This sentence aside, I find myself in a less reflective mood lately. A few highlights this week:
- Working from home on Tuesday just because, and going for an early evening trail run
- Knowing exactly what I need to do and getting into The Zone™ to crank it out
- Recognizing when my brain was toast after a few long days, letting go of my usual instinct to resist, and just going to bed at 915pm
- Appreciating the different joys that are available when I’m solo vs. when I’m not
- Touring a new arts center at their open house and imagining myself there for future shows
- Understanding new coffee beans well enough to get what I want out of them
Art
Mother and Daughter at Penn Station, NYC, photo by Ruth Orkin. Ma Vie En Rose, hand-stitched silk collage by Billie Zangewa. Female figurine from Guerrero, Mexico, ~1500–500 BC, made of earthenware with pigment decoration in the Xochipala style.
Books
The Modern Myths. DNF. I didn’t expect this, but I think I wanted more essay-like editorializing/theorizing, and fewer academic analyses of other examples? Not bad, though.
My Brilliant Friend. DNF. Kind of amazing in its compulsive readability, very colorful, but I never felt like it was adding up to anything. I wonder if I’d feel differently with older protagonists.
Life and Fate. Enveloping so far. Might be my next Big Book™ for the year.
Finally got around to renewing my library card, so now I have Libby access again if this one falls by the wayside.
Articles & Episodes & Twoots
“Around a dozen members is the sweet spot of social motivation: small enough to know everyone, yet large enough that the group won’t collapse if one or two members’ enthusiasm wanes; small enough that you are not daunted by competing with the whole world, yet large enough that you still need to be on your toes to keep up.” (via)
“Don’t end the week with nothing. Prefer to work on things you can show. Prefer to work where people can see you. Prefer to work on things you can own.” (via)
“If you are blaming people for gentrification (in most of its meanings), you are forming a circular firing squad.”
“Today, the Old Leatherman is one of those stories that you either really deeply know or have never heard of at all.”
The Neighborhoods visits my neighborhood, Crown Heights.
I had an idea this morning, and I was sure that/hoping that someone had done it before: Walking the Length of Long Island. Hmmm. HMMMMMM. 🤔
Bilge Ebiri and Michael Mann talk Thief.
“In our hyper-digital age, it’s increasingly the context and framing of information (not the content itself) that drives debates.”
“Dynamism does not just mean saying hello. Dynamism also means saying goodbye.”
Music
Favorite of the week: Gino Vannelli, Brother to Brother. I first heard “I Just Wanna Stop” in the grocery store last week, and I just wanted to stop and tell you what I feel about it! So good!
Fairport Convention, Liege and Lief. Hippie rock.
Masahiro Takahashi, Humid Sun. Delicate electronic, like RPG village music.
Max Oazo, Moonessa, Once Upon a Time (Melodic House & Techno). Maybe I should listen to more remix albums? Played this a lot in work crunch-time this week. It’s a good thing I’ve never tried any drugs – there’s a plausible alternate timeline where I got lost in the club scene.
Movies
Rumble Fish. A story of a younger brother and an older brother and forming yourself on your own. With the benefit of hindsight, a totally loaded cast. Matt Dillon! Nicolas Cage! Laurence Fishburne! Diane Lane! Dennis Hopper! Mickey Rourke! Sofia Coppola! Tom Waits!
Elevation. An economical monster thriller. I had fun with it.
His Girl Friday. Madcap screwball antics. I wish they still wrote dialogue like this.
Birth. I love the way this movie looks, and Nicole Kidman puts on a show. Disturbing and depressing.
Den of Thieves. Compared to my week 3 viewing, not quite as fun. I like seeing the MARTA trains scoot by during the shootout.
TV
Bosch, s1e2.
The Pitt, s1e1. Under-recognized part of being an E.R. doc is you must repeatedly walk away from people who are in crisis.
The Residence, s1e4. Just parachuting in for a quick taste. Good example of the power of storytelling by charismatic people.
Severance, s2e7-8. I’m glad that Gemma is no longer an icon, but something more grounded. Cool to see factory town roots of Lumon.
Words of Wisdom
“Breaking the problem down and then actually changing behavior to get different results works surprisingly well provided you’re willing to do it. Often success doesn’t come to us the way we want to receive it.”
Mark Larson 