Books R Good
I recently found this speech by William Phelps. It's titled, "The Pleasure of Books".
The habit of reading is one of the greatest resources of mankind; and we enjoy reading books that belong to us much more than if they are borrowed. A borrowed book is like a guest in the house; it must be treated with punctiliousness, with a certain considerate formality. You must see that it sustains no damage; it must not suffer while under your roof. You cannot leave it carelessly, you cannot mark it, you cannot turn down the pages, you cannot use it familiarly. And then, some day, although this is seldom done, you really ought to return it.
But your own books belong to you; you treat them with that affectionate intimacy that annihilates formality. Books are for use, not for show; you should own no book that you are afraid to mark up, or afraid to place on the table, wide open and face down. A good reason for marking favorite passages in books is that this practice enables you to remember more easily the significant sayings, to refer to them quickly, and then in later years, it is like visiting a forest where you once blazed a trail. You have the pleasure of going over the old ground, and recalling both the intellectual scenery and your own earlier self.
Everyone should begin collecting a private library in youth; the instinct of private property, which is fundamental in human beings, can here be cultivated with every advantage and no evils. One should have one's own bookshelves, which should not have doors, glass windows, or keys; they should be free and accessible to the hand as well as to the eye. The best of mural decorations is books; they are more varied in color and appearance than any wallpaper, they are more attractive in design, and they have the prime advantage of being separate personalities, so that if you sit alone in the room in the firelight, you are surrounded with intimate friends. The knowledge that they are there in plain view is both stimulating and refreshing. You do not have to read them all. Most of my indoor life is spent in a room containing six thousand books; and I have a stock answer to the invariable question that comes from strangers. "Have you read all of these books?"
"Some of them twice." This reply is both true and unexpected.
There are of course no friends like living, breathing, corporeal men and women; my devotion to reading has never made me a recluse. How could it? Books are of the people, by the people, for the people. Literature is the immortal part of history; it is the best and most enduring part of personality. But book-friends have this advantage over living friends; you can enjoy the most truly aristocratic society in the world whenever you want it. The great dead are beyond our physical reach, and the great living are usually almost as inaccessible; as for our personal friends and acquaintances, we cannot always see them. Perchance they are asleep, or away on a journey. But in a private library, you can at any moment converse with Socrates or Shakespeare or Carlyle or Dumas or Dickens or Shaw or Barrie or Galsworthy. And there is no doubt that in these books you see these men at their best. They wrote for you. They "laid themselves out," they did their ultimate best to entertain you, to make a favorable impression. You are necessary to them as an audience is to an actor; only instead of seeing them masked, you look into their innermost heart of heart.
William Lyon Phelps - 1933
The habit of reading is one of the greatest resources of mankind; and we enjoy reading books that belong to us much more than if they are borrowed. A borrowed book is like a guest in the house; it must be treated with punctiliousness, with a certain considerate formality. You must see that it sustains no damage; it must not suffer while under your roof. You cannot leave it carelessly, you cannot mark it, you cannot turn down the pages, you cannot use it familiarly. And then, some day, although this is seldom done, you really ought to return it.
But your own books belong to you; you treat them with that affectionate intimacy that annihilates formality. Books are for use, not for show; you should own no book that you are afraid to mark up, or afraid to place on the table, wide open and face down. A good reason for marking favorite passages in books is that this practice enables you to remember more easily the significant sayings, to refer to them quickly, and then in later years, it is like visiting a forest where you once blazed a trail. You have the pleasure of going over the old ground, and recalling both the intellectual scenery and your own earlier self.
Everyone should begin collecting a private library in youth; the instinct of private property, which is fundamental in human beings, can here be cultivated with every advantage and no evils. One should have one's own bookshelves, which should not have doors, glass windows, or keys; they should be free and accessible to the hand as well as to the eye. The best of mural decorations is books; they are more varied in color and appearance than any wallpaper, they are more attractive in design, and they have the prime advantage of being separate personalities, so that if you sit alone in the room in the firelight, you are surrounded with intimate friends. The knowledge that they are there in plain view is both stimulating and refreshing. You do not have to read them all. Most of my indoor life is spent in a room containing six thousand books; and I have a stock answer to the invariable question that comes from strangers. "Have you read all of these books?"
"Some of them twice." This reply is both true and unexpected.
