A Lego-specific Instagram account

A few weeks ago I bought a lightbox to experiement a little in Lego photography. If i’m honest I’m really yet to start with it properly, but 2020 as a whole has been a great year to re-prioritise things and re-evaluate what I want do with my free time. With a lot more time at home I’ve really gotten back into my Lego in a big way, and while things I’m building now won’t get quite the public display at exhibitions like I was hoping, it’s good to progress ahead and really have projects to focus on.

The castle i’m building at the moment is taking a while and still needs a bit longer in the oven (figuratively of course, not literally) and I’m confident and more importantly excited it will be finished this year. As progress continues I’m hoping to be posting monthly build updates here and also just more words about Lego in general (it’s my number one hobby!). A few days ago I decided to open that up a bit more, bit the bullet, and made a secondary Instagram account just for my Lego posts and for following other enthusiasts. There’s not much there at the moment while i’m still getting set up, but it is absolutely something I’m planning to use quite a bit, especially over the coming winter. Not everyone wants to see pictures of minifigs, not everyone wants to see pictures of me, lets split the content up across accounts!

Only days in i’ve already found it incredibly beneficial to the algorithms and the recommendations I get, and while the new account is something of a content/subject matter echo chamber it’s inspiring seeing what everyone else is doing, while simultaneously encouraging by getting that feedback and praise from others. If nothing else it’s all a massive experiment in social media manipulation, but one that’s working for me, for now at least. If anyone reading wants to give it a nosey or a follow you can find it here, or by clicking the picture below!

September Status Update

in

September was a month of sciatic nerves, Stephen King, a staycation, and SO MUCH Fargo.

A lot can change in a year, 2020 is a BIG indication of that. This time last year I raised £350 for MFR Cash for Kids by running 5K a day for the whole of September, and it was one of the hardest, silliest, but ultimately one of the most rewarding things I’ve ever done. This year I was planning doing the same, but after hurting my ankle (and subsequently, leg) during Lockdown I haven’t been running for the majority of 2020. I really miss that! I miss not being in pain the whole time! A few doctor and physio appointments this month revealed my leg pain is actually “sciatic irritation due to postural changes”. What is that? Basically months of staying at home slouching playing games and hunching over webcams have actually injured me. Being lazy actually hurt me. With diagnosis hopefully complete I’ve since been stretching, more active, and most importantly, more focussed on my posture for perhaps…the first time in my life. It’s made a difference, and the last few weeks have seen a big change in pain reduction and how sore I am- things are actually getting better. I might be able to get running again just in time for a season full of cold northern winds and rainstorms. Yay?

After reading and enjoying Stephen King’s On Writing last month, this month I decided to revisit the author properly for the first time in some while, and eagerly jumped-in to Pet Sematary. The title had always sidestepped me for whatever reason, so returning to some previously-missed dark Stephen King horror was always going to be rewarding and comforting in the weirdest possible sense. I was ready. There’s an audiobook version narrated by Dexter’s Michael C. Hall and this is something I listened to over a week and a bit, completely engrossed, disturbed, chilled, and just absolutely revelling in it if I’m honest. I’ve been a bit up and down with audiobooks previously, but the narration here is absolutely incredible, and Hall completely sells the dark, twisted, harrowing tale, while frequently ramping up tension and absolute dread. I’m an audiobok convert! I need to do a post of my favourite books at some point, and while this would probably not quite get ranked, Pet Sematary is definitely in my top 3 from Stephen King. Entertainment Weekly have a great retroactive piece on the book (and films). It’s quite spoilery but it’s worth a read if you’ve finished it!

Something that had equally eluded me previously was the film Fargo. Released in 1996, I watched the film a whole 22 years later in 2018 and loved it when I did finally get round to it. This month I’ve done something similar with the spin-off tv series of the same name, but thankfully only 6 years late this time. It’s absolutey brilliant and something that really hooked me this month. The tv series is mostly separate from the film with each season being an anthology piece with their own stories and characters. The first season feels a lot like a spiritual sequel that builds on the film’s tropes but it gives characters and scenarios more time to mature. It’s easily was one of the best things I’ve ever watched on tv…or it was, until I then watched the second season. Season 2 is a sad, tragic, and beautiful 10-parter about people misunderstanding the hell out of each other, being in a watershed moment in history, and having to brace for future change while dealing with much bigger concepts. I feel like I’m under-selling; it’s incredibly accomplished, and always just so much more than standard cop v murder case fare. The third season is equally as bold and brave, and existentially questions the meaning of it’s own stories and characters and cause and effect logic. All three seasons are beautifully profound. Staggeringly so. I honestly wish I could watch them all for the first time again but encourage anyone reading to check them out.

