Quotation from "The Wire"

"Couple weeks from now, you're gonna be in some district somewhere with 11 or 12 uniforms looking to you for everything. And some of them are gonna be good police. Some of them are gonna be young and stupid. A few are gonna be pieces of sh*t. But all of them will take their cue from you. You show loyalty, they learn loyalty. You show them it's about the work, it'll be about the work. You show them some other kinda game, then that's the game they'll play. I came on in the Eastern, and there was a piece-of-sh*t lieutenant hoping to be a captain, piece-of-sh*t sergeants hoping to be lieutenants. Pretty soon we had piece-of-sh*t patrolmen trying to figure the job for themselves. And some of what happens then is hard as hell to live down. Comes a day you're gonna have to decide whether it's about you or about the work." - Daniels

Being Caribou

Being Caribou
Diana Wilson, Leanne Allison, 2004, 72 min 19 s
In this feature-length documentary, husband and wife team Karsten Heuer (wildlife biologist) and Leanne Allison (environmentalist) follow a herd of 120,000 caribou on foot across 1500 km of Arctic tundra. In following the herd's migration, the couple hopes to raise awareness of the threats to the caribou's survival. Along the way they brave Arctic weather, icy rivers, hordes of mosquitoes and a very hungry grizzly bear. Dramatic footage and video diaries combine to provide an intimate perspective of an epic expedition.

from the National Film Board of Canada.

Cliff Young

In 1983, the Westfield Ultramarathon in southeast Australia featured an unlikely contestant named Cliff Young. Mr. Young did not resemble his fellow competitors. First, he was 61 years old. Second, he showed up for the race in overalls and workboots. As a result, many feared for his health and safety -- after all, the event did cover a grueling distance, 543.7 miles, the distance from Melbourne to Sydney.

When the race started, Mr. Young shuffled at a leisurely pace while the other competitors ran out to an early lead. However, Mr. Young did not stop running at night. He continued his shuffle for the whole race without stopping for sleep, and he ended up not only winning the race but setting a new course record.

Today, many ultramarathon runner emulate Mr. Young's running style; it's been dubbed the "Young-shuffle."

You can read more about the legend of Cliff Young here.

Chuck Close

Twenty years ago, Chuck Close was a successful artist, painting photorealistic portraits with incredible technical skill. Then, one day he was suddenly paralyzed by a rare spinal artery collapse. Although the partial paralysis left him unable to paint with the precision he was renowned for, his art evolved into a more abstract and interesting form (see pics above). He talks about the transformation and its effect on the Charlie Rose Show.

Charlie Rose: What was the hardest thing about adjusting to what happened to you? I mean, you were a very healthy man. You were 49 years old.

Chuck Close: Well, 48, the same age my father was when he died. And it's interesting to have an event that corresponds...because I thought about every year that I had with my children that he didn't have with me. And as hard as my life was, I realized that every one of those years was a gift, and was to be cherished and appreciated. I think, in a funny way, it's made it a lot easier.

CR: How many years have you had since then?

CC: Nineteen.

CR: That's incredible. Nineteen years of gift to your children, that your father hadn't...

CC: Well, I'm not so sure they think it's a gift. [Laughing]. Some of those years I don't think they appreciated it.

Steve Jobs' Commencement Speech

A few years ago, Steve Jobs, the current CEO of Apple, gave an inspiring commencement speech at Stanford University. He had three personal stories to share, with three simple lessons:
1) Your life is a random assortment of events that you can't (completely) control. Even though you may have no idea how these 'dots' will connect, you just have to believe that they will, somehow. "You have to trust in something — your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life."
2) Do what you love. "Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven't found it yet, keep looking. Don't settle. As with all matters of the heart, you'll know when you find it. And, like any great relationship, it just gets better and better as the years roll on. So keep looking until you find it. Don't settle."
3) Be in control of your own life. "Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of others' opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become."

Thanks for the advice, Mr. Jobs.
Read the full transcript of his speech on Stanford's website.