Welcome aboard The Bus!
The Stop
In the spirit of the current season, today’s Bus Stop is a collection of five ‘Easter Eggs’ - interesting nuggets from around the internet I’ve uncovered over the last week or so.1
‘Méthode champenoise’ is the time-honoured and tedious technique used to make champagne - and other bottle-fermented sparkling wines. Check out this video for a step-by-step guide to the process: Méthode champenoise.
Michael Estrin’s Situation Normal is one of the best Substacks going and is always a pleasure to find in my inbox. Try it out:
Each year, Barack Obama releases a list of his favourite books. For an interesting article about this influential list - including an investigation into whether or not it’s really him producing it (spoiler alert: it is) - check this out: Obama Reading List
This video - Password123 - is a collection of real passwords that have been leaked over the last ten years on the dark web. Each password was run - unedited - through the text-to-image AI programme DALL-E 2, making for a rather interesting collection: Password123: Alone Howe
Here’s a great article about KISS - the only band ‘inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame whose output has been critically contemplated less … at least by the people who voted them in.’ It’s a fantastic read: The Life and Times of KISS. And, yes - you can shout it out loud: it’s hotter than hell.2
The Detour
Today’s Detour is to the trailer for Wes Anderson’s upcoming film, Asteroid City. I’m not an Anderson fan per se, but I do appreciate his aesthetic - and the colour palette in this trailer is amazing. Check it out!
The Recommendation
Today’s Recommendation is The Confessions of Saint Augustine (ca. 400 CE). A collection of 13 books, this ‘richly textured meditation by a middle-aged man (Augustine was in his early 40s when he wrote it) on the course and meaning of his own life,’ is thought to be the first Western autobiography. It’s beautifully written - and, whether you’re religious or not - is certainly worth a read for the insight it gives to one of history's most influential figures.3 Highly recommended.
The Sounds
Today’s playlist is composed of five tracks that fit the Francophile tone of the Méthode champenoise Easter Egg: ‘Un homme et une femme’ (Paul Mauriat, 1966), ‘Non, je ne regrette rien’ (Edith Piaf, 1960), ‘Surfing on a Rocket’ (Air, 2004), ‘Mon mec à moi’ (Patricia Kass, 1988) and ‘Bonnie and Clyde’ (Serge Gainsbourg and Brigitte Bardot, 1967).4 Enjoy!
The Thought
Today’s Thought is from Augustine’s Confessions:
‘Give me chastity and continence, but not yet.’
If you have a thought on this Thought - or any part of today’s issue - please leave a comment below:
And that’s the end of this Stop - I hope you enjoyed the diversion!
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Until the next Stop …
Except for Michael Estrin’s - I've been reading that for months.
If you know, you know.
Augustine will be the topic of a Bus Stop at some point, but in the meantime you can find out more about him here: St Augustine (Britannica).F
For a brilliant cover of ‘Bonnie and Clyde,’ check out Luna’s album Penthouse (1995) where it’s a ‘hidden’ track (remember those?!), with Stereolab’s Lætitia Sadier filling in for Bardot.
Ah, the St. Augustine quote I lived by for too much of my life, and my fave Edith Piaf song. Thanks!
Fun stuff--but your Asteroid City link is broken