My two purchases today in honor of Independent Bookstore Day.
I'm a big fan of Powell"s Books. It gets my money year-round... many days are bookstore days for me. Powell's is an entire city block in downtown Portland, Oregon. Maps of the store are available so that you don't get lost, but I think it's best to get lost in there. It's also quite difficult to go in there and not buy anything.
A new recap of past Hannibal episodes. I'm really looking forward to the new season starting. This show is disturbing, but so well-shot and well-written. Can't wait!
Via The Great Discontent
A quarter of the way through The 100 Day Project. Today's prompt asked about how you overcome possible excuses for not continuing the project. I'm immediately reminded of a post Austin Kleon's blog. It's all about focusing on the days.
"Forget about months and forget about weeks. Focus on days. The day is the only unit of time that I can really get my head around. Seasons change, weeks are completely human-made, but the day has a rhythm. The sun goes up; the sun goes down. I can handle that." - Austin Kleon
There's also the story on Lifehacker about on how Jerry Seinfeld motivates himself to write everyday. He marks each day of writing with an x on the calendar.
After a few days you'll have a chain. Just keep at it and the chain will grow longer every day. You'll like seeing that chain, especially when you get a few weeks under your belt. Your only job next is to not break the chain. "Don't break the chain. "
So each day you do the 100 Day Project is another x. DON'T BREAK THE CHAIN.
A lot of theaters do special runs of classic movies. They're usually short runs, but worth it. I saw Rear Window recently and Tootsie... which is still a great movie. You should definitely watch it and re-warch it. It's even in the Criterion Collection.
This is my new favorite blog. Shit People Say To Women Directors is a must follow. I'm so glad that the insane things being said to creative, professional women on set are all in one place for everyone to see. I see it as something everyone can learn from and be inspired to keep fighting the fight in the face of so much nonsense. One of my favorite posts is the female DOP being asked how she carries all the equipment? Her response: "I carry it with my arms." The various stories range in length, but they are all worth a read. I'm sure something like this could be made for women in many different professions.
Currently listening to the Alabama Shakes new album. I've got it on a loop. Brittany Howard has the perfect mix of soul and edge in her vocals. Today KCRW posted a full concert of from the band for Morning Becomes Eclectic. I'd love to see them live in concert. Unfortunately, the band doesn't have any stops in Portland listed.
KCRW Morning Becomes Eclectic Apogee Sessions with the Alabama Shakes
A few highlights of what I watched and read this week. Enjoy
The Making of Ex Machina (Love behind-the-scenes video. Spoilers... obviously)
"It's very rare that you get to play a character in a film where the action scenes are dialogue scenes." - Oscar Isaac
Ava DuVernay has her own Barbie Doll!
Jon Stewart has an understandable rationale for leaving The Daily Show
"Honestly," he says, "the country will survive." And he's right, it will. But even as he says it, it sounds, somewhat heartbreakingly, as if he's already out that door.
How 200+ dogs were trained to act in the movie White God
I saw White God this week and you are in the theater thinking 'how did they do this?'
Christopher Nolan's hand-drawn Inception timeline
Luther: President Obama's Anger Translator