Nostr notes by Robb

Was not expecting to see a new Motion City Soundtrack song, let ...

2025-06-17T19:54:34Z

Was not expecting to see a new Motion City Soundtrack song, let alone a new album. It's good to see Justin has recovered enough to be dancing about again

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qkwP8KsnvrI

Respectfully, I disagree. One of the purposes of a beta is to ...

2025-06-08T08:54:36Z

In reply to nevent1q…k3r3
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Respectfully, I disagree. One of the purposes of a beta is to identify issues and improve software so, in that regard, constructive criticism should be welcomed. I also think it is a fair request that good html semantics should be the default rather than an opt-in. Kevin's video is not the only instance of this output so, if the lack of semantics is indeed down to user error, then steps should be taken to mitigate user error in future releases

Thanks so much for reading. I definitely spent the early part of ...

2025-06-06T14:19:41Z

In reply to nevent1q…cew7
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Thanks so much for reading. I definitely spent the early part of my career trying to do too much on my own and I realise now that it never really felt safe. Knowing that I can support, and be supported by, others who are far better placed to do something than me is such a comfort

Thanks so much for reading, Michelle, and I'm sorry to hear ...

2025-06-03T11:30:07Z

In reply to nevent1q…mk2y
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Thanks so much for reading, Michelle, and I'm sorry to hear that you're feeling it too. Your writing on CSS irl (and elsewhere) has always been such a fantastic and thoughtful resource for the community. Here's hoping that CSS Day lights a fire for you

Thanks for reading, and the kind words. I really appreciate it!

2025-06-03T10:02:22Z

In reply to nevent1q…qgss
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Thanks for reading, and the kind words. I really appreciate it!

Back when I was finding my feet in tech everybody was buzzing ...

2025-06-03T07:04:38Z

Back when I was finding my feet in tech everybody was buzzing about building positive change. Somewhere along the way, something changed. Fortunately for us though, tech is not the first industry forced to defend itself against dubious practices.

What might we learn if we were to look elsewhere?

https://robbowen.digital/wrote-about/looking-elsewhere/

Thanks for sharing! 🙌

2025-06-03T07:03:42Z

In reply to nevent1q…2gvg
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Thanks for sharing! 🙌

🌆 v0.1.17 of Synthwave '84 is now available on the VS Code ...

2024-10-31T10:33:40Z

In reply to nevent1q…rgh9
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🌆 v0.1.17 of Synthwave '84 is now available on the VS Code Marketplace

Fixes the glow in VS code v1.95.0

https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/items?itemName=RobbOwen.synthwave-vscode

Phew, looks like the lights are back on - I've just published ...

2024-10-23T11:45:29Z

Phew, looks like the lights are back on - I've just published a community fix to Synthwave '84 to the marketplace. The glow should be working again in VS Code ^1.94.0.

Coincidentally, in updating the theme I noticed that it has recently passed 2 million installs...which absolutely blows my mind

Who does that, seriously

2024-10-16T19:50:58Z

In reply to nevent1q…dmau
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Who does that, seriously

Honouring a timeless tradition by getting sick the day after a ...

2024-10-16T10:58:09Z

Honouring a timeless tradition by getting sick the day after a contract finishes

Transcending the "are we the baddies" phase in favour of ...

2024-10-12T20:23:44Z

Transcending the "are we the baddies" phase in favour of fast-tracking "for me, it was Tuesday" levels of cartoon villainy

Honestly, I'm so fucking embarrassed by our industry lately

2024-10-12T19:52:19Z

In reply to nevent1q…elxu
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Honestly, I'm so fucking embarrassed by our industry lately

Happy Thursday! Please have some often-odd and sometimes-sleazy, ...

2024-10-10T08:03:23Z

Happy Thursday! Please have some often-odd and sometimes-sleazy, Norwegian jazz-funk to start the day:

https://album.link/s/2rqDOzIStz7SBh4Q02NbsK

As sure as night follows day, the tide of random direct messages ...

2024-10-07T10:13:22Z

As sure as night follows day, the tide of random direct messages to my instagram let me know that Synthwave '84 has broken with the latest VS code update

Credit where it's due: Google Japan's hardware shitposts ...

2024-10-05T20:14:08Z

Credit where it's due: Google Japan's hardware shitposts are just on another level

https://youtu.be/EHqPrHTN1dU

A very happy Kanelbullens dag / Korvapuustipäivä, to all who ...

