Jimi Hendrix: Hear My Train A' Comin'

I'll always back Freddie Mercury as the greatest vocalist and frontman of all time. Likewise, Jimi Hendrix was the greatest guitarist to ever live, in my humble opinion. The dude's guitar playing is beyond inspirational. If I could express myself like anyone via any medium, it'd probably be Jimi.

This is a 90 minute doc on Netflix. Recently added. It's well-done. Good production value. Nothing fancy or terribly innovative. But just a good meat and potatoes doc with excellent archival footage and contemporary interviews with many people who were close to Jimi back in the day. Even Sir Paul McCartney makes an interview appearance for the doc.

It charts Jimi's humble beginnings to his rocket-like ascendency to fame and 30,000 sold-out venues. The dude was cool as a cucumber, man. He wasn't a dick. He was humble. He was honest. Seemed like a genuinely rad dude to be around. And obviously a phenomenal artist.

The doc is woefully incomplete, but how can you boil anyone's lifetime into 90 minutes? It does what it can. It's a good overview. A nice primer. I'd love to see a series on Hendrix doing deep dives on certain albums and periods of his life and career. Wish Ken Burns had done something like that.

You should stream this. Hendrix was the ultimate.

Respect.

Buddhism: Plain & Simple

I went to Bookstock with Marie a few months ago. It was a huge used book sale event at a mall in Westland or something. Marie found a decent selection of stuff to buy. I didn't come away with much other than a book on Buddhism, one on Gucci, and one on some true-life motorcycle gang/murder thing. I just picked up non-fiction, as that's how I roll most of the time. Anyway, this was the book on Buddhism I copped for a couple bucks.

The title is a bit misleading. It's not terribly simple. Hagen starts off well and it's pretty down to earth. But as the book progresses he talks about a lot of theories that are genuinely hard to describe, and he doesn't really help matters. It's very metaphysical. He strips away all notions of religion and ceremony and focuses on the essence of the teachings, which is cool. But still, it's not quite a breakthrough in simplicity if you ask me. But that's no easy task.

It's not an overview on Buddha and all the bells and whistles that go along with the philosophy. This isn't "the history of Buddhism." It's purely on the essence of its teachings. It's good, but it's not light reading. I can't say it's hard. But it is heavy. It's clearly hard for me to describe!

I'm just rambling. It's a worthwhile read. I can tell you that. I found myself stopping and contemplating quite a bit. It sticks with you.

Actually, as soon as I started reading it I knew I wanted Marie to pick it up, too. Even just to read the first couple chapters.

I've read about a half dozen books on Buddhism and this won't be the last. There's just so many ways of looking at things, it's fascinating. Dig it.

Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson

I read Hell's Angels by Hunter S. Thompson a few months ago. It was a super good read. I saw this doc on Netflix and thought I'd dig a little deeper to understand the crazy dude behind the crazy stories chronicled in that book.

Oh, I'd also seen Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas and I didn't dig that flick at all.

Anyway, this was a well done documentary. Good production values. Not too flashy. Johnny Depp narrated a bunch of it, but it was pieced together via standard fare historical footage as well as purposely shot interviews. Didn't break the mold.

It was a good doc but at the end of the day I guess I just don't find Hunter S. Thompson all that compelling a subject. If you like drugs, guns, booze and politics then have at it...

Read the book instead.

Bauhaus, Modernism & the Illustrated Book

Marie bought me this book for X-Mas. I always get awesome books from my wife. She has some great finds.

The title of this book couldn't be simpler. You know exactly what it's about. Alan Bartram walks the reader through a myriad examples of how modernist design principles have been applied to the printed book. He focuses on English and mainland European designers. As an Englishman he can't help but reflect upon how Swiss theory has impacted British design. He gets into some US designers, too, but doesn't really touch upon Modernism's impact on Asia, Africa or South America. That's fine. You can't be all things to everyone all the time.

This tome is definitely scholarly. But Bartram writes with a certain English wit to temper the highbrow theory behind the content. There's a certain duality that British authors (and British people in general) can strike that consists of both heady academic discourse and down-to-earth familiar dialogue. If you lean too far to one side you can come off boring as fuck and difficult to read. If you lean too far on the other side then your credibility gets questioned because you're far too informal. I find most British designers know how to straddle that bridge very well. Bartram has a very subtle sense of humor about his work. But it may get lost if you're not paying close attention.

Having said all that, I certainly didn't fly through this book. It's not a gripping, page-turner. "ooh, I can't wait to find out what example of modern book design he shows next! I just can't sleep without knowing!" But it's a good coffee table book to read. It's good for future reference. It's good to have.

The main thing I took away from it was the brilliance of the Swiss grid. I really need to employ that system at work if I can. So that was my big take-away. Work on the grid.

This is by a Nazi-like Modern typographer and it's for people of like minds. If the cover doesn't move you then you're not the target audience. I find it fucking awesome and very provocative.

Chef

Hadn't heard of this movie until last night. Marie asked me to go see it at the Maple with her sister and brother-in-law. Good thing she asked, cuz it was fucking good.

