Social animal →

Published December 12, 2024  ·  All posts on Dec 12  ·  ,

It is all very well to insist that man is a “social animal”—the fact is obvious enough. But that is no justification for making him a mere cog in a totalitarian machine—or in a religious one either, for that matter. In actual fact, society depends for its existence on the inviolable personal solitude of its members. Society, to merit its name, must be made up not of numbers, or mechanical units, but of persons. To be a person implies responsibility and freedom, and both these imply a certain interior solitude, a sense of personal integrity, a sense of one’s own reality and of one’s ability to give himself to society—or to refuse that gift.

~ Thomas Merton

slip:4a1496.

How things feel →

Published December 11, 2024  ·  All posts on Dec 11  ·  ,

I have written about this before and it is something I wish to emphasize repeatedly: efficiency and clarity are necessary elements, but are not the goal. There needs to be space for how things feel. I wrote this as it relates to cooking and cars and onscreen buttons, and it is still something worth pursuing each and every time we create anything.

~ Nick Heer, from Delicious Wabi-Sabi

slip:4upobo3.

Yes, “efficiency and clarity are necessary elements, but are not the goal. There needs to be space for how things feel.” Hear! Hear!

There are at least three reasons to read Heer’s points. Retro-digital photography is really a thing; the Japanese concept of wabi-sabi (appreciating beauty that is imperfect, impermanent, and incomplete); A bit of hist wondering about software.

It’s the wabi-sabi that got me thinking about podcasting. I’m well-known for cutting the corner when it comes to editing the conversations I record. I’ve always looked at that as a necessity: If I tried to raise the level of quality by editing, I’d not be able to put the episodes out (or at least not as many.)

After reading Heer’s thoughts, now I’m wondering if I’m also—perhaps even more so?—drawn to the wabi-sabi of the conversations with all their blemishes, false-starts, uhm-and-ahs in place.

ɕ

The play instinct →

Published December 11, 2024  ·  All posts on Dec 11  ·  ,

The creation of something new is not accomplished by the intellect but by the play instinct acting from inner necessity. The creative mind plays with the objects it loves.

~ Carl Jung

slip:4a1495.

Boredom →

Published December 10, 2024  ·  All posts on Dec 10  ·  

Boredom is just “What’s the use?” in disguise. And, “What’s the use?” is fear, and fear means you are secretly in despair. So put your fears on the page. Put anything on the page. Put three pages of it on the page.

~ Julia Cameron

slip:4a1494.

Really, this book is worth reading →

Published December 9, 2024  ·  All posts on Dec 9  ·  ,

I mentioned this book previously (in, Driveway Moments). As I read more, it became clear this book is stuffed full of useful information for podcasters. At some point, I’ll get around to organizing some sort of “resources” something-or-other over on the Podcaster Community, and Sound Reporting will definitely go in the “must read” books list for podcasters.

Almost nothing in the book is directly usable… but there’s a ton of stuff—far too much for me to quote—that I found made me think.

To be honest, a lot of it felt like, “yes, I agree” and “yes, I learned that the hard way.” But there was also a lot of “that’s a good idea” and “yikes, now I know I don’t want to do that that way.”

These chapters were particularly fertile ground: Writing for Broadcast, Story Editing, Reading on the Air, Hosting, and Booking. They contains tons of information from the professionals.

ɕ

Potent muse →

Published December 9, 2024  ·  All posts on Dec 9  ·  ,

The most potent muse of all is our own inner child.

~ Stephen Nachmanovitch

slip:4a1493.

Procrastination →

Published December 8, 2024  ·  All posts on Dec 8  ·  

Procrastination is the most common manifestation of Resistance because it’s the easiest to rationalize. We don’t tell ourselves, “I’m never going to write my symphony.” Instead we say, “I’m going to write my symphony; I’m just going to start tomorrow.”

~ Steven Pressfield

slip:4a1492.

Solitude →

Published December 7, 2024  ·  All posts on Dec 7  ·  

Solitude bears the same relation to the mind that sleep does to the body. It affords it the necessary opportunities for repose and recovery.

~ William G. Simms

slip:4a1491.

Painting →

Published December 6, 2024  ·  All posts on Dec 6  ·  

Painting is just another way of keeping a diary.

~ Pablo Picasso

slip:4a1490.

Universality →

Published December 5, 2024  ·  All posts on Dec 5  ·  ,

Creativity is harnessing universality and making it flow through your eyes.

~ Peter Koestenbaum

slip:4a1489.