There are of course no friends like living, breathing, corporeal men and women; my devotion to reading has never made me a recluse. How could it? Books are of the people, by the people, for the people. Literature is the immortal part of history; it is the best and most enduring part of personality. But book-friends have this advantage over living friends; you can enjoy the most truly aristocratic society in the world whenever you want it. The great dead are beyond our physical reach, and the great living are usually almost as inaccessible; as for our personal friends and acquaintances, we cannot always see them. Perchance they are asleep, or away on a journey. But in a private library, you can at any moment converse with Socrates or Shakespeare or Carlyle or Dumas or Dickens or Shaw or Barrie or Galsworthy. And there is no doubt that in these books you see these men at their best. They wrote for you. They "laid themselves out," they did their ultimate best to entertain you, to make a favorable impression. You are necessary to them as an audience is to an actor; only instead of seeing them masked, you look into their innermost heart of heart.
William Lyon Phelps - 1933
Jon's Earthquake Xperience
Oh man Oh man Oh man Oh man
I should have posted this hella days ago, but yeah..
Here's a recording of my buddy Jon describing his crazy earthquake experience. I set the audio to some nice images for your viewing pleasure.
Check it out mayne:
I messed up at 1:45. I thought he said "geometry teacher". Jajaja
I should have posted this hella days ago, but yeah..
Here's a recording of my buddy Jon describing his crazy earthquake experience. I set the audio to some nice images for your viewing pleasure.
Check it out mayne:
I messed up at 1:45. I thought he said "geometry teacher". Jajaja
Readin' Partnaz (Pt. I)
"We got the esmarkers and esstickers or somesing"
- Jon Esteban
If you are a loyal follower and reader of this blog you may already know that my friend Jon Esteban is terrified of buying things off Craigslist from strangers. He always thinks he's gonna get molestated or something. So when he found a great deal on Craigslist from some lady in Mountain View he made sure I would be able to accompany him on this dangerous voyage. We departed from our humble abodes at around 3'o clock and headed towards the unknown. Armed with nothing but our cellphones and manhood(s), Jon and I brought the car to a shaky stop in front of the woman's rundown apartment in East Side Mountain View. Tumbleweed tumbled across the dusty road as an old man sat on the curb crying sad tunes into his harmonica. I wiped the gallon of sweat nestled in the grooves of my forehead as Jon did a quick perimeter check to scout for possible escape routes. He found none.
They say there's a guardian angel for every individual. A heavenly being who watches your every step. An invisible hand ready to reach out and save you from sudden crushing death. Well, if that's the case, I know my guardian angel was right by my side today. It was a miracle we made it out of that dreaded apartment building alive.
Jon and I walked slowly towards the apartment entrance gate. I stared at the gate handle. Jon stared at the gate handle. Old rust covered what may once have been a beautiful golden knob. The thin and spiraly trees nearby seemed to laugh at us from above. The leaves, betraying their natural green state, had taken a reddish hue--the color of blood. We hesitated for what seemed like two seconds, then I took the initiative and turned the handle. I gulped the biggest gulp I had ever gulped. There was no turning back now.
Experts say the chances of a fully grown grizzly bear attacking a human are very slim. Bears stick to their areas, and humans stick to their own. No one crosses paths and no one gets hurt. Experts also say that if one does encounter a bear, the first thing to do is make loud, aggressive sounds and gestures in an attempt to scare off the beast. Jon and I knew nothing about this.
We made a few steps into the empty courtyard. I surveyed the scene before us: rows of apartments, each with a clean doormat and properly trimmed bushes hugging the footpath. There was no sign of life aside from the bushes and grass. No children's toys laying out in the yard. Not a ripple in the apartment pool. Everything seemed too perfect. Too quiet. The dead silence came to a halt with the jolting crash of the entrance gate behind us. Jon and I looked at each other. This was the beginning of the end.
- Jon Esteban
If you are a loyal follower and reader of this blog you may already know that my friend Jon Esteban is terrified of buying things off Craigslist from strangers. He always thinks he's gonna get molestated or something. So when he found a great deal on Craigslist from some lady in Mountain View he made sure I would be able to accompany him on this dangerous voyage. We departed from our humble abodes at around 3'o clock and headed towards the unknown. Armed with nothing but our cellphones and manhood(s), Jon and I brought the car to a shaky stop in front of the woman's rundown apartment in East Side Mountain View. Tumbleweed tumbled across the dusty road as an old man sat on the curb crying sad tunes into his harmonica. I wiped the gallon of sweat nestled in the grooves of my forehead as Jon did a quick perimeter check to scout for possible escape routes. He found none.
They say there's a guardian angel for every individual. A heavenly being who watches your every step. An invisible hand ready to reach out and save you from sudden crushing death. Well, if that's the case, I know my guardian angel was right by my side today. It was a miracle we made it out of that dreaded apartment building alive.
