Yes, another quote.

"Aimer ce n'est point se regarder l'un et l'autre mais regarder ensemble dans la même direction."
(Love does not consist in gazing at each other but in looking outward together in the same direction.)

-Antoine de Saint-Exupery

Author of The little prince, and my personal favorite Terre des Hommes, translated into English as Wind, Sand and Stars, Antoine de Saint-Exupery was a great writer and aviator. He has a very nice name, too.

He was a great pioneer both in aviation and literature, he flew in the very early postal services, between Toulouse and Dakar in a time when there were few instruments in aircfraft, and navigation was based more on instinct. And The little prince is a must in any decent collection.

Writing and flying are things I feel pasion for... so it is no wonder I admire him greatly. Apparently he was shot-down by German troops in 1944, although his body was never positively identified. He was flying a P-38, which happens to be my favorite aircfraft of all times.

As to the quote, it could not be more true. Love is about sharing ideals and fighting together to live up to them, no matter what the odds are.

More quotes.

Do one thing every day that scares you.

-Baz Luhrmann

The impact this phrase had in my life was such, that it became a personal policy. Actually, few texts have had so much influence on me like Baz Luhrmann’s Graduation Speech.

But why is this quote so good? Doing one scary thing daily is a good example of a way to fight things that limit you. Perhaps meeting new people scares you. Maybe you are afraid of what others may think of you. Maybe you are afraid of starting over, or go chasing a dream that everybody says is impossible.

Well, to hell with fear! That is what this sentence is about. When you have to make a choice, you should never let fear take the decision. Maybe every day someone bugs you in the office and you just cope with it. Why not punching that asshole in the face next time? Just to see what happens.

Everyday you take the subway back home and the girl in the 44B ticket booth is really cute, but everyday you feel shy and never go talk to her. Do it. You cannot let fear of failing keep you from trying.

The thing is, you CAN change things around you. You just have to stop being afraid and do it. Remember, you are in charge of yourself! You are your only master and your only slave. Fuck everyting else.

You are free.

Let us quote.

This was love at first sight, love everlasting: a feeling unknown, unhoped for, unexpected- in so far as it could be a matter of conscious awareness; it took entire possession of him, and he understood, with joyous amazement, that this was for life.

-Thomas Mann

I ran into this quote and found it fascinating for a number of reasons. It would be long to explain, but Thomas Mann is an author I respect despite the fact that I am not familiar with his writting; I respect him because someone whose opinion I not only respect but utterly adore holds his work in high regard.

Love at first sight. As far as I know, it’s existence goes unchallenged and it is now far beyond debate. Perhaps only the unlucky disagree with me when I say that it is upon the very first sight that you become fond of someone’s looks, whereas true love might take a little bit longer to become apparent.

What is the mechanic behind love at first sight? Well, that I left for the sages to wonder.

This begins the first Official Quoting Week here at One Too Many. I will (maybe) select a quote a day and say something about it. Then again, there is always the possibility that lazyness strikes me and I do nothing.

Ok... wait, what?

Time is a Bully

Come on clock, go a little bit faster. Just for a little while. Just so its 10 in the morning already. Or 5 in the afternoon in Germany, however you want to see it. Look, you make the next 10 hours... say... 10 minutes. Ok ok, I went too far. Make this next 10 hours go like one hour. Just this time. And I will clean you and get you brand new batteries. I’ll sing for you. I’ll tell everyone you are the best clock ever. I’ll get you some hot, swiss-made clock and hang her right next to you. So.. do we have a deal? No?

Ok... you fuckin bastard! All this years I’ve kept you safe and warm and this how you pay me? You useless piece of shit! ‘tic tac tic tac tic-fuckin-tac loooookatme Im a clock and Im sooooo important because I measure time’.

Fourth dimension my ass!

Fine. Have it your way. Look how much I care. You think I can’t wait ten hours? HA! I can wait fuckin MILLENIA. And I’m gonna show you. Yes I will. YES I WILL.

Shut up. SHUT UP! All of you shut the fuck up!!! ARRRGGGGHH!!!

