“Everything about singing, I learned from busking. Everything I learned about songwriting, I learned from busking. Busking, you learn people, you learn about reading people. You learn about reading the atmosphere of the street. If you stand still in any city long enough, you see everyone pass you by. It's almost like you get to know personality types, just by watching people walk past. You get a sense for things.” PeopleIfsKnowsLongStillsEnoughPastReadingWalksCitiesStreetsLike YouTypePersonalitySingingAtmosphereSongwritingPersonality TypesBusking Author:Glen Hansard
“At 10 minutes to seven on a dark, cool evening in Mexico City in 1968, John Stephen Akwari of Tanzania painfully hobbled into the Olympic Stadium-the last man to finish the marathon. The winner had already been crowned, and the victory ceremony was long finished. So the stadium was almost empty and Akwari - alone, his leg bloody and bandaged - struggled to circle the track to the finish line. When asked why he had continued the grueling struggle, the young man from Tanzania answered softly: My country did not send me 9,000 miles to start the race. They sent me 9,000 miles to finish the race.” MenLongCountryLastsYoungLinesDarkRaceCitiesStruggleMinutesVictoryEmptySevenTrackLegsFinishedMilesCirclesEveningWinnerYoung ManMexicoBloodyCeremonyMarathonStadiumsFinish LineMexico CityTanzania Author:Walter Inglis Anderson
“The fact that the infrastructure is falling apart is not necessarily because it's built poorly. The New York City subways were built in 1903. The fact that they're still running at all is an enormous success. The fact that New York City's bridges have held up as long as they have is extraordinary, and the engineers didn't have computers to tell them about tolerance. They overbuilt these things - traffic on them is like an ant on an elephant.” LongStillsFactsRunningFallCitiesNew YorkComputerBuiltExtraordinaryToleranceEnormousBridgesNew York CityEngineersTrafficElephantsFalling ApartInfrastructureAntsSubway Author:Alan Weisman
“As far as population size goes, big is no longer important, and it can even be a drawback. In fact, the future belongs more to second-tier cities. Any place can become a world-class center today by finding an area in which it outperforms others, by thinking for the long term, by expanding its competitive abilities and by operating globally.” ThinkingWorldLongImportantFactsBigsTodayTermAbilityCitiesClassFindingsAreasSizePopulationLong TermExpandingWorld ClassDrawbacks Author:Charles Landry
“Half of NYC's homeless populations are families.Homeless people have been ignored for too long. I'll just say this: If you are a family on the brink of eviction you are 80% less likely to get evicted if you have legal counsel. However, there is no right to legal counsel in housing court.It would cost the city $12,500 to grant that family legal counsel. Meanwhile, the average stay for a homeless family in a shelter once they have been evicted cost the city $45,000. So not only does it seem like the right thing to do morally, it's also the right thing to do fiscally.” PeopleIfsLongDoeHas BeensSeemsCitiesHalfCostCourtAveragePopulationThings To DoRight ThingGrantsShelterIgnoredHomelessHousingNycHomeless PeopleEviction Author:Paul Bettany
“The arts have long been an integral and vibrant part of our nation's cultural heritage. In its many forms, art enables us to gain a deeper understanding of ourselves and of our society. Providing us with a unique way to learn about people of other cultures, it allows us to discover all that we have in common. At its best, art can beautify our cities, encourage economic development and social change, and profoundly affect the ways we live our lives.” PeopleWayLongArtFormCultureNationsSocialUnderstandingCommonCitiesOur LivesEconomicDevelopmentUniqueGainsDeeperOur SocietyHeritageProvidingSocial ChangeEconomic DevelopmentOther CulturesCultural HeritageDeeper UnderstandingBest Art Author:William J. Clinton
“Our new immigrants must be part of our one America. After all, they're revitalizing our cities, they're energizing our culture, they're building up our economy. We have a responsibility to make them welcome here, and they have a responsibility to enter the mainstream of American life. That means learning English and learning about our democratic system of government. There are now long waiting lines of immigrants that are trying to do just that. Therefore, our budget significantly expands our efforts to help them meet their responsibility. I hope you will support it.” TryingMeanLongHelpingGovernmentAmericaCultureWaitingLinesEffortCitiesResponsibilitySupportEconomyBuildingDemocraticWelcomeBudgetsImmigrantsMainstreamAmerican LifeBuilding UpSystems Of GovernmentEnergizingLearning English Author:William J. Clinton