Five Bullets 4.19.24
Didion, Knolling, Long Way Round & more.
Good Morning Everyone and Happy Friday!
It’s a cool and cloudy morning here in New York City. Hard to believe we’re over halfway through the month! I’ve been keeping busy, trying to read and write more this week. After I finished Dune, I wasn’t sure what to jump into next, so I’m back to reading Walter Isaacson’s Benjamin Franklin biography, which I’ve been reading on and off since last November. It’s dense and dry but well-researched. Mostly I’m interested in the period before and during the American Revolution but it’s slow-going. As for writing, I’ve had a few ideas about some topics to write about so I plan to post those shortly.
What’re you reading, hearing and seeing lately?
This week’s Five Bullets:
"I’m very attached to certain forms, little compulsive rituals. I like to cook; I like to sew. They’re peaceful things, and they’re an expression of caring." - Joan Didion
A Visit With Joan Didion. Following the release of Didion’s “A Common Book of Prayer” Sara Davidson interviewed the writer at her Trancas, California home in April 1977. Didion, who says she is an inarticulate conversationalist, shares her thoughts on writing, Columbia, politics, and more. I’ve always found Didion’s words, spoken or written, extremely clear, perceptive, and honest. The above quote can be found in the interview.
NYC:
Really enjoyed this read from
about the small Queens neighborhood of Meadowmere. Also be sure to check out photo essay on Meadowmere.Did you know that there’s a statue of Edwin Booth, elder brother of infamous John Wilkes Booth, in Gramercy Park? Booth lived at 16 Gramercy Place and opened an acting and arts club there. The club gifted the statue of Booth to the park following the actor’s death.
Organization: If you struggle with staying organized like me, try knolling. Knolling is a method of organization in which items are arranged in a parallel or 90 degree angle. The term was coined by sculptor Andrew Kromelow and popularized by artist Tom Sachs, both worked at architect Frank Gehry’s studio.
Podcasts: Writer Ryan Holiday and youtuber Ali Abdaal talk writing, stoicism, and productivity. YouTuber Rick Beato and drummer Josh Freese talk filling the Foo Fighters drum chair. Criminal’s Phoebe Judge talks the Ludlow Massacre, John D. Rockefeller Jr. and the beginning of corporate PR.
TV: Long Way Round. In 2004, actor Ewan McGregor and friend Charley Boorman travelled over 19,000 miles east from London to New York by motorcycle. The series starts out kind of silly but turns into a real adventure. The pair teamed up again for Long Way Down and Long Way Up.
I wish I was as inarticulate a conversationalist as Joan Didion!
Thanks for the mention Keith. Also, Ben Franklin was nuts!