february 2021 finds is here!
BOOKS
there are months when i finish a couple of books at best. and then there is february, when i finished 10 books. some are books i’ve struggled with and then decided life is too short, gave up on and counted as finished.
1. i am cat was published in 1906. soseki natsume wrote the first chapter as a short story. that chapter was so appreciated that he expanded it into a 470-page novel. in my opinion, that first chapter is indeed wonderful. but i struggled to get through the rest. ultimately, i had to give up when i reached volume 2.
2. fear and loathing at rolling stones by hunter s. thompson is a collection of actual articles he published in the magazine during their 40-year collaboration. i read the preface months ago and i was so excited to start it. but most of the book deals with events that took place decades ago on the american political scene. i skipped through the last third.
on the bright side, i’ll re-read fear and loathing in las vegas, some 20 years later. i’m pretty sure it will hit differently.
3. i bought tranvia a la malvarrosa by manuel vincent years ago. i was hoping for a very valencian story. and it was! the author describes the city in great geographical detail. so much that it overwhelmed me. but it was so long before i was ever there. still, i got what i wanted. i remembered polvora y azahar, the two main smells of the city.
4. working with emotional intelligence is a book written 25 years ago by daniel goleman. it’s not bad, but i have a feeling that there must be a better book out there on the topic. i didn’t prefer the focus on the working environment.
5. i also went through social intelligence by the same author. i liked this one better.
here are the books i read from the beginning to the end.
6. apesar de nao estar, estou muito by rudolfo is the catalogue for last summer’s retrospective. i might sound like his biggest fan. i saw his exhibition, i have a poster on my wall and read several of his publications. he’s recently released a new musclechoo zine. will i get that, too? i might.
7. mary john by ana pessoa is a slow-paced young adult novel. not my regular cup of tea, but since i’ve read it in portuguese, it was perfect.
8. un sandwich a ginza by yoko hiramatsu has bd-type drawings and a foodie drive. expect reading about unagi, curry, omurice and many other highlights of the japanese cuisnine. she also mentions whale tongue, a delicacy i hope is no longer available anywhere on earth. this was my favourite book this month!
9 i bought a bunch of zines from alex vieira. one of them was his book called quadrinhos arte punk e psicodelia. it’s a retrospective of all his work before 2014. one thing lead to another and i found myself listening to his band ajudanti di papai noel (noise beach) and checking on g maps where vila velha is in brazil. i like surprises, what can i say.
10. the nakano thrift shop by hiromi kawakami was not my favourite in terms of pacing. but you know i will read just about anything that reminds me of japan.
MAGAZINES
11. i’ve struggled to get throught the 500+ pages of system 15 for months. it was not bad, but it was not worth the 27 euro price tag. i doubt that i’ll buy the newly published system 16.
12. british vogue the february and the march issues, due to the lockdown. in the former, i liked personal effects (interiors of real people dwellings), the zoom fashion editorial (imagine the top half in armani and the bottom in adidas shorts and slides) and the new creatives list.
MUSIC
13. i found this little russian girl in an insta sponsored post.
14. i have mentioned my love for rubel before. partilhar is one of my favourites.
15. harry styles has just turned 27 this month. this interview covers the process of writing and recording fine lines in the rick ruben’s malibu studio called shangri la. read this article for more details.
16. iceage has launched the first single from their new album. however, this new happy mondays vibe is not my favourite.
17. i just happened upon this come back.
18. i liked this sevdaliza concert.
19. balthazar has just launched their new album called sand. they have a concert planned in porto at the end of 2021. find the album as a playlist on their youtube channel.
FILMS
20. to all the boys: always and forever is a quiet story of an unproblematic loving couple. we need more of these to normalize love.
21. i watched i care a lot. the writers are shameless. they force the storyline so that everything goes well for the “hero” and bad for the enemies. i’d say it’s risible, but i’m still angry over the 2 hours i lost watching it. this dud was directed, written and co-produced by the same dude. be smart and save yourselves 2h. do something better. really, anything qualifies as better.
you’d better read this article about the real story. they defraud senior citizens in the us.
TV SERIES
22. i binge-watched killing eve. i appreciated the euro-centric vibe. phoebe waller-bridge is the creator and writer of the show. i liked all the strong women and the dark humour. but the show is not amazing.
also, i enjoyed seeing my home town of bucharest used for the moscow locations.
23. normal people was unwatchable. the fact that i read the book already didn’t help.
ART
24. click here to virtually visit crossing lines basquiat and keith harring.
25. have you been reading about the last craze: crypto art? clicke here and here.
ARTICLES
26. a house in the karuizawa forests that i could love.
27. did you know that the platypus can glow in the dark?
28. very informative article about japanese cuisine.
29. kengo kuma house: 750 sqm on a 5,300 sqm property near tokyo.
YOUTUBE
30. these structures are interesting, but i would not choose to live there.
31. the jewelry collection of the v&a museum is very interesting.
32. definitely not the best source, but this video asks some interesting questions.
33. i liked this video about traditional korean ceramics.
34. amanda sanchez is a very likeable in-house chanel model.
here she is in another video.
35. the heartbreaking and surprising life of nepalese victims of human trafficking.
36 there is nothing glamorous about how high-end fashion is made by poor people.
37. i miss tokyo.
38. beautiful repurposing of old country barn house in extremadura.
39. i have been following moe for a little while. i like her, i like her daughter and i like her husband. watch her story and then watch her videos. she’s doing a great job at making japanese cuisine more accessible to the world.
40. hong kong is going through a very rough patch.
these are a few videos from the the now defunct great big story.
41. first, niki de saint phalle’s tarot garden in tuscany. it’s on my list.
42. bulgarian kukeri is also on my bucket list.
43. il bisso is sea silk, a tissue made in sardinia from a vary rare filament.
44. i have recently finished my first jar of yuzukosho. however, i had no exact idea about its contents.
45. you might’ve seen nyango star in the viral video below. check out what’s it all about.
46. this cat duo does mesmerizing things.
check out my instagram for all the lockdown fun!
photo and video credits: little aesthete, copyright holders
