Eric Rothman
@ericmsandwich
Filmmaker, editor, animator, stationary bicycle rider, sandwich enthusiast. My work has won very few awards. I currently reside in Dayton, Ohio.
Eric Rothman
newhappystar.com
One belief I have is that if you wish to be virtuous you will learn to eat cereal virtuously.
The novice of virtue is tempted by dreams of heroic acts, just as the novice sculptor daydreams of palatial monuments, or other grand work. But the master sculptor is extraordinary not because he has been commissioned for monumental bronzes (which may never... See more
The novice of virtue is tempted by dreams of heroic acts, just as the novice sculptor daydreams of palatial monuments, or other grand work. But the master sculptor is extraordinary not because he has been commissioned for monumental bronzes (which may never... See more
Simon Sarris • Breadcrumbs - by Simon Sarris - The Map is Mostly Water
There’s this whole thing about street photography where, if you want “authenticity” you’re supposed to steal shots, and just assault people with your camera. That always felt wrong and strange and uncomfortable to me, and this is just another reminder (a necessary reminder) that you can do things however you want. Do things the way you want to do them and the way that feels right to you. Don’t let some imaginary ruleset control you.
Also, the way Sara talks about hanging out with her friends—instead of going out to bars or partying or whatever people do on the weekends—just walking around with cameras to see what’s going on in the world. That sounds so fun to me. Why am I not doing that?
Things That Have Shaped Me and Documentary & Documentation
This video changed my life. I’d spent my 20’s and 30’s being confused and burned out, and the ideas in here made it all clear to me, in an instant, why. There is life as an artist before this video, and life as an artist after. Thank you Van and Tom.
“I had accomplished enough in the business world and seen enough of it that I started just asking some basic questions, like, ‘What is it that I really love?’ And, ‘What would I do if money was not an object?’ I think everyone should ask themselves that question. And so I just kind of locked myself in a room and just wrote and wrote and wrote about
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I’m dying for someone I know to have the experience I had with this album, but I worry it’s not gonna happen. Like, you just have to sit and listen to all the words and feel all the music and do it a few times. Is anyone doing that anymore?
Anyways, it’s like a movie, like with a story that’s emotional and true (or at least feels true), and it’s artfully told, starting and ending in interesting places, and it’s vulnerable and observational and funny and heartbreaking. I literally laughed and cried and said things like, “holy shit” out loud to myself while listening to it. I don’t think that’s ever happened to me before. And the music is fucking amazing. There’s oboes.
Then I had another thought: Physics disgusts me a little bit now, but I used to enjoy doing physics. Why did I enjoy it? I used to play with it. I used to do whatever I felt like doing - it didn't have to do with whether it was important for the development of nuclear physics, but whether it was interesting and amusing for me to play with. When I
... See moreSomething else happens in a world of superabundance, and an attention economy. Because you can’t find what you want, you start to dig yourself into very specific niches, and join sub-groups. Everyone atomizes into millions of groups connected by very specific interests. In more benign ways, it can be great – you find your fellow travelers, and I... See more
Ten (Big) Trends
Reminds me of Yuval Noah Harari’s, Sapiens, and his thesis about shared stories. Has the story of America been fractured into thousands of competing ones?
Also, I love the last sentence here, “…because you read this newsletter I’ve got your attention and we are a tiny polarized sub-group who know something others don’t, right?!” Phew, if that ain’t what makes a good newsletter!