Whatever your version of honesty is, I don’t want it.
Whatever your version of friendship is, I don’t want it.
Whatever your version of morals is, I don’t want it.
Whatever your version of monogamy is, I don’t want it.
Whatever your version of faith is, I don’t want it.
Whatever your version of love is, I don’t want it.
My eyes have just shifted, I can’t explain, so I’m going to document it so there’s a record of it happening, but honestly I don’t really know how to fully articulate what just happened. I just know it’s like I can suddenly see a whole new dimension of values.
I can’t draw this yet, so I’m going to take a bunch of pictures off Unsplash and turn them grey scale and try to explain what’s going on.
My instinct is telling me that it’s this is this topic that’s going to push from ‘hm, nice! A thing!’ to 'holy crap what, how did you do that’, I don’t know how I’m going to figure it out yet, but this is the one that pulls colour and composition to a different level.
But it’s hard. I’ll try to show you in the photos what I mean.
(I’ll just type my thoughts as we go, maybe that’ll help me work something out)
(USGS)
So we’re looking at values. In case you haven’t seen it before, values are a property of colours, dictated by the hue (the actual 'colour’, such as red, blue, green that we’re familiar with) and it’s saturation (aka chroma - how bright it appears)
So we look at this picture of natural formation in greyscale (you can also squint your eyes) and notice how the parts we see the smoke and molten rock pop out. You see it’s still happening even if we remove the colour red, the property that is value is the thing that is doing this.
In the colour photo, the red pops out too, since it is the only red/orange hue against the blueish backdrop.
All this contrast, interesting subject, strong compositional flow, full range of values, this is a really good photo.
(Marek Piwnicki)
So we’re talking about contrast and the arrangement of values in a composition.
See how the dark smoke really pops against the sky. While the composition is very horizontal with the dark sea framed low? Photographers are compositional wizards because they also have to time their shot for just the right time of day too.
(Kai Cheng)
The thing’s messing me up right now, is how you can have this sort of thing happening, where the values are nearly the same, but you have depth too.
Compositional wizards I tell you.
We need to download that info right into our heads.
(Chris Maydorn)
The other side I’m trying to work out is this. What are you supposed to do when values that don’t get arranged in neat little blocks. Just vague general shapes and areas. It’s not as simple as 'it’s in light and it’s in shadow’ that’s a starting point, but look how complex this is.
If you paint this right, you’d likely block in the tree trunk and go over the top, but are you supposed to then just live with having a chaotic smatter of values? Or should you try to group them up neater cause you know, you’re an artist, not a photographer and can move stuff around?
We don’t live in a world where everything is framed nicely, so what if you’re painting a background, are you supposed to simplify, I don’t know yet.
(Scarbor Siu)
You can’t follow any rules for this, there’s dark values hit by light, there’s shadows in the light parts of the values, how on earth can you visualise this, that’s what we’re trying to work out. Cause I bet, the second that level of thinking clicks, we’ve solved something massive.
But how the hell do you do that.
(Michael Shu)
Right now, this is us, white on dark, dark on light, working up from shadow, down from light. It’s straight forward, it works, it’s contrasting and frames things nicely.
It’s just… simple. Safe almost. We need to find a way to push right past this. That’s what’s going to really make compositional work off the rails.
(Jeremy Bishop)
It’s good, white on dark, dark on light, it works. And the value arrangement fits any subject.
(Michael Barrick)
But how do you visualise something more complex.
It’s almost like there’s too many possibilities.
You have the core light part, in the water and reflections, but how do you arrange everything else. Highest point of contrast is focal point, but then you this tangle of values on the rock cracks and leaves on trees, what are you meant to do.
(Ignacio Amenábar)
See what I mean, the photo is good, the silhouette is striking. But again it’s just - thing on a background. And it works! It totally works, but it doesn’t click when you switch to something more complicated.
(Yubin Zhou)
Column of light in the middle, tapering as it comes towards us, it’s technically the same composition as the road from earlier, but look at how chaotic all this value noise is.
All the dark stuff is still closer to the lower band, but within that boundary, just look at how much stuff is going on.
I think I just worked something out.
