lostboy. (c) 2010 i.m ruzz (digital)

— The Luxury - Tragically Hip from Road Apples

Bright-sided: How the Relentless Promotion of Positive Thinking Has Undermined America by Barbara Ehrenreich

My rating: 4 of 5 stars this book is worth it’s hardcover price purely on the weight of a scathing full out attack on “positive” thinking in lieu of “critical” thinking which comes as closing argument for the book. A powerful, erudite and biting argument following several chapters on the evolution of the “happiness movement” and the costs against our quality of life as it’s reached its peak coming from virtually all sides. she uncovers several lines of thought which explored help give some context to how we are able to live in a world that is crumbling by our own hand yet we seem paralyzed to do anything about it. 206 pages well spent. View all my reviews »

— hooting and howling - wild beasts

(c) 2004-2010 i.m. ruzz
model: Livia

— Maureen Dowd (via fringesofmind)

i’m willing to gamble. i will put everything on the line for one shot at something amazing. i’ll bet my eyes. my heart. the back of my knee, or elbow. i will bet you my next breath and the one after that even if the odds are ridiculous, if the reward promises to teach me anything about myself or my life.

sometimes this means i gamble things i shouldn’t. sometimes it means i lose everything most people hold onto with a death grip. but what they overlook is we all lose everything in the end anyways.

you can’t live your life avoiding risk of loss, because you can’t hold on to anything anyways. let it go. reach out for what you need the most, reach for what moves you. you’ll be dead as my uncle before you know it.

leonard is my emotional father. ive never found in any other poet, or songwriter, or anyone who speaks a language i thought was my own. his understanding that loss is one of the most vital parts of life, even when you hate loss, keeps me sane. and when i feel near giving up for all the struggling he reminds me all of this is art, so long as you take the ash of whatever burns and use it.

in my head i know there’s no such thing as loss. it’s manmade. in my heart though, this is less clear.

I see you standing on the other side
I don’t know how the river got so wide
I loved you baby, way back when
And all the bridges are burning that we might have crossed
But I feel so close to everything that we lost
We’ll never have to lose it again

LEONARD COHEN [ MUSIC ]

for your bare hips i would trade
all the air i breathe
all the words i’ve used
and i don’t believe

Phosphorescent (band) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

if you don’t know phosphorescent, you don’t know life.

dishsink (c) 2010 i.m. ruzz

wherever there is light there is a chance at beauty. being present and aware, ready to open up to something other than your own thoughts, having good timing (like doing dishes at sunset) can often be enough to convert our boring world into something magical.

i was doing some dishes and the sun was coming horizontal into my kitchen. I washed a glass frying pan top and the light hit it off the drying rack and turned my wall into a light show.

photos don’t do it justice. but i only took it so i could remember and remind you to stop now and then and watch what’s going on around you.

you don’t need to be a photographer to take part—in fact, you’re probably lucky if you aren’t.