Quotes

[Hilda]

". . . the faces and forms of the approaching Afghans looked sinister as the shadow of death in the sunlit eyes of youth."

==> Maud Diver. The Judgment of the Sword: A Tale of the Kabul Tragedy and of the Part Played therein by Major E. Pottinger. London: Constable, 1913.

[Pornhubby]

“A Sanskrit word appeared in the paragraph: ANTEVASIN. It means, ‘one who lives at the border.’ In ancient times, this was a literal description. It indicated a person who had left the bustling center of worldly life to go live at the edge of the forest where the spiritual masters dwelled. The antevasin was not of the villager’s anymore-not a householder with a conventional life. But neither was he yet a transcendent-not one of those sages who live deep in the unexplored woods, fully realized. The antevasin was an in-betweener. He was a border-dweller. He lived in sight of both worlds, but he looked toward the unknown. And he was a scholar.” — Elizabeth Gilbert, “Eat, Pray, Love”

[Writers Bloque]

“When you tear out a man's tongue, you are not proving him a liar, you're only telling the world that you fear what he might say.”

George R.R. Martin Clash of Kings.

[Dudester]

Never tell people how to do things. Tell them what to do and they will surprise you with their ingenuity.

George S. Patton

[Rajah Dodger]

"The right to be heard does not automatically include the right to be taken seriously."
 -- Hubert H. Humphrey

[Raceway]

Delia was staring up at the lighthouse, and again her mind fled back to the English Chaplain in Kotagiri. It was a little story he had told them at a children's service of a missionary in the East End of London visiting the slums and meeting a little girl labouring along with a baby much too heavy for her in her arms. "Why, my little girl, that baby is much too heavy for you to carry," he had said kindly to her.

"Oh no, sir; that's my brother."

— Pamela Wynne. Mademoiselle Dahlia. London: Philip Allen, 1928. p. 19.

I suspect that Wynne is repeating a much older story, but can't find a source.

Fast-forward 55 years and the idea appears in the 1984 hit song "He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother", written by Bob Russell and Bobby Scott and recorded by the Hollies.

This is just a wild guess, but maybe it goes all the way back to the Bible:

Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ. (Galatians 6:2)

[Dudester]

"Even the despair becomes the light.
Though an endless rain continues to fall.
Even the despair becomes the light.
A sad rain throws a rainbow
far far away."

No Rain No Rainbow-  BABYMETAL

Lyrics by: Writer: NORIKAZU NAKAYAMA (NAKA METAL), MIKI WATANABE (PKA MK METAL), KOUCHI YOSHIFUMI (PKA YOSHIFUMETAL)

[Rajah Dodger]

From Norman Spinrad's book, "Bug Jack Barron" (science fiction, serialized during the the British New Wave years):

"t sure is a bad moment when you decide to sell out.  But a worse moment,
 the *worst* moment, is when you decide to sell out and nobody's buying."

[Dudester]

"I'll go to search for my own dream
Even if something tries to block my path
Every time I'm hurt
I grow up a little
I will shed tears
My heart will hurt
Even so, I won't give up on my dream
I will become the first rabbit"

First Rabbit performed by AKB48  Song written by Yo Keigo

[Pornhubby]

“We do not see things as they are, we see them as we are.” — Anaïs Nin

[Raceway]

The time is the late 1920s. The speaker is an American who made millions by inventing a popular household gadget. He uses his money to pursue his real interest, which is Indian philosophy. He devotes himself to a study of Sanskrit, visits India, and seeks the company of holy men.

Before embarking on a pilgrimage to the mountains, he visits some Anglo-Indian friends. In a discussion of Western culture, he remarks:

“The machine has changed our lives, but not our instincts. Merely thrown ’em out of gear. It’s taught the average American to fear leisure and his own company worse than he ever feared the Devil. Must be talking to someone—no matter whom—If he isn’t motoring, he’s at the movies. At home, it’s the radio or the cross-word puzzle. Multiply him by thou­sands, and you get a whole town worrying out the same puzzles, listening to the same programmes, hypno­tised by the same pictures. Standardised amusements; standardised human beings: that’s how it works.”

Maud Diver. The Singer Passes: an Indian Tapestry. Edinburgh: Blackwood, 1934. p. 50.

I think that Diver is foreshadowing the millionaire's decision to become a recluse, and his comments are not necessarily those of the author. Much of what applied to people in the 1920s, however, applies to people today (not necessarily Americans). What's more, it also applies to people living a century earlier, at the height of the industrial revolution.

[purpleshoes]

"Think of how stupid the average American is. Then realize that half the population is stupider than that."  ~ George Carlin

[Raceway]

"Think of how stupid the average American is. Then realize that half the population is stupider than that."  ~ George Carlin

"Half the American army reads comic books. The other half just looks at the pictures."

(I heard singer Jim Croce crack this joke in a concert recording. I've no idea whether it's original.)

[Dudester]

"Think of how stupid the average American is. Then realize that half the population is stupider than that."  ~ George Carlin

I'm a fan of early George Carlin and early Robin Williams. The thing is, comedians grow old, angry and bitter. I had a few paragraph difference of opinion with some knucklehead that felt that Carlin was consistent from day one until the end. To quote a Youtuber (The Critical Drinker) "And then you come to the realization that granny isn't the young, beautiful and happy person she once was, she has changed and the changes have not been pleasant."

Unfortunately, there are a lot of people out there that are very much single issue on any topic. I know that there are guys out there who only care if their NFL games come on that weekend and nothing else. They aren't stupid (they can rip off endless stats about their favorite team) they just tend not to pay any attention to anything, except the Chicago Bears, or Green Bay Packers or whatever team. They can balance a household budget, drive a forklift, or drive a truck, but at the same time, all they care about is whether their favorite QB will get 3,000 yards this season.

I have a neighbor whose whole existence is video games. He has a job and he could be better at it, but all he thinks about all day is video games, video games, video games, video games and video games. He will briefly mention another subject, but then instantly comes back to video games. He's not stupid, just addicted.

[Shiela_M]

My dad was a huge fan of Carlin. I bought him a box set of his shows a couple years ago. Also Gallagher.

People are not stupid, it's just about beliefs. If you dont believe what I believe, you're stupid. If your politics is different than my politics, you're stupid. You like things I dony like, you're stupid.

[Pornhubby]

[Dudester]

If everyone is thinking alike, then somebody isn't thinking.

George S. Patton

[Pornhubby]

[phtlc]

"Dear God, we paid for this food with our own money, so thanks for nothing" Bart Simpson

[Rajah Dodger]

"The chief obstacle to the progress of the human race is the human race."
-- Don Marquis