Looking Sideways: 10 Things
Here are this week’s ten things I thought were worth sharing.
1. No new episode this week, so I’m reupping one of my favourite episodes ever, with Christina Koch, a surfer and – yes – astronaut who spent 328 days in space in the International Space Station, setting a new record for the longest spaceflight completed by a woman in the process. She also spent her downtime photographing the planet’s best surf locations, posting them on her hugely popular Instagram feed and outing herself as a serial surf geek in the process.
Christina’s story is as inspirational and fascinating as any I’ve featured on the Looking Sideways podcast. It’s a lesson in focus and determination, and a tale of a life embellished with profound experiences that have seen her spend seasons at the South Pole and literally live among the stars.
This breadth of experience has also given Christina a unique perspective on the biggest philosophical questions of all, whether it’s our place in the universe, the huge challenges we face on earth right now or the best way of handling individual experiences of stress and adversity.
All topics, as you’ll know if you’re a regular listener, that are right up my boulevard, and the resulting exchange is still one of my favourite ever Looking Sideways conversations. Listen below:
2. We’ve had a great start to the winter down here in Brighton, with my local the Hot Pipes even doing a passable impression of a surf spot a couple of times in the last week or so. So I thought I’d post this clip of local Jean Hackman making the Pipes look half-decent, as he usually does.
3. The new Whitelines annual is out and shipping now! I’ve got an interview with Kimmy Fasani in there (with the accompanying podcast episode dropping next week; don’t miss that one) but the whole lovingly-complied thing is a 200-page celebration of modern snowboarding from the best and brightest in the business. Click here to buy a copy and support independent snowboarding media. We’ll miss it when it’s gone.
4. I also wanted to flag this great piece by WL editor Ed Blomfield, an interview with Nina Grilc on the first anniversary of Marko’s death. Moving stuff, as you might imagine.
5. I’m really looking forward to watching Alpenland, a documentary which tackles the effect tourism has on local communities.
6. Congrats to friend of the pod Luke Gartside on the publication of his new book The Surf Atlas. Buy a copy here, and if you’re in Newquay go and check out his book launch at the Sink Inn on December 9th.
7. Is the end of social media in sight? Apparently so, according to this entertainingly argued Atlantic piece.
8. A month or so after the British Cycling x Shell debacle, I found this LinkedIn thread started by one of the BC partnership people responsible to be equal parts illuminating and depressing. Click here (and apologies in advance for directing everyone to LI).
9. I’m sending this out on Thursday 24th November, so if you receive it before then there’ll still be time to get tickets for the exclusive preview of new film The Big Sea on Saturday 26th - I’ll be hosting the post show q&a live in stage with director Lewis Arnold and writer/producer Chris Nelson. Hope to see you there!
10. I can’t stop thinking about The Fire Within, Werner Herzog’s latest documentary about French volcanologists Katia and Maurice Krafft, who were killed during an eruption in Japan in 1991. They left behind an archive of over 200 hours of footage, which Herzog has marshalled into this beautiful, affecting and visually remarkable tribute. It’s very roughly in the same ballpark as Grizzly Man or Cave of Forgotten Dreams, but is (IMHO) better than both of those. What a giant Herzog is - presumably he made this while also starring in The Mandalorian, which is pretty hilarious.
Enjoyed this edition of 10 Things? Got thoughts on the stories I shared, or something to share yourself?