fargoseasontwo.jpg

This month I’ve been back at work, in daily routine, doing the house chores, and everything feels mostly back to normal, at least on a surface level. After having to cancel both holidays and guesting at weddings earlier this year -and with not much event-wise on the horizon- Ailish and I decided to have a weekend break in Inverness and nearby Nairn. We’re just home. We visited Loch Ness, went shopping, ate great food, and honestly this was just a weekend that I was needing for too long- It’s great to get a change in scenery, switch off, and honestly just relax for a few days. I will do an actual longer post on our Loch Ness trip later- there’s some initial photos up on my Instagram.

castleurquhart.jpg

Next month things are becoming quieter, and slowing down again as the weather gets colder. It’s hard to believe that it will be October already after it feels like the year has even to get started, a year that really just didnt seem to happen at all. Coming home from work, locking the door, and getting the blankets, that’s what autumn and winter is all about, at least thats what I’m hoping. It’s going to be a great time to catch up with lots of games and books!

September Links

in

Some interesting stories, thoughts, and ideas i’ve discovered throughout September 2020, rounded-up.

Text

Scientists Rediscover Rare ‘Singing’ Dogs - I’m not saying I have one in the house already that makes noise when the postman arrives, but i’m not not saying that either.

What Does Everyone See in Jesse Plemons? - From being absolutely the bigest asshole in Breaking Bad to main cast in the recent I’m Thinking of Ending Things and all the supporting roles in between, Jesse Plemons is getting a lot of work. This is an excellent profile on his rise to stardom his confusion thereof. We recently watched him shine in Season 2 of Fargo- he’s definitely an actor worth following.

The Controversial Origins of the Story Behind Mulan - Disney’s recent live action Mulan has been embroiled in delay after delay, pricing concerns, and even social boycott. In this story TIME examine just how faithful (or otherwise) it is to the legend, and if it matters or not (I don’t care for the animated ‘original’ all that much…)

Glitzy SUV Adverts Subverted on 100 Billboards by Guerilla Eco Warriors - ‘Brandalism’ is now both my favourite word and concept of 2020.

What is ‘friluftsliv’? How an idea of outdoor living could help us this winter - While a fireplace, books, and hot chocolate are usually the go-to idea of winter, here’s an alternative suggestion: go outside. Exploring and exercising in nature is a great way to escape mental hell and internet doom, and comes with lots of benefits. Tme to layer up.

What hundreds of American public libraries owe to Carnegie’s disdain for inherited wealth - An excellent article about sharing knowledge via wealth and the sacred comforting aura of the library. Andrew Carnegie built just over 2500 libraries in his lifetime and gave away the majority of his wealth. What a legacy! Take note Bezos and Zuckerberg…

This game of Dungeons & Dragons has been going on for 38 years - We’re only a few months in so only really scratching the surface tbh, but here’s a great story of history inspiring roleplay, the inifinite possibility of the game, and most of all, the comforts of a friend group kept together despite a worldwide pandemic.

The impossibly perfect landing of Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 + 2 - I’ve never skateboarded, but the recent remaster of these games this month have been a long-time coming. These were the games I spent an entire puberty playing and now in 2020 it’s a remake that’s audiovisually perfect. Twenty years later it’s great picking up exactly where I left off, minus (most of) the tantrums.

Stolen books worth £2.5m found under floor of Romanian house - We’re not quite at ‘hiding books under the floorboards’ capacity level here in the house, but an interesting news story about a recent BOOK HEIST with plenty of advice, illegal or otherwise for moving and storing books.

Daily Pics of Chameleon Holding Lego - exactly as it sounds. Now, if only we could get him to actually sort and tidy Lego as well, that would be fantastic.