2024-10-04T11:05:32Z

A very happy Kanelbullens dag / Korvapuustipäivä, to all who celebrate

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cinnamon_Roll_Day

It's a proper crisp Autumnal day today and, to me, that has ...

2024-10-03T11:10:10Z

It's a proper crisp Autumnal day today and, to me, that has *never meant* anything more than a playlist full of jangly mid-west emo and math rock guitars.

Today's find is this track from Osaka based Cloud nine:

https://cloud-nine-9.bandcamp.com/album/passage-of-time

Just head ChatGPT described as a "reasonable-looking-text ...

2024-10-03T08:47:30Z

Just head ChatGPT described as a "reasonable-looking-text emulator" and that's just about perfect

Thanks for sharing, I'll give it a read!

2024-10-01T17:05:10Z

In reply to nevent1q…6gr7
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Thanks for sharing, I'll give it a read!

By presentational in this case, I mean repeatable markup with no ...

2024-10-01T17:00:55Z

In reply to nevent1q…4qys
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By presentational in this case, I mean repeatable markup with no real functionality. i.e. you could copy-paste the markup but dropping props into a React or Vue component is more pleasant.

If I were working without a JS framework though, I'd be more inclined to reach for a server-side partial to repeat markup rather than create a custom element with shadowDOM or whatever. Like you say, it's JS overhead for something that can be achieved on the server

Well, Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom is Nintendo once again flexing that ...

2024-09-29T17:27:46Z

Well, Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom is Nintendo once again flexing that they know how to build a decent design system

When I get an empty website I like to play a quick round of ...

2024-09-27T06:54:40Z

In reply to nevent1q…qmfe
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When I get an empty website I like to play a quick round of devtools golf with the console errors

On my way to Bristol for WDC. Already had one train delayed. ...

2024-09-27T06:27:01Z

On my way to Bristol for WDC. Already had one train delayed. Drove to another station but missed the connection train. Now waiting for the next. Not sure how I used to do this route every day. Very glad for remote work

I first wrote this satire of the tech industry 14 years ago, but ...

2024-09-26T06:22:46Z

In reply to nevent1q…vh22
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I first wrote this satire of the tech industry 14 years ago, but updating a few specific tech references was all it took to keep it current. One thing I never changed though, was the line "I keep my Ray Bans on", which been there since 2010.

Anyhow, this photo made reminded me of that

https://departures.robbowen.digital/oh-you-make-websites/

Spec Ops: the line got yanked from every digital storefront and ...

2024-09-24T21:52:07Z

In reply to nevent1q…jgkr
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Spec Ops: the line got yanked from every digital storefront and is essentially gone now because it used the Jimi Hendrix cover of star spangles banner on the menu

Ok, a compromise. If you need to change a song at an iconic ...

2024-09-24T21:44:47Z

In reply to nevent1q…tjy6
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Ok, a compromise. If you need to change a song at an iconic moment, it defaults to Walk of Life by Dire Straits. It's already a proven formula:

https://www.wolproject.com/

Yeah, I guess it depends on how quickly they come to market. ...

2024-09-24T21:39:12Z

In reply to nevent1q…4u08
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Yeah, I guess it depends on how quickly they come to market. Licensing is super weird to me. I've heard that quite a few made-for-streaming shows even swap out songs depending on the region you watch them in. It's wild

"Does that answer your question? Sincerely yours, the ...

2024-09-24T21:32:41Z

In reply to nevent1q…97nq
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"Does that answer your question? Sincerely yours, the Breakfast Club"

[John strides across the football field with his fist in the air as Forgot About Dre plays defiantly]

[Diane gets up from the bed and walks to the window. Outside, ...

2024-09-24T21:21:06Z

In reply to nevent1q…sa40
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[Diane gets up from the bed and walks to the window. Outside, Lloyd is stood in front of his Chevy Malibu sedan, holding a boom box above his head]

🎵 Boom, boom, boom, boom
I want you in my room
Let's spend the night together
From now until forever 🎶

"Marla, look at me, I'm really ok. Trust me, everything ...

2024-09-24T21:12:16Z

In reply to nevent1q…tjy6
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"Marla, look at me, I'm really ok. Trust me, everything is going to be fine"

[Explosions flash in the distance and How You Remind Me by Nickelback plays as the buildings fall]

"You met me at a very strange time in my life"

Removing or changing licensed music in old movies and TV shows ...

2024-09-24T20:55:21Z

Removing or changing licensed music in old movies and TV shows when they're added to streaming services feels like another notch on my ever growing list of reasons to return to physical media

https://www.polygon.com/explained/448860/music-video-game-tv-licensing-rights-problems

Also, ffs. "tech-broroboros" was right there.

