Rebecca Solnit’s field guide to getting lost 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 | You Get What You Give

β€œA city is built to resemble a conscious mind, a network that can calculate, administrate, manufacture. Ruins become the unconscious of the city, its memory, unknown, darkness, lost lands, and in this truly bring it to life.”

β€” REBECCA SOLNIT
 

My first week in Lisbon found me criss-crossing the city in pursuit of a tax identification number colloquially known as a NIF. According to the expat community, the process was as simple as presenting my passport and rental contract to the relevant office. Such was not the case for this foreigner. Every culture presents its own set of challenges and in the case of Portugal, I got my first taste of its Kafkaesque bureaucracy. At each office I was met with the same schtick, exasperated civil servants only too happy to pass the buck. Yet with every cold shoulder came a desire to dig a little deeper, recalling Thomas Edison’s famous adage. Thankfully, perspiration (and a small dose of pity) were the only necessary ingredients to finally come away a bonafide resident.

 

A Field Guide To Getting Lost πŸ“š

A long-lost friend thrust a well-worn copy of Rebecca Solnit’s book into my hands days after arriving into town. Curiousity got the better of me as I dived into the opening essays which offered fresh perspective on my decision to uproot my life yet again. The very act thrusts me out of my comfort zone and forces me to be present. To see the rituals of life with renewed clarity. Solnit gets to the heart of getting lost through the metamorphosis of a caterpillar which, she writes, is dependent on decay. For with death comes new life and an enriched vision of life and our unique place within it. Solnit occupies rarefied territory in my soul ever since coming across The Mother of all Questions. I’m excited to see how she closes this one out.

β€œLeave the door open for the unknown, the door into the dark. That’s where the most important things come from, where you yourself came from, and where you will go.” β€” Rebecca Solnit
 

Beyond The Glory πŸ“Ή

Mike Tyson’s origin story is a TV movie come alive. A juvenile delinquent from the wrong side of the tracks offered a second chance when his inspired rage piques the curiousity of a grizzled boxing coach. There’s nothing quite like bearing witness to raw talent, especially when that talent consists of pummeling an opponent to smithereens. My love for the former heavyweight champ boils down to this. His bottomless curiousity, as witnessed in his Hotboxin’ podcast series, and his ability to shine a hard light on his personal missteps. Iron Mike has come a long way since this 2003 doco with self-examination, and a good dose of psychedelic treatment offering this deeply sensitive man the chance to leave his demons in the rearview.
 

EO πŸŽ₯

The trials and tribulations of a very cute little donkey are the subject of Polish veteran Jerzy Skolimowski’s new film. While the story is composed of seemingly unrelated moments it holds up an uncomfortable mirror to mankind. That every single character EO interacts with, irrespective of their underlying values, views this hapless creature with selfish intent is chilling in and of itself. Skolimowski’s film offers rich perspective on Martin McDonagh’s The Banshees of Inisherin. As two former friends tiff over a bromance come undone, their extreme measures never involve the furry friends in each other’s lives. This unspoken truce extends to the most adorable little donkey called Jenny that Anthony Lane aptly labels β€˜the most contented and the saddest character onscreen’. 
 

Gates of Heaven πŸ“Ή

This heartfelt tribute to the late Tom Luddy turned me back onto the captivating storytelling of Les Blank. After indulging in Werner Herzog Eats His Shoe, a riot of a short film featuring Luddy as master of ceremonies for the public feast, I was left hungry to hunt down the documentary that inspired the surrealist feat. While the primary plot point of this 1980 documentary revolves around an ongoing dispute over a failed pet cemetery, Gates of Heaven offers a candid look at just what our pets mean to us. It’s left me excited to sit down with Laurie Anderson’s Heart of a Dog, a treatise on the love that lingers long after we bury our furry friends and yet another project that benefitted from the unwavering care of Mr. Luddy himself. 
 

What’s An Ex-Mobster to do? πŸ—ž

After splashing out on a copy of the International New York Times at a SaldaΓ±a newsagent, I was treated to one of the best long-form pieces in yonkers. Ben Dooley and Hisako Ueno pull back the curtain on what retirement from the Yakuza really looks like. The profile offers a fresh take on Jake Adelstein’s memoir Tokyo Vice (Michael Mann’s limited series is stimulating viewing) which offers a bold vision of an underworld in decline. As globalization and the surveillance state lays waste to tradition, Dooley and Ueno examine why it doesn’t pay to be a gangster. I never thought I’d be left so dejected reading about the lives of these forgotten gangsters. All the same there’s something touching in these lost souls finding hope in a softball league that values camaraderie over competition.

