August 2026 Round Up
The heat finally broke with rolling thunderstorms at the end of the month. August was a suspended month, a breath hold as wildfires raged nearby.
I find it impossible to understand how anyone can deny climate change. This year has felt like the prophecy fulfilled, the results of our decisions coming home.
I think a lot of the quote that went viral in 2022 (author unknown):
Climate change will manifest as a series of disasters viewed through phones with footage that gets closer and closer to where you live until you’re the one filming it.
Life
How cool was the eclipse? Even though it was only partial it still felt awesome in the old sense of the word - inspiring awe, something much larger than our small bodies. I went up a hill near me and chatted to a family who were very generous with their eclipse glasses. Thanks to them I saw when it hit 90% which was magical.
I've started jogging to my own great surprise I hate running, but need to do some cardio and often wake up too late to go to the gym. So I followed couch to 5k, somehow stumbling through to complete it. I still hate running, but at least I can go for half an hour now.
After living in our house for 9 months now, we are starting to make some changes. New doors and new table. It feels good to adapt our space to fit our needs.
Books
Only one book completed this month because I'm reading four or five at once.
Starve Acre by Andrew Michael Hurley is a folk horror novella about grief and how it can shatter people. What I enjoy about Hurley's writing is the taughtness, with not a moment wasted. This book is a clockwork tragedy, each element accelerating towards a conclusion that is both shocking and expected.
Films
Project Hail Mary is a fun sci-fi film about a high school teacher encountering an alien in the depths of space. Alternating between preparation for the mission and the mission itself, its a fun film with some interesting science backing it. The visuals are often stunning, with practical effects for the alien giving it a weight that is rare. Maybe it owes a bit too much of a debt to Contact and Interstellar, but its a good film.
Speaking of Christopher Nolan, we went to see The Odyssey in the cinema. I thought it was well done and spectacular in a way many modern films aren't. Despite knowing the story, you really felt the peril and the tension of the journey. I'm glad I read Emily Wilson's translation earlier in the year. However, the overall message is a little muddled- in this version, Odysseus is a war criminal - but its OK because he feels bad about it - but then he does more murder? I wouldn't have minded if it made Odysseus an anti-hero, but the film tried to have it both ways. Still though, for a three hour film I found it zipped along.
Music
Went to see Jimmy Eat World at Cardiff Castle. They're my wife's favourite band and usually tour smaller venues, so it was a delight to see them in a larger crowd. Having loads of people since along to the songs from Bleed America was a delight and felt euphoric.
Final Thoughts
Erasure poem taken from The London Review of Books.
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