2024-09-24T11:15:24Z

In reply to nevent1q…syj3
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Also, ffs. "tech-broroboros" was right there.

IT feels to me like the web industry has gotten into such an ...

2024-09-24T10:42:37Z

IT feels to me like the web industry has gotten into such an uninspiring feedback loop of startups that exist only to profit off of other startups. Sure we used be flooded with "Airbnb for dog sitting" pitches, but at least they were funny. These days it's little more than a tech-bro ouroboros

Hell yeah! I love whimsical. The mind mapping is fantastic, and ...

2024-09-24T08:21:43Z

In reply to nevent1q…3tfg
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Hell yeah! I love whimsical. The mind mapping is fantastic, and I've found the flowcharts are really useful for modelling components, TS types and their dependencies

I'd be interested in this too. I always feel like I see lots ...

2024-09-24T08:18:48Z

In reply to nevent1q…3tj4
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I'd be interested in this too. I always feel like I see lots of people asking what Remarkable is like and never anyone who has one. They seem really cool, but opinions are super sparse

The Greatest Generation is probably my favourite and absolutely ...

2024-09-23T19:49:06Z

In reply to nevent1q…2wse
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The Greatest Generation is probably my favourite and absolutely works best if you listen through as a whole album from start to finish

https://album.link/s/7q9crgUsEy4Clq2B77ijN9

God damn, I love The Wonder Years. It's been too long since I ...

2024-09-23T19:32:18Z

God damn, I love The Wonder Years. It's been too long since I saw them live

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HFRxGQ7wfOk

👋

2024-09-23T18:45:18Z

In reply to nevent1q…w8fs
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👋

Just randomly got talking with someone in a rural Welsh pub who ...

2024-09-20T19:42:34Z

Just randomly got talking with someone in a rural Welsh pub who turned out to have taught English in the same area of rural Japan as one of my good friends. It's a small world

Krazam never miss https://youtu.be/dLTUqPue9sQ

2024-09-18T16:11:52Z

Krazam never miss

https://youtu.be/dLTUqPue9sQ

I do love this city ...

2024-09-18T15:52:45Z

In reply to nevent1q…ptdf
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I do love this city

Amusingly, if you're coding in a language that supports utf8 ...

2024-09-18T14:20:30Z

In reply to nevent1q…y7u8
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Amusingly, if you're coding in a language that supports utf8 variables, it's only four: ほげほげ

As terrible as they are, foo, bar and baz are not universal. In ...

2024-09-18T12:51:50Z

As terrible as they are, foo, bar and baz are not universal. In Japanese language code examples it's common to see hoge, fuga, hogera and hogehoge.

Y'know, in case so you want to make code examples confusing in multiple languages

I am. Came with the intention of doing a bit of work with a ...

2024-09-18T11:36:37Z

In reply to nevent1q…zyz8
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I am. Came with the intention of doing a bit of work with a change of scenery, but that scenery has now totally distracted me. The weather is perfect; warm sun, cool breeze and changing leaves. Love it

Nostr event nevent1qqsf9l3tujtpuhq20a2g39y0qmwf5w03csm56l6y028u0tljvgxlh3szyqw4fyuqascx4jp5n8gsadxl3nkwe54yt8dvgdkj43k8zxje3rck7jr8f5j

2024-09-18T11:25:35Z

Cardiff in the early autumn is lush 🍂

This is so, so good. The view transitions really bring it to ...

2024-09-17T15:39:20Z

In reply to nevent1q…h2mz
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This is so, so good. The view transitions really bring it to life!

I still can't listen to Bright Eyes and few things give me ...

2024-09-17T12:39:54Z

In reply to nevent1q…zm7q
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I still can't listen to Bright Eyes and few things give me panic like "there's a dog loose in the woods"

It's actually about to have a 4k rerelease in cinemas next month. Thanks but no thanks

I rate it alongside the 70s Watership Down as one of the most ...

2024-09-17T12:05:58Z

In reply to nevent1q…cvkc
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I rate it alongside the 70s Watership Down as one of the most harrowing animated movies in existence

When I was a student in Tokyo I remember coming home from class ...

2024-09-17T12:03:34Z

In reply to nevent1q…3ncd
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When I was a student in Tokyo I remember coming home from class to find one of my housemates ugly-snot-crying in the kitchen. When I asked him what the hell had happened he just pointed at the Grave of the Fireflies DVD lying next to the TV. Understandable tbh

Just noticed Grave of the Fireflies has finally been added to UK ...

