Archive
37 essays
- 01A Sinister BusinessThe violence of becoming a man and why you aren’t as good as you think you are
- 02Who Knows Where the Time Goes?An ode to October: birdwatching, impermanence and the slow life.
- 03Maybe You Should Go Back to TherapyDon’t let your therapist be lazy. This piece might save you some money, sometimes the best thing you can buy is time to talk about yourself.
- 04Why Changing Your Surroundings Feels Like Changing Your LifeThe departure improves the composition.
- 05Is This Boulder Gaslighting Me?Survey says: indoor climbing grades are basically vibes
- 06Should Pain (Literally) Move Us?When I finished Dostoevsky’s White Nights, I wasn’t left wondering whether the narrator and Nastenka should have ended up together. After all, four nights is hardly enough time…
- 07Overthinking does not have to be a personality traitIt is a pretty weird way to live when you think about it
- 08Cycle CycleIt’s time to let cycle Steve just be Steve again.
- 09Against the Bucket ListDeath is coming, get the spreadsheet updated
- 10The Substack AI Detection SystemAn investigation
- 11Why You Should Read The Napoleon of Notting HillI’ve written often on this blog about how we live in an age where detachment and irony often appear as wisdom. About sincerity being embarrassing or exposing, and how everything…
- 12Flattening"Pick a niche." The algorithm is waiting.
- 13Approachable, but not weakSomething about photographing strangers
- 14The Morals of CitiesKirkstall Road, I’m looking at you.
- 15A house is just a suitcaseMaybe that’s why coming back from travelling often feels so strange and disorienting for a while
- 16Why Folk Music Is More Important Than EverIt’s no coincidence that Kneecap are Irish
- 17Perfection Can WaitOn photography, memory, and imperfect art
- 18How we turn people into symbolsAnd for the lady, will you be painted as you are? Or as you would like to be?
- 19The BleachingCoral bleaching is a strange kind of death. The reef becomes visibly ghostly long before it is pronounced dead. What kills the reef isn’t violence, it’s a slow kind of degradati…
- 20Why modern masculinity keeps collapsing into ironyThe 10/10 bleed out spot meme is a symptom
- 21A thinner state of consciousnessI understand the appeal completely
- 22taste is a filterand most of reality doesn’t make it through
- 23how to write anything at allThis is not a course. I dated an editor.
- 24No One Likes the Tuna HereFast Cars, Furious Feelings
- 25Old Money and the CascadeTrickle down economy, heritage?
- 26what you do when no one’s watchingit barely matters
- 27Greggs is romancesausage rolls, school dinners, and possibly why cheating deserves some respect
- 28man makes weird face noises to deal with life’s many ups and downsI’ve said some really cringe stuff to people I love. I meant it all, and I’m glad I did.
- 29Suspended ObservationsWaiting rooms, Nighthawks and café au lait
- 30is sport the healthiest form of avoidance?On sports, self-image and the cost of improvement.
- 31are you listening to what you're listening to?Kate Bush hands you a fog machine, a leotard, and a look that says: yes, this hurts — but it’s also kind of funny, isn’t it?
- 32the uk police situationWhat would’ve happened if I’d had a press pass, would that be okay?
- 33restore yourself with scienceYou didn't ruin anything
- 34we're taking photos even when we're notThere’s a guy I see quite often, called Mo. He doesn’t want to be photographed
- 35it wasn't just a cafeyou don’t notice how important they are until they’re gone, I guess
- 36This Was Not a Spiritual ExperienceThe day before I got ill I was telling someone I’m not a “list ten things you’re grateful for” kind of person
- 37You already know this. Let’s see if you’re willing to stay with it.Relief is easy. Peace costs more.