Charles Bukowski’s crimes of passion 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 | Heart On My Sleeve

β€œYour life is your life. Know it while you have it. You are marvelous. The gods wait to delight in you.”

β€” CHARLES BUKOWSKI
 

One of the best parts of living in a new city is the discovery process, getting lost up and down unknown streets for the first time. Lisbon, as I’ve come to realize, is so much more than its tiled buildings and terracotta rooftops. What makes the Portuguese capital unique are its garrulous inhabitants. No matter where you turn, you’re bound to bump into old friends chit-chatting on cobbled side streets or neighbours gabbling across balconies. As I found myself gawking in fascination at these daily encounters, it dawned on me that small talk might just be the antidote we’re craving. A simple solution to so many of our modern day ills. It also goes a long way to explaining why the Portuguese appear to enjoy such a deep appreciation for life.

In other news I’ll be putting out a monthly Top 10 playlist to get the ear worms going. I hope you enjoy.
 

Factotum πŸ“š

On a recent visit to Livraria Lello, Porto’s oldest bookstore and a key inspiration for Harry Potter, I was overjoyed to find the works of Charles Bukowski nestled between the European heavyweights. Bukowski was an honorary mascot during early adulthood. His carefree outlook and Olympian drinking giving me permission to be an absolute menace. Reading Factotum in my thirties rubs different. Confessions of domestic violence and sexual impropriety that are downright disturbing. Yet the book had me howling at so many intervals. The mishaps of a man who refuses to play by any rules but his own. As this beautiful video essay reminds, Bukowski’s road to notoriety was a long and lonely road, publishing his debut novel at age 51. Yet his prodigious output is a reminder that the pursuit of passion conquers all ills.

β€œBut most men, fortunately, aren’t writers, or even cab drivers, and some menβ€”many menβ€” unfortunately aren’t anything.” β€” Charles Bukowski
 

Pretty Woman πŸŽ₯

Karina Longworth’s You Must Remember This painstakingly dissects Hollywood’s Erotic 90s in her new season. Pretty Woman, the first film under the knife, piqued my interest precisely because I’ve always overlooked it as a slice of Hollywood tripe. How wrong I was. Julia Roberts and her million dollar smile are the perfect counterpoint to the seductive allure of silver fox Richard Gere. This is one of the best Hollywood romantic dramadies I’ve come across for the way it tracks the evolution of its leading lovers and their inexorable descent into mutual obsession. I also love how the whole story hinges on the lack of Google Maps. Longworth serves up the kind of educational fare I enjoy best, investigative journalism married with a generous side serving of salacious gossip.

 

Beef πŸ“Ί

Lee Sung-Jin'β€˜s new Netflix series slaps as the kids say, offering a candidly refreshing look at generational angst and trauma. It’s incredible to think that all the hard work and toil we invest in ourselves can be undone with one false move. As someone that spent the better part of everyday in my car while living in Los Angeles, the show’s central incident is as honest as you can get. Steven Yuen and Ali Wong are sensational as modern day Montagues and Capulets. Like the New Yorker’s Inkoo Kang however, I was left deflated by the high-wire antics of the final episodes but savoured the bookend chase scored to Bjork’s All is Full of Love. A24 proves (yet again) that they’ve got a finger on the zeitgeist. 
 

Stiffed πŸ“»

I’ve been snacking on this brand new series around Viva Magazine, an imprint of Bob Guccione’s Penthouse catering to the fairer sex. It was more than the soft-focus Helmut Newton spreads that made Viva unique but its dedication to raising female consciousness. For what started out as an enterprise to cash in on the women’s lib movement ended up empowering a new generation. In the age of AI, it’s hard to conceive what it would have been like to put a magazine together by hand, let alone move the needle. A fascinating discussion around the release of Deep Throat reminded of Lovelace, a must watch with Amanda Seyfried in the role of its misunderstood star.

β€œWhen I started Viva I thought I knew everything there was to know about women. I learned as a result of that experience, as a result of working deeply with women, that I didn’t begin to know them. Nor does any other man I know.” β€” Bob Guccione
 

Chicken Shop Date πŸ–₯

My better half got me onto the finger-licking goodness of Amelia Dimoldenberg’s hit YouTube series. What’s so novel about the bite-sized episodes are the way they end up exactly where they started. Yet, there’s something revolutionary to this laissez-faire format, one that captures life as it is lived. It also goes a long way to humanizing the curated personalities of Dimoldenberg’s guests. My favourite chicken chats with fellow UK talents like Daniel Kaluuya, Louis Theroux, Central Cee and Burna Boy offer up a side serving of cheekiness. Is it sad to admit that these grease palaces are one of the only things I miss about English cuisine? 
 

