ira glass

“ Nobody tells this to people who are beginners, I wish someone told me. All of us who do creative work, we get into it because we have good taste. But there is this gap. For the first couple years you make stuff, it’s just not that good. It’s trying to be good, it has potential, but it’s not. But your taste, the thing that got you into the game, is still killer. And your taste is why your work disappoints you. A lot of people never get past this phase, they quit. Most people I know who do interesting, creative work went through years of this. We know our work doesn’t have this special thing that we want it to have. We all go through this. And if you are just starting out or you are still in this phase, you gotta know its normal and the most important thing you can do is do a lot of work. Put yourself on a deadline so that every week you will finish one story. It is only by going through a volume of work that you will close that gap, and your work will be as good as your ambitions. And I took longer to figure out how to do this than anyone I’ve ever met. It’s gonna take awhile. It’s normal to take awhile. You’ve just gotta fight your way through." -Ira Glass from here.

books to love

A Sick Day for Amos McGee, illustrated by Erin E. Stead, written by Philip C. Stead.
How To Behave And Why, by Munro Leaf
This Is Paris, by M. Sasek
Le Petit Prince, by Antoine de Saint Exupery

these interiors

are all LOVELY.

just so i don't forget

Justin Taylor posted about Susan Hunt in this post, a message she shared and some books she recommends.

so excited!

...for the Royal Wedding! haha.
Here's the programme for the wedding, will definitely be curling up with a cuppa tea and might scare up some digestives as well while watching the re-runs (not getting up at 3 am--sorry William and Kate).

'how to steal like an artist'

smashing article. fun to read. helpful. practical. really like this. read it.

'11 Ways to Find Your Idols'

From the Mars Hill blog.
1. What do I worry about most?
2. What, if I failed or lost it, would cause me to feel that I did not even want to live?
3. What do I use to comfort myself when things go bad or get difficult?
4. What do I do to cope? What are my release valves? What do I do to feel better?
5. What preoccupies me? What do I daydream about?
6. What makes me feel the most self-worth? Of what am I the proudest? For what do I want to be known?
7. What do I lead with in conversations?
8. Early on what do I want to make sure that people know about me?
9. What prayer, unanswered, would make me seriously think about turning away from God?
10. What do I really want and expect out of life? What would really make me happy?
11. What is my hope for the future?