Blackwing Senses 001 - January

Welcome to the first installment of Blackwing Senses, a guide to some of the things that have sparked our senses during the month. This monthly guide gives a little behind-the-scenes look at the happenings around Blackwing, updates from our community, and what our staff have been listening to, reading, watching, learning & more. Here are some of our picks for the month of January:

Dian Chen – Visual Designer

What I’m watching: Yellowjackets (Showtime)

What I’m listening to: Ologies with Alie Ward (Podcast)
Ologies is a podcast where the host Alie Ward interviews people knowledgable in fascinating disciplines, aka -ologists. One episode I especially enjoyed while going through their huge backlog is ursinology (bears).

Worth Sharing:Fat Bear Week. It’s an annual tournament where the virtual audience can learn about the bears at Katmai National Park as they bulk up for the winter, and vote for their favorite ones.

Grant Christensen – President

What I’m watching: Klay Thompson’s comeback tour…

What I’m listening to: Listen to the Blood by The Kernal& Highway Butterfly: Neal Casal Tribute record.

A bunch of my favorite artists came together to honor our friend Neal who passed in 2019. They cut 41 of his songs with all of the sales benefitting music in schools as well as mental health organizations that support musicians.

What I’m reading: Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman
Can’t go wrong with a Farhan Zaidi recommendation.

Worth Sharing: Pino Palladino and Blake Mills on the podcast Broken Record with Rick Rubin, Malcolm Gladwell, Bruce Hedlam, and Justin Richmond

Charles Berolzheimer – CEO

What I’m watching: M ayor of Kingstown (Paramount+) & Ozark – Season 4 (Netflix)

What I’m listening to: Freakonomics Radio (Podcast) & Where the Deer and Antelope Play by Nick Offerman (Audiobook)

Where the Deer and Antelope Play” is a look at our relationship to the natural world, through the dry humor of actor Nick Offerman. The book touches on topics from hiking in the woods with his buddy Jeff Tweedy to sustainable agriculture.

What I’m reading: André Michaux in North America: Journals and Letters, 1785–1797
The French botanist was commissioned to search for and grow new, rare plant species and ship them back to France. He set up shop in Charleston, SC establishing his nursery and traveling throughout the Southeast and North of America for a dozen years. This book uses his extensive correspondence and journals to give a unique perspective on early post-revolutionary America.

Noelia Callejas – Custom Print Assistant

What I’m watching: Attack on Titan & Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba (Available on Hulu)

What I’m listening to: Unsolved Murders: True Crime Stories by Parcast (Podcast)
It’s a podcast drama with a modern twist on old-time radio that delves into the mystery of true cold cases and unsolved murders.

What I’m reading: A lmond: A Novel by Won-pyung Sohn

“People sometimes say how cool it’d be to be fearless, but they don’t know what they’re talking about. Fear is an instinctive defense mechanism necessary for survival.”
– Won-pyung Sohn

Alex Poirier – Vice President of Development

What I’m watching: Servant (Apple TV+)

What I’m listening to: G et Played (Podcast)

Get Played combines two things I love: comedy and video games. I got hooked during their annual “Hideo Kojember” celebration honoring video game auteur Hideo Kojima. The rest of the year is filled with hilarious takes on the games they’re playing, have played, and will play someday.

What I’m reading: Rhythm of War by Brandon Sanderson
An epic fantasy novel and the fourth book in the Stormlight Archive series.

Worth Sharing: “The average banana produces a particle of antimatter roughly once every 75 minutes.” – Symmetry Magazine

Andrew Nguyen – Marketing Manager

What I’m watching: S tation Eleven (HBO Max)

What I’m listening to: CAPRISONGS by FKA twigs (EP)

What I’m reading: Mango and Peppercorns by Tung Nguyen, Katherine Manning, Lyn Nguyen & Elisa Ung

Part cookbook, part memoir, this book tells the story of how a Vietnamese refugee and a graduate student go on to open one of the most acclaimed restaurants in America. It truly speaks to the power of food, friendship, and the will to persevere.

Worth Sharing: D ance Church: Go.
On-demand and live-streaming all-levels dance fitness classes. Have fun dancing and break a sweat while doing so!