And then, the once calm and wise man went crazy. He spent the rest of his days alone in a cave, feeding on roots and mushrooms, arguing with his watch and writing fanfic. Until one day, a...uh... a... magical pig, yes a MAGICAL PIG showed up and said –
-Yo! Wazzzup man, how you doin’?
-Oh. Great. GREAT. A talking pig. What on earth do you want?
-Easy man! You gotta loooosen up a little, man. Here, lets see some Star Trek reruns on the Sci-fi channel. Man.
-Star Trek you say?
-Star Trek I say.
-Star Trek reruns? You are a goddamned MAGICAL PIG and Star-fuckin-Trek reruns are all you can offer?
-Yo! Shit man, fine, fine. I will grant you a wish then.
-A wish you say?
-A wish I say. Anything you want.
-Even if I wish to see Star Trek reruns?

-WTF
-Kidding! So yeah, I want to go back in time to the moment I went crazy and then, uh, not go crazy.
-POOOOOOFFF

Wow! I’m back! Oh clock, I’m so sorry I was so bad with you.
-Its ok, no problem.
-WTF

POOOOOOFFF

Wow! I guess it was all a dream? (deus ex machina) That was... different. Anyway, don’t worry, I’m ok. Just that... patience is not something I am good at, and right now I have to wait. I’m not so good at waiting either. The one good thing is that I am quite motivated. Funny how subjective the speed of time is... sometimes a day goes by in the blink of an eye, and sometimes you can actually feel every passing second. I will write some more on the nature of that weird thing called time tomorrow. But for now, its time to sleep and dream of the one I love. I’m looking forward to hear your voice...

Four legs and one fin.

I want my MTV

(Or, “How the world changes around me as I get old”)

Yes, I want my Mtv. I want it back. When I was 16-or-so years old, Mtv was the best channel in the world. I would watch Beavis & Butthead or Ren & Stimpy over and over. Small bands no-one knew made their own videos and got expo. The Real World was yet to come, as there were no reality shows, not in the music channel. Alternative sounds and weird animation. Mtv was cool, was in touch, it was about the music, not the monster corporatives.

Then, it grew. It grew so much it ended up being what it fighted so hard against; another souless-faceless massive broadcaster. Suddendly small studios could no longer afford Mtv time. Some of those little bands became The Offspring, Goo Goo Dolls, Limp Bizkit and Korn. In a good day you would catch a couple of Tool videos, perhaps even a nostalgic bit of Nirvana or Metallica if the vj was in the mood.

Take a look at Mtv today. I mean, take a good long look at it.

Where are the videos? Where is the music in music telvision? True, every now and then you will catch an awesome song. I’m not one of those guys who say everything was better in the past. But think of it, where is the taste? Where is the rebel spirit Mtv once had?

Perhaps I just grew out of their target, and Mtv is still in touch... with a younger generation. I really like those baggy pants with big bags in the legs, the kind that are very roomy but are tighter in the ankle. They are becoming near impossible to get. They are no longer trendy, and they don’t make them anymore.

Is that the case with Mtv? Am I looking for a product that is coming out of fashion? Am I actually, getting old?

I don’t think getting old is a bad thing, though.

Howl and lyrics.

Just a short post now. This are the lyrics of one of my favorite songs, from an anime called Wolf's Rain. This song actually makes a lot of sense for me, in many ways. It was written by Chris Mosdell, performed by Joyce with Yoko Kanno's music.


Run, wolf warrior, run

Run, wolf warrior, to ends eternal
Through the wreckage of the death of the day
Scent of silence under starlight spinning
A captured beast within a human skin

Are you searching for long lost landscapes
Lit by flowers and crystal cascades?
Where the lamb lies down with the lion
Where the wolf is one with the wild

Run, wolf warrior, through kingdoms' chaos
Senseless cities and ghost towns towering
Howl, O hunter, though few know you're crying
Face upturned into that midnight moon

Are you hunting for mystic mountains
Where the air is like liquid laughter?
Where the beasts inherit the earth
Where the last again will be first

Run, wolf warrior, to hide your hunger
The rain will wash away the pains of the day
In your eyes there are cold fires burning
Tongues of flame that can never be tamed

Are you running from Man's delusion
Majestic madness and your exclusion
To where the lamb lies down with the lion?

Are you running down ancient pathways
Through this dark and deserted land
To where man is once more a child?

Are you running to freedom's fortress
By the side of wide open seas
Where the wolf is one with the wild?

Run, run, run...
run on through the rain...
____________________


Tomorrow (maybe): a short essay on the flu.