Oh, we’re going →

Published November 17, 2024  ·  All posts on Nov 17  ·  

Are we restless and driven to explore, as Sagan says? Will going into space bring humanity together or will we simply bring inequalities and injustices with us? The idea of humans as benevolent explorers sits somewhere between two extremes: those who argue it is our “destiny” to “colonize” other worlds, and those who ask why we’re going into outer space at all.

~ Michael P. Oman-Reagan, from Wandering Among the Stars

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We’re definitely going. Whether we like it or not, there are enough of us who are unable to not try to wander outside our little cave and over the next hill, sabertooth tigers or no. I think a much better question is: What have we lost, now that many (most?) of us are no longer in touch with the night sky. My answer: A lot. And if we continue and lose our curiosity entirely, everything.

I’ve had the insanely rare privilege of experiencing the real night sky on many occasions. (For one example, once in a very special place, on a moonless night, Mars cast my shadow.) In all my experiences, I still believe I’ve only glimpsed a part of my human heritage. What would we be like if we all were fully in touch with our heritage?

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Lectures →

Published November 16, 2024  ·  All posts on Nov 16  ·  

The muses were dumb while Apollo lectured.

~ Charles Lamb

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Which reminds me of… →

Published November 15, 2024  ·  All posts on Nov 15  ·  

The sud­den flash­es of insight we have in states of med­i­ta­tive distraction—showering, pulling weeds in the gar­den, dri­ving home from work—often elude our con­scious mind pre­cise­ly because they require its dis­en­gage­ment. When we’re too active­ly engaged in con­scious thought—exercising our intel­li­gence, so to speak—our cre­ativ­i­ty and inspi­ra­tion suf­fer. “The great Tao fades away.”

~ Josh Jones, from Why You Do Your Best Thinking In The Shower

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I really dislike Open Culture’s web site—modal dialogs, moving thinguses, distracting whatsits… but then, that’s what Reader Mode is for. :) Meanwhile, this was an interesting read just for the nugget of: It’s the distraction, stupid. As I read the bits about the Tao, I realized that—if I had read the Tao—I would not have read into the Tao sufficiently to get this point. (And of course, I’m presuming that Jones’s interpretation—or his reporting thereof, at least—is correct.)

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The quiet ones →

Published November 14, 2024  ·  All posts on Nov 14  ·  

Of the ones who have nothing to say, the quiet ones are the most pleasant.

~ Michel ‘Coluche’ Colucci

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Sit down →

Published November 12, 2024  ·  All posts on Nov 12  ·  ,

There’s a secret that real writers know that wannabe writers don’t, and the secret is this: It’s not the writing that’s hard. What’s hard is sitting down to write. What keeps us from sitting down is resistance.

~ Steven Pressfield

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This is how people actually find your show →

Published November 11, 2024  ·  All posts on Nov 11  ·  

I’m reading Amy Sillman’s Faux Pas and when I was searching her name in the Podcasts app I came across this conversation with writer Sheila Heti.

~ Austin Kleon, from Getting in and out of trouble

People find your show because they are looking for something, or someone, very specific.

People are not just sitting around thinking, “I feel like a need a new podcast to listen to… maybe something that inspires me to move more…” And then they search for “movement inspiration” . . . and then they land on my Movers Mindset show. No that’s not at all how it works. People do not find our show.

People find ONE, SPECIFIC episode. That’s what Kleon did above.

Think of a guest, or a topic, which you did about a year ago…

Now search for that person or topic in your podcast player, or in a web search engine…

Did you find that one episode you were thinking of?

Because people do that. And only then does our show description, show title, show art, episode art, episode notes, and all our hard work gives them the chance to pick us.

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Mr. Jones, put a wiggle in your stride →

Published November 10, 2024  ·  All posts on Nov 10

[When you are asked to do the score for a film, what makes you say yes?] If it seems like it will be a challenge and fun, then of course I want to do it. Also if what is needed is not something that somebody else can do better than I can. There is a kind of more conventional soundtrack thing and if that’s what they are going for I’ll say, “You know, there are people that do this better than I do. You need to go to them.” But other people want to try something new. They want to try something maybe a little different.

~ David Byrne, from David Byrne

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Wait, how is this the first thing from David Byrne that I’m posting? I’m flabbergasted by this oversight.

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Somewhat higher →

Published November 9, 2024  ·  All posts on Nov 9  ·  

The rung of a ladder was never meant to rest upon, but only to hold a man’s foot long enough to enable him to put the other somewhat higher.

~ Thomas Henry Huxley

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To make, as in: Creation →

Published November 8, 2024  ·  All posts on Nov 8  ·  

The most important work we do is to make decisions. Decisions don’t seem effortful (turn left or right, say yes or no) but the apparent risk and emotional labor is real. Hard decisions are hard because of the story we tell ourselves about repercussions and responsibility.

~ Seth Godin, from Decisions as effort

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To make a decision is an act of creation.

I’m not sure when I fully integrated the idea that making decisions is a creative act. But it definitely is a creative act. Making a decision is not simply choosing among options. Making a decision is not simply saying ‘yes’ to something. (And I’m not referring to the obvious corollary that a ‘yes’ to something is a ‘no’ to other things.) Making a decision creates a connection between the before and the after. Those were two things, and through our decision we create a connection; We create something greater than the simple sum of those two “parts.” The connection itself is something wholly new.

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Obstacles →

Published November 7, 2024  ·  All posts on Nov 7  ·  

We are kept from our goal, not by obstacles but by a clear path to a lesser goal.

~ Robert Brault

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