Jon and I walked slowly towards the apartment entrance gate. I stared at the gate handle. Jon stared at the gate handle. Old rust covered what may once have been a beautiful golden knob. The thin and spiraly trees nearby seemed to laugh at us from above. The leaves, betraying their natural green state, had taken a reddish hue--the color of blood. We hesitated for what seemed like two seconds, then I took the initiative and turned the handle. I gulped the biggest gulp I had ever gulped. There was no turning back now.
Experts say the chances of a fully grown grizzly bear attacking a human are very slim. Bears stick to their areas, and humans stick to their own. No one crosses paths and no one gets hurt. Experts also say that if one does encounter a bear, the first thing to do is make loud, aggressive sounds and gestures in an attempt to scare off the beast. Jon and I knew nothing about this.
We made a few steps into the empty courtyard. I surveyed the scene before us: rows of apartments, each with a clean doormat and properly trimmed bushes hugging the footpath. There was no sign of life aside from the bushes and grass. No children's toys laying out in the yard. Not a ripple in the apartment pool. Everything seemed too perfect. Too quiet. The dead silence came to a halt with the jolting crash of the entrance gate behind us. Jon and I looked at each other. This was the beginning of the end.
Inspirational Words with Nasser
Nasser sits down with his friend Chris (check out his music here) to share some important inspirational words. The first of a very motivating and captivating video series. Spread the word, spread the love.
Wait...what?
So recently I looked up "Nasser" in the Facebook Groups search engine. I found tons and tons of groups, most of them dedicated to President Nasser of Egypt or Nasser-El Sonbaty the body builder. Around page 21 or so, I stumbled upon a few groups that gave me goosebumps. Check it out, y'all.
Reading all this horrible stuff about a guy named Nasser was pretty painful. He's really making us Nassers out there look bad. I hope Megan dumps this jerk! Here's the other one that gave me goosebumps:
Okay, this one made me pretty mad. It's a private Facebook group, so I had to request admission. Once I'm in there (if they let me in) I'll be able to see what my "friends" have been up to. Let's hope this group is about another Nasser Khan..
Reading all this horrible stuff about a guy named Nasser was pretty painful. He's really making us Nassers out there look bad. I hope Megan dumps this jerk! Here's the other one that gave me goosebumps:
Okay, this one made me pretty mad. It's a private Facebook group, so I had to request admission. Once I'm in there (if they let me in) I'll be able to see what my "friends" have been up to. Let's hope this group is about another Nasser Khan..
TWO HUNDRED THOUSAND
"Can't spell woman without the man" - Nasser Khan, 2009.
Tonight will be a night etched down in the annals of history for its tremendous importance. Tonight will show the rest of humankind what hard work and persistence can accomplish. Tonight a man became even more of a man. Tonight I drove my 1992 Volvo 940 past the 200,000 mile mark.
It was a little past 7 o'clock when I glanced at the dusty old odometer on my dashboard. I had been anticipating this moment for a week now. It was several days ago when I finally noticed the high mileage. So here I was, driving with my great friend Jon Esteban, 8 miles away from my life goal.
Let me backtrack for a moment. For those that haven't seen my car, its an old bulky Volvo. 17 years old and I think it barely passes smog. The "Check Engine" light is now practically part of the car. The tires screech when I make sharp turns, the front bumper is dangling, the car shakes at red lights, and the air conditioning won't turn off. But, alas, a miracle has occurred and my vehicle has soldiered through to claim its place in automotive hall of fame.
I was on my way to Jon's house to drop him off, but when we saw how close we were to this incredible feat we just could not resist. Eight miles would be easy on Monterey Road. We would drive back and forth until the moment came. Simple. I exited Bernal and made a left on Monterey. I gained an easy three miles in that direction and felt it was time to go back towards Jon's neighborhood for my last five miles. As I made a right on Ford Road, the odometer was getting closer and closer. 2 more miles.
I can't do this. I'm not worthy of doing this. I was getting nervous as the odometer was clicking higher and higher. What if the car breaks down before the 200,000 mile mark? I had been driving all day and the hard work was starting to take its toll on the vehicle. The turns were getting slower and heavier. What if the odometer wasn't made to go that far? My eyes were completely glued to the dashboard. I barely dodged incoming traffic and parked cars. What if I get into an accident before it happens?
