The memory of most men is an abandoned cemetery where lie, unsung and unhonored, the dead whom they have ceased to cherish. Any lasting grief is reproof to their forgetfulness.
- Marguerite Yourcenar, Memoirs of Hadrian
So cold the window has limped flowers, so cold that river is covered with snow, so cold that my breath looks like smoke, so cold that singles feel lonely feeling like the whole heart is frozen looking at kissing couples with jealousy the same time recalling the past beautiful moments and melts the frozen heart a little ... and then barking Lillie woke me up.
Yet as I picked up the copy of the Smiling Morning Herald a creepish deja vu embraced my presence. Has someone read my first letter to Czechoslovakia back in September 1980 the sentiment is almost word for word ;-) ‘Let's face it, Sydney rarely does winter well. Stark interiors that shine in summer become iceboxes when the temperature drops; fireplaces are harder to find than non-spill teapots at a yum cha restaurant... [even strange is a reference to our favourite pub] Score a seat by the embers at Woollahra's Lord Dudley Hotel, sit back with a glass of red or a pint of Boddingtons and rediscover the art of pointless yet spirit-soaring pub conversation‘ I know I said it many times before but being with Lo, makes me feel so at home wherever I am even the Shire Cold comforts: consistency of corrugated iron
Art of Living & Literature Across Frontiers: The Storytellers
Want to build a brand for the ages? Tell consumers a story they want to believe—even if it's not true ... Just tell me the facts, tell me a story instead. Be remarkable! Be consistent! Be authentic! Tell your story to people who are inclined to believe it. Marketing is powerful. Use it wisely. Live the lie.
Arthur Riolo is a world-class storyteller. Arthur sells real estate in my little town north of New York City. He sells a lot of real estate—more than all his competitors combined. That's because Arthur doesn't sell anything.
Anyone can tell you the specs of a house or talk to you about the taxes. But he doesn't. Instead, Arthur does something very different. He takes you and your spouse for a drive. You drive up and down the hills of a neighborhood as he points out house after house (houses that aren't for sale). He tells you who lives in that house and what they do and how they found the house and the name of their dog and what their kids are up to and how much they paid. He tells you a story about the different issues in town, the long-simmering rivalries between neighborhoods and the evolution and imminent demise of the Mother's Club. Then, and only then, does Arthur show you a house.
It might be because of Arthur's antique pickup truck or the fact that everyone in town knows him or the obvious pleasure he gets from the community, but sooner or later, you'll buy a house from Arthur. And not just because it's a good house. Because it's a good story:
Great stories make a promise.
Great stories are trusted.
Great stories are subtle.
Great stories happen fast.
Great stories are rarely aimed at everyone.
Great stories don't contradict themselves.
And most of all, great stories agree with our worldview.
Yes, all marketers are liars. But the successful ones are the ones that can honestly tell us a story we want to believe and share. A story that works, combined with authenticity and minimized side effects, builds a brand (and a business) for the ages
• By Seth Godin, CMO Magazine, June 2005 Know Your Power & Powerlessness [As if it were degrading to sell and market books and to stoop so low Acting as if the book were important ; Those who had been asleep woke up, and every boy rose to his feet as though surprised in his labours Bookworm on the Net ]
• · Throughout the whole Orange prize experience I was confronted with evidence that women are uncomfortable with naked ambition, trained to have low expectations, embarrassed by head-to-head competition, and virtually obliged to act abashed when they win. In contrast to a certain other sex that will go unmentioned Lionel Shriver On Ambition and Gender ;
• · · Figuratively, if not literally, the books that Serpent's Tail publishes in modest numbers (around 35 to 40 per year) aim to strike hard, cut deep and leave a lasting impression. Taboo-busters, rule-breakers, risk-takers, Jelinek and Shriver perfectly match the profile that the company founded by Pete Ayrton in 1986 has created and confirmed over almost two decades Serpent's Tail's Winning Ways ; The world's largest online encyclopedia of graphic symbols! Symbols.com
• · · · Major book publishers are preparing to boost their business by selling directly to consumers from their websites, a move that has booksellers spooked about being squeezed by their own suppliers Publishers Cut Out The Middleman; Is it about the classics or the cappuccino The Big-Box Bookstore Dilemma
• · · · · Fear. Isolation. Loneliness. Ah, the writer's life ... No More A group of freelancers in San Francisco believe they've found a way to help remedy writer's block, share advice, get feedback on a first draft and keep from driving their families crazy Writers Band Together For Sanity ; In The Independent Sarah Cassidy reports that Literature pushed out by media studies
• · · · · · This kind of prosumer doesn't necessarily earn money by making music, videos, or photos, but is still willing to invest in more serious hardware and software than the typical dabbler, and spend more time using it Are You A "Prosumer? -The word coined by the futurist Alvin Toffler; Chinese literature is overlooked in the west but a new English edition of a classic novel could change that Great leap forward