You Might Like This Too... #2

Hi friends

Quick spiel for any one stopping by for the first time: I have a voracious appetite for stories and make some musings as a creative at heart who also gets stuff done in larger organisations. Highbrow or lowbrow, I don’t care what state of refinement the art is in, if it helps me to “understand something about the odd experience of being alive” (Sam Green, 32 Sounds ), sign me up! And if there's content here that struck a chord for you, please share your thoughts, there's honestly nothing better than geeking out together!

What has fed me this week

Meeting Robert Gottlieb:

• Not Your Usual Secondhand Book Sale [Article] It all started with this NYT article about the sale of a portion of Robert Gottlieb’s personal library, a man famous for discovering and editing Catch-22, plus working with writers like Toni Morrison and Salman Rushdie. His daughter Lizzie Gottlieb, who made a documentary about her father, finishes the article with this quote “I hope what these young people can take away from my father is that it is joyful to care deeply about your craft and to want to devote yourself to it. It’s not about being precious.”
• Turn Every Page (2022) [Documentary] So I had to dive into this documentary by Lizzie Gottlieb. And yeah, it’s a total joy. Last week I shared how “I love listening in on men in creative relationships and how they navigate around their masculinity while needing to be deeply attuned to their emotions in order to make anything that connects to an audience. It’s a fascinating high-wire act.” Watching Robert Gottlieb and Robert Caro who have collaborated together since the 1970s, and obviously have a deep affection for each other but who also do an awkward half-hug when greeting each other, made me feel like a long-suffering wife who wanted to kvetch “just tell him you love him for goodness sake, who knows when you’ll see him again!”
• “The Arc of the Moral Universe Is Long, But It Bends Toward Justice” - Quote Investigator [Website] Robert Caro uses this quote during 'Turn Every Page', so I jumped onto the Quote Investigator website to learn about the origins. It’s not so straightforward… like the arc of the moral universe I guess...
• Everything is Copy (2015) [Documentary] Robert Gottlieb talks about a work by Shakespeare that he constantly references to make sense of his life - which character is he and what is he playing out at certain times. It made me wonder what my guiding literature might be, and I landed on ‘I Feel Bad About My Neck’ by Nora Ephron (yeah, it’s not Shakespeare, but it’s great advice from a cool Aunt in New York). I came across this documentary her son made about her posthumously - and lo and behold but who should be in there but Robert Gottlieb! It turns out he was a close friend with Nora Ephron. Sigh, it’s a little confronting when you see just how small some circles are in the world. “Your network is your net wealth” rings true and echoes this passage from Kurt Vonnegut’s book 'God Bless You, Mr Rosewater':

“It’s still possible for an American to make a fortune on his own.” “Sure—provided somebody tells him when he’s young enough that there is a Money River, that there’s nothing fair about it, that he had damn well better forget about hard work and the merit system and honesty and all that crap, and get to where the river is. ‘Go where the rich and the powerful are,’ I’d tell him, ‘and learn their ways. They can be flattered and they can be scared. Please them enormously or scare them enormously, and one moonless night they will put their fingers to their lips, warning you not to make a sound. And they will lead you through the dark to the widest, deepest river of wealth ever known to man. You’ll be shown your place on the riverbank, and handed a bucket all your own. Slurp as much as you want, but try to keep the racket of your slurping down. A poor man might hear.”

I hate to end on a cynical note when thinking about Robert Gottlieb though, as his reverence for art, beauty and making a contribution was matched by lovely little anecdotes shared by readers on his NYT obit :

In the 1970's when he was on the Board of the NYCB, I was working in the subscription office at the then New York State Theater at LC. He would come by and volunteer his time and help out the staff. Many a day we sat side by side stuffing envelopes with subscriber tickets and credit card receipts. He was just Bob, chatting away and doing what was necessary. What a surprise to the Ballet's subscribers to know that he was literally responsible for getting their tickets to them. I am glad I have that memory and glad to have known him, just a little!

A Japanese Film Vibe:

• Perfect Days (2023) [Film] I came for the meditative Japanese zen cinema vibes, I fell in love with the gorgeous public bathroom architecture in Tokyo! The film sits beautifully with my own reverence for the teachings of Thich Nhat Hanh and learning to be at peace during the storms of life. In reading a reddit thread by someone who had a completely different take, I was interested by the links others made to film makers such as Ozu (who has an unknown body of work to me).
• Tokyo-Ga (1985) [Documentary] Before diving into Ozu’s work, I was curious to watch this ‘Diary Film’ by Wim Wenders who was also the co-writer, co-producer and director of Perfect Days. If you are fascinated by retro Japan and are contented in watching the exploration process of an artist in love with Ozu, then you will probably get something from this film - I know I certainly did. If you need a driving plot though, the various 'diary entries' (such as 10 minutes watching the Japanese art of making display food) might not do it for you.
• Ryuichi Sakamoto | Opus (2023) [Music Film] After a few nights of Japanese films, the need to continue a certain wabi-sabi mood grabbed me and I found myself putting on this music film a few times while eating or doing chores. Watching Ryuichi Sakamoto perform his own creations amassed over a lifetime, in preparation for his death, is awe-inspiring.

Two Wrongs and a Right

• Brawn, bazookas and killer bots: Arnold Schwarzenegger’s finest films – ranked! [Article] This article ranks 20 Arnie films and there’s NO Kindergarten Cop?! Look, I’m not saying it’s up there with Total Recall, but it could have at least made the list! Such a comfort food.

• RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars Season 9 Finale [Reality TV] No spoilers, but the top was not right. It was Rigga Morris !
• An Ad a Day for July by Mitchell Bozzetto [LinkedIn Posts] “I recently got made redundant, so while I'm figuring out my next steps, I thought it'd be interesting to create an ad a day for July.” Talk about making lemonade from lemons! I have loved watching this series of posts , and am always blown away by the art of distilling ideas and concepts, particularly when there's humour involved. Very, very cool!

Whether you like to add sugar to your lemons, or a little salt & tequila, I hope your week ahead includes good drinks with good friends. And maybe something from my list above that you have opinions about!

Sarah