Experimental - Day 3 May 2022 Photoblogging Challenge - My Rocketbook notebook experiment is going well.
Photo - Day 2 May 2022 Photoblogging Challenge
Watching Richard Linklater’s 2006 animated adaptation of the Philip K. Dick novel A SCANNER DARKLY on The Criterion Channel. 🎥
Switch - May 2022 Photoblogging Challenge Day 1. 📷
Best new-to-film films watched in April 2022:
ZERO FUCKS GIVEN (2021), NIGHTMARE ALLEY (2021), LATE SPRING (1949), THE FEMALE CLOSET (1998), ALL IN THIS TEA (2007), FUTURA (2021), A BROTHER’S LOVE (2019), COLMA: THE MUSICAL (2006).
Growing with a Click and Grow System
I love having fresh produce that I grow myself, but I haven’t had great luck as a gardener. Last year I bought a Click and Grow system to make growing smaller things easier.
Several times a year there are sales and during one of the sales I purchased three 9 pod systems and a shelving unit. This allows me to have 27 plants growing at a time.
The system is built around pods that are filled with a mix of soil, fertilizer, and seeds. You purchase the pods and put them in the sytem and then add water. As you start growing you put a small plastic dome over the top of the pod until it sprouts and the plant starts to touch the dome. Then you just have keep watering and doing some trimming depending on the plant.
The LED lights on the system that I have stay on for 16 hours after you plug the unit in. So I made sure to plug it in first thing in the morning when I got up and now it’s synchronized with my day. With the mix of light that it provides it may provide some of the benefits of a SAD lamp during the darker winter months and in the morning I usually don’t need to turn the lights on in the kitchen as the units provide a lot of light.
There is an app that lets you keep track of progress and gives you tips as the plants grow. You can order more pods or subscribe (at a discount) and have pods shipped to you regularly. You can change the mix of what you get for each shipment, so that allows you to try out different things.
I love having fresh herbs (especially basil) so now I’m mainly growing herbs and salad greens. The plants range in growing time from just over a month for lettuce to 3 months for things like tomatoes or peppers.
The key is to try to get the balance right for when things are growing and when they can be harvested to make sure that you always have things that you want.
The water reservoir has a simple floating cover that lets you know how much water is in each unit, so it’s very easy to see if you need to add water. If you don’t want to use the pods they sell there are “Grow Anything” pods that have the soil and fertilizer and you add your own seeds.
I try to make sure that there is always some basil and lettuce ready to harvest with other herbs and some flowers growing to provide a bit of variety. It’s no substitute for a full outdoor garden with larger plants, but for some greens and herbs it is wonderful for me. 🌱
Watching Nicholas Ray’s dark and disturbing 1956 film Bigger Than Life on TCM. 🎥
Loved the second season of Russian Doll. Great writing and acting and a sense of humour and humanity. Seven perfect episodes expanding the ideas of the first season.
Watching Monia Chokri’s 2019 film A BROTHER’S LOVE on Netflix. 🎥
Watching Věra Chytilová’s anarchic, subversive, and surreal 1966 film DAISIES again on The Criterion Channel. 🎥
Watching Angela Schanelec’s extraordinary and intricately-composed 2010 film ORLY on MUBI. 🎥
Had a nice start to the Spring term today. During the next 5 weeks the year 1 students of Screen Arts at NSCC will be divided into 3 crews with each making 2 films. It’s a lot of work and I really enjoy helping them create stuff.
So glad to have the warm and supportive community that is built around micro.blog. For those who feel that the large short form communication site isn’t for them any more, you should check out micro.blog to see if it is for you.
At the halfway point in the new season of Russian Doll and really enjoying it so far.
Making some Vegan Burritos for supper (they’re filled with walnuts, black beans, and rice).
Watching the 2021 Italian documentary Futura directed by Pietro Marcello, Francesco Munzi, and Alice Rohrwacher on MUBI. 🎥🇮🇹
View through a curtain last night.
Watching the 2007 documentary film ALL IN THIS TEA directed by the great Les Blank. 🎥🫖
Evening loaf of sourdough after an extra long rise due to a power failure today.
Really enjoying the new season of Better Call Saul and it’s been so fascinating to watch knowing generally where things end up but it’s filled with suspense and great characters and surprises.
Watching the 2017 documentary about the late Gilbert Gottfried – GILBERT directed by Neil Berkeley. 🎥
Roxy Music the cat enjoying some morning sun.
Close up with a loaf of bread.
Watching Chantal Akerman’s brilliant 1978 film THE MEETINGS OF ANNA on The Criterion Channel. 🎥
Crocuses
