Five Bullets 9.9.22
This week: Sonny Rollins, Cleopatra's Needle, Roni Horn & more
Happy Friday everyone! Welcome back to Circles In Space, where each Friday I share five interesting things. This week’s topics:
Happy 92nd birthday to jazz saxophonist Sonny Rollins! Walter Theodore "Sonny" Rollins was born on September 7, 1930 in New York City. He grew up in Harlem and picked up the sax when he was "around seven or eight". Rollins is one of jazz music's innovative pioneers, stretching the art of improvisation while recording and collaborating with Miles Davis, John Coltrane and more. Rollins recorded over 60 albums as a bandleader before he was forced to stop playing due to health issues. (There's a great story about Rollins practicing saxophone on the Williamsburg Bridge in the 1960s).
New York City's Central Park is home to a number of interesting historical monuments and artifacts, including an ancient Egyptian Obelisk called Cleopatra's Needle. The 3,500 year old 220 ton obelisk sits between the Great Lawn and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Originally unearthed by the Romans and transported to Alexandria, the Obelisk is one of a pair which were gifted by Egypt to the United Kingdom and the U.S. The monument was installed in Central Park in 1881.
Artist Roni Horn recently released a book titled LOG - a collection of over 400 works of text, photos, and drawings, each on a single 8.5 x 11 sheet of paper, produced daily from March 2019 to May 2020. Back in 2021 I had a chance to see LOG when it was exhibited. The sheets of paper were displayed chronologically in five rows on the gallery's large walls. The amount of material was striking and I loved the idea of creating something - anything - every day. The pieces are not autobiographical and may not seem related, but offer a chance to see inside the artist's mind on that particular day. I'm looking forward to picking up a copy of LOG and revisiting Horn's work.
Amazon debuted Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power last week. I've read The Hobbit several times and recently read The Fellowship of the Ring, but I consider myself a newbie when it comes to J.R.R. Tolkien. For those wondering, like me, which Tolkien book The Rings of Power is based on, the series explores the Second Age of Middle Earth which is discussed in the Lord of the Rings appendices and also draws on posthumous Tolkien works The Silmarillion and Unfinished Tales. If you've seen the Peter Jackson trilogies, you're already familiar with some of the lore and legend about the events of the Second Age. The Rings of Power has a lot to live up to and I'm looking forward to seeing the rest of the series.
Tilda Swinton and Idris Elba star in George Miller's new film Three Thousand Years of Longing, adapted from A.S. Byatt's The Djinn in the Nightingale's Eye. The film was an interesting take on jinn (or genie) mythology and felt like an older style of film, due to it's long narratives and cinematography, but not without some tasteful CGI. Much of the film takes place in a hotel room as Djinn (Idris Elba) recounts his tales spanning civilizations and millennia to Dr. Alithea Binnie (Tilda Swinton). If you're looking for something different and withhold expectations, check out this film.
Got something you’d like to see in the newsletter? Leave me a comment! I’m always on the lookout for new stuff to dive into.
That's all for this week! As always, thanks for reading and have a great weekend! If you haven’t already please consider subscribing and sharing.
Until next time,
KW
Currently reading: Day of Trinity - Lansing Lamont
Currently listening to: Omnium Gatherum - King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard