Studio as a verb

10 things worth sharing this week + summer sale

Hey y’all,

Today is the last day of June. Tomorrow is July, which is good for a 31-day challenge!

Here are 10 things I thought were worth sharing this week:

1. “It’s helpful to know that the term ‘studio’ derives from a verb as well as a noun.”
   
   

2. I loved Wes Anderson’s latest, Asteroid City. If you’ve ever liked any of his movies, do what I did: Don’t read anything about it and just go see it! (Afterwards, I enjoyed this explainer on Anderson’s use of miniatures and I’m catching up on the latest entries in The Wes Anderson Collection books: The Grand Budapest Hotel and Isle of Dogs, and soon, The French Dispatch.)
   
   

3. To get great ideas, you have to pour out the lesser ones first. (A good place to start is copying someone else’s work: “We’re encountering a person’s brain that doesn’t exist anymore when we’re looking at a painting by them.” )
   
   

4. How a son connected with his elderly father through cartooning.
   
   

5. My friend Art Levy, host of the excellent show My KUTX, invited me to go see The Smile, a side project of Radiohead’s Thom Yorke and Jonny Greenwood. Really good show. They rip live. I recommend their album and latest single. (If you’d like to hear the two DJ sets I’ve done on Art’s show, they’re here.)
   
   

6. TV: Some might say The Righteous Gemstones is just southern-fried Succession, but I think it’s much funnier and more enjoyable. I was already convinced of actor Walton Goggins’ genius, but the latest episode sealed the deal with Baby Billy’s rendition of “There’ll Come A Payday,” which turns out to be a real gospel song from 1978.
   
   

7. Early internet mashup: In junior high, I was one of many who played a CD of Pink Floyd’s The Dark Side Of The Moon over a VHS of The Wizard of Oz. Here’s the story of one reporter’s role in popularizing The Dark Side of The Rainbow. (In case you missed it, I wrote about getting unexpectedly emotional rewatching The Wizard of Oz with my kids.)
   
   

8. Ear candy: I’ve been listening to a lot of Donovan by the pool? The latest Arthur Russell compilation is gorgeous. And there’s a new Aphex Twin song!
   
   

9. Eye candy: Not too sure about the story, but the animation in the new Spider-Verse movie is really wild. Worth a watch. Also: they’re re-releasing Johnny Mnemonic in black-and-white, which gives me another excuse to once again recommend watching your favorite movies in black and white.

   
   

10. RIP John Goodenough, an outstanding case of nominative determinism if there ever was one. RIP Teresa Taylor, drummer for the Butthole Surfers and poster girl for Slacker. RIP Donald Triplett, widely considered the first person to be diagnosed with autism. RIP Ray Harrell, who lived a quiet life.
    
    

Thanks for reading! This newsletter is a hand-rolled, algorithm-free, reader-supported publication. If you want to support my work, I’m offering 20% off paid subscriptions for a limited time:

I absolutely loved reading through everyone’s summer reading. What a great crew we have!

xoxo,

Austin

PS. If you’ve been waiting for signed books from Bookpeople, I signed them all yesterday and they should be on their way. Sorry for the delay!