Saturday, October 01, 2016

Quote of the Day for 2016-10-01


"Poverty is the mother of crime."

Cassiodorus (circa 485-585 CE) Variae Epistolae, book 9, epistle 13 (537 CE)

Mugshot of Alice Caush, arrested for larceny in North Shields (October 31, 1903) Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums
Mugshot of Alice Caush, arrested for larceny in North Shields (October 31, 1903) Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums

Friday, September 30, 2016

Quote of the Day for 2016-09-30


"Faith which does not doubt is dead faith."

Miguel de Unamuno (1864-1936) The Agony of Christianity (1931)

Jews Praying in the Synagogue on Yom Kippur by Maurycy Gottlieb (1878)
Jews Praying in the Synagogue on Yom Kippur by Maurycy Gottlieb (1878)

Thursday, September 29, 2016

Wednesday, September 28, 2016

Quote of the Day for 2016-09-28


"The ultimate goal of farming is not the growing of crops, but the cultivation and perfection of human beings."

Masanobu Fukuoka (1913-2008) The One-Straw Revolution (1975) translated by Larry Korn, Chris Pearce, and Tsune Kurosawa (1978)

Satellite image of the effluent pond at Coronado Feeders, Dalhart, Texas (2013) Photo enhancements by Mishka Henner
Satellite image of the effluent pond at Coronado Feeders, Dalhart, Texas (2013) Photo enhancements by Mishka Henner

Tuesday, September 27, 2016

Quote of the Day for 2016-09-27


"Nothing does Reason more Right, than the Coolness of those that offer it: for Truth often suffers more by the heat of its defenders than from the arguments of its opposers."

William Penn (1644-1718) Some Fruits of Solitude in Reflections and Maxims, part 1 (1682)

Martin Luther King, Jr. during an SCLC meeting at B.B. Beamon's Restaurant in Atlanta (January 23, 1963) photograph by Flip Schulke
Martin Luther King, Jr. during an SCLC meeting at B.B. Beamon's Restaurant in Atlanta (January 23, 1963) Photograph by Flip Schulke

Saturday, September 24, 2016

Friday, September 23, 2016

Thursday, September 22, 2016

Quote of the Day for 2016-09-22


"Nobody is a villain in their own story. We're all the heroes of our own stories."

George R.R. Martin (1948-    ) Interview with Christina Radish in Collider.com (April 17, 2011)

Mugshot of Al Capone after being arrested in Philadelphia on a concealed weapons charge (May 16, 1929)
Mugshot of Al Capone after being arrested in Philadelphia on a concealed weapons charge (May 16, 1929)

Tuesday, September 20, 2016

Quote of the Day for 2016-09-20


"[I] am inclined to believe that few attacks either of ridicule or invective make much noise, but by the help of those that they provoke."

Samuel Johnson (1709-1784) Letter to Hester Thrale (July 5, 1783)

Donna Rice and Gary Hart sitting on a dock in Bimini (1987)
Donna Rice and Gary Hart sitting on a dock in Bimini (1987)

Monday, September 19, 2016

Quote of the Day for 2016-09-19


"But look, you are hiding a lance under your clothes, surely."

Aristophanes (circa 446-386 BCE) Lysistrata, scene 6 (411 BCE) translation was done anonymously, but is presumed to have been Oscar Wilde

Mae West as Catherine II, from her play Catherine Was Great (1944)
Mae West as Catherine II, from her play Catherine Was Great (1944)

Sunday, September 18, 2016

Quote of the Day for 2016-09-18


"I talk about going to [George W. Bush's] Inauguration and crying when he took the oath, 'cause I was so afraid he was going to wreck the economy and muck up the drinking water. The failure of my pessimistic imagination at that moment boggles my mind now."

Sarah Vowell (1969-    ) Interview with John Stewart on The Daily Show (February 21, 2006)

Train crash scene from The Lone Ranger (2013)
Train crash scene from The Lone Ranger (2013)

Friday, September 16, 2016

Quote of the Day for 2016-09-16


"Prejudice is the cause of most of the mistakes of bodies of men. It influences our conduct and warps our judgment, in politics, religion, habits, tastes and opinions."

