G.K. Chesterton on art
“Art, like morality, consists of drawing the line somewhere.”
G.K. Chesterton
Haruki Murakami on assholes
“Don’t feel sorry for yourself. Only assholes do that.”
I don’t know if I agree… I can get myself further by caring for myself, I think. Balance there, though. Self pity, in my experience, is like a dormant volcano you want to just skirt the edges of, not fall down into.
Jim Coudal on moving from service to products
“The problem with doing a project that’s important to you in your spare time is that there isn’t any.”
Good to hear Jim Coudal recount the journey he and his small company took. He’s got good thoughts.
Parkinson on side projects
“Work expands to fill the time available for its completion definition.”
Merlin Mann on doing a better do
“I want to become an evangelist for hard work and editing, and I want to get to a place where it shows in everything that I do, make, and share. Yes, even if it makes me sound like a fancy guy who just doesn’t get it. Fuck it.”
One of the better short reads on why we feel this way, those of us who feel it, and why we care so much about the quality of our dick jokes.
Sidney Poitier on matterful work
“I had chosen to use my work as a reflection of my values.”
None more matterful…
I think, and I’m not sure about this cuz I’m some dickhead kid, but I think these are the most meaningful words in the world… I think.
“Ring the bells that still can ring /
Forget your perfect offering /
There is a crack in everything /
That’s how the light gets in.”
Stephen Spielberg on when it’s magical
“It’s never magical until people tell you it was magical.”
There’s some great stuff in these interviews via @jonpdx. A little neutered, but I’m hungry for these kinds of interviews.
“I had a point of view about how you could recalibrate the tone of it, and the balance.”
I like this quote from Ron Howard because it’s my kind of skill: I’m shit-poor at inventing a story, but I’m great at editing and developing, having a point of view about where it should go and how it should get there. This is how he got involved in the movie in the first place. I thought that was cool.
Banksy on artists and advertisers
“The thing I hate the most about advertising is that it attracts all the bright, creative and ambitious young people, leaving us mainly with the slow and self-obsessed to become our artists.. Modern art is a disaster area. Never in the field of human history has so much been used by so many to say so little.”
Banksy via RobinHood Ink.
Not that I agree… Just that I’m always surprised to find myself listening so closely when this guy says something.
A web guy on why he sands the underside of a cabinet
“It takes me longer than it should to build websites because I’m all picky about things being proper. I’m a bit like the furniture maker who sands and varnishes the underside of a cabinet. Yes, that’s right; it’s a bit stupid and isn’t a ‘viable business model.’ I wish I could be ruthless and churn out rubbish, but I can’t, which is why I eat out of bins and can’t afford to put the heating on.”
His site’s a good read.