Aldous Huxley’s ‘If my library burned tonight’ (1948)
From the archive: Aldous Huxley ‘If my library burned tonight’ (1948), via houseandgarden.co.uk A 1948 essay by th
the history of tv, as told by @RonenV
The following is my (VV) copying of @RonenV‘s telling of the history of TV. Ronen spoke the whole thing out verbally (fu
Bill Burr
on male bullying/bonding: “This is how it works with guys. Anytime you do anything remote sensitive, heart-warming, anything
jeanette winterson
quotes “Truth for anyone is a very complex thing. For a writer, what you leave out says as much as those things you include.
In Praise of Idleness, by Bertrand Russell [1932]
Like most of my generation, I was brought up on the saying: ‘Satan finds some mischief for idle hands to do.’ Bein
Pericles’ Funeral Oration [~431 BCE]
(VV: Emphasis mine.) Most of those who have spoken here before me have commended the lawgiver who added this oration to our ot
The Making Of A Public Intellectual, Devoney Looser [2017]
Summary: The author is an expert on the subject of Jane Austen. She was interviewed by CNN when the Bank of England placed her
The Problem Of Excess Genius, by David Banks [1997]
David Banks, Department of StatisticsCarnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh PA 15213 The most important question we can ask of
Books I’d like to talk about
I used to have a really old version of this blogpost that was tattered and patchy, until eventually I got sick of it and decid
sheryl sandberg 2012 HBS speech
sheryl sandberg 2012 HBS speech Full transcript
baidu eric xu talk
notes i took a long time ago from some talk he gave Introduction / Story Defining a successful startup Equity structure Founde
Tribe, by Sebastian Junger
original thread This book grew out of this 2015 Vanity Fair article about soldiers and PTSD Junger grew up in a Boston suburb.
Threads
startup bullshit Just shipped some stuff for work, so I thought I'd take a second to explore some thoughts that have been
eddies
I love this comic by Kevin Simler of Melting Asphalt: Wisdom tells me I am nothing. Love tells me I am everything. Between the
favorite poems
Good Bones by Maggi Smith Life is short, though I keep this from my children. Life is short, and I’ve shortened mine in a th
A Sideways Look At Time
A Sideways Look At Time is a 1999 book by Jay Griffiths that I find myself referencing over and over again. I thought I’
pics
Language news Good typography The message has to suit the medium: Recurring theme of brooding over cities how people make refe
SeeingSpaces
Stone tools, computer mice, bricks and smartphones are all designed to fit the human hand. people looking ridiculous SeeingSpa
Drogon vs Balerion size comparison
1000 index
self-observations 0408 — tendency to talk in explanations – I get neurotic when I try to explain everything, includin
word vomit notes
Practice Stoicism (0010) Keep your identity small (0094) Avoid heartbreak warfare (0006), petty arguments (0076) Be random fro
Quotes I’d like to be reminded of
2023 update: This feels like a very dated post now. I think my goal moving forward is to weave all my favorite quotes into my
ev williams, xoxo 2013
A journey on the information superhighway – evan williams Hello friends. I want to talk to you today about the Internet, jus
The Tao of YungSnuggie
I loved YungSnuggie so much that I pulled out his best answers, formatted them a little (tried to make it easier to read witho
Notes from Seth Godin’s talk at Google
I was watching a talk that Seth Godin gave at Google in 2007. It was uploaded on jul 16, about 3 weeks after the first generat
notes from Anthony Robbins TED talk
Immersion why, what is your motivation today? invisible force of internal drive emotion is the force of life effective people/
The Mundanity of Excellence, by Daniel Chambliss
(Visa: Full text available here. I edited this one a little for readability. Left out the footnotes.) “Olympic sports an
Stuff I wrote down while watching A Conversation With Elon Musk (and Salman Khan)
I wrote this while watching Salman Khan having a conversation with Elon Musk, this is what stood out to me. Thought I’d
bach, reddit
[–]Rhapsodie 26 points 4 days ago Bach is ANYTHING but mechanical. In fact his music is so emotional sometimes it makes C
What makes a story great, by Marcus Geduld
Originally posted on Quora. Marcus is a Shakespearean director and one of my absolute favourite people I’ve had the priv
“See you when I’m forty years old”, by Xavier Koh
“Rule of Thumb: When you find yourself carelessly engaging in envy of people who seem to be ‘living the life’
revolution, on reddit
[–]avaslash 2046 points 17 days ago* The thing is revolution requires once special thing. Actual problems. What is an act
on drugs, from reddit
beathau5 What is the worst permanent life decision that you’ve ever made? from AskReddit Drugs (in particular coke) prov
self-development is self-destruction, by xavier koh
“There’s a particular self-development paradox I’ve consistently encountered, but haven’t managed to g
Richard Branson Quotes
From True Grit, Opinion piece in some business magazine: The ability to tap into your determination and grit… you can te
Building Blocks of Storytelling (Ira Glass)
Building blocks of storytelling: 1: Anecdote. Sequence of actions- what is a story in its purest form? The plot. It has a mome
Write Till You Drop, by Annie Dillard
Write Till You Drop By ANNIE DILLARD People love pretty much the same things best. A writer looking for subjects inquires not
On Jealousy
By “Anon User” When does love make one miserable and jealous? It does not. You misread your own feelings. The buzz
Obama
“In White House jargon this was a meeting of “the principals,” which is to say the big shots. In addition to Biden a
Bill O’Reilly makes me sick.
