Monday, August 31, 2015

Quote of the Day for 2015-08-31


"Where all think alike, no one thinks very much."

Walter Lippmann (1889-1974) The Stakes of Diplomacy

A flock of sheep, photographed on June 3, 2014 in Karsdorf, Germany by Jan Woitas (DPA/AFP/Getty Images)

Sunday, August 30, 2015

Quote of the Day for 2015-08-30


"A good storyteller is a person who has a good memory and hopes other people haven't."

Irvin S. Cobb (1876-1944) Quoted in Reader's Digest, 1939

George W. Bush declares "New Orleans is back, and better than ever" at Warren Easton High School on
August 28, 2015, a day before the tenth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

Saturday, August 29, 2015

Friday, August 28, 2015

Quote of the Day for 2015-08-28


"[America is] just a nation of 220 million used car salesmen with all the money we need to buy guns, and no qualms at all about killing anybody else in the world who tries to make us uncomfortable."

Hunter S. Thompson (1939-2005) Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail '72, September

President Nixon, while Vietnam War protesters interrupted a campaign rally at the Nassau Coliseum
on Long Island, NY, October 23, 1972. (Photograph by Michael Evans for The New York Times)

Thursday, August 27, 2015

Quote of the Day for 2015-08-27


"Ambition, n. An overmastering desire to be vilified by enemies while living and made ridiculous by friends when dead."

Ambrose Bierce (1842-1914) The Devil's Dictionary, "A" section

George W. Bush flipping off the camera while getting ready for a local television
appearance. The never-aired footage was uploaded to YouTube on March 5th, 2006.

Tuesday, August 25, 2015

Monday, August 24, 2015

Quote of the Day 2015-08-24


"When you say that you agree to a thing in principle you mean that you have not the slightest intention of carrying it out in practice."

Prince Otto von Bismarck (1815-1898) Attributed

The seagull attraction at Banksy's Dismaland Bemusement Park. (2015)

Friday, August 21, 2015

Wednesday, August 19, 2015

Quote of the day for 2015-08-19


"Never did Christ utter a single word attesting to a personal resurrection and a life beyond the grave."

Leo Tolstoy (1828-1910) What I Believe, Chapter 8

The resurrection of Jesus in many colored stones. (photograph by Giedrius Blagnys)
The resurrection of Jesus (photograph by Giedrius Blagnys)

Sunday, August 16, 2015

Quote of the Day for 2015-08-16


"So much of our profession is taken up with pretending, ... that an actor must spend at least half his waking hours in fantasy."

Ronald Reagan (1911-2004) Where's the Rest of Me?

Left to right Patricia Quinn, Tim Curry, and Nell Campbell from The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975). Tim Curry is wearing make-up and pearls and is dressed in operating room scrubs. He holds his right arm, covered in a sleeve of glittery fabric, up to his chin and stares out at the audience with a look of hopeful anticipation. Patricia Quinn and Nell Campbell are both looking up at him with their hands on his shoulders and wearing pink rubber surgical masks over their faces.
Left to right Patricia QuinnTim Curry, and Nell Campbell from The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975)



Friday, August 14, 2015

Thursday, August 13, 2015

Quote of the Day for 2015-08-13


"Acting is a question of absorbing other people's personalities and adding some of your own experience."

Paul Newman (1925-2008) Quoted by Leslie Halliwell in Halliwell's Filmgoer's Companion for 1984.

Paul Newman and Piper Laurie in a promo shot from The Hustler (1961). The image shows Paul Newman on the left, standing up and buttoning his shirt. Piper Laurie is sitting down on the right in a corner of the room, partially naked, with a nearly empty bottle of liquor on the table in front of her. Neither looks very happy and the scene is one of discomfort for both of them.
Paul Newman and Piper Laurie in a promo shot from The Hustler (1961)


Tuesday, August 11, 2015

Quote of the Day for 2015-08-11


"The whole secret of the study of nature lies in learning how to use one's eyes."

