Neil Leifer

Muhammad Ali vs. Cleveland Williams

Houston Astrodome (80ft above the ring)

1966

Commencement (learning from failure)

J.K. Rowling Speaks at Harvard Commencement from Harvard Magazine on Vimeo.

"Problems"?

I just listened to this talk on TED and it has really got me thinking about the culture of dependence that we currently live in.  I don't know exactly what Joshua Walters was trying to say in his presentation, however as I listened, I saw a man who does not let his disease limit him.  Bipolar disorder is not a small thing, and that is what makes it all the more amazing that he can see the benefits behind it, as apposed to just using it as a crutch to justify a stagnate unexceptional life.
I see so many making excuses and, to be 100% honest, I find myself looking for excuses to why I can't succeed, or even excel.  After a while, those excused become our focus and soon we embrace them.  What is amazing, however, is that those who do not limit themselves based on their "problems" or shortcomings and who don't let those things become excuses; those are the people who truly do achieve greatness and live exceptional lives.

Anonymous

“It is better to fail in originality than to succeed in imitation.”

Ray LaMontagne

Tags: Ray LaMontagne Storytellers, Ray LaMontagne, Music Videos, Live Performances

Things to see and do

 The Great Mosque of Djenné, the largest mud brick building in the world.  Photographed by Larry Louie, Canada

Wangi Wangi island, Indonesia. "While few young children are now born on boats, the ocean is still very much their playground. Here Enal plays with his 'pet' shark." Photographed by James Morgan, UK

  A hot air balloon reflected in water in the Yarra Valley, Australia. By Tim Barker, Australia

  "This was shot just after a sunset on the roof of a palace at Shugruf village in the Haraz Mountains of Yemen. No extra lighting was used. The sun has just set (see the top right corner of the image) and mist has started to rise from the valley below." Photographed by Matjaz Krivic, Slovenia

A sadhu making his way out of a cloud of colours during the Holi festival in India. Photographed by Poras Chaudary, India

A mass ordination of 34,000 monks at Wat Phra Dhammakaya, a Buddhist temple in Thailand. Now fully ordained, the monks wear the orange robes they received earlier that morning, and simultaneously bow in prayer. Photographed by Luke Duggleby, UK 

The San people of the Kalahari desert in southern Africa. Photographed by Chris Johns (National Geographic)

 

The Congo ­Basin.  Photographed by Randy Olson (National Geographic/Abrams & Chronicle)

What I did with my friday night

Photograph: Timothy Allen

John Steinbeck, East of Eden

"Perhaps the best conversationalist in the world is the man who helps others to talk."

Chinese Proverb

"Learning is a treasure that will follow its owner everywhere."