What is craft?
Greetings,
Here are 7 things I would like to share in this week’s newsletter:
I have always been fascinated by both how things are made and the end product. My new thing is book cover design for which I started a Pinterest Board. Two cover designers I was recently introduced to are Chip Kidd and Noma Bar, whose work is dope.
John Boyega is not going to drown in the world of Hollywood and forget where he comes from. He has been repeatedly outspoken about the social issues that we, as a species, are grappling with. I like this project he has launched with Converse to help Black filmmakers find their way into the industry. John Boyega: "If opportunities are just based on who we know, then we're missing out on new, raw talent"
The Tim Ferriss Show is one of my go-to podcasts. Recently, I listened to the episode How I Built The Tim Ferriss Show To 700+ Million Downloads where he shared his podcasting journey and what he has learned from it. There’s quite I bit I am drawing from to make my podcasting experience easier. Learn from the mistakes of others, and all that. It’s definitely worth the listen, if you are interested in podcasting and the transcript is also available.
The number of times I have had conversations about writing with people who have a romanticised view of it. In their minds, because I spend my days writing, I lead a charmed life.
“Good writing doesn’t come naturally, though most people seem to think it does. Professional writers are constantly bearded by people who say they’d like to “try a little writing sometime”—meaning when they retire from their real profession, like insurance or real estate, which is hard. Or they say, “I could write a book about that.” I doubt it. Writing is hard work. A clear sentence is no accident. Very few sentences come out right the first time, or even the third time. Remember this in moments of despair. If you find that writing is hard, it’s because it is hard.” ― William Zinsser, On Writing Well: The Classic Guide to Writing Nonfiction
One of my favourite IG accounts to follow:
Brain Pickings by Maria Popova is a wonderful archive of the human experience with countless lessons drawn from books, people, etc. It has undergone a name change and I just love how Popova explains the way in Becoming The Marginalian: After 15 Years, Brain Pickings Reborn.
Lesotho is the only country in the world landlocked by a single country, namely South Africa. The UCLA Library, under its Modern Endangered Archive Program, has created the Ramakatane Collection, which they describe as follows: “The Ramakatane archive provides a unique perspective of Lesotho’s social history and visual culture from a period spanning nearly 55 years. His photographic work is an exemplary portfolio of “vernacular photography.” The collection contains a hefty total of approximately 10,000 negatives, prints, article fragments, magazines, calendars, and some of Ramakatane’s personal papers. These materials serve as vital resources for Lesotho’s articulation of identity, sense of history, and memory.”
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Easy, Kojo