Nostalgia Dorks @nostalgiadorks - Tumblr Blog

Why I want to listen to music again

I was listening to a podcast today... And it made me really want to listen to music again!

I was listening to the Pitchfork Review podcast about why we listen to new music on my run today. It really got me thinking about how important music is to how we make sense of the world.

Discovering new music, curating playlists by months and seasons, sharing music with friends, seeing bands play live… When you spend time engaging with music like this, it becomes part of your daily rhythm and…

View On WordPress

My poh poh's place on 35mm film

My poh poh’s place on 35mm film

My poh poh lives in one of the two iconic 14-storey buildings (sahpseilau 十四樓) in Seremban, Malaysia. It’s difficult to describe what it feels like to visit her as an adult these days.

There’s this visceral sense of history and belonging and reverence when I come here. It reminds me of how hard my family has worked so I could have the opportunities I have in Australia.

I feel it when I…

View On WordPress

Reflections on 35mm film

I remember walking around this pond as a youngster with my sister and my granddad, looking at the animals while munching on burgers and chips from the A&W nearby, where I had my 1st birthday party.

Returning here nowadays reminds me of the scene in Catcher In The Rye where Holden goes to the museum and everything is the same as last time he visited. But, of course, this is not the case – you…

View On WordPress

The End of History

When I was at uni studying International Relations, I learnt about “The End of History”, a book written by American political scientist Francis Fukuyama in 1992. Western liberal democracy had triumphed over the communist alternative after decades of tension. So, as far as Fukuyama saw it, we had officially reached the “end-point of mankind's ideological evolution”.

I was never drawn to “The End of History”. I think Fukuyama’s argument is a symptom of the silent fascism the sustains the capitalist orthodoxy. I think his reading of history overlooks the fact that there exist many different ways of doing capitalism and that culture impacts hugely on how countries are run. Not to mention that corruption is everywhere and undermines every democracy.

I’m now in my late 20s and I’ve entered into a wonderful moment where I feel so content and calm about my life - my work, my relationships, my body, my future - that I think I could write a book called “The End Of History”, too!

Which makes me wonder what Fukuyama was going through when he wrote his book. At the time, he was coming to the end of his 30s. So, maybe he didn’t feel the young people itches anymore and maybe he didn’t feel the mid-life crisis coming on yet, either.

Whatever it is, I just don’t believe anything lasts forever like Fukuyama does. And things never happen just because of fate. FF has since written a new book called, “Identity: The Demand for Dignity and the Politics of Resentment”, where he essentially laments how identity politics is posing a key threat to liberalism (classic boomer garbage!).

Additionally, I never want my contentedness to turn into complacency. I’m conscious of the fact that life can seem pretty easy when all I’m thinking about is where my next holiday will be or when Betoota Advocate is my main source of news.

Now is a great time for me to enjoy myself (great job, living with my partner in the inner suburbs - double income, no kids). But I also want to take this time to identify what’s going to be my next challenge. And I want to help bring an end to Fukuyama’s concept of history, too!

What I Thought a Man Should Be by Tim Siow

"What I Thought A Man Should Be" is a podcast story I made about one of the most driven people I know, Adry. He reflects his experience with cancer in his final year of high school, and how that changed his ideas on what it means to be a man.

When your physical health breaks down it can tear other parts of you down with it. Adry’s world was turned upside down by a shock cancer diagnosis. It was a scary, dark time for him. But he came out the other side with some important lessons about the value of being vulnerable, and opening up to his mates.

All The Best podcast

“What I Thought A Man Should Be” is my second podcast story for All…

View On WordPress

Sun bleach & rust

The colours of Glenelg, South Australia. Photos taken on 35mm film in January 2018. It’s currently August 2019 and it’s usually around this time I start yearning for summer.

View On WordPress

Ins and outs

Social scenes shift as we change and grow. This is completely normal and, of course, expected.

So, when you find somebody new who fits, it feels both good and right!

And when you're ready to cut somebody loose, it feels both good and right!

Lost and found

For years, I took many reflective, introspective journeys.

I recognise now how I was just trying things on, leaning into discomfort and insecurity, looking for a way through the fog, searching for myself. I reified the idea of having clarity and aspired to attain a serene, bird’s-eye view of the world and of myself.

I’ve only recently realised that I’ve now found what I was looking for. Also, that now is the time to enjoy the fruits of my labour.

