Here we go....
Hope everybody had a wonderful Memorial Day weekend. This week there are people all over the country pulling their white pants out of the backs of their closets because they’re “allowed” to wear them now, but hopefully you all are rule breakers who have been wearing your white pants all fall and winter whenever you damn well please.
Thanks to everyone who signed up for this substack, which still needs a catchy name, a logo, a “thank you for signing up” email, and I’m sure a whole host of other bells and whistles. I’ll get there. There’s two ways to approach something like this, IMO. Either spend a whole bunch of time getting the extras juuuust right or simply dive right in with the writing and figure out the rest along the way. I’m going with door number 2.
It’s been fun brainstorming ideas for what this should be. The first post - my listicle of 54 Things I’ve Learned - was a piece I’d been working on off and on since last summer. Obviously, I plan to pick up the pace a bit! I’m aiming to send something to you every other week for now.
As for what that “something” is - it’ll look different each time. My list of potential categories to cover keeps growing - books, movies, TV, travel, restaurants, cooking, beauty products and services, spirituality, home life. Not all of it every time, of course. Each post will probably have a main thing and a few quick hits.
OK, enough naval-gazing. On to this week’s main thing.
MOVIES
I love documentaries about people who are masters of their craft, whatever that may be. An intimate look at how someone at the top of their game approaches their work can be absolutely fascinating, sometimes horrifying, and often inspiring.
Here are my favorites of the genre:
Jiro Dreams of Sushi (2011) - This film focuses on Jiro Ono, the 85 year old sushi master owner of a Michelin three star sushi restaurant improbably located in a Tokyo subway station. It’s a near-perfect distillation of what a life looks like when it’s been focused exclusively on dedication to craft. It comes at a cost, to be sure. As an aside, the scenes in the Japanese tuna markets are like nothing I’ve ever seen before. Plan on having sushi for dinner after you watch it.
Homecoming (2019) - This concert film from Beyonce’s 2018 Coachella performance includes a ton of behind the scenes footage as Beyonce prepares to headline the major music festival shortly after giving birth to twins. Because that’s something normal people do all the time postpartum. Even adding the obvious provisos that, yeah yeah, she has a team of people to help her with babies and diet and exercise, it’s still an unbelievably impressive accomplishment. The whole thing left me in absolute awe of her discipline and drive. I already loved her voice and her music before watching this, but the behind the scenes look at what she put herself through to get ready for those performances helped me appreciate why her BeyHive is so obsessed.
Dior and I (2014) - This follows the first few months of Raf Simons’ appointment as creative director of the fabled design house as he prepares for his first haute couture show. What fascinated me most about the film was watching a newcomer join this iconic company and walk that tightrope of integrating himself into a community of artisans, some of whom have been working as world-class seamstresses at the house for decades, while also imposing his own creative vision on the next collection. Just as a study on human relations and leadership and emotional intelligence, it’s a winner. Not to mention that there are some stunningly beautiful clothes, of course. This documentary also pairs nicely with a viewing of Apple TV’s limited series, The New Look, which tells the story of how Coco Chanel and Christian Dior handled the Nazi occupation of Paris and the post-war years. I’m most definitely Team Dior there.
The Beatles: Get Back (2021) - Imagine if cameras had been around to capture da Vinci painting the Mona Lisa or Beethoven noodling over what became his Fifth Symphony. This is, in my humble-ish opinion, the historical significance of what’s captured on film in this three part documentary. And I never exaggerate. Clocking in at almost eight hours, it’s super long, but - candidly - if you told me there was an additional eight hours of raw footage like this, I’d drop what I was doing to watch more. I mean, you get to see Paul McCartney plunk out an early version of Let it Be to share with his bandmates for the first time. You watch the McCartney-Lennon songwriting process. The Ringo goofiness. The George Harrison drama. All the witty banter. And it culminates with the rooftop performance at their studio, the band’s final public performance. I still can’t believe this film exists. Also, you’ll probably be tempted to go buy some Henley Ts once you watch it. None of us will look as cool in ours as Paul did in his.
What’s another documentary along these lines that I should watch? Put it in the comments!
The Other Stuff
-I loved this piece in this month’s Atlantic. Gary Shteyngart was a passenger on the inaugural voyage of the Icon of the Seas and lived to tell the tale. He makes fun of all the right people.
-I was probably pre-conditioned to adore the article because Shteyngart wrote one of my favorite beach reads of the last few years. Lake Success is satirical and hilarious, and the way he draws characters reminds me of Tom Wolfe.
-Finally, here’s a song I’ve had on repeat lately. The version performed in the video is slightly different than what I’ve been listening to on Spotify - more choral. But I ain’t mad at it. Enjoy.