Public Media Shout-out
I earn a living as a strategic editorial consultant, and many of my clients are public media organizations. I used to work for PBS, and as a freelancer, I’ve worked with PBS, NPR, and indie film series P.O.V. (I wrote a column for P.O.V. about intersections between documentary storytelling and the web). I believe passionately in the importance of noncommercial media — media that treats people as citizens, not consumers. Today I attended the Free Press Summit, where I met fellow indie media true believers, and I’d like to give a shout-out to some of the creative talents I encountered: (more…)
Creative Life: Kristen Taylor
Blogger Kristen Taylor attempts to make life into art, chronicling her costumes, like this hat for a Kentucky Derby party:
…and her adventures, many of which involve food. Kristen makes you feel ashamed for every meal you treat as anything less than a celebration. Here, for example, something as seemingly ho-hum as spelt becomes a seductive temptation:
For more of Kristen’s wonderful photography, and to be reminded that every moment is full of potential for creative flair, check out her blog at kthread.com.
And Everything Is Going Fine
Spalding Gray
“I like telling the story of life more than living it.”
- Spalding Gray
One of the highlights of this year’s SXSW was seeing “And Everything is Going Fine,” a film about late performance artist Spalding Gray.
Editor Susan Littenberg and director Steven Soderbergh weave together the story of Gray’s life in his own words, artfully selecting and arranging clips from his performances and interviews from over 90 hours of footage. The depiction of Gray’s life that emerges is moving and poetic, and reveals that telling personal stories on stage was Gray’s way of keeping the chaos of the world at bay, if only for 60 to 90 minutes at a time. I related strongly to his journey to finding his artistic voice, and to his comment that writing was so hard because unlike performing, you didn’t get any feedback; I wonder what a Spalding Gray blog might have been like.
We’ll never know, of course, because in 2004, Gray killed himself. The film extensively foreshadows Gray’s suicide, but fails to reference it outright (more…)
Live What You Love
A lovely sentiment, indeed:
Poster by Hijiri on etsy
I bought this poster yesterday after a rapturous browse session on etsy. It had been too long. As I browsed their blog, the Storque, for the first time in months, I felt that flush of happiness that comes from surrounding yourself with eye candy; I also felt the joy of savoring beautiful objects made by individuals, not Companies. And then I found this poster, and it said what I feel, and I can’t wait to hang it on my living room wall where it will emanate these good feelings, and remind me to focus on what matters most.
The artist, Hijiri, has a design blog in addition to her etsy shop. She lives in Brooklyn with her husband, Randy, and their dachsund, Maia. (I wonder, how many artists I like are also dog people?)