James Fenimore Cooper (1789-1851) "On Prejudice," The American Democrat (1838)

Lynching of Laura and Lawrence Nelson (May 25, 1911) Postcard by George Henry Farnum
Lynching of Laura and Lawrence Nelson (May 25, 1911) Postcard by George Henry Farnum

Thursday, September 15, 2016

Quote of the Day for 2016-09-15


"The difference between patriotism and nationalism is that the patriot is proud of his country for what it does, and the nationalist is proud of his country no matter what it does; the first attitude creates a feeling of responsibility, but the second a feeling of blind arrogance that leads to war."

Sydney J. Harris (1917-1986) "Purely Personal Prejudices," Strictly Personal (1953)

Nazi parade, probably during the Nuremberg Rally of 1934, from Triumph of the Will by Leni Reifenstahl (1935)
Nazi parade, probably during the Nuremberg Rally of 1934, from Triumph of the Will by Leni Reifenstahl (1935)

Wednesday, September 14, 2016

Quote of the Day for 2016-09-14


"So I the pleasant grape have pulled from the vine, / And yet I languish in great thirst, while others drink the wine."

Edward de Vere (1550-1604) "Care and Disappointment," Paradise of Dainty Devices (1576)

Amphora depicting Satyrs making wine by Amasis (circa 550-510 BCE)
Amphora depicting Satyrs making wine by Amasis (circa 550-510 BCE)

Tuesday, September 13, 2016

Sunday, September 11, 2016

Quote of the Day for 2016-09-11, Fifteenth Anniversary


"For those thousands in the south tower, the second plane meant the end of everything. For us, its glint was the worldflash of a coming future."

Martin Amis (1949-    ) "Fear and Loathing," The Guardian (September 18, 2001)

Aerial view of Ground Zero, in lower Manhattan, New York City (September 17, 2001) Photograph by Chief Photographer's Mate Eric J. Tilford
Aerial view of Ground Zero, in lower Manhattan, New York City (September 17, 2001) Photograph by Chief Photographer's Mate Eric J. Tilford

Saturday, September 10, 2016

Quote of the Day for 2016-09-10


"The strongest of all warriors are these two—Time and Patience."

Leo Tolstoy (1828-1910) War and Peace, volume 2, chapter 41 (1869) translated by Constance Garnett

The Viet Minh and the OSS Deer team (August 1945) Standing left to right: Unidentified, Lieutenant Rene Defoumeaux, Ho Chi Minh, Major Allison K. Thomas, General Vo Nguyen Giap, Pfc Henry Prunier, Unidentified, Unidentified, and Pfc Paul Hoagland. Kneeling left to right: Lawrence Vogt, Sergeant Aaron Squires, and Unidentified.
The Viet Minh and the OSS Deer team (August 1945) Standing left to right: Unidentified, Lieutenant Rene Defoumeaux, Ho Chi Minh, Major Allison K. Thomas, General Vo Nguyen Giap, Pfc Henry Prunier, Unidentified, Unidentified, and Pfc Paul Hoagland. Kneeling left to right: Lawrence Vogt, Sergeant Aaron Squires, and Unidentified.

Friday, September 09, 2016

Thursday, September 08, 2016

Quote of the Day for 2016-09-08


"An opinion, right or wrong, can never constitute a moral offense, nor be in itself a moral obligation. It may be mistaken; it may involve an absurdity, or a contradiction. It is a truth; or it is an error: it can never be a crime or a virtue."

Frances Wright (1795-1852) A Few Days in Athens, volume 2, chapter 14 (1822)

"Why not go the limit?" by Harry Grant Dart in Puck (March 18, 1908)
"Why not go the limit?" by Harry Grant Dart in Puck magazine (March 18, 1908)

Wednesday, September 07, 2016

Quote of the Day for 2016-09-07


"And if a stranger sojourn with thee in your land, ye shall not vex him. But the stranger that dwelleth with you shall be unto you as one born among you, and thou shalt love him as thyself; for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God."

The Book of Leviticus, chapter 19, verses 33-34. Translation from the King James Version (1611)

Palestinian man overlooking the refugee camp outside Jaramana, Syria (1948)
Palestinian man overlooking the refugee camp outside Jaramana, Syria (1948)

Tuesday, September 06, 2016

Quote of the Day for 2016-09-06


"If economists wished to study the horse, they wouldn't go and look at horses. They'd sit in their studies and say to themselves, 'what would I do if I were a horse?'"

