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Why we can all take a leaf from MJ's playbook and much more! $$PLAIN_TEXT_PREVIEW$$
MY FAVOURITE THINGS |Must Be Something We Can Do
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“If you're trying to achieve, there will be roadblocks. I've had them; everybody has had them. But obstacles don't have to stop you. If you run into a wall, don't turn around and give up. Figure out how to climb it, go through it, or work around it.”— MICHAEL JORDAN
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It’s been a curious thing to have the time and perspective to step back and see the bigger picture in this current moment. To ponder, now that the capitalist system has been caught with its pants down, what really contributes to a life well lived. While I love the nice things in life, it’s been refreshing to stop chasing the next material goal and appreciate the wealth of riches in my own backyard. Spending more time walking, running and kayaking in the great outdoors has been so enriching. It’s helped me to appreciate how special life can be with your foot off the gas. Xo
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I can’t remember the last time a documentary left me feeling like a kid on Christmas morning. While I didn’t know it, I’d been waiting for a series to suck me up and transport me back in time, if only for a little while. Watching the first two episodes of this new ESPN series made one thing clear. Michael Jordan was a demi-God, a personality who had that rare ability to instill a sense of joy into such a cross-section of the world. Ever since my kid sister and I watched Space Jam on VHS, MJ came to hold a very special place in our hearts. Much like Jim & Andy: The Great Beyond, The Last Dance is comprised of hundreds of hours of documentary footage, rescued from the archives of a New Jersey vault. Even more incredible is the fact that the behind-the-scenes footage were shot on 16mm, ensuring the digital transfer was as clean and crisp as the day it was captured. For someone that has never been hooked on sports, watching MJ during the 1997-8 NBA season was like glimpsing poetry in motion. The North Carolina native played each game as if it was his last and has left me inspired to hit the gym in preparation for the episodes to come.
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This documentary, shared by my old therapist, helped to rekindle a sense of wonder. Allowed me to reconnect with an idea that doesn’t hold much water in mainstream circles. Following the life and work of Joseph Campbell, the celebrated narratologist, this doc offers a way off the beaten path. Campbell’s hero’s journey, inspired from his life-long study of historic myths and legends, taps into the cyclical nature of life. We all know when we’re being summoned, when we come upon crossroads that leave us with a tingling sensation in our tummy. When we learn to embrace the winds of change, accepting that our current choices are lacking in substance, we start to feel a whole lot lighter. While the doc is laced with a soundtrack that feels like a bad knockoff of Explosions In The Sky, the substance behind the rhetoric is profound and life-affirming. Watching celebrated icons like Tony Hawk, Akiva Goldman, Rashida Jones and Bono speak to the power of Campbell’s work makes it all worthwhile. “I don't believe people are looking for the meaning of life as much as they are looking for the experience of being alive.” — Joseph Campbell
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I put down some hard-earned Gumtree cash to purchase Louis C.K’s latest stand-up special direct from his website. I’d been twiddling my thumbs over whether to continue my boycott of the D.C. comedian in light of his controversies from twenty-eighteen and made the decision to go against the crowd. The decision left me laughing like a buffoon, smiling from ear to ear at his outrageous indiscretions. The truth is I’d missed C.K’s brazen antics, his ability to call attention to the uncomfortable truths we gloss over as a society. His proclivity to seize P.C. culture by the lapels is a gift and one that he excels at, reminding us that we’re not alone on this journey. I want to continue advancing society, to ensure we are fighting for a world that values all races and sexes equally. But the ability to laugh at ourselves, to accept that we’re all flawed creatures just trying to survive, is what brings us together and makes us all the stronger for it.
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One of the rare joys of social media in the age of #isolationcreation is the instagram feed of Anderson .Paak (formerly Breezy Lovejoy). The California native is a beacon of light in these existential times, his ability to turn a box of lemons into scrumdiddlyumptious lemonade second to none. Watching him get down with his little boy Soul .Paak in their living room always brings a smile to my dial, his insatiable thirst for creativity and adventure truly inspirational. It made me drift down memory lane to his side project NxWorries. I first came across their phenomenal 2016 album while living in Berlin. To say it got me through a bitterly cold and gray winter is an understatement. This incredible Pitchfork review by Jonah Bromwich puts the LP in perspective, produced in collaboration with Knxwledge, a fellow CA producer. To my mind, .Paak is one of the most talented and innovative artists of the his generation, a musician that celebrates the joys that accompany being alive. Jam-packed with irreverent goodies, Yes Lawd! promises to leave you jumping for joy. It’s just that good.
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I’ve been flicking over this Russell Crowe title on Stan for far too long and decided to bite the bullet earlier this week (just in time for ANZAC day). The period flick is a curious examination of Australian history and follows the journey of a water diviner (someone with a knack for hunting underground water deposits) searching out the whereabouts of his three grown sons. Set after the end of WWI, it follows Crowe to the shores of Turkey and a dissolving Ottoman Empire as he seeks to recover their bodies from the ravaged plains of Gallipoli. This piece of land has a storied history within Australian lore and it was amazing to learn that this was the first war to provide proper burial for its fallen soldiers. While the ensuing narrative is ultimately flawed, it’s nonetheless a fascinating directorial debut for Crowe, whose love of Australia and the outback offers a beautiful portrait of a forgotten time.