The arrange of values is such that, light and dark don’t ever cross. We’ve spoken about lightest dark and darkest light. Maybe that’s how not to get lost. You predetermine the value bands you want to work with, ensure a full range of values, determine whether it’s high or low key to set you value bands.
But then you gotta factor in hues and colours later. and materials, rahfafsdk back to value studies maybe. ? but studies of art, not photos?
(Fahad Mughal)
It’s all of them, it’s good, the pictures are good.
But we can push it so much more if we can work it out.
(Natalia Gusakova)
It’s all I can see now.
I see it in stuff I’m drawing, painting. It’s everywhere.
(Peter Burdon)
Everything I look at looks like this now.
Light on dark, dark on light.
We change the hues, and colour temperatures. Set the mood, add a story. It’s… not enough.
(NOAA)
It’s this sort of thing we’re trying to aim for.
Dark values, but look at how much depth there is. But the overall composition is still similar structure to the smoke/and sea image earlier.
(NOAA)
This sort of composition, a Y/V shape, it’s really common right, but it doesn’t make sense.
We have a high contrast point of the backlit mountains, contrasted with that bright orange of the sun, the hues bounce a bit off the sea… so what am I supposed to call the sea here, The values of it are so dark, this is where the lightest darks are concentrated
But the darkest dark is a band right across the middle, and it also happens to be the middleground, and also the furthest depth we can see, guided by the composition, and contrasted by the light from the obscured sun, like what the frick am I talking about.
light on dark, dark on light. This structure doesn’t work for this type of composition. There’s too many exceptions.
But then you look at any range of old master’s paintings and the range of value control is ridiculous. What on earth did they do to work it out.
That’s what we need to work out. Without photos, they did this with no tools, no guides. By today’s standards I think lots of people can match that now, but it’s the context of when they were doing it that makes it unworldly. Ok, so then how are current artists doing it. That’s what I want to know. We don’t need old paintings, we need current.
We need to look at contemporary masters, up and coming people. How are they figuring it out.
That’s the bridge. We work this out. We can start making the same type of complex compositions too. It feels like the final hurdle before the next leap.
I am, what’s the word. Terrified lol. Self doubt has never been so high.
Honestly for the first time since we started, I have no idea, how to even begin tacking this. There’s, too many variables. The compositions are too big, too noisy to hold in one go. Something about value thumbnails, but that doesn’t help push the… scale of what it is we’re doing.
Urgh, anyway, this is what I’m dealing with rn. It’ll take some time to work out, but this is where it started. It feels very complicated, but I’m sure once it clicks I’m going to laugh when I start doing it automatically.
Moral distinctions are not the offspring of reason. Reason is wholly inactive, and can never be the source of so active a principle as conscience, or a sense of morals.
Manifesto: a written statement declaring publicly the intentions, motives, or views of its issuer. Subject to change at any time.
What is my manifesto? My beliefs? My values?What do I identify with now? How will it change? How will it stay the same?
i like to do cool shit.i like to do new shit.i have no filter.i believe in magic.i am here to share what I know.i am not here to tell you what you…
Baruch Spinoza and his concept of God
“I’m not an atheist, and I don’t think I can call myself a pantheist … I believe in Spinoza’s God who reveals himself in the orderly harmony of what exists, not in a God who concerns himself with fates and actions of human beings,” stated Albert Einstein in his letter to M. Schayer.
Baruch Spinoza was a radical and influential philosopher considered as one of the most important thinkers who had ever existed in the history of thought. During his relatively short lifetime he advocated for freedom of religion, created new perspectives on metaphysics and morality, provided guidance on how to live an ethical life, and built ultimately, a universal, complex, and systematic idea of God. As a forerunner of the Age of Enlightenment, Spinoza’s works inspired important figures such as Hegel, Nietzsche, Marx, Coleridge and many others to come.
Born in Amsterdam on the 24th November 1632, Spinoza received a traditional Jewish education in his childhood and helped run his family’s business of trading as a teenager. As he grew older he began to question what was being taught and strived to discover new values which resonated with his worldview. Rejecting traditional Jewish doctrine, Spinoza’s outspokenness led him to be excommunicated from his community at the age of 23. After his excommunication, he changed his first name to Benedictus, left Amsterdam, lived independently, and devoted his life to philosophy and writing (also working part-time as a lens grinder and a tutor to earn a living).