I believe it was 7:26 PM when my car made it to 200,000 miles. I also believe I was somewhere around Silverleaf Park. But all that didn't matter. What mattered was that I had done the impossible. I had taken this piece of machinery to its limits--and then pushed it some more.
I would like to thank everyone who was a part of this beautiful day. And to everyone who was not: it's all right. I wish you could have been there to experience it. This is not something that happens everyday. The feeling I had when I watched those five 9's turn to zeros was indescribable. Just indescribable.
It's been a great ride and I look forward to the next 200,000 miles.
The Price of Genius
Jon Esteban's short film, "The Price of Genius".
Starring Nasser Khan
Once the video is playing, click the icon on the bottom right and select "HQ" for the best viewing experience.
Starring Nasser Khan
Once the video is playing, click the icon on the bottom right and select "HQ" for the best viewing experience.
Tamales
Hey if you guys ever need to buy some tamales just go to the parking lot of the Walmart on Monterey Road. There's a lady who sells them out of her old mini-van. Just act casual when you walk up to her and don't be suspicious. She's there all the time, you just have to look for her. She usually disappears when the police roll by. Tell her Nasser sent you.
G0T R1C3
Expand your meager vocabulary and help feed the hungry!
www.freerice.com
You can also quiz yourself by identifying countries, world capitals and famous paintings.
And for my Mexican blogspot friends, they even have a Spanish version of the vocab quiz!!
Click on "Subjects" on the top bar.
Check it out, mayne!
Yahoo! Answers x BORDER RUN
My buddy Jeff showed me this crazy question some guy asked on Yahoo! Answers about trying to infiltrate the North Korean border. I don't want to copy paste it all into the post, so check it out by clicking here.
I really do hope the guy was just joking. He asked the question three years ago, so he's probably already dead by now.
On the other hand, it would make a pretty sick movie. Especially if it starred Jackie Chan.
I really do hope the guy was just joking. He asked the question three years ago, so he's probably already dead by now.
On the other hand, it would make a pretty sick movie. Especially if it starred Jackie Chan.
Adventure to San Francisco
I'm about to collapse, but lemme just sneak in a blog post before I retire to my sleeping chamber. Today was fun, I visited some homies at UC De Anza and I went to San Francisco. Tons of great memories, including dancing, eating, shopping, driving, GPSing, walking, smelling, farting (D-Bot), cooking, cleaning, cutting, sitting, and other sh**. Yeah! I did a whole lot of stuff today, but I'd rather not summarize it for you. Instead, I'm just gonna write about a few interesting things I saw today in my travels.
Something blogworthy that I observed today was an interesting snack shop in Japan Town. I don't remember what the store is called, but I know it's across the street from Fatlace in an indoor mall. Anyways, what I found so interesting about the snack shop was that almost every snack, candy and delicacy in the store was accompanied with a totally realistic plastic replica. You know how some people have plastic fruits in their homes for decoration? Well that was kind of like how it was at the snack shop, except nearly everything was accompanied with plastic models. For example, the cookie wafers were stacked in neatly organized rows of packages. Next to the packages, in a glass box, was a plastic replica of the cookies. It was so expertly crafted, even the slightest detail of the cookie's texture was recreated. I dunno, I just thought it was cool that they would do that.
Oh, also, I tried out Calpis (sounds like "cow piss") today.
It's some Japanese drink and I felt it tasted like one of those oldschool rocket pops, but melted:
It was pretty cool, and I'm glad I tried it out. It had a "refreshingly sweet and tangy" flavor, according to the label on the bottle.
Umm umm umm, I would also like to write about the GPS navigation device we used during our travels. Anyone who has been to San Francisco knows that it's pretty confusing to get around the city, especially when you are from out of town. D-Bot's GPS device helped us out a lot. It was pretty funny because we had the voice language set as Australian, so the dude had a huge accent when he was telling us critical directions. Sometimes he'd really mispronounce things, and I would giggle a little bit. Hee hee hee
In other news, Darren and I have been working tirelessly on the new video. I don't want to reveal too much, but it's definitely something 2 look forward 2. I'm not sure when it will be finished, but hopefully it will be released to the masses soon. Thanks for reading and Goodnight.
Something blogworthy that I observed today was an interesting snack shop in Japan Town. I don't remember what the store is called, but I know it's across the street from Fatlace in an indoor mall. Anyways, what I found so interesting about the snack shop was that almost every snack, candy and delicacy in the store was accompanied with a totally realistic plastic replica. You know how some people have plastic fruits in their homes for decoration? Well that was kind of like how it was at the snack shop, except nearly everything was accompanied with plastic models. For example, the cookie wafers were stacked in neatly organized rows of packages. Next to the packages, in a glass box, was a plastic replica of the cookies. It was so expertly crafted, even the slightest detail of the cookie's texture was recreated. I dunno, I just thought it was cool that they would do that.
