avianto's quicknotes

"…our civil rights have no dependence on our religious opinions, more than our opinions in physics or..."

Mon, 02 Apr 2012 13:04:21 -0400

“

…our civil rights have no dependence on our religious opinions, more than our opinions in physics or geometry…

Be it therefore enacted by the General Assembly: That no man shall be compelled to frequent or support any religious worship, place, or ministry whatsoever, nor shall be enforced, restrained, molested, or burdened in his body or goods, nor shall otherwise suffer on account of his religious opinions or belief; but that all men shall be free to profess—and by argument to maintain—their opinions in matters of religion, and that the same shall in nowise diminish, enlarge, or affect their civil capacities.

”

- Thomas Jefferson on religious freedom, 1779. Fast-forward a few dozen decades, and research confirms what Jefferson intuited — narcissism mixed with religious righteousness breeds bad things. (via explore-blog)

"Creativity can seem like magic. We look at people like Steve Jobs and Bob Dylan, and we conclude..."

Mon, 12 Mar 2012 10:46:45 -0400

“

Creativity can seem like magic. We look at people like Steve Jobs and Bob Dylan, and we conclude that they must possess supernatural powers denied to mere mortals like us, gifts that allow them to imagine what has never existed before. They’re “creative types.” We’re not.

But creativity is not magic, and there’s no such thing as a creative type. Creativity is not a trait that we inherit in our genes or a blessing bestowed by the angels. It’s a skill. Anyone can learn to be creative and to get better at it. New research is shedding light on what allows people to develop world-changing products and to solve the toughest problems. A surprisingly concrete set of lessons has emerged about what creativity is and how to spark it in ourselves and our work.

”

- Jonah Lehrer, who has previously explored the architecture of knowledge and innovation, on what new research reveals about how to be creative – a taste of Lehrer’s new book, Imagine: How Creativity Works. (via explore-blog)

"The problem, often not discovered until late in life, is that when you look for things in life like..."

Fri, 02 Mar 2012 11:03:37 -0500

“

The problem, often not discovered until late in life, is that when you look for things in life like love, meaning, motivation, it implies they are sitting behind a tree or under a rock. The most successful people in life recognize, that in life they create their own love, they manufacture their own meaning, they generate their own motivation.

For me, I am driven by two main philosophies, know more today about the world than I knew yesterday. And lessen the suffering of others. You’d be surprised how far that gets you.

”

- Astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson via It’s Okay to be Smart.

Also see how to find your purpose and do what you love.

(via explore-blog)

bandh: Want to win a classic? We’re giving away a sterling...

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 16:11:23 -0500

bandh:

Want to win a classic? We’re giving away a sterling Canon A1 with 50mm f1.4 lens from our Used Dept.

To enter, just reblog this post and recommend another Tumblr user that you really love following (make sure it’s family friendly! And include a URL.)

All people 18 and over living in the United States can do this once only from 11:00 A.M. E.S.T. on February 7, 2012, until 6:00 P.M. E.S.T. on February 13, 2012. We’ll announce the winner Tuesday, February 14^th, 2012 here on our Tumblr, Facebook and Twitter.

Good luck!

See our rules and regulations for more.

Old gadgets collection: http://neogizmo.tumblr.com/

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Fri, 03 Feb 2012 14:35:05 -0500

thedailywhat: Chuck & Beans.

Fri, 27 Jan 2012 16:16:17 -0500

thedailywhat:

Chuck & Beans.

Star Wars Uncut: Director’s Cut (by ragingpugh)

Wed, 25 Jan 2012 16:17:41 -0500

Star Wars Uncut: Director’s Cut (by ragingpugh)

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Wed, 25 Jan 2012 16:16:23 -0500

"There are basically two types of people. People who accomplish things, and people who claim to have..."

Tue, 10 Jan 2012 11:12:51 -0500

“There are basically two types of people. People who accomplish things, and people who claim to have accomplished things. The first group is less crowded.”