I made it... How cool is that!

When someone shows you their true colors, believe them.

6/8 resonating with me:

1. You feel like you're giving your all, and they've given nothing.

2. You can't ask for their advice or help.

3. They never ask you how that interview went, or how that first day of your new job was.

6. You've thought about it for a while.

7. You've talked to them about it before, and they don't listen or understand.

8. They go through friend after friend.

Why do I have so many photos of me standing in front of iconic Italian landmarks?

Is it because I’m vain? Of course, that’s gotta be part of it. But why I made such a point of asking strangers to take these photos of me comes from two places: my parents and an art exhibition called “Snapshot to WeChat: A Migration of Identity”, which I at the Open Eye Gallery in Liverpool, UK.

My parents

Growing up, my mum told us stories of how she and my dad went to Italy before we were…

View On WordPress

#Florence #Italy #Pisa #Rome

Cinque Terre: What's all the fuss about?

Thoughts on optimising leisure from Cinque Terre, Italy

Cinque Terre are five quaint villages in Liguria in north-west Italy. Tourism to the area has gone gangbusters in recent years with thousands of visitors flocking to hike the coastlines between the villages.

I happened to visit at the start of a week of heavy rain, which I was worried would mean I’d have a less than enjoyable experience. But it actually just meant I had the tracks largely to…

View On WordPress

#Cinque Terre #Italy

Thoughts on masculinity from Crosby Beach, UK

When I was on holidays in Europe, I got a train up the Mersey from Liverpool to Crosby. It was windy and unpleasant and these men who were fishing were the only people there at the time.

So I just started taking some photos of them. I thought it might make a nice little series because I was thinking of how this is a traditionally male space – this was after seeing Liverpool play at Anfield. I’d…

View On WordPress

#Crosby #Fishing #geocaching #Liverpool #Merseyside #UK #United Kingdom

40,000 Years Is A Long, Long Time...

40,000 Years Is A Long, Long Time…

I love hiding geocaches because I enjoy noticing things in my environment and guiding others to see what I see. My newest geocache, 40,000 Years Is A Long, Long Time…, is no different. The cache is hidden in Redfern, a neighbourhood that has historically been home to the Aboriginal community. But more recently, the area has been undergoing significant gentrification and many people walking…

View On WordPress

#Sydney

Sleep

My project for February has been to improve on my sleep. For as long as I can remember, I’ve always had problems with sleep. I’ve learnt how much better my “normal” can be. It’s making a real difference in my life and I feel a lot happier.

Complicated, emotional memories

Break-ups always shake up your life, don’t they?

My first big break-up was very difficult for me. But that all happened in the back-end of 2013, so I don’t remember anymore how much pain, anger and frustration I went through with that break-up. All I know is that I suppressed my memory of that time as a way to cope.

However, I’ve since (actually, only very recently) realised that suppressing memories of past relationships makes me feel as if I’ve lost big parts of myself. My exes might no longer be a part of my life today, but they played key roles in me becoming the person I am today. I ought to accept, remember and even celebrate them to help me feel whole in the present.

My second big break-up happened just half a year ago so I still remember the pain, anger and frustration. But, this time, I tried not to suppress my memory of our relationship. Actually, during this most recent break-up, I’ve allowed myself to play with painful or embarrassing or shameful memories - both things I’ve done and had done to me - from all my past relationships, and accept them back into the fold as part of my story (told you my realisation above was only very recent!).

Of course, it wasn’t easy to do this so soon after this most recent break-up - it was painful as hell - but I feel so much better for it nowadays.

When we ran into each other a couple weeks ago, I smiled!

You know when you run into an old friend who you don’t have anything in common with anymore or you might have even had a falling out but, nowadays, you just wish them all the best? That’s kinda what it was like.

The lead single from Antisocialites

“In Undertow” is a breakup song, albeit one set in the moment when the tears have started to dry out and the voice begins to calm after all the fighting and the shouting.

“You made a mistake you’d like to erase,” Rankin sings, before adding, “and I understand.”

Her empathy does have its limits: “There’s no turning back after what’s been said,” she declares in the chorus, as the song’s subliminal shoegaze drone sends her adrift into the fog of an uncertain future.

This year, we bring you to all corners of Latin America. Check out the full program for #SLAFF2017 now! http://thndr.me/VuiZRB

Trending Blogs

Recently Viewed Blogs

Nostalgia Dorks