Five Bullets 9.8.23

Pareidolia, Pentagon Papers, Playlists & more

Welcome back to Circles in Space.

If you’re new here, read this.

Good morning and happy Friday everyone!

Photo of Cydonia, Mars captured by NASA’s Viking I

Today’s bullets:

• Books: While on vacation last week, I read a book I’ve read on many trips - John Steinbeck’s Travels with Charley In Search of America. In 1960 Steinbeck set out with his faithful companion, a French poodle named Charley, to get back in touch with America and it’s people. The pair traveled across the country in a truck equipped with a camper. Here’s Austin Kleon’s post on the book. Travels with Charley always reminds me to pause, relax, and reflect.

  A journey is a person in itself; no two are alike. And all plans, safeguards, policing and coercion are fruitless. We find after years of struggle that we do not take a trip; a trip takes us. - John Steinbeck

• Movies: Steven Spielberg’s film The Post starring Meryl Streep and Tom Hanks covers the Washington Post’s decision to publish the Pentagon Papers in 1971. The movie begins with the shadowy Daniel Ellsberg (played by Matthew Rhys) smuggling the documents out of the RAND Corporation’s offices. I wanted to learn more about how and why Ellsberg leaked the papers so I checked out The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers, an insightful documentary about the lengths Ellsberg took to put an end to the Vietnam War. Ellsberg passed away in June 2023.

• Music: I rediscovered the magic of playlists when I created a mix of classic rock, blues, jazz and funk for a large family gathering last week. Since I usually listen to albums, I’ve overlooked the playlist’s ability to capture a specific sound or mood. Curating tunes which can stand on their own outside the context of their respective albums while playing alongside other genres is an art and I now have a greater respect for DJs who do this well. Send me some of your favorite playlists or mixtapes!

• Podcasts: Song Exploder’s Only Murders in the Building dives into composer Siddhartha Khosla’s process of creating the theme song for the Hulu series starring Steve Martin, Martin Short and Selena Gomez. Khosla describes how he used a piano, his voice and a flute to create a melody which sounds both happy and sad and more than a little mysterious. By experimenting and layering sounds to create movement reminiscent of New York City, Khosla’s theme perfectly fits the spirit of the show. 

• Science: Ever see the man in the moon, shapes in the clouds, or faces on Mars?Pareidolia is the “tendency to perceive a specific and often meaningful image in a random or ambiguous visual pattern”. Scientists believe that this visual illusion is a result of our brain’s ability to recognize faces which increased our chances of survival and helped us socially. One of my favorite examples is how outlets always look so suprised!

That’s all for this week! Thanks for reading and have a great weekend.

Keith