George Sand (1804-1876) Letter to Juliette Lambert-Adam, April 7, 1868

Translation: Which animals are most like each other? – Rabbit and Duck. Uncredited illustration from Fliegende Blätter, issue #2645 (October 23, 1892). "What were ducks in the scientist's world before the revolution are rabbits afterwards." – Thomas Kuhn (1922-1996) The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, chapter 10. The image is a hand-drawn optical illusion. Look at it one way and it appears to be the head of a duck. Another way and the duck's bill becomes rabbit ears and suddenly it becomes a bunny.
Translation: Which animals are most like each other? – Rabbit and Duck.
Uncredited illustration from Fliegende Blätter, issue #2645 (October 23, 1892).
"What were ducks in the scientist's world before the revolution are rabbits afterwards."


Sunday, August 09, 2015

Quote of the Day for 2015-08-09


"It takes an entire village to raise a child."

African proverb

It Takes a Village to Raise a Child by George E. Miller depicts an African child raised in the air from the arms of many unseen people. The color of the skin show many hues from pale to dark brown, as is the colorfulness of the clothes. While all the other arms are holding the child up, one hand on the rightmost arm is tickling the child's foot.
by George E. Miller



As to the validity of this quote, Lawrence Mbogoni on H-Net wrote:

Proverb or not, "It takes a whole village to raise a child" reflects a social reality some of us who grew up in rural areas of Africa can easily relate to. As a child, my conduct was a concern of everybody, not just my parents, especially if it involved misconduct. Any adult had the right to rebuke and discipline me and would make my mischief known to my parents who in turn would also mete their own "punishment." The concern of course was the moral wellbeing of the community.

While it is interesting to seek provenance in regard to the proverb, "It takes a village to raise a child," I think it would be misleading to ascribe its origin to a single source. … Let me give a few examples of African societies with proverbs which translate to 'It takes a village...':

In Lunyoro (Banyoro) there is a proverb that says "Omwana takulila nju emoi," whose literal translation is "A child does not grow up only in a single home."

In Kihaya (Bahaya) there is a saying, "Omwana taba womoi," which translates as "A child belongs not to one parent or home."

In Kijita (Wajita) there is a proverb which says "Omwana ni wa bhone," meaning regardless of a child's biological parent(s) its upbringing belongs to the community.

In Kiswahili the proverb "Asiyefunzwa na mamae hufunzwa na ulimwengu" approximates to the same.

Saturday, August 08, 2015

Quote of the Day for 2015-08-08


"An idealist is one who, on noticing that a rose smells better than a cabbage, concludes that it is also more nourishing."

H.L. Mencken (1880-1956) "A Few Pages of Notes," The Smart Set, January 1915

Untitled work by Banksy from his Bristol Museum Vs. Banksy show. The image depicts an anarchist, with a spiky mohawk, red scarf tied around his nose and mouth, and a black flag on a pole held against his shoulder. In front of him stands his mother, who is trying to straighten his red scarf before he goes out. Photograph by Josh Blair.
Untitled work by Banksy from his Bristol Museum Vs. Banksy show.
Photograph by Josh Blair.

Friday, August 07, 2015

Thursday, August 06, 2015

Quote of the Day for 2015-08-06


"It is ridiculous to think you can spend your entire life with just one person. Three is about the right number. Yes, I imagine three husbands would do it."

Clare Boothe Luce (1903-1987) Attributed

Sculpture on the Dashavatara Temple in Deogarh, India depicts Draupadi (far right) with her five Pandava husbands, from the Mahābhārata.
Dashavatara Temple in Deogarh, India. Draupadi (far right) with her five husbands, from the Mahābhārata.


Wednesday, August 05, 2015

Saturday, August 01, 2015

Quote of the Day for 2015-08-01


"Small debts are like small shot; they are rattling on every side, and can scarcely be escaped without a wound; great debts are like cannon, of loud noise but little danger."

Dr. Samuel Johnson (1709-1784) Letter to Joseph Simpson, circa 1759.

Greeks demonstrate in front of the country's parliament on February 16, 2015 in a pro-government demonstration after Athens rejected an initial EU bailout offer as "absurd" and "unacceptable" (AFP Photo/Louisa Gouliamaki) Banner written in Greek and English reads: Jail for Euro Bankers Not Debt
Greeks demonstrate in front of the country's parliament on February 16, 2015 in a pro-government demonstration
after Athens rejected an initial EU bailout offer as "absurd" and "unacceptable" (AFP Photo/Louisa Gouliamaki)