Michael M › Comments

Every piece of DFW's non-fiction listed in chronological order, most having links to the actual pieces. - Michael M

I love how effective this guy is at telling you why you're actually kind of stupid, really, if you think about it. - Michael M from Bookmarklet

Quote: "What’s a significant experience that has affected you over the past year?"... “I read a commencement address David Foster Wallace gave at Kenyon College that changed my life,” said David Burwick, chief marketing officer for PepsiCo-North American Beverages until three weeks ago, when he quit, complete with a Jerry Maguire-style note he sent around his office. “I read it in April and told Pepsi I’d be leaving this summer. I loved working for Pepsi, and it was a big part of my family’s life for 20 years, but it’s taken about 30 seconds for me to realize that they could care less where I work and that all they care about is that I’m there with them.”" - Michael M from Bookmarklet

"I prefer the days I choose what I obsess about." - Michael M from Bookmarklet

Quote: "Now, assuming that time is an infinite line, and that as we move further along that line, the things behind us change shape and meaning, is there ever any given moment at which something will be indisputable "truth" for then and forever more?" - Michael M from Bookmarklet

"After the first photograph has been in a magazine, the famous men do not enjoy their photographs in magazines so much as they fear that their photographs will cease to appear in magazines. They are trapped, just as you are.’ ‘Is this supposed to be good news? This is awful news.’<BR> ‘LaMont, are you willing to listen to a Remark about what is true?’ <BR>‘Okey-dokey.’ <BR>‘The truth will set you free. But not until it is finished with you.’" - Michael M from Bookmarklet

Quote: "There are things that are only revealed over time, after doing the work, and those things are sort of the point, yes, but the process of showing up every day is also the point, showing up to your life, to your work, to your family, to your meetings, to the book you’re reading — just doing the work is also sort of the point." - Michael M from Bookmarklet

...an invisible world of forms and energies just beyond the grasp of human perception... ... ... ...the highly popular concept of a spatial "fourth dimension", of which our familiar three-dimensional world might be simly a cross-section. - Michael M

Why a couple of inches of additional perspective actually matters. - Michael M

Recommended by elite local runners... - Michael M

Today's Wolfram|Alpha is the first step in an ambitious, long-term project to make all systematic knowledge immediately computable by anyone. Enter your question or calculation, and Wolfram|Alpha uses its built-in algorithms and a growing collection of data to compute the answer. - Michael M

Quote: "It is one of the great miracles of life, our ability to apprehend a human spirit through the sequences of words they leave behind." - Michael M from Bookmarklet

How does your average day compare to this? - Michael M

Contains the short story "A Real Doll", which DFW assigned to go with his Point of View class. - Michael M

This could be a handy guide to the Kincaid short story that DFW assigned as an example of Point of View in literature. - Michael M

Entire 1 page story can be read online at Amazon.com. Look inside! - Michael M

Perhaps these are the "pithy editorial remakrs" mentioned by DFW on the syllabus. - Michael M

This one should have Linda Lloyd's "Poor Boy" short story...as an example of point of view. - Michael M

This book should contain Tallent's "No One's a Mystery"... - Michael M

Read it online. - Michael M

$96.00. Ouch. - Michael M

Creativity in whatever medium is a two party process. You and "something else" interacting with each other. Which is when you get a glimpse of God. Ole, ole, ole = allah, allah, allah. But you must show up for it to happen. Keep showing up. - Michael M from Bookmarklet

For a given task, gauge your mood, and I'll bet it maps back to this spectrum fairly accurately. - Michael M from Bookmarklet

Quote: I’m not sure whether this is precisely relevant, but as I’ve been working on the “Large Writing Project” I’d mentioned in the talk (more on that soon), a particular phrase keeps going through my head: How do I know what I need to know…for now? Not, “I can’t start this until I know everything about everything,” or “I can’t start this until I’m 100% up-to-date on every aspect of my life” or “I can’t start this until my skills, tools, expertise, and experience are flawless.” Just really asking yourself how you know whether you have enough of anything—be it information, tools, skills, or coffee—just to literally start. Just start. Not forever. Just for now. Start. - Michael M from Bookmarklet

$30 - Michael M

Those who are interested in the living world of the sea but do not take to the water in either of these ways are not well catered for. This, however, is a book designed for those who confine their seashore interests (more or less) to dry land. It is hoped that divers and snorkellers (who can't spend all day in the water) will be occasionally persuaded to turn their attention to beaches. They will find objects of beauty and fascination which they may have previously neglected in favour of sub-aquatic life. $28.00 - Michael M

Desiring Paradise is the true story of two New Englanders who followed their dream. Despite obstacles and setbacks at every turn,they moved to St. John in the US Virgin Islands to start a new life. The book provides valuable insights for anyone who has ever thought about doing the same. - Michael M

Characteristics of each plant, including form, flower and fruit date, geographic distribution, habitat, reproduction, and propagation. Ornamental, medicinal, toxic, physical, edible, and ecological aspects of each plant, covering modern uses and folkloric beliefs. - Michael M

All the photographs included in this book have been taken of plants growing in their natural surroundings in the Caribbean and one of the most striking features which immediately impresses visitors, is the abundance of flowering trees. They appear to be especially exotic when in blossom and the second section of this book is devoted to the most common of these flowering trees. - Michael M

West Of The Equator is a satirical account of one man's spiritual journey, as told by his spirit guide, Ian - a well seasoned West Indian merchant sailor who narrates the story of a Chicago stock trader who goes to the West Indies and buys a 75' catamaran to set out in search of Paradise. Instead, he finds a female captain who turns out to be the love of his life, chaos, mayhem, and eventually true happiness - only after he faces unbelievable trials and is stripped of everything he owns along the journey. In this humbled state, he discovers that he is in fact the island, his life the vessel, and that everything he'd every truly needed had been aboard all along. It is a very funny satirical look at life in Paradise and the Zen of sailing. - Michael M