We found this quote (punctuation ours) on French by Design this morning and have been mulling it all day. It was unattributed. When we did a search to see where it might have come from, we found Weight Watchers and Islam and a bunch of other sources.
What do we want MOST? Can we subject the wants of the moment for the WANTMOSTS?
We’re not that simple… Sometimes the WANTMOSTS aren’t clear. Sometimes the Wants-of-the-Moment turn out to be a path read more…
marc johns
We like to check into Marc Johns’ website occasionally to see what he’s got for sale…
…like the infinite possibilities of a paper towel tube…
…or a stick… read more…
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Ouno recently compiled quotes by fashion designer Vivienne Westwood that SO totally fly-in-the-face of the usual fashionista view, we were knocked out: it is fashion-as-liberation, self-expression and NON-consumption. Our favorite Westwood quotes:
“Wear a towel instead of a coat, it’s very chic. Or your husband’s boxer shorts with a belt, or something from your grandmother. It’s all about do-it-yourself at the moment.” —Vivienne Westwood at the New Economics Forum in November 2011.
“There’s this idea that somehow you’ve got to keep changing things, and as often as possible. Maybe if people just decided not to buy anything for a while, they’d get a chance to think about what they wanted; what they really liked….” read more…
(Video link here.) Vicki Celestines, one of our readers, sent us this great compilation of “compelling TED Talks on Money.” Together, the eleven videos make up a unique “crash course in economics and personal finance” which we can certainly use. They cover topics such as putting a value on nature; raising kids to be entrepreneurs; poverty, money, and love; and investing in a post-crash world.
Our hands-down favorite though is Matt Weinstein’s talk about “What Bernie Madoff Couldn’t Steal from Me.”
It puts the fear of loss in another light.
Related posts: an astonishing video (made from Tedtalks)
11 questions to ask before buying something
louis c.k on being broke (with su tung-p’o)
recession jokes
(Video link here.) Sue Anderson, an ‘improvised life’ reader, sent us this GREAT video of artist Chuck Close‘s powerful, simple, forthright words-to-live-by from an ongoing CBS series “Notes to Self”. It’s well-worth suffering through the 30-second commercial for its memorable four minutes of pure wisdom (don’t bother with the last minute of news anchor blather). In the course of the video, Close outlines eight perfect rules for living…as true as we’ve ever seen: read more…
"rite of spring" by george booth/the new yorker
When we saw the cover of this week’s New Yorker, we laughed out loud. THAT’S US!! we thought. We may be making a Pollack-esque painting inadvertently on the side of the house, but we’re DEFINITELY out of control and off balance. We’re juggling too much while trying to hold up our pants and keep from falling off the ladder.
The clear message: We need some time off. So ‘the improvised life’ is going quiet for a week or so until we get our bearings,our health, and a mighty ‘improvised life’ project (which we’ve been working on for months) on track. (In other words, we’re gonna try following our own advice!)
Stay tuned! (There’s a lot stored in our attic/archive that we bet you haven’t seen!) We appreciate your bearing with us.
Related posts: recharging y(our) inner batteries
late night forager: seven layer cake for one
the potato chip improvisations + recipe: real onion dip
when is enough plenty?
we test drive the pomodoro time management technique
how to do more in less time: pulse and rest
We just discovered Lists of Note, an illuminating site that transcribes lists and notes written by a great cast of characters, including celebrities; philosophers and inventors; and the authors of old instructional handbooks. We’re knocked out by this list of advice from jazz pianist Thelonious Monk, transcribed by jazz saxaphonist, composer and colleague Steve Lacy. (Click here to listen to Monk’s brilliant version of Solitude from the divine Thelonius Monk Plays Duke Ellington while you read
“A Genius is the one most like himself.” WOW! Check out the whole list here: read more…
(Video link here.) The story behind this extraordinary video is brief and understated:
On an unseasonably warm November night in Manhattan on our way to get ice cream, we stumbled upon what appeared to be a vintage shop, brightly lit display window and all. As we began to walk in, a man sitting out front warned us that we were welcome to explore, but nothing inside was for sale. Our interests piqued, we began to browse through the collections the man out front had built throughout his life. This is a story of a man and his home.
