The easy way to ruin your day.
Coltrane wrote the song ‘Alabama’ in response to the [16th Street Baptist Church] bombing. He patterned his saxophone playing on Martin Luther King’s funeral speech. Midway through the song, mirroring the point where King transforms his mourning into a statement of renewed determination for the struggle against racism, Elvin Jones’s drumming rises from a whisper to a pounding rage. He wanted this crescendo to signify the rising of the civil rights movement.
So. Good.
Worry Isn't Work
Many of us have grown up thinking that if we are properly self-punishing then we are somehow being responsible. “What, I’m a nervous wreck — how could I possibly take on more?” On the other hand, if, God forbid, we are feeling carefree, we have this nagging sense that we’re being downright irresponsible, certain that if we don’t get right back to self-flagellation then the other shoe is going to drop. And hard. We don’t correlate our sense of responsibility with what we are actually producing. We correlate it with how hard we are being on ourselves.
As someone who has tendencies to worry about how much work they’re doing and to “push through” problems rather than taking (much needed) breaks to gain some (much needed) perspective, this article hits close enough to home to be sitting in my living room.
So, if you’ll excuse me, I have a problem that’s currently driving me crazy and walk around the block to take…
I’m Not Pro-Gay Marriage, I’m Pro-Equality
Derek Powazek gets it:
I’m not Pro-Gay Marriage, I’m Pro-Equality. I’m not Pro-Gay Rights, I’m Pro-Common Sense. I’m Anti-Discrimination. I’m Anti-Enshrining Your Queasiness About Buttsex In My Constitution. I’m Pro-When The Constitution Says We’re All Equal, It Means We’re All Equal.
Why don’t more software companies keep sexy lists of the things they’re working on?
“Did I learn anything about actively listening to and talking about records? Absolutely. I most importantly learned that if there’s something you’re passionate — or at least obsessive — about, it’s worth doing every day and holding yourself to. Even if you’re not getting paid for it.”
— D. Patrick Rodgers, on what he learned by writing his excellent A Record a Day.
“The programmer’s path to hell is paved with the word yes.”
New Theme: Stirred
cubicle17 recently got itself a new coat of paint, so as I’m wont to do, I’m making my old theme freely available to anyone who wants it. This theme was easily one of my favorites of any theme I’ve put together, so hopefully someone out there will like it enough to keep it alive. Anyway, enough jibba-jabba, start downloading/installing/modding/whatever; that’s what it’s there for.
Please submit any bugs/feature requests/love/hate mail to bill.israel@gmail.com
yewknee’s Summer Mix Series 2010
Somewhere around the first minute of June, I start jonesing for yewknee’s Summer Mix Series. True to its name, the Summer Mix Series opens its doors near the beginning of summer, and the moment it does, people start submitting their carefully curated and themed mixes. So if you’re lookin’ for some new music, I suggest you start here.
I know it’s uber-douchey-wannabe-hipster of me, but I still want this Moleskine Kindle cover.
