Ryan > Recent Status Updates

It took long enough in all conscience for realization to come that the externals of civilities- technology,industry,commerce, and so on - also require a common basis for intellectual honesty and morality .” This is the problem with Trump and his crew of uneducated morons running our country

for they faced death, fear, pain, and hunger almost without defenses, could no longer accept the consolations of the churches, and could obtain no useful advice from Reason. These people… did not take the time and trouble to strengthen themselves against fear, to combat the dread of death within themselves; they moved spasmodically on through life and had no belief in a tomorrow.

Laughter comes later, like wisdom teeth, and laughter at yourself comes last of all in a mad race with death, and some times it isn’t in time “

I love this book

“Why I’m content to be a servant. I don't know where being a servant came into disrepute. It is the refuse of a philosopher, the food of the lazy, and, properly carried out, it is a position of power, even of love. I can't understand why more intelligent people don't take it as a career--learn to do it well and reap its benefits. A good servant has absolute security…

You can boast about anything if it's all you have. Maybe the less you have, the more you are required to boast.

People imagined all sorts of things. In reality, nothing was ever the same at people imagined” . Sums up 2025 for me

People are desperate for someone who seems to know where they’re going” - this book was so prescient the similarities with Trump and America today around a similar time period are just utterly shocking

I really really enjoy this book, I want to read many others like it with analysis to accompany the story

The founders left the union to test itself: knowing the need to proportion aspirations to capabilities , recognizing the incompatibilities in good things, they chose to save their new state, and leave to their descendants the saving of its soul.

It is a disservice to a project to weigh our contribution to it… the ego demands personal authorship inflating itself at the expense of art… we all benefit when the best idea is chosen, regardless of whether it’s ours or not

In a prism a single beam of light is broke into a ray of colors. The self too is a prism. Steal events enter and are transformed into a spectrum of feelings thoughts and sensations.

The only practice that matters is the practice you consistently do, not that of any other artist.

It’s best to wait until a work is complete to discover what it’s saying. Holding your work hostage to a meaning is a limitation. Works that attempt to overly preach a message often don’t connect as intended , while a piece not intended to address societal ill may become an anthem for revolutionary cause. Art is far more powerful than our plans for it.

If you typically write short paragraphs you may decide to experiment with long paragraphs . You may not like it as much but you may learn something. By braking the rules you’ll come to have a greater underfunding of your past choices.

Whatever the situation if a task is challenging to accomplish there’s often a way to design the surroundings to naturally encourage the performance yourself thriving for

Art may only exist and the artist may only evolve by completing the work - push through

In nature some seeds lie dormant in anticipation of the seasoned conducive to their growth.

He had nerves and his mouth was narrow and tight, pinching the ends of his cigarette flat.

My hands refuse to labor

How the fuck does she write all these books so well researched. This book is inane how does it feel so accurate to be in a place and time, she is a miracle worker , I think my favorite author

A listening child never forgets the scent of the uprushing darkness, the gleam of if a white shirt as someone approaches

Nothing stands up more free from blame in this world than a pine tree. - Emerson

Only you would wear bowling shoes to your child’s sickbed.” - this is without question the funniest book I’ve ever read. I truly don’t understand how it hasn’t been made into a movie. Also I have a suspicion a documentary on the guy who wrote it and died and his mother getting it printed would be amazing.

… never waits to be called . He has the knack of showing up whenever I need him, and he performs not only what he’s order to do but also anything else he thinks will bring us close to our goals” - description of a good leituentant , as long as they know the goals !

… I’ve decided to make my friends rich and they’ve become living treasuries for me and they’re better at guarding their gold than any watchmen could ever be.” - like Putin

Suppose a friend of yours courted your wife and ended by making her love him more than you. Would his wonderful manners make you happy” just a great line.

High cunning is one thing , low cunning another.

You can gain huge benefits by creating debts of gratitude” - this is graeber and his reference to gargantuan and pantagruel ! This was such a novel idea for me and then reiterated in a podcast I listened to today about American debt held by the Chinese, when it reaches this level it’s the debt holders problem, not the borrowers … this seems a universal truth not often realized, probably due to shame