#29 - From Dublin

Updates

A week in Dublin, and something of a gentle 'heatwave' has made the city feel bright and alive this week. I even saw a 'pirate' ship in Killiney Bay (above).

I spent more time on startwriting.now - my micro-journaling app. Over 1000 unique users visited the site this week, which was very gratifying. I have a ton of ideas for enhancements, which I'm gently working on at the moment. This is a great learning journey!

I finished reading The Art of Living by Thich Nhat Hanh - review here.

Reading: Bullshit Jobs by David Graeber

Recommended Music

My recommendation this week is another beautiful and gentle album; A Dawning, by Olafur Arnalds and Talos.

This is work that was in progress before the sad and untimely death of Talos (Cork based musician Eoin French) in August 2024.

The eight tracks here, combine work from both musicians and vocals from Talos and some other artists. It's a wonderfully thoughtful and gentle collection that peaks with an ensemble piece that includes Niamh Regan and Ye Vagabonds.

Highly recommended.

Watched Stuff

Caught a couple of movies over the last week - as well as a whole bunch of tennis!

A ★★★★ review of Heads of State (2025)

An absurd premise - The US president is played by someone more famous in wrestling and the UK Prime Minister is a dour Arsenal fan. Wait a minute... When Cena and Elba find themselves behind enemy lines and facing a threat, they need to work together like never before. Wildly absurd, quite funny in places.

Letterboxd

A ★★★★ review of The Amateur (2025)

Rami Malek plays a slightly disassociated computer geek, who spends most of his time hunched over a laptop as he plots revenge for losing a loved one. Like a really nerdy Bourne. There were a few holes in the plot here, some 0-100 leaps in assumption that didn’t make sense - but, the hackery and f*ckery that go on are fun. Excellent Friday night escapism that I enjoyed.

Letterboxd

Listened Stuff

Here's ten artists I have listened to this week.

• Olafur Arnalds & Talos
• Abul Mogard
• Rival Consoles
• The Swell Season
• Erland Cooper
• Kae Tempest
• Richard Ashcroft
• Placebo
• Nadah El Shazly
• The Cure

#weeknote