[AUDIO] OTR radio drama “The Other Hand” of The Whistler, from 1951

This is definitely one of the better old time radio dramas I have heard.

First  Broadcast: December 9, 1951

“The pressures of work and a complicated romance drive a politician to desperation and murder.”

[AUDIO] WAITING AROUND TO DIE – THE BE GOOD TANYAS (COVER)

Sometimes I don’t know where
This dirty road is taking me
Sometimes I can’t even see the reason why
I guess I keep a-gamblin’
Lots of booze and lots of ramblin’
It’s easier than just waitin’ around to die

One time, friends, I had a ma
I even had a pa
He beat her with a belt once ’cause she cried
She told him to take care of me
Headed down to Tennessee
It’s easier than just waitin’ around to die

I came of age and I found a girl
In a Tuscaloosa bar
She cleaned me out and hit in on the sly
I tried to kill the pain, bought some wine
And hopped a train
Seemed easier than just waitin’ around to die

A friend said he knew
Where some easy money was
We robbed a man, and brother did we fly
The posse caught up with me
And drug me back to Muskogee
It’s two long years I’ve been waitin’ around to die

Now I’m out of prison
I got me a friend at last
He don’t drink or steal or cheat or lie
His name’s Codine
He’s the nicest thing I’ve seen
Together we’re gonna wait around and die
Together we’re gonna wait around and die

[AUDIO] “The real value of education is being well adjusted and that understanding that Freedom is ‘that you get to consciously decide what has meaning and what doesn’t.’” David Foster Wallace’s 2005 Commencement Speech: “This is Water.”

“In 2005, author David Foster Wallace was asked to give the commencement address to the 2005 graduating class of Kenyon College. However, the resulting speech didn’t become widely known until 3 years later, after his tragic death. It is, without a doubt, some of the best life advice we’ve ever come across, and perhaps the most simple and elegant explanation of the real value of education.
We made this video, built around an abridged version of the original audio recording, with the hopes that the core message of the speech could reach a wider audience who might not have otherwise been interested. However, we encourage everyone to seek out the full speech (because, in this case, the book is definitely better than the movie).”
-The Glossary

[AUDIO] Emiliana Torrini – At Least It Was

I thought I saw you on the train
I hid behind some men
I had never seen you look so good
I’m glad you’re doing well

I went out for a walk today
To think of things unsaid
Of course I found I’d said too much
So I laid all that to rest

And when the day falls
I guess it was love
And when the day falls
At least it was

You thought of the name to call me
I guess that’s how it goes
I know a few with the same name
Yes, I’m sad I’m one of those

Ungraceful as I am in loving
And leaving I’m the same
It’s way too late to say I’m sorry
But I’ll say it anyway

And when the day forwards
I guess it was love
And when the day forwards
At least it was

[VIDEO] Ze Frank’s ‘Invocation for Beginnings’ – FUCK IT, LET’S DO IT – “Life isn’t just a sequence of waiting for things to be done.”

“Don’t call it a comb-back; I’ll have hair for years.

I’m scared. I’m scared that my abilities are gone.

I’m scared that I’m going to fuck this up.

And I’m scared of you.

I don’t want to start, but I will.

This is an invocation for anyone who hasn’t begun, who’s stuck in a terrible place between zero and one.

Let me realize that my past failures at follow-through are no indication of my future performance.

They’re just healthy little fires that are going to warm up my ass.

If my FILDI (fuck it let’s do it) is strong, let me keep him in a velvet box until I really, really need him.

If my FILDI is weak let me feed him oranges and not let him gorge himself on ego and arrogance.

Let me not hit up my Facebook like it’s a crack pipe Keep the browser closed.

If I catch myself wearing a too-too (too fat, too late, too old) let me shake it off like a donkey would shake off something it doesn’t like.

And when I get that feeling in my stomach — you know the feeling when all of a sudden you get a ball of energy and it shoots down into your legs and up into your arms and tells you to get up and stand up and go to the refrigerator and get a cheese sandwich — that’s my cheese monster talking.

And my cheese monster will never be satisfied by cheddar, only the cheese of accomplishment.

Let me think about the people who I care about the most, and how when they fail or disappoint me… I still love them, I still give them chances, and I still see the best in them.

Let me extend that generosity to myself.

Let me find and use metaphors to help me understand the world around me and give me the strength to get rid of them when it’s apparent they no longer work.

Let me thank the parts of me that I don’t understand or are outside of my rational control like my creativity and my courage.

And let me remember that my courage is a wild dog. It won’t just come when I call it, I have to chase it down and hold on as tight as I can.

Let me not be so vain to think that I’m the sole author of my victories and a victim of my defeats.

Let me remember that the unintended meaning that people project onto what I do is neither my fault or something I can take credit for.

Perfectionism may look good in his shiny shoes but he’s a little bit of an asshole and no one invites him to their pool parties.

Let me remember that the impact of criticism is often not the intent of the critic, but when the intent is evil, that’s what the block button’s for.

And when I eat my critique, let me be able to separate out the good advice from the bitter herbs.

(There are few people who won’t be disarmed by a genuine smile A big impact on a few can be worth more than a small impact)

Let me not think of my work only as a stepping stone to something else, and if it is, let me become fascinated with the shape of the stone.

Let me take the idea that has gotten me this far and put it to bed.

What I am about to do will not be that, but it will be something.

There is no need to sharpen my pencils anymore. My pencils are sharp enough.

Even the dull ones will make a mark. Warts and all.

Let’s start this shit up. And god let me enjoy this.

Life isn’t just a sequence of waiting for things to be done.” 

-Ze Frank is an American online performance artist, composer, humorist and public speaker based inLos Angeles, California. He is currently the EVP of Video at BuzzFeed.