via Neatorama
Related posts: advanced style: doing your thing at any age
‘ordinary people, extraordinary lives’
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viki2win/Shutterstock
In last month’s Atlantic, Sara Jenkins tells the story of her family’s annual olive harvest in Tuscany, which is, ultimately about taking risks and learning as you go. The Jenkins family has a rich history in food–Sara runs Porchetta and Porsena in New York City, and her mother Nancy Harmon Jenkins is the author of six cookbooks. Nancy and I spent some time traveling together in Italy, and I remember her always being game to drive off check out a market she’d heard of or wander into new places in search of adventure. It’s not surprising to me that Nancy and her family would take on the task of growing and harvesting olive trees, an indisputable challenge. read more…
(Video link here.) Last week, Open Culture ran two incredibly illuminating videos in tandem: the first, below, is the comedian Louis C.K telling of being at a low point in his career, having done the same old comedy routine for 15 years and getting nowhere, when he happened to hear George Carlin talk about how he came to figure out who he REALLY was, and the work he was really meant to do. Carlin’s example totally changed Louis C.K.’s life, eventually bringing him massive success. The second video, above, was Carlin telling part of the story C.K. heard. The story of Carlin’s process of becoming is interesting and valuable; as usual we notated the essential bits.
I realized…that I didn’t fit. And here’s what was missing: I was missing who I was.
What I really was was an outlaw and a rebel…I didn’t give a shit. It’s important in life if you don’t give a shit. It can help you a lot. read more…
'henry miller on writing' (new directions)
In the early thirties, as he was writing Tropic of Cancer
- Work on one thing at a time until finished.
- Start no more new books, add no more new material to “Black Spring.”
- Don’t be nervous. Work calmly, joyously, recklessly on whatever is in hand.
- Work according to Program and not according to mood. Stop at the appointed time!
- When you can’t create you can work.
- Cement a little every day, rather than add new fertilizers.
- Keep human! See people, go places, drink if you feel like it.
- Don’t be a draught-horse! Work with pleasure only.
- Discard the Program when you feel like it—but go back to it next day. Concentrate. Narrow down. Exclude.
- Forget the books you want to write. Think only of the book you are writing.
- Write first and always. Painting, music, friends, cinema, all these come afterwards.
'improvised life'
A post on 99% by James Victore gave us pause last week. He writes about how as we spend more and more time staring at screens (our computers, our phones, iPads, etc), our brains change too: we forget how to function without immediate access to “information.” Because we are always plugged in to our various networks or jobs, we no longer distinguish between what needs to happen NOW and what can wait…what we feel compelled to do vs what is good for us. We appreciate that Victore doesn’t tell us to simply throw away our technology:
Don’t get me wrong, I love the tools… Going backwards is not the answer. The answer is being conscious of the time spent on screens versus the time spent on ourselves. Can you create more time in your life? Time to plan and organize your life? Can you make more time to give to others? The answers are discipline, etiquette, and understanding the importance of time in our lives.
These are good questions and Victore offers some good answers; the gist read more…
photo: galenfrysinger.com
While looking at images of Taliesin West for our string light post, we came across this sign of Frank Lloyd Wright’s “The Organic Commandment”. We’re not sure if it’s one or four, or ‘commandment’ rather than principles, but we find it worth mulling…
Related posts: string lights as everyday indoor lighting
a dance lesson from zorba + anthony quinn
tolstoy’s big rule for living
rules for living: just one from pablo picasso
how to be yourself in 10 simple steps
(Video link here.) A reader sent us this lovely little video her friend Julia Warr made. It is about 95-year-old Maia Helles, a former Russian ballet dancer who she met on a plane four years ago. Warr became convinced that Maia “remains resolutely independent, healthy as a forty year old…through the benefits of her daily exercise routine, which Maia perfected, together with her Mother, over 60 years ago, long before exercise classes were ever invented.”
Towards the end, Maia reveals the keys to her long life:
“My secret for a long life is simplicity and work and enjoyment. “
And we would love to know her exercise routine.
Related posts: role model: lucien freud, 82, painting
advanced style: doing your thing at any age
aging as an invitation to reinvent oneself
m.f.k. fisher’s “mystic materialism of a hungry woman”
copyright: mastermind maps
A few weeks ago we wrote about the concept of “pulsing and resting,” throughout the work day; actually taking breaks from work in order to get more done (and do better work!). One of our readers introduced us to the Pomodoro Technique, (names after a tomato-shaped timer) which is based on this very idea and provides a specific method:
