“The humanities give us a chance to read across languages and cultural differences in order to understand the vast range of perspectives in and on this world. How else can we imagine living together without this ability to see beyond where we are, to find ourselves linked with others we have never directly known, and to understand that, in some abiding and urgent sense, we share a world?”
—Philosopher Judith Butler on the humanities as a tool of empathy
“Marcel Proust wrote somewhere that love begins with looking, and the idea is suggestive. But if that’s the case, the reverse might also be: that true looking begins with love. There’s the quote that I used to repeat like a mantra to writing students, from Flaubert: ‘Anything becomes interesting if you look at it long enough.’ ”
—http://aeonm.ag/12AwKPVNot many people realise that it is, in fact, the suffering of the child inside them. Everybody tries to protect this vulnerable two three four five six seven eight year old inside, and to acquire skills and aptitudes for dealing with the situations that threaten to overwhelm it. So everybody develops a whole armour of secondary self, the artificially constructed being that deals with the outer world, and the crush of circumstances. And when we meet people this is what we usually meet.
Ted Hughes gold (via explore-blog)
The Week's Works: May 31, 2013
Hey everyone! History in the Works is now proud to present a new addition to the blog entitled “The Week’s Works.” Every week, I’ll be posting recommendations of articles, books, songs, movies, and more that you should check out. Here’s the first week’s; let me know your thoughts!
Your Weekly Reads:
- Beyonce On Gender Equality, Power, And Who Decides What’s Sexy by Brianna West, Thought Catalog
- Why the Boomers are the Most Hated Generation by Edward Tenner, The Atlantic
- Drone On by William Satelan, Slate
Your Weekly Tracks:
- Blinding (Hybrid Minds Remix) - Jakwob
Jakwob’s 2012 hit “Blinding” was a mesmerizing blend of reverb heavy pianos and soulful vocals, yet somehow drum and bass duo Hybrid Minds took the song to another level. Whether you’re driving, working out, studying, or just shooting the breeze, throw this on, ease up the bass, and get lost. - Gun - Emiliana Torrini
There’s something undeniably cool about this song. An addictive guitar riff, an ominous buildup, Emiliana Torrini’s haunting vocals, and poetic lyrics depicting - well listen, and find out. I first heard this on the BBC show Luther, starring Idris Elba, and have been hooked to Torrini ever since; the rest of her 2008 album, Me and Armini, is worth checking out.
Your Weekly Movie:
Eastern Promises (2007)
If you haven’t seen this one yet, I highly recommend watching. Viggo Mortensen plays a driver for the Russian mob in London as Naomi Watts plays a midwife intrigued by the diary of a dead woman, and a modern crime noir ensues. Eastern Promises should be remembered for some fascinating performances by a great cast, but the movie is properly rated “R” for some brutally violent sequences.
Your Weekly Photo:
A triangular alignment of planets over Lake Huron, gorgeously captured in orange and blue gradients. Source: kami77 on reddit.
Swag and Yolo are now words of stupidity. At first I had nothing against them, but people have pushed their meanings to the limit. Stop trying to act like you’re hardcore with them words, and take off that so called “swag hat”. Swag is not a way of style, it’s a way of showing a fake personality, because you all want is to look cool and Gangsta. Is that your ways of being real? Ha, that is funny, really really funny. I thought being real was staying true to yourself, and I thought it was about staying original, not following some trend of so called Hype. You can finally say that you have swag when you officially learn the lessons of originality.
“It may be said that, so far from having a materialistic tendency, the supposed introduction into the earth at successive geological periods of life — sensation, instinct, the intelligence of the higher mammalia bordering on reason, and lastly, the improvable reason of Man himself — presents us with a picture of the ever-increasing dominion of mind over matter.”
—Sir Charles Lyell, 1863At some point, keeping a journal was no longer about me. It slowly became about them, you, the readers. I began writing journal entries in preparation for those would come after me; yes, as hubris as it may sound. Much like a time capsule, I am constructing this with the intentions of being found; my words functioning like fossils, waiting to be discovered, marveled over, and critiqued. I assume that I would like to do for others, what other great men have done for me: be of some assistance. President Lincoln once stated that books—and I’m paraphrasing—served the purpose of showing us that the original thought we had, actually isn’t as original as we’d like to think. Didn’t King Solomon tell us that there is nothing new under the sun? So, with regard to the words of Solomon and Abraham, I am inclined to believe that it is my turn. And thats just it, the fact that I believe that I am next in line; the nerve of me to think that I will be of such status and accolades that I will even have counsel to give in the first place. That, right there, is the crux of this entry. This grandiose, lofty pondering; my vision of the future being so magnificent, being so high-minded to the point of being quixotic. Does everyone think like this? Why think like this? Is there truly a disparity in the lives of those who reach for the stars opposed to those who merely gaze at them? I suppose these questions are answerable. However, answers aren’t the objective; provoking your own consideration of these questions is the entire point.
“The reason that the subjects of politics and religion are so taboo, the reason so many people become fired up when discussing them, is that most of us are taught to believe in the necessity and goodness of these two establishments - and yet there exists within each so much corruption and deceit. When a person must decide upon one leader or another, upon one set of beliefs or the next, one is usually forced to choose between the lesser of two evils, and it inevitably causes frustration. Most people have been led to believe that we must have religion and politics to keep society from crumbling. However, all too often, the leaders from these two arenas cause nothing but detriment for society; all throughout history, they have been the ones able to see the bigger picture, to see outside the box. And they have used this knowledge to control and manipulate the people contained within the box, within society, using mainly fear and intellectual suppression. We forget that we ourselves created both politics and religion, and that we ourselves can change or get rid of them. We believe they are beyond our control, but nothing could be further from the truth.”
—Wear your Happiness
“You must wake up every morning and choose to be happy. You gotta put on happiness like you put on your clothes.”
—14-year-old Khadim Diop at TEDxHarlem, echoing Alfred Hitchcockand millennia of science and philosophy.
Reblog from http://exp.lore.com
About Generosity
Over-giving is not quite the same thing as generosity. Generosity is neither entangling nor aggressive, because the generous person doesn’t expect anything in return.
The over-giver doesn’t expect anything in return either — except to be petted and feted and praised and loved unconditionally for the rest of time (and I was) — so that’s not emotionally loaded. Nothing toxic there!
Confessions of an over-giver from the ever-brilliant Elizabeth Gilbert.
Also see the story of George Price and his quest for the origin of altruism.
Reblog from http://exp.lore.com/
