Looking Sideways: 10 Things
Ten things I thought were worth sharing this week.
1. Another plug for my recent interview with Ray Barbee from earlier this week. Ray is one of skateboarding’s true giants, as well as an equally influential photographer and musician. Our chat covered a lot of ground; I also decided to experiment with a paid version, which included a 15 minutes bonus section on Ray’s approach to songwriting, and a free version, which I think worked out pretty well. Listen to both versions below:
2. Hugely important news that I can’t believe it has taken me 47 years to find out about - Australian male palm cockatoos make their own drumsticks and create their own beats to attract a mate.
3. My thanks to listener Chris for alerting me to the latest developments in the ongoing discussion about the impact the proposed White Cross Offshore Wind Farm will have on Croyde, Saunton and Putsborough, as well as the local infrastructure and communities. North Devon World Surfing Reserve have conducted a review which you can read here.
4. Friend-of-the-show
has been posting on Substack for a while now, and I found her latest newsletter, with its reflections around speaking at events you have an ethical issue with, to be insightful and thought-provoking.
5. Had a great trip to the Wave with my old mucker Ed Leigh the other day. I also have a really interesting blog/bonus with Ed on parenting coming out soon, so keep an eye out for that.
6. I’m going to share a few Israel-Gaza links. The first is Israeli historian Yuval Noah Harari interviewed on The Rest is Politics (above), followed by Husam Zomlot, Palestinian Ambassador to the UK, on the same show (below)
7. The third is this column by Robert Rotifer on ‘the right to speechlessness from horror’. (it’s in German so you’ll need to razz it through Google Translate).
8. Interesting initiative this from friend-of-the-show Jeremy Jones - recycling old snowboards to create new ones. Find out more above.
9. Last chance to participate in this survey about surfing and health being compiled by my pals at The Wave. Take part here.
10 Finally - my blog on reading is by far my most popular post of the year, and the Chat thread I started on which listeners and readers are sharing their favourite reads of the year is still going strong. Have a read and join in above.
Got a story or link you think might work for my weekly Ten Things, which goes out to many thousands of readers each week? Let me know! Enjoyed this dispatch?