Just A Peck 0016 // Wayfinder, Scorsese, Louvre Heist
Welcome to the latest issue of Just A Peck. I’m glad you’re here! New issues come out most Sundays. Unsubscribe at any time.
WHAT I'M EXCITED ABOUT THIS WEEK
Adam Johnson has a new novel! His first since the gobsmackingly brilliant Orphan Master’s Son thirteen years ago. I can’t wait to read this.
Apple TV+ has a new five-part documentary that dives deep into the life and work of Martin Scorsese. The filmmaker apparently got unprecendeted access to his family, friends, and collaborators.
Yorgos Lanthimos' new movie Bugonia opens this week at Zinema. It also looks fantastic.
Duluth author (and all-around awesome human) Kelly Florence is hosting an event at the Depot this week where she’ll discuss the science and themes of Hitchcock’s films (and her new book about that topic) after a screening of Vertigo.
QUICK LINKS
- This year's Comedy Wildlife Photo finalists
- Wonders of Street View
- The Louvre Heist is Terrific
- Virtual Zine Library
- Lists of unrealized projects by artist
- Dr. Demento retires after 55 Years
- Farewell to Como Zoo's Mold-A-Rama
- Dogspinner
- Tracy Letts' Criterion Closet picks
- Private Snafu goes to war
JOURNAL
Now that The Shark is Broken is open, rehearsals for God of Carnage have started in earnest. After just a week, I can already guarantee that this show is going to be an absolute banger. Do you have your tickets yet?
Jody’s sister and brother-in-law visited this weekend. It was so lovely to see them.
What I watched:
- Cairo Station (1958). My first time seeing this famous Egyptian crime-drama which mixes neorealism and noir. It caused outrage at the time of its release for its boundary-pushing social commentary. Directed by and starring Youssef Chahine, one of the most important Arab filmmakers ever.
What I’m reading:
- Middlemarch, Eliot
- Vineland, Pynchon
- What Art Does, Eno
MEMORIES
Five Years Ago:
Five years ago this week, I was shooting Halloween-themed segments for a lockdown production at the Playhouse called Tales from the Ghost Light. Staying masked and socially distanced, I worked with the Artistic Director, Phillip Fazio, over the course of a week to pull it all together. Here are links to a couple of examples. Plus a few photos from the shoot itself:
Also five years ago, I walked through my childhood home for the last time. My dad built this house himself before I was born, and after 50 years, my parents were selling it. I took a few minutes in every room, running my fingers along railings and countertops in an attempt to crystallize those memories, and tried to take pictures of things I might forget: trim, curtain rods, light fixtures, window views, etc. So many memories in that house, it was hard to think of it leaving our lives.
Fifteen Years Ago:
Fifteen years ago this week, we were watching Alex’s Senior Class Play at Spooner High School: Leaving Iowa. It was a special moment to see Alex and his friends, who we had watched grow up together on stage, take their valedictory bow.
MY FAVORITE QUOTE OF THE WEEK
"If artistic avant-gardes and social revolutionaries have felt a peculiar affinity for one another ever since, borrowing each other's languages and ideas, it appears to have been insofar as both have remained committed to the idea that the ultimate, hidden truth of the world is that it is something that we make, and could just as easily make differently."
-- David Graeber
That’s it for this week. Stay safe, friends. Thanks for reading!