May 2025
Inspecting a newly arrived print (May 2025)
Music I'm listening to:
Sufjan Stevens - Javelin (Album)
A 10/10 album that I played more or less non-stop (Rebecca and Spotify can confirm) for a lot of May 2025.
I think Sufjan Stevens is a musical and songwriting savant, and someone who is very finely tuned to experience the broad range of human experience in all its fullness and depth. So there were some great insights to be had listening to this.
Some of my favourite tracks include: “Everything That Rises”, “Genuflecting Ghost”, “So You Are Tired” and “Shit Talk”
Books I’m reading:
Proust and the Squid - Maryanne Wolf
A very interesting read, which first dives into the history of the development of written script and writing systems, and then details the neurological processes that take place as part of the simple act of reading. Incredibly fascinating stuff, albeit a bit jargon-heavy for someone not in the field but still very enjoyable and definitely worth sticking with.
Walden - Henry David Thoreau
I was debating between Walden by Thoreau, another book by Christopher Hill (Reformation to the Industrial Revolution) and Siddhartha by Herman Hesse, and as a bit of a cheeky experiment, asked ChatGPT to pick for me. It (yes, I’m anthropomorphising) reckoned I would like Walden most out of the three, so here we are. Interesting book so far, a bit grumpy in part but then again, aren’t we all?
Gregg Popovich
Gregg Popovich, who was head coach for the San Antonio Spurs for 29 seasons, announced he was stepping away from his role in early May 2025. Although I haven’t really been following the NBA in the past few years, I’ve always rooted for the Spurs and so it was sad to learn this.
What really stood out to me during his retirement speech was seeing two of his now hall-of-fame players, Manu Ginobli and Tim Duncan, standing right there beside him. Apparently they have also been in the gym with him regularly, helping out with his recovery from a stroke he suffered last year.
In all my time watching the NBA (which admittedly is not all that long or current), the Spurs have always felt like a quietly dominant and culturally enduring team, all held together by the leadership and culture created by Gregg Popovich and the organisation around him. And over the past few years, I’ve found myself drawn to this aspect more than the sport itself. Gregg Popovich’s approach to coaching and his big picture view of what he was doing is incredibly inspirational, particularly in this phase of my life. He’s won five championships and is one of the most successful coaches in NBA history, and yet he has repeatedly said things like “basketball won’t love you back, your family will”.
This novel blend of intensity and perspective is, I think, quite rare and of course, the road to get there may not always suit everyone, and that’s probably okay too. But anyway, seeing ‘Pop’ on that podium with Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobli by his side, was incredibly moving and made me reflect on the importance of leading well, pursuing excellence and staying grounded in what actually matters: the people around you and your relationship with them.
New coffee shop
I’ve recently started a new job, with my primary office now in Farringdon, London. Unfortunately, this means I can’t realistically go to my usual, Roasting Plant, London Bridge, which had great coffee, loads of space and comfortable seating. I’d say I’m still trying to get a feel for what is around. However, one standout so far is Bench, Farringdon. It has loads of space, window seating and lovely staff (The barista even remembered my order within a week or so, which was wonderful).
New prints
I have also been testing some new prints - I really like how these turned out. They’re all printed on the Hahnemuhle Photo Rag paper. I am no expert on paper, colour reproduction or, anything of that sort, so all I can feedback on is the tactile experience of having these prints. The prints and the paper itself is beautiful to hold. It has this heft and texture that has this really satisfying quality. Photo evidence of this below. And I also love the fine grain matt effect that it renders to prints. I think it reproduces my photos incredibly well and I am really excited to have these up and out on my walls. I also plan to put these up on my print store in the next few weeks.