Monday, February 23, 2015

Imagination is the limit of things taking shape

"I drew the duck blue, because I've never seen a blue duck before, 
and to be honest with you, I wanted to see a blue duck."


“Imagination is more important than knowledge. 
For knowledge is limited to all we now know and understand...
...while imagination embraces the entire world, 
and all there ever will be to know and understand.” 
- A. E.

Thursday, February 19, 2015

Precious little purple frogs with curly legs


“Manners do matter, but I’d prefer that she not be too sophisticated at a young age. 
When we’re making art, I try not to show her any techniques.
 If she wants to draw a purple frog with curly legs, I don’t correct her. 
That’s her imagination 
and I don’t want to damage that part 
of her nature.”



Monday, February 16, 2015

Peaches and coconuts

"I thought that after this type of connection, we would be friends for a very long time. When the airplane landed, imagine my surprise when, as I reached for a piece of paper in order to write down my phone number, my new friend stood up and with a friendly wave of his hand said, "Nice to meet you! Have a great trip!" And that was it. I never saw him again. I felt he had purposely tricked me into opening up when he had no intention of following through on the relationship he had instigated."
The difference between American and Russian cultures here can be described as peach and coconut models of personal interaction.
In peach cultures like those in the United States or Brazil, to name a couple, people tend to be friendly ("soft") with others they have just met. They smile frequently at strangers, move quickly to first-name usage, share information about themselves, and ask personal questions of those they hardly know. But after a little friendly interaction with a peach person, you may suddenly get to the hardshell of the pit where the peach protects his real self. In these cultures, friendliness does not equal friendship.
In coconut cultures such as France, Germany, or Russia, people are more closed (like the tough shell of a coconut) with those they don't have friendships with. They rarely smile at strangers, ask casual acquaintances personal questions, or offer personal information to those they don't know intimately. It takes a while to get through the initial hard shell, but as you do, people will become gradually warmer and friendlier. While relationships are built up slowly, they tend to last longer.




Saturday, February 14, 2015

Micromoments


"I fell in love with the idea that I could look at the micromoments that create relationships."

The micromoments.

It's in the micromoments.

Wednesday, February 11, 2015

Beautiful hearts know no time

"How long does it take to master a craft? How about 80 years? Because 109-year-old Australian Alfred Date has been knitting since the 1930s and his latest/most famous endeavor was making mini sweaters… for endangered penguins!

Back in 2013, Victoria’s Phillip Island Penguin Foundation asked for volunteers to make sweaters for the rare “little penguins.” Alfie, who has yet to learn to say no, pitched in.
Father to 7, grandparent to 20, he’s not only been an active knitter, but also a sportsman, having played golf till his 90’s.

His secret for longevity? “Waking up every morning”. See, he’s a joker, too!"

Monday, February 9, 2015

Don't hide

Don't hide from your dreams,
 they catch up with you with a vengeance.


Saturday, February 7, 2015

The color of your mind


I've dreamt in my life
 dreams that have stayed with me ever after, 
and changed my ideas. 
They've gone through and through me,
 like wine through water, 
and altered the color of my mind."
 -Emily Bronte