That May Come In Useful

'I'm still alive then. That may come in useful.' Molloy by Samuel Beckett (some useful stuff, hopefully)

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An unproduced design by Maurizio Sacripanti for the Italian Pavilion at Osaka Expo ‘70. The building’s oscillating metal panels, drawing inspiration from cellular organisms, would have “pulsed” unpredictably.

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The Story Behind The : It Never Entered My Mind, by The Miles Davis Quintet

In 1955 Bob Weinstock found himself in a tough spot. He was about to lose his most revered recording artist, trumpeter Miles Davis. Weinstock was head of Prestige Records, the label Miles signed to in 1951 and recorded most of his albums with in the early 50s. The early albums Miles released under Prestige included many jazz greats such as […]

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Holy..

My eyes are sweating.

Here's the thing kids, Ahsoka Tano was EVERYTHING the Jedi Order should have been.

And I am so grateful to have been a part of the generation that saw her introduced as well as grow into the role she was meant for.

Check out this extraordinary video if you have a minute, you won't regret it.

My utmost kudos to the creator

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The Rolling Stones / photo by Jean-Marie Perier, Los Angeles, 1965.

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Ian Holm September 12, 1931 – June 19, 2020

Mr. Holm (far right) with John Hurt, Veronica Cartwright, Tom Skerritt, Yaphet Kotto, Sigourney Weaver, Harry Dean Stanton / publicity photo for Ridley Scott’s Alien (1979)

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Inventory of Objects Belonging to a Young Man of Oxford: Christian Boltanski - Modern Art Oxford

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'The problem isn't coming up with ideas, it is how to contain the invasion. My ideas are like uninvited guests. They don't knock on the door; they climb in through the windows like burglars who show up in the middle of the night and make a racket in the kitchen as they raid the fridge. I don't sit and ponder which one I should deal with first. The one to be wrestled to the floor before all others is the one coming at me with the most vehemence.'

Werner Herzog from 'A Guide for the Perplexed'. 

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It makes no difference what men think of war

It makes no difference what men think of war, said the judge.  War endures.  As well ask men what they think of stone.  War was always there.  Before man was, war waited for him.  The ultimate trade awaiting its ultimate practitioner.  That is the way it was and will be.  That way and not some other way.

from 'Blood Meridian' by Cormac McCarthy

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Autumn reading.

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Made In Minnesota feat. The Replacements, Husker Du, The Hold Steady, Lizzo, Babes in Toyland

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Q-Tip’s creative fire burns bright and it brings us much joy to offer this special 2+ hour mix covering many of the works he’s been involved with over the last few decades. Q-Tip will sit along side some of the greatest minds in 20th and 21st century music culture when his music career ends and that’s something we don’t see happening anytime soon. Every Tribe album and solo record is represented in this new mix along with a few feature cuts that we couldn’t resist adding. We hope you enjoy!

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David Foster Wallace’s 1994 Syllabus: How to Teach Serious Literature with Lightweight Books

See David Foster Wallace's syllabus for his course 'English 102-Literary Analysis: Prose Fiction,' which uses 'popular or commercial fiction' to teach literature. Texts include Jackie Collins’ Rock Star, Stephen King’s Carrie, Thomas Harris’s The Silence of the Lambs, and James Elroy’s The Big Nowhere.

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David Foster Wallace’s annotated copy of Ulysses. [via]

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New purchases.  Listening to 'Do To The Beast' right now after avoiding listening to it anywhere online.  The quaint thrill of buying a new album and just playing it right through and hearing it all for the first time.  Sounds like an awesome record already.  Reminds me of the 90s.

Had already heard 'Teeth Dreams' and 'Benji' and they are such special albums I needed to own a copy.  And by 'a copy' I mean an actual physical thing I can hold and look at.

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Cormac McCarthy and vocabulary

Although I read a lot I do have a great deal of difficulty in remembering words (and their meanings) if I'm not using or encountering them frequently.  This is very frustrating as I'd like to be far more eloquent and articulate than I am, particularly as I do read a lot.  I had the same problem going right back to when I was in school.  I'm poor at retaining any information (not only vocabulary) unless I'm working at it all the time.  I'd say this is also a significant reason why I've never been able to learn a foreign language despite trying frequently (French, German, Spanish, Italian, even Latin). 

Be that as it may, it's always a wonder to pick up a Cormac McCarthy novel and discover once more the richness of his vocabulary.  I read Suttree several years ago but just picked it up again this evening to re-read the two and a half page introduction.  He had me reaching for the dictionary several times within the first page, to confirm the meaning of familiar words but others I'm pretty sure I've never encountered before (apart from when I read Suttree first time round - damn my memory).

striae

stele

pinchbeck

sumac

and on

maugre

interstitial

murengers

My own humble attempts at writing will never be anywhere near this good because I don't have the depth and richness of vocabulary to create a convincing world through description. 

At least, if nothing else, I can console myself with enjoying and appreciating incredible writing and writers. 

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'Carissa' by Sun Kil Moon.

This has been getting me through a tough family bereavement recently.