Random quote of the day:
“Of all escape mechanisms, death is the most efficient.â€
—H. L. Mencken, A Book of Burlesques
Wed 11 Mar 2015
The Great Escape
Posted by PJ under death, quote of the day
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Mon 9 Mar 2015
Beware
Posted by PJ under art, quote of the day
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Random quote of the day:
“Beware the artist who’s an intellectual also. The artist who doesn’t fit.â€
—F. Scott Fitzgerald, This Side of Paradise
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this random quote of the day do not necessarily reflect the views of the poster, her immediate family, Siegfried and Roy, Leonard Maltin, or the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. They do, however, sometimes reflect the views of the Cottingley Fairies.
Thu 5 Mar 2015
Meaning
Posted by PJ under meaning, quote of the day, science, the universe
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Random quote of the day:
“Whatever meaning we find in the world comes from us, not the world itself. We read meaning into the world, not from it. This sword cuts two ways; if meaning should not be imputed to the universe, neither should meaninglessness. It is a plain fact that scientists in general, peering into the same universe and aware of the same set of facts, see meaning in different ways, ways that are not part of science itself. No scientist has ever possessed a meaning meter. Therefore the proper approach, it would seem, would be to declare questions of meaning beyond the purview of science, and to cease imposing one’s personal view as the official way the universe should be interpreted.â€
—Dr. Larry Dossey, “Is the Universe Merely a Statistical Accident?†The Huffington Post, June 23, 2010
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this random quote of the day do not necessarily reflect the views of the poster, her immediate family, Siegfried and Roy, Leonard Maltin, or the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. They do, however, sometimes reflect the views of the Cottingley Fairies.
Wed 4 Mar 2015
Work it, baby
Posted by PJ under aging, beauty, caregiving, renewal, youth
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I had to run home to take care of something at lunch. On my way back to work driving through Venice, I saw a young woman walking down the street headed in the direction of the Boardwalk. She wore mid-calf fringed boots of brick red, long black gypsy hair, and a black micro-mini dress that seriously clung to her seriously nice curves. Over her arm she twirled a sparkly blue hula hoop.
Headed down to the beachfront to show off some moves, I thought. A lot of people head down to the Boardwalk to show off moves. It’s kind of the expected thing. And I thought, “Yeah, I could seriously get into watching her twirl that hoop around her small waist and curvy hips.â€
I’m a content non-practicing heterosexual, but I would have really appreciated that show. So much youth and beauty and lovely curves—and youth and beauty and lovely curves should definitely work it while they have it. They ain’t nuthin’ wrong with that, sugar. It’ll be gone in a heartbeat. That life and exquisite energy needs to be celebrated in full while it is present.
I ain’t so young no more and the curves I have now are not like that. Never were, truth be told. I am not un-beautiful, but I don’t have the vigor right now to do much with it. Other truth be told, I don’t have a lot of energy at all these days. I still feel exhausted most of the time, even after getting a good night’s sleep or a full weekend of lounging. I’m in a post-stress phase, a grieving phase, and that eats at my vitality.
I would never cheapen PTSD by even implying I have anything remotely like it, but there is all kinds of post-ness on the stress spectrum. I spent the last five years, particularly the last two, dealing with a high degree of tension most days as my mother progressively failed. It takes a while to get over the ashen burn out of that kind of situation. Anti-parenting, a caregiver I know calls it, where you’re burning up all your time easing those you love towards death. Where there is no happy ending, as another caregiver I know says. The ease-up from that daily grind has a pretty powerful rebound. So I’m trying to let gravity slow me down and steady me out from the bungee jump I’ve just been forced to make.
I do hope to get some of my energy back with time, but it’s way too early to tell if I’ll ever return to where I was before I became a full-time caregiver. I suspect I might not, but it’s way too early to say, one way or another. I can say that if fate is kind, if I do get that energy back—even if I only get part way there—watch out, baby. I will work it, work it hard, work it for all it’s worth, in my non-youthful, unconventionally curvy way. You will definitely enjoy that show. It will make your wild gypsy hair blow right on back from your face.
Wed 4 Mar 2015
Tin hat certainty
Posted by PJ under belief, certainty, knowledge, quote of the day
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Random quote of the day:
“Tain’t what a man don’t know that hurts him; it’s what he knows that just ain’t so.â€
—Kin Hubbard, Abe Martin of Brown County
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this random quote of the day do not necessarily reflect the views of the poster, her immediate family, Siegfried and Roy, Leonard Maltin, or the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. They do, however, sometimes reflect the views of the Cottingley Fairies.
Tue 3 Mar 2015
Obscene and not heard
Posted by PJ under obscenity, quote of the day
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Random quote of the day:
“Obscenity is a cleansing process, whereas pornography only adds to the murk.â€
—Henry Miller, interview, The Paris Review, Summer-Fall 1962, No. 28
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this random quote of the day do not necessarily reflect the views of the poster, her immediate family, Siegfried and Roy, Leonard Maltin, or the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. They do, however, sometimes reflect the views of the Cottingley Fairies.
Mon 2 Mar 2015
Muzak
Posted by PJ under art, music, quote of the day
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Random quote of the day:
“We’re all one beat away from becoming elevator music.â€
—Don DeLillo, interview, The Paris Review, Fall 1993, No. 128
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this random quote of the day do not necessarily reflect the views of the poster, her immediate family, Siegfried and Roy, Leonard Maltin, or the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. They do, however, sometimes reflect the views of the Cottingley Fairies.
Fri 27 Feb 2015
Big question
Posted by PJ under questions and answers, quote of the day, what the living do
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Random quote of the day:
“Is life worth living? This is a question for an embryo, not a man.â€
—Samuel Butler, The Note-Books of Samuel Butler, Vol. 1
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this random quote of the day do not necessarily reflect the views of the poster, her immediate family, Siegfried and Roy, Leonard Maltin, or the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. They do, however, sometimes reflect the views of the Cottingley Fairies.
Thu 26 Feb 2015
Selfish compassion
Posted by PJ under compassion, quote of the day
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Random quote of the day:
“In this society, we view compassion as a favor, something along the lines of forgiveness extended to the humble and deserving. No. My compassion is utterly selfish, and is rooted in a craving for power. It is compelled by my curiosity, itself, just another name for hunger, for desire, for want of the great power of knowing. It is not enough for me to sit around scoring morality points on dead people, all the while blind to the living morality of this troubled time. There’s no power in that. I need to know more.â€
―Ta-Nehisi Coates, “Compassion,†TheAtlantic.com, Sept. 17, 2010
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this random quote of the day do not necessarily reflect the views of the poster, her immediate family, Siegfried and Roy, Leonard Maltin, or the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. They do, however, sometimes reflect the views of the Cottingley Fairies.
Wed 25 Feb 2015
Being human
Posted by PJ under being human, quote of the day
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Random quote of the day:
“I am human: I consider nothing that is human alien to me.â€
—Terence, Heauton Timorumenos
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this random quote of the day do not necessarily reflect the views of the poster, her immediate family, Siegfried and Roy, Leonard Maltin, or the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. They do, however, sometimes reflect the views of the Cottingley Fairies.
