Necessity...

[fajrdrako]

"Go to the edge of the cliff and jump off. Build your wings on the way down." - Ray Bradbury, in the Brown Daily Herald (24 March 1995)

Comments

[janne-d.livejournal.com]

Hah. Reminds me of:

"Your forward momentum is going to lead all of your followers over a cliff someday." He paused, beginning to grin. "On the way down, you'll convince 'em all they can fly." He stuck his fists in his amrpits, and waggled his elbows. "Lead on, my lord. I'm flapping as hard as I can."

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

Ooh, gorgeous icon.

I knew the quote - the idea in the quote - sounded familiar, but I haven't read enough Bradbury to know it from that. You've solved my mystery - except to remember which book of the Miles series that actually is. Hmm. The Warrior's Apprentice, right?

[janne-d.livejournal.com]

Yeah, it's The Warrior's Apprentice. It's towards the end - Mile has just given the freighter to Arde Mayhew and authorised him to go questing for Necklin rods to make it fly again. Arde gets enthused and Miles says "That's the spirit! Forward momentum."

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

"Forward momentum."

I love that phrase, and the way Miles uses it. I think I'm due to reread that book - but I should read A Civil Campaign first. For some reason I keep getting stuck there - sometimes before I even get to it. Weird.

[janne-d.livejournal.com]

Very weird. I adore A Civil Campaign - aside from that one chapter in the middle that I can't make myself reread in its entirety. Despite the hilarity it just hits one of my squicks a little too closely!

One of my very favourite quotes (aside from "Money, power, sex... and elephants") is Ekaterin's line from the previous book where she says "He's not so short, he's just concentrated." Being a tiny person myself (4'11ish), I really appreciated that one.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

I love A Civil Campaign too, though I've only been able to read it once. Maybe soon. What's the chapter that squicks you? I've heard people say that of the famous dinner scene.

"He's not so short, he's just concentrated."

That is a great line. There are so many great Bujold lines I wouldn't know where to start. I think my favourite might be the utterly romantic line from Cordelia about Aral in Shard of Honour: "When he's cut, I bleed."

[auriaephiala.livejournal.com]

Oh dear. It's one of my favourite rereads: there's so many wonderful scenes & lines in it.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

Well, I'm looking forward to rereading it - it isn't that I don't want to. It just hasn't happened yet.

[flautopiccolo.livejournal.com]

Brown Daily Herald, as in Brown University?

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

Seems to be.

[flautopiccolo.livejournal.com]

Neat! (As a graduate of Brown University, spouse of a Brown faculty member and graduate, and parent of three children who also attended Brown.)

I wonder why the BDH was interviewing Ray Bradbury. I searched the online archives which only seem to go back through 2004.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

We'd probably have to search their libraries to get more, or go for ILL at a real library. I'd like to read it - I'd like to know what he had to say, besides that quote.

[flautopiccolo.livejournal.com]

Maybe I'll take a look sometime when I'm in Providence.

I did find a digital archive with some earlier years (including back to 1891) but not 1995:
http://dl.lib.brown.edu/dbdh/index.html

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

Isn't it great what we can find online? Obviously there are things we can't find, but I am always amazed about what's just out there for us.

[flautopiccolo.livejournal.com]

Well, I was curious so I googled enough to find out that the BDH article was probably about a speech that Bradbury gave at Brown in March, 1995. I also found a web site with more of the quote (slightly different though), and another (http://www.raybradburyonline.com/quotations.htm) with a couple more quotes from that issue of the BDH.

“Sci-Fi Author Preaches Love: Bradbury Discusses Passions, 'Crazy Things'” — The Brown Daily Herald, Friday, March 24, 1995

http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview?id=434785

If we listened to our intellect, we'd never have a love affair. We'd never have a friendship. We'd never go into business, because we'd be cynical. Well, that's nonsense. You've got to jump off cliffs all the time and build your wings on the way down.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

I don't think Bradbury is quite right - my intellect is smarter than he implies - but I like the spirit of the quote. Frankly, I'm not too good at cliff-jumping, but I aspire.

[flautopiccolo.livejournal.com]

Well, I finally made it to Providence during working hours and did some research at the John Hay Library. I'll send you an email with my transcription attached.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

Ooh, good for you! Thank you.

[flautopiccolo.livejournal.com]

Just sent the email. You're very welcome!