For me, it’s basic Critic 101. Judge the thing you’re looking at, not by outside criteria. There are not enough giraffes on Girls, there are not enough hula hoops on Girls, because it’s a story about these four girls, not about giraffes or hula hoops.
—
(I haven’t actually seen Girls yet, but this is def my first rule of arts criticism, more concisely worded than I usually put it in my own rants.)
A slower pace, a somewhat slower pace will do.
Of a sudden, should it start to rain,
let yourself get soaked.
An old friend, the rain.
One thing alone is beautiful: setting off.
The world’s too vast
to live in a single place,
or three or four.
Walk on and on
until the sun sets,
with your old accomplice,
shadow, late as ever.
If the day clouds over,
go on anyway
regardless.
- Ko Un (from Himalaya Poems)
Charlie Chaplin, The Great Dictator
Still one of the best movie speeches of all time. Can you even imagine what it would’ve been like to watch this in 1940?
The world outside your door contains a lot of jerks and monsters, but not one single enemy. The world was designed that way, to keep you getting smarter and faster and knowing yourself more and more; to give you opportunities for kindness and honor and compassion above all else. Catching Fire means burning off what doesn’t work, knowing your lies for what they are and discarding them — making deals to survive with eyes open, instead of cloaking them in more lies — until all that’s left is the strength and truth of everything you already were.
“It” doesn’t Get Better. You do. So keep raging.
— Jacob Clifton, Hunger Games Review: THE WAR OUTSIDE OUR DOOR
Things to Worry About, F. Scott Fitzgerald
(to his 11 yr. old daughter away at camp, excerpt)
(via: nevver)
Listen: there’s a hell of a good universe next door; let’s go.
— E.E. Cummings
View Larger …you’ve got to be kind.
quote by Kurt Vonnegut :: illustration by Logan Walters:: via flickr.com
Mountains should be climbed with as little effort as possible and without desire. The reality of your own nature should determine the speed. If you become restless, speed up. If you become winded, slow down. You climb the mountain in an equilibrium between restlessness and exhaustion. Then, when you’re no longer thinking ahead, each footstep isn’t just a means to an end but a unique event in itself. This leaf has jagged edges. This rock looks loose. From this place the snow is less visible, even though closer. These are the things you should notice anyway. To live only for some future goal is shallow. It’s the sides of the mountain which sustain life, not the top. Here’s where things grow.
— Robert M. Pirsig, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance
If you’re not making mistakes, man, you’re not pushing yourself hard enough.
— Chris Johns, editor, National Geographic
(Source: bigbigtruck)
