The Genius behind Dune and Bright Eyes
The Best…, 11/30/2017
Without change, something sleeps inside us, and seldom awakens. The sleeper must awaken. -Frank Herbert
“The Best…” is a daily resource designed to provide you with THE BEST content out there. Each day we will pick a handful of cool, mind-opening things that we think are worth sharing with you. Our daily picks could be anything from the best books and podcasts, to the best movie trailers and wacky thoughts.
Have suggestions for what we should include? Let us know via social media, email us at info[at]themission.co, or leave a comment on this article. Enjoy!
…From The Mission
Here’s what’s hot off the press at The Mission:
A Christmas Carol: The First of the Three Spirits — Part 2 by Charles Dickens
ICYMI, here are the previous 3 sections:
The Gift of the Magi by O. Henry
And be sure to checkout the Ultimate Holiday Gift Guide!
…Music we’re listening to
It’s been an all Bright Eyes kind of music week. Don’t worry, we’ve had splashes of Christmas as well, with Mannheim Steamroller’s greatest hits.
But back to Bright Eyes. Here are two examples about why lyrics matter, and two entry points into a pretty cool group:
If the Brakeman Turns my Way, Cassadaga
When panic grips your body and your heart is a hummingbird
Raven thoughts blacken your mind until you’re breathing in reverse
All your friends and sedatives mean well but make it worse
Every reassurance just magnifies the doubt
Better find yourself a place to level out
Hey, where have all the dancers gone? Now the music doesn’t play
Tried to listen to the river but you couldn’t shut your mouth
Better take a little time to level out
I never thought of running
My feet just led the way
Digital Ash in A Digital Urn, Arc of Time
You can make a plan
Carve it into stone
Like a feather falling
It is still unknown
Until the clock speaks up
Says it’s time to go
You could choose the high
Or the lower road
You might clench your fist
You might fork your tongue
As you curse or praise
All the things you’ve done
And the faders move
And the music dies
As we pass over
On the arc of time
So you nurse your love
Like a wounded dove
In the covered cage of night
Every star is crossed
By frenetic thoughts
That separate and then collide
And they twist like sheets
Till you fall asleep
And they finally unwind
It’s a black balloon
It’s a dream you’ll soon deny
For more entry points, you might enjoy:
…Book we are reading
Of course we are reading Tech Trends, The Mission News, and Marketing Trends, but in long form type content, we’ve revisited Dune.
Dune is the story of a young boy named Paul Atreides whose family controls the desert planet Arrakis. As this boy ages, he becomes known as Muad’Dib, a mysterious man who seeks keep control of the planet and to avenge a plot against his family.
Frank Herbert combines complex issues — like politics, religion, technology, and emotion — with a thrilling science fiction story that is worth reading again, and again, and again.
Dune isn’t just the product of Herbert’s vivid imagination, however. This is a story that was many years in the making. To understand how and why Herbert created this capturing tale, check out: Dune, 50 years on: how a science fiction novel changed the world.
Frank Herbert was a genius. Here are some of his best quotes:
Without change, something sleeps inside us, and seldom awakens. The sleeper must awaken.
The beginning of knowledge is the discovery of something we do not understand.
Seek freedom and become captive of your desires. Seek discipline and find your liberty.
Deep in the human unconscious is a pervasive need for a logical universe that makes sense.
But the real universe is always one step beyond logic.
What do you despise? By this are you truly known.
A process cannot be understood by stopping it. Understanding must move with the flow of the process, must join it and flow with it.
Truth is subject to too much analysis.
Respect for the truth comes close to being the basis for all morality.
There is no escape — we pay for the violence of our ancestors.
How often it is that the angry man rages denial of what his inner self is telling him.
People often think that fiction is a simple place for simple minds. Nothing could be further from the truth. The best fiction is usually the last refuge where great minds can make a living. Luckily, technological progress is creating new routes and avenues for those great minds to live and thrive outside the narrow world of only writing books. We’ll continue to explore these ideas in more detail in The Mission, stay tuned.
If you’re thinking about checking out the movie version of Dune instead of the book… stop!!! We weren’t fans of the, movie, hopefully the next remake will be better. But for now, just trust us, find a good fireplace to curl up by, and read the book.
We’re also enjoying this classic sci-fi short story by Jack London called The Red One
