Oliver Burkeman wants you to take a deep breath and much more!Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ 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 | To Be Continued

β€œAs the world gets faster and faster, we come to believe that our happiness, or our financial survival, depends on our being able to work or move or make things happen at superhuman speed. We grow anxious about not keeping up, so to quell the anxiety, to try to achieve the feeling that our lives are under control, we move faster. But this only generates an addictive spiral.”

β€” OLIVER BURKEMAN
 

In advance of moving to Lisbon next week to coordinate the content side of OG, a DOTA 2 e-sports team, I’ve been tucking into A Brief History of Portugal. As I dived into the nuanced epochs of this Iberian empire, it helped me realize a universal constant across the ages. Like its European siblings, Portugal’s legacy was built off the backs of other people’s misery, especially after Henry the Navigator set sail for distant shores. Endless periods of conquest and conflict, 60 years of Spanish rule and one biblical earthquake, forcing me to accept that the awe-inspiring beauty of the Portuguese capital was built on centuries of prolonged suffering. Yet when we can appreciate the complicated essence of such beauty, it allows us to pay it forward by stepping around the mistakes of the past.
 

Four Thousand Weeks πŸ“š

I’ve been arrested by the calming logic of Oliver Burkeman’s new book (as recommended by Scott Pape’s weekly newsletter). As he tells it, the answer to our finite existence lies in taking a deep breath, slowing to a crawl wherever possible and simply taking in the present moment. A quick gander around any CBD offers the exact opposite. Strangers bounding along with impatience, huffing on vape sticks and skulling down takeaway coffees. Burkeman diagnoses this modern phenomenon with succinct brutality. High speed living as emotional avoidance. Aristotle and his contemporaries had it right all along, touting self-reflection as the highest form of leisure. This Guardian podcast by the author on the illusion of free will is a must listen.
 

Babylon πŸŽ₯

Drug-fueled banter between Margot Robbie and Diego Luna set the score in the opening minutes of this indulgent epic. As they gorge on mounds of pure-cut cocaine and a shared love of the pictures, these fresh-faced youngsters dream of making the world over in their image. Trapping the beauty of youth on celluloid in defiance to the slow march of time. For the next two hours and forty five minutes, Chazelle does just that, breathing life into a trio of characters as they languish to produce stories that will be remembered long after they’re dead. While there is a certain tragedy to such quixotic efforts, especially in the denouement, this long and winding tale captures the ephemeral nature of our dreams and each generations compulsive need to rub out the legacy of their elders.
 

Has The Amazon Reached Its Tipping Point? πŸ“»

The return of Luiz InΓ‘cio Lula da Silva to Brazil’s highest office had me fist pumping the air Γ‘ la Lleyton Hewitt. It wasn’t just the reckless behaviour of his predecessor that irked me but his ability to cultivate warring factions within the country that led history to echo itself last month. The last time Lula was in office, from 2003-2011, deforestation fell by two-thirds. While the 77 year-old campaigned on a return to normalcy, this disturbing long-form article delivers a word of warning. It’s hard to conceive how a rainforest can emit more carbon into the environment than it absorbs but that’s just what local climatologists have found in stretches hardest hit by logging efforts. It’s devastating to accept that the largest living rainforest survived ice ages but is coming undone at the hands of mankind.

β€œIf deforestation reaches 20-25% of the original area, the flying rivers will weaken enough that a rainforest simply will not be able to survive in most of the Amazon basin. Instead, it will collapse into scrubby savannah.” β€” Carlos Nobre 
 

The Menu πŸŽ₯

As this New York Times profile attests, Ralph Fiennes thrives when giving life to morally subject characters, men whose allegiances are rarely clear cut. Such is the case with The Menu’s Chef Slowik. The very essence of this hyper-stylized film rests on his square shoulders. I found resonance in Slowik’s gripes against the world. Voracious stakeholders touting prestige over progress. Complacent patrons too busy sharing meals OTI to actually savour anything. Mark Mylod’s new film offers a fertile parable for art in the 21st Century which, according to the Michelin star chef, has grown bloated and self-serving. It’s hard not to agree. This Vanity Fair scene breakdown made me want to watch it all over again.

β€œWe are but a frightened nanosecond. Nature is timeless.” β€” Chef Slowik 
 

Atlanta πŸ“Ί

S3 of this FX hit has upped the ante, peeling back the layers of systemic racism carried across from the Old World. I personally enjoyed the one-for-one approach, breaking up the tribulations of a Paper Boi European tour with standalone episodes (Trini 2 De Bone is raw viewing). The overall approach offers a rich discussion on what it means to be black in a world increasingly consumed by white guilt. So many of its darkly satirical moments left my stomach in a knot. Yet what becomes clearer with every episode is the discomforting realization that the worst strains of racism are endemic in the minutiae of everyday life. This is the first series I’ve binge-watched guilt-free in a long while and I can’t wait to get eyes on the fourth and final season. TV at its best.
 

