Bentley Rumble: January 2018

Thursday 25 January 2018

Think About It 034: ETHEL BARRYMORE

For an actress to be a success she must have the face of a Venus, the brains of a Minerva, the grace of Terpsichore, the memory of a Macaulay, the figure of Juno, and the hide of a rhinoceros.

Source unspecified

Use the link below to read more about legendary North American actor ETHEL BARRYMORE (1879–1959), sister of fellow actors LIONEL BARRYMORE (1878–1954) and JOHN BARRYMORE (1882–1942) and great aunt of actor/producer DREW BARRYMORE (1975–):

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethel_Barrymore

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Think About It 013: MARLON BRANDO

Think About It 005: SIMONE DE BEAUVOIR

Think About It 003: PHYLLIS ROSE

Thursday 18 January 2018

The Write Advice 103: ANNE LAMOTT

Is it okay with you that you blow off your writing, or whatever your creative/spiritual calling, because your priority is to go to the gym or do yoga five days a week? Would you give us one of those days back, to play or study poetry? To have an awakening? Have you asked yourself lately, 'How alive am I willing to be?' It’s all going very quickly. It’s mid-May, for God’s sake. Who knew. I thought it was late February.
It’s time to get serious about joy and fulfillment, work on our books, songs, dances, gardens. But perfectionism is always lurking nearby, like the demonic prowling lion in the Old Testament, waiting to pounce. It will convince you that your work-in-progress is not great, and that you may never get published. (Wait, forget the prowling satanic lion — your parents, living or dead, almost just as loudly either way, and your aunt Beth, and your passive-aggressive friends, whom we all think you should ditch, are going to ask, 'Oh, you’re writing again? That’s nice. Do you have an agent?')… Oh my God, what if you wake up some day, and you’re 65, or 75, and you never got your memoir or novel written; or you didn’t go swimming in warm pools and oceans all those years because your thighs were jiggly and you had a nice big comfortable tummy; or you were just so strung out on perfectionism and people-pleasing that you forgot to have a big juicy creative life, of imagination and radical silliness and staring off into space like when you were a kid? It’s going to break your heart. Don’t let this happen. Repent just means to change direction — and NOT to be said by someone who is waggling their forefinger at you. Repentance is a blessing. Pick a new direction, one you wouldn’t mind ending up at, and aim for that. Shoot the moon.

Bird By Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life (1995)

Use the link below to read about the life and work of North American novelist and educator ANNE LAMOTT:

https://www.thoughtco.com/profile-of-anne-lamott-851775

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The Write Advice 084: EDITH WHARTON

The Write Advice 063: ROBERT CORMIER

The Write Advice 093: BARRY HANNAH

Thursday 11 January 2018

Think About It 033: ANONYMOUS

Finding a way to be creative in the digital age is a very hard thing to do. It almost feels as if every idea someone may come up with has already been done and even if it hasn’t, whatever idea that may come to mind is probably being influenced by another. There’s a common misconception that originality is dead and in its place is simply reworked or rehashed ideologies that may improve upon the initial concept which leave a lasting feeling of 'Was it really needed?'.
This concept is intertwined into nearly everything in life but truly comes to light in certain industries, one of which is music. As the mainstream appeal of certain genres takes hold, it feels as if everything is just a reworked version of whatever is popular at the time.
That’s why it’s important to look outside the realm of commonality and venture into genres and bands that don’t have the mainstream appeal –– they’re the ones who are truly reimagining what we think of certain sounds…

From an unsigned review of The Stories We Tell Ourselves (2017), an album by San Antonio band Nothing More released in September 2017.