The Jotter - issue 21
Hello and a happy Friday,
Many good things have come out of the US of A. In photography Saul Leiter and W.Eugene Smith, in music The National and REM to name one or two. However, they have also given us the cultural wasteland that is Black Friday.
One of the joys of today is seeing enlightened businesses approach it as a November equivalent of April Fool’s Day. These are the businesses who are most likely to get my future custom.
Onwards
Andrew
7 Tips for Black Friday shopping from Hiut Denim
01, Freedom
“You are free to do whatever you want. You need only face the consequences.” Sheldon Kopp
From his always insightful ‘The Imperfectionist’ emails, Oliver Burkeman explains why everything you do comes with a cost and your only decision is if the cost is worth paying.
02, Exhibition
Coming up for Air: Stephen Gill at the Arnolfini, Bristol
It does what all good exhibitions do. It makes you see and think differently. His experimental approach expands the boundaries of photography.
03, Sabotage
‘The Simple Sabotage Manual’ was published by the CIA in 1944.
It provided instructions for how people could help the Allies weaken their country by reducing productivity. The alarming thing is that many businesses still willingly shoot themselves in the foot by following these ‘tips.’
04, Quote.
“I think I’m addicted to periods of doubt and low confidence. I think you should worry if you don’t have them because then you’re not trying hard enough.”
From this interview with Grayson Perry
05, The 48 Laws of PowerPoint
A pithy summary of a recently published book which is sitting in my growing pile of books to read next.
06, NFTs.
Anil Dash hacked a first version of the blockchain with Kevin McCoy and wrote this thoughtful article in The Atlantic.
“When we invented non-fungible tokens, we were trying to protect artists. But tech-world opportunism has struck again.”
07, Blending past and present
This neat little tool from the National Library of Scotland gives you the chance to view a map of today and hover over a spyglass to compare how it looked on a vintage map.
Here’s our home:
(Image credit: National Library of Scotland)
08, Work.
It has been a pleasure to work with The Ian Sanders Co. to create their new website just in time for the publication date of Ian’s inspiring and heart-warming new book ‘365 Ways to Have a Good Day.’ I can vouch that he practices what he preaches. The last 30 or so that I have worked with him have indeed been good days.
If you have feelings of wanderlust, here is something to tempt you. Earlier this week, I took photos for Jones Sport Campers.
A week today (on Friday 3rd December), I will be doing a Rooster Talk at The Glove Factory on curiosity and creativity. You can book for free here.
Thank you for reading this month’s Jotter. The next one will sparkle into life on New Year’s Eve. In the meantime, I hope you enjoy the next month and spend time with your loved ones.
Onwards
Andrew
“When burdened by the feeling that there are too many photographs in the world, I ask myself if there are too many flowers.”