# The Renovation

> Still not writing about work, but I've been reading good things, listening to excellent music and seeing some terrific films.

> Last updated: 2020-03-05

Reducing the amount of time I spend thinking about work outside of work is having its benefits, so I'm only gonna chat about 'personal things'. My mental health is improving by working on it. 

- _Parasite_ is a bit good, eh? The way Bong Joon Ho seamlessly stitched together different genres and moods throughout the story was masterful. After chatting to a friend who lived in South Korea for a while, I learned that it's a fairly common storytelling technique in their culture: extraordinary stories in common settings. I think that's why it worked so well. (I preferred [the NY Times review](https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/10/movies/parasite-review.html) to the Guardian's.)
- Went to see _1917_ the following week too, which is emotive and gut-wrenching and shocking all in one. People who've played _Call of Duty_ will get it immediately. Maybe avoid it if you're stressed out though, it'll have your veins pumped full of cortisol in no time. 
- The only other single-track film I've seen is [_Victoria_](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4226388/), which I caught a trailer for a few years ago and saw on a whim. It turned out to be one of the best films I've ever seen, possibly knocking [_Pusher_](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0117407/) off the top spot. 
- If you're a GDS person, watch this documentary about [Spitalfields' decaying Georgian houses](https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/p00t3f42/ours-to-keep-incomers) and the 1980s effort to restore them.
- _Bass, Mids, Tops_ continues to deliver on providing me with new sounds to listen to. I've been enjoying Adrian Sherwood's repertoire and his [On-U Sound label](http://on-usound.com). Dubby, playful with music tech, celebratory of soundsystem culture. The [Doctor Pablo](https://onusound.bleepstores.com/artist/45578-doctor-pablo-the-dub-syndicate) stuff is cracking.
- As a result, there's a few dub tracks in my [February playlist](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1In4kMSguQDCi7UVam8J88?si=Bh_MqGZHQ4mV3NfJFv151g&_php=1), alongside new British jazz supremo Moses Boyd, a new Legowelt, Ashley Henry and a fuzzy, blues number.
- I've been re-reading [_Lean UX_](http://leanuxbook.com) to give me a boost at work, and that's been really helpful. 
- Started the [designing strategy course](https://www.ideou.com/products/designing-strategy) from IDEO last week, it's so good. Not too dissimilar to Lean methods, to be honest, but I slightly different framework to suit any business context, not just digital products. Loving it so far. 
- Ordered [KRKs](http://www.krksys.com), which I've been meaning to do for like 12 years. Can't wait to hear tunes through those speakers!
- Thinking about the below quote from Andrew Weatherall, maybe weeknotes are good for sharing but not for active thinking.

> We live in a world where every minute is documented, so there’s not so much room to mythologise anything.[^1]

- Despite that, and in response to the quote below, I am going to say that the resurgence of rave culture is more about fashion than an actual backlash against the times we live in. 

> After years of fragmentation and polarisation, the joyful militancy of early rave feels poignant; the kind of unified response to political strife that this era is yet to produce.[^2]

- I'm going to redesign this website soon: get rid of the Javascript, make it accessible, learn Sass so that I can actually tweak the frontend. I'm using [Barber](https://github.com/samesies/barber-jekyll) as the theme currently but feel like making my own.
- Since we're on the cusp of an epidemic and I've got a bad cold, I'm isolating myself at home. Prevents other people catching it, but also tension and paranoia abounds on public transport. The slightest sniffle and people are alarmed.

