Brandon Stanton's Blog, page 372

These two came flying by me in Marcus Garvey Park, and the...

These two came flying by me in Marcus Garvey Park, and the father was narrating the bike ride as if it was the final leg of the Tour De France: “They’re coming around the corner!” he screamed. “The final hill is approaching! The champ is maintaining his lead! The contender seems tired! He’s got the champ his sights but he may have to settle for second place!”

"I was a colonel in Bangladesh."

"I was a colonel in Bangladesh."

"We had our daughter right after we got married, so we had to...

"We had our daughter right after we got married, so we had to get everything in order in a very short amount of time. Seeing what our single friends are doing, it’s a struggle to be a good parent and still feel young."

"I can’t think of a single time I’ve ever been in...

"I can’t think of a single time I’ve ever been in trouble. Well, one time I came home late and missed curfew. Actually, never mind, the curfew didn’t exist until after I came home late."

"Should I do my dinosaur face?""Yes."

"Should I do my dinosaur face?"
"Yes."

"I wrote an essay about my mother. I decided she put a...

"I wrote an essay about my mother. I decided she put a destructive algorithm in my head when I was a child. I call it a ‘mal-gorithm.’ My mother always had very low self-esteem, so she never wanted me to have any confidence. She felt threatened by confident people, so her way of keeping control was to never give me any encouragement or approval. I remember one time I spent all day wrapping a gift for my grandmother. I decorated it with all sorts of designs, and glued cotton balls on the package. My mother took one look at it and said: ‘What did you do that for? Grandma isn’t going to care about that.’ I think I realized then that I was never going to get her approval."
"How does this affect you as an adult?"
"It’s very difficult for me to have the confidence to do things. I’m always anticipating the negative feelings of others But I’m working on it."

"Speak slowly, we’re German.""What’s your favorite...

"Speak slowly, we’re German."
"What’s your favorite thing about her?"
"…. she’s there."
"When did you most appreciate her being there?"

He made a slightly puzzled expression, then turned to his wife and started speaking in German. She looked up at the sky for a second, then said: “He is island in my life.”

"I’m twenty two, but I don’t think I’m young....

"I’m twenty two, but I don’t think I’m young. I think you mature the moment you know what you want to do."

"It’s a constant process of letting go. The things that I...

"It’s a constant process of letting go. The things that I was helping her with last year, this year I’ve got to let her do herself. Even if she messes them up."

"Studying the brain is like working in a toy store. Nothing...

"Studying the brain is like working in a toy store. Nothing could be more fucking fun."
"What do you think is the greatest weakness of the brain?"
"That’s a lousy question! I’m not answering it."
"Why is it a lousy question?"
"What do you want me to say? Road rage? That we get pissed and shoot people? That the newest parts of our brain should have been in the oven a little longer? How’s that going to help you? If you ask a crappy question, you’ll never get a decent answer. You need to ask smaller questions— questions that give you a pathway to finding some pertinent information. The major advances in brain science don’t come from asking crappy questions like ‘What is Consciouness?’ They come from microanalysis. They come from discovering pertinent information at the cellular level."