are almost defined by how long they’re prepared to suffer with an unsolved problem, as being stumped is a integral part of the process.

This article in the Guardian takes a related tack and is well worth a read. I loved this insight about left/right hemispheres:

The process began with an intense mental search as the left hemisphere started looking for answers in all the obvious places… This left-brain thought process, however, quickly got tiring – it took only a few seconds before the subject said he’d reached an impasse and couldn’t think of the right word. But these negative feelings are actually an essential part of the process because they signal that it’s time to try a new search strategy. Instead of relying on the literal associations of the left hemisphere, the brain needs to shift activity to the other side, to explore a more unexpected set of associations.

Everything you’d hope for from the Fall’s curmudgeonly genius. Funny,
unexpected and unreasonable. A genuinely great Briton.

Screenwriter Danny Rubin explains how what is now a comedy classic came to be.

Some interesting insights, and it enlightened a re-watch of the movie.

The biggest takeout for me was the lesson once again that success is
mainly about determination and collaboration. Even a corker of an idea
like this needed to be shoved through the system and accept ideas and
rewrites from many sides.

I always liked the Fast Show, and I had a fleeting conversation with
Simon when I’d rejected some copy he’d written for a Guardian ad and
he called to bundle me into running it.

Plenty of genuine lols in this book, but overall it was more
self-destructive and maudlin than I expected. A pretty quick holiday
read and I was glad to get it over with.

I'd heard of this 'sensation' novel, but wasn't expecting too much. In fact, it's a cracker. Very much in the Wilkie Collins style, with twisty, teasing turns aplenty. Very enjoyable and recommended.

Popular maths and science books are both an indulgence an diversion
for me. I’m kinda A-Level standard and curious in this field, and it’s
a combination of imagination, certainty and underdog triumph that
appeals.

The real pleasure in this book is found in the insights Alex
highlights. He skilfully avoids either showing off or
over-simplifying, and instead respects the reader whilst allowing his
enthusiasm and wonder to shine through.

Seeing me reading this, a friend joked “are you re-sitting your GCSE English?”

I guess it is a book associated with school, but I never read it
there, and it’s one of those that I always thought I should.

Quite enjoyable and easy to see why it appeals to people of that age.
It did remind me of the TV series Lost, and indeed they refer to the
competing camp as The Others at one point.

“Did you know” that the Lord of the Flies is what Beelzebub translates as?

I have an idea for a comedy vehicle, which I have neither the front nor the inclination to do myself. It's called Conference Troll.

I hate those "40 things before you're 40" lists. Whose life are you suppose to be living?

Brilliantly inventive and enjoyable

I came across this 26 year old copy of the Times today – November 11, 1985

I would have been nearly 18 when it was published, but now it feels it
belongs to an age a good deal earlier than that – the 70s maybe or
even the 60s.

This is 10 years before the web made any impression on even early
adopters. It shows a Britain full of strikes, an Apartheid-era South
Africa, denser news, chess coverage in depth, football violence and,
perhaps most strikingly of all… no celebrity stories.

Someone recently said that Philip K. Dick made a career out of making
you wonder what was real or not, and this book is very much in that
space.

The story is set in an alternate 1960s where the US lost the war. It’s
a great premise and a wildly tangled and unusual storyline –
apparently much of the plot was derived by Dick taking guidance from
the I, Ching.

One of those books that I very much enjoyed, but couldn’t necessarily
recommend widely. Fascinating, original and, well, a bit barmy.

Pleased to read that the best card game ever, Shithead, is known as
Shit Pants (Paskahousu) in Finland.

Rules: http://www.pagat.com/beating/shithead.html

I’ve just started reading this. It’s a very well regarded novel from
Philip K. Dick set in an alternate 1960s where America has lost the
war.

It’s a startling cover design and I can imagine there’d be a few
quizzical looks if I were to read it on the train.