## Bookmarks

- [How to Mend a Work Relationship](https://hbr.org/2020/02/how-to-mend-a-work-relationship), 7 mins
- [What is “Mythos” and “Logos”?](https://mythoslogos.org/2014/12/21/what-is-mythos-and-logos/), 7 mins
- [Calm Product Manager / Stressed Product Manager](https://productcoalition.com/calm-product-manager-stressed-product-manager-da9957bbb741), 7 mins
- [How Leaders Can Open Up to Their Teams Without Oversharing](https://hbr.org/2019/02/how-leaders-can-open-up-to-their-teams-without-oversharing), 5 mins
- [Anger awareness - 7 tips for ‘keeping your cool’](https://civilservice.blog.gov.uk/2019/12/20/anger-awareness-7-tips-for-keeping-your-cool/), 4 mins
- [Exclusive: Google users in UK to lose EU data protection - sources](https://www.reuters.com/article/us-google-privacy-eu-exclusive-idUSKBN20D2M3), 4 mins
- [When user research doesn’t matter – Lisa Koeman – blog](https://lisakoeman.nl/blog/when-user-research-doesnt-matter/), 3 mins
- [Wolves: Where next for Nuno Espirito Santo's side after rapid rise?](https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/51539821), 8 mins
- [When is civic tech not civic tech?](https://blangry.github.io/thedoctorate/civicnaming.html), 3 mins
- [Learning how to lead (or whatever that means)](https://medium.com/@loft27design/learning-how-to-lead-or-whatever-that-means-24af8993e007), 3 mins
- [What I learned from doorstepping Dominic Cummings](https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2020/feb/21/what-i-learned-from-doorstepping-dominic-cummings), 6 mins
- [The Limits Of Nudging: Why Can’t California Get People to Take Free Money?](https://www.psychologicalscience.org/news/the-limits-of-nudging-why-cant-california-get-people-to-take-free-money.html), 5 mins
- [The Organizational Lag: Leading Your Team Through Change](https://medium.com/newco/the-organizational-lag-leading-your-team-through-change-2c6cb162ed54), 6 mins
- [The ‘street food’ swindle: fake diversity, privatised space – and such small portions!](https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/feb/23/street-food-swindle-fake-diversity-privatised-space-small-portions#Echobox=1582542937), 5 mins
- [Don Letts: ‘Punk was a refuge from racism’](https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2020/feb/22/this-much-i-know-don-letts-punk-music-dj-windrush), 3 mins
- [Adaptive State](https://medium.com/@adaptivestate/adaptive-state-a-podcast-about-public-service-in-the-21st-century-21d2a9ba4c74), 2 mins
- [Words to live by..](https://digitalbydefault.com/2020/02/16/words-to-live-by/), 3 mins
- [Monkey first](https://digitalbydefault.com/2020/02/29/monkey-first/), 3 mins
- [GDS Retrospective #1: knowing when to run](http://blog.memespring.co.uk/2017/04/16/a-gds-retrospective-knowing-when-to-run/), 3 mins
- [Stickers for the RSS massive](https://gilest.org/2020/stickers-rss-massive/), 1 min
- [Multi-hyphenates](https://digitalbydefault.com/2020/02/12/multi-hyphenates/), 3 mins
- [Ghost glaciers: the transcendent Anthropocene – in pictures](https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/gallery/2020/feb/20/glaciers-anthropocene-in-pictures-peter-funch-the-imperfect-atlas-rgb-tbw-books), 1 min
- [Saatchi exhibits and BBC Four docs: why is 2019 so nostalgic for 80s rave?](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2019/nov/26/saatchi-exhibits-and-bbc-four-docs-why-is-2019-so-nostalgic-for-80s-rave), 4 mins
- [Audience Data and Storytelling - What Do People Choose in Interactive Experiences?](https://www.bbc.co.uk/rd/blog/2020-01-audience-choices-data-personalised-media), 7 mins

[^1]: [An Audience With Andrew Weatherall](https://www.uncut.co.uk/features/blogs/an-audience-with-andrew-weatherall-123307/)
[^2]: [Saatchi exhibits and BBC Four docs: why is 2019 so nostalgic for 80s rave?](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2019/nov/26/saatchi-exhibits-and-bbc-four-docs-why-is-2019-so-nostalgic-for-80s-rave)