Quotes for Today

Some quotes I hope may resonate with you.

Have a new Quotes for Today up on my Substack. As I've mentioned doing this as a way to thank those who have Subscribed. If you are a Subscriber - you should have received an email. Thanks.

Quotes for Today

Some quotes I hope may resonate with you.

Have a new Quotes for Today up on my Substack. As I've mentioned doing this as a way to thank those who have Subscribed. If you are a Subscriber - you should have received an email. Thanks!

Quotes for Today

Some quotes I hope may resonate with you. 

"In a long-term game, it's positive sum. We're all baking the pie together. We're trying to make it as big as possible. And in a short term game, we're cutting up the pie." - Naval Ravikant

"He who buys what he doesn't need steals from himself." - Swedish Proverb

"If you're good at something, never do it for free." - The Joker

"I believe we're on the edge of about 800 more years of American centuries. The biggest problem is all the people who see a problem. It's very fashionable to think the end is near." - Tom Wolfe

Linky Links

Stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.

- Interesting - what's it like to be a dolphin?

- Wow - what a difference!

- The Republican Congress's secret weapon - the CRA. Good! Use it more often!

- I hope scientists make a huge deal out of May 29, 2019

- 51 Percent Attacks. A cryptocurrency weakness. Maybe the reason why no nation would ever use a "coin" as their national currency (too easy for other nations to gang up and devalue that country's economy).

- So sad

- Heh Heh

Tom Wolfe

Tom Wolfe, one of the great American writers of the past century, has passed away.

Here is an excellent appreciation of Wolfe written a couple of years ago by Michael Lewis. The article is long but worth your time.

Currently overwhelmed with the urge for me to re-read either The Right Stuff or The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test.

Rest in peace Mr. Wolfe. The world is a poorer place for your passing.

Tom Wolfe vs Charlie Pierce

I was struck by this exchange between Peter Robinson and Tom Wolfe.

ME: Henry Luce famously called the twentieth century "the American century." Will the twenty-first century represent a second American century?

TOM WOLFE: I believe we’re on the edge of about 800 more years of American centuries. The biggest problem is all the people who see a problem. It’s very fashionable to think that the end is near.

I think the Wolfe quote hit me hard because I had just read this piece in Esquire by Charlie Pierce. When you read the word "cynic" in the Pierce piece - it may be helpful for true comprehension to replace that word with "aging hippy who still thinks he knows best and why won't these damn whippersnappers just listen to me."

I guess I was bothered by the Pierce piece because of the underlying current of "Blame America First" and "the Republicans have led us to hell in a handbasket" sentiment that runs throughout every line of every page. The "cynic" in the "story" (I use scare quotes around "story" because I'm not sure what to call the piece - it certainly isn't a profile of Obama and it certainly isn't reporting - it may not even be non-fiction) - anyway the cynic thinks, "Maybe the world wants America to sit down and shut up for a while." I think this last line is the one that gets me the most. It's as if the "cynic" doesn't want America to be great. He wants America to be both equal to our European partners and well liked. He wants us to pass an John Kerry-type Global Test.

I was bothered by Pierce's piece and his mindset until I read the quote from the great Tom Wolfe. It was then that it hit me that Esquire is just a gussied up fashion magazine for men and that Charlie Pierce was just being fashionable. I was then able to let go of my - for lack of a better word - anger towards the Pierce piece. I mean as far as fashion goes - the Pierce piece is like Capri pants on men. Sure it's fashionable in some circles but you have to laugh at such wrongheadedness - not get angry.