Carter's Notes - Shoppin' Carts, Music, Stop Motion and more
Hey Friends,
This is Carter's Notes - where I share what I've been up to and into. It's been a minute.
As always, I'd love to hear from you. You can reply directly to this email or forward it to anyone you think would like it.
What's happening with me
I'm doing as much contract software engineering as I can handle – great because I still like coding and money but not great because I'm doing less art and music.
Family life is wonderful and the baby is due at the end of January. We still don't know the gender and we won't know until it's on the outside. Can't hardly wait!
What I'm watching
Carts of Darkness - YouTube.
Murray Siple's feature-length documentary follows a group of homeless men who have combined bottle picking with the extreme sport of racing shopping carts down the steep hills of North Vancouver. This subculture depicts street life as much more than the stereotypes portrayed in mainstream media. The film takes a deep look into the lives of the men who race carts, the adversity they face and the appeal of cart racing despite the risk.
Growing up in Northern Michigan, collecting bottles and cans was weirdly ubiquitous – be it for fundraisers, change to buy penny candy or the handful of folks who made ends meet by it.
In high school I worked at the local IGA, sorting returnables, and I still remember what chew spit and stale beer in a leaky Bud Light can shot full of .22 holes smells like. At that job I'd meet the few hardcores that would walk the 18 mile stretch between Onaway and Indian River... collecting enough bottles to buy a forty or a couple 22 oz. Icehouses at the end of the day.
This is all to say, there are aspects of this documentary that felt strangely familiar. Combine it with an extreme sport you've never heard of, human interest and a bit of cultural commentary and, to me, you get something that sticks.
Christmas music I never get sick of
Songs for Christmas by Sufjan Stevens - Bandcamp, Spotify, YouTube, Apple Music
Not a fan of Christmas music generally but I love this Sufjan Stevens collection. I share this every year around this time so it may be familiar.
Interview I enjoyed
Nick Offerman on the Death, Sex & Money podcast.
Big fan of Nick Offerman here. He's one of the few (only??) actors I follow – if he's in something, I'll probably dig it. I like the way he thinks and I enjoy hearing him talk about the world.
After listening to this podcast I wound up watching his movie "Sovereign" which didn't disappoint.
On nostalgia and stop motion animation
Prometheus and Bob - YouTube.
900,000 years ago, an alien video tapes his attempts to educate a cave man.
This old Nickelodeon bit popped into my head the other day. I bet I hadn't thought about it in 20 years. It's so dumb and weird and I feel like things like this can't exist in the mainstream anymore. I love it.
Episodes are around two minutes long.
What I'm drawing
I drew this portrait of Olivia Rodrigo as a birthday gift for the kid. There are some aspects of this that feel like a real skill improvement. A lot of detail gets lost downsizing images for the newsletter though.
I'm doing Chappell Roan for Christmas... stay tuned.
That's all for now. I hope you're enjoying the holiday season and getting a little extra time with those closest to you.
Thanks for being here, take care and I'll talk to you soon.
Carter 🎅 🎁 🦌