[Falling Down]

Aha I read that too.. I could sympathise with the author.   I'd already made a NY resolution to not buy any new records this year to explore my own collection more thoroughly and make better use of the streaming subscriptions.  The article was very timely.

There's a great book by Ben Ratliffe on this subject called 'Every Song Ever' that looks at the problem of listening to music when everything is available on tap.  I have a copy at home if you want to borrow it Sean (I still haven't read your copy of Barbarian Dreams.. I must get around to that).

[seankenny]

There's a great book by Ben Ratliffe on this subject called 'Every Song Ever' that looks at the problem of listening to music when everything is available on tap.  I have a copy at home if you want to borrow it Sean (I still haven't read your copy of Barbarian Dreams.. I must get around to that).

Thanks, but I'm slowly - very slowly - working my way through Hobsbawm's "Age of Revolution". I'm imposing a bit of a moratorium on myself until I'm finished with the 18th and 19th centuries.

Don't stress over Barbarian Dreams (tho it is an excellent read).

[Falling Down]

Another great John Lanchester piece on finance and the economy - barely disguised outrage and indignation.  https://www.lrb.co.uk/v40/n13/john-lanchester/after-the-fall

[teestub]

Great article

.   In the popular imagination, the people who caused the crisis got away with it scot-free, and, as what scientists call a first-order approximation, that’s about right.   

One of the main problems with the whole crash, and summed up well at the end of The Big Short.

[Falling Down]

A brilliant essay by James Meek on Brexit, Englishness and myth. 

https://www.lrb.co.uk/v40/n19/james-meek/brexit-and-myths-of-englishness

[jwi]

A very good read!

[Duma]

Thanks FD, that's excellent.

[Falling Down]

Yeah I thought so too. 

[moose]

Doing my filial duty and raising these articles by my brother.  I'm not going to claim that they are "quality", by whatever standards of professional journalism you all agree on, but I think they are interesting and decently written (I've definitely read worse in the broadsheets... and the one on North Korea is worth reading if only for the relatively rare view of such a restricted nation).

His relationship with film director / dress designer / art curator / serial fraudster CS Leigh...

https://medium.com/@neilthomasward/in-search-of-a-lost-film-8e187f3c253?fbclid=IwAR2sKlrBy6aGgy6ZhubelUqBIEb2Q1j0-TdE9eejUN40Tr8zNfXXQ5FypkI

Interestingly, after he wrote this, someone posted on imdb that my brother was another cypher for CS / KS / Kristian Leigh, complicit in yet another faked-death and inevitable re-birth..... he thinks this is the best review he could ever have had!

His most recent bit of writing, a trip to North Korea:

https://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fmedium.com%2F%40neiltward83%2F5d-4n-in-the-dprk-285e192ba5d8%3Ffbclid%3DIwAR3SutDqb365Q-hp7F3woCVycVlsL_X44oodSIkXGo4pCS8JpPaWG6gRsaw&h=AT26ZoZJ0qKaRri805j0E0PHCDSeejAu5xz7RwZhfPbhdjfMLSPxMgBt8StkHYcc65SuVZh-tMSQ0UnNuNtqy_-oVlN8EZUvdmMyAwlT1_2aZqYvBbuGhny35ch6IslLF9w

[jwi]

Doing my filial duty and raising these articles by my brother.  I'm not going to claim that they are "quality", by whatever standards of professional journalism you all agree on, but I think they are interesting and decently written (I've definitely read worse in the broadsheets... and the one on North Korea is worth reading if only for the relatively rare view of such a restricted nation).

His relationship with film director / dress designer / art curator / serial fraudster CS Leigh...

https://medium.com/@neilthomasward/in-search-of-a-lost-film-8e187f3c253?fbclid=IwAR2sKlrBy6aGgy6ZhubelUqBIEb2Q1j0-TdE9eejUN40Tr8zNfXXQ5FypkI

That was great!

[Yossarian]

What a fascinating story.

[moose]

Aye... it came as a surprise to me.  I only knew about his CS Leigh quest when he asked me to proof the draft of the article!  And, he's normally pretty open with me - I was possibly the only person he told about the North Korea trip beforehand (he kept it a secret from Mum and Dad and his partner until he returned home safely).

[moose]

The IMDB entry accusing my brother of being fake news.

[Falling Down]

Wow Moose - what a fantastic story.  Your brother writes really well too.  Reminds me of Geoff Dyer. 

[moose]

Cheers, I'll pass it on to him; some non-nepotistic reassurance might be appreciated! 

Incidentally, we have similar tastes in films, so I recently showed him Splinter (the Malc Smith short), as an example of how climbing films can be more than just abs and power-screams.  This led to a conversation about Malc's ascent of Hubble, the burden of proof for remarkable "out of nowhere" deeds, and then Rich Simpson.. whose story  he seemed intrigued by.  My dream is that in a year or so, Neil suddenly asks me to proof an article detailing his tracking down Rich Simpson to a camper van in Spain, perhaps shared with Si O'Connor, and following him as he anonymously repeats a host of cutting-edge test-pieces, driven by inner fire and eschewing all publicity!

Also, his trip to North Korea coincided with my birthday... he brought me back this as a souvenir... the ladies symbolise North and South Korea, yearning to be united!

[Falling Down]

You’ve put the hook in him now... watch this space. 

Cool picture too.

[Will Hunt]

Brilliant article, Moose's brother.

[moose]

I passed on the good vibes to the brother, and he is very flattered and appreciative.  Especially regarding the CS Leigh piece, as it's his tribute to someone he feels should be remembered, and not for being just an odd conman.

Also, as a good reflection on all your own varied tastes, he admits to having been recently bemused by a spike in his "total views" and "Likes" (Medium provides a weekly update).  In his own words "the Likers had something in common, I couldn’t place my finger on. Very British sounding names, and seemed to Like other articles about highly specialised subjects you’d probably need a PhD to understand (probably the best people to get Likes from). There just seemed some link.. Mystery solved! 

[Johnny Brown]

I thought it was great too, reminded me a bit of the hole in the head piece I posted a while back.

[jwi]

I happen to know a similar figure, a con-artist with a few careers behind them. Gets some stunning things done, have survived a few international arrest warrants. The most tiresome feature of a true conman is that they will try to shortcharge the waitress a few cents on a lunch were they swindle an enterprise to the tune of a million dollars. The tiger will not change its stripes, and it is hard to constantly stay on your toes

[cheque]

The bizarre story of Tekashi 69.

[seankenny]

The psychology of the climate crisis we’re all starting to live through:

https://www.newyorker.com/science/elements/the-other-kind-of-climate-denialism

[Falling Down]

A good long read on America's Green New Deal https://harpers.org/archive/2019/05/where-our-new%E2%80%A8-world-begins-green-new-deal-alexandria-ocasio-cortez/?fbclid=IwAR1veEzWe0QXuY5YZSPEWAFAaPjcA0oKPTTIvRM4eIYZ15YV6mKCxCs9Ws4

[Falling Down]

Thoughtful piece on surfing, travel and the environmental impact of flying.  Relevant to climbing. https://magicseaweed.com/news/if-we-care-about-our-environment-its-time-to-think-about-being-responsible/11417/?fbclid=IwAR2aXSacKC9Me2mlmeV2mxyLJKCDNbY-0ogzz7jL3P7mqqr0wGRoLclErUQ

[Falling Down]

The marvellous John Lanchester on Universal Basic Income.

https://www.lrb.co.uk/v41/n14/john-lanchester/good-new-idea