PicoBlog

I’ve lived in Carroll Gardens several times in my life. The first time was back in 1991, when I moved here after college to attend Brooklyn Law School. I was 21 years old and lived on Carroll Street between Smith and Hoyt in a huge one bedroom floor-through apartment on the top of a brownstone owned by a guy named Sal. I might have been the only person on the block who had not grown up there.

It’s hard to believe it’s been three whole years since I started writing this newsletter! I was a bit of a pioneer here, and these days there are many Substack newsletters to choose from, which makes me even more grateful that you’re all here. To celebrate the occasion, I’m going to give away THREE free one-year subscriptions today. All you have to do is comment on this post as to WHY you want to have a full-access subscription and I’ll choose three people at random (one for each year that I’ve been publishing).

This week, Britbox, a streaming service for Anglophiles, launches a four-part miniseries called Archie dramatizing the life of Cary Grant, the Old Hollywood actor born Archibald Leach in Edwardian Britain, whose debonair on-screen persona papered over a Dickensian childhood and a series of failed marriages. I’m not really sure how one spins that into a compelling, multi-hour drama that producers preposterously compared to a thriller, but, then, neither did critics, who gave the rather low-budget series (shot at a discount in Spain) mixed to negative reviews.

This issue is part of a month-long Alfred Hitchcock marathon I’m doing as a fundraiser for The Women’s Fund of Greater Birmingham! I will be watching the Master of Suspense’s final 30 films (and writing a poem about each one over on Facebook), so I will be writing about four of those films here. If we’re not Facebook friends, you can donate to The Women’s Fund here. Note: This issue contains minor spoilers for North By Northwest.

Visa will be the sole digital payment option at the Paris Olympics, excluding Mastercard and American Express. Visa supports 117 diverse athletes through Team Visa, promoting inclusivity in sports. Visa's strategy includes empowering athletes on social media to connect with fans and drive commerce. That’s right; your Mastercard or American Express will be no good in Paris come July and August, as Visa is the exclusive payment technology partner of the Olympic games.

John Travolta is the poster child for the up-and-down swings a Hollywood career can take. A huge star at a very young age, he’s been written off numerous times as the quality of his movies dipped — then made just as many comebacks with boffo box office and Oscar nominations. But it’s now been 15 years since he had a certified hit and probably 10 since he made anything you’ve even heard of, with the possible exception of “Gotti,” mostly starring in low-budget straight-to-video schlock.

photo used on the cover of Castle in the Sky. 📷 Alexis Townsend"Take root in the ground, live in harmony with the wind, plant your seeds in the winter, and rejoice with the birds in the coming of spring." Miyazaki Inspired by a line from Japanese animator/director Miyazaki's, Laputa, this song is about the power, vulnerability, and beauty in sharing our dreams with one another. Dreams that run from the personal to the collective.

(Just made this guide for fun because I like sneakers, hope you find it useful! I recommend reading with Reddit Enhancement Suite...) If you’re a frequent visitor of /r/malefashionadvice (MFA), you’re probably going to have the following shoes imprinted into your brain: Common Projects (CPs), adidas Stan Smiths, Nike Killshots and Clarks Desert Boots (CDBs, these obviously aren’t sneakers). But, there are so many sneakers that are versatile and not just the same old that everyone is wearing!

I had a great chat with award-winning author Lauren Beukes on 23 October, which is now available for catch up! We talked about the research that Lauren did for her newest book, Bridge, including how she finds people to talk to, pantsers vs plotters vs headlighters, how her journalism skills helped her, particularly with how to listen for the most important information, and the challenges of getting access to institutions like the police when they don’t really want to chat.