"True leadership is about making other people better as a result of your presence — and making sure your impact endures in your absence."
"To be nobody but yourself in a world that’s doing its best to make you somebody else, is to fight the hardest battle you are ever going to fight. Never stop fighting."
— e.e. cummings
"It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is the most adaptable to change."
— Charles Darwin. Think about this when you build software, is all I’m sayin’. K THX.
Recently, someone I know called me “God’s tow truck driver.” I have no idea who told me this because it was anonymous — but it was definitely someone that I know and not anything I’d heard before, especially about myself.
What is genius and fascinating about that particular metaphor to me is that it implies my being an angel of some sort, or that I’ve helped someone out of a really bad place in life. So, not only am I a practitioner of the sentiment expressed in the above, but for this person I’d probably done the same.
Four simple words expressed that. That shit is deep!
Thanks, whoever you are. That is the most fantastic compliment that I’ve ever heard in my life!
(Source: icanread, via thesmellyass)
"Conventional standards of beauty need to be disrupted with subversive standards of intelligence."
— Violet Blue (Man, I freakin’ love you, Violet.)
"Maybe the most that you can expect from a relationship that goes bad is to come out of it with a few good songs."
— Marianne Faithfull
"If you want to live your life in a creative way, as an artist, you have to not look back too much. You have to be willing to take whatever you’ve done and whoever you were and throw them away. What are we, anyway? Most of what we think we are is just a collection of likes and dislikes, habits, patterns. At the core of what we are is our values, and what decisions and actions we make reflect those values. That is why it’s hard doing interviews and being visible: As you are growing and changing, the more the outside world tries to reinforce an image of you that it thinks you are, the harder it is to continue to be an artist, which is why a lot of times, artists have to go, “Bye. I have to go. I’m going crazy and I’m getting out of here.” And they go and hibernate somewhere. Maybe later they re-emerge a little differently."
— Steve Jobs to Playboy in 1985. Dude. I totally relate. Don’t you?
Captain Beefheart’s 10 Commandments of Guitar Playing
1. Listen to the birds.
That’s where all the music comes from. Birds know everything about how it should sound and where that sound should come from. And watch hummingbirds. They fly really fast, but a lot of times they aren’t going anywhere.
2. Your guitar is not really a guitar. Your guitar is a divining rod.
Use it to find spirits in the other world and bring them over. A guitar is also a fishing rod. If you’re good, you’ll land a big one.
3. Practice in front of a bush
Wait until the moon is out, then go outside, eat a multi-grained bread and play your guitar to a bush. If the bush dosen’t shake, eat another piece of bread.
4. Walk with the devil
Old Delta blues players referred to guitar amplifiers as the “devil box.” And they were right. You have to be an equal opportunity employer in terms of who you’re bringing over from the other side. Electricity attracts devils and demons. Other instruments attract other spirits. An acoustic guitar attracts Casper. A mandolin attracts Wendy. But an electric guitar attracts Beelzebub.
5. If you’re guilty of thinking, you’re out
If your brain is part of the process, you’re missing it. You should play like a drowning man, struggling to reach shore. If you can trap that feeling, then you have something that is fur bearing.
6. Never point your guitar at anyone
Your instrument has more clout than lightning. Just hit a big chord then run outside to hear it. But make sure you are not standing in an open field.
7. Always carry a church key
That’s your key-man clause. Like One String Sam. He’s one. He was a Detroit street musician who played in the fifties on a homemade instrument. His song “I Need a Hundred Dollars” is warm pie. Another key to the church is Hubert Sumlin, Howlin’ Wolf’s guitar player. He just stands there like the Statue of Liberty-making you want to look up her dress the whole time to see how he’s doing it.
8. Don’t wipe the sweat off your instrument
You need that stink on there. Then you have to get that stink onto your music.
9. Keep your guitar in a dark place
When you’re not playing your guitar, cover it and keep it in a dark place. If you don’t play your guitar for more than a day, be sure you put a saucer of water in with it.
10. You gotta have a hood for your engine
Keep that hat on. A hat is a pressure cooker. If you have a roof on your house, the hot air can’t escape. Even a lima bean has to have a piece of wet paper around it to make it grow.
(Source: blog.wfmu.org)
"Comfort is the enemy of achievement… in order to be successful, you must find things in your life that you are uncomfortable about and that you want to change."
— Farrah Gray
"Truth is you’ll have to make sacrifices for the people you care about. But, we tend give up things for the wrong people and most of the time, for people who really don’t deserve shit."
—
Unknown.
I’m one of those suckers that give up things for people who shouldn’t freaking matter. ONE DAY I WILL LEARN TO STOP DOING THAT. I AM TRYING THE BEST I CAN.
(via hmaeng)
"Loyalty usually comes from within… reserve your highest level of respect for those that stand by you."
— Seth Godin. Yes, I just quoted Seth Godin. Anyway, I’m using it within the context of friendships.
Congratulations, @______! Your passive-aggressive use of social media has earned you the title of Mayor of Crazytown USA!
I imagine the Foursquare badge would be one of those Facebook profile picture “no picture yet” person silhouettes, with a red “-1” over it.
A reminder: You might’ve deleted the post since it made you look bad to vent like that in a public place, but the initial impact is still felt and it doesn’t change the fact that you’re STILL AS NUCKING FUTS as I remember you being.
“Battlestar Galactica: Scar (#2.15)” (2006)
Lt. Kara Thrace: I am hung up on a dead guy, OK? And it is pissing me off.
Capt. Lee Adama: You are fine with the dead guys. It’s the living ones you can’t deal with.
Lt. Kara Thrace: [slaps him]