Ely Devons (1913-1967) Quoted by Ronald Coase in a speech before the International Society of New Institutional Economics in Washington, D.C. (September 17, 1999)

Cover illustration of Jugend Magazine by Heinrich Kley (January 29, 1910)
Cover illustration of Jugend magazine by Heinrich Kley (January 29, 1910)

Sunday, September 04, 2016

Quote of the Day for 2016-09-04


"And so shall your garden grow; from the rich soil of the humanities it will rise up and unfold in beauty in the pure air of the spirit."

Louis Sullivan (1856-1924) Kindergarten Chats, chapter 4 (1918)

Academy by Lamplight by Joseph Wright of Derby (1770)
Academy by Lamplight by Joseph Wright of Derby (1770)

Friday, September 02, 2016

Quote of the Day for 2016-09-02


"Cowards die many times before their deaths; The valiant never taste of death but once. Of all the wonders that I yet have heard, It seems to me most strange that men should fear; Seeing that death, a necessary end, Will come when it will come."

William Shakespeare (1564-1616) Julius Caesar, act 2, scene 4 (1599)

Death and the Gravedigger by Carlos Schwabe (1895)
Death and the Gravedigger by Carlos Schwabe (1895)

Thursday, September 01, 2016

Quote of the Day for 2016-09-01


"I am not estranged from God, although I am a disbeliever in everything about God excepting God indefinable, inaccessible, inside all and careless of all."

William Saroyan (1908-1981) Here Comes There Goes You Know Who (1961)

Lemminkäinen's Mother by Akseli Gallen-Kallela (1897)
Lemminkäinen's Mother by Akseli Gallen-Kallela (1897)

Wednesday, August 31, 2016

Quote of the Day for 2016-08-31


"Wall Street is the only place that people ride to work in a Rolls Royce to get advice from those who take the subway."

Warren Buffett (1930-    ) Quoted by Egbert Sukop in The Money Adventure (1998)

Crowds at Federal Hall on Wall Street during the Panic of 1907 (October 1907)
Crowds at Federal Hall on Wall Street during the Panic of 1907 (October 1907)

Monday, August 29, 2016

Quote of the Day for 2016-08-29


"If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. And if I have the gift of prophecy and I know all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains but have not love, I am nothing. And if I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profiteth me nothing."

Paul the Apostle (cira 5-67 CE) First letter to the Corinthians, chapter 13 (circa 53-57 CE) translation from the English Revised Version (1881)

The Siege of Acre by Dominique Papety (circa 1840)
The Siege of Acre by Dominique Papety (circa 1840)

Sunday, August 28, 2016

Saturday, August 27, 2016

Quote of the Day for 2016-08-27


"You think that a wall as solid as the earth separates civilisation from barbarism. I tell you the division is a thread, a sheet of glass. A touch here, a push there, and you bring back the reign of Saturn."

John Buchan (1875-1940) "The Power-House," Blackwood's Magazine (December 1913)

Screenshot from an ITN news story of the Serbian run Omarska concentration camp in Bosnia-Hertzegovina during the Bosnian War (1992)
Screenshot from an ITN news story of the Serbian run Omarska concentration camp in Bosnia-Hertzegovina during the Bosnian War (1992)

Friday, August 26, 2016

Quote of the Day for 2016-08-26


"When success happens to an English writer, he acquires a new typewriter. When success happens to an American writer, he acquires a new life."

Martin Amis (1949-    ) "Kurt Vonnegut: After the Slaughterhouse," The Observer (November 3, 1985)

Emma Watson, the beneficiary of one literary empire, Photoshopped onto the prop of another (2011) Original photograph of Watson by Joel Ryan (November 12, 2010)
Emma Watson, the beneficiary of one literary empire, Photoshopped onto the prop of another (2011) Original photograph of Watson by Joel Ryan (November 12, 2010)

Thursday, August 25, 2016

Quote of the Day for 2016-08-25


"There is no flag large enough to cover the shame of killing innocent people for a purpose which is unattainable."

Howard Zinn (1922-2010) "Terrorism Over Tripoli," Failure to Quit (1993)

Shoes from the La Belle discothèque bombing in West Berlin (April 7, 1986) Photograph by Paul Langrock
Shoes from the La Belle discothèque bombing in West Berlin (April 7, 1986) Photograph by Paul Langrock

Wednesday, August 24, 2016

Quote of the Day for 2016-08-24


"It matters not how strait the gate, / How charged with punishments the scroll, / I am the master of my fate: / I am the captain of my soul."

