Buster Keaton is my jam. Quoting James Agee:
Perhaps because “dry” comedy is so much more rare and odd than “dry” wit, there are people who never much cared for Keaton. Those who do cannot care mildly.
The Genius of Buster by Jana Prikryl | The New York Review of Books
Sports by xkcd.
Meet the sloths by Lucy Cooke. “I filmed this at the Aviaros del Caribe sloth sanctuary in Costa Rica - the world’s only sloth orphanage.”
(Source: https://player.vimeo.com/)
Lars and the Real Girl. A little dreary, perhaps? Lots of people talking quietly. I wasn’t looking for perverted gags or slapstick or anything, but I just couldn’t hang with this one. But it’s got a good heart.
Think about how easy it has to have one more—to go beyond what you allowed yourself and have one more piece, one more glass, one more handful. And yet, think about how much harder it is to do one more—one more lap, one more page, one more hour, one more rep than you intended. There’s always rationalization on hand for the one and an convenient excuse ready for the other.
This is timely.
The Frugal Traveler’s guide to ramen shops in Tokyo. I love the internet.
(Source: http://maps.google.com/)
My friend @jamesfflynn couldn’t sleep, so he live-tweeted TWBB through the lens of his theory that TWBB is as much about filmmaking as it is oil/capitalism. I figured it was a good time for me to figure out how to use Storify. Enjoy!
I was so glad when I saw James’ tweets this morning. I love that Twitter gives me direct access to smart people’s brains.
Even if you are not ever going to read an e-book, but want a device to help you stay connected and organized while traveling—especially if you’re going a bit off the beaten track—the investment in a Kindle (barely more than a hundred bucks at this point) can’t be beat.
Hadn’t considered it before, but this makes a lot of sense.
When you’re in your routine, frequenting the same old haunts, time seems to accelerate – was it just four years ago that our youngest son was born? But all the complexities of moving – figuring out where to live, getting there, and then navigating all the new realities of the changed environment – means that the minutes and hours that once passed as a kind of background process, the rote memory of knowing your place, suddenly are thrust into your conscious awareness. You have to figure it out, and figuring things out makes you aware of the passing days and months more acutely. You get disoriented, or at least you have to think for a while before you can be properly oriented again.
So that is why we are moving: for the natural beauty, yes, and the climate, and the Bay Area tech scene, and the many friends out there we haven’t seen enough of over the past twenty years. But more than anything, we’re moving to slow down time.
Without the perks, plain ol’ fame and fortune just ain’t worth the trouble.
Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner. Watch this more for the historical significance (successful interracial romance in the ‘60s) and star-studded cast (e.g. Spencer Tracy’s last performance) than for miracles of cinematography or storytelling. My modern perspective finds it overt and not very adventurous. Either we’ve come a long way or I’m fooling myself. Spencer Tracy’s final monologue is worth your time, though.
ATL. Don’t expect Casablanca, but I recommend this without reservation – there’s some really great movie here. And it’s always flattering to have a movie in your home city. T.I. doesn’t do any dramatic fireworks, but he’s charismatic as usual. Big Boi’s character is terrifying and hilarious. You might know director Chris Robinson from his work on Bring Em Out, Shutterbugg, Go Getta, One Mic, No Love, etc.
Rock Steady - Aretha Franklin. Been too long since my last Soul Train post.
(Source: https://www.youtube.com/)
If you want a happy ending, that depends, of course, on where you stop your story.
Orson Welles, in his screenplay for The Big Brass Ring, written in the early 1980s as his last attempt at a commercial Hollywood film (via austinkleon). And thus was born my new endings tag. See also William Gibson and Nietzsche.
Killer by Julia Kissina. Part of the Shadows Cast People project via this month’s issue of Harper’s.
Matrix for Choosing Good Tinder for backcountry firebuilding: Above the ground / on the ground // No overhead protection / Overhead protection. See also a graph for adding fuel.
