PicoBlog

Hello! Thank you for signing up to, or stumbling on, this no-news-newsletter written by me, Ashley Clark. If you do choose to subscribe—and it’s free—you’ll receive bulletins about whatever’s on my mind: usually some combination of art/film/music/literature/football. If that sounds good, hit the button! The great Sir Horace Ové has died following a long struggle with Alzheimer’s disease, his family announced this morning. Below is an excerpt, focused on Ové, from a much longer piece that I wrote about the history of Black British protest cinema for Sight & Sound magazine in the tumultuous and emotionally draining summer of 2020.

On May 7, 2024, an Israeli tank intentionally crushed the “I love Gaza” sign near the Egyptian-Gaza border crossing as the military expanded its assault of the city of Rafah. Israel’s attack on Rafah began the day before with aerial assaults and warnings to civilians to flee. That same day chart-topping, anti-racist American rapper, Macklemore released the song and music video, “Hind’s Hall,” condemning the dehumanization of Palestinians. The song also defiantly defends the college students’ protests against U.

I’m old enough to remember when people were surprised when Liam Neeson, the legendary thespian who starred in Schindler’s List began cranking out action movies. People were surprised, and, on some level disappointed.  Why on earth would the stars of such apogees of quality cinema as the aforementioned Schindler’s List, Excalibur, Husbands and Wives and Gangs of New York prostitute his gifts in grim, tacky revenge thrillers?  The answer, unsurprisingly involves money.

The 60s mod aesthetic was my gateway into exploring fashion. Something about the clean silhouettes, shift dresses, collars, mini skirts, mary janes and knee high socks makes my heart sing and yearn for more. ‘60s mod-inspired fashion have been slowly making a resurgence on the runway. This is the first time since the peak of twee where mod inspired fashion has returned to the spotlight. Dior’s 88 look SS22 collection featured mod-inspired skirt suits and shift dresses, while Loewe’s SS22 shows stand out pieces were space-aged armor bodices.

Rev. Ray will be publishing his new Sunday Sermon here every Sunday. Please subscribe to his newsletter below if you’re not white. If you are white, you may still subscribe, but only after you’ve sent your monthly reparations payment to $RevRayCistman on CashApp. Send Reparations Thank you and welcome to Rev. Ray Cistman’s Sunday Sermon! 🙏🏾 ncG1vNJzZmiqlau%2FosXCoqqtpZGje7TBwayrmpubY7CwuY6amaitpA%3D%3D

Your blood runs in my veins, but there is no trace of you in my heart. - Rocky Randhawa (this side) So, I closed out August by watching Karan Johar’s bombastic, loud, colourful new musical, Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani (Rocky and Rani’s Love Story), as my first film in an Indian cinema in a year. Starring Ranveer Singh as Rocky Randhawa and Alia Bhatt as Rani Chatterjee, the film asks the question: Can a liberal, sociopolitically aware, English-speaking Bengali girl from South Delhi (Rani) be in a relationship with a born-and-raised West Delhi himbo boy (Rocky)?

Just a few months ago, The Group NYC—a hospitality consortium based in you-know-where—opened the Italian restaurant Olio e Piu in Chicago’s River North neighborhood.  You can read my review of this restaurant at https://future3733.substack.com/p/review-italian-restaurant-olio-e, but what I basically said it that it took two bites of the pasta for me to b… ncG1vNJzZmiepanCs7GScGpsZqOqr7TAwJyiZ5ufonyxe9GeraKdp2K5onnGq5innJVir7DBwqGcq6GV

For those who have been around a while, you have probably noticed I’ve been absent here for over two months now. I found out I was pregnant at the end of April – and later found out it was twins! – and an unfortunate and unexpected side effect is that reading is… hard and unenjoyable. And let me tell you: I am more disappointed than anyone. But, I am back (mostly).

Hi and Happy Thursday! The other day, Netflix, very smartly, suggested I watch Hack Your Health: The Secrets of Your Gut, their new documentary about the gut microbiome. Like Netflix, a number of my friends recommended the same (which is proof that AI really is just as good as friends!) I was, of course, interested. So, Will and I sat down and watched it…for fifteen minutes, then we stopped, and then we started two nights later for fifteen minutes, and then two more times, because we have two kids and I start going to bed at 8:30.