A blog a day #11 - new books and more painting

Another day painting adding a second coat of primer to the whole kitchen. Set up nicely to finish the job tomorrow with the top coats. I must admit it looks so much fresher and brighter already just having the white walls so I’m a wee bit pleased!

But I couldn’t face another full day in and headed out to spend some Christmas money in Waterstones. I picked up their book of the month, ‘The Anxious Generation’ by Jonathan Haidt, which examines the effects of digital and social media on young people. I’m a wee bit anxious to read it given I’m already worried about how hooked my own girls are on things like YouTube, Instagram and Snapchat. I really wish I hadn’t let them on these things at such a young age; it’s a huge regret if I’m honest. I can’t see any benefit to them while the negatives are plenty. I take a bit of solace knowing I’m not unique as a parent and it’s as much down to societal pressure as it is to individual choices.

I also got ‘LESS’ by Patrick Grant, which looks more at my own problem with clutter and having too much stuff which again is causing me increasing levels of stress. Our house is a tip and it’s down to having too many things in it, admittedly most of which belong to me. Hopefully this will give me some ideas and motivation to get rid of lots of things I don’t need anymore.

And I grabbed a copy of The Economist for the first time in a while. I’m less interested in sharing my political opinions online now but I think I need to be a bit smarter about what those opinions are and be more informed about things happening out in the world.

Lisa was out in town with Christine so I was in eight car and dog this evening (treated myself to a fish supper too). Quite happy just chilling with the animals and watching football and

Comments

The haunted hub and a confused nation

Sunshine over East Kilbride! Hurrah for summer! So what if it's still barely double-digits in temperature. The lack of sideways rain, sleet or howling wind goes down as a win in my book. I'm sure it won't last. 👀 So it was a very pleasant walk to the library on my lunch break to return some books (I came back with the latest Alex Cross novel from James Patterson and a book on how to start running - hah!). I was however, a bit sad to see the state of East Kilbride's supposed 'The Hub'. With Costa Coffee having packed up, it leaves the place feeling a tad desolate what with the other empty units giving some serious ghost town vibes. Not even the cheekiest of Nando's, which is still running off some lingering hype, could inject some life into the place. Not so much a 'hub' as a 'haunt'. 🥁 Confused priorities On the news, two stories caught my eye at either end of my working day. The first, from Florida, on how a head teacher at a school was p...

Over Time

A new song (which I'm still kinda polishing) but I recorded it on video during some free time today. I'll hopefully get it tracked out soon with drums and everything else soon. Continuing the theme I had going with my other one, I think this is about those times when you feel like there's no point, you're maybe suffocating a bit, and annoyingly self-aware that it's probably your own fault! Again however, I like to have a wee melancholic upside in there and that is the fact that time, reflection and crucially your loved ones are there to pull you out the hole even if you don't see it for a little while.

In Everything You Do

I really love just writing songs, getting a tune pulled together and then eventually recording it, albeit in my wee room on GarageBand (Abbey Road will have to wait). But alas, the life of marketing and communications chose me and so my rock n roll dream must wait for another life. Anyway...I managed to noodle long enough to record 'In Everything You Do', which I've posted under my The Sunset Experience moniker. I was listening to African music recently and I quite like the way a lot of African musicians employ drone-like compositions or repetitive structures. So that's where I started at least lol. The end product is pretty far from that I suppose and I can't help but circle back to a kind of Britpop-y style. The lyrics are just based off some recent events and experiences and my thoughts on how time (in our concept of it) is so powerful when it comes to mending us or just forcing us to move on. I've got another song written and ready to go soon so...

Ever Learning Dad

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