Jon Favreau writes, directs, and stars in this film. I love the guy; he's funny as hell. He has a keen eye for style and editing, knows how to pen witty dialogue, and has a sharp ear for the perfect soundtrack. All his movies have these traits. He's a true auteur.

Oh yeah, and he knows how to cast a good film to boot. I've always dug John Leguizamo. So pair him up with Scarlett Johansson and Sofia Vergara and GOD DAMN you've got a good movie on your hands. Who cares what it's about when you're watching this for 90 minutes:

We also see Russell Peters, Dustin Hoffman, and Robert Downey Jr. making appearances. C'mon, what's not to love?

The movie...yeah, it's about food, a father, and a son. Bonding, marriage, divorce, and friendship. Yup. It's feel-good stuff. But it's funny, man. And it makes you want to eat. Marie got home and made this incredible fucking sandwich after watching the film. Fried tofu with mozzarella, strawberry jam, orange marmalade, and capers on thick white bread. She slathered it in butter and threw the whole concoction on the skillet for a minute. It was amazing. Like a warm sweet and savory jelly donut! Totally inspired brilliance.

I can't overstate how good the soundtrack to this movie is. And how prominent music is featured. It's HUGE.

This movie ruled. Go see it.

100 Things Every Designer Should Know About People

My co-worker let me borrow this book and I really freakin dug it. It's essentially a book on psychology and how you can apply it to your designs. More often than not it's discussing UI/UX principles.

It focuses on web / digital deliverables. Testing. Focus groups. UI/UX. Data analysis. Metrics. blah blah blah.

Each entry is only between 1 to 3 pages long. It's easy to chunk up. You can pick it up for a bit, put it down, and come back to it a week later and it doesn't make any difference.

Psychology is very important to every designer, but it's especially important when you're dealing with HMI design. Whether you do print or mobile or whatever, this book is worth a read. Fo' sho.

As you'd expect, the author puts forth theories that she's culled from various people's research and spits it back to you in a simplified and easy to digest manor. Sources are cited and main points are reiterated. It's good shit.

Scratch

I was talking to a co-worker about turntablism and the 4 elements of hip-hop. I mentioned I loved the b-boy doc, Planet B-Boy. He told me if I liked that then I needed to watch Scratch.

So I streamed it on YouTube at lunch. It's dope. You should watch it.

It's a pretty comprehensive overview of where turntablism came from and where it's going. It breaks down the art into various aspects and facets and gives you a great overview of the sub-culture.

I was blown away with DJ's ever since I got the Return of the DJ double LP when I was 18 or so. This doc happens to interview the man behind Bomb Records and most of the cats featured on that LP. So that's kinda cool.

Anyway, check this doc out. You'll be impressed.

Senna (audio commentary)

So, I think this is my fourth time watching Senna. Marie bought me the Blu-Ray for my birthday so I popped it in and watched it with the audio commentary on.

The Director, Editor and Producer are all talking if I recall. But it's mostly the Director and Editor. Anyway, I don't have anything new to add that I haven't mentioned any of the other times I've watched the film. The commentary is obviously only for die-hards. If you've seen it three times then maybe you'll wanna watch the commentary. I learned a few interesting tidbits. I'd love to see a longer cut of the film because their first cut was five hours long. Then they got it down to three. Then two. And finally 100 minutes for theatrical release.

This was the first time that I didn't cry like a baby while watching it. But that's only because there were two or three other people talking over the whole film. You couldn't get emotionally involved while the Director was going on about access to Bernie Eckelstone's archives...

It got me stoked to watch it again, though. So I'm pretty sure I'll be watching it for a fifth time by year's end...best. documentary. ever.

I Vitelloni

Fellini's third film, I Vitelloni. I hadn't seen it in years so I bust out the DVD and watched it last night. It's good stuff, man. It's just about some dudes hanging out. Being dudes. And dealing with shit.

The main characters are all in their late 20s and early 30s. But in small town Italy in the 50's...well, things are different. Most of them live with their parents and are unemployed. I don't know how the hell they have any money to live...but I don't know mid century provincial Italian culture. They're not terribly mature for their age. Anyway, it's a film about friends, romance, responsibility, and intrinsic passion. Each cat has a different motivation. Each cat comes from a different angle. But they support each other like friends do.

They all come to turning points in their lives. And this movie is about those people and those events.

It's quintessential Fellini. The editing, the cinematography, the story...it's really good stuff. It's not as "wacky" as some later Fellini stuff is, though. It's a somewhat autobiographical tale that's told beautifully.

I wouldn't casually recommend this, though. You either like Fellini and 50's Italian cinema or you don't.

the Exorcist

Picked this up at a garage sale last summer, I believe. Just read it for the first time. It's fucking brilliant.

Rosemary's Baby and the Exorcist are two of my favorite horror films. Two of my favorite films, period. And their respective novels are top class.

There was a lot more cut from the Exorcist than Rosemary's Baby. There are quite a few additional subplots in the original novel that never make it to the screen. That's fine. The film is amazing as-is. But when you read the novel you certainly get introduced to a much deeper world than the portion that's portrayed on the silver screen. It's definitely worth a read.

This is a quick, easy read. It's very compelling.

Read it.