Video

Caravaggio: Master of Light - Another excellent video from The Nerdwriter, this time examining Caravaggio’s dynamic use of lighting in his works and the cleverness within. His paintings are always bold, brave, and really quite profound; a visionary ahead of his time

Audio

The SS Reoccurring Nightmare - These are the audio logs of Chief Engineer Marrow Pilkinbear of the spacecraft S.S Re-Occurring Nightmare. Some excellent sci-fi narrative v cleverly presented. Give it a listen!

Other

Autumn Feels Film Playlist - With Autumn now here/fast approaching I picked 10 of my favourite films relating to or about the season. Everything starting a bit warm and golden, quickly changing to cold dark nights and reasons to stay inside; Letterboxd rounded-up the most-mentioned from all the site users.

August Status Update

in

August was a month of books, boardgames, and “back to normal”.

I’ve been posting here a lot less than what I’d like to recently, and the main reason for that is that things are finally going “back to normal”. With lockdown fully eased in Scotland (wear your damn mask please), shops are open, schools are open, and I’m now back at work, five days a week. It’s good to get out of the house and do things a bit more regularly again, but the whole thing so far feels a lot like a dream: honestly, where the hell have the last few months gone? I’m finding the days having a similar effect, and after doing not much for so long it’s bizarre suddenly having responsibility, appointments, and an actual sense of time again. Night times are a crazy spin of dinner, TV, bed, and days are frequently over before they feel as if they’ve even begun, my energy levels mysteriously depleted. I’m hoping this will all balance out soon.

With businesses, places, and venues opening back up, this month I went for a few lunches, got a haircut, went shopping, and even later in the month, went to the cinema. The first outing was on a sunny Sunday to Forse of Nature, where we sat outside to eat, sat on the (sometimes wet) grass, and had a wander round the grounds. Lunch and company were great, we saw ducks, and I may have fallen in a ditch in the woods, but the best feeling about it all was just how relaxed and normal everything felt- some very long overdue reassurance for me and my doom mentality the last few months. Equally great was getting to drive to Inverness and go shopping later in the month, buying lots of books, having lunch, visiting friends and then heading home. It feels good to break up things again with such days, but arrows, facemasks, and distancing in shops are of course a constant reminder that things aren’t perfect quite yet, and might not be for a while.

forseofnatureaugust.jpg

This month -and year, if i’m honest- I’ve been trying to read a lot more than what I would normally. After reading the first in the His Dark Materials trilogy late last year -Northern Lights- this month I jumped into the follow-up The Subtle Knife. Against consensus, I found the first book in the series as just okay, but could see the enormous potential of both the world and the series. The second book opens up a lot faster and vastly expands the world(s) of the series by introducing some really great characters and concepts from the outset. With initial world-building and introductions from the previous book out of the way I far preferred it’s pacing and focus enormously, and got through it with enthusiasm quite quickly. The third and final book in the trilogy The Amber Spyglass which i’m reading now expands with possibility and wonder, but so far it’s taking me a lot longer to get through. The other book I read this month was On Writing by Stephen King, and after reading plentiful amounts of his work over the years, I found this incredibly rewarding. There’s a lot of good advice in here for aspiring story tellers -I have post-it notes on pages to prove it- but I far preferred the more autobiographical sections and passages, which were often just as interesting.

onwritingaugust.jpg

In August I continued playing in two Dungeons and Dragons campaigns with my two very different characters. Panwick the Pilfer is an agile and sneaky heist Halfling extraordinaire trying to stay alive while Henk is a Half-Orc Barbarian who often misses the point and lacks subtlety. I enjoy both characters and games, and next month i’m looking into starting some solo rpgs and journalling on the side, for even further escapism. With us largely house bound these last few months there’s been frequent online D&D sessions but my partner and I have been playing lots of boardgames too. This month I bought Santa Monica for us to play together, and initial impressions are pretty good. The game is an easy breezy card drafing operation where you build a beach front and then attract tourists to gain victory points, mini engine-builder style. We need to play more and especially as part of a group but so far I can safely say I LOVE THE THEME AND ART SO MUCH.

santamonicaaugust.jpg

While I know lockdown, and Covid, and 2020 are all far from over it’s good to be feeling a lot better about things, and optimism is something I’m feeling a bit more now both mentally and physically. The year, and holiday, and all the weddings we were going to and so much more are written off, but I’m feeling creative and ambitious and have plenty of ideas and projects lined up for the coming months and winter ahead. It’s time to try and get things back on track!

