February 2011
25 posts
“Creativity isn’t ours. Just because you can draw better, doesn’t make you a...”
– Dear Designer, You Aren’t That Special
Redeemer in New York City
Timothy Keller, author and pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian in New York has a great interview in the Atlantic. He is mostly discussing the writing of his new book, but he has some great tidbits regarding other issues:
It’s the other way around now. Frankly, if you are an orthodox Christian in Manhattan right now, it’s a social problem. People are nervous about you, they feel like...
“We want you to take from us. We want you, at first, to steal from us, because...”
– Francis Ford Coppolla on imitating the Masters as opposed to creating your own voice.
His article made waves for this quote:
Maybe the students are right. They should be able to download music and movies. I’m going to be shot for saying this. But who said art has to cost money? And therefore, who...
Mitch Hurwitz's Guide to Getting a Show Cancelled
Brilliant.
Audiences love fast cars and exciting vehicles
So see if you can put in some heavy machinery like a stair-car, that isn’t easily associated with speed or sex appeal.
(…)
Add a sprinkle of incest
They’ll never admit it, but viewers love sex. In fact, they love any sort of titillation, with the exception of incest. So focus on that.
(…)
Audiences like...
Discombobulated: "Date A Girl Who Reads" by... →
This is at once truthful, hilarious, and wonderful. And by this definition (although there was no previous doubt) I am definitely married to a reader.
littlemissdorkette:
(In Response to Charles Warnke’s You Should Date An Illiterate Girl.)
Date a girl who reads. Date a girl who spends her money on books instead of clothes. She has problems with closet space because she has too many books....
“The Devil doesn’t have any music. Ever since we were young kids, we sang...”
– Mavis Staples, in Christianity Today
Bottom-Up History: An Interview with StoryCorps’... →
I think that, in many ways, it’s the people who have been through something difficult that are the keepers of wisdom within our society. If you listen to StoryCorps stories, many of them are from people who have gone through something tough. I like these stories because what we’re really trying to do with StoryCorps is gather the wisdom of humanity. Hardship really forces people to...
“No matter how much you know, you’re probably doing it wrong. There’s no victory,...”
– Stu Maschwitz, who I’m sure you’re reading if you are at all interested in video production.
The Dardenne Brothers interviewed by The 99... →
For you, what is the biggest challenge of being artists?
Luc: You just have to maintain the same point of view, to keep on believing what you believed in the beginning. It’s not because someone says today cinema is this or should not be that. Today, we should shoot like this or that. I don’t think that’s how things should be done. It’s difficult because remaining with the same ideas can drive...
“And the point is, to live everything. Live the questions now. Perhaps then,...”
– Rainer Maria Rilke, Letters to a Young Poet
WatchSince I didn’t see Mumford & Sons at the house show the other night, I guess I’ll have to deal with this TakeAway Show.
What Makes for a Popular, Consumer-Oriented Web... →
Three things:
They have a clear purpose.
They are simple to use.
They are fun to use or facilitate some type of entertainment or both
Wall Street, investment bankers, and social good :... →
First:
“Think of all the profits produced by businesses operating in the U.S. as a cake. Twenty-five years ago, the slice taken by financial firms was about a seventh of the whole. Last year, it was more than a quarter. (In 2006, at the peak of the boom, it was about a third.) In other words, during a period in which American companies have created iPhones, Home Depot, and Lipitor, the best...
“I still have that desire to do what Wagner called the “complete...”
– Sufjan Stevens
Full Stop. New Chapter.
So this week, for the first time in a long time, I’ve had cause to be vague. I’ve posted Facebook statuses like “Today was good. The reason will be public soon enough.” and “OHMYGOSH YOU GUYS! I have big news!” and other similarly vague statements on Twitter. Well, here it is, the big news, in all it’s simple glory, that probably doesn’t affect many...