 

The Tao of Rick Rubin πŸ“»

This below quote, uttered by the multi award-winning record producer, gets to the heart of this spiritual conversation. I love the way Rick Rubin finds novel ways to get inside the rhythm of everyday life. Like it or not, we are creatures of habit. When we take the time to reinforce our daily lives with rituals of love and fascination, our outlook on the world begins to feel a whole lot warmer. Engaging in the nuances and getting lost in the unique textures of our living room allow us to never get too comfortable. As Rubin tells it, such curiousity holds the answers we seek, just like this Radioooo app that transports you around the world anytime, anywhere.

β€œThere are no shortcuts. The synopsis isn’t the article y’know, the headline isn’t the story. We miss all of the nuance and all of the depth when we’re just living on the surface with the bare amount of information thinking we know what’s going on.” β€” Rick Rubin
 

Cool Hand Luke πŸŽ₯

Paul Newman is every bit the Hollywood hero in the shoes of this born dreamer. An indomitable man who wants no part of the rat race. The best part of this tender hearted prison drama is its portrait of chain-gang camaraderie. Newman’s Luke is no simple rebel without a cause. He is the quintessential individual, a β€˜natural born world-shaker’ straining against the ugliness of the world. I sought out Stuart Rosenberg’s 1967 masterpiece β€” recommended by former AFI protege Darren Aronofsky in this great little DGA press chat β€” to ward off the jet lag and came away with a renewed hunger to tell more honest stories. I’m keen to hunt down copies of WUSA and Pocket Money.
 

Raw Confessions of a Hollywood Blockbuster Screenwriter πŸ“»

One of the gifts of relocating to a foreign country is the ability to immerse yourself in completely new frames of reference. After stumbling across Thank You Mama, a charming little hipster haunt in GraΓ§a one morning, I was treated to this conversation playing over the Hi-Fi. I’d never heard of the Bulletproof Screenwriting Podcast or Ted Griffin (Ocean’s 11) but was riveted by the stories involving Jerry Weintraub (When I Stop Talking You’ll Know I’m Dead is as educational as it is entertaining) and Henry Mancini’s Touch of Evil soundtrack (an absolute rollick). It also turned me back onto Ridley Scott’s Matchstick Men, a forgotten favourite from the noughties, written by Griffin and his brother Nicolas.
 

Grafts 🎢

This 2018 NTS playlist by London based Floating Points left me all hot and bothered. A sumptuous array of ambient tracks slowly evolving into a late-night romp of high BPM bangers. Moments In Love, one part of Kara-Lis Coverdale’s 2017 LP, features at the head of the mix and compelled me to seek out the full album. Sacred music is a foundational element of her ambient work and one that is especially prominent in Grafts. While I’ve found myself seeking out the three-part recording as the perfect accompaniment to some productive work, it also turned me onto 2015’s Aftertouches and her collaboration with Tim Hecker and his Konoyo Ensemble project.
 

Empire of Light πŸŽ₯

It took a global pandemic for me to accept why a new release on my telly never scratches the itch quite like a visit to my local cinema house. Which strangely enough is what Sam Mendes appears to be getting at in this slow-burn period drama. As he tells FilmInk, the great escape of cinema is in dire straits when even Steven Spielberg falls short at the box office. Mendes offers a visually sumptuous look at what cinema, and by extension the cinema house, meant to him. I personally loved Olivia Colman in this early-eighties setting as a woman battling with mental illness. That she channels Mendes’s own mother is reason enough to seek it out. Colman is the very definition of uncompromising.

β€œSo, for me, it was an escape into a whole other world of imagination and excitement. As a child, it meant getting away from my life. As an adult, it meant finding another family.” β€” Sam Mendes
 

AntΓ²nio Augusto Carvalho Monteiro πŸ‘€

While visiting Quinta de Regaleira in Sintra, I found myself eavesdropping on a private tour guide’s opening spiel. According to the eloquent young feller, the former owner of this fairy-tale estate once enjoyed a fortune equal to one-tenth of Portugal’s coffers. This nugget of truth led me down a rabbit hole on the Brazilian tycoon. A man born with a silver spoon who took the family fortunes and turned it into an empire. Yet what sets Carvalho Monteiro apart from his privileged peers was his zest for life. He was a learned man, a devoted bibliophile and an original investor in the Lisbon Zoo. Yet his Sintra state remains as his greatest gift to the world.

 

Bons Momentos 🎢

On my first week in town, I found myself traversing the hills of Lisboa with Serginho Meriti’s 1981 release in my ears. Bons Momentos was one of my favourite albums from last year. A treacly collection of feel-good samba numbers ripe with fascination. It’s hard to get any solid tea on Meriti beyond the fact that SΓ©rgio Roberto Serafim borrowed his stage name from the Madureira neighbourhood of SΓ£o JoΓ£o de Meriti where he was born. While I can’t make out a lick of the vocals, I love getting lost in his throaty idealism. The shimmering back-up vocals and polished production are icing on the cake. I’ve been digging on his Instagram page too.
 

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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