How large is your school bus?

A year and a half ago, I was conversing with media commentator and web-celeb Julia Baugher (better known as Julia Allison / @juliaallison) about the challenge of paring-down the size of your network to something manageable. In the end, we decided that it was a topic ripe for a dissertation:

Enter 2011. The indefatigable Eric Koester, a published author (his most recent book can be purchased here), well-known technology attorney, and tireless supporter of innovative non-profits, graced me with a nugget of wisdom on this topic that is so inspirational I simply must share it. Mr. Koester, the humble man that he is, would be the first to tell you that the ideas I’m about to explain are not his own, but rather came to him from his mother, who is obviously quite wise herself, so all credit goes to her.

Years (perhaps decades) ago, Mrs. Koester approached her blossoming young son Eric, and kindly asked him to sit down for a moment, for she was going to teach him about his Yellow School Bus.

“Eric,” she began, “everyone on this planet has their own school bus. Each person’s bus is of a different size, seating a different number of people.” Eric listened intently, trying to ascertain what exactly it was she was getting at.

“The people seated on your school bus are the people you interact with, the people who you respect, the people you make time for. Going through life, you’ll meet thousands of people, and if you try to stuff them all onto your bus so that you can keep in touch with them, you’ll find that invariably, some of them will be forced to stand in the aisles. If your bus gets too full, you neglect the relationships you have with the people you value most.”

“I see,” Eric said, signaling his attentiveness and politely awaiting the conclusion of the story.

“The solution,” she continued, “is to maintain a bus with the appropriate number of people on it such that nobody is left standing in the aisle, and also to have a section at the front of your bus for your closest relationships, your inner-circle. These seats at the front of your bus are permanent seats. By making it clear to these cherished people that they’ve got a permanent seat at the front of your bus, they’ll be likely to reciprocate in kind. This mutual respect will pay dividends, and together you will thrive with the help and support of the riders seated at the front of your bus.”

Eric pondered the wise words he’d just heard from his mother. He thought about the many relationships he’d built over the last few years, and the fantastic people he’d met. He realized that she was right–it would be impossible to stay in touch with all of those amazing people. It was time to be more selective, it was time to decide how many people could be safely seated on his bus, and who he would select to sit in the front.

It’s time to take a look at your own bus. Do you see anyone who has been neglected, who has been relegated to standing in the aisle? How many people can safely fit on your bus? Who is on your bus, and do each and every one of them deserve to be there?

Visit Eric Koester’s Blog / View Eric’s TED Talk from TEDxTucson

Pet Shop Boys – West End Girls

I want this knit.

ACL found this Made in England knit by Garbstore while in Paris recently, and I cannot possibly desire anything more than I desire this knit:

Cows are SO chic.

Sometimes, photo comments make my day:

Diddy Dirty Money – Coming Home (ft. Skylar Grey)

Diddy is the ****ing man. Arguably, by sampling so many other artists in his work in the 90′s and 00′s, he brought mashup to the fore before mashup became a phenomenon post-2007. He makes bangers, and he’s got an ear for quality tracks. The female vocalist kills it here–you’ll enjoy this. I guarantee it.

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The Classy Lady and the Jezebel

I love how the various visible elements in this photo work together.

Vanessa, seated with her legs closed, stands in contrast to the woman in the painting above her shoulder, whose legs are spread apart. Vanessa’s outfit is much more staid and formal than the hussy, as well.

My favorite part, though, is the bottle of Tanqueray seen above her opposite shoulder. Indeed, a bottle of liquor is often all it takes to turn a respectable lady into something much more sinister.

At night, do angels change into black? It seems so.

Kanye West – Christmas In Harlem

Kanye got together with Cam’ron, Vado, Jim Jones, CyHi Da Prynce, Pusha T, Big Sean, Teyana Taylor & Musiq Soulchild, and made this undeniable banger. G.O.O.D. music, people!

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Knaan – Take A Minute

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Via This Bonus Track.

Wise lyrics: “…any man who knows a thing knows he knows not a damn thing at all.”

Chilly Gonzalez – BBC Radio 1 Minimix

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“When Annie Mac asked MC meets keyboarding-producer meets singer extraordinaire Chilly Gonzales to do a minimix, he decided to take things literally. That’s all you need to know.”

Some tracks included in the piano minimix:

Soft Cell – Tainted Love
Queen – Another One Bites The Dust
Michael Jackson – Billie Jean
Survivor – Eye of the Tiger
Eagles – Hotel California
USA for Africa – We Are The Children
Black Sabbath – Iron Man
Dr. Dre – Still D.R.E.
Nirvana – Come As You Are
…and many more.

Via Crazybirds.

Kanye West ft. John Legend – Blame Game

I can’t get enough of this.

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Kanye West – My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy [Explicit] – Amazon.com MP3 – $7.99

Gorillaz – Crystallised (The XX cover)

Gorillaz stopped by the BBC studio and did their track, “Doncamatic”, but then went on to perform a cover of The XX track “Crystalised”. This haunting live rendition is nothing short of perfection, but you wouldn’t expect anything less from Damon Albarn.

Via Earmilk.com.

Lupe Fiasco – Never Forget You

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Amazing beat and melodic lead vocals. Impressive.

Appearance and Respect

“Mr. Greenfield first grasped the importance of appearances while trying to survive the Holocaust. When he was 14, he and his father, mother, two sisters and a brother were taken from their home in Pavlova, in what was then Czechoslovakia, and later delivered to Auschwitz.

He was assigned to wash clothes in the camp’s alteration shop, and one day he accidentally ripped an SS officer’s shirt, an affront for which he was beaten. The officer threw the shirt at Mr. Greenfield, who mended it and started wearing it instead of the uniforms the other prisoners wore. From then on, he said, the guards and prisoners began treating him with respect.

“He looked like a somebody,” said Jay Greenfield, 52, Mr. Greenfield’s oldest son and the executive vice president of the company, Martin Greenfield Clothiers, explaining that his father attributes his survival to that shirt. The rest of Mr. Greenfield’s family perished in the camp, though he did not find that out immediately and spent two years after the war looking for them.”

A Tailor, Called Upon by Designers and Politicians – The New York Times

Black Swan Halloween Costumes

I’m putting on a preview screening of Fox Searchlight’s Black Swan at Seattle’s Pacific Place on December 1st, and looking through all the press coverage, I’ve found the following gems…it seems that some young ladies have been anticipating the premiere of Black Swan so much that they dressed up as Nina, the film’s main character, fully a month before the film’s commercial release!:

Marni From Toronto:

Sara from Los Angeles:

And Marisa from Toronto even found a life-size movie poster, for comparison (must’ve been at the Toronto Int’l Film Festival!):

Some even went as far as making Black Swan eye-makeup tutorials and posting them on YouTube! Here’s one:

Yellow-on-Yellow Crime