Digest 1: Prison Docs & Pitchfork Lists
I’m excited to try something a little different on the ‘ol blog … digests. The blog posts I have been writing require quite a bit of work to put together, so I’ve been wanting a way to quickly share things that I find interesting. They also feel like a useful way to document things for personal reference. I’m hoping to be able to do these about once or twice a month, so I hope you enjoy them!
Movies
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The Work
One of the most intense documentaries I’ve ever watched. It’s a remarkable look at rehabilitation and finding commonality in our struggles.
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Afro-American Work Songs in a Texas Prison
Staying on a prison documentary theme, @davatron5000 recently recommended this documentary that takes place in a 1960s Texas prison. Further research led me to an old LP entitled Wake Up Dead Man: Black Convict Worksongs from Texas Prisons.
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The Toys That Made Us
Many thanks to @pws for recommending this Netflix series in response to my action figure post. The show is currently in its second season, and includes an entire 45 minutes devoted to G.I. Joe.
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Deadline – U.S.A.
You can never go wrong with Bogey. I feel like I’ve seen all his hits, but I'm constantly discovering these lesser known gems. This film is particularly relevant as it finds his newspaper standing up to the threats of a local gangster.
Music
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The Story of Outlaw Country in 33 Songs
I love these lists that @Pitchfork has been putting out lately. Outlaw country is one of my obsessions, and this article starts with a Steve Earle interview and wraps with 33 essential songs from the movement - from 1966 to the present.
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What to Stream From Drag City’s Catalog
Another @Pitchfork list. I always find myself coming back to the slightly experimental, yet super chill Drag City record label. Their early work with indie rockers Pavement and Silver Jews are an easy entry point, but there’s also the long-lasting Will Oldham and Smog. Start there and keep exploring.
Books
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Manson: The Life and Times of Charles Manson
I wrote a list of my favorite music books a while back, and one of the categories was “CRAZY SH*T.” Charles Manson would take up every single spot on that list. I had no idea how much his obsession with becoming a famous musician played on his life.
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100 Notable Books of 2018
It’s kind of impossible to keep up with all the books that @nytimesbooks writes about. So I love that they publish this list at the end of every year and, better yet, it’s categorized. If that’s still too overwhelming, check out their Top 10.
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Tomorrow I'll Be Brave
Many congrats to @jessicahische for writing and illustrating her first children’s book! I got a copy for my kids and they love it.
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A Mile Above Texas
@jaybsauceda is a local photographer, pilot, business owner, and cowboy. He flew his plane all around Texas and took these pictures for a feature in Texas Monthly. I'm probably just going to get this for everyone's Christmas present this year.
Design
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Car Interiors
I wish I had the time to do more car inspiration posts, as there's so much goodness out there. The limited pagination of this tumblr makes it hard to do a deep dive, but there's a lot of gold to be found.
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The Art Institute of Chicago Online Collection
Many thanks to @jkottke for blogging about the release of 52,000 high-res images from the Art Institute of Chicago's collection. It’s a really well done interactive exhibit, displaying a wide variety of artwork and genres.
Architecture
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The Graphic Art of Incredibles 2
One of my favorite things about The Incredibles was all the mid-century architectural details. They really turned it up to 11 with the sequel and this post from @joshholtsclaw, who was an art director on the film, is a behind-the-scenes look at how his team was inspired by Palm Springs. Thanks to @joel for the link.
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New Website for alterstudio
A little bit of shameless self-promotion. Paravel recently redesigned the web presence for the local, award-winning architecture firm alterstudio. Having top-notch content made our job really easy.