The other day I visited my friend J for lunch, and to discuss some music he is intending to include in his book-in-progress. I offered some technical descriptions of the songs, something which I hadn't sat down and done since my music analysis subject in high school. We listened to a lot of disco, dance, funk, and soul deep cuts from the 1970s and 1980s. So good.

It was pretty hot that day, about 40°C I think. I caught the tram from Coburg into the city, then a train out to [ PLACE ], which was much further than I'm used to going. It was still a fun journey, and I listened to some Aretha while I travelled. As repayment for my help, J made the lunch (mostly) pictured: homemade olive tapenade on sourdough, fennel gazpacho, and Eton mess. Perfectly curated and very hot-weather-friendly. I will certainly be adopting the soup recipe into my repertoire.

That evening we went to see the new Nosferatu film. We both liked it, but felt the acting could've been better at times. It was enjoyably grotesque, and the world it takes place in is beautifully constructed throughout the movie. However, I found some of the dialogue (especially Dafoe's) to be a bit cringeworthy -- parts of it made the movie feel like a caricature of the 19th century, or something, which didn't suit its overall tone very well. I found Willem Dafoe's character a little out of place. It felt a bit like one of his recent roles cheaply embedded into the script. Still, the movie was good overall I'd say, even if underwhelming. A few days later we watched Wicked, which I enjoyed far more. I don't generally go for musicals, but J was already going to see it so I tagged along.

Something I'd like to do this year is see movies in the cinema more often. The closest cinema to my house shows plenty of interesting films, and they have a cheap day on Mondays which is great encouragement to go there ($7 tickets!). I might go next week to see The Brutalist, which I'm told features a good old intermission halfway through. I need to see Perfect Days also.