A man of character in peace is a man of courage in war. — Sir James Glover
When the character of a man is not clear to you, look at his friends. — Japanese Proverb
Be as careful of the books you read, as of the company you keep; for your habits and character will be as much influenced by the former as by the latter. — Paxton Hood
Watch your thoughts, they become words. Watch your words, they become actions. Watch your actions, they become habits. Watch your habits, they become your character. Watch your character, it becomes your destiny. — Unknown
Civilizations in decline are consistently characterised by a tendency towards standardization and uniformity. — Arnold Toynbee (1889 – 1975)
The character of a man is known from his conversations. — Menander (342 BC – 292 BC)
People seem not to see that their opinion of the world is also a confession of their character. — Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803 – 1882)
Category Archives: Quotable & Notes
Microsoft’s Ballmer on future of media?
“In the next 10 years, the whole world of media, communications and advertising are going to be turned upside down — my opinion. Here are the premises I have. Number one, there will be no media consumption left in 10 years that is not delivered over an IP network. There will be no newspapers, no magazines that are delivered in paper form. Everything gets delivered in an electronic form.”
Next generation radio
Jerry Del Colliano shares a few ideas on “next generation radio” he’ll be presenting to an interactive session for radio executives next month:
“My view is that terrestrial radio is now a destination entertainment medium for available listeners – older members of Gen X and the baby boomers.”
“…there is no need to produce 24/7 programming online. … But the radio station of the future may only provide three hours of programming a day – that’s right, a day – and deliver it on a cell phone or mobile device.
“Podcasting will be the new radio for Gen Y.”
“The successful content provider in the future will have to unlock the genius of Steve Jobs in understanding a generation they are not in – and Jobs, arguably, knows Gen Y better than they know themselves.”
“In the past, a radio station had to be on-air, all the time and doing the same format over and over again. But in the future, new media will require radio broadcasters who want to play in this arena to be many things for which it does not presently have skills.”
If you’re interested in where radio might be headed, I encourage you to read the full post. Companies that provide programming to radio stations — like our company– are sure to be affected by the same forces. Are we ready?
Old dogs and new tricks
Mindy McAdams (Teaching Online Journalism) always seems to have fresh insight into the state of journalism:
“I see a few people in almost every newsroom (usually less than one-quarter of the staff) embracing the new ways of communication and trying to spread their journalism and enhance their organization’s outputs via new channels and techniques. I see a lot more people who are worried, even frightened, that there will be no place for them in this new world.
The latter group interests me a lot more than the small number of chained-to-the-barricades dinosaurs (who also exist in every newsroom) — because they are very different from the dinosaurs. They are not resistant because they think the Internet is a short-lived fad, or because they fail to see its potential, or because they are in love with the smell of ink on paper. Rather, they are resistant because they don’t know how to train themselves — they are waiting for someone to hand them a tool and show them how to use it.”
This is a point I tend to overlook. And journos –if I may generalize– aren’t the type to admit they don’t know how to do something and ask for help.
The Onion: Ennui Gas
WASHINGTON — “Calling it the most effective tool to date in the War on Terror, the Pentagon announced Monday that it had developed a new chemical weapon called “ennui gas,” a nerve agent that overwhelms its victims with sudden philosophical distress over the meaningless tedium of human life and a sinking sense that everything they have ever accomplished ultimately amounts to dust.”
The Onion
A few lines from last night’s 30 Rock
“My cologne is distilled from the bilge water of Rupert Murdoch’s yacht.”
“When I find something I want, I don’t let go. Like a Killer Whale going nuts on his trainer at Sea World.”
“A stripper offered to give me a squeezer last night. A white stripper!”
“Save it for your iVillage blog.”
“If reality TV has taught us anything, it’s you can’t keep people with no values down.”
Seth Godin on “just being human”
The hopelessly clueless should avoid letting Seth Godin know:
“You can contact just about anyone you want. The only rule is you need to contact them personally, with respect, and do it months before you need their help! Contact them about them, not about you. Engage. Contribute. Question. Pay attention. Read. Interact.
Then, when you’ve earned the right to attention and respect, months and months later, sure, ask. It takes a lot of time and effort, which is why volume isn’t the answer for you, quality is.
That’s a great way to get a job, promote a site, make a friend, spread the word or just be a human.”
Scott Adams: Money or Bombs
“I don’t know how many nukes the United States has pointed toward China, but one would be too many. China isn’t going to attack its biggest customer. And in the unlikely event that some other country attacks China, we’d offer military assistance in a heartbeat. There’s too much money at stake on both sides.”
Scott Adams presents his “Money or Bombs” theory
Howard Beale: “I don’t have to tell you things are bad”
I love the movie Network. I went back to a post in September of 2006 to review the prophetic words of Paddy Chayefsky:
“I don’t have to tell you things are bad. Everybody knows things are bad. It’s a depression. Everybody’s out of work or scared of losing their job. The dollar buys a nickel’s worth. Banks are going bust. Shopkeepers keep a gun under the counter. Punks are running wild in the street and there’s no one anywhere that seems to know what to do with us. Now into it. We know the air is unfit to breathe, our food is unfit to eat, and we sit watching our TVs while some local newscaster tells us that today we had 15 homicides and 63 violent crimes as if that’s the way it’s supposed to be. We know things are bad. Worse than bad. They’re crazy. It’s like everything everywhere is going crazy so we don’t go out anymore. We sit in a house as slowly the world we’re living in is getting smaller and all we say is, “Please, at least leave us alone in our living rooms. Let me have my toaster, and TV, and my steel belted radials and I won’t say anything.”
Well I’m not going to leave you alone. I want you to get mad. I don’t want you to protest. I don’t want you to riot. I don’t want you to write to your congressman because I wouldn’t know what to tell you to write. I don’t know what to do about the depression and the inflation and the Russians and the crying in the streets. All I know is first you’ve got to get mad. You’ve got to say, “I’m a human being. God Dammit, my life has value.”
So, I want you to get up now. I want all of you to get up out of your chairs. I want you to get up right now and go to the window, open it, and stick your head out, and yell, “I’m as mad as hell, and I’m not going to take this anymore!” I want you to get up right now. Get up. Go to your windows, open your windows, and stick your head out, and yell, “I’m as mad as hell and I’m not going to take this anymore!” Things have got to change my friends. You’ve got to get mad. You’ve got to say, “I’m as mad as hell and I’m not going to take this anymore!” Then we’ll figure out what to do about the depression and the inflation and the oil crisis. But first get up out of your chairs, open your window, stick your head out and yell, “I’m as mad as hell and I’m not going to take this anymore!”
Fezorocity
Over on the Order of the Fez blog we’re asking the Brotherhood to submit essays defining (describing?) that ineffable quality we call fezorocity. Here’s one graf from Dr. T. Everett Mobley:
“Some years ago, one of the numbers presented in a high school choir concert was a choral setting of Lewis Carroll’s “Jabberwocky”. The director asked me to recite the poem for the audience before the choir sang. Later, I was asked how long it took me to prepare. I replied that there are those of us who have been waiting their whole lives for a chance to declaim “Jabberwocky,” and no additional preparation is necessary. Thus it is with fezorocity, yet it may be that this quality simply lies smoldering within you unrecognized, awaiting only enlightenment to quicken the spark.”