Independence Day

"None of this surprised me," he wrote. "I already knew that the capitalist system was also sordid and money–hungry. In one of my first statements after leaving Cuba I had declared that, 'the difference between the communist and capitalist systems is that, although both give you a kick in the ass, in the communist system you have to applaud, while in the capitalist system you can scream. And I came here to scream.'"

Reinaldo Arenas Before Night Falls

Kafka

"Perhaps there is only one cardinal sin--impatience. Because of impatience, we are driven out of Paradise, because of impatience we cannot return."

Franz Kafka, born July 3, 1883

Biographers have said that it was common for Kafka to read chapters of the books he was working on to his closest friends, and that those readings usually concentrated on the humorous side of his prose. Wiki


"Philip Roth was once asked whether, in writing 'Portnoy,' [Portnoy's Complaint] he was influenced by the notoriously abrasive Jewish standup comics of the period Lenny Bruce, for example. He replied that, if anything, 'Portnoy' was inspired by the work of a Jewish sit-down comic, Franz Kafka." link

Franz Kafka's bday. Onion video to commemorate

William Knaus on Ellis:

Albert Ellis (September 27, 1913 – July 24, 2007)

"Albert Ellis lives according to what I now see as a core value, or guiding principle: Freedom and liberty. He dedicated his life to help people free themselves from their inner tyrannies and unhealthy restrictions. On the path of freedom, Albert Ellis' footsteps can be found."

Quoteable:

"Do you get all hot and bothered when you find an allmusic.com profile that includes the words "obscure" and "groundbreaking" or "influential" in close proximity? This group is for you."

Our Band Could Be Your Life group.

Damn, the best typography when the mainstream culture was eating Reagan's shit 24-7.

45 RPM

"The single must be a distillation of one's powers, the most exciting slice of noise a person can cram between the lip of the disc and the edge of the label,"
-Mac McGaughan, Superchunk

Skip Steps 1 & 3

Via Tullycraft

Woody Allen on Psychoanalysis

"I’ve had a very productive life. I’ve worked very hard, I’ve never fallen prey to depression. I’m not sure I could have done all of that without being in psychoanalysis. People would say to me, oh, it’s just a crutch. And I would say, yes. It’s a crutch, and exactly what I need in this point in my life is a crutch."

Woody Allen

Talking Heads Quote of The Day

"At the end of ... (a NYT article on the band)... Mr. Rockwell asked the 'group' if they would be willing to compromise their music for commercial success: 'Mr. Byrne looks dubious.'

Miss Weymouth said, 'We think we're commercial just the way we are.'

According to Rockwell, the girl was smiling as she said it."

p.78 This Must Be The Place by David Bowman

Merlin Mann, He's My Mann

From 43Folders:

The power of connecting with people in an authentic way (no, not in that cheesy, half-assed, internet “friends” way) falls apart at the point where its resource consumption curtails your ability to keep making new stuff. It’s a twisted paradox, for sure. But, in essence, it’d be a little like the Beatles skipping the writing and recording of Rubber Soul in order to catch up on 1964’s fan mail.

Put plainer, my sense is that western culture would be a damn sight poorer today if John Lennon had been forced to carry a goddamn BlackBerry.

Also, this.

Have We Done Something Wrong???

"Ooh ooh ooh complete control, thats a laugh
On the last tour my mates couldnt get in
I'd open up the back door but theyd get run out again
At every hotel we was met by the law
Come for the party - come to make sure!
Ooh ooh ooh have we done something wrong?"

Terence Conran on Pencils

"Does the future look grim for the 6B pencil?"





"6B is a little on the soft side--I'm more of a 2B man myself.






"...I think it's now recognized that technology is no substitute for the quickness and efficiency with which the brain and hand can connect and demonstrate creative ideas via pencil and paper. The problem with technology is ... that it can become so addictive that it absorbs time and energy and crushes creativity. People become techno junkies rather than creative whizz kids. Rather than let technology gain the upper hand, designers need to allow more poetry and 2B pencils into their work.






"Thank God for the 2B pencil and the A4 layout pad."





from Q&A: A Sort of Autobiography by Terence Conran p.165

The Mixer (Men and Women Together)

"He thinks he wants a conventional marriage with a compliant wife, but what he really wants is to be overwhelmed by the female life force. In the screwball comedies, the woman doesn’t ask her man to “grow up.” She wants to pull him into some sort of ridiculous adventure. She has to grow up, and he has to get loose—the opposite of the current pattern."



David Denby in this week's New Yorker.



I couldn't find the Jonathan Richman song I wanted to post here, but here is a Reason To Be Cheerful: J.R. doing an intro to Girlfren:

Richard Serra interview on Leonard Lopate

I am going to see the Richard Serra retrospective at MOMA in the next week (like everyone else). I got to at least hear him at his book signing at the Strand last week and he was great. The primacy of work, the respect for the work and studio process of others, even when he was not sympathetic with their artistic orientation, the lack of horseshit... all came through even in a crowd so dense that I never actually got to see the man.

It was great to see a book launch at The Strand rather than Barnes and Noble. Also: thanks to friend Suzanne who relayed the info about the appearance from S.F.

Plans to edit & post my notes are taking a backseat to my own work (what's the point of getting inspired if you use the energy up in rabbit-trail detours?--Actually, I am unfortunately a lab rat in that experiment often enough.). Here is a pretty good Leonard Lopate interview with Serra to check out.

Chomsky on Sports

(via an aside on Jewschool):
http://terasima.gooside.com/article1sports2spectator.html

"In fact, it's hard to imagine anything that contributes more fundamentally to authoritarian attitudes than this does, in addition to
the fact that it just engages a lot of intelligence and keeps people away from other things."

Wow, I always thought Chomsky was a turd for being a much harsher critic of Israel than other countries, but here is an interview about spectator sports I agree with. Well, Rush Limbaugh loves the Macintosh...

8 Year Old's GTD System

This was a letter written by my 8 year old niece to her mom. Getting Things Done!
(Here is a contact sheet of her mugging it up as well.)

Is Kasparov Available to Run for Prez?

Just read this. Naturally, this guy looks better than the choice we have in the USA.

©Joseph Sywenkyj for The New York Times

"This regime is getting out of touch with the real world.
It's a deadly combination of money, power and blood - and impunity."

Despair quote from The Cruise

"If you need advice on how to appear as a debonair individual despite
interior feelings of despair, let us know."

"I don't expect them to understand it because they've never done it. I'd
like to see THEIR double decker bus tour."

Timothy 'Speed' Levitch

On Bob Mould

Quotes from the Wiki:

Another strength was Mould's unique, resonant guitar sound, described by a critic at the time as "molten metal pouring from the speakers."

Mould reports that they liked (the name) Husker Du's somewhat mysterious qualities, which set them apart from other hardcore punk groups with names like "Social Red Youth Dynasty Brigade Distortion".