August Links

in

Some interesting stories, thoughts, and ideas i’ve discovered throughout August, rounded-up.

Text

Microplastics have moved into virtually every crevice on Earth - this sounds like a horrible nasty plot from a Doctor Who episode, but it’s actually happening right now (and for a while obv given findings), under our noses. Absolutely terrifying stuff.

The Unravelling of America - this is an immensely fascinating read by anthropologist Wade Davis on the formation of the United States, the history there-of, and it’s place now in a post-pandemic post-truth world stage. America now is where it’s been heading for a long time, and it’s a fall that’s happening real-time. Of note, “Trump is less the cause of America’s decline than a product of its descent”. Really recommend giving this a read.

‘We Are the Guinea Pigs’: Hollywood Restarts Its Blockbuster Machine - Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom is probably one of the worst sequels in a while, but it’s interesting reading about the development and filming of it’s upcoming follow-up, and how they’re committed to continue filming safely, despite that whole 2020 Global Pandemic thing.

Fall Guys is Pure Saturday Evening Television After a hundred different first-person shooters, third-person shooters, and even Tetris, the Battle Royale genre finally gets the game it was invented for- I played it for a whole saturday night this month, LOTS of fun.

Bella Mackie: Is It Really A Bad Idea To Give Into Rose-Tinted Nostalgia Right Now? - I can relate to this so much, particularly about “the good old days”, taking things for granted, and honestly, just having happier times in general. 2020 has been incredibly awful- this year more than any other has just made me thankful for everything I do have.

The Matrix as a Trans Allegory - I haven’t seen The Matrix in a decade plus, but here’s a great Twitter thread by Netflix breaking down the connection between the cyber sci-fi action film and some of the transgender themes that it contains, compiling lots of links to supporting pieces in the process. Rewatch due soon.

What Dungeons and Dragons Taught Me About Politics - D&D is a game all about rolling for success, correct dialogue choices, and working well as a party, so this is an apt comparison. Travelling to Barnard Castle and rolling for an Intelligence Saving Throw isn’t something I remember in my adventure, however…

Get Happier by Rereading Your Favourite Books from Childhood - 2020 has been hellish. I’ve still got a massive backlog of both children and now adult books to catch up-on, but dipping in to familiar favourites in any media can be comforting. I rewatched a lot of my favourite films in lockdown.

Is It Possible To Have A Healthy Relationship With Social Media? - Why is disabling social media or leaving your phone at home so hard to do? I’ve been very guilty of doomscrolling these last few months, and some of these tips really helped me. It’s good to switch off.

Video

“This Is...” A Personal Ode to Going to the Cinema by Matthew Mulcahy/Little White Lies is a lovely short full of cinematic nostalgia and the memories created from cinema trips. I haven’t seen many of the films in the video so my own one would be quite different, but the sentiment here resonated with me a lot.

How a Last of Us Part II Level is Made - The Last of Us Part 2 is probably my game of the year, and narratively, one of my favourite stories ever. This is a great video by the always excellent Game Maker’s Toolkit/Mark Brown examing some of the environmental design and development. [SPOILERS]

The Batman - DC FanDome Teaser - You know, maybe it is time DC branched out a bit with their films and roster of Superheroes, but when there’s still so many possible interesting stories/casting/and set-pieces yet to happen, maybe more Batman isn’t necessarily a bad thing. This trailer really nails the character.

Audio

Kermode on Film: Christopher Nolan Special - my favourite film critic discussing films by my (probably?) favourite film director. This is a big two and a half hour ranking of every film directed by Christopher Nolan with lots of interesting consideration and discussion about each one. My favourite, still, is The Prestige.

2020 Best Of - Just a very loose WIP playlist on Spotify of my favourite music this year so far: i’m going to add stuff as I discover it!

Other

Would You Search Through The Lonely Earth For Me - a one page, one player, journalling rpg, that focusses less on the quest and the adventurer and more on the treasure or artefact itself. I’m hoping to play a lot of solo-RPGs over September to get something creative going, this one is probably going to be the foundation.

Ailpol on Instagram - i’d be remiss if I didn’t link this, but my partner has been working hard and posting a lot of really great art on her instagram recently, go have a look!