Oh, also, I tried out Calpis (sounds like "cow piss") today.
It's some Japanese drink and I felt it tasted like one of those oldschool rocket pops, but melted:
It was pretty cool, and I'm glad I tried it out. It had a "refreshingly sweet and tangy" flavor, according to the label on the bottle.
Umm umm umm, I would also like to write about the GPS navigation device we used during our travels. Anyone who has been to San Francisco knows that it's pretty confusing to get around the city, especially when you are from out of town. D-Bot's GPS device helped us out a lot. It was pretty funny because we had the voice language set as Australian, so the dude had a huge accent when he was telling us critical directions. Sometimes he'd really mispronounce things, and I would giggle a little bit. Hee hee hee
In other news, Darren and I have been working tirelessly on the new video. I don't want to reveal too much, but it's definitely something 2 look forward 2. I'm not sure when it will be finished, but hopefully it will be released to the masses soon. Thanks for reading and Goodnight.
Frisbees N' Bullets
Originally I had planned to blog about today's events in the normal, orthodox way. It was alright for a little while but then I felt a bit bored with the setup. So here is what happened today in my trademark funky bulleted format. I hope you enjoy. I also tried out the numbering option, too. It's pretty useless.
- My friend Jon bought something off a dude from Craigslist
- Since its pretty unsafe meeting people alone to exchange money and stuff, Jon thought it wise to bring me along in case there was a royal rumble.
- Jon's reasoning:
- Jon < Dude from Craigslist
- Jon + Me > Dude from Craigslist
- We went to the parking lot at Eastridge and the stuff was bought without any problems
- After the purchase, Jon and I met up with our buddy D-Bot
- Jon had his kewl D-90 camera so he took pictures of the two bikes
- There were two bikes:
- D-Bot's bike
- Michael Hang's Bike
- After taking pictures and standing in the middle of the street for a while, Jon and I decided to visit our good friend Daniel who lives in the area
- On the way to Daniel's house we drove past a guy selling "snow cones"
- He told us he had three flavors, which are listed below:
- "Cherry flavor"
- "Lemon flavor"
- "Blue flavor"
- Being somewhat healthy and conscious of what I put into my body, I was immediately alarmed when I heard about a "Blue flavor". Most likely it was some unnatural flavor full of chemicals, so I avoided that and opted instead for the cherry flavor. Jon had the lemon.
- After slurping on our "snow cones", which were actually just broken pieces of ice & Kool-Aid in Styrofoam cups, we went over to Daniel's dwelling.
- Daniel has several animals in his house. Here is a list:
- One parrot
- Numerous turtles
- A dog (possibly more than one)
- After chillin in the crib watching an 80's movie called The Wizard (which was horrible), we went outside to enjoy the nice clear day.
- Daniel grabbed his frisbee and we played a nice game of Catch-n-Throw
- I just made up that phrase now. Sounds pretty good
- After all that, I went to San Francisco with my familia to check out the Asian History Museum
- The Museum was awesome.
- They had stuff from over 4,000 years ago
- They even had stuff from my homeland Pakistan (known as the Indus Valley, back in the day)
- I love archaeology now
- We found some lady's wallet on the sidewalk in SF. It was packed with credit cards and ID badges, but no phone number.
- Being good samaritans, we turned the wallet over to a policeman
- He didn't want it, so he told us to just slip it into a public mailbox on the street
- I hope the lady gets her wallet soon
- The End
- Thanks for reading this bulleted list. I know I said I wouldn't do them anymore, but I lied.
- Sorry if I've been overwhelming you with all the blogging lately
More Americans Reading Fiction
From Newser:
The percentage of Americans reading fiction has increased for the first time in years, a new study by the National Endowment for the Arts indicates. The reported 50.2% of the population who picked up a book for pleasure marks a turnaround from a statistical decline in literary culture over the past two decades, the New York Times reports.Read the New York Times article here.
Perhaps the most heartening increase was among 18- to 24-year-olds, who had previously been sliding at the fastest rate. Dana Gioia, NEA chairman, partly credits programs such as Oprah’s book club and the popularity of series like Harry Potter and Twilight.
The Art of Ebru
Ebru, or marbling, is a Turkish form of book art. I'm not gonna pretend like I know how it's done, but please check out these two nifty videos. Thank you.
