A Giant Mystical Ball, Discovering Artists IRL, Wasted Lives, and More
Friday, July 14, 2023
Happy Friday everyone!
Here are 10 things I found interesting from the last week or so.
A Giant Mystical Ball Awaits In The Desert
First off, if you haven’t seen it already go check out The Sphere at The Venetian Resort in Las Vegas, NV. This giant mystical ball will officially open in September this year, hosting U2’s first live performance since 2019. Here are some pictures of what’s expected to be a 2.3 billion project making it the most expensive Las Vegas entertainment venue ever, surpassing the Raider’s Allegiant Stadium which opened in 2020 costing 1.9 billion. Ironically, the Allegiant Stadium has a capacity of 65,000, while The Sphere seats less than 20,000. If you’re interested in how the structure was built, check out their website, which shares the mathematical formulas and technology involved in its construction.
Discovering Artists IRL
Last week, artist Blaize Jenkins became an overnight sensation gaining over 100K social media followers in a matter of days. How? Area is a messenger app for music creators. On Area's social media page, they go around asking people if they make music. If they do, they'll ask them what artists inspire them or who they sound similar to, and then will post one of the artist's songs at the end of the video. For example, Jenkins said he really likes Sweet Trip and at the end of the video, Area played his song "Phases." I LOVE this. I like the app. I like how genuine the exchanges between people are. All around just good, good stuff. Also, Jenkins said in a recent IG post he plans to release three more songs on July 20th. I hope this concept continues to grow. Best of luck Area, keep it going!
Accidentally Wes Anderson Explained
The Wes Anderson video trend has garnered billions of views. With that, there has been a huge range of interpretations surrounding the director's distinct style. It got me thinking: what actually are the main characteristics necessary in recreating the Wes Anderson look? I found a video on Imitative Photography's YouTube channel called "How To Take Accidentally Wes Anderson Photos." The video breaks down subject, light, composition, and color.
Why Directors Hate The Present
Wes Anderson released his latest film, Asteroid City, this past May. Christopher Nolan's Oppenheimer comes out next Friday. Martin Scorsese's Killers of the Flower Moon comes out in October. Ridley Scott's Napoleon comes out in November. And Quentin Tarantino has teased his 10th and final film, "The Movie Critic." Comedian Dan Mahboubian Rosen pointed out some of these movies in a recent IG post posing the question, "Why do directors hate the present?" I'm not sure if these directors hate the present, but I do believe that film and entertainment have always been a form of escapism. So, my guess is that escaping the present to tell a story set in the past somehow offers these specific storytellers the greatest form of escapism. What do you think?
Interview with Oppenheimer's Cast
Speaking of Oppenheimer, I haven't been this excited about a movie since Christopher Nolan's last film Tenet. So, I wanted to share an interview featuring Nolan, the film's star cast (Cillian Murphy, Robert Downey Jr., Emily Blunt, and Matt Damon), and Fandango correspondent Jacqueline Coley. A lot of the interviews leading up to the film only host one or two people at a time, so it was nice to hear from everyone at once in this video.
From Thousands to Hundreds of Millions
Nolan's films always feel special to me. His virtuosity is unmatched. However, he didn't always have the huge budgets he has now, i.e. Dunkirk - $100 million, Inception - $160 million, The Dark Knight - $185 million, Tenet - $200 million. He made his first feature film, "The Following," for less than $6,000. Here's a cool video by Standard Story Company that explains how he did it.
The Great Escape and The Horrors of Wasted Lives
I was looking into escapism and where it appears in poetry and came across a poem this week by Charles Bukowski that I really liked called “The Great Escape.” This led to finding an article on Poetic Outlaw’s Substack called “Charles Bukowski on Writing and the Horror of Wasted Lives” which eventually led to a great quote from the writer about happiness and meaning in life. He said,
“Most people have missed everything, the fine paintings, the good books, the great classical symphonies. They believe that survival consists of commercial success. And those who believe in a standard God are the ones who are having the horrific experience. Their minds are filled with thousands of years of garbage. They buy the standard.
We face the factors of life as they are.
If we get kicked in the ass we don’t figure that it’s God‘s will. Or if we do something exceptional we don’t give credit to the Above. We use our minds which are free of standard concepts and beliefs. We are fortunate ones. As for death, I’m ready for death, I will face it on my terms as I have attempted to live my life.
Happiness and meaning in life are not constraints but I do believe at times we can have both if we can arrange to sometimes do what we want to do, what we truly feel like doing instead of following preset rules. It’s all quite simple and worth fighting for. Those who bow before false ways and false gods garner the confusion and the horror of wasted lives.”
I’ve only read bits and pieces of Bukowski — never fully completed one of his works — but if you have any recommendations on where to start, please let me know!
More Thoughts on Wasting
Ernest Hemingway famously said, "The first draft of anything is shit." However, the rest of that quote also touches on this idea of wasted lives that Bukowski mentions because its how we work through drafts—with writing, I think being just one example of something greater like drafts of chapters in one's life—is how we are able to face the factors of life as they are. We deal with life by working through it, not just buying the standard. Here's the rest of the Hemingway quote I'm referencing:
“Don’t get discouraged because there’s a lot of mechanical work to writing. There is, and you can’t get out of it. I rewrote A Farewell to Arms at least fifty times. You’ve got to work it over. The first draft of anything is shit. When you first start to write you get all the kick and the reader gets none, but after you learn to work it’s your object to convey everything to the reader so that he remembers it not as a story he had read but something that happened to himself. That’s the true test of writing. When you can do that, the reader gets the kick and you don’t get any. You just get hard work and the better you write the harder it is because every story has to be better than the last one. It’s the hardest work there is. I like to do and can do many things better than I can write, but when I don’t write I feel like shit. I’ve got the talent and I feel that I’m wasting it.”
Creative Practice As a Way of Avoiding Wasted Life
In the spirit of reworking drafts, building a creative practice, and not only avoiding a wasted life but living a long and meaningful one, I wanted to share an article by John Warner from another Substack, The Biblioracle Recommends. Warner beautifully ties together how a creative practice could be the key to longevity. The piece is well done and worth reading.
Share What Matters To You
On a final note, combining the spirits of Bukowski, Hemingway, and Warner, whatever output your creative practice generates—whether that's Tik Tok videos or the next Great American Novel—there are powerful ripple effects to sharing the thing you're working on to the rest of the world. As the author of The Pathless Path, Paul Millerd says,
"Just share what matters to you. Everything you share is an invitation to other people to feel seen, to resonate with your story, and bet on themselves. It can be encouragement to keep going. Sharing is a generous act because think about the stuff you've stumbled upon that has inspired you. Think about if that stuff wasn't shared. That's kind of selfish. The answer for all the toxic stuff on the internet is to share stuff that matters to you. True, deep curiosity. Stuff that really really matters to you."
Work on what matters to you—draft after draft after draft. And share it. It won't be a waste. In fact, not sharing it, would be the biggest waste.
Enjoy the weekend and see you next Friday.
-Garrett