Quotes

You know what else feels like real paper and doesn’t require cables or monthly bills? Fucking books.

Via Maskingtape.

All attempts to inhibit the flow of information and make it work exclusively for the benefit of an organisation, whether it’s the government of China or Universal Records, are doomed. The genie is out of the bottle for good. Media owners talk wistfully of “owning” particular ideas or activities on the internet. They should stop. This is a mirage, glimpsed most often by those who spend little time on the web.

Via Russell Davies.

Facebook announced to developers last night that it will soon be dropping the word “is” from status message updates.

O. M. G.

In the travelling Jamaican sound systems of the ‘60s and ’70s, musical duties were split between the selector, who chose the records, and the operator, who played the records. A quarter century later, the selector and the operator have become one: the dj. In the dj, we have allowed execution to overshadow ideas. We have perpetuated the notion that the soul of creation is in the technique, and that, lacking technique, we forfeit the right to create.

I remember a time when it felt like, being on a major label, our interests were aligned. At times, it’s a pretty well-oiled machine and the luxury is that I feel like I’ve got a team of people who are taking care of the shit I don’t want to think about. I don’t care about the radio guy, I just want to make music. But those days are gone.

Unlike Cage’s piece 4’ 33", the Moleskine doesn’t suffer from performance issues – the clicks, taps, pops and coughs of the audience, a badly calibrated stopwatch, or lapses of the listener’s attention. The wind of nothingness blasts, unhindered, from every page.

You probably know this glyph by one of its other names: the number, numeral, or pound sign — or (if you’re a developer) the hash.

Rick Rubin – Recording Industry – Rock Music – New York Times

“Panic has set in, and now it’s no longer about making music, it’s all about how to sell music. And there’s no clear answer about how to fix that problem.”

I explained all of this to the student. When I was finished he replied, "So, rather than just taking on jobs you can put your heart into, you should find a way to put your heart into everything you do." Which was a wonderful way to put it.

I've not read ‘The God Delusion’ but I do not need to: I simply imagine the kind of arguments he makes and then demolish them one by one.

You do not have to spend a lot of time and effort on those who strongly resist change. You only have to help and protect those who want to change, so that they are able to succeed.

The twice-daily pill, Champix, blocks cravings and withdrawal symptoms by acting on the same brain receptors as nicotine. It also reduces the satisfaction a smoker will get from further cigarettes if they have a relapse.

The hurdle to credible publishing on the web, now, is the nine dollars it costs to buy a domain name from GoDaddy, which can be mapped on to a free Tumblr or Blogger space.

Via lmg.