“If someone is not humane in spite of being human, what has he to do with music?”
© (Confucius quote) Oxford University Press.
Technorati Tags: Confucius, The Analects, Confucius Analects, Food For Thought, Philosophy
“Zigong asked about the gentleman. The Master said: ‘He puts his sayings into action before adopting them as guidelines.’”
© (Confucius quote) Oxford University Press.
Technorati Tags: Confucius, The Analects, Confucius Analects, Food For Thought, Philosophy
Good books are always worth being read moren than once. It gives me a clear indication of how my perspective keeps changing as I am getting older.
Confucius “The Analects” is one of my all-time favourite collection of teachings.
I have been planning to review it for this blog, but have found it too difficult a task. What I will do instead is every now and then post some of my favourite quotes.
“One does not worry about the fact that other people do not appreciate one. One worries about not appreciating other people.”
© Patrice Schneider. No reproduction without prior written consent. / © (Confucius quote) Oxford University Press.
Technorati Tags: Confucius, The Analects, Confucius Analects, Food For Thought, Philosophy
Instead of trying to find the real cause for dramatically decreasing CD sales, the record companies have been moaning about people illegaly downloading music in MP3 format, about those “criminals” ruining their business, etc. etc. etc. Have they ever considered that possibly they have been releasing too much rubbish and that their customers are getting disillusioned with the corporate music bullshit?
The record companies have been taking advantage of the record/CD-buying public for too long. When CDs first hit the market, promises were made that once the format was established, prices would be reduced drastically. Has this happened? Not really, yours truly thinks.
Well, they simply got too used to making big money ($$$), paying outrageous sums to their big name artists, splashing out on new, oftentimes untalented, bands, dropping them the second expected sales were not met (at times even before the record came out!), screwing talented bands with ridiculous contracts, totally losing interest in developing and helping promising artists.
Luckily, their system is failing. Record companies are middlemen that soon will no longer be needed. The internet has truly revolutionized the music business. Now, any artist can record and sell their own material online. Consumers usually pay less per track/album than they would in a shop, while the musician(s) still make more money than they would have, had they been backed by a record company.
Merlin Mann has recently interviewed two individuals who have been using the internet very successfully to build their careers: John Vanderslice, and Jonathan Coulton.
You can watch the videos on Merlin Mann’s The Merlin Show:
John Vanderslice Part 1 (of 3)
John Vanderslice Part 2 (of 3)
John Vanderslice Part 3 (of 3)
Jonathan Coulton Part 1 (of 2)
Jonathan Coulton Part 2 (of 2)
I will in the future definitely write more about the music industry and also Last.FM.
© Patrice Schneider. No reproduction without prior written consent.
Addendum 20 May 2007: Good and interesting article (German language only) in this weekend’s edition of Das Magazin.
Technorati Tags: Last.FM, Jonathan Coulton, John Vanderslice, MP3 Download, Online Radio, Personalized Radio, Artist Promotion, Label Promotion
A lovely friend shared this with me late last year. Again: something I cannot forget, something I simply love.
“They arise, manifest, and then cease”:
this is the main mantra to use when “getting”
rewards, status, praise, or any kind of happiness,
so as not to indulge, forget ourselves, or be foolish.
“They arise, manifest, and then cease”:
this is the main mantra to use when “losing”
rewards, status, praise, or even wife and kids,
so we aren’t weakened, confused, or distraught.
“They arise, manifest, and then cease”:
this is the main mantra to use “at the end”,
the best weapon for dealing with death,
fully at peace having gone beyond Mara’s snares.
Today I recommend books by the Dalai Lama, as well as “The Tibetan Book Of The Dead”.
© Patrice Schneider. No reproduction without prior written consent.
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Technorati Tags: Buddhism, Supreme Buddhist Mantra, Philosophy, Food For Thought
Cannot remember where I first heard this one, but it’s never left my memory.
We - at least the majority of us - were born with one mouth, but two ears. And I think there is a reason for that.
I do believe that listening is more important than speaking.
Way too many people just babble on and on, oftentimes just for the sake of making some noise.
You even get some f***ing bible bashers who stand on a streetcorner and insult your intelligence with screaming their beliefs at all and sundry. I will post more about them in another entry. For now, I just recommend you listen to Frank Zappa’s “Heavenly Bank Account” (which can be found on his “You Are What You Is” album).
© Patrice Schneider. No reproduction without prior written consent.
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Technorati Tags: Philosophy, Food For Thought
Finished reading Sun Tzu’s “The Art Of War”, a manual on how to “properly” conduct a war, a couple of days ago.
I am a pacifist, but can still appreciate great skills, even as far as war is concerned. (Contradiction? Who cares…? ;-))
It is very shocking to realize that the likes of George W. Bush and Tony Blair have obviously not studied “The Art Of War”. Or maybe they have, and I am just too stupid to see their intelligence? Let them surprise me.
In recent years, “The Art Of War” has also become a manual for managers and business-people on how to conduct “war” in business, how to achieve success. I do believe that if you study this book in-depth, and understand it, you can pretty much apply it to any situation in life.
Order it. Read it. (Amzon Link.)
© Patrice Schneider. No reproduction without prior written consent.
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Technorati Tags: Sun Tzu, The Art Of War, Strategy, Literature, Philosophy
When reading books or surfing the world wide web, I often come across words and or sentences that inspire me to reflect on them for a while.
This one I wrote down not too long ago:
Life is not about finding yourself, life is about creating yourself.
Or shall we believe good ol’ Canadian avantgarde-punk band NoMeansNo: Forget your life. It’s nothing.
© Patrice Schneider. No reproduction without prior written consent.
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Technorati Tags: Philosophy, Food For Thought, NoMeansNo, Lifehacks
