(Source: luellaloves, via distinguishedcompany)
(Source: luellaloves, via distinguishedcompany)
I’m frightened of people who believe in just one story. The advantage of studying literature is that you learn many stories, philosophy, history, etc. You learn that we have commonalities of strangeness and secrets with our fellow humans. Because of many stories, we are that much more open to otherness.
Read so hard librarians tryin’ ta FINE me,
They can’t identify me,
Checked in with a pseudonym, so I guess you can say I’m Mark Twaining.
Read so hard, I’m not lazy.
Go on Goodreads, so much rated.
Fountainhead, on my just read, gave it four stars, and then changed it.
Read so hard, I’m literary.
Goosebumps series, TOO SCARY!
Animal Farm, Jane Eyre
Barnes & Nobles, Foursquare it
No TV, I read instead
Got lotsa Bills, but not bread
BURROUGHS , GOLDING, SHAKESPEARE — all dead
Read so hard, got paper cuts
On trains while you’re playin’ connect the dots
All these blisters from turning pages
Read so hard, I’m seeing spots
Your Sudoku just can’t compare
Nor Angry Birds cos lookit here
My Little Birds is getting stares
(pause)
This print’s rare.
Read so hard, I memorize, The Illiad… I know lines.
Watch me spit, classic lit, epic poems that don’t rhyme.
War and Peace, piece of cake, read Tolstoy in 3 days.
Straight through, no delays.
Didn’t miss a word. Not one phrase.
Read so hard librarians tryin’ ta fineee me - That shit cray x 3
Read so hard librarians tryin’ ta fineee me — That shit cray x 3
He said Shea can we get married at the Strand
His Friday Reads are bad so he can’t have my hand
You ball so hard, OK you’re bowling
But I read so hard, I’m JK Rowling
That shit cray
Ain’t it, A? What you readin’?
AQ: DeMontaigne.
You use a Kindle? I carry spines.
Supporting bookshops like a bra, Calvin Klein.
Nerdy boy, he’s so slow
Tuesday we started Foucault
He’s still stuck on the intro? He’s a no go.
It’s sad I had to kick him out my house though —
He Mispronounced an author - MARCEL PROUST
Don’t read in the dark
I highlight with markers
While laying in the park
And wearing Warby Parkers
Marriage Plot broke my heart
And it made me read Barthes
I special ordered a
A softcover not hard- HUAH?AHEHA?!
Read so hard libraries tryin’ ta fine me x 2
I am now marking my place
Don’t wanna crease on my page
Don’t let me forget this page
Don’t let me forget this page
I may forget where I left off so I’ll use this little post it…
I hope it doesn’t fall out, I hope that it stays stickie…
I am now marking my place
Don’t wanna crease on my page
Don’t let me forget this page
I got bookmarks at home
But I forgot one for the road
AQ: I got a bookmark I can loan
La Shea: Know how many bookmarks I own?
I am now bookmarking my page x3
Don’t let me forget this PAGE….
(via shahirzag)
The Old Astronomer to His Pupil
Reach me down my Tycho Brahe, I would know him when we meet,
When I share my later science, sitting humbly at his feet;
He may know the law of all things, yet be ignorant of how
We are working to completion, working on from then to now.
Pray remember that I leave you all my theory complete,
Lacking only certain data for your adding, as is meet,
And remember men will scorn it, ‘tis original and true,
And the obliquy of newness may fall bitterly on you.
But, my pupil, as my pupil you have learned the worth of scorn,
You have laughed with me at pity, we have joyed to be forlorn,
What for us are all distractions of men’s fellowship and smiles;
What for us the Goddess Pleasure with her meretricious smiles.
You may tell that German College that their honor comes too late,
But they must not waste repentance on the grizzly savant’s fate.
Though my soul may set in darkness, it will rise in perfect light;
I have loved the stars too fondly to be fearful of the night.
Sarah Williams
“Best Loved Poems of the American People”, Hazel Felleman, ed. Garden City Publishing Co., Garden City NY: 1936, pp. 613-614
I think that being Japanese means living with natural disasters. From summer to autumn, typhoons pass through much of Japan. Every year they cause extensive damage, and many lives are lost. There are many active volcanoes in every region. And of course, there are many earthquakes. Japan sits precariously on the four tectonic plates at the eastern extremity of the Asian continent. It is as if we are living on a very nest of earthquakes.
