My essentials: Jes Camilleri’s cultural picks

1. Book

I read a lot of non-fiction books that help me with my work as a trainer and coach and one book that has been particularly useful is a book by Peter Bregman and Howie Jacobsen titled You Can Change Other People’. It’s a great resource for coaches, parents and leaders of every kind who would like to help others reach their potential by helping them detect and change unhelpful behaviours and thought patterns without necessarily resorting to giving advice.

2. Film

I recently watched Wes Anderson’s Roald Dahl shorts where he adapts some of the great author’s short stories. I was particularly captivated by The Swan, a film based on one of Dahl’s earliest stories. The story revolves around the terrible bullying of a young boy by two older boys who can only be described as two psychopaths-in-waiting. It’s a terrifying tale told brilliantly by one of the masters of modern cinema applying a very theatrical approach to his artform. I recommend all the shorts, but this one stands out for me.

3. TV/Internet

I’ve been reading up quite a lot about AI as part of a theatre project I am researching and in particular I was fascinated by a blog post by Charles Babour titled ‘Irony machine: Why Are AI Researchers Teaching Computers To Recognise Irony?’. In it he posits that despite the great advances in AI, computers still struggle with detecting irony. Irony it turns out relies on the distinction between external behaviours and internal beliefs and that is one very important facet of being human.

4. Music

I’m looking forward to watching The Smile live in March. It is a side project of two members of the well-known group, Radiohead. I have been playing their latest album ‘Wall Of Eyes’ on repeat. I find their music fascinating with its mix of styles and themes but, possibly I just find the idea of taking artistic risks alluring. Rather than flogging their Radiohead brand to death (a la U2 for example) they just initiate new projects every few years. That in itself is worth my attention.

5. Place

There are so many beautiful places I’ve visited and many more that I would love to visit but there’s also a spot in our garden where I can retreat every now and then and switch off immediately. It’s between an orange tree and a pomegranate tree and their branches provide just the right amount of enclosure to feel as though they are enveloping you. Sometimes it is enough.

This article is supported by Arts Council Malta.