Adventures in Lego Photography

I’ve been a fan of Lego for a long time. Building, buying, collecting have been huge aspects of it as a hobby, but though I enjoy it elsewhere as an interest, the photography side of it has never been the one i’ve enjoyed. When I’ve been publishing MOCs and build pictures online the photography part of it has always been my least favourite compared to the building and designing itself, and 15 years later as an AFOL, this hasn’t changed. Truth told i’m probably underselling my builds when I’m presenting them as a result, but a quick search on social-media will quickly reveal an expanse of both varying skill and quality amongst fans. I’m okay-ish, I think? Instagram in particular is a hotbed of competition and people having accounts dedicated to just uploading Lego photography. I should probably do a link list of the best ones fully at some point, but these four really jump out.

I recently bought a cheap light box off Amazon to dabble in a bit of it myself and get some sharper images. It’s a simple pop-up box with USB-powered LED lights and a range of coloured backdrops that folds away easily afterwards. I planned to take big minifig cast photos with hundreds of medieval knights and spacemen explorers, but the particular one I bought is a bit on the small side for that and bigger builds, and much better for individual minifigs and pairings- so that’s what i’ve done initially. These are very rough, unedited shots from my phone, but I think the box and set-up has a lot of potential for future better calibrated photos (and posts here, let’s be honest). I might actually seeing about getting a bigger one too for, like I said, bigger builds. At some point I would like to a list about all my favourite minifigs that I own and photos of them but that would require the ardous task of actually sussing them out to begin with. More experiments required!

Always Love (write.as/richardam/)

in ,

On it’s website, write.as describes itself as “A place for focussed writing…with no distractions to interupt your creative flow”. It’s a personal space for writing and publishing away from all the noise of social-media that immediately reminded me a lot of early days Tumblr, with it’s minimalism and customisation. Simpler times. Through recommendation, as creative writing practice, and as a result of recent ongoing meh-ntal health problems, I decided to sign up and give it a shot.

It feels odd doing so and even starting it as another blog effort because while I plan to natter away and be very much here, there’s an opportunity to do something different there as well. My thinking is it’s going to be (mostly) daily updates and a log full of positive ideas, happy feelings, and good memories. Just optimism. Always love, like the title suggests. You know, the stuff the internet doesn’t *really* favour. Obviously with 2020 in full effect it’s been doom after doom, so I’ve enjoyed trying to pick out some pleasant experiences and thoughts each day, and reminisce accordingly. What is happiness? Well, it’s hopefully a collection of some of these concepts. As a project I’m not sure how long i’m planning to run it, but if anyone wants to check it out or follow for some vibes (ugh?) give it a look. It’s all a bit experimental and looser than what i’m hoping to do here, but I like that sketchbook feeling of it, and crucially, I’m finding it helping with both the mental health and creative sides of things at the moment.

Films watched during UK Lockdown

in
filmlockdown.jpg

I’m back to work properly tomorrow, I’ve had a haircut, and I’ve been out for lunch- I guess that’s lockdown fully over?

It’s been a really difficult few weeks that I’ve moaned about plenty already but in in that time I’ve missed having nights out/dinner, seeing friends, and most surprisingly of all: going to the cinema. I’ve missed the new film build-up, the hype, trailers, just the actual event of going to the cinema. The Coronavirus made for a nice backlog later in the year and next year as all the studios delay and postpone releases, but with all the stay-at-home practices in full effect, the last few weeks I watched a lot of films at home instead. Some of the films were new watches, but a vast majority of films watched were big, easy, familiar comforts instead, films sometimes just as rewarding even for the Nth time.

We watched The Dark Knight “trilogy”, all the Daniel Craig Bonds, The Hobbit/LOTR franchise (without ROTK, odd), lots of Taika Waititi, and more horrors than usual. 64 films in total, including plenty of my faves. I made a big list of everything I watched on Letterbox’d- it’s maybe not the most important film listing ever, but as we move further away from Lockdown (and hopefully Covid_19) it becomes worth remembering and tracking more. All those lost months. I’m having similar thoughts with my diary as we go through it, with the optimism that remembering all this in a year’s time will be a surreal, distant dream. We’ll see.

My own local cinema is still currently closed until the end of the month. I’m not sure if i’m quite ready to attend opening weekend of any film going forward, but it’s good to start taking steps “back to normal”.