We can predict the timing and route of typhoons to a greater or lesser extent, but we can’t predict when and where an earthquake will occur. All that we do know is that this was not the last great earthquake, and that another will surely happen in the near future. Many specialists predict that a magnitude 8 earthquake will strike the Tokyo area within the next twenty or thirty years. It may happen in ten years time, or it may strike tomorrow afternoon. No one can predict with any certitude the extent of the damage that would follow if an inland earthquake were to strike such a densely populated city as Tokyo.
Despite this fact, there are 13 million people living “ordinary” lives in the Tokyo area alone. They take crowded commuter trains to go to their offices, and they work in skyscrapers. Even after this earthquake, I haven’t heard that the population of Tokyo is on the decline.
Why? You might ask. How can so many people go about their daily lives in such a terrible place? Don’t they go out of their minds with fear?
In Japanese, we have the word “mujō (無常)”. It means that everything is ephemeral. Everything born into this world changes, and will ultimately disappear. There is nothing that can be considered eternal or immutable. This view of the world was derived from Buddhism, but the idea of “mujo” was burned into the spirit of Japanese people beyond the strictly religious context, taking root in the common ethnic consciousness from ancient times.
The idea that all things are transient is an expression of resignation. We believe that it serves no purpose to go against nature. On the contrary, Japanese people have found positive expressions of beauty in this resignation.
– Excerpt from Haruki Murakami’s Catalunya International Prize acceptance speech from June 2011. Read the full speech on Senrinomichi.com. (via murakamistuff)
(via literaryartifacts)
On Writing and Dressing Well
For my day job, I teach college courses on economic development. My students are smart, but many come to college not knowing how to write a basic paper. I get paid to teach them about development, not English, but in the course of reading so many students’ essays, I’ve come up with a few ideas on how they can generally improve their writing. I think some of the same lessons can be insightful for those interested in dressing as well.
Let’s start with what’s wrong with their papers. Students often abuse thesauruses and write long, needless sentences, many of which are not arranged in any coherent order. Their papers frequently lack theses, and when there is one, it’s unclear how each part supports their conclusion.
My general idea is that students can improve if they just write simply and unpretentiously, erring on the side of clarity. Two strategies would be to use shorter sentences and edit things down as tightly as possible. They should also avoid using fancy words to dress up their prose and instead focus on communicating a strong, central idea. Simplicity, clarity, and coherency. Have one meaningful thing to say and say it well.
The basic principles for dressing are similar. Of course, some men should just pull up their pants and wear jackets that fit. Among men who already put in effort, however, most would fare better by not trying so hard to look “stylish.” Not unlike students who try to force sounding sophisticated, these men should strip away needless details and accoutrements. Tightly edit things down, use simple garments, and express one idea.
They should also ensure that there’s some coherency and harmony. Wearing avant-garde designer sweaters with traditionally tailored sport coats, for example, doesn’t work. Nor do denim trucker jackets with neckties, frankly. It’s important to keep things in-synch by sticking within the same aesthetic family, seasonal mood, and level of formality. This is the sartorial equivalent of supporting a thesis.
Of course, there are many men who are incredibly stylish and break all sorts of these “rules.” Hirofumi Kurino and Yasuto Kamoshita, both of whom work for United Arrows, are two perfect examples. Dressing is also more of an art than writing about social theories, so there’s more room for creative license.
However, if you’re a novice, I think you would do better by taking the basic approach to dressing. Rely on simple things, edit things down tightly, and make sure each piece supports another in some harmonious manner. Maybe that’s a madras shirt, khaki linen pants, and brown leather loafers for a causal summer weekend. Or it’s a navy suit, white shirt, black grenadine tie, and black oxford shoes for an evening charity event. Whatever it is, have a thesis and express it clearly and concisely. You can, of course, one day move to more creative forms of expressing yourself, but not before you’ve learned how to write a basic paper.
* Special thanks to Stephen for helping me edit this article.
(via decorates)
Happy Birthday Paulo Horta.
You are the reason we exist.