William Ernest Henley (1849-1903) "Invictus," Book of Verses (1888)

A CIA employee helps U.S. evacuees up a ladder onto an Air America Bell 204B helicopter, on the apartment building roof at 22 Gia Long Street, Saigon, shortly before the city's fall (April 29, 1975) Photo by Hubert van Es
A CIA employee helps U.S. evacuees up a ladder onto an Air America Bell 204B helicopter, on the apartment building roof at 22 Gia Long Street, Saigon, shortly before the city's fall (April 29, 1975) Photo by Hubert van Es

Tuesday, August 23, 2016

Quote of the Day for 2016-08-23


"You don't have to burn books to destroy a culture. Just get people to stop reading them."

Ray Bradbury (1920-2012) "Bradbury Still Believes in Heat of 'Fahrenheit 451'," interview by Misha Berson, The Seattle Times (March 12, 1993)

Stock photo of young adults using smart phones by ViewApart.
Stock photo of young adults using smart phones by ViewApart

Monday, August 22, 2016

Quote of the Day for 2016-08-22


"When childhood dies, its corpses are called adults and they enter society, one of the politer names of Hell. That is why we dread children, even if we love them. They show us the state of our decay."

Brian Aldiss (1925-    ) "Brian Aldiss, in 2015, looks back on today," The Guardian (August 18, 1971)

Albert Einstein refusing to smile for photographer Arthur Sasse on the famous physicist's 72nd birthday (March 14, 1951)
Albert Einstein refusing to smile for photographer Arthur Sasse on the famous physicist's 72nd birthday (March 14, 1951)

Sunday, August 21, 2016

Quote of the Day for 2016-08-21


"Maybe all poetry, insofar as it moves us and connects with us, is a revealing of something that the writer doesn't actually want to say but desperately needs to communicate, to be delivered of. Perhaps it's the need to keep it hidden that makes it poetic—makes it poetry."

Ted Hughes (1930-1998) "Ted Hughes, The Art of Poetry No. 71," The Paris Review (Spring 1995)

In Bed The Kiss by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec (1892)
In Bed The Kiss by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec (1892)

Saturday, August 20, 2016

Friday, August 19, 2016

Quote of the Day for 2016-08-19


"We make out of the quarrel with others, rhetoric, but of the quarrel with ourselves, poetry."

W.B. Yeats (1865-1939) "Anima Hominis" from Per Amica Silentia Lunae (1917)

Sigmund Freud's couch in his home at Berggasse 19, Vienna, Austria (1938) Photograph by Edmund Engelman
Sigmund Freud's couch in his home at Berggasse 19, Vienna, Austria (1938) Photograph by Edmund Engelman

Thursday, August 18, 2016

Quote of the Day for 2016-08-18


"My kisses are as light as fairy midges / That on calm evenings skim the crystal lake. / Those of your man would plough such ruts and ridges / As lumbering carts or tearing coulters make."

Charles Baudelaire (1821-1867) "Femmes Damnées" from Les Fleurs du Mal (1857) Translated by Roy Campbell in Poems of Baudelaire (1952)

Le Sommeil by Gustave Courbet (1866)
Le Sommeil by Gustave Courbet (1866)

Wednesday, August 17, 2016

Quote of the Day for 2016-08-17


"It is now no more that toleration is spoken of as if it was by the indulgence of one class of the people that another enjoyed the exercise of their inherent natural rights. For happily the Government of the United States, which gives to bigotry no sanction, to persecution no assistance, requires only that those who live under its protection should demean themselves as good citizens, in giving it on all occasions their effectual support."

George Washington (1732-1799) Letter to Moses Seixas and the "Hebrew Congregation" in Newport, Rhode Island (August 17, 1790)

Two young women in a May Day parade in New York City, carrying American flags and wearing "Abolish Child Slavery" banners in Yiddish and English (May 1, 1909)
Two young women in a May Day parade in New York City, carrying American flags and wearing "Abolish Child Slavery" banners in Yiddish and English (May 1, 1909)

Tuesday, August 16, 2016

Quote of the Day for 2016-08-16


"Theories of what is true have their day. They come and go, leave their deposit in the common stock of knowledge, and are supplanted by other more convincing theories."

Felix Adler (1851-1933) The Religion of Duty, chapter 10 (1905)

Alchemical illustration from Opus Medico-Chymicum, in the "Basilica Philosophica" section, by Johann Daniel Mylius (1618)
Alchemical illustration from Opus Medico-Chymicum, in the "Basilica Philosophica" section, by Johann Daniel Mylius (1618)