Whilst working for his major work the Ethics, Spinoza came up with his concept of God. To him, God is a single, infinite, and self caused substance which permeates the entirety of the universe we live in. For us to understand and appreciate God we must live in accordance with nature. God is abstract and impersonal, and embodies everything within this universe as modes to his infinite attributes. In this video we aim to understand what Spinoza truly believed, what inspired him to this conclusion, and why so many people after him found this idea of God so appealing and relatable.
For a shorter bite-sized version of Spinoza’s philosophy, here’s a nice little video for you :)
As always, thanks for reading.
-Val
Its difficult to reckon with that not everyone will share your values, in fact many times you can be surrounded by people who don’t share your values. Not many people value loyalty, honesty, commitment, integrity, emotional maturity, and empathy. Not many people even value beauty or being kind. Its very disheartening.
How does one reckon with that?
Fuck yeah!!! I think it’s so important to do these exercises to explore our identity and priorities and be intentional about it. There’s a misconception that if you have to “force” an action or choose a value it’s less authentic but everyone chooses their identity to some extent and our actions define who we are. Those are beautiful values!
Continuing on with the research for the start of this project I have created a slide summarising NEXT’s ethos and values. I did this so that when we begin the design process for this project I will have a good understanding for how my designs align with NEXT as a brand. Below are the links I used for this research.
https://www.nextplc.co.uk/corporate-responsibility/our-customers-and-products
https://www.nextplc.co.uk/about-next/corporate-governance/policies
Loyalty for loyalty sake alone is not a moral endeavor if it doesn’t align with your values
ALTRE: Parts Unknown S2E5: Episode That Broke Anthony Bourdain
cody2022: How in the h*** did he get the Sicily episode of PU to air with his negative but fantastically realistic narration of the filming?? (Explanation in comments)
C01: Why would the network care? Showing the fraud was arguably better television. The network didn’t own the shitty tourist fishing company. The network wasn’t in cahoots with the Sicily tourism board. Who do you think would try to stop them? When it aired originally, documenting a negative experience was normal. Do you think it was odd to air it only because it was negative?
C02: By that point, Tony had been a part of many unsuccessful fishing scenes. Quite often in No Reservations, Tony would call out the producer for using a “stunt” fish - sometimes the fish would still be alive, other times they were very obviously dead. Production usually seemed to be in on it and it almost seemed to be a running joke - except unfortunately this time it clearly sent Tony over the edge.I’d recommend watching No Reservations too. Tony often teases and calls out his team when things go wrong and it adds another layer to the show seeing their reactions.I’d also recommend reading Tom Vitale’s book “In The Weeds”. Tom worked as a producer/director for Tony for a long time and would quite often pull pranks on Tony to get a reaction. His book gives a great insight on what it was like to work with/for Tony.
R01: Tom’s story about the mime in Paris gave me a good laugh.
R02: That was so funny, especially Tony’s reaction afterwards. He definitely seemed to enjoy making his team sweat.
C03: That whole episode is kinda nonsense tbh. The meal with that woman on her bday that didn’t wanna be there. Eating horse meat in the street. That was just one of the most egregious moments in show history though lol. I just figure they show mostly everything. They film & let whatever happens happen. He was getting controlled a lot by travel channel & he went to CNN so he could do what he wanted. He used same grp of producers & film crew for a long time. If you watch roadrunner on his life on HBO max they talk about it a bit. He was the star he was in charge.
R01OP: Thx for your insight. I’m so looking forward to delving into his world more.
R1.1: I can’t recommend Tom Vitale’s book Into the Weeds more.
R02: But PU was on CNN not Travel channel?
R2.1: Yeah? That’s what I alluded to?
R2.2: My bad, I tot u were saying PU came first. When I read it again it made sense.
R03: “The meal with that woman on her bday that didn’t wanna be there.” Are you talking about NR or PU? In the latter, it was his birthday, he was blackout drunk at the dinner after the failed fishing scene IIRC. Really depressing even at the time of airing.
