What is a clitoris? the papers wished to know. Is it an unsteadiness in the hand? Is it a trembling in the mouth? Is it an organ unduly excited or overdeveloped?
~After Sappho, Selby Wynn Schwartz
Musings

All too often I spoil my own fun…
Issue 49 of the Manufacturing Serendipity newsletter. More thoughts on fun; the enduring allure of Choose your own Adventure books; why every person should have the right NOT to be pregnant & more.
Read more "All too often I spoil my own fun…"Fun happens when we experience the confluence of three states: playfulness, connectedness, and flow. Fun requires being entirely present in your experience.
~Catherine Price

Super-rich dude problems
Issue 48 of the Manufacturing Serendipity newsletter. How the super-rich plan to escape the apocalypse of their own making; Art but make it sports; Thoughts on Bambi and death; London’s most hetero neighbourhoods; & more.
Read more "Super-rich dude problems"I consider reading the greatest bargain in the world. A shelf of books is a shelf of many lives and ideas and imaginations which the reader can enjoy whenever he wishes and as often as he wishes. Instead of experiencing just one life, the book-lover can experience hundreds or even thousands of lives.
~Gene Roddenberry

Speaking at Conferences – The Art of Persuasion (Part Two)
What sets an awesome speaker apart from an average one? Further thoughts on the art of persuasion.
Read more "Speaking at Conferences – The Art of Persuasion (Part Two)"
Speaking at Conferences – The Art of Persuasion (Part One)
What sets an awesome speaker apart from an average one? Some thoughts on the art of persuasion.
Read more "Speaking at Conferences – The Art of Persuasion (Part One)"A story is never an answer. A story is always a question.
~Companion Piece, Ali Smith

Turn me on, dead man
Issue 47 of the Manufacturing Serendipity newsletter. Conspiracy theories; the allure of the Cabbage Patch; psychedelic space marbles; and more…
Read more "Turn me on, dead man"Once an unlikely occurrence is incorporated into the story of a life, or a death, it becomes almost impossible to see the alternative possibilities that once existed.
We confer meaning to control our existence. It makes life liveable. The alternative is frightening. Randomness is banal. It diminishes us. But the truth is we resist meaning almost as often as we insist upon it.
~The Premonitions Bureau, Sam Knight