For as long as i can remember, i’ve always wanted to be a writer. I became a journalist instead — it wasn’t that much less glamorous, the pay was decent, and i still managed to write a few dozen books on the side. Trouble is, tying your whole identity to your job is a fantastically bad idea. I ended up despising the...

Book Do Walk by Libby DeLana. I’ll never fault a book that extols the virtues of walking, but it’s the first time i wanted to put one through the shredder. DeLana is an executive creative director, whatever that means, so she felt the urge to trademark her practice as ‘ThisMorningWalk’. (Of course there’s a...

I’m sure the iPhone Duo will be a perfectly fine device, but having reviewed my fair share of two-handed foldable phones, i just don’t get the hype. You might believe iOS will make all the difference, and i have to admit that the incredibly smooth opening animation might push people to actually unfold their device,...

A lot has been written about the 18-karat gold Apple Watch Edition, but it was just as much a lifestyle product as the iPod (“1,000 songs in your pocket”) or the iPhone (“this changes everything”) had been. Of course, it was Jony Ive and his billionaire friends’ lifestyle, but apart from that… The trio of ads that...

Somewhere in the middle of ‘The Passage of the Marshes’, i began to wonder why the Sauron i’d decided to re-read The Lord of the Rings1. I’d forgotten how bleak and sluggish Frodo and Sam’s journey to Mordor was. Even though i wanted nothing more than to wring Gollum’s neck, i decided to plod through, knowing i was...

Film Brand New Landscape by Yuiga Danzuka. Ren works as a delivery driver for moth orchids — a common gift for business openings in Japan. Since the loss of his mother to suicide, he’s been estranged from his father, a world-renowned landscape designer. During a routine delivery, he unexpectedly comes face to face...

The Netgear Meural Canvas II digital photo frame is one of my favourite devices i own. Its 21.5″ display offers adequate colour reproduction and superb viewing angles. Its design is nothing to write home about, but combined with the matte coating that prevents most if not all glare, it doesn’t read as ‘i’ve put a...

The SNCF has plastered the train windows with corny stickers saying “let yourself dream”, “#nofilter” and “seat with a view”. Everybody awake is heads-down in their phone. Everything around here used to be the deepest and most vibrant shade of forest green. Now it’s a dusty and desolate shade of husk yellow. And yet...

There’ll probably never be another museum quite like the Apple Museum in Prague, which featured almost every Apple product ever made in pristine condition, before it closed in September 2020 after a dumbfounding dispute between its founders. The entirely unrelated Apple Museum in Utrecht doesn’t come close, not by a...

Should i redesign my blog?1 Should i switch back to pocket notebooks from A5 notebooks?2 Should i buy and restore a thirteenth typewriter?1 Should i repaint our bedroom?2 Should i sell my Apple Watch Ultra?1 Should i reinstall my balcony’s irrigation system?1 In isolation, these are all good questions. Trouble is,...

The Phoenician Scheme by Wes Anderson. Another excellent Montblanc ad from Wes Anderson. (I’m kidding, of course. The Phoenician Scheme is less refined, less substantial, less amusing, and generally less memorable than the Montblanc ad.) John Lanchester at the London Review of Books: Since fewer and fewer people are...

“What is the oldest thing you own?” For Thomas, who originally asked the question, it’s a Sisters of Mercy tour shirt from 1985. For Ruben, who brought it to my attention, it’s books from the 2000s. Apart from a small blue stuffed bear i’ve had since the day i was born, the oldest thing i’ve continuously owned might...