Diamonds and dictionaries
10 things worth sharing this week
Here are 10 things I thought were worth sharing this week:
I interviewed critics Stephanie Zacharek and Dwight Garner about movies, books, music, honesty, having a sense of humor, the writing process, commonplace books, how to develop your personal taste, and much more. It was a really wonderful conversation and if you care about any of those things, I hope you’ll set aside some time to read, watch, or, listen — there’s a new podcast function I’m experimenting with if you like podcasts!
“Life isn't as long as you think it is. You have a choice: You can go and try to live a playful life, or you can go and live a life which excludes playfulness. And it doesn't get you anywhere. Playfulness gets you somewhere.” Hans Zimmer: Hollywood Rebel (now streaming on Netflix) is just what I want from a documentary: a tight hour that gets me interested in someone I didn’t think I had any interest in. (It also reminded me of one of the greatest chase scenes ever filmed.)
Not sure what to watch? The Criterion Channel has started a new Criterion 24/7 stream so you don’t have to decide. (They also let you browse by how much time you have.) I’ve been running the stream in a little window while I’m working at my desk.
Ear candy: I love the new Cindy Lee triple album, Diamond Jubilee, which isn’t streaming — you can only listen to it, officially, via a YouTube video or by downloading the WAV files on a Geocities website. As I was drawing KBB-style diamonds on my newly burned CD-Rs — yes, I still have a CD drive and yes, I still have a CD player — I suddenly wondered if the album release was engineered to be a big craft project for old nerds like me!
How to have fun thinking with a paper dictionary. (Inspired, somewhat, by this classic, “You’re probably using the wrong dictionary.”)
Philosophy in unexpected places: My kids wanted to watch the new 28-minute Bluey special, “The Sign.” Much to my surprise, the episode featured one of my favorite ancient Chinese parables about the old man who lost his horse. (It was a favorite of Alan Watts and was also recited by Philip Seymour Hoffman’s character in the movie Charlie Wilson’s War.)
A place to put your stuff: I recently bought a few of these art caddies recommended by Claudia Dawson. They do their job and I like the reconfigurable slots.
“I just stay out until I get in.” RIP the great Faith Ringgold, whose quilts are some of my favorites. (Here’s a nice short documentary to catch you up to her work: Faith Ringgold’s American Story.)
“Women artists… they made their art on the back porch, they made it on top of the washing machine, they made it next to the kitchen sink, and they made it anywhere they could, for the hour and a half while their kid was taking a nap, and for the two hours while they were at the play group. They made it in between…. There was no time… for the ritual of getting into your work! You just snapped into that taking 10 minutes and making 3 lines on your drawing or whatever was possible.” RIP artist Eleanor Coppola. I read her memoir Notes on a Life when I was thinking a lot about “work/life balance” and my long-simmering book about art and family. Fans of the movie Apocalypse Now should check out her documentary Hearts of Darkness and her memoir, Notes: The Making of Apocalypse Now. (I’m hoping to see her documentary about her daughter Sofia’s movie, Marie Antoinette.)
My favorite thing I wrote this week is about Marion Milner’s idea of two kinds of attention: “narrow” and “wide,” and how they sort of explain why my eclipse experience was a bit of a letdown.
Thanks for reading! This is a hand-rolled, algorithm-free, completely reader-supported publication. It’s a two-person production: written by me and edited by my wife, Meghan. The best way to support our work is to become a paid subscriber:
xoxo,
Austin
PS. I had a little fun writing on my studio window with these Stabilo pencils that Meg got me:
I'd love an Austin Kleon podcast!
And I thought I was the last person on earth with a CD player…