Stick it to me
Prompts
I can work this way, too
The pros and cons of making an effort
No signal
That's the Valium talking
Stick it to me
One of my favorite notebook practices is to add a sticker from a visit to a museum or similar activity. It goes straight from the lapel to the book as a little visual cue of what is usually a great experience.
The above sticker is from Chinati, an art museum in Marfa, Texas, founded by Donald Judd. My visited over the winter holiday. Most of the space is occupied by stern but somehow soulful sculptures by Judd himself, but there are also massive works by Claus Oldenberg and Dan Flavin among others. All in Marfa, a small West Texas town within a drive of Big Bend National Park and the McDonald Observatory.
West Texas is a singular setting. Desert landscape broken up by mountains and hills, all girded to the south by the flowing Rio Grande. When you think borderlands, West Texas is what you get. A blend of cultures, mythology and history embedded in the landscape like rock outcroppings, tourists comingling with idiosyncratic hold-outs who prefer wide open spaces.
This particular sticker does not try to encapsulate the whole of the experience. In a way, I’m glad that it doesn’t (though don’t get me wrong, I enjoy stickers that hype up regions). But this sticker served its purpose, now it serves a second, to provide a visual cue that conjures up visions of vistas. - Ted
I Didn’t See You There on PBS
One night I was channel-surfing – a concept I had to explain to my child only days prior during her run-in with a hotel room TV – and stumbled onto PBS’s POV series documentary “I Didn’t See You There.” Reid Davenport, who uses a wheelchair, brings the viewer into his rolling worldview, which in this particular iteration is an ever-unfolding film strip of crosswalk paint, rumble strips, sidewalks, and accessibility ramps. I was transfixed by the composition and juxtaposition of images, and the sense of movement throughout. The documentary is spiritual cousins with How To with John Wilson, a series we have discussed on the podcast. Both speak are their own vernacular in a shared language of urban audio/visual poetry. While this series purports to be about the point of view of someone in a wheelchair, I would argue it is the point of view of a uniquely talented filmmaker. -Ted
From the Take Note Website
- Annie Ernaux's Compilation of Days
- Russell Banks' Notebook and the Rigors of Discipline (From 2021)
Episode 170: Brain, with Ryan Slie
Our dear friend Ryan joined us for our 170th spin around the pod. He brought his trademark wit to a discussion of starting the year off right, holiday travel hijinx, and lots of notebook talk.
Thank you
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Take care.