Rewatching American Movie unlocked fond memories of Mark and Mike on Letterman. I cannot stop laughing.
Brain Scans of Jazz Musicians Reveal Secrets to Creative Flow
As reported in The Conversation:
“Flow, or being ‘in the zone,’ is a state of amped-up creativity, enhanced productivity and blissful consciousness that, some psychologists believe, is also the secret to happiness. It’s considered the brain’s fast track to success in business, the arts or any other field.
But in order to achieve flow, a person must first develop a strong foundation of expertise in their craft. That’s according to a new neuroimaging study from Drexel University’s Creativity Research Lab, which recruited Philly-area jazz guitarists to better understand the key brain processes that underlie flow. Once expertise is attained, the study found, this knowledge must be unleashed and not overthought in order for flow to be reached.
Previous neuroimaging studies suggested that ideas are usually produced by the default-mode network, a group of brain areas involved in introspection, daydreaming and imagining the future. The default-mode network spews ideas like an unattended garden hose spouts water, without direction. The aim is provided by the executive-control network, residing primarily in the brain’s frontal lobe, which acts like a gardener who points the hose to direct the water where it is needed.
Creative flow is different: no hose, no gardener. The default-mode and executive-control networks are tamped down so that they cannot interfere with the separate brain network that highly experienced people have built up for producing ideas in their field of expertise.“
Charles Schulz Drawing Peanuts
“I wish I had a better education but I think that my entire background made me well-suited for what I do. If I could write better than I can, perhaps I would have tried to become a novelist and I might have become a failure. If I could draw better than I can, I might have tried to become an illustrator or an artist and would have failed there. But my entire being seems to be just right for being a cartoonist.”
Recently Read
Two massive tomes I finally conquered: The Stand and The Pale King. Wouldn’t necessarily recommend either but I am glad I read both.
Of course I love reading about movies. After making a list of my favorite (read: not the ones I think are the best) films, I realized two filmmakers had four films on my list: PT Anderson, and one that surprised, Sidney Lumet. I immediately sought out his book Making Movies. It was a bit dated in describing how the sausage is made, but it had a lot of great stories and even better advice, bits that carry over to the creation in any art form.
Shea Serrano’s Movies and Other Things was fun, and made me laugh several times.
After re-watching The Godfather and its first sequel, I picked up the novel, which was fun, pulpier than the films and had an iconic inside cover. After I read Leave the Gun, Take the Cannoli, which was even better.
Recently finished Mrs. Maisel and wanted to keep living in that world as well, so I finished my copy of Lenny Bruce’s How to Talk Dirty and Influence People and have come to the conclusion that I prefer the fictional portrayal.
And of course I love reading about music. More specifically The Beatles. Read Revolution in the Head, Dreaming The Beatles and 150 Glimpses and loved the different styles and tones of all three, especially the latter.
I did also read, as well as listened to, the Beastie Boys Book and would recommend both. The book’s art and photos are great, but the audiobook elevates the material, and is read by the most absurd cast ever, including Steve Buscemi, Elvis Costello, Chuck D, Snoop Dogg, Will Ferrell, Kim Gordon, LL Cool J, Spike Jonze, Rachel Maddow, Tim Meadows, Better Middler, Rosie Perez, Amy Poehler, Kelly Reichardt, John C. Reilly, Maya Rudolph, Jon Stewart and Ben Stiller.
A book I read about film and music and television and pop culture junk and how it all ties together was Chuck Klosterman’s The Nineties: A Book.
On Loving God had some great passages and advice, not just for Catholics.
The Swallowed Man was a fun read, the story of Pinocchio from Geppetto’s point of view (from inside the belly of the whale, no less).
“Surely You’re Joking, Mr. Feynman!” didn’t offer as much insight as I was hoping for, but it was a curious glimpse at an incredibly interesting man.
I don’t really know much about poetry but I enjoyed Rotten Perfect Mouth by Eva HD, whom I discovered after watching a film I did not care for, but the poem hasn’t left me.
TV Reviewed
(Previously on Hackneyed)
The Bear (Seasons 1-2): Second season surpassed the first. The bottleneck episodes, “Fishes” and “Forks,” were probably my two favorite single episodes of a show last year.