Have not felt this angry in a while. Jan2025: original video’s account was deleted, but I believe it’s this: https
Sam Harris, on Free Will
Wherever you stand on the matter, this was a good watch. Sam Harris, on free will. — The New York Times – Why Afgh
Education Reform & Disruption: To what extent will online education replace brick-and-mortar education in the next 10 years?
Bob Scott: If it’s not a revolution, online education is certainly an upheaval that’s going to replace a big chunk of wha
Nurse reveals the top 5 regrets people make on their deathbed
“For many years I worked in palliative care. My patients were those who had gone home to die. Some incredibly special t
Great Posts I’ve Read
The Disadvantage of an Elite Education by William Dersiewicz. Welcome address to freshman at Boston Conservatory, by Karl Paul
“Losers have goals, winners have systems”, by Scott Adams
“The other day I put on my workout clothes and drove to the gym. But when I arrived I didn’t feel like working out
william gibson nyt profile
2012 jan 13 by Pagan Kennedy On one of his trips to New York, William Gibson stopped before an antiques shop that would end up
The World As I See It, by Albert Einstein
“How strange is the lot of us mortals! Each of us is here for a brief sojourn; for what purpose he knows not, though he
Talent, focus, and endurance, by Haruki Murakami
In every interview I’m asked what’s the most important quality a novelist has to have. It’s pretty obvious: talent. Now
It’s not about you, by David Brooks
“Over the past few weeks, America’s colleges have sent another class of graduates off into the world. These graduates
I am nothing, by Paul Buchheit
“On a scale of one to ten, how good of a cog are you? How well do you function in your assigned role? How much of a man
Six mistakes mankind keeps making century after century, by Seneca
“Six mistakes mankind keeps making century after century: -Believing that personal gain is made by crushing others; -Worryin
Cowboys and Pit Crews- Why the medical industry needs more systemic thinking and execution
Atul Gawande delivered this year’s commencement address at Harvard Medical School. All emphasis is mine. In his book
Life- The Ultimate Game, by Steve Pavlina
“When designing a game, a good game designer will present the player with a solid collection of compelling choices.  A
How to survive when everything sucks, by Alexandra Franzen
http://alexandrafranzen.com/ I am really, stupendously, riotously proud of myself. My business is bangin’, my client
Wise words from Stephen Hawking
I have no idea. People who boast about their IQ are losers. Response upon being questioned as to his IQ, in interview with Deb
Friedrich Nietzsche, on laziness and timidity
“… A traveller who had seen many lands and peoples and several of the earth’s continents was asked what quality in men h
The wisdom of Jim Rohn
The soil says, “Don’t bring me your need. Bring me your seed.” Unless you change how you are, you will always have wha
Ray Kurzweil on the future of solar power
Ray Kurzweil: “One of my primary theses is that information technologies grow exponentially in capability and power and
Countering Stress and Depression, by The Dalai Lama XIV
At a fundamental level, as human beings, we are all the same; each one of us aspires to happiness and each one of us does not
Jonathan Diener, on the future of the music industry
I think obviously downloading and the easy access via torrents, etc. to get music and movies are hurting the sales. But with a
gopnik’s information
Originally published on The New Yorker in 2011. (newyorker.com, archive.org) When the first Harry Potter book appeared, in 199
@Lord_Voldemort7 vs @perezhilton
“I received a large number of response to a tweet I wrote about @perezhilton. My comment, for those that did not see it
John Mayer, on life.
I wish that when I was younger I could have met my current self. We would have sat down at a coffee shop so that I could expla
Awesome Quotes from Margaret Mead
SEGMENTING LIFEGAME = BULLSHIT “It is utterly false and cruelly arbitrary to put all the play and learning into childhoo
The War Prayer, by Mark Twain
It was a time of great and exalting excitement. The country was up in arms, the war was on, in every breast burned the holy fi
Karl Paulnack’s freshman address
Welcome address to freshman at Boston Conservatory, given by Karl Paulnack, pianist and director of music division at Boston C
mother’s support for gay son (2000)
Sunday, April 30, 2000 By SHARON UNDERWOOD For the Valley News (White River Junction, VT) Many letters have been sent to the V
contemplating the universe
One of the most amazing things that the human mind is able to do is to contemplate the Universe. Now, few of us are reall