Hey, Matt here!
Welcome to a new week and to new readers since last issue. A reminder that you can find me on the web and on Threads, which is even better now that the European users have arrived!
Thanks for joining me - now, onto the good stuff!
Monday Motivation. Let this week be the one where you blast away any winter blues. Here are 27 ways to boost your mood on Blue Monday.
Free. Ten Free websites that everyone should bookmark. No-one should have to pay for useful tools.
Change. Some people find change easier than others. Research shows that it is all about your personality.
Remote. I’m seeing a drop off in the skills that people honed in on when we were all forced to work from home. It’s time to focus again on the soft skills of a remote worker. If you are a manager, here are seven ways to show you are a leader when you work remotely.
Action. It is time to ditch your to-do list and forget tasks. You can power up your work with Action-Based productivity.
Planning. Decide your next decade. What would you do in the next ten years if you knew you could focus on anything?
BONUS STUFF : Resolutions. I wrote something on ways to keep up with your New Years Resolutions. Quitters Day and how to dodge it.
Weird. The internet is getting weird again, or maybe just smaller. My website is a part of the small web, where I own my space and write something every day. Clever people have drawn a map of what the small web is made up of.
Weather. A beautiful global weather map. I love this.
Future. An online radio station broadcasting from the year 2156. Its a complicated thing, but it doesn’t sound too promising.
Pencils. Everything you need to know about pencils, since 2005. Also a museum if you happen to be in the North West of the UK.
Insta. A round up of great Instagram accounts I have followed recently. Everything Can be Scanned. Cool Hifi Photos. Nice Aunties.
Cheese. The practice of telling fortunes using cheese. Tyromancy.
Finally. Brainteaser. A small collection of physics based games that will confound you. Fantastic stuff.
🔈 Stuff to Listen to...
🎧 Deena Abdelwahed is a Tunisian DJ and electronic musician now based in France. Jbal Rsas, released late in 2023 is an album steeped in the sounds of music from the Arab world. Taking traditional percussion sounds, and layering with dance beats and slabs of analogue synths.
This is electronica of the highest order, mixing bass, techno and experimental influences.
There is a blend of dancefloor sensibility, and darkness that appeals to me in JBal Rsas, From the foreboding intro track, ‘The Key to the Exit’ and later to the swirling analog leads of ‘Violence for Free’ which are set over multiple rhythm tracks. Arabic vocals are looped and distorted to provide even more richness to the mix.
The inspirations are clearly Arabic and from multiple influences, and the total sound is extraordinary. I discovered this a couple of weeks ago and it has been non stop listening. I've ordered a vinyl copy for extra listening!
Highly recommended listening.
Stuff someone said.
“If you aim at nothing, you will hit it every time.”
Zig Ziglar
