Five things on CHRISTMAS DAY (aka FToF #156)

Things of note for the week ending Friday December 25th, 2015.

Things of note for the week ending Friday December 25th, 2015.

IT’S CHRIIIIIIIIIIIIIISTMAAAAAAAAS!!!!

Screen Shot 2015-12-25 at 18.17.04

Yes, I know it’s Christmas and yes, I know the last thing you’ll be doing is looking at email/the Internet. I was going to write some lark about how you shouldn’t worry about me as I wrote this several days ago etc…. but it wouldn’t be true. I am, as I type to you now, hurtling up the A505 to Norfolk for to see some extended family in a BARN of all things.

Quite fitting when you think about it.

Anyway, wherever you and whatever you’re doing, I hope you are having / have had a lovely Christmas. I’m scheduling this to go out shortly after Doctor Who (wasn’t it great/awful/brilliant/annoying – delete where applicable / add your own – EDIT: I LOVED IT) so I’m hoping you all will be fairly vino’d up and at the point of bursting by the time you read this (the rule is: if you can reach it, you can eat it).

So if if granny has slipped off into a nap and your rude uncle has gone down the pub with Dad, you’re more than allowed to sit and stare at your phone for a while.

On that note… to the things!

1. THE YEAR IN PICTURES

Screen Shot 2015-12-25 at 14.42.35\

The next edition of FToF will arrive on Jan 1st, 2016 so we may as well get all the year end round ups out of the way now, right? Remember when everyone used to go nuts for the YouTube one? Yeah, how time flies.

For me, the big round up I’d like to share is the admittedly somewhat sombre effort from the New York Times. I looked at this a few days ago and there were definitely a few tears.

Maybe save this one until after Christmas Day.

2. SAD TOPOGRAPHIES

Big love to my dear friend Zsa Zsa for this slice of Instagram fried gold.

Looking for somewhere to go when you’re feeling low? The relatively new Sad Topographies Instagram account is there for your every need.

Screen Shot 2015-12-25 at 15.08.16

Featuring such wonders as ‘KILL’, ‘PITY ME’, and ‘CRYING CHILD ISLAND’ (someone was definitely having a bad day that day), Sad Topographies really is quite brilliant.

Go check it out.

And on a kind of related note: aforementioned friend and discoverer of the above has recently kicked off an ambition to write every single day over on Medium. Strong start so far and definitely worth checking out if you fancy something different to read [every day], some of them are in fact that good that I’ve actually installed the Medium app just so I wouldn’t miss an edition. There’s some high praise indeed.

Remember, it is a marathon not a sprint but if y’all go subscribe/read/share/like or whatever, it’ll help drive my dear friend forward (no pressure, Frith). Plus! Did I mention it’s pretty good stuff?

See: quitting vs giving up for example.

3. ANDRE THE GIANT

Andre-the-Giant-The-Princess-Bride-570x434

Some of you know him as a fearsome WWF/E wrestler. Most of you should know him as the friendly giant Fezzik from The Princess Bride. A handful of you might even recognise him from the piece of graffiti / pop culture known simply as ‘OBEY‘.

However you know him, André Roussimoff, aka André the Giant, was a true wonder of the world. Earlier this week I happened across an article that was part of an ongoing serious known as Camera Obscura. The objective of which is to take a deep dive into a famous photograph that is seemingly ‘inexplicable’.

The photo in question for this article?

This one – of Roussimoff’s maw clutching a beer can.

It’s a wonderful photo.

andre

What’s more, the story behind it is truly quite lovely.

It begins:

There are 42 half- or full-page ads in the December 21, 1981 issue of Sports Illustrated, and 29 of them are for alcohol or cigarettes. But that two page photo spread featuring what appears to be a new miniature version of the Molson beer can? It’s not an ad at all. It’s the opening image to an amazing story about one of the largest characters the world has ever known: André Roussimoff, aka André the Giant.

This small glance into the life of one of the world’s largest men is a great read and is probably my favourite thing of the week.

Go read.

4. PENNY FOR YOUR THOUGHTS

On the hunt for a New Year’s Resolution? Try this.

Screen Shot 2015-12-25 at 15.52.38

Go on.

I dare you.

5. ZEITGEIST 2015

You can always rely on Hype Machine for an epic end of year round up and their Zeitgeist playlists once more do not disappoint.

Screen Shot 2015-12-25 at 15.55.45

___________

Bonuses this week are as follows:

And that my friends, is that.

The last Five things on Friday of 2015.

I hope you enjoyed both this edition and the rest of interesting things I threw your way throughout 2015. Feel free to send feedback via the usual channels.

Replying to this, tweeting me, whatever.

Y’know what – just have a nice Christmas and sincerely, the hugest of well wishes for the year ahead.

Great things are coming.

I promise.

. .

Whatley out.

Last updated by at .

Author: James Whatley

Chief Strategy Officer in adland. I got ❤️ for writing, gaming, and figuring stuff out. I'm @whatleydude pretty much everywhere that matters. Nice to meet you x