Monday, August 31, 2009

Take the Risk

"The world lies in the hands of those who have the courage to dream and who take the risk of living out their dreams - each according to his or her own talent"

- Paulo Coelho. The Valkyries

So go and take that risk, live our your dream, and use your talent!

Wise words to start off the week.

Happy Monday Everyone!

Friday, August 28, 2009

Gift of Story


"The gift of story is the opportunity to live lives beyond our own, to desire and struggle in a myriad of worlds and times, at all the various depths of our being."

- Robert McKee. Story: Substance, Structure, Style, and the Principals of Screenwriting. ReganBooks: New York, 1997. pg 142

Wednesday, August 26, 2009

I'm a Dreamer



"I got a dream and you need one too
cause the chance to chase a dream is a dream come true
SoulStice trying to do what I do and live comfortably
Yeah, I'm a dreamer but I'm in good company
I've seen a dream stay in tact when the lights broken
you just gotta learn to dream with your eyes open
But keep your eyes open
some dreams are blindfolded
You gotta move,
what's a dream if you die hoping?"

- SoulStice "Dreamer" from the album Dead Letter Perfect

What an amazing song from a gifted artist.

If you like what you're hearing, check out the interview and podcast I just did with SoulStice. You can read the transcript on my other blog and you can download the podcast for free.

Check out the SoulStice interview here.

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Teachers Think Weird

"But she's a teacher, and teachers think all sorts of weird things are interesting."

- Martha Speaks

Martha Speaks is an animated PBS program about a dog that can talk. The premise is that the household pet ate some alphabet soup but somehow all of the letters of the alphabet ended up in her brain instead of her tummy and it allowed her to start talking.

The one thing I like about this show is that it introduces new vocabulary in each episode. There are several new words for kids and they are repeated several times throughout each episode.

It can be funny for the parents as well. Good children's programming needs to offer something to the parents as well. This show manages it.

If you have kids, it's worth checking out.

Monday, August 24, 2009

The Ordinary Powers Everyone Has

"Look at all the remarkable things [they] have done! It wasn't because they had extraordinary powers, really, but because of how well they used the ordinary powers everyone had: the power of courage, the power of kindness, the powers of curiosity and knowledge."

- Jeanne DuPrau "The Diamond of Darkhold"

Monday, August 10, 2009

Taking a Short Break.

I'm taking a short break from this blog. Might be a week, might be two.

Sorry about that, but I need to cut something out right now and enjoy what is left of the summer.

I might post sporadically for the next two weeks or not at all.

See you soon,

Chase
(my main blog will continue to run, so go check it out)

Friday, August 7, 2009

"You and I are on the Same Ship"

"Well, charity ain’t justice. Charity is beautiful, but you ain’t got to be charitable to me if I already got justice. If I already got a sense of participation, you ain’t got to be charitable to me. Just treat me right everyday.

That’s why you and I are on the same ship. In fact we’re traveling on the same plane. You might be in first class, eating filet mignon, and I’m eating peanuts back in Row 55. If you’re on the plane, being in first class ain’t gonna stop you from going down with the rest of us. When there’s turbulence, there’s turbulence everywhere. Everybody be shaking. And if the plane goes down, you might die first in first class.

Yes, some of us are in first class, but the plane is in trouble. What will you do to speak to the pilot? To tell the pilot to tell the control center that we’ve got to change directions unless the turbulence leads us to our own deaths.

That’s the truth we’ve got to tell; that’s the courage we’ve got to muster, and that’s the beauty of soul we must reveal to one another in the quietness of our own individual lives."

- Michael Eric Dyson

Thursday, August 6, 2009

Writing is Magic


"Writing is magic, as much the water of life as any other creative art. The water is free. So drink.

Drink and be filled up."

- Stephen King. On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft. Scribiner: New York, 2000. pg 270

Tuesday, August 4, 2009

Truth has a Distinct Cost

"There are moments in life so archetypally perfect, that there's only one right thing to say. But as humans, each with our own idiosyncrasies, we may not always respond the way the universe or say, our parents want or expect us to. It is at moments such as these that we realize that the truth has a distinct cost that can't be bargained down. And in these moments, we must choose whether to pay the price."

- Narrator on Everwood

Monday, August 3, 2009

Another Maxim for Your Monday


"We often pardon those who weary us, but we cannot pardon those whom we weary."

- La Rochefoucauld. Maxim # 304. Maxims. 

Happy Monday Everyone!