November 2019

We’re an eclectic bunch at team Razor.

Each month, we’ll share with the world a flavour of what’s caught our attention and influenced our thinking and conversations in the office.

 

Chloë B
This month, I’ve been thinking mostly about nothing. In other words, meditation. I used to find meditating difficult and, more often than not, ended up falling asleep while trying. Our co-working space offers weekly classes and I’ve recently been taking half an hour at a time away from my computer to give myself some peace and to recharge my batteries. So far, I haven’t fallen asleep. But I took one of the Razors with me to a session and he pretty much snored loudly all the way through. (He’s a new dad though so we’ll let him off.)


Chloë F
My two top picks this month are immersive viewing experiences, and both come courtesy of Netflix. 

The first is Shtisel. The two-season (so far!) series follows a Haredi family living in an ultra-Orthodox neighbourhood of Jerusalem. I’m not Jewish, but where I live isn’t far from Stamford Hill and I’ve always been fascinated by its culture and community. I’ve become so used to TV dramas full of fire and fury, sex and death; what I loved about Shtisel is that it’s none of those things really. It’s about a family, a culture, and a set of beliefs. It’s about a world very, very far from my own. It made me think hard about the tug of faith vs. selfish, individual desires. It swallowed me up. 

My other pick is the mobster epic, The Irishman by Martin Scorsese. I invested in the big screen view for this one even though it’s on Netflix. 3½ hours is not to be sniffed at – or snoozed through! It follows many decades of the lives of various mobsters and it’s been praised (and sniggered at) for the astonishing ageing and de-ageing of the stars (Joe Pesci, Robert De Niro, Al Pacino and a bunch of others).

Both of these viewings have been lengthy, committed and all the more enriching because of it. Beautiful

Gem
I went to a podcast recording at Kings Place* a few weeks ago. Beverley Knight was the guest of honour and being a fan, I jumped at the chance to see her in an intimate setting. I’ve seen her in concert a few times and, though she has many of her own songs, I especially enjoy listening to her perform tracks by artists that mean a great deal to her. During this particular chat, BK talked about two of her inspirations, Aretha Franklin and Chaka Khan, before introducing some of their lesser-known songs. I went with a friend one rainy Monday evening and it was one of the most relaxing nights out (in) I’ve ever had.

*Do sign up to the Kings Place mailing list. They put on some brilliant stuff. For just a tenner, I once got to watch David Baddiel try out some work-in-progress slides for one of his stand-up shows. BARGAIN.


Jill
I’ve just finished reading Nervous States: How Feeling Took Over the World by William Davies. It’s an exploration of why feelings can dominate over facts (hello, Brexit!), and charts the reasons why people are far less likely to believe experts and trust facts. Not only is it a timely read (seeing as we’re in the throes of a General Election where facts often seem to be taking a back seat) but, from a research perspective, it reminds me of the importance of understanding both the what (quant) and the feeling behind it (qual).


Lindsay
I’ve been watching Twin Peaks, the 90s TV series about murder in a small – and sometimes very odd – town. It’s quirky, clever and intriguing, which is good because the second series is 22 episodes long! They released a third series a few years ago so I’ll be moving onto that as soon as I’ve finished binge-watching series two!

Steve
As a protein obsessed fitness fanatic, The Game Changers, rocked my world this week. It puts forward convincing arguments for a fully plant-based diet. So convincing in fact that I’m seriously considering a month’s NO MEAT and/or DAIRY trial.

If I do this it would mean saying hello to soya, beans, mycoprotein and (more) veg. And goodbye to chicken, fish and steak. I’d also have to kick my beloved whey protein powder in favour of a plant-based alternative.

Hmmm… When I say ‘I’m seriously considering…’