Happy birthday to the great Claire Denis. 1999's Beau Travail remains an all-time favorite. I was lucky to interview her in 2003 at a hotel in Seattle. I remember Denis initially seeming bored, but then coming alive when she saw the flower girl from a wedding party. "I moost take her peek-chuh!"

If you’re looking for something calming and beautiful, here’s a lovely few minutes of wonder.

Brian tells more of its story in his thread.

Thank you so much! I really appreciate that.

And ever since Valarie's metastatic cancer diagnosis last year, I've tried to be more grateful for each moment. So as I rode this ferry in the gorgeous morning and evening light, it felt almost like a religious experience. This nine-minute film is my attempt to capture the feeling of those moments.

Over the past two years, visiting the San Quentin prison for a writing project, I've been moved knowing that although it's right on the bay, prisoners can't even see the water. On these rides I was extra mindful and appreciative of the opportunity, the beauty, and the freedom of movement.

Larkspur Meditations Riding the Golden Gate Ferry from downtown San Francisco to Larkspur in Marin County just after sunrise, and making the return trip at sunset

My latest short film, "Larkspur Meditations," features two ferry rides I took last month at sunrise and sunset from downtown San Francisco to Larkspur in Marin County and back. It's set to ambient music by Purple Decades and marks our second collaboration. vimeo.com/1179643524

I actually interviewed Arcand in 2004 about Barbarian Invasions. He told me then, "I'm always thinking about things in historical terms, just like a doctor might look at you and wonder what's wrong with you, or a policeman might wonder what you were up to last night."

An amazing early 20th century photographer I’d never heard of before reading about him in Geoff Dyer’s book “See/Saw” yesterday: Alvin Langdon Coburn.

Love this photo taken in Tokyo today (or really tomorrow, given it’s Sunday there) by @alfie.photography

That second photo, the vertical one: wow, brilliant.

Spent some pleasurable time last night looking at Eugene Atget’s Paris photographs. I love that it was straightforward documentation (of older Parisian architecture) that, in the eyes of other artists/critics like Man Ray and Walter Benjamin, became appreciated as something more.

Oh wow, thank you SO much! That is so awesome to hear!

Such a great show. Kind of a companion to Twin Peaks in my mind, either because of David Duchovny, the supernatural angle, or because Valarie, my dad and I were all obsessed with them (in my dad’s case, despite our political differences).

Clouds reflected in the Congress Center facade in downtown Portland earlier today...

Return of the Thompson Elk, Portland’s talisman • Oregon ArtsWatch Five years after its removal following damage from 2020 social protests, the Elk stands proudly in its reclaimed home. Is downtown ready for a similar renaissance?

My favorite work of public art in Portland is back.

In this Oregon ArtsWatch architecture column, I celebrate the Thompson Elk's return, trace its tumultuous six years of exile and reconstruction, and contemplate whether this heralds a rejuvenated downtown.

www.orartswatch.org/return-of-th...

Return of the Thompson Elk, Portland’s Talisman • Oregon ArtsWatch Five years after its removal following damage from 2020 social protests, the Elk stands proudly in its reclaimed home. Is downtown ready for a similar renaissance?

Portland's Elk statue has held a lot of personal meaning for me since first visiting PDX in 1995; that meaning increased when I watched courageous protesters gather around it nightly in 2020. But it did incur damage & was removed.

Now the elk has returned & @brianlibby.bsky.social tells its story.

cool. cool cool cool cool

www.niemanlab.org/2026/04/soci...

Reunited with the restored Thompson Elk! A wonderful moment visiting the fountain/statue this morning. I thought I'd be alone, but a constant stream of people were alongside me doing the same. One guy just looked at me and said, "It's back!"

love this

Three Short Films by Ja’Tovia Gary - The Criterion Channel The aesthetically dynamic, shape-shifting films of artist and filmmaker Ja’Tovia Gary combine everything from heavily processed 16 mm archival materials to TikTok videos and woman-on-the-street-style ...

I can’t recommend these films highly enough. Ja’Tovia Gary braids together beauty, violence and Black feminist history (Nina Simone, Toni Morrison, etc.) in short films that have a big impact despite their length (6-44 mins). Quite powerful.

Thanks very much!

I like today’s experiment cropping a photo (from last month’s San Francisco trip) of the Transamerica pyramid down to a square, so you don’t sense the tower or its signature pointy top. You just get the geometric window pattern and (because it was 6:45am) focus on how only one room’s lights are on.

Nice!

I love these shots from Erika Bolstad's film "The Elk" of the statue returning to its spot in downtown Portland. Her film is SO good! It's playing Saturday at McMenamins Kennedy School, part of the Portland Panorama festival. I was lucky enough to be interviewed for it, but that's beside the point.

I breezed through this book in just a few days. Zephaniah possessed a compelling combination of fierceness and gentleness. I still love what he said on QI: that when he died he wanted to buried with his typewriter, “so even when I’m decomposing I’m still composing.”

I keep returning to this brilliant 1975 album. It’s simultaneously mellow and dynamic.

Suzuki, living in the US while playing trombone in Buddy Rich’s band, returned home to Japan to record this record in just a couple days, largely improvised. You feel that lightness.