Hi!

Welcome to my bi-weekly newsletter filled with things I’m using, exploring, and viewing: music, art, books, podcasts, and products.

It’s a curated list of the best of what I have found or used during that two-week period.

Feel free to forward this to anyone you think may be interested in receiving this newsletter on a regular basis, but don’t worry you can unsubscribe at any time.

Great images, books, magazines, beer, and products. Thought-provoking articles and design.

So let’s get started with the good stuff !

Image of the week

The French artist Ememem repairs the crumbling roads and walls in his hometown of Lyon and Paris with colourful mosaics created in ceramic tiles.

You can find more of his stunning work here

These repairs would make a nice change to the streets in the UK which seem to be in danger of turning into a mass of potholes.

Music I’m listening to

Velvet Revolver's 2004 album "Contraband" marked the debut of the supergroup featuring former members of Guns N' Roses, Slash, Duff Mckagen & Matt Sorum with Wasted Youths Dave Kushner and Stone Temple Pilots Scott Weiland. The album blends hard rock, heavy metal, and punk influences into a unique sound.

My personal favourite of the 13 tracks on the album is "Slither”, have a look at the video here . "Sucker Train Blues," and "Fall to Pieces," are two more excellent tracks, the latter showcasing Scott Weilands’ vocals.

With its high-energy, and powerful lyrics, this is one of my all-time favourite albums.

What I’m reading

We Are Makers edition 6, this publication is for anyone that has an interest in making, crafts, or art. Covering a wide range of makers from custom bike builders to sculpture, saddle making to printers. The stories are fascinating and will draw you in, the book includes beautiful photography and is backed up by a youtube channel and podcast both are well worth investigating. If you would like to purchase any of the books use this link for 10% off with code bowerman.

I’m watching

Larry Chen is a world-renowned automotive photographer based in Los Angeles. His youtube channel is dedicated to showcasing car culture and the people in the scene. The episode I’m currently watching features Daniel Wu's Show-Stopping Honda S800

The channel is full of videos covering a huge variety of cars and the culture that surrounds them.

If you are looking for amazing prints or screen savers they are available here

Tech I’m using

Keep your data safe with an external SSD from Western Digital, click here for a great deal on this reliable Gen3 x 4 NVMe SSD

Couple the above drive with this Ugreen M.2 NVMe SSD tool-free enclosure click for details

I have been using two of these drives and enclosures to transfer files between machines and to back up photo files. The installation takes seconds, the enclosure opens easily, and the drive slots into the bay perfectly. Attach the heatsink and close the case. When you attach the drive to your machine you will need to format the drive. The drive is silent, runs cool and file transfers are quick. If you have purchased a new Apple M2 mini these drives work perfectly as a main drive.

Beer of the week

Oakham Citra has to be my favourite beer, with a grapefruit citrus tang it is very refreshing. It also has a slew of awards which can’t be bad. Currently around £1.85 to £1.90 a bottle depending on where you find it.

What I’m wearing

I’m a big fan of Adidas products, especially the Terrex range and I have just received the Adidas Terrex Hyperblue Hiking Shoe.

Adidas has blended trail-running-inspired style and cushioned comfort for walking around town or park trails. Like the rest of the range, these are super light and extremely comfortable. Currently available for £85 rather than the RRP of £100 but the first 10 people to use this link will get an additional £10 off

Finance

The 2022-23 winter transfer window in total, £780.1m was spent by Premier League clubs 41.44% was spent by a certain West London club.

If you are looking for a decent rate of interest on your savings First Directs regular saver account offers a rate of 7%. But you will need to open a standard account with the bank to qualify for this savings account.

You can save up to £300 a month, giving you £3,600 after a year. If you save the maximum each month, you will earn £135 in interest after a year. It’s not a life-changing amount but it’s better than the majority of accounts at present.

The largest denomination of U.S. currency ever printed was the $100,000 bill, featuring Woodrow Wilson. These bills were never used for general circulation and were only used between Federal Reserve banks.

Watches & Jewellery

I’m a big fan of classic-looking watches, especially those that have a nod to historic models such as the Flieger(pilot) and field watches such as this Marathon GPM.

With a military spec & NATO-style strap, it certainly looks the part but with its self-winding movement, high-impact shell, and sapphire crystal it’s a great everyday watch with a cool military look. At 34mm this is a small but perfectly formed watch.

Widely available but Marathon has an Amazon store and can be found here.