Tag Archives: work

Gentlemanly pursuits and David Graeber’s ‘Bullshit Jobs’

Posted on 11/08/2024 by alasdairflett

Woodside Library has a “take a book, recommend a book shelf”. I’ve borrowed from it multiple times. The last time I did so, I picked up David Graeber’s Bullshit Jobs and recommended North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell. I had … Continue reading →

Posted in Review | Tagged 19th century, bullshit jobs, capitalism, David Graeber, dignity, Edith Wharton, ideology, Literature, Review, society, The Age of Innocence, UBI, universal basic income, work | 2 Comments

On a Central European vibe

Posted on 10/03/2024 by alasdairflett

I am nearing the end of a beginner’s course in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. I decided to try it after watching many Breathe and Flow yoga videos on YouTube where the guy (Florian) frequently mentions how his yoga practice feeds into the … Continue reading →

Posted in Life, Review | Tagged All of Us Strangers, Austria-Hungary, bjj, brazilian-jiu-jitsu, cathedral, Central Europe, film, fitness, Glasgow, Good Solider Svek, jiu-jitsu, life, Literature, martial-arts, Review, Sandra Huller, work, yoga, Zone of Interest | 1 Comment

Orfeo

Posted on 27/10/2019 by alasdairflett

Sixty mile an hour gusts subsided; it was time to reopen the village. First, however, I would be consigned to the till, and stock reshuffling – replenishing puffin fledglings from a partially barren wicker basket and depositing fresh ova in … Continue reading →

Posted in Entertainment, Life, Music | Tagged art, bird-scaring rattle, Brodgar, drone, harmonium, life, Neolithic, Norn, Orfeo, Orkney, Skaill, Skara Brae, Tolkien, Vikings, work | Leave a comment

1979

Posted on 25/08/2019 by alasdairflett

I do not mean our political and civil liberties. They will endure. […] The threat is nearly invisible in ordinary ways. It is a crisis of confidence. It is a crisis that strikes at the very heart and soul and … Continue reading →

Posted in Life, Personal experience, Politics | Tagged 1979, 20th Century Women, feminism, history, HyperNormalisation, Ian Curtis, Jimmy Carter, Joy Division, life, Neolithic, Scotland, Skara Brae, work | Leave a comment

Brilliant yellow tinged with melancholy

Posted on 19/05/2019 by alasdairflett

University: complete. The opening of a new chapter, as they say. Of course, there are conditionals. A possible return is not ruled out in the long term, but for now postgraduate study is not in the immediate pipeline. What is … Continue reading →

Posted in Life, Personal experience | Tagged day drinking, diet, Edinburgh, employment, future, Game of Thrones, life, news, Student, University, work | Leave a comment

Auf Wiedersehen, Herr Flett

Posted on 25/02/2018 by alasdairflett

Ah, Sunday. A fine day for reflection and calm, quiet contemplation. In Germany a brief respite from consumerism (also perhaps an inconvenience). Additionally, and purely coincidentally, you understand, optimal for the garnering of likes as the weekend’s accomplishments tie together … Continue reading →

Posted in Life, Personal experience | Tagged British Council, German, Germany, Hamburg, indie, journal, journalism, laundry, Leipzig, life, Literature, news, Sunday, University, work | 1 Comment

On Orwell

Posted on 28/01/2018 by alasdairflett

I don’t know if you know or don’t know but I’m currently living and, ostensibly, working in Germany as part of my Year Abroad from the University of Edinburgh. Hence weird gushing praise of Burns, hence the invocation of glorious … Continue reading →

Posted in Life, Personal experience, Politics | Tagged Burns, Edinburgh, George Orwell, German, Germany, life, philosophy, Vikings, work, year abroad | 1 Comment

The rise of hyphenates and the demise of icons

Posted on 29/12/2016 by alasdairflett

As the concluding hours tick down on what to many has seemed a fairly dismal lap around the sun politically and in terms of “iconic” deaths I thought it was time to add my evaluation to the numerous top tens, … Continue reading →

Posted in Entertainment, Life, Music, Politics | Tagged 2016, Berlin, Edinburgh, exams, flats, Frankenstein, Fringe, German, Glasgow, Honeyblood, journalism, life, Motion Poets, Orkney, St Magnus Festival, Twin Peaks, Warpaint, We Were Promised Jetpacks, work | Leave a comment