23 Comments

Re: Seeing the strings attached...

As a designer when proposing logos I quite show my process from the initial idea to the final logo and more than once a client has chosen a version of a logo two or three stages before the polished/final version.

We all look at design (or a creative process) from a different perspective and no one can really claim that their opinion is 100% correct. That’s what I love about the human brain (especially when compared with AI and machine perfection) - there is always something nice about small imperfections!

Give me a ‘real’ drummer all day long rather than a monotonous drum machine with no feel or touch - the music feels so much more alive and so should we...

#showmethestrings

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Austin - I don't know if James Hannaham means "so" in the sense of "Thus" we fail... , or "In order that we" fail. The two different interpretations yield very different meanings to me. I'm not familiar with his work. On interpretation says it's inevitable that we fail (could be bad or good) and one says it's good that we fail.

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Reading, and enjoying, True Grit based on your recommendation. Thank you!

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The Space Elevator is so fun!

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Love seeing the pictures of the owls! Also, totally agree with the strings post about people wanting to see how things come from human beings in the future. It’s why, even with all the gadgets and tech we have now, we still like paper, right? It puts us more in connection with our creative instinct.

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Going to see this Little Richard documentary (and Little Richard!) on the big screen tomorrow, can't wait!

And my predictable follow-ups featuring the usual suspects:

Little Richard features prominently in The Girl Can't Help It which I think just dropped off the Criterion Channel but is a Criterion collection Blu-ray. Amazing performances from him and other early rockers including Fats Domino, Gene Vincent, Eddie Cochran, and more. Don't skip the special features including an interview with John Waters and a funny yet informative run-down of all the musical artists by two of my favorite WFMU DJs.

https://www.criterion.com/films/29605-the-girl-cant-help-it

There's also going to be a 33 1/3 book on Little Richard out this fall that looks to cover much of the same ground as the documentary.

https://www.bloomsbury.com/us/little-richards-heres-little-richard-9781501389139/

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I somehow have never heard of this movie!!?

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I somehow only first saw it when I bought the Blu-ray last year :/ The movie itself might be a matter of taste but the performances by the big names are amazing and, in Little Richard's case, iconic. The color in the movie is *gorgeous* too. Directed by Frank Tashlin, better known for his WB cartoon work!

I didn't know how influential the movie was on a couple of boys from Liverpool too...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Girl_Can%27t_Help_It#Influence_on_rock_music

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Burroughs, our inspiration for adding scissors to our writing tools, was not always charming. The High Times interview makes too light of his drunken shooting in the forehead (murder) of his common-law wife Joan while playing William Tell. He spent two weeks in a Mexican jail. Joan's part in the Beat circle is worth checking out.

https://allthatsinteresting.com/joan-vollmer

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Indeed not. Which is ironic, as he’s the one who told Patti Smith, “keep your name clean” (he should know)

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I might not recover from that Bill Orcut Quartet song. My teeth are still chattering after listening to that one.

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I had never seen the young Little Richard before, and I couldn't take my eyes off him in the Paris video. Thank you thank you thank you!

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Good golly!

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Neal's website is a lot of fun! I folded paper and played with rocks!

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Worthikids one of my favourite indie animators. Uses digital tools to recreate animation that looks like Rankin-Bass stop motion. My favourite being Captain Yajima. A fun Japanese Space Opera. Lovingly created, including CG strings

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Every week, I read your "10 Things Worth Sharing" without fail. So it was very, very cool to see my name on your list!

Also-I'm going to have to check out Leonard Cohen's and Charles Portis's notes!

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I subscribed - will update to paid shortly, too and sent the link to you Beatrix Potter notes to my sister, the animal lover.

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Thank you, Justine! That means so much to me! I hope you & your sister enjoy Beatrix. She was so fun to write about!

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"show me the seams. let me see where things come from." can also be applied to fabric and textile art - seams are a space that divides and brings together - literally and figuratively - there is so much to explore in those few words and i appreciate the upending of the phrase "show me the money" ;) as corny as this is, your newsletter inspires me every friday to keep going!

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I’m very inspired by textile art! Especially quilting (my mom’s a quilter) -- thank you for being here!

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i spotted a quilt on the wall behind you in one of your interviews, is it hers?

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Great to see that Jillian Hess is now on your radar, she does wonderful work!

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Thanks, Mark!

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