“Nothing is a mistake. There’s no win and no fail. There’s only make.”
Three times, within about 30 minutes, I came across this quote while randomly surfing. I’d never heard it before tonight, but it’s something I’d like to keep in my brain. One site attributes it to the Immaculate Heart College Art Department Rules. Another attributed it to a guy I couldn’t retrace my surfing to find. And it’s linked one everybody and their brother’s blog at the moment.
Some choppy thoughts on the show Kid Nation:
Tonight’s episode dealt with religion. It’s amazing how well they resolved the issue, beginning with an impromtu invitation to gather around a bonfire and say whatever kind of prayer or good wish they felt like saying, and being ok if people didn’t want to come. And they opted for a library of books over a putt putt course in the middle of town. The library had a religious text associated with each religion present in the kid population.
Kids have an innate sense of what is fair & what is right. Each week this show is filled with raw humanity unfiltered by hidden agendas and cloying bullshittery typical of adults. What the hell happens between 12 and adult? We all turn into assholes? Inside every single adult is exactly what’s on the screen every wednesday on this show. Why do adults hide that? What is so taboo about being scared or sad or mad - enough so that you cry openly whether you’re a boy or a girl? I never lost that complete spontaneity & honesty of emotion. People sense that in me and I think they see it as fragile or something. It’s just sensitive, and it’s identical to what these kids say & think & feel on this show. My kid feelings, mind and heart are just wrapped in an adult body.
I think it’s the best thing to hit TV in a damn long time. Next week they tackle politics.
Living in “Internet time,” you’re probably used to being bombarded with information, making snap decisions, and needing to pick up new skills at the drop of a pixel. But a new study from researchers at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Brigham and Women’s Hospital is the latest in a series suggesting that we’re not wired to work our best under time pressure.
There is validity in slowing down, even in fast paced environments. Kind of like our speed that varies while driving: sometimes we’re zooming on a freeway, and sometimes we’re going block to block in the city. And sometimes we park and walk. I like this quote also, and can vouch that I’ve woken up hundreds of times with a clearer picture of a next step on a project:
relational memory – the ability to make logical “big picture” inferences from disparate pieces of information – is dependent on taking a break from studies and learning, and even more important, getting a good night’s sleep.
It points back, again to the Aluna Time post: no matter how fast we think we have to be to compete, it’s the ones who know how, when, and for how long to slow down that ultimately come out ahead.
“I will readily concede that if you achieve something in one hour, you will achieve two somethings in two hours. If your desiring limit is 16 somethings, then you have the mindless formula. But what if you want a million somethings? Then you need a new math.”
I’m not in love with the title, but here’s The Lazy Way to Success.
“If we were to graph the relationship between hard work and money we would see that the harder and more demanding the jobs, the less they pay. As effort decreases, success (as measured by money) increases. If people were remunerated based on the amount of hard work necessary to accomplish a job, physical laborers would be the richest people in society. Obviously they are not.”
I’d love to go to TED, but it sure seems like an elite group (Bono? Jeff Han? Carolyn Porco? those are some serious high profilers), and that’s a bit of a turn off. TED 2008 is already completely booked. This is a pretty compelling talk from Ken Robinson.
I was unexpectedly happy and proud to write myself my first official paycheck from my business. I shall bask in the glory of being able to pay the mortgage with my own money and not a line of credit this month. YAYUH!
After that, I hunker down and redesign my site. I connected with a CSS whiz to help me roll my own, including a groovy clickable timeline I decided I wanted for my news & events instead of a paragraph parade. Here’s a non-functioning image I made:
Etiquette is older than law and even now divides the realm of regulating behavior with the legal system. There are a lot of problems with that these days because people keep trying to turn over matters of etiquette to the legal system, which doesn’t handle them very well.
That gets my vote as golden quote of the year. Full interview is here titled, Civility in a Democracy.
Fall is definitely in the air here - low 60’s, breezy, trees can’t decide whether to be green or red/yellow. I’m right next to Betty Crocker Blvd, so life is ok. Here ’til Thursday AM doing a creative workshop with the makers of the world’s most perfect cereal: Cheerios.
