We are living in the middle of a revolution in consciousness. Over the past few decades, geneticists, neuroscientists, psychologists, sociologists, economists, and others have made great strides in understanding the inner working of the human mind. Far from being dryly materialistic, their work illuminates the rich underwater world where character is formed and wisdom grows. They are giving us a better grasp of emotions, intuitions, biases, longings, predispositions, character traits, and social bonding, precisely those things about which our culture has least to say. Brain science helps fill the hole left by the atrophy of theology and philosophy.

The Fellas

Lignin, the stuff that prevents all trees from adopting the weeping habit, is a polymer made up of units that are closely related to vanillin. When made into paper and stored for years, it breaks down and smells good. Which is how divine providence has arranged for secondhand bookstores to smell like good quality vanilla absolute, subliminally stoking a hunger for knowledge in all of us

Man is the only Patriot. He sets himself apart in his own country, under his own flag, and sneers at the other nations, and keeps multitudinous uniformed assassins on hand at heavy expense to grab slices of other people’s countries, and keep them from grabbing slices of his. And in the intervals between campaigns he washes the blood off his hands and works for “the universal brotherhood of man” — with his mouth.

- Twain

Tartini

The story behind this song was that Tartini was a clairaudient, he could hear the dead, tones beyond our realm

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It's you

Your handwriting. The way you walk. Which china pattern you choose. It’s all giving you away. Everything you do shows your hand. Everything is a self-portrait. Everything is a diary.

Charles Eames speaks very radically quoting László Moholy-Nagy, with whom he probably studied, saying that medium categorizations are just a product of capitalism. They have nothing to do with the human spirit and the soul and being creative and living our life. Are you a graphic designer? Are you an illustrator? Are you a sculptor? Are you a filmmaker? Are you an artist? Those lines are 20th century man-made art school constructions and career constructions. Moholy-Nagy’s manifesto is all about dismantling that. ”

—Mike Mills