The five months of furious short-story writing in 1923-24 had left him with a stake of $7,000. In Great Neck, that would only cover two and a half months of expenses. How could he stretch the $7,000 to gain the time to finish Gatsby? Earlier, as he was struggling to save, a friend wrote from France to suggest that Fitzgerald join the many Americans living well in Europe on the strong American dollar. The friend wrote that it cost one-tenth as much to live in Europe: he had just finished “a meal fit for a king, washed down with champagne, for the absurd sum of sixty-one cents.” Fitzgerald thought, based on the friend’s recommendation, living expenses on the off-season Riviera would be low enough to let him finish Gatsby without any short-story interruptions.

Thanks to Jason Kottke for posting on such good stuff. Cheers.

The Pines‘ latest album, Tremolo, has earned some great reviews fresh out of the chute, including
Penguin Eggs, which reviewed it in this month’s issue:

Potent, poignant, minimalist country from Iowans David Huckfelt and Benson Ramsey (son of Greg Brown sideman Bo, who produced this record). The duo spin spare, haunting melodies and imagistic words over deceptively gentle intertwinings of acoustic and electric guitar, stand-up bass, keys and drums.

But song after song, with soft, wearied voices, they reveal a lyrical world view both thoughtful and tough, keenly attuned to harsh realities and the glimpses of consolation that peek through the solitude and loss inherent in life. “We surrender, just to survive/ But no matter how hard you try/ No, you can’t put the tears/ Back into your eyes,” Ramsey sings (with the help of his dad) on Shiny Shoes. What’s remarkable is how such an unsentimental outlook is married to music at once so fragile, so gravid and, ultimately, beautiful. If I were a betting man, I’d say watch for this album on a lot of critics’ top 10 lists for 2009.

The Pines

There’s a darkness upon me that’s flooded in light
In the fine print they tell me what’s wrong and what’s right
And it comes in black and it comes in white
And I’m frightened by those that don’t see it

When nothing is owed or deserved or expected
And your life doesn’t change by the man that’s elected
If you’re loved by someone, you’re never rejected
Decide what to be and go be it

There was a dream and one day I could see it
Like a bird in a cage I broke in and demanded that somebody free it
And there was a kid with a head full of doubt
So I’ll scream til I die and the last of those bad thoughts are finally out

There’s a darkness upon you that’s flooded in light
And in the fine print they tell you what’s wrong and what’s right
And it flies by day and it flies by night
And I’m frightened by those that don’t see it

There was a dream and one day I could see it
Like a bird in a cage I broke in and demanded that somebody free it
And there was a kid with a head full of doubt
So I’ll scream til I die and the last of those bad thoughts are finally out

There was a dream and one day I could see it
Like a bird in a cage I broke in and demanded that somebody free it
And there was a kid with a head full of doubt
So I’ll scream til I die and the last of those bad thoughts are finally out

There’s a darkness upon me that’s flooded in light
In the fine print they tell me what’s wrong and what’s right
There’s a darkness upon me that’s flooded in light
And I’m frightened by those that don’t see it

I was reading Michael Dahn’s blog the other day and found this particularly worth re-posting here:

“We can only lose what we cling to!”
– Buddha

Many of us live by a set of beliefs accumulated over the course of our lifetime. We use these rules to navigate the possibilities of life. Some of them are positive rules that save us (e.g. “Don’t touch a hot stove”) but some of them are limiting (e.g. “I can’t do it. It’s too hard”). Sometimes we have to stop and ask ourselves if the limitations in our life are self-imposed or actual. I believe that many times the rules by which we find ourselves constrained are self-imposed.

When life appears to be unfair, when bad things happen to good people, this is when you have the opportunity to give up or to change the rules of the game. It’s these game changing moves that enable you to conquer your fears in new and creative ways. You can change the rules of the game in several ways, here are but a few:

1. Change your beliefs: I live by the mantra that “nothing is impossible, the impossible just takes longer.” Why is it that we limit ourselves by what we think is impossible? Why do we obey the rules of our belief when our opponent does not? Why is it that we enable others to walk over us? Only by changing your belief can you break down the barriers that you have constructed and consider the possibility of out-of-the-box innovation.
2. Change the rules: In life many of us abide by a path that we feel has been laid our for us or is predestined to occur. We get frustrated when we feel deviations from that path in the same way we feel the rumble strip on the edge of the road. These path barriers move us in a direction that we “feel” is the “right path.” We cling to our path because it has been a part of us for so many years. Only when you accept variance in your path are you free and open to new possibilities. By accepting change and alternative outcomes we free ourselves to new futures and alternative happiness.

When we stop clinging to self-imposed beliefs and prescriptive paths we free within ourselves the possibility of the impossible.

Here are a few new rules that you may want to consider.

1. “Be the change you want to see in the world.” – Mahatma Gandhi
2. Do Something
3. “To thine own self be true.” – Shakespeare
4. Our lives are the stories we tell ourselves.
5. Don’t live by anyone else’s rules, go make your own.