Austin Kleon - Validation is for parking

Hey y’all,

This week was a reminder that in Texas it is September that’s the cruelest month. Here are 10 things I thought were worth sharing: 

1. RIP producer Lee “Scratch” Perry. I wrote about the way he interacted with his machines. I love so much of his music, but if I had to recommend one album, it would be Heart of the Congos.
    
2. “The best way to get the right answer on the internet is not to ask a question, it’s to post the wrong answer.”
    
3. Cheryl Strayed and Alison Bechdel in conversation. (After reading that interview, I wrote about drawing as an embodied transmission.)
    
4. New books: my friend Alan Jacobs’ Breaking Bread With The Dead is coming out in paperback, and the 33 1/3 series announced their new lineup.
    
5. Poem: “Monday.”
    
6. Pencil: I love the thick stroke of these Prismacolor Ebony Graphites.
    
7. Documentary: I can’t wait for Todd Haynes’ film about The Velvet Underground.
    
8. TV: We gobbled up Stanley Tucci: Searching for Italy on HBO Max. (And invented a drinking game for it.) I particularly liked the Florence episode.
    
9. I’ve been taking solo walks without my crew, which I sort of hate, but I do gawk around and notice more. 
    
10. Remember: Validation is for parking.