joshua chamberlain

dance to your own music

I was at a party recently where a professional DJ was curating the music on the dance floor. He wasn’t a particularly good DJ. No one seemed to be into what he was playing. It didn’t matter though: he was the most excited person in the room. He danced to his own music. He wavedContinue reading “dance to your own music”

tomorrow

I recently stumbled upon a letter E.B. White wrote in response to another man’s despair and loss of faith in humanity: Dear Mr. Nadeau: As long as there is one upright man, as long as there is one compassionate woman, the contagion may spread and the scene is not desolate. Hope is the thing thatContinue reading “tomorrow”

studio time

One of my favorite conversations ever took place in a donut shop on a fall afternoon. I was there with a musician friend of mine. We drank coffee and ate donuts and talked about creating stuff. I told him I was jealous of him. I’d always wanted to be a musician because I loved theContinue reading “studio time”

something to lose

I’ve spent a good amount of the last few weeks trying to hold it together. This seems to be the case for most of us these days. Something I’ve found distressing in the midst of it all has been my inability to engage with certain media. Watching TV is often difficult, despite the fact it’sContinue reading “something to lose”

“inviting in”

In a recent piece for Variety, Seth Rogen writes how Mills’ most recent film, C’mon C’mon made him rethink the old adage that good artists borrow and great artists steal. “[Mills] made me realize the best artists include,” Rogen writes. “Mike is the first filmmaker I’ve seen to actually credit other artists for their workContinue reading ““inviting in””

summoning something

Here’s a great interview Mike Mills gave on Bullseye with Jesse Thorn, in which Mills discusses how working on his most recent film, C’mon C’mon, was almost an act of summoning something otherworldly. “I don’t think I’m in any control of what I make or what I do. I feel like you summon things, butContinue reading “summoning something”

the 2021 playlist project

I just finished compiling my 2021 playlist for The Infinite Playlist Project. This collection of songs was the soundtrack for: blogging for 100 days in a row sending my best friend and his wife flowers to celebrate the birth of their kids getting drunk and praying during an assault on the US Capitol finishing aContinue reading “the 2021 playlist project”

Kleon on collage and discovery

Austin Kleon on how one creative effort leads to the next: “That’s the beauty of collage and working with real materials: when you don’t have a plan, when you don’t know where you’re going, you end up somewhere you didn’t anticipate. It’s real discovery.” As my dad is so fond of saying, “a plan isContinue reading “Kleon on collage and discovery”

don’t waste the good days

Stolen from Seth Godin’s blog: If you’re feeling creative, do the errands tomorrow. If you’re fit and healthy, take a day to go surfing. When inspiration strikes, write it down. The calendar belongs to everyone else. Their schedule isn’t your schedule unless it helps you get where you’re going.

lessons learned in 2021

It’s become my practice to spend the last day of the year reflecting on what I’ve learned over the last twelve months. Here are a few of my favorites lessons: Create from the heart, never the head. You get to the best parts of yourself on accident. The job of an artist is to orchestrateContinue reading “lessons learned in 2021”