A Life of Fascinations

This Nathan Myhrvold talk from TED 2007 reveals a life that is, in his words, “a mile wide and an inch deep”, but is driven by his natural curiosity about the world around him. (The sheer ability to combine the physics of penguin poop and nuclear reactors into the same minute of a presentation is impressive enough…)

Christopher Guest Interview

Thanks to AC-er Andrew Robinson for pointing out this 2003 Charlie Rose interview of Christopher Guest. Guest has been a consistent and unique voice for decades and offers much insight to anyone wanting to reach… just… beyond… their… grasp. Improv away…

Unique Voice, Coudal

I am in love. (No really… not the kind of “I think I could hang out for a few dates” love, but the “I’m starting to think about children” kind of love. Creepy, I know.) Coudal Partners thrills me with everything they touch. Field Notes, Jewel Boxing , lowercase tees, etc.

This may be “old-hat” to some of you, but check out their 11-ish minute short film Copy Goes Here.

“Buck” the System

In prepping the slides for a talk, I re-discovered this little gem of a quote from country music innovator Buck Owens :

“I’m not going to beg and compromise what I believe in just because somebody in Nashville don’t approve… I am who I am, I am what I am, I do what I do and I ain’t never gonna do it any different. I don’t care who likes it and who don’t.”

We can look back with quaintness on what happened to music in the 1950’s and early 1960’s, but it was the courageous pioneering of innovators like Buck Owens that even reached across oceans and laid the foundation for bands like The Beatles and others to blow open the doors to new sounds and methods of exploring rhythm and melody.

Buck Owens “bucked” a system that was cranking out music like widgets on an assembly line. Were it not for him and others like him the world of music would be different today.

DO NOT be like Buck if you want to be safe. DO NOT be like Buck if you’re more concerned about your reputation than leaving a mark. DO NOT be like Buck if you want an easy life. DO NOT be like Buck if you are not willing to go all the way.

And… for the love of all that is good… please never join the cast of Hee-Haw .