quotes from the street

“You can’t connect the dots looking forward – you can only connect them looking backwards … you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future – you have to trust in something … your gut, destiny, karma, whatever – because believing the dots will connect down the road, will give you the confidence to follow your heart, even when it leads you off the beaten path”

overhead: Stanford commencement speech

context: Steve Jobs’ words to the next generation of hopeful change makers

“no, i’m sorry, ruthlessly expressing one’s emotions is wrong”

overheard: London, UK

context: englishman to an american on their cultural differences

“No, no we can’t say ‘evil geek’ … go with ‘web fiend’!”

overheard: a national red-top newsroom, London, UK

context: two (print) sub editors manfully struggle with the subtleties

of digital name-calling

guy: “women are like facebook, they’re always changing the API and breaking my code”

girl: “fair enough, but if you’re such  a clever developer … you’ll fix the code”

overheard: London, UK

context: colleagues discussing the politics of life

“it’s the candyman of slang, if you say it enough times, it becomes real”

overheard: London, UK

context: two girls musing over the pop-linguistic word of the year ‘Amazeballs’

“it just sort of feels like britain is a nation in denial of its primal urges”

overheard: London, UK

context: an englishman to his international friends when prompted to comment on his nation’s prudishness

“wait, but if you’re jewish you’re from islam right? aren’t people from israel called islam?”

overheard: Toronto, Canada

context: an eighteen year old girl in conversation with her cousin in regards to Jesus being Jewish

“isn’t he keeping you for the summer?”

overheard: Chartered Yacht, South of Spain

context: one hired escort to the other as she departed from the holiday

“no, because you haf to burn zee fat, ok? you have haf to burn zee fat first, then vee work on zee toning – first vee must get rid of all zee fat, ok?!”

overheard: Virgin Active Chelsea, London

context: a trainer to her rather plump client at a slightly mortifying volume

“don’t worry about process, let’s just focus on alcohol”

overheard: on the Fulham rd., London, UK

context: two 20 somethings on what i suspect to be a first and last date

father: “i don’t come here as an act of charity, i come here for food and drink”

daughter: “dad, you’re embarrassing me, don’t be rude to the server!”

father: “i’ll have you know i’m impeccably polite to service people, i just dislike incompetence”

overheard: Sliemma, Malta

context: father’s response to daughter after being reprimanded for shouting at the server

“you’re about to deliver me a shit sandwich, aren’t you?”

overheard: London, UK

context: an exec to her manager whilst receiving feedback on her work

“oh i know, but anyways, it’s so middle class to have neighbors, I certainly don’t intend on having them forever”

overheard: Chelsea, London

context: a banker’s response to his friend’s story of being harassed by the man across the street

“some people say, “tidy desk, tidy mind.” I say, “fuck off, you patronising fuckpiece. piles of stuff are AWESOME.”

overheard: London, UK

context: one man’s feelings toward his ‘process’

guy #1: “in the Britney/Christina whore-off, the Dirrty video was like Hiroshima”

guy#2: “so does that make Nagasaki the ‘Oooops i did it again’ of international conflict?”

overheard: Cambridge University, England

context: two gay guys walking through Newnham College (an all-girls college), wishing they lived there

“of course, but you know charlotte, the money i make at JP Morgan is merely a drop in the ocean compared to the money my family has”

overheard: Tramp, London

context: a banker courting his evening’s prey

20 something guy #1: “so what do you want to do tonight?”

20 something guy #2: “i dunno, but i wanna do something dirty and i want to get laid”

overheard: Builders Arms, London

context: two twenty something guys discussing their intentions for saturday evening

father #1 : “my kids call me Um”

father #2: “how’s that?”

father #1: “Like, Um, i need some money”

overheard: Valletta, Malta

context: dinner party discussion on how kids talk to their parents

girl: “i’m liking the outfit today, looking good darling ”

guy: “does it look like i’ve just been on holiday? because that’s a look i do quite well”

overheard: king’s rd, london

context: one sloane ranger to the other whilst greeting with a double kiss

englishman #1: “i think that’s what people do”

englishman #2: “what? talk about their emotions?”

overheard: brompton cemetary, london

context: two englishman walking and talking on a sunday afternoon