january 2019 finds is what’s been up during this first month of the year. and it’s defo the longest list i’ve ever posted!
1.i’ll start with a bunch of comics. since i changed my library card, i’m all about comics in spanish now.
THE MEH
- lolita hr by delphine rieu and javier rodríguez. interesting idea: a world run by big pharma-types. but not worth it over all.
- carronero by ricardo vilbor and vincente montalba. great gory drawing style, over testosterony story i couldn’t be bothered with.
- el metodo gemini by magius. beautiful tricolor scheme and cool drawing style. but the gangster story couldn’t keep me interested.
THE GOOD
- a good one was amnesia by swiss author kati rickenbach. i liked the reverse way of putting together the puzzle of the story.
- i liked maldita tesis by tiphaine riviere. it’s the mainly lows of the years she spent writing her phd thesis.
- i had three by guy delisle. i didn’t like much the comment ne rien faire. but i loved the cronicas de jerusalem and cronicas birmanas. as a stay home dad, guy follows his medicins sans frontieres wife around the world. wonderful!
- and my favourite was omni-visibilis by lewis trondheim and matthieu bonhomme. a dull guy becomes the most important person on earth. because everybody starts being able to feel everything he’s feeling. nice story!
2. i bought a few magazines. the january issue of the british vogue. you can tell the content has changed ever since its editor changed. just an example: they have an article on the recreational use of xanax. a welcome change.
3. porter, the print appendix of net-a-porter, one of my very favourite magazines right now.
4. and ad spain, because i found out that people i know were in it.
5. i started the year with a trip to germany. i was in mannheim.
6. where i loved the mannheim kunsthalle.
7. spent a rainy weekend in stuttgart.
8. where i visited the mercedes benz museum. i loved the experience. i’m the person who knows least about cars, but i loved it.
9. and the porsche museum. a nice 360 experience.
10. then, i went to frankfurt for two days in a row.
11. i found otto dix pieces in all three cities. i first saw his work in paris in 2002. the pompidou center has his portrait of journalist sylvia von harden. i still love that one the most.
12. the museum of applied arts in frankfurt presented the dieter rams documentary. in the presence of the designer himself! but that was back in october, unfortunately.
i visited and loved the museum. especially the richard meier room. i liked the in-house restaurant emma metzler, too.
13. i’m curious so i’ll look into a lot of random stuff. this chat with a dominatrix did not disappoint.
14. if you are interested in barcelona’s largest market, la boqueria, click here.
it’s a tldr article written by an american who moved to the barri gotic, bitches about tourism and likes to insert irrelevant personal references in the text. still, try to sieve through all the pretension and read it. you’ll learn about the market and the city, both currently struggling with the city’s self-inflicted problem: tourism.
i read several of his articles and i selected a few: one, two and three. they are all food related.
15. i read the last word by hanif kureishi. i liked the story and its twists. and turns. what i didn’t like is the fact that several of the main characters have the exact same kind of wit. anyhow, read it!
16. while i was in germany, i bought a few weleda products. i love them.
the cult skin food got me interested. it’s super thick, i like it. apparently, it has the same formula ever since 1926. i love the citrus oil, it smells like lemon leaves. i don’t love the lip balm. it’s called berry red but it has a very faint brown colour.
17. i watched the whole season of tidying up with the 139cm ocd fairy, marie kondo. not as good as i expected. i’m a neat freak so i was not so much in it for the tricks. but i expected some more dramatic and specific transformations. give it a try though. maybe you’ll like it more.
18. i saw my neighbour totoro on the big screen. in japanese! it’s because 2018 was its 30 year anniversary. sing with me: to-to-ro, totoro!
19. i am fascinated with rain drop cakes. i didn’t try one when i could though. anyway, here’s the recipe for a blue one.
20. i bought my first pair of earrings. they are clip-ons, since i don’t have piercings. they are by local brand bimba y lola. i like their jewelry. it’s weird and not what’s traditionally considered feminine.
21. i watched instant hotel. it’s an australian tv show. 10 holiday home owning couples compete for a trip to california. meh.
22. i’ve started using headspace to lower anxiety. and hopefully to improve sleep. within two weeks i deleted the app. it felt like work.
23. i watched the 10 episodes of the new netflix show called you. the series has that thick mix of stuff you come to expect when a team of writers is involved. the story revolves about this guy. he kills people who arguably deserve it, raskolnikov-style. the casting is meh. the whole series is meh. but it has redeeming qualities. you decide.
24. i watched elen degeneres’ netflix special, relateable. i want my time back!
25. frankie and grace is a good third age netflix series that grabbed me right from the beginning. jane fonda is 81 and as fabulous as ever.
26. have you ever wondered about the ballerina pointe shoes?
27. i couldn’t get profite and miss miss out of my head this month. benjamin biolay used to be vanessa’s boyfriend. he cheated on her with her friend, anna mouglalis. anna used to date vanessa’s current husband, samuel benchetrit. the two happen to share a job, not only men. they are both chanel ambassadrices. also, the legend says that benjamin seduced carla bruni during her marriage to sarkozi. bordel, quoi.
anyway, now i’m listening to all his albums on spotify.
28. this article discusses the fact that empaths may use their powers to manipulate. i don’t think it’s that bad. few people around me are interested in talking openly. so you kinda need all sorts of tricks to communicate efficiently.
29. have you ever thought about the business side of music?
30. i like this new south korean track.
31. and this chinese one.
32. a short history of punk. i liked it.
33. i watched the netflix ted bundy documentary. i’m a bit fascinated with the minds of serial killers. watch this if you are interested in seeing him in person. and if you are not squeamish.
weirdly, the director of the documentary has a parallel film. it comes out this year, starring zac efron as ted bundy.
34. i bought two lego lunch boxes that i intend to use as bags. also, a set of roche-posay sun protection stuff. it’s pretty sunny over here.
this was my january. how did you start the year?
photo and video credits: little aesthete and copyright holders
