Terry Gilliam’s quixotic quests and much moreΝβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ 
James Pillion
 

MY FAVOURITE THINGS | Tomorrow Never Knows 

β€œTo be deemed to be OK, to be part of the culture, that's the kiss of death. When I'm pushing against something it helps me define what I believe. I've always been led to see what's beyond, what's round the corner. The world tries to say that this is what it is, and don't go any further, because out there are monsters. But I want to see what they are. So when I talk about the others in the group not having done more, that's because I really admire them, and I get angry when I see those with extraordinary talents not using them.” β€”

β€” TERRY GILLIAM
 

There’s nothing like periods of prolonged solitary time for true self-reflection. But it’s another thing altogether to spend quality time in the company of others. In the past month, I was humbled to participate in my first Men’s Circle which strangely enough gave me the confidence to accept an invitation to a poetry night at a friend’s place. As I read aloud Charles Bukowski’s White Dog, a new favourite, my voice began to crack as the poem’s words took on new meaning amongst this roomful of strangers. Nothing compares to self-discovery in good company.

Whether you’re bundled up in winter PJs or mopping your brow in a premature heatwave, you’re never alone with my June playlist πŸ’«

 

The Man Who Killed Don Quixote πŸŽ₯

Terry Gilliam’s Tetragrammaton chit-chat with Rick Rubin lit a fire under me to sit down with The Man Who Killed Don Quixote. Much like Miguel de Cervantes’ Don Quixote, Gilliam possesses a stubborn unwillingness to swallow the truth. Which is what makes his quixotic quest all the more compelling. Watching the visionary director bend the truth into his own image makes He Dreams of Giants, a documentary follow up to Lost in La Mancha, more titillating than the film itself. While Gilliam’s 20 minute ovation at Cannes speaks more to his 20 year battle to adapt the literary classic, its message has spread through me like a Windows 2000 computer virus.

Never let life trample over how you see the world.

 

Eleanor Coppola: Notes on a Life πŸ“»

This Kitchen Sisters interview with Eleanor Coppola celebrates Notes on A Life, her 2008 publication, offering a window into the most personal and private spaces of the Coppola family. In one excerpt, Coppola reads aloud a confessional entry from a family breakfast at the Polo Lounge. The pride of watching husband Francis Ford Coppola mentor daughter Sofia Coppola ahead of production on her debut film The Virgin Suicides before a rising jealousy takes hold for never being validated as anything more than a mother and caretaker. I can’t recommend her Kindle edition enough. She makes me want to be a better writer.
 

Flights of Fancy πŸ—ž

Gideon Lewis-Kraus burst my bubble in his latest piece on the future of the flying car. But while George Jetson’s space bubble are off limits, Air Taxis, better known as eVTOLs (short from electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft) are coming to an airport near you. Start-ups like Wisk and BlackFly are scheduled to begin shuttle runs to and from International airports as soon as next year. I’m such a sucker for flying. It never gets old to buckle up in one destination and disembark in an entirely new one. The idea of catching a shuttle flight to the airport is a feat of ingenuity that reminds why the sky is the limit.
 

Kenny πŸ“Ή

When this 2006 Aussie documentary first splashed down, I never caught on that it was a mockumentary. Which is high praise to Shane and Clayton Jacobson, the sibling brothers behind the 2006 runaway hit. Kenny Smyth, the film’s protagonist (played to perfection by Shane Jacobson), is as fair dinkum as they come, an Aussie plumber trying to make lemonade out of some bitter life lemons. You just want to reach through the screen and give the poor bloke a cuddle. As I wiped away tears of joy, I was reminded that the best kind of art lowers our emotional drawbridge, bringing us a little closer to ourselves. A true blue riot of a comedy. You can free stream here. 

β€œThere is a smell in here that’s going to outlast religion.” β€” Kenny Smyth
 
 

Mississippi Masala πŸŽ₯

Where has this film been all my life. Thanks to my algorithm, stills from the film found their way into my feed, a baby-faced Denzel Washington and Sarita Choudhury whispering sweet nothing through a landline phone in nothing but their PJ comfies. The film’s synopsis hooked me, General Idi Amin Dada’s immigrant expulsion in 1970s Uganda serving as inciting incident. There’s such a blissful innocence to Sooni Taraporevela’s whole-hearted screenplay. It’s so rare to come across a film that conveys the best side of humanity, children making the best of bitter situations. Mira Nair’s 1991 independent classic has a heart of gold.
 

In the Shadow of Man πŸ“š

Never would I have imagined a study of primates would teach me all the things I wanted to know about my own social dynamics. The beloved English primatologist accomplished something revolutionary in her 1971 publication, going against scientific precedent in giving her chimpanzee subjects names over numbers. Allowing the reader to better recognize them as distinct creatures with unique characteristics. I was particularly obsessed with Goodall’s observations between mothers and newborns. How the amount of love, attention and physical devotion was a prime determinant on their unique outlook on life and ability to grow into well-adjusted adults.
 

Aurore Dupin Dudevant πŸ‘€

Amantine Lucile Aurore Dupin de Francueil came to my attention by way of Robert Greene’s The 48 Laws of Power, her story aptly illustrated under Law 25 on how to Recreate Yourself. Dudevant was a true artist, putting it all on the line in service to becoming a writer of critical and commercial acclaim. To discover that she achieved both, enjoying a renown that eclipsed both Victor Hugo and Honore de Balzac in her time is impressive. That she pulled it off in the men’s fashion of the day (sans permit), rubbing shoulders with the rich and powerful as George Sand, her pen name, is true cojones.
 

Conflict 🎢

Don’t let the album title deceive you. John Carroll Kirby’s 2020 release is laced with everything but sonic conflict, a deeply meditative album that has become a balm for the soul over the past couple weeks. The single Walking Through A House Where A Family Has Lived was brought to my attention by way of this One Glove radio show with Yu Su and remains my personal favourite. While I’ve been savouring his works, I continue returning to Conflict, the immediacy of padded footsteps on wood corridors or the distant slam of the refrigerator a true antidote to all the hysteria and noise.
 

Thanks for reading. To show your support, forward it to someone who’d like it or treat yourself to one of my books.

If you’re seeing this newsletter for the first time, you can read previous issues and subscribe here.
 

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