Brandon Stanton's Blog, page 270

“My husband is a dancer and a waiter. I’m an actor and a...

“My husband is a dancer and a waiter. I’m an actor and a handyman. We can’t really afford to be following our passions at the same time, so we alternate. Right now it’s his turn. He’s putting on a dance production in North Carolina. So I’m painting a stoop.”

"We need to improve his dishwashing just a bit. I’d say...

"We need to improve his dishwashing just a bit. I’d say for every ten times that I wash the dishes, he does them one-and-a-half times. Once completely on his own. And once where he does the rinsing."

“A lot of people have a hard time comprehending the concept of a...

“A lot of people have a hard time comprehending the concept of a woman who doesn’t want kids. I’m constantly being told that I still have time to change my mind.”

“I feel like we all have these ‘mirror-neurons’ in our brain...

“I feel like we all have these ‘mirror-neurons’ in our brain that make us take in a little bit of the mood of people around us. If someone is having a bad day, and they look at you, it always makes you feel a little worse. So I try to only play songs that make me happy. Because if I’m not happy, I won’t be able to make anyone else happy. I really just want to add value to people’s day. So I have a policy: If anyone ever asks me to stop playing, I always stop.”

“Fifteen years ago, I played at the Apollo and got booed off the...

“Fifteen years ago, I played at the Apollo and got booed off the stage. I’d never been booed before, so it took my ego down a notch. But it ended up being a good thing. Before that moment, I had been so afraid of looking stupid. I’d always been so worried about taking a wrong step that would damage my career or my image. So getting booed off stage was liberating in a way. It made me think: ‘Well, that’s the dumbest I’ll ever look. And I’m still here, I’m still healthy, and I can still make music.’”

"Why are you wearing a patch?""I don’t remember."

"Why are you wearing a patch?"
"I don’t remember."

“It can be tough for a woman in the construction industry. I’m...

“It can be tough for a woman in the construction industry. I’m in charge of hiring the subcontractors—electricians, carpenters, roofers, plumbers. Those jobs are overwhelmingly male, so a lot of them don’t like taking orders from a woman. They’ll say ‘yes’ when I tell them to do something, but then they’ll slack off when I’m not watching. So I’ve got to stay on point. I have to demonstrate that I know enough about all of their jobs to know when something isn’t being done correctly.”

“I’m not sure if the people who came to my Bar Mitzvah were...

“I’m not sure if the people who came to my Bar Mitzvah were really my friends, or if they just came for the party. But everyone hugged me at the end and told me ‘congratulations,’ so I think that means they were my friends.”

"She’s the reason I don’t get high anymore. Well,...

"She’s the reason I don’t get high anymore. Well, one of the reasons. The other reason is that I didn’t want to get high anymore."

"I’m 144 points away from being a chess Grandmaster....

"I’m 144 points away from being a chess Grandmaster. It’ll probably take me another four or five tournaments to get there. I haven’t lost a game in a long time."