One Man's Notes

Enjoying a walk by the harbour arm, while my youngest has a piano lesson.


Charge!


It was frosty on the beach again, this morning.


Well, that arrived quicker than I expected…

The Rode VideoMic Go II, boxed.

This is one of the more thoughtful takes I’ve seem on dealing with the problem of online anonymity without ending it: Curtailing anonymity is a first step to reducing online abuse


The Undeath of the Author

(With apologies to Barthes.)

“But social media has tilted things so that books by contemporary authors—let alone essays—are no longer portable worlds that awaken when a reader enters and slumber when one leaves. Today, the author is not dead until the author is actually dead. In the meantime, every published piece of writing is treated as the beginning of a conversation—or worse, a workshop piece—by some readers, each of whom feels entitled to a bespoke response.”

Kate Harding, Dame


The masocism of social media

“When was the last time you were out in public and felt actively rejected by someone you felt familiar with? Chances are it’s such a rare occurrence you might struggle to even recall one, but when we move online, every minutiae of our digital existence — every unfollow, dry response and glaring ‘Read’ receipt — step in to recreate that rare feeling of rejection in a form that feels documented for your own torture; its meaning unequivocal.”

Douglas Greenwood, i-D


Respect to the people having a morning sea swim at 0°C this morning.

Sea swimmers off Shoreham Beach on a freezing winter morning.

A frosty morning on Shoreham Beach.


Sunset from the harbour arm.

Sunset over the English channel from the Shoreham Port harbour arm.

A fond farewell to a long-serving car. I had the Fire Engine (as we called it) for over 12 years.


John Naughton:

“Polarised thinking may make people feel comfortable in their righteousness; but it’s not a way of solving a problem.”


“If you climb a mountain but don’t Instagram the view from the summit, have you even climbed it? I wanted the answer to be yes - knew it to be - but, somehow, incredibly, I didn’t always believe it. I let the impulse crash over me, hating it, and ignored the twitch for my phone.”

The Farthest Shore by Alex Roddie 📚


Tiny thespians at work…

Two girls on an outdoor stage at Nymans, a National Trust property.

Just put some petrol in the car for what could well be the last time ever.

Changes…

A Renault Megane at a petrol station.

Good morning from Shoreham Beach.

A winter sun low over Shoreham Beach.

Lovely profile of the people behind LumaFusion, my go-to video editor - and an iPad app.


Charlie Warzel, writing for The Atlantic:

“The acceptance and fellowship that online communities bring, be they subreddits and Facebook groups or anonymous message boards, allow grievance to harden into a full-fledged identity.”

Viewpoint + Community = Identity


This is a rather nice one. Trafalgar Square, early summer 1994.

One of the fountains in Trafalgar Square in summer 1994.

More West End candids from 1994.

A busker in Leicester Square in 1994.

Chiquito in Leicester Square, 1994

A girl cluching a Ronald McDonald ballon on her father’s shoulders, near the Swiss Centre in Leicester Square — 1994.

Tourists on the steps of Eros in Picadilly Circus in 1994.

A few candids shot around London’s West End in early summer 1994.

Sure, the fashions date them — but the sheer absence of phones is what really leaps out at me.

Toni’s Italian Ice Cream, being sold near Trafalgar Square in 1994.

A robot busker near Leicester Square in 1994, being watched by a crowd of tourists.

A woman reading a magazine in Trafalgar Square in 1994.

Here’s the posts that caught your attention on my site in 2021.

Happy New Year to you all!


Finding a stolen and burnt out motorcycle near their grandma’s house was an education for the girls…

Two girls looking at a burnt-out motorcycle on a path in Knowle West.

A very merry Christmas to all those who celebrate it!


Somebody’s not enjoying the festive season.

A rather miserable statue in a yard, with a santa hat on.