2024-09-17T11:57:56Z

Just noticed Grave of the Fireflies has finally been added to UK Netflix. Worth a watch if you're in the mood to be absolutely emotionally ruined for a while

One of the biggest things has been presentational VS. functional ...

2024-09-17T10:30:47Z

In reply to nevent1q…uzxm
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One of the biggest things has been presentational VS. functional components. By 'presentational' I mean something like a Card - it doesn't necessarily have any special functionality but it's repeated enough that wrapping markup in a `<Card>` component feels good. That mental-model is at odds with web components though as you still need to repeat all of the internal markup.

Thing is, we had these presentational components before React. They were server-side and we called them partials or macros

I've been tinkering with web components again recently and it ...

2024-09-17T10:20:48Z

I've been tinkering with web components again recently and it has been a great experience. I think the biggest challenge has actually been breaking the prop-heavy React / Vue / Whatever framework mindset on how pages and components should be composed and populated.

Of all the knock-on effects that JS frameworks have had, turns out that deeply messing with my two-decade-long mental model of server-side data flow is the most egregious

The movie and the song have been stuck in my head ever since haha

2024-09-16T17:36:59Z

In reply to nevent1q…0use
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The movie and the song have been stuck in my head ever since haha

PSA to go watch Robot Dreams. It's ace - beautifully animated ...

2024-09-15T21:48:57Z

PSA to go watch Robot Dreams. It's ace - beautifully animated and a surprisingly deep story about companionship and loneliness with almost no dialogue

https://youtu.be/hsJN20f9uAg

Surprisingly, I only took one whilst we were waiting for the veg ...

2024-09-08T22:54:22Z

In reply to nevent1q…75qt
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Surprisingly, I only took one whilst we were waiting for the veg to come out, and then neglected to take one after. The beef was perfectly cooked and the roasties were crispy on the outside and buttery inside. Perfick

She says hi too! 👋 We actually haven't been for a roast in ...

2024-09-08T20:52:53Z

In reply to nevent1q…sewe
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She says hi too! 👋

We actually haven't been for a roast in ages but since the weather suddenly turned very autumnal, it felt almost mandatory. It didn't disappoint. Hopefully when you next get to have one it'll be equally satisfying

I can relate. Feels like it's gotten really bad lately too - ...

2024-09-08T20:43:28Z

In reply to nevent1q…lr2p
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I can relate. Feels like it's gotten really bad lately too - We tend to watch on our TV and every ad break is at least 50 seconds of unskippable guff

Today my partner and I drove to a country pub just outside of ...

2024-09-08T20:36:07Z

Today my partner and I drove to a country pub just outside of town for a Sunday roast. I haven't been there for years and it turned out to be much better than I remembered.

After we got home we decided to go for a walk in the rain and ended up going up through a beautiful old forest, over the hills and back to the pub for another pint. Perfect Sunday.

Fully agree. A great photo is a great photo regardless of the ...

2024-09-08T20:17:43Z

In reply to nevent1q…yrfw
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Fully agree. A great photo is a great photo regardless of the tech behind it. But "great" is also subjective to the mood and circumstances that led to the photo. That is mostly my beef with phone cameras - more often than I'd like they aren't capturing moments as I remember them happening

Haha yeah I came to the understanding that sometimes I'm my ...

2024-09-08T19:41:19Z

In reply to nevent1q…l5uh
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Haha yeah I came to the understanding that sometimes I'm my own worst enemy when it comes to doing the convenient thing.

I'm finding that just having a camera with me makes me want to use it to justify carrying the extra weight. It's definitely a good step to take!

I have had DSLR and mirrorless cameras that I love, but the ...

2024-09-08T18:44:53Z

In reply to nevent1q…0eje
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I have had DSLR and mirrorless cameras that I love, but the convenience of a phone camera always seems to win out.

That said, all of the increased post-processing colour tweaks or unintentional compositing on modern phones left me with a bad taste. The new AI additions that capture moments that didn't happen were the last straw though, so I decided to upgrade to a phone with a 'bad' camera.

The upshot is that I always carry a camera in my bag now

Really sorry for implying you didn't understand the words, ...

2024-09-06T15:09:17Z

In reply to nevent1q…3zhk
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Really sorry for implying you didn't understand the words, that wasn't my intention. I got a bit over-excited by a syntax question on my TL and clumsily tried to explain my understanding of how they're used together.

