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The Presence of Wonder
It has been said that man is a rational animal. All my life I have been searching for evidence which could support this.
— Bertrand Russell
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Those are the wild sounds. Songs are domesticated, complacent little creatures who will never get out in the wild again. I like my songs raw, with the pulp and seeds. Those are nutrients. It’s not good to listen to too much highly processed music. It leads to heart attacks and apparently rheumatic fever.
Terry Gilliam heard the line “in a Portuguese saloon” (from The Part You Throw Away), and he thought I was saying, “On the porch, the geese salute.” That’s better! I hope more people misunderstand me.
— Tom Waits
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Just do your work. And if the world needs your work it will come and get you. And if it doesn’t, do your work anyway. You can have fantasies about having control over the world, but I know I can barely control my kitchen sink. That is the grace I’m given. Because when one can control things, one is limited to one’s own vision.
— KIKI SMITH
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Always be on the lookout for the presence of wonder.
— E.B. White
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