7. He is the epitome of a self-made man: rising from humble origins to the heights of academic and professional achievement in a way that makes you feel not only like taking your hat off to him but to America as well.
8. I can see him both as garrulous and introspective; and either way a conversation with him is bound to last for hours without running aground and will take you to the edge of knowledge with interwoven subjects.
9. Abstract ideas and untested theories are not the the basis of his knowledge and wisdom; regardless of whether they arise from within or from others’ ideas, his knowledge and wisdom are based on his own exploration, experience and synthesis.
and
10. Llong is that most rare of species: a self-aware man with lofty aspirations but feet planted on the ground, accessible and willing to turn his gifts into practical advantages to others.
Happy birthday, my friend! Thanks for making this planet a better place by being in it!
Jun 12, 03:35PM PDT | 1 cheer | 0 comments
... technically is not an artist’s date, since I did not go there by myself (solitary activity being one of the requisites of an artist’s date). That caveat aside, what a show! It’s dinner-and-a-show, with a circus-like environment and performances by gifted acrobats, contortionists, vaudeville comedians and what-have-you sometimes just a few feet away from you. In the course of a few hours, your imagination is fired up, you are transported, and you walk out feeling not just like artistically and culinarily you’ve been satiated, but also wondering what the heck can you do on a daily basis to be more like these people…
Jun 12, 03:02PM PDT | 4 cheers | 0 comments
... or is it 1 out of 14? Living in Seattle guarantees cloudy, gray days, and the long (two week spell) of constant sun has reminded me that I feel like doing not a damn thing in the summer. Indoors, writing, when the day is beautiful and appealing? Mmmm… no, I don’t think so. Unfortunately I haven’t been able to make the transition to writing outdoors either – again, the only thing I seem to be conditioned to do in nice weather (and it’s taken this current spell to realize that this goes back in my life as far as grade school, when the last few weeks of the school year were more agonizing than usual) is be outside, or better yet, be in an outdoor swimming pool or at the beach. At first, the pressure to conform with the intention of “writing everyday” met with the resistance and I just felt depressed. After a while, and counseled by wiser souls, I stopped fighting it and just gave in to my tendency toward lazing off. (Although in practical terms what this has meant is that I’ve organized and finished a bunch of things that before were too insignificant to tackle… and now they’re the only things I have the remote willingness to take on…)
Jun 11, 10:14AM PDT | 8 cheers | 0 comments
I'm doing 18 things
