archives / tags

reading fiction is important

So true:

Reading fiction is important. It is a vital means of imagining a life other than our own, which in turn makes us more empathetic beings. Following complex story lines stretches our brains beyond the 140 characters of sound-bite thinking, and staying within the world of a novel gives …

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brainpickings

Ho scoperto un sito fantastico, di quelli che ti fanno riscoprire quanto Internet possa ancora essere fonte di meraviglie.

Si chiama Brain Pickings ed è come se fossero i ritagli di giornale che vorresti mettere da parte; parla di creatività, di scienza, di filosofia, di psicologia; parla di qualsiasi argomento …

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bewitched by his eloquence

Date Tags quote

Those of us who were bewitched by his eloquence on the campaign trail chose to ignore some disquieting aspects of his biography: that he had accomplished very little before he ran for president, having never run a business or a state; that he had a singularly unremarkable career as a …

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the codex

Date Tags quote

The codex is built for nonlinear reading — not the way a Web surfer does it, aimlessly questing from document to document, but the way a deep reader does it, navigating the network of internal connections that exists within a single rich document like a novel.”

The Mechanic Muse — From Scroll …

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running errands

I was out running errands today, walking through the city. I remembered, a mile away from home, that a screw had fallen out of my wife’s favorite eyeglasses over the weekend, and that she was waiting for me to fix them. Walking down a city street, I said, “Remind …

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excuse me sir

Excuse me, sir, would you mind taking our photo?”

http://blog.pluckytree.org/2011/10/last-time-i-saw-steve-jobs.html

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not jargon

Date Tags quote

From a review of a soft-science book appeared recently on the New York Times:

Though the authors occasionally lapse into jargon (their barnacles cling to “substrate” until the animals die and their six-plate shells “become disarticulated”)

Substrate and disarticulated jargon? Maybe I’ve been away too long, but it seems …

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paper to draw comics

Date Tags quote

INTERVIEWER

What kind of paper do you use, what kind of pen and ink?

CRUMB

Well, I use the old Strathmore vellum surface paper, which is the best paper you can get in the Western world for ink line drawing. It has a good, hard surface. I have it mailed …

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sense of relief

Date Tags quote

I felt a sense of relief at his unshaven face and scruffy clothes. I have rarely seen a more disreputable bunch.”

— Ed Hillary (the Everest guy) about Eric Shipton (another great mountaineer and explorer), as reported in the fantastic 2-part history of Everest written by Ed Webster (Alpinist issues 26 …

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packed onto a subway

Being packed onto a subway or a bus or even stuck in your car in traffic makes you feel like cattle, and that’s an awful way to feel. If you never want to feel like a cow again start riding your bike.”

Bike Snob.

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