Looking Sideways: 10 Things
Ceibo on a tour, a clear Trump explainer, and my books of the year so far.
1. In February I packed my mid-length and went off to Sri Lanka for ten glorious days of fun waves, ace food and brilliant company.
While I was there, my pals at Surf Forecast asked me to road test their app, and compare the waves over there with those I usually surf at my bang average Hot Pipe stomping ground (Spoiler alert: they were way better)
Watch how I got on above. Guest appearances by Peg, Owen, Les, Aisshi and Rupee the dog 🙌
If you want to download Surf Forecast to have a gander, click here.
2. I had a really nice conversation the other evening with two old friends from the US snowboard world, Jen Sherowski and Tricia Burns. This wasn't for a podcast; the duo are starting their own audio project (which is going to be brilliant by the way), so we had a chat in which they asked me a few ‘how would you do this if you were starting now'? questions. We shared thoughts on snowboarding, creativity and life in general. It was great, and a brilliant reminder that there’s really nothing better than catching up with old friends.
One of the things that came up was the Gen X propensity for ethics, DIY, and doing things defiantly on your own terms. Which leads me nicely to Sal, Tom, and Billy from Yonder, who have managed to carve out a really distinct place in the sideways ecosystem through their courses, travels, films, and writings.
Case in point: Sal's recent piece for Wavelength in which she explored the different types of surfing fun and flow in a way that I think all LS readers will appreciate. Check it out here.
Use my code LOOKINGSIDEWAYS for massive ski rental discounts and snowboard rental discounts from my pals at Intersport.
3. Tickets are now on sale for the Ceibo UK tour! I’ve had the great privilege of having a sneak peak of Lucy Small and Maddie Meddings’ new film and I can’t recommend it highly enough. Book tickets here.
4. There’s been such a great response to my recent conversation with Jon Alexander, with Jon’s message of grassroots change striking a real chord among the LS community.
And Jon has just launched a new storytelling project - a ‘Week of Citizening’, in their words - that puts the spotlight on the people who are already building the next democracy from the ground up across the United States.
It's a collaboration between Jon and Baratunde Thurston, host of the How To Citizen podcast, who I’m hoping to speak to for a forthcoming Announcement follow up episode (watch his brilliant recent keynote, above).
Sign up for the mailing list here, and find them on LinkedIn or on Instagram at @baratunde @thecitizensguy and @howtocitizen.
5. I was interviewed on one of my favourite podcasts! I'm a huge fan of Matt Pycroft's The Adventure Podcast, so I was really chuffed when asked me to come on as a guest to discuss The Announcement, not least because Matt had clearly done his research diligently.
We had a really enjoyable conversation about the series, our very strange careers, and as he puts it, why asking questions might be more important than seeking answers. Have a listen above.
6. On the one hand, this Republican buyer’s remorse piece in The Atlantic (‘I Should Have Seen This Coming’) is completely enraging and begs the usual response from the left in the face of such belated mea culpa moments: wasn't this all obvious from the beginning?
On the other hand, the increasing number of shows of contrition along these lines suggests a slight change in the political mood music.
Incidentally, I’m still looking for somebody from our community who is up for defending the actions of the current administration.
Use my code LOOKINGSIDEWAYS10 for 10% off any Finisterre purchase.
7. A very nuanced and sophisticated take on the perennial ‘value of creativity’ question, which suggests the willingness by creatives to commoditise their own value is what has ultimately seen us hoist by our own petard (and driven rates through the floor).
8. Well, it didn't take long for the Gary Stevenson backlash to start. This Jacobin review of his book, The Traders Game, questions his backstory and the validity of his ideas.
9. Singapore Prime Minister Lawrence Wong with about the most level-headed assessment of the geopolitical impact of Trump’s foreign policy and tariffs I’ve yet seen. Essential viewing.
Use my discount code LOOKINGSIDEWAYS for a whopping 20% on any Goodrays purchase.
10. Finally - every year, like the geek I am, I keep a record of every book that I read on my Instagram stories (that’s the latest, above). As I'm trying to spend less time on that hell-site, I've also listed them all on a brand-spanking new Substack Chat thread. Click the link to get involved.
Paid Insights subscribers! Join the conversation by adding your own recommendations. I’m really looking forward to seeing what the Looking Sideways community has been reading this year, adding a few new books to my list, and getting your takes on my read list so far.
At last there is a bit of Gary critique. Although i dont necessarily think that the points in the article above are that important. I think its good that he just has a simple message about taxing the rich. He's an amazing communicator but IMO he is just the same as all the other great voices out there who keep saying 'we need to build a grassroots movement' but then they never seem to put the time in to try to understand how you actually do that. I would take what Gary is saying way more seriously if he was sharing underneath his videos concrete calls to action for people to join a meeting, sign up to attend a protest or go help mobilise others on the streets and doors around the UK to genuinely build political power. L
I saw that greenpeace UK video of him (https://www.instagram.com/reel/DHqyuv3NDpb/?igsh=d2RjdTNiN3VxdXRq) giving a speech in London - got the crowd cheering with everything he is saying and at the end his call to action was basically - 'go home and talk to your mates'. It's just not good enough IMO - these people have to understand that building movements is not just about getting millions of views on youtube. You need to understand how to create concrete pathways for people to be able to get involved in creating the change themselves and give them agency - like what Jon was saying in the citizens podcast.
To me its the same as all the outdoor athletes (and organisations) who share photos and nice information about melting glaciers and call themselves 'changemakers'. There is never a call to action, never a concrete easy way for regular people to get involved and to join a meeting and talk with others. Building a movement is learning how to do phone banking, how to doorknock and get people into a meeting, how to provide those people with a next step to help the movement grow once they come to the meeting, creating a system to collect contact details in order to follow them up, mobilising people to a protest, to write to their MP, to organise community events to build local resilience etc etc. Social media is amazing for getting in touch with millions of people but if that's the limit to their political engagement then I think it's a waste of time.
It's kinda the reason I was sharing that idea with you about the House Of The People by https://timetoassemble.org/ - because its something concrete everyone can get involved with. I would take what Gary says so much more seriously if he was using his platform and influence to help grassroots movements like that......
Guess I’m a Lawrence Wong fanboy now.