Brooklyn Nine-Nine (Seasons 1-8): Just what I needed. Not quite Parks or The Office, but a solid sitcom from start to finish.
Better Call Saul (Seasons 5-7): Stuck the landing. For my money, better than Breaking Bad, but also surprisingly wrapped up the entire saga perfectly.
Curb Your Enthusiasm (Season 12): Of course Larry would invent the “Spite Finale.” A hilarious remake of the Seinfeld ending that everyone hated. And the title? “No Lessons Learned.” Bravo.
Dave (Seasons 1-3): I think ‘Lil Dicky is a immensely talented MC, but I like his show much more than his music.
Euphoria (Seasons 1-2): Prestige trash (compliment).
Frasier (Season 1): It’s not the original, but enjoyable and Grammar slipped back into the role effortlessly.
I Think You Should Leave (Season 3): My friends and I joke about this all the time.
It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia (Season 16): Funnier than the last, but I think at the moment their podcast is better than their show.
Jeopardy!: A nightly ritual in this household.
The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (Season 5): It was always Midge and Susie.
Party Down (Season 3): Solid revival. Not quite as funny as the first two seasons, but this cast is too solid to fail.
Rick and Morty (Seasons 6-7): My last review still stands: “Like most nerdy things, the fan base kinda ruins it, but this show is too funny and too in my wheelhouse not to love. And quite often, it is just as deep as they say it is.”
Saturday Night Live (Seasons 48): More meh moments than classics, but not as bad as they say and sometimes flat-out hilarious. I liked every bit of last week’s episode with Gosling.
South Park (Seasons 24-26): Not at its peak, but still the most cutting satire on television.
Succession (Seasons 1-4): A masterclass in writing and acting.
Ted Lasso (Season 3): Nothin’ wrong with comfort television.
Welcome to Wrexham (Season 2): Fun!
Winning Time (Season 2): Deserved to get cancelled, but I’m still kinda bummed about that.
American Movie, Chris Smith
Re-watched this wonderfully weird film last night and still love it as much as I did 25 years ago, but agree that it now hits different:
“Today Mark Borchardt looks less like an amusing hustler, and more like a poetic and even tragic hero; the living embodiment of unfulfilled dreams. Even that scene with the unforgiving cabinet door takes on a deeper meaning. It’s still funny, but it also summarizes the lives of dreamers like Mark in a single image. The pursuit of something bigger than yourself so often feels like banging your head against the wall. And when you bang your head against a wall, the wall always wins.”
From The Journal of Kurt Cobain, Gone 30 Years Ago Today
- Don’t rape
- Don’t be prejudiced
- Don’t be sexist
- Love your children
- Love your neighbor
- Love yourself
Don’t let your opinions obstruct the aforementioned list.
Amoeba Music, San Fransisco
Didn’t actually pick up any tapes, but did fill my bag with jazz records: Weather Report’s self-titled debut, The Jazz Experiments of Charles Mingus, Tomorrow Is the Question! The New Music of Ornette Coleman! and Alice Coltrane’s Journey in Satchidananda.
Greetings from Detroit
So nice, I went and turned 21 twice. Spent the birthday with Adri in Detroit, getting prayer beads from Dabls, strolling thru Heidelberg, getting drinks with DJ Ladylike at Spot Lite, and stopping by my favorite tiki spot Mutiny before getting grooves on at Boogie Fever.
Pretty close to a perfect day.
Pop (T)art(s)
From Wikipedia:
“Introduced in 1964 and initially called Fruit Scones, the name was soon changed to Pop-Tarts as a pun on the then popular Pop Art movement.”
(File under “things learned watching Jeopardy!)
The Sears Wishbook
I had a lot of these toys so this is not me complaining, but one of my funniest Christmas memories is my stepmom handing me one of these and telling me to circle everything I wanted for Christmas. I went to town, greedily circling every item imaginable. That holiday morning, I believe I received exactly zero of the things I had circled. In retrospect, she was getting me to settle down and be quiet for a bit, which, yah, totally understand.
