[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"$fX5r9CgIeJ5JGTTzVH6ILlEQElpE63VEk-KGyZmDO9pw":3,"$fG5oTy5ynx4vCWE8OxWiS15VIpo5F7olvLaTCaGm_aY0":25},{"author":4,"tags":11},{"author_id":5,"author_name":6,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"bio":9,"short_bio":9,"slug":10,"image_url":9},12517,"Donald Barthelme","D",135,null,"donald-barthelme",[12,16,19,22],{"tag_id":13,"tag_name":14,"tag_count":15},3,"humor",5,{"tag_id":17,"tag_name":18,"tag_count":15},41,"art",{"tag_id":20,"tag_name":21,"tag_count":15},56,"thinking",{"tag_id":23,"tag_name":24,"tag_count":15},60,"writing",{"quotes":26,"pagination":91},[27,35,41,47,53,60,66,72,78,84],{"id":28,"quote_text":29,"author_id":5,"source_id":30,"has_image":31,"author":32,"source":33,"quote_tag":34,"commentary":9},2985265,"A process of accretion. Barnacles growing on a wreck or a rock. I’d rather have a wreck than a ship that sails. Things attach themselves to wrecks. Strange fish find your wreck or rock to be a good feeding ground; after a while you’ve got a situation with possibilities.",6,false,{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[],{"id":36,"quote_text":37,"author_id":5,"source_id":30,"has_image":31,"author":38,"source":39,"quote_tag":40,"commentary":9},2985258,"It is difficult to keep the public interested. The public demands new wonders piled on new wonders. Often we don’t know where our next marvel is coming from. The supply of strange ideas is not endless.",{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[],{"id":42,"quote_text":43,"author_id":5,"source_id":30,"has_image":31,"author":44,"source":45,"quote_tag":46,"commentary":9},2985252,"Goals incapable of attainment have driven many a man to despair, but despair is easier to get to than that – one need merely look out of the window, for example.",{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[],{"id":48,"quote_text":49,"author_id":5,"source_id":30,"has_image":31,"author":50,"source":51,"quote_tag":52,"commentary":9},2985248,"Well chaps first I’d like to say a few vile things more or less at random, not only because it is expected of me but also because I enjoy it.",{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[],{"id":54,"quote_text":55,"author_id":5,"source_id":30,"has_image":31,"author":56,"source":57,"quote_tag":58,"commentary":59},2985245,"Yes, success is everything. Failure is more common. Most achieve a sort of middling thing, but fortunately one’s situation is always blurred, you never know absolutely quite where you are.",{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[],"**The Backstory**\nDonald Barthelme, a master of postmodern fiction and son of the famous architect William R. Walsh (later altered to William R. Bartlett), wrote these words in his novel \"The Dead Father\" (1975). At that time, Barthelme was grappling with the complexities of American identity and the search for meaning in an increasingly fragmented society.\n\n**The Hidden Insight**\nBarthelme's quote reveals a paradoxical acceptance of mediocrity as the norm. He implies that success is elusive, but failure is even more common. However, instead of wallowing in disappointment, he suggests that our perception of reality is inherently blurred, making it impossible to truly know where we stand.\n\n**How to Use This**\nTo apply this mindset today, acknowledge and accept that imperfection is an inevitable aspect of creative and professional endeavors. Instead of striving for perfection, focus on the process of exploration and iteration, trusting that the blurred lines between success and failure will ultimately lead to growth and self-discovery.",{"id":61,"quote_text":62,"author_id":5,"source_id":30,"has_image":31,"author":63,"source":64,"quote_tag":65,"commentary":9},2985241,"Of course we did everything right, insofar as we were able to imagine what “right” was.",{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[],{"id":67,"quote_text":68,"author_id":5,"source_id":30,"has_image":31,"author":69,"source":70,"quote_tag":71,"commentary":9},2985236,"Who among us is not thinking about divorce, except for a few tiny-minded stick-in-the-muds who don’t count?",{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[],{"id":73,"quote_text":74,"author_id":5,"source_id":30,"has_image":31,"author":75,"source":76,"quote_tag":77,"commentary":9},2985226,"Write about what you’re afraid of.",{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[],{"id":79,"quote_text":80,"author_id":5,"source_id":30,"has_image":31,"author":81,"source":82,"quote_tag":83,"commentary":9},2985212,"No man’s plenum, Mr. Quistgaard, is impervious to the awl of God’s will.",{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[],{"id":85,"quote_text":86,"author_id":5,"source_id":30,"has_image":31,"author":87,"source":88,"quote_tag":89,"commentary":90},2985206,"There was a certain amount of initial argumentation about the “meaning” of the balloon; this subsided, because we have learned not to insist on meanings, and they are rarely even looked for now, except in cases involving the simplest, safest phenomena.",{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[],"**The Backstory**\nThis quote is likely from Donald Barthelme's short story collection, \"Sixty Stories\" (1981). During this period, Barthelme was reflecting on the changing nature of communication and the human experience in the postmodern era. His work often explored the fragmentation of meaning and the decline of grand narratives.\n\n**The Hidden Insight**\nThe quote reveals a paradoxical acceptance of ambiguity and the rejection of meaning as a fixed concept. Barthelme suggests that our society has shifted towards a more fluid understanding of reality, where meanings are no longer sought after, except in the most mundane and uncontroversial contexts. This tension between seeking and rejecting meaning is a hallmark of postmodern thought, and it challenges traditional notions of communication and understanding.\n\n**How to Use This**\nTo apply this mindset today, consider embracing the uncertainty of meaning in your creative or professional endeavors. Instead of striving for a fixed, definitive message, allow for multiple interpretations and ambiguities to emerge, and use these as opportunities for growth and innovation. By letting go of the need for clear-cut meanings, you may find that your work becomes more dynamic, open-ended, and engaging.",{"currentPage":92,"totalPages":93,"totalItems":8,"itemsPerPage":94},1,14,10]