- Mark Twain

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Tue, 12 Jul 2011 12:20:22 -0400

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Tue, 12 Jul 2011 08:59:19 -0400

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Mon, 11 Jul 2011 09:13:43 -0400

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Mon, 11 Jul 2011 09:13:32 -0400

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Mon, 11 Jul 2011 09:13:00 -0400

"Date a girl who reads. Date a girl who spends her money on books instead of clothes. She has..."

Thu, 07 Jul 2011 18:20:29 -0400

“Date a girl who reads. Date a girl who spends her money on books instead of clothes. She has problems with closet space because she has too many books. Date a girl who has a list of books she wants to read, who has had a library card since she was twelve.

Find a girl who reads. You’ll know that she does because she will always have an unread book in her bag.She’s the one lovingly looking over the shelves in the bookstore, the one who quietly cries out when she finds the book she wants. You see the weird chick sniffing the pages of an old book in a second hand book shop? That’s the reader. They can never resist smelling the pages, especially when they are yellow.

She’s the girl reading while waiting in that coffee shop down the street. If you take a peek at her mug, the non-dairy creamer is floating on top because she’s kind of engrossed already. Lost in a world of the author’s making. Sit down. She might give you a glare, as most girls who read do not like to be interrupted. Ask her if she likes the book.

Buy her another cup of coffee.

Let her know what you really think of Murakami. See if she got through the first chapter of Fellowship. Understand that if she says she understood James Joyce’s Ulysses she’s just saying that to sound intelligent. Ask her if she loves Alice or she would like to be Alice.

It’s easy to date a girl who reads. Give her books for her birthday, for Christmas and for anniversaries. Give her the gift of words, in poetry, in song. Give her Neruda, Pound, Sexton, Cummings. Let her know that you understand that words are love. Understand that she knows the difference between books and reality but by god, she’s going to try to make her life a little like her favorite book. It will never be your fault if she does.

She has to give it a shot somehow.

Lie to her. If she understands syntax, she will understand your need to lie. Behind words are other things: motivation, value, nuance, dialogue. It will not be the end of the world.

Fail her. Because a girl who reads knows that failure always leads up to the climax. Because girls who understand that all things will come to end. That you can always write a sequel. That you can begin again and again and still be the hero. That life is meant to have a villain or two.

Why be frightened of everything that you are not? Girls who read understand that people, like characters, develop. Except in the Twilightseries.

If you find a girl who reads, keep her close. When you find her up at 2 AM clutching a book to her chest and weeping, make her a cup of tea and hold her. You may lose her for a couple of hours but she will always come back to you. She’ll talk as if the characters in the book are real, because for a while, they always are.

You will propose on a hot air balloon. Or during a rock concert. Or very casually next time she’s sick. Over Skype.

You will smile so hard you will wonder why your heart hasn’t burst and bled out all over your chest yet. You will write the story of your lives, have kids with strange names and even stranger tastes. She will introduce your children to the Cat in the Hat and Aslan, maybe in the same day. You will walk the winters of your old age together and she will recite Keats under her breath while you shake the snow off your boots.

Date a girl who reads because you deserve it. You deserve a girl who can give you the most colorful life imaginable. If you can only give her monotony, and stale hours and half-baked proposals, then you’re better off alone. If you want the world and the worlds beyond it, date a girl who reads.

Or better yet, date a girl who writes.”

- Rosemarie Urquico (via kblitz)

(via conversationslips)

Rosemarie no longer has an active blog, but she can be found on Facebook here: http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/profile.php?id=585211028

To see the post about how she was found, please go here. Thanks to Booksnbrew for searching!

(via themonicabird)

dailyssimo: Things That Make You Feel Old

Fri, 01 Jul 2011 12:33:24 -0400

dailyssimo:

Things That Make You Feel Old

miguelinclosedcaption: Infographic Poster 2: Photography Cheat...

Thu, 26 May 2011 16:46:38 -0400

miguelinclosedcaption:

Infographic Poster 2: Photography Cheat Sheet.

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Wed, 25 May 2011 12:36:54 -0400

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Mon, 23 May 2011 13:24:50 -0400