R3.1: He mentions at the blackout drunk dinner that he was dining with some guy and a woman who didn’t say much, presumably because “This isn’t what she had planned for her birthday” or something. So it was her birthday too.
R04: I lived in 15 mins away from Catania Centro for 3 years and the horse meat part is very typical Sicilian street food and not really sure if it was egregious. Just very Sicilian and true if you ask me. Now, the whole “fishing” part, that was hilarious and I can see why AB would be furious.
C04OP: Backstory relevant to my post: I started watching Bourdain’s stuff, immediately fell in love with AB. After watching 4 episodes I ordered 3 of his books, in 2 days finished Kitchen Confidential. That’s about where I’m at in my introduction to AB, I joined this sub, I want to watch & learn everything about him. He’s amazing!
Question: How did they air the part where he’s dissing process on the show where he has nothing good to say about his dive to the “fishing” waters? He’s literally trashing it, saying he’s had enough. Didn’t the producers sign off on that, when he doesn’t like that decision & talks about it, they run it. Wouldn’t they just cut it out of the show? How does he have so much pull that they air it? Or was it part of the production?
Refresher: Anthony goes on a fishing boat that launches off in crowded swimming waters. He literally watches staged boats throw dead cuttlefish & other seafood off a different boat for the chef to “catch” to make it look like they’re harvesting right there for the cameras. Tony explains that he is disgusted with this filming. He then goes off to get drunk while the filming crew stays behind to catch some footage. He then recounts how he got blitzed and can’t really remember the rest of the night.
It’s <redacted> gold. Was it on purpose from producers? Or does Tony just have that much say in the production he wants to clarify he’s not into all the crap production and it overrides others who produce. I’m just getting started, and I love this guy so much. This is purely for discussion, maybe folks with more insight can explain. I’m sure I’ll get there eventually in my exploration of his life and travels.
R4.1: Have you seen Roadrunner? Watch it.
R4.2: Also NR. In some ways I prefer it and the early PU because Tony seems happier.
R4.3: His producers weren’t behind what the fishing company were doing. It wasn’t really their fault, and they know what makes for good tv.
R4.4: he spiraled into a deep, manic depression after this episode. He HATED it.
R4.5: They talked about it in the oral history book about his life. He was legit unhappy and told it like it was.
C05: Definitely go back to A Cook’s Tour, and I suggest before watching more of Parts Unknown. It’s a much less polished show, but I think it’s really important to see his beginnings as a TV host, not to mention that after watching PU it won’t seem as good as it will have before spoiling yourself on what I think is his best work.
R5.1: Totally agree. I absolutely love a Cook’s tour. It’s a little less of a serious watch & I find there is more light hearted humor from AB.
R5.2: Agreed. The production value is a bit lower & there’s less ‘going on’ which is why I think watching PU first would a little bit 'ruin it’ but it’s a very fun watch.
R5.3: I concur, A Cook’s Tour is a must watch. Although Parts Unknown was a high budget, polished show, and a Cook’s Tour looks almost amateur, you can see the wonder and excitement & amusement in his eyes during those early years. Although Parts Unknown is beautiful television & very well done, you can’t deny that in some episodes he looked exhausted and jaded, especially the last few seasons. People think Tony had the best job in the world, but when you’re returning to a place for the 4th time, and shooting an episode back-to-back-to-back, I mean… especially by age 60, that stops being fun. On a somewhat related note, a lot of famous musicians have admitted they hate touring, because being away from home for months at a time & being constantly on the move can be exhausting & over-stimulating. It’s too much. Everybody loves to travel & eat good food, but after doing it 500 times, it’s just not the same thing.
C06: There’s a book of interviews of people who knew Tony best that states - if my memory serves correctly - that around the time that episode was filmed Tony was approaching 57, the age where his father dropped dead from a heart attack. The interviewee said the fact the fish scene was so obnoxiously fake played into his anger, but he was very much frustrated with some existential things, mostly being he never thought he would live longer than his father. They also mentioned in the book filming in Italy was incredibly frustrating and never panned out well, so the crew was always ironically irritated when there.
