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Still Searching: I know a chiseled hunk o’ spunk like Brad Pitt has proven he’s more than a pretty face but man does the fifty-five year old heart-throb have some zingers up his sleeve. This quote just about sums up my current juncture, loosening your grip on what you love in favour of surrendering to the opportunities staring you square between the eys. I lapped up this thought-provoking GQ feature on Pitt’s triumphant return to the heart of the cultural zeitgeist. Truth be told, I’ve been BP’s ultimate stan ever since his golden-boy days, soppy films like Meet Joe Black, Legends of the Fall (WOOF!) and A River Runs Through It. After going to see Once Upon A Time in Hollywood a few weeks back, I turned to my lady during a solo scene of BP driving, confessing that I’d happily watch him drive around period La la land any day of the week. This to me is the definition of star power, of having that certain je ne sais quoi that captures the attention of people the world over. Only time will tell whether that charisma will bring home the box-office bacon in James Gray’s Ad Astra. Country Music: After coming across this New Yorker article on Ken Burns’ latest series, I switched on my ExpressVPN and pigged out on the two hour PBS pilot at my Newcastle Airbnb this week. Burns and his coterie of experts never cease to amaze me with their drive and dedication to story. One of the most exciting aspects of the show, thus far, is its look at the origins of country music itself. It’s both fascinating and heartbreaking to acknowledge that African-Americans were instrumental in its distinctive sound and earliest hits. I’ve always shared a genuine love of classic country music. Singers like Hank Williams, Woody Guthrie and Townes Van Zandt. A few years back I began to get a distinct taste for country’s female heavyweights after consuming the incredible biopic Coal Miner’s Daughter on the life of Loretta Lynn starring Sissy Spacek and Tommy Lee Jones (what a power pairing!). "You got to have smelt a lot of mule manure before you can sing like a hillbilly." — Hank Williams Where Should We Begin?: I discovered this curious little podcast series after enjoying the latest installment of Sex Diary, a week in the life of an anonymous individual’s sexual escapades from The Cut. Moderated by Esther Perel, a renowned therapist, it features conversations with real-life couples in therapy, offering audiences a fly on the wall window into the personal lives of strangers. After listening to the first couple episodes, it’s crystal clear why this series has spread like wildfire. Not only does it allow audiences the opportunity to soak up some hot goss on other people’s problems but it inadvertently dishes out great tools to apply in our own lives. While many of the episode’s issues lie outside my wheelhouse of experiences, I can confess that Perel’s therapeutic solutions have helped shed light on past and present choices, reminding me in the power of true listening. From Hell: A few weeks back my producer and current writing partner offered up the brilliant suggestion of turning an old script of mine into a graphic novel. Heeding his advice, I began looking for creative inspiration and rediscovered From Hell on my bookshelf. Written by Alan Moore (Watchmen, V for Vendetta) with illustrations by Eddie Campbell, the graphic novel dives in the world of Victorian London and its dreadfully unsavoury setting (can you imagine the stench!). Originally published in serial form from 1989 - 1998, it was subsequently bound and released as one giant bible at the end of the century. Moore’s story offers up a curious take on Jack The Ripper, alleging that the heinous crimes were all the doing of one Sir William Gull, an esteemed physician who carried out the orders from the Queen herself. While I have a natural distaste for the world of serial killers, Moore has successfully made me eat my hat. He paints a truly dystopic picture of the classes, showing just how hard life was at the lowest rungs of society, capturing the daily struggle of working women with such dexterity. A truly overlooked masterpiece. It’s Greta’s World: I must confess to stumbling over the rise of Greta Thunberg a few months back and waxing cynical at the notion of a sixteen year old girl being able to impact the climate conversation. After reading this New York Intelligencer article I’m beginning to see the light. While Thunberg’s voice has yet to affect anything other than pledges from the EU and Britain, she has become an unlikely beacon that world leaders are finding difficult to ignore. Diagnosed with with Asperger’s and an obsessive compulsive disorder at an early age, the Swedish teen also fell victim to selective mutism at age eleven, falling into a deep depression after learning about the fate of the world. This depression led to prolonged bouts of starvation and silence, resulting in her stunted growth and pre-teen look. Reading about Thunberg’s rise to prominence, which only began this time last year, has helped me to grasp just how much social media has shifted the consciousness. After attending the Sydney Climate Strike today, a worldwide campaign partly ignited through the selfless work of this sixteen year old, it’s beginning to feel like that millennial angst has found its true calling. “The year 2078, I will celebrate my 75th birthday. If I have children, maybe they will spend that day with me. Maybe they will ask me about you. Maybe they will ask why you didn’t do anything while there still was time to act. You say you love your children above all else, and yet you are stealing their future in front of their very eyes.” — Greta Thunberg
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