Not the most original artwork by Discovery+ here.

“Brighton FC want to buy Dewsbury Hall from Leicester.”

Dewsbury Hall sounds like it should be bought by the National Trust, not a football team.

This always looked terrible. And the trailer was so bad it became a literal meme. However, this evening I was looking for an easy watch and saw that the reviews are surpassingly high. So I thought I’d give it a go.

Firstly, this is largely a musical. And despite a catchy chorus here and there it’s not especially special. The film is also not really about chocolate and sweets, which I found a bit disappointing. I wanted to see towers of sugar as far as the eye can see. But Wonka as chocolatier could have been removed and it wouldn’t have changed much.

This is directed by Paul King, who did the Paddington’s, and you can tell. They both have a visual charm that I really like. The comedic style is similar too. And it shares a lot of the same actors

However, Wonka ain’t Paddington. Paddington is fun for the whole family. Whereas I’d argue Wonka will be highly enjoyable for the kids, but there’s not enough here for the adults.

The film is rather sweet and watchable. But it just feels weirdly lifeless. I won’t be running back to rewatch it.

48%

(Read this review on Letterboxd)

Me: “Hey ChatGPT, what’s 2 + 2?”

ChatGPT: “I’m not going to answer that. Here’s some Python code that answers it instead.”

Playing Battlefield 1. Probably my favourite game of all time. The graphics, soundtrack and ‘feel’ of the game still remain spectacular, eight years on. I’ve written a bit about my love for it before.

After 20 years, my morning RSS ritual still feels like unwrapping digital gifts. From news to niche tech blogs, it’s my curated slice of the internet and I love it. ☕️📰

Good morning all. It’s currently 18°C where I am ☀️

📖 Morning links:

• Just paying attention to greenery, even in an urban environment, has mental health benefits
• There’s a tradition in Japan where grandparents buy their grandkids a $450 bag when they start school
• A look back at the now dead newsletter service TinyLetter
• The Netflix show “Tour de France: Unchained” is apparently good. With the Tour starting this Saturday I think I might check it out to get me in the mood.

🧍‍♂️Me update:

• 6hr 15m of sleep 🛌
• I have a tiny sore throat this morning. But a happy side effect is that my voice sounds masculine and gravely.
• It’s the last day of hot temperatures in the UK, which makes me happy. I don’t mind a hot weekend. But hate a hot weekday. Give me rain and clouds and cosiness.

A sports score Mac menu bar app inspired by teletext. I haven’t used it, but I love the look.

App subscription pricing in 2024.

Yearly: £99
Monthly: £250

🥾 Ashridge Estate

“Excuse my fingers.” No Barbara, I won’t excuse them. Just use some utensils you tramp.

Me and my girlfriend accidentally stumbled upon “Alban Day"¹ in St. Albans² today after our lunch at Wagamama.

We’d gone last year and enjoyed ourselves. So I was happy to coincidentally go again.

Though last year there was medieval battle reattachments which they didn’t have this time. That was a shame.

Good morning all. It’s currently 19°C where I am 🌤️

📖 Morning links:

• “37 (Or So) Lessons From A 37 Year Old” - Ryan Holiday. I love these simple ‘rules for life’ lists. Though this isn’t the best example, I must say.
• “Rejecting GMOs hinders human progress and keeps the poor hungry” - Tom Morley. It’s good to see a strongly worded opinion piece.
• “A beautiful garden” - Rebecca Toh. A nice little article on mental health.
• 🎵 Song of the day: Late for the Sky - Jackson Browne. This song builds so beautifully.

🧍‍♂️Me update:

• 4hr 8m of sleep 🛌
• I broke my no caffeine commitment this morning with around 8mg of coffee beans. Not ideal.
• My energy and motivation has been in the gutter all week due to poor sleep and diet. Today’s aim: at least one fruit and vegetable and no refined sugar.

Have a good day everyone 🤓

This morning I saw a man walking along with a ceramic mug in his hand and a beaming smile on his face. Today I aim to achieve one tenth of his happiness.

Glad Apple has created the Journal app. But I would recommend Day One over it. Its a mature product – with easy export options – that’s been around for many years. And now that it’s owned by Automattic I expect it will be around for years to come.

Check it out if you’ve found Journal a bit limiting.

The moon is so bright tonight it looks like the sun 📷

Watching Noah Kalina’s “Hotline Show” series on YouTube. I can’t tell if it’s good or not. But it’s cosy, relaxing and weirdly captivating. So let’s say good.

He also described getting sleepy as “sun setting”, which I rather like.

Good morning all. It’s currently 15°C where I am ☀️

📖 Morning reads:

• “Vaccines have saved 150 million children over the last 50 years” - Our World in Data. “Every ten seconds, one child is saved by a vaccine against a fatal disease.”
• “How This Real Image Won an AI Photo Competition” - Scientific American
• “TinyLetter: looking back on the humblest newsletter platform” - The Verge
• “Your brain does not process information and it is not a computer” - Aeon Essays

🧍‍♂️Me update:

• 9hr 22m of sleep 🛌
• I didn’t have dinner last night due to my stomach pains yesterday. That didn’t stop me from having a greasy burger though.
• I lived up to my promise and didn’t have any caffeine yesterday. I shall do the same today.
• My girlfriend has pain at the top of her spine today so will be WFH today with me.

Didn’t realise there was a Five Guys with a glorious view of Tower Bridge. Great place to see outside with a burger.

There’s also Gaucho Tower Bridge next door, which is a bit more upmarket. No idea what their food is like. But the outdoor seats would give you fantastic views on a romantic dinner date.

📌 🍽️ Five Guys Tower Bridge

Good morning all. It’s currently 14°C in London 🌤️

🚆 Trains reads:

• “Another Productivity Hack? Cal Newport thinks working slower could cure your burnout."
• “15 rules for blogging, and my current streak”

🧍‍♂️Me update:

• 4hr 9m of sleep 🛌
• I could really do with my next pay cheque to arrive, I must say.
• I’ve really cut down my caffeine intake these days. But I might try none for a while to see if it helps with my occasional insomnia.
• Had a sore stomach last night that has continued into the morning.
• I have sadly pulled off the mythical upset-your-girlfriend-before-9am 😬