from Robert Ebert & Martin Scorsese: Best Films of the 1990s

ROGER: To me the greatest value of film is that it helps us break out of our boxes of time and space, and empathize with other people — it lets us walk in someone else’s shoes. “Hoop Dreams,” made by Steve James, Frederick Marx and Peter Gilbert, gave me that gift.

MARTIN: Well, I think it’s a extraordinary film. I mean, you have real people becoming dramatic characters. You follow their lives like everyone’s life I think is a drama in a way. And the dedication of the filmmakers was remarkable. It reminds me Goes back to Flaherty where they live with the people and stay with them for years. Again, this is a new way, a new interesting look at story telling. And what’s great too is you begin to see the relationships in the family and how they change, the boy and his father.

ROGER: When we reviewed the movie on this show Gene Siskel said that the best scene for him was where the mother turns out to have been attending nursing school —

MARTIN: Oh, that was a great scene!

ROGER: — and she has her graduation. And he says, “That’s where the crowd should have been, not at the basketball game.”

MARTIN: Just catches you, that scene.

Paul D’amato’s Here Still Now series includes photos documenting the decline and demolishment of Chicago’s notorious housing project, Cabrini-Green, which is where William Gates, one of the main subjects of Hoop Dreams, also resided. The other photos in the series are equally touching, beautiful, and sincere.

Some out takes from the last roll of film I shot for M & S.

Trang | Austin

Some outtakes from the M & S web shoot and bits and pieces from New York.

A few outtakes from the last roll. Between navigating buildout hiccups and the less fun details of starting a business, BJ and I took a break to shoot a few items of M&S stock in the MFAH sculpture garden and around the house. I always have an easier time shooting film than digital, although I know it’s not always a feasible option.

A big thank you to Ameet and my sister for handling a lot of the buildout (especially while we’re away) and BJ for being a patient stand-in model and taking the photos. In the future, I probably will be the one behind the camera—I looked so awkward in most of the unused shots!

Some greenery outside the Glassell school. Between teaching and working on the store, it’s been a little hard to carve out time to draw or paint, but taking the camera around the city has been fun. Plus, I have to take advantage of outdoor time before the Houston heat hits.

I hope everyone is having a good week!