QoTD: On boredom

“Being bored doesn’t mean that “there’s nothing to do,” as children imprecisely complain to their parents on a rainy day, dragging their feet on the rug and kicking the sofa. It means that something big–whether it’s rain, other people, or our own hot-to-the-touch-fears–is keeping us from doing what we want to do, from playing outside, from expressing ourselves, from moving forward.”

Nancy Franklin, critic for  The New Yorker

3 ways to overcome life out of balance

Koyaanisqatsi is one of the great films of the ’80s. It uses video and a kick-ass Philip Glass score to explore life in turmoil (the eponymous title comes from the Hopi indian word for “life out of balance”). Koyaanisqatsi is a feeling common in grad school (and life) when all you seem to be doing is reacting, putting out fires, spinning your wheels. Needless to say, it can be disorienting. Here are three time-tested ways to fight life out of balance.