R6.1: I agree with this, and a lot of fans seem to miss that key point. Bourdain very clearly struggled off & on with deep depression, anxiety, self loathing, and suicidal thoughts. He himself admitted this many times, in Medium Raw, in his shows, in interviews and podcasts. What happened in Sicily with the stunt fish was not good, but getting deeply depressed about that is not a normal or healthy reaction. Likewise, it is absolutely not normal to hang himself because Asia Argento may or may not have seen someone else, or may have lied about some things. The bottom line is that Tony struggled with depression & anxiety & inner demons throughout most of his life. According to people who knew him well, he rarely went to therapy and didn’t take it very seriously. When you struggle with issues, you can try to tune it out or numb yourself with booze or adrenalin or whatever, but if you don’t actively work hard to address the root of the problem, it will come back to bite you.
R6.2: Day they were filming WAS his 57th birthday. He says it right in the episode.
R07: The Tom Vitale book is really good.
What happened between Valerie and Tom?
“We became very unkind to one another,“ she says, "and that’s not a way to live in a marriage.” Valerie Bertinelli. The end was the “catalyst,” she says. “That was just the breaking point for me, where I finally decided I’ve had enough.
The end was the “catalyst,” she says. “That was just the breaking point for me, where I finally decided I’ve had enough. I was continuing to tolerate intolerable things, starting with my own words in my own head.”
“I had hit rock bottom emotionally. All the drama and trauma I hadn’t dealt with,“ she explains. "I’ve used food to numb my emotions. I’ve used alcohol to numb my emotions. Because there was so much sadness in my life, and alcohol amplified it. Those were symptoms of what was going on inside of me.”
“I wanted to feel calm,” adding that led her to “more consistent therapy, more journaling & meditation.“ It took time—and a lot of tears. “The more I let myself cry, the better I felt,” she says. Long walks with her dog Luna were also helpful. “When I decided to really question why I was having a certain emotion,” she says, “I was able to—most of the time—walk through it and get to the other side.”
And there she began to find joy again, starting in her home kitchen, cooking her favorite recipes, she shares in Indulge. “I found a way to be intentional with joy,” she says. “And I want to share that. For me, it’s through cooking. remembering to be grateful even in the really challenging parts, because it may not always feel like it — but it always gets better.”
Apr 2, 2024 Nice but it if worked wouldn’t you reunite with your spouse?
R08: You gotta watch “No Reservations: Romania”. He’s basically shitting on the Romanian/Transylvanian government the entire show because they forced him to film staged productions.
Anthony Michael Bourdain was an American celebrity chef, author & travel documentarian. He starred in programs focusing on the exploration of international culture, cuisine, and the human condition.
Born: June 25, 1956, New York, New York, US
Died: June 8, 2018 (age 61 years), Le Chambard ·
Hôtel Restaurants Spa Alsace, Kaysersberg-Vignoble, FranceSpouse: Ottavia Busia (m. 2007–2016), Nancy Putkoski (m. 1985–2005)
Children: Ariane BourdainParents: Gladys Bourdain, Pierre Bourdain
Pierre Bourdain, an executive in the classical-music recording industry, died of a heart attack Tuesday at his home in New York City. He was 57. Born in New York, Bourdain attended the Birch Wathen School as a child and later Yale University and served in the Army from 1951 to 1954.
C01: Nice to end the video with Freshly cooked sardines!❤ Too bad about him having been duped with the octopus and cuttlefish throwing jokers…. 🙂
C02: She kissed him on the cheek as if he was her grand son. That’s beautiful!
C03: It’s interesting that Anthony had such an adverse reaction to the fishing scene being staged - a lot of people would be put off by the inauthentic nature of it but he goes off the edge. Not sure exactly why though? He mentions the shame of it a few times, so maybe that, but it’s an unusually extreme reaction.
R3.1: So, a famous chef with a respected show arrives with a world class production team and is treated to a charade such as this, and you seem confused about his reaction? You find this to be an extreme reaction? What world do you live in?
R3.2: @bopryszlak3863 I get the fact he’d be annoyed, that’s understandable, but I’d argue most people wouldn’t then have a nervous breakdown that lasts well after production finishes. As we know, Bourdain struggled with his mental health so I imagine this extreme response to adversity has something to do with that, it’s quite sad to see (and I mean that with genuine sympathy).
