Filling in for DZ this week…
1. An interesting piece from George Elerick over at the Huffington Post about the destructive power of judgment. Though his alternative of a love-filled justice leaves much to be desired, he’s on to something…
“We judge others and ourselves because we have forgotten in what it looks like to be generous towards the potential of another. Judgment is a kind of amnesia that blinds us from the need to be people of generosity. Judgment, much like cigarettes, can kill. Judgment also puts everyone below the judge.”
2. A worth-while follow-up to Mr. T’s recent post about motivation in a recent NY Times article by Anand Giridharadas, that summarizes the different schools of thought when it comes to motivation: incentives vs. belonging (ht JD).
3. In music, Ben Folds has a new album called “Lonely Avenue” coming out in September, but instead of his usual dorky/ironic lyrics, he’s collaborating with author Nick Hornby. According to Folds’ website (ht DZ):
“The songs touch on subject matter ranging from a mother with a child in the hospital over New Years Eve to the work of Doc Pomus, lyricist of countless ’50s and ’60s pop hits. On composing the music Folds recently told Paste: “I kind of ran the gamut between being as simple as I’ve ever been, and sometimes having to go [Russian composer Dmitri] Shostakovich on some of them.”
4. Roger Ebert recently wrote about his faith and his childhood ambition to become a priest. Ebert speaks retrospectively as a lapsed Catholic, but he still vividly remembers his youthful “conversion” experience (ht DZ):
“When I was perhaps eight years old, and new to serving Mass, my mind emptied one morning and I made a mess of it. When we returned to the sacristy, I burst into tears. “I’m sorry, Father!” I sobbed, and he sat down and took me on his lap and comforted me, telling me that God understood and so did he. …On that day Father McGinn was only being kind, and I felt forgiven.”
5. A fantastic comic strip from the Village Voice’s Ruben Bolling inspired from the Pixar movie, Toy Story 3. It’s titled “Cormac McCarthy’s Toy Story 3”- sort of a picture of what Toy Story would be like if there were no God… I mean, Andy. Click on the image below to get a readable version.
COMMENTS
4 responses to “Another Week Ends: Roger Ebert, Judgment, Ben Folds & Nick Hornby, and TS3”
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Great stuff, Todd. That Toy Story comic is hilarious.
And I have to say, this is the first Ben Folds record I've been excited about since he left the Five. He and Hornby collaborated on "That's Me Trying" on William Shatner's record a few years ago (included on a mbird playlist a couple months ago, i believe), and it was a bit of a masterpiece. Hopefully the whole thing is in that vein.
Hornby may be a bit of a guilty pleasure (NL) but he on a roll these days. Juliet Naked was great, if a little close to home, and An Education really worked, didn't you think?
I've seen a few of Hornby's movies, but not an education. I'll add it to the movie queue! But I'm actually very much looking forward to the collaboration. The overall quality hasn't been there since the Five broke up (why Folds insists on playing all the instruments is beyond me), but he's still a great song writer.
Songwriters deciding to play all the instruments has some precedent in the over-ambitious. Paul McCartney and Stevie Wonder have both played all the instruments for songs they wrote. At its best it indicates well-rounded musicianship and at its worst it is simply the vanity project that it is even when all things work out.
I'd say that Folds is certainly a well-rounded musician (though you can never rule out vanity!). Did you see him on the Sing Off? The show was only ok, but Folds drew rave reviews for his musical insight.
That said, I think that there's something special about the collaborative creative process that is rarely be topped by the genius of one person.