The Radiant Child πŸ—žοΈ

There’s something to be said for this 1981 treatise on the power and place of graffiti. Rene Ricard was a notorious New York personality and β€˜notorious aesthete’ whose very essence is perfectly summed up in this New York Times op-ed I Class Up A Joint. He was a caretaker, a protector for the likes of Julian Schnabel (whose 1996 Basquiat is required viewing) Keith Haring and Jean-Michel Basquiat. It’s easy to forget that Basquiat, Ricard’s muse, and Haring, his radiant child, both came of age in the back alleys of the big Apple. As Ricard makes plain, the artists that graduated from the F train to the downtown galleries could see for miles and miles.

β€œI asked Jean-Michel where he got the crown. β€œEverybody does crowns.” Yet the crown sits securely on the head of Jean-Michel’s repertory so that it is of no importance where he got it bought it stole it; it’s his. He won that crown.” β€” Rene Ricard
 

Essays in Love πŸ“š

Alain de Botton’s 1993 instant classic serves up some nutritious food for thought. Meditations on love in all its shades of gray. These bite-size chapters are particularly easy to read aloud, which is just how Courtney has been enjoying it. While I got hung up on Anatole France’s proclamation that β€˜it is not customary to love what one has’, my favourite section lies within a chapter titled Skepticism and Faith on why love is a mutual delusion. One of the hardest parts of love is the brutal reality of waking up to find that a shared story has grown two heads. While it’s no picnic returning to the promise land, Botton’s eloquent thoughts on the true hard work of relationships offer startling perspective.
 

The Sheltering Sky πŸŽ₯

Bernardo Bertolucci’s 1990 adaptation proved the perfect antidote to soften the blues after a whirlwind trip to Marrakesh. Set in the wake of WWII, it follows a trio of well-to-do Westerners with naive dreams of apprehending the heart of Morocco. Adapted from Paul Bowles’s acclaimed novel of the same name, the stilted storyline is more than made up for with its visually sumptuous cinematography. Rich earth-tones contrasted against piercing blue skies. This documentary short offers a fittingly bizarre look at Bowles, whose younger years conceived John Malkovich’s protagonist and inspired me to take the road less travelled on my next visit.

 

Music in Nazi Germany πŸ“Ή

Christian Berger’s documentary offers refreshing perspective on Todd Field’s TΓ‘r, which I was lucky enough to catch at the Brisbane Film Festival in November last year. After indulging in this Q&A with its star Cate Blanchett, in conversation with Adam Gopnik, who incidentally plays himself in the film’s opening, I was turned onto the life of Wilhelm FurtwΓ€ngler. I’d never come across the German maestro, a conductor whose scrupulous dedication to the world of classical music was complicated by his ties to the Nazis. This doco delivers on a fascinating premise as it ponders whether a culture’s creative practitioners can be held accountable for crimes of the state. 
 

Alhambra 🎢

After a happenstance visit to Jazz Messengers, a cult vinyl store in Lisboa, I was turned onto the soulful sounds of Alhambra. Just the other day, I slipped this 1961 live recording into my ears while snaking an endless check-in queue for Berlin. Suddenly, I was reminded why jazz has been a balm through the years. It’s dedication to inspired spontaneity tapping into the highest realms of the listener. Or at least that’s what it does for this willing disciple. Recorded in Ahmad Jamal’s own Chicago nightclub with Israel Crosby on bass and Vernel Fournier on drums, each track builds on a beautiful promise, a playful back and forth that rises up over you like a warm bath. Shout out to Ted Gioia’s loving farewell for stoking the fires.

 

Barry Humphries πŸ‘€

We lost an absolute giant last month. An Australian icon that wasn’t afraid to stick it to our colonial overlords and never bent the knee to pundits. The man wore many masks from the iridescent bombshell that was Dame Edna Everage to the ever loquacious Sir Les Patterson. Humphries had a wicked way with words, a deft understanding of where the line was and how to leave it in the lurch. I’ve been howling like a stuck pig at his best-of clips on YouTube like this Michael Parkinson romp, Judi Dench skit and Boris Johnson roast. To think Dame Edna stretches all the way back to 1955 before being immortalized in Bruce Beresford’s The Adventures of Barry McKenzie is bloody marvelous.

β€œWe’ve got more culture than a penicillin factory.” β€” Sir Les Patterson
 

Jerusalem 🎢

Emahoy TseguΓ©-Maryam GuΓ¨brou, who passed away in March at the ripe old age of 92, is most deserving of a bio-pic. A child prodigy whose aspirations were thwarted by a national uprising before finding a higher calling in the church. Lucky for us, Emahoy had a change of heart for a matter of years, which is how her volume of Ethiopiques was conceived. I’ve leaned on this otherworldly collection in good times and bad. After reading Amanda Petrusich’s love letter of an obituary on the Ethiopian nun, I was startled to discover this brand new album. Jerusalem, a ten-track LP devoted to the place she called home since 1984, is cut from the same cloth. Ecstatic listening.
 

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.
 

WRITING | @jamespillion
FILM | @jamespillionfilm

Tv. do Conde de Avintes 26
Lisboa
Portugal

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