Telling Tales | The one about guilt and hope
Hi everyone,
2020. I don’t think it’s going to make many highlight reels. Every morning I pick up my phone dreading the latest damage report.
And, right now, part of me feels hugely guilty because I’ve had a brilliant week. I took some time off to enjoy the gorgeous weather with my family, I got to train outdoors again with other people, and I got my bao bun fix from my favourite cafe.
They’re small, irrelevant things. But they’ve made me really happy. They’re juxtaposed with a litany of injustices and tragedies currently besetting the world.
I’ve spent a lot of time trying to figure that relationship out and I’m not sure I have the answer yet other than to keep trying to make the world a better place by having empathy, showing kindness, and embracing love instead of hate.
I’ve been appalled by humanity but I read these words for the first time in a long time this week (after digging out American History X as an essential watch) and they gave me hope. They are from Abraham Lincoln’s inaugural address:
“We are not enemies, but friends. We must not be enemies. Though passion may have strained, it must not break our bonds of affection. The mystic chords of memory will swell when again touched, as surely they will be, by the better angels of our nature.”
This week's events also made my revisit this video I filmed while at the National Centre for Civil and Human Rights in Atlanta last year (you can see the full video here). The first day I visited this museum happened to be the day of the shootings in Christchurch, New Zealand. To describe the experience as overwhelming is probably a bit of an understatement. The exhibitions are incredible, powerful, provoking, and deeply moving. Half way around I had to take myself outside. I sat on the steps and cried. I thought then, what I think today; that we can - and must - do better both for the world around us and the people in it, and believe, no matter how far off it might actually be, a change will one day come.
In lighter news, here’s what I’ve been enjoying:
Pizza Ovens. In response to this post I got a fair few questions about what pizza oven I used. I use an Ooni. Mine is a few years old now and getting the fire right is quite hard work, something they appear to have fixed in their more recent models. Hard work, but enormous fun and definitely recommended.
Final Fantasy 7 Remake. The original Final Fantasy 7 (which I first played when I was 13) was a masterpiece and one of the greatest games of all time. I don’t have much time for gaming now but had to give the remake a try. And I’m hooked. From the opening chords of the main theme to the exhilarating first chapter this hits all the right notes, is a huge amount of fun, and looks absolutely gorgeous.
Nation of Language. When I first listen to new music I can usually tell by about 30 seconds into a track whether I’m going to enjoy an album or not. Thankfully, the first song on this band’s debut Introduction, Presence is a belter. Think Joy Division, New Order, and a healthy does of The National.
Craig’s Epic Bike Ride. Master of the Quarantini, full-time cyclist, part-time chiropractor / entrepreneur, and long-time friend and client, Craig McLean, cycled 300km (the length of the M25 and then some) in a day this week to raise money for Duchenne UK. Amazing achievement, top work mate!
White Lines. Not as good as Money Heist (it shares the same writer) but a lot of fun. Sex, drugs, Ibiza, Manchester, and a juicy murder mystery. What’s not to like? Here's the trailer.
Enjoy the weekend and would love your thoughts on any of the above!
TT x