Skill and Imagination

Skill without imagination is craftsmanship and gives us many useful objects such as wickerwork picnic baskets. Imagination without skill gives us modern art.

— Tom Stoppard

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  • Christopher Hitchens’ Guiding Principles

    Beware the irrational, however seductive.

    Shun the ‘transcendent’ and all who invite you to subordinate or annihilate yourself.

    Distrust compassion; prefer dignity for yourself and others.

    Don’t be afraid to be thought arrogant or selfish.

    Picture all experts as if they were mammals.

    Never be a spectator of unfairness or stupidity.

    Seek out argument and disputation for their own sake; the grave will supply plenty of time for silence.

    — Christopher Hitchens (1949-2011)

    Your time of silence has come too soon. Thanks for the valiant fight.

    (Thanks to A.Word.A.Day for the reference.)

  • The Only Substitute for Time is Focus

    There is an inescapable setup time for all tasks, large or minuscule in scale. It is often the same for one as it is for a hundred. There is a psychological switching of gears that can require up to 45 minutes to resume a major task that has been interrupted.

    — Timothy Ferris, 4-Hour Work Week

    Of course, I interrupted the book I was reading to post and Tweet this.

    Focus is hard.

  • David Byrne On The Music Business

    David Byrne has an excellent article on the music business over at Wired. He offers this brilliant insight into music business today:

    What is called the music business today, however, is not the business of producing music. At some point it became the business of selling CDs in plastic cases, and that business will soon be over. But that’s not bad news for music, and it’s certainly not bad news for musicians. Indeed, with all the ways to reach an audience, there have never been more opportunities for artists.

    A very good read.

  • Hurry

    When you want to hurry something, that means you no longer care about it and want to get on to other things.

    — Robert Pirsig, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance

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