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I stumbled over this sweet little playlist while listening to a new compilation of Johnny Otis (so much fun!) and haven’t been able to stop listening. The latter half of the nineteen-forties and early fifties — including the musical styles of swing time and big-band — were instrumental in giving birth to musical genres we now take for granted. It’s hard to comprehend just how hard these musicians worked to put bread on the table. The chitlin circuit, a collection of African-American nightspots that criss-crossed the continental United States, provided a home for these aspiring artists where it wasn’t uncommon for them to play up to six or seven joints in a single evening. This incredible period would give birth to some of the era’s celebrated voices from Howlin’ Wolf, Johnny Hodges, Etta James and LaVern Baker. Listening to the playlist on shuffle is a lot of fun. A rare treat that has introduced me to some sincerely overlooked talents.
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Dan and Teneille, our Bondi neighbours and BFFs, are the type of folks to go absolutely bonkers for an animated feature. So when I first heard about Dan Scanlon’s new film on Kevin Smith’s Hollywood Babble On podcast (who raved about the film), I knew it would knock their socks off. Inviting them over for dinner this week, we rented the Pixar flick off iTunes and got sucked into the indelible magic of this bittersweet film. It’s incredible to acknowledge just how powerful these films are in getting under our skin and leaving you emotionally bereft in the best way possible. The film follows the life of a young teenage elf (Tom Holland) who yearns to come out of his shell on the road to becoming a man. When he discovers that his deceased father has left him a present that will allow them to bring him back to life for a full day he sets out with his older brother (Chris Pratt) to make him whole. Much like the Finding Joe doc, this film employs the hero’s journey to a tee, bringing the story full circle in one of the most heart-warming endings. This special coming-of-ager is available to stream from Disney+ now.
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I haven’t been able to stop thinking about the dearly departed Bill Withers and found myself streaming this 2008 BBC documentary over a lunch break on YouTube. There is such honesty to the way Withers conducted his life, always following his bliss and knowing when to get off the bus in search of new adventures. As I wrote in this month’s newsletter, Withers’ had that rare ability to get at the root of his deepest feelings and infuse it into powerfully simplistic ballads. Watching Withers reflect on his life and time in the spotlight is truly beautiful. While it was rather unsettling to get a window into his difficulties with the studio brass, his reluctance to transform into a show-pony in the age of disco and beyond ensured his legacy remained sacrosanct to the end.
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I’ve been enamored by the man that was Fred Rogers ever since watching Morgan Neville’s incredible documentary Won’t You be my Neighbor? last year. And while this podcast, hosted by Carvell Wallace, certainly covers similar territory, it is laced with a special undercurrent that has left me reflecting in the best kind of way. It’s incredible to think that a singular personality like Rogers was such a comforting presence to millions of children. The second episode really struck a nerve, littered with guests whose confessions helped me to understand just how revolutionary Mister Roger’s Neighborhood had been to Generation X and beyond. His ability to put love and happiness in front of all else in a time of great upheaval, particularly in the earliest years of the PBS series (the late sixties), was not only was radical but truly courageous. When we work on being true to ourselves, irrespective of whether it aligns with our community, we offer a way forward to those striving towards the light. Fred Rogers’ ability to stand up for the health and wellbeing of the most vulnerable is a testament to that.
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To say Gene Hackman is an idol of mine is an understatement. Not only was he one of the most captivating actors to grace the silver screen but he always seemed to capture a certain truth about what it means to be human. Films like The French Connection, Scarecrow (my all-time favourite and incredibly Hackman’s personal favourite too!), The Conversation, Night Moves, Mississippi Burning, Unforgiven and Get Shorty (an absolute rollick!). This Film Comment interview from the late nineteen-eighties helps to underscore just what made the California native shine a little brighter than his peers. What is even more remarkable to realize is that his ascendency alongside contemporaries like Dustin Hoffman, Jack Nicholson and Al Pacino helped to shift the definition of a lead actor and open the doors a little wider to the next generation. His undying devotion to the craft and his no-nonsense approach to production (he had a ferocious temper when he clashed with his creative collaborators) has ensured that his legacy would nourish cineastes like myself for years to come.
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I came upon the life of Peter Beard by way of my friend Hannah McDougall this week. The American photographer, who passed away last week at the age of eighty-two, lived the kind of life made for the screen. Reading his obituary in the New York Times left my jaw hanging open, his constant ability to reinvent himself and put his life on the line in service to his passions. It reminded me of the underrated mantra: You’re only as old as you feel. In Beard’s case, his exploits as a pensioner — particularly with women a third of his age — would leave most young turks speechless. Found in the depths of the Montauk wilderness after going walkabout weeks before, he went out the way he wanted, swallowed by mother nature. While Beard would have been unable to get away with his devilish antics in the body of a woman, a part of me was duly impressed that he took Dylan Thomas’ infamous line to heart, raging against the dying light until the very end. I was chuffed to get my hands on a second-hand copy of his celebrated 1965 publication The End of the Game online and can’t wait to dive into through its haunted images.
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I’ve been looking for a way to listen to this Holy Grail of an album, an LP that has eluded my clutches until now. Stumbling over a YouTube link to this incredible Gil Scott-Heron album after Denzel Washington’s character name drops it in Roman J. Israel, I’ve been on cloud nine with it on repeat. There is something so comforting and exacting in Scott-Heron’s vocals, his baritone voice helping me to understand that it’s all a matter of perspective. In fact the 1974 record stands as a testament to the power of art to empower and educate. While Scott-Heron’s devotion to the rights and plight of African Americans would ensure that his music remained at the periphery of mainstream appetites, it has subsequently become all the more relevant in these turbulent times. Hearing the Illinois native speak to the ugliness and inherent corruption in politics and the desecration of the natural environment helps to remind that the most potent truths cut the deepest.
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