20th Century Boy: Notebooks of the Seventies πŸ“š

Duncan Hannah’s candid diary entries had me stumped. How on earth did this precocious wild child survive the 1970s? This confessional collection offers a rich tapestry of memories from the New York underground. Lurid tales of Lou Reed gorging himself on tequila mixers in the back of Max’s Kansas City and a manic Iggy Pop backstage before a failed New Years concert (a snort of elephant tranquilizer sank his battleship). I loved reading about Patti Smith washing her β€˜old man’s socks’ at the local laundromat and a wisecracking David Bowie at the afterparty of a Roxy Music gig. I’ve found a kindred spirit in the late visual artist, a young man driven to taste life in all its bittersweet glory.

β€œSherlock Holmes said your mind is like a living room β€” you furnish it to your own specific needs, but most people put just any old lumber in there.” β€” Duncan Hannah
 

Bones and All πŸŽ₯

I was reticent to get my eyes on Luca Guadagnino’s new film. Why, I reasoned, must every new film have a supernatural element in order to gain a green light? My gripes were set aside in the opening minutes as Taylor Russell’s arresting allure left me hungry for answers. As this KCRW chat reveals, David Kajganich (A Bigger Splash, Suspiria) and his spec adaptation of Camille DeAngelis’s acclaimed 2015 novel of the same name, compelled the Italian filmmaker to make time in his busy schedule. Guadagnino’s collaboration with newcomer Arseni Khachatauran is one of the best reasons to seek it out. The deft camerawork and inspired scene transitions give purpose to this intimate tale of vampire love. 
 

Saravah! 🎢

The passing of Yukihiro Takahashi inspired me to make good on my ignorance. Which is how I fell head over heels for the beguiling sounds of Saravah!. Starting out on the drums, Takahashi cut his teeth through endless college parties before getting a foot into studio session work. After an early band dissolved a few years later, he took the plunge with this debut solo LP, recruiting the one and only Ryuichi Sakamoto to produce the album before joining forces to produce Paraiso for Haroumi Hosono. The fruitful collaboration would lead the trio to form the Yellow Magic Orchestra the following year. While I’ve only dipped a toe into YMO’s back catalogue (Technodelic is a standout to date), I’m hungry for more.

 

Man of Extremes πŸ—ž

A flurry of feelings took hold as the first act of Avatar: The Way of Water unraveled before my eyes. Thirteen years earlier, I’d enjoyed the first installment in a plush Loew’s Cinemaplex while visiting New York. While I was left scratching my chin at the sequel’s end credits, I had to face facts. Only a fool bets against James Cameron. As this 2009 profile makes clear, the Canadian’s unrelenting attention to detail explains why his films have always turned pop culture on its head. I’ve always savoured the on-set antics of Cameron, whose fury is legendary, and am keen to get my eyes on Ghosts of the Abyss, a 2003 doco exploring the Titanic wreck in the wake of his biggest box-office smash.
 

Three Colors Trilogy πŸŽ₯

Raw humanity bleeds out of this early nineties veritΓ© trilogy, stories of everyday people reckoning with the upheavals of life. Each tale, loosely based around the French tricolours espousing libertΓ©, Γ©galitΓ© and fraternitΓ©, follows a central character in the throes of sudden loss. I have a personal soft spot for Three Colors: Blue, the opening installment which follows a composer (Juliette Binoche) grieving the loss of her family to a car accident. It’s rare to come across such a strong female character these days, one that doesn’t have to raise her voice a single decibel to garner respect from the world around her. Krystof Kieslowski, the Polish auteur behind these films, builds off his iconic Dekalogue series and delivers world-class cinema.

 

Owen Roizman πŸ‘€

In moments of existential despair, I like to turn to William Friedkin’s The French Connection. Its frenetic camera work serving as a metaphorical booster shot. Yet it was only with Owen Roizman’s passing that I came to realize how the cinematographer single-handedly lensed my most cherished films. Hollywood classics like The Exorcist (sheer bloody terror), Three Days of the Condor (great popcorn fare), Network (an undisputed masterpiece), Tootsie (a controversial romp) and Straight Time (an under-appreciated examination of life after prison). You can catch a glimpse of his immense body of work in this 1991 AFI documentary Visions of Light here. 
 

Catch Me If You Can 🎢

This Atlanta S3 playlist turned me onto the compelling sounds of Adekunle Gold. In the space of a few weeks this 2022 LP has become my summer anthem, a collection of singles that make you want to kick back and revel in the sun. Gold, or AG Baby as he’s known to his stans, delivers delicious strains of pop tenderness that leave you coming back for more. I was amazed to discover that the Nigerian heavyweight, born Adenkunle Kosoko, hails from Lagos royalty. This great little Q+A write up also turned me onto the gut warming sounds of King Sunny Ade and Chief Commander Ebenezer Obey
 

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

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WRITING | @jamespillion
FILM | @jamespillionfilm

Tv. do Conde de Avintes 26
Lisboa
Portugal

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