Five Bullets 10.10.25
Improvise and experiment. Be a "practical dreamer".
Good Morning and Happy Friday Friends -
Welcome back to Circles In Space for another edition of Five Bullets where every Friday I share what’s capturing my attention. If you’re new here, grab a free zine and check out our Welcome Page.
Over the past month I’ve noted the slow march toward fall. This week we’re enjoying cooler weather for the first time in months. I drafted this week’s newsletter while sitting at the park on a blustery, cool night and watching the sunset.
Since last Friday I’ve: finished a book, saw two concerts, walked 40 miles, visited 4 parks in one day, listened to 10 new albums, started a new notebook, and browsed the stacks at the Strand. It’s been a great week!
Here’s what’s capturing my attention:
My favorite part of living in New York is seeing incredible music on any night. Just this past week I saw New Orleans funk outfit Dumpstaphunk at Brooklyn Bowl and jazz drummer/beat producer Makaya McCraven at Le Poisson Rouge. Check out this week’s Field Recording for more Makaya McCraven.
My goal this year was to read 20 books, a number I haven’t been able to reach in recent years. I finished Ryan Holiday’s Discipline is Destiny this week, putting my count at 21 books this year. I read this book on my phone while riding the subway. Reading on my phone isn’t my favorite way to read (print rules) but it keeps me from aimlessly scrolling.
While walking around Madison Square Park I found a plaque beside a giant red oak tree. The tree is from the Virginia estate of President James Madison, gifted to the city in 1936 to commemorate Madison Avenue’s centennial. Red oaks have a long lifespan of up to 500 years.
Early draft of Five Bullets 9.18.25. I always keep a notebook in my pocket or in my bag if I’m headed out. My notebooks are full of random bits and pieces: ideas, quotes, to-do lists, sketches. I have to write down whatever pops into my head otherwise I’ll forget it! Above is a page from a pocket notebook I recently finished with an early newsletter draft.
“The world is full of wonderful craftsmen but there are very few practical dreamers.” Art Is The Movement shared an interview with visual artist Man Ray speaking on his creative process. Man Ray combined inanimate objects with other elements to create new, often surreal meaning. If you don’t get it, just remember that “mysteries should not always be solved” - and that’s “wonderful”, Man Ray says.
Thanks for reading Circles In Space. If you’ve got something you think I’d be interested in, please send it my way. Don’t forget to subscribe for more Five Bullets every Friday:
Have a great weekend,
Keith
