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“Stand-up comedy on Netflix: We laughed a lot at Jacqueline Novak’s Get on Your Knees, which is, to quote a profile in The New Yorker, “a ninety-minute show about fellatio.” (Two interesting takeaways from that profile: her decision “to channel her energies into one exceptional piece of work” instead of doing a bunch of little things and her resistance to the idea that she found her voice with the show: “I finally found my confidence, and the way to trick you into liking it.”) “

Thank you for a sign! I was going to watch this. And as a standup comedian and storyteller I’ve been thinking of a one person show for over 10 years. I need to stop talking about it and be about it!?

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Okay, I confess. I am totally addicted to the Kumbia All-Starz. I wish I could find the Planeta Kumbia CD.

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Jan 28Liked by Austin Kleon

I love the flow chart! It made me laugh because I can be a big baby! I read a quote quite a few years ago, and can't remember who said it but to paraphrase," If you get tired when working on your creative project, rest, don't quit!" It had a great impact on me, as did your flow chart, because many of us, myself included can go to the "all or nothing " paradigm, and just roll over. Not any more!

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100 g exactly on the notebook! 🙌

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Thank you for #8, especially.

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i had an idea about a marginalia quilt last year - it didn't end up going anywhere but it keeps crossing my path - best to do something before it finds someone else to execute it - have started a google doc to gather research, thanks for the reminder

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so i got off my duff and started on this project - this week i am stitching the knight fighting the snail - and spending too much time on google sourcing other images for my quilt - so far the british museum and the V&A are excellent sources but if anyone has any others, i'd love to know

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Jan 26Liked by Austin Kleon

Ha, love your note re Ear Assault < >Ear Tolerance. Related/Unrelated: sometimes, when traveling thru busy airports where everyone is harried and frazzled (its own assault) - I try to spot something beautiful in every passerby.

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Curious about your thoughts on the new Smile album out today. It passed the first listen test for me, which is a very rare feat. Teleharmonic is stunning. Will Thom and Jonny will ever miss!?

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author

Okay I’ve listened 2-3 times one while syncing it up to Buster Keaton’s SHERLOCK JR (they’re about the same runtime 45 mins) and it’s so good.

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I loved the last record -- I’m waiting for a good time today to blast it in the studio. I love the new video: https://t.co/6CSBYuiJ6r

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Re: snails. Book recommendation -- The Sound of a Wild Snail Eating by Elisabeth Tova Bailey. This was one of Oliver Sacks' favorite books. He bought numerous copies to give friends. I enjoyed it very much.

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I second this recommendation!

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I’ll check it out, thank you!

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Thanks for the Jacqueline Novak recommendation. I'm enjoying her style and content greatly.

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I'll have to pick up that new book about the 60s Girl Groups; good find! RIP Mary Weiss. (Melanie (Safka), of more 70s fame, although she performed at 1969's Woodstock, also just recently died.)

"Leader of the Pack" is one of a small handful of 60s #1 hits in which a singer (or singers) is mentioned by name in the lyrics: Elizabeth "Betty" Weiss, Mary's sister, and sometime backup member of The Shangri-Las, although she may not be on LOTP.

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Jan 26Liked by Austin Kleon

Ditto on the girl group book! Some great tributes to Mary Weiss on WFMU last night—

https://wfmu.org/playlists/shows/136119

https://www.wfmu.org/playlists/shows/136292

The Influences of the Shangri-Las's Wikipedia entry reads like a who's who—tl;dr if you like punk, you owe a debt to the Shangri-Las.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Shangri-Las#Influence

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Not that I like or listened much to punk, but I was around for it. I had never thought about The Shangri-Las having this and the other influences noted.

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Another Hungarian expression from a Hungarian:

”Now the monkey jumps into the water.”

—used when you don't know if something will work or not and you are about to find out. Or, the moment of truth.

Thanks for the 10 links, as always!

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Haha I love that

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I have the same things with records--there are only a handful that I loved or even liked the first time I listened to them. When I was a teenager just getting into bands like the Clash, sometimes the records even sort of scared me the first go-round, but I was drawn to them all the same and kept listening.

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Totally. I remember NOT getting the pixies at all for the first few plays (I bought the 2CD best of and put it on while playing Mario kart with my best friend) ... and then they were my favorite band

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Puss in Boots pt 2 is fantastic! I absolutely love the style in which it’s made - non-Disney aesthetics rule. Also, the humour 🤌🤌🤌

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It’s like PADDINGTON 2, you’re thinking, “how is this so good?”

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Yes!

PS: Friday evening sorted. Paddington 2 re-watch it is.

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