Travel the globe with the legendary chef, author, and storyteller Anthony Bourdain as he uncovers the soul of a destination through its food, culture, and politics. Far more than just a cooking show, Parts Unknown dives deep into the corners of the world rarely seen on TV—eating with locals, exploring diverse culinary rituals, and asking the hard questions.
Following the celebratory launch of New Jersey’s Anthony Bourdain Food Trail at Hiram’s Roadstand — a side-of-the-road spot where the Bourdain boys spent many a night devouring “ripper-style” deep-fried hot dogs in their youth—Chris opened up about his brother’s greatest contributions:
Anthony’s most profound contribution to the world, he said, was what he showed people about the world in an incredibly human way.
“Nobody showed what it’s really like on the ground in Libya, in Laos, in Congo, in a rural area of West Virginia — those [episodes] were Tony’s most wonderful and artistic works,” Chris said, with the same effortlessly cool cadence that so many people miss hearing in his brother’s voice. The banker, who resides in New York, continued, “They’re beautifully produced, informative and showing you a reality on TV that nobody is showing. Nobody, nobody.”
While the late storyteller’s 10 Emmy Awards and dozens of other nominationsare testament to the successof CNN’s “Parts Unknown” and Travel Channel’s “No Reservations,"Chris feels that his brother’s greatest achievement was how he was able to open people’s minds. Through food, Anthony showed viewers sitting in American living rooms what life was really like in war-torn, impoverished and otherwise neglected areas of the world.
"He had no preconceptions when he jumped into [a new place]. Tony [would say], 'We’re going to go in here and discover things together,’” Chris told TODAY. “People didn’t see him as a journalist."Some guy in the Congo who would never open up to a western journalist — he would open up to Tony. Tony showed the guy at a foot stool in Manila the same respect as Thomas Keller in Los Angeles, and treated the woman cooking in an apartment in wherever just as equally.”
Anthony’s all-embracing appetite for food — and human interaction — likely came from his parents, Pierre and Gladys Bourdain, said Chris, who added that they exposed the two of them to cuisines from around the globe. They enjoyed holiday staples like roast beef with Yorkshire pudding, and their mother cooked frequently from Julia Child’s cookbook, Chris said, in order to impress her French in-laws. But living on the cusp of New York City in Leonia, New Jersey, gave the Bourdains access to endless cuisines — and they relished that experience.
“A thing that was particularly nice that influenced Tony was our parents influencing us to try new things,” Chris said. “We ate Danish in New York, we went to Chinatown regularly. When Indian showed up in the 1970s, we tried it. When sushi was a new thing in the '70s, we tried it.”
From his parents, Anthony, who would have turned 63 on June 25, adapted a love of foreign foods, cultures and people. And later in life when he had the opportunity to film those encounters, he took viewers right along with him. Living with an open mind was among the many lessons Anthony left behind, and Chris believes it’s with an open mind that people should approach the topic of his brother’s death — and suicide in general.
“Suicide is something more common than I ever thought. So many people came talking to me, saying my grandmother, mother, father, sister [died by suicide],” said Chris. “But nobody ever wants to talk about it. It’s the elephant in the damn room. Everybody has suicide in their life somewhere.”
Although Chris said he thinks Anthony wouldn’t have liked being “the poster boy for suicide prevention,” he acknowledges the importance of discussing mental illness now in order to remove the stigma surrounding it. He also said he believes that certain cultures place a lot of guilt on those who knew the deceased.
“We [as a society] spread shame of 'we could have done something, we have failed’,” Chris said. According to Chris, if people practice the very same open-mindedness his brother applied to everyday interactions with individuals from all walks of life, we could make progress.
Chris also said this month isn’t about mourning Anthony: It’s about celebrating him. Anthony’s dear friends, fellow chefs Eric Ripert and José Andrés, will toast their comrade on his birthday, June 25, and have asked the world to do the same by posting photos and videos using the hashtag #BourdainDay.
During June, fans of the iconic chef from around the world can also plan a trip to New Jersey to toast to Anthony at his favorite home-state haunts, from Hiram’s in Fort Lee to Dock’s Oyster House in Atlantic City, as part of the official Anthony Bourdain Food Trail. You can sit at tables where Anthony once dined, eating clams, hot dogs and cheesesteaks, while sipping on a beer — all in memory of the celebrated chef.
