“Why not laughter when an enemy’s outsmarted? Why not laughter to empty the tragedy from you when karma interrupts the beautiful death of a true samurai, when karma causes the useless death of a pretty girl? Isn’t only through laughter that we become one with the gods and thus can endure life and can overcome all the horror and waste and suffering here on earth? … Isn’t it only through laughter we can stay human?”
~James Clavell (Shogun)
“Chronic remorse, as all the moralists are agreed, is a most undesirable sentiment. If you have behaved badly, repent make what amends you can and address yourself to the task of behaving better next time. On no account brood over your wrongdoing. Rolling in the muck is not the best way of getting clean.
“Art also has its morality, and many of the rules of this morality are the same as, or at least analogous to, the rules of ordinary ethics. Remorse, for example, as as undesirable in relation to our bad art as it is in relation to our bad behaviour. The badness should be hunted out acknowledged, and, if possible, avoided in the future.To pore over the literary shortcomings of twenty years ago, to attempt to patch a faulty work into the perfection it missed at its first execution, to spend one’s middle age in trying to mend the artistic sins committed and bequeathed by that different person who was oneself in youth - all this is surely vain and futile…”
~Aldous Huxley, 1946 [from the forward to the 1950 edition of Brave New World]
Ok, since I really have nothing intelligent to say I’m going to do a meme I saw on Elizabeth Bear’s journal… a couple of times now actually, but the latest is here
Put your music player on shuffle, and write down the first line of the first twenty songs. Post the poem that results. The first line of the twenty-first song is the title.
It’s a strange day
keep the noise low
momentary sensory promises
before I can open my all too eager eyes
I feel a little bit left of centre
god sometimes you just don’t come through
I haven’t ever really found a place to call home
blind talking (blind talking)
oh, life is bigger, it’s bigger than you
it was me on that road, but you couldn’t see me
you believe in what nobody else does
see the stone set in your eyes
inside you’re pretending
let’s lie and say it’s alright
I’ve been alone for so long
not that I’m that hard to please;
there’s not enough, enough love
the failing sky grows darker every day
I know that I’ve been mad in love before
follow me into deeper waters
I lost my friend
Goldfrapp - Utopia
Brand New - Sic Transit Gloria…Glory Fades
Kosheen - Out of this World
Emiliana Torrini - Fingertips
Thornley - So Far So Good
Tori Amos - God
Dido - Life For Rent
Moby - Lift Me Up
REM - Losing My Religion
Royksopp - What Else Is There?
Matt Mays - When Angels Make Contact
U2 - With or Without You
Portishead - Mysterons
Hawksley Workman - Piano Blink
Stabbing Westward - Waking up Beside You
Delerium - Stopwatch Hearts
Kosheen - Not Enough Love
Ferry Corsten - Holding On
Massive Attack - Unfinished Sympathy
Balligomingo - Lust
Holly McNarland - Water
