Literary references in Stanley Kurbick's "Paths of Glory"

Two literary references caught my attention in the film "Paths of Glory" directed by Stanley Kubrick (1957).

Quote by Samuel Johnson that underscores many aspects of the film:
"Patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel."


Except from "Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard" by Thomas Gray which contains the films title:

Let not Ambition mock their useful toil,

         Their homely joys, and destiny obscure;

Nor Grandeur hear with a disdainful smile

         The short and simple annals of the poor.

The boast of heraldry, the pomp of pow'r,

         And all that beauty, all that wealth e'er gave,

Awaits alike th' inevitable hour.

         The paths of glory lead but to the grave.

Link to poem by Thomas Gray:  http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/173564

Yo-Yo Ma on Vulnerability and Asking Questions; On Being

In her radio program, "On Being," Krista Tippett interviewed Yo-Yo Ma.  At one point, the discussion covered the role of the musician in larger social challenges.  Ma discussed the challenge of approaching these problems.

"Once you ask the question, you already put yourself in a position of slight vulnerability because you don't know the answer.  And I think that by doing that, you can actually begin to see where the solutions may lie  At least you start to open yourself to someone else who might propose the solution that might start to lead us in a certain position."

Link to the interview:  http://www.onbeing.org/program/yo-yo-ma-music-happens-between-the-notes/6641
(Quote occurs around 31 minutes into the broadcast interview.)

Creating motivational quote images using Brainy Quote

Often for motivational reasons, you want to use a famous quote. The website Brainy Quote (www.brainyquote.com) provides a large number of great quotes. An useful feature that the website also provide is a function to put the quote and author on an image.

On the Brainy Quote website, select an specific quote.  One option for social media sharing should be "Share As Image".  Clicking on this will take you to a feature where you can customize the image and the text.

You should be able to right click on the image on save to a file.  

You can print and post the quotes at work or at home.  You can include them in a PowerPoint presentations.  One suggestion by Shawn Achor in his book Before Happiness is to use such images in your screen saver as a digital "vision board."

John Maxwell on Successful Thinking

A few quotes from How Successful People Think by John C. Maxwell (New York, Center Street Publishing, 2009).

"No matter what you're trying to accomplish, you can do it better with shared thinking."

"Get used to being uncomfortable,"

"The better the questions, the more gold you will mine from your thinking."

"One of the best ways to cultivate a possibility mind-set is to prompt yourself to dream one size bigger than you normally do."

"Instead of asking how, they should first ask why.  If you jump right into problem solving mode, how are you going to know all the issues?"

Comments on Jazz--Lyons

A couple interesting comments on Jazz in Len Lyons book, The 101 Best Jazz Albums.

On a definition for Swing Jazz:  The more basic a musical quality is, the less definable it is.

On Billie Holiday:  She could transform the most banal pop ballad into a painfully intense, subtle work of art.  She was the ultimate jazz singer, relying on a deeply honest delivery and an exquisite control of her rather small range.

Reference
Len Lyons, The 101 Best Jazz Albums:  A History of Jazz on Records (New York, William Morrow and Company, 1980).


 

Baldoni's Epigraphs

In his book, Lead By Example, John Baldoni start each chapter with a great epigraph.  Here are two examples.

On Courage:  "So much of leadership is about drawing a line in the sane and standing behind it.  Such decisions require fortitude, strength of character, and plain old guts."

On Grace:  "Call it elan, suaveness, or simple confidence; all these words describe a single attribute--grace.  Leaders need to maintain grace in good times and especially in bad.  A leader with grace has a calming effect."

Good Quotes 2014

"It's important that we focus more on what we need to be that on what we need to do."
--Max De Pree, Leadership Jazz

"People do not lack strength; they lack will."
--Victor Hugo

"To lead the people, walk behind them."
--Lao Tzu

In response to the question "Why do you play so long?"
"It took me that long to get it all in."
--John Coltrane


List of Questions
"There are four questions of value in life, Don Octavio. What is sacred? Of what is the spirit made? What is worth living for and what is worth dying for? The answer to each is the same. Only love." --Lord Byron

"The three questions: How many walkers have you have you killed? How many people have you killed? Why?" --Abraham Lincoln as Rick Grimes in "The Walking Dead"

Small Business Saturday Suggestions in Los Angeles

Here are a few suggestions for shopping on Small Business Saturday on 30 November in and around Los Angeles.

Artisan Fair
URBAN RADISH www.urban-radish.com, a farm-fresh neighborhood grocery store, Art Share LA, and the Academy of Handmade Artists and Supporters have combined forces to bring an Open-Air Market to the Arts District featuring talented artists/craftsman from our neighborhood. 

Join us on Saturday, November 30th from 9-2PM in the URBAN RADISH parking lot at 661 Imperial Street, Los Angeles, CA 90021.

https://www.facebook.com/events/252476958237358/


Book Stores

Last Book Store
http://lastbookstorela.com/
453 S. Spring St., Downtown Los Angeles

Skylight Books
http://www.skylightbooks.com/
1818 North Vermont Avenue, Los Feliz

Iliad Books
http://www.iliadbooks.com/zencart/
5400 Cahuenga Boulevard, North Hollywood

Book Soup
http://www.booksoup.com/
8818 Sunset Blvd. West Hollywood

Books on the Boulevard
http://www.booksontheblvd.com/
13551 Ventura Blvd., Sherman Oaks


Other Stores

Angel City Brewery
http://angelcitybrewery.com/
216 South Alameda St., Downtown Los Angeles

My Fair Lady Women's Fashion
http://www.shopmyfairlady.com/
6000 Reseda Blvd., Tarzana

Marie et Cie
http://www.marieetcie.com/
11704 Riverside Dr, Valley Village

Gopnik on perfect writing versus sincere storytelling: Moth

Adam Gopnik is a staff writer for The New Yorker magazine.  He has also given several talks at Moth events.  One story was recently featured on the Moth Radio Hour.

In the introduction to the story, Gopnik reflects about how telling stories on stage has affected his writing:

"I sensed in myself that I had become in some ways, and doubtless still am in every way, an unduly fancy writer. That the curlicues and ornamentation of erudition had begun to drown out my ability to simply tell a tale about what had happened. But I think writing is a business of perfection. You want every sentence to be as perfectly polished as you can possibly make it. Every sentence should glow and shine, have its own little balance and structure and charm. A story is not like that. A story can tolerate a lot of rough stuff in the course of it being related as long as what is being related is significant. You can’t write that way. Readers are unforgiving of imperfection. But don’t you think listeners are totally unforgiving of insincerity."

A link to the story:  http://www.prx.org/pieces/103186-1107-freddy-hubbard-charlie-ravioli-and-the-monk

Find Opportunities: Simple Cases

"Opportunity often comes disguised in the form of misfortune, or temporary defeat."
Napoleon Hill

Leaders often focus on the opportunity side of challenges.  Not all these cases are a major challenge or  major crisis.

Today, I missed my usual subway stop.  My first thought was to get off at the next stop, move to the opposite platform, and come back one stop.

Then I thought about which stop was next.  It was along the bus line that I transferred to, so I could still catch my usual bus, just one stop earlier.

Also, this was one of the only stops along the subway line that I have never used.  So, this small misfortune gave me a chance to explore a new transfer point.  Find the subway exit. Find the bus stop.  Look around the area.  

Leaders should look for the simple cases to practice finding the opportunities in a misfortune.  Travelling provides a lot of these, whether construction, traffic, detour, flight delay, wrong turn, wrong exit, or wrong stop.