Five Bullets 5.5.23
This week: David Grann, Corpse Demons, Sgt. Papers & more
Hello and Welcome Back to Circles In Space for Five Bullet Friday, where each Friday I share interesting stuff collected during the week.
If you’re new to Circles In Space, I wrote a bit about myself and this newsletter.
Good morning all and Happy Friday! It’s a sunny day here in New York City with temperatures expected to rise to 60 degrees.A bit of everything this week - books, podcasts, music and some NYC news.
I wasn’t aware of David Grann’s writing prior to reading about him for this newsletter and it was thanks to The Atlantic’s piece by John Hendrickson that I became interested. Hendrickson writes:
“I finished The Wager believing that it doubles as a meditation on persistence. At its core, Grann’s book is about that queasy feeling of doing the same torturous thing every day as a means of trying to reach some far-off goal or destination—themes that continuously arise in his work. This also makes it a perfect metaphor for writing.”
[P.S. if you’re a writer nerd like me be sure to check out this 60 Minutes segment which features a glimpse of Grann’s office and workspace piled high with books and papers.]
This week’s bullets:
The Wager is David Grann’s (Killers of the Flower Moon, Lost City of Z) latest historical nonfiction book which details the HMS Wager’s shipwreck off the coast of Patagonia in 1741 and the subsequent trials and tribulations of the crew. The Atlantic spoke with Grann about his particular style of immersive history. Grann took five years to research the book by poring over old archives, reading hundreds of books and traveling the seas, before returning to his computer to type a solid 500 words a day.
“If you ask anyone who knows me, they would say I describe myself as a failure. I am a wildly insecure person who always feels like I’m not living up to that ideal story I’m always striving to do. And it motivates me…I never think about the other stuff.” - David Grann
New York City finally has a common sense solution for those giant mounds of garbage bags: trash containers! Placing garbage bags awaiting pick-up into containers and employing special trucks to collect them could likely cost the city millions of dollars as well as the loss of 150,000 parking spots, says the DSNY’s report. This seems like a small price to pay for making our city cleaner. Let’s make it happen!
Patreon CEO and musician Jack Conte’s latest channel Digital Spaghetti “dives into the minds of your favorite creators”. Conte spoke with spirited man Van Neistat to discuss art, movies, YouTube, and more. These two are endlessly enthusiastic about their craft and the conversation is creative food-for-thought.
Radiolab’s Corpse Demon tells the story behind why India’s vulture population suddenly declined. This is a fascinating listen and a reminder of the delicate balance of nature and the role humans play in that balance. TLDR: Vultures are important for the health of our ecosystems!
Sgt. Papers is a punk-rock band of brothers Ivan and Felipe Garcia hailing from Mexico. Check out their heavy, loud and bombastic set on KEXP Live. I’ve had their music on repeat all week.
Got something to share?