"Music is like basil. Put it on. Don't think twice."

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“Before Google Docs existed, those rare times I met software engineers, I’d ask them to please create software so two people in different locations could edit a document together online. God bless Google Docs.”

“I don't tweet because I don't need another creative venue. I don't need another form for self-expression. I don't need another way to get my thoughts out to people. I have one.”

“Why is my job like the second job that somebody who's a genius at something else can do, and actually still be really good at? It's not fair!”

“The Cruise is one of my favorite films and very close to the spirit of This American Life: It’s funny and moving and surprising and just beautiful to look at–black and white, shot on the cheap with all natural light on digital video, incredibly.”

“Nobody hearing my words right now is thinking, Oh man, remember that show, back when it used to be good?”

“Ira is a big fag. He's just not a homosexual.”

Resonant Thoughts

"He that would seriously set upon the search of truth, ought in the first place to prepare his mind with a love of it. For he that loves it not, will not take much pains to get it; nor be much concerne…"

— John Locke

Philosophy1943–2006

#mind

"By definition, the conventional wisdom of the day is widely accepted, continually reiterated and regarded not as ideology but as reality itself. Rebelling against "reality," even when its limitations …"

— Ellen Willis

Literature1941–2006

#mind

"Certainly thinking is pleasant, but the pleasure of thinking must be subordinated to the art of making decisions."

— Émile Chartier

Philosophy1876–1963

#mind

"Never sat down and thought: “I’m going to create a new genre.” I just sat down and wrote a book that I wanted to read but couldn’t find. In retrospect, I don’t think it’s a new genre; it’s just a nove…"

— Alisa Valdes

Journalism1969

#books