Erica Chayes Wida is an award-winning journalist, food writer and recipe editor who helmed a local newspaper before joining TODAY’s freelance team. A mother of two, she loves singing, collecting old vinyl and, of course, cooking. Erica is forever on a worldwide quest to find the best ham and cheese croissant and brainstorms best over a sauce pot of bubbling pasta sauce. Her work has been featured on BBC Travel, Saveur, Martha Stewart Living and PopSugar.
Shanghai (S4E1): This episode highlights the contrasts of the city, featuring “pillows of happiness” (xiaolongbao), street food, and the stark difference between historic areas and modern, high-rise skyscrapers. Anthony Bourdain explores Shanghai, highlighting the city’s rapid development and contrasting it with, or embracing, its traditional, “old” culture. The episode focuses on finding authentic, quiet, and deeply local experiences, such as searching for traditional food in hidden, narrow alleyways (longtang) away from the bustling, modern city center.
This episode is a quintessential example of Bourdain’s search for authenticity in a rapidly modernizing world.
You might notice that in this episode, set in Shanghai, I am from time to time wearing a colored pocket square or foulard. This is not, you might have noticed, normal for me. But there is a method to my madness. These tiny notes of color are our first venture into actual production design—a calculated effort to give the episode a specific look. I have long been besotted with the works of Chinese director Wong Kar-wai and his frequent cinematographer Christopher Doyle. Their films In the Mood for Love and Chungking Express are gorgeous meditations on longing and desire and missed connections. They are spectacularly shot—and a while back I noticed how tiny elements of color in the foreground of the frames are often connected to similar colors in the background, giving scenes a lush, unified atmosphere that feels natural and undesigned. So we tried—as best and as cheaply as possible—to do that. You will notice scenes tied together by colors. Cameraman Mo Fallon and cameraman/editor Nick Brigden did, I think, truly epic work on this one.
In fiction, we seek the justice we don’t find in real life. As injustice spreads today, it’s especially important that use fiction to uphold the value of justice and inspire others to make it real.
Real Men – Word Vibes Man Talk Series | Passion & Purity
Manhood is often defined by visibility and performance. Real Men – Word Vibes: Man Talk Series 1 presents an alternative view—one rooted in inner formation, responsibility, and values that shape long-term character.
Rather than offering ideals of perfection, it treats growth as gradual and shaped by discipline, accountability, and reflection. Topics such as work, family, leadership, and integrity are explored as interconnected aspects of maturity.
Been doing some soul searching recently and it’s more or less made me more anchored in my faith as a Baptist. I value scripture above all else, but I admit the concern that The Bible doesn’t designate large scale authority and more structured leadership. Which is great in many ways. But I also hate that it means I’ve seen a LOT of fellow Baptists who are lax in practice.
It’s made me consider Anglican. God’s word above all else, but more consideration of “tradition.” Which I don’t care for, given how fluid “tradition” can be. But it’s nicer that it has a structured system that doesn’t corrupt itself like Catholic dogma.
Still, I realize having that structure is a want, but my faith is more important than having more cohesive design in secular presentation. And as much as I hate how lax and lazy other Baptists can be in presenting God’s glory, I firmly believe sola scriptura is critical to proper faith.
I think I’ll check out a local Anglican church (ACNA) sometime soon and have a chat with the leadership. See if they can clarify some things and address my concerns. Give it an honest effort to consider.
As the seasons change and life presents me with one character development arc after another, I find myself pondering: why do we change our hair? I have dedicated considerable effort to maintaining the health and vitality of my hair, even as I regularly apply various dyes. While I strive to keep it in good condition, I also feel an urge to avoid sticking with one color or style for too long. Is this desire for change a physical expression of something deeper, or is it simply my yearning for the refreshing embrace of transformation?
• . ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁꒰ঌ·✦·໒꒱ ݁ . ⊹ ₊ ݁. •
“Were the choice left to women, the marriage bed would seldom cool.”
-19th century aphorism, commonly found in marriage manuals