I've read A-not-A grammar can imply a speaker is unsure of a particular outcome which has a knock-on effect of making the question less direct.

I can't say if hedging questions equates politeness in Bahasa Indonesia though as I don't have enough cultural experience yet.

I'm new to the language, but my understanding as a ...

2024-09-06T09:09:51Z

In reply to nevent1q…sq2q
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I'm new to the language, but my understanding as a linguistics and grammar nerd:

Belum is an imperfective aspect marker. Here, it's showing that the verb is incomplete or hasn't started. Sudah is almost the opposite. Being the perfective marker, it's showing the action is completed.

Putting them together introduces a question condition. Literally: Bill ours complete being-paid incomplete?

Aspect is muddy in English so the translation uses yet to signify the possibility of either outcome

Happy birthday!

2024-09-03T06:37:29Z

In reply to nevent1q…l863
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Happy birthday!

I've never heard of that app, but that price is a really good ...

2024-09-02T13:59:59Z

In reply to nevent1q…a23y
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I've never heard of that app, but that price is a really good shout. Do you get full access library with webfonts for that price?

Accented Cinema is one of my favourite movie analysis channels. ...

2024-09-02T09:25:06Z

Accented Cinema is one of my favourite movie analysis channels. The latest episode is fantastic (though, if you haven't seen it yet, I'd advise watching Monster first because it's a masterpiece)

https://youtu.be/mDIxX2n6JBk

This has me questioning the contents of the neon pink latte that ...

2024-09-02T08:15:29Z

In reply to nevent1q…dduh
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This has me questioning the contents of the neon pink latte that one of my local cafes serves

Yeah, I think that's probably the way forward. Not all ...

2024-09-01T14:31:12Z

In reply to nevent1q…sk59
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Yeah, I think that's probably the way forward.

Not all foundries offer trial fonts and I think I liked typekit for the experimentation angle more than anything else. I like to design in the browser and it was great having access to such a huge library of typefaces during the early exploration stages

Does anyone know of it's possible to get Adobe Fonts without ...

2024-09-01T12:21:37Z

Does anyone know of it's possible to get Adobe Fonts without buying an app subscription? I know it used to be but the creative cloud website is an unintelligible crapheap lately.

I just want access to sweet webfonts but I have no real use for any of Adobe's apps 😅

Michael Sheen on how he'd receive giving advice to his ...

2024-08-31T07:50:36Z

Michael Sheen on how he'd receive giving advice to his younger self:

To say, ‘I love living, I embrace living.’ (…) you have to embrace all the pain, all the grief, all the sadness, all the fucking mistakes because without that you don’t have all the other stuff. And I’d hate it if someone came and went, ‘Don’t do this, no do that.’ Then you just sail through your life. It would be death, wouldn’t it? So I’d tell my older self to go fuck himself

https://www.theguardian.com/culture/article/2024/aug/31/michael-sheen-on-politics-performing-parenting

The creator of One Million Checkboxes just posted a video about ...

2024-08-30T08:52:58Z

The creator of One Million Checkboxes just posted a video about how a group of people left a message on the website. This is awesome

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OI4DbECnp8A

Ah nice! I was a Lagom reader, but somehow had no idea that ...

2024-08-27T14:34:47Z

In reply to nevent1q…0y9t
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Ah nice! I was a Lagom reader, but somehow had no idea that you'd been involved in that book - it looked fantastic

Oh yeah, 100%. Koreeda is probably one of my favourite directors ...

2024-08-26T16:38:22Z

In reply to nevent1q…zz5x
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Oh yeah, 100%. Koreeda is probably one of my favourite directors of recent years; just consistently brilliant storytelling and pretty much the reason why I've become such a big fan of that kind of slower movie. Ryusuke Hamaguchi is probably a close second favourite

I watched Monster very recently and it's a fantastic movie. I ...

2024-08-26T12:25:15Z

In reply to nevent1q…fpva
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I watched Monster very recently and it's a fantastic movie. I was thinking about it for a long time afterwards

Thanks for sharing! I absolutely love Attaché's videos. The ...

2024-08-26T11:15:39Z

In reply to nevent1q…3c6f
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Thanks for sharing! I absolutely love Attaché's videos. The recent Hong Kong episode was incredible work

Can you imagine if your armchair collapsed – just straight-up ...

2024-08-17T07:45:57Z

Can you imagine if your armchair collapsed – just straight-up exploded under your butt – and the maker was like "we were happy to sacrifice performance for a nicer carpenter experience (CX)"