November 2008
45 posts
“The true orator is one whose practice of citizenship embodies a civic ideal - whose rhetoric, far from empty, is the deliberate, rational, careful organiser of ideas and argument that propels the state forward safely and wisely. This is clearly what Obama, too, is aiming to embody: his project is to unite rhetoric, thought and action in a new politics that eschews narrow bipartisanship.”
—Charlotte Higgins, The New Cicero
Great article on Obama’s rhetorical skills and what he owes to the oratory of the Romans.
Great article on Obama’s rhetorical skills and what he owes to the oratory of the Romans.
“In a gentle way, you can shake the world.”
—Mahatma Ghandi
Listening to the radio
I am very envious of my friend George, who spends his days drawing and listening to the radio. Well, in the last couple of days, while the temperature plunges below freezing, I have had the luxury of spending some time alone in my apartment, warmed by the sun that streams through the windows. After I make myself a warm cup of tea, I turn on the computer and listen to Roberto Piano’s performance of Schubert Impromptu on NPR. Pure bliss.
“I sort of became obsessed with the idea of patience as a component of our lives. Stubbornness, persistence, all these unfashionable traits. The book is an expression of the unhappiness with the fast-forward world I was describing in Blink.’”
—Malcolm Gladwell, discussing his new book, Outliers, which explores the nature of success, in The Guardian. Here’s an extract from the book where Gladwell gives an interesting perspective on the success of the Beatles, Mozart, Bill Gates, Bill Joy and Canadian hockey players. The pattern that he reveals is that genius alone cannot account for their success, but exceptional opportunities and dedication (about 10,000 hours, to be exact) are major factors. This is something I’ve been thinking about a lot, especially in relation to the education that I try to impart to Lily.
“The brain needed to stay incessantly active, and if it was not getting its usual stimulation, whether auditory or visual, it would create its own stimulation in the form of hallucinations.”
—Oliver Sacks, Musicophilia. Another fascinating book from Oliver Sacks.
