Thursday, December 31, 2009

Quotation of the day for December 31, 2009

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Quotation of the Day for December 31, 2009



"Journalism has always been subsidized. Sometimes it's been Wal-Mart and the kid with the bike. Sometimes it's been Richard Mellon Scaife. Increasingly, it's you and me, donating our time. The list of models that are obviously working today, like Consumer Reports and NPR, like ProPublica and WikiLeaks, can't be expanded to cover any general case, but then nothing is going to cover the general case."

- Clay Shirky

[http://www.shirky.com/weblog/2009/03/newspapers-and-thinking-the-unthinkable/]

Submitted by: Bob Bruhin
Jul. 2, 2009

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Wednesday, December 30, 2009

Quotation of the day for December 30, 2009

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Quotation of the Day for December 30, 2009



"A number of social problems arose. I had been told that neither smoking nor alcoholic beverages were allowed in the Royal Presence. As I was the host at the luncheon I raised the matter at once, and said to the interpreter that if it was the religion of His Majesty to deprive himself of smoking and alcohol I must point out that my rule of life prescribed as an absolutely sacred rite smoking cigars and also the drinking of alcohol before, after and if need be during all meals and in the intervals between them. The King graciously accepted the position."

- Winston Churchill, in his memoirs, describing hosting a luncheon in February 1945 in honour of King Ibn Sa'ud of Saudi Arabia.

Submitted by: Mike Krawchuk
Dec. 20, 2009

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Tuesday, December 29, 2009

Quotation of the day for December 29, 2009

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Quotation of the Day for December 29, 2009



"I know that I am mortal and the creature of a day; but when I search out the massed wheeling circles of the stars, my feet no longer touch the earth, but, side by side with Zeus himself, I take my fill of ambrosia, the food of the gods."

- Claudius Ptolemy, astronomer, from his Mathematical Syntaxis, also known as the Almagest (c. 150 AD).

Submitted by: Terry Labach
Dec. 18, 2009

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Monday, December 28, 2009

Quotation of the day for December 28, 2009

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Quotation of the Day for December 28, 2009



"Slowing the population explosion and softening its effects do not directly address slavery or its eradication. But it is important to remember that the very strategies that work best to stop overpopulation also go to the heart of why slavery exists. The only proven cure for overpopulation is to eliminate extremes of poverty. The best contraceptives in the world--education and social protection against poverty in old age and illness--are also the best guard against enslavement. When families have a sudden need for cash, perhaps to buy medicine, they become vulnerable to enslavement. Lacking education they are prey to bogus contracts and dishonest accounting. In the long term, wiping out slavery requires helping the world's poor to gain greater control over their lives."

- Kevin Bales, in Disposable People: New Slavery in the Global Economy.

Submitted by: Lynn Kisilenko
Nov. 24, 2009

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Sunday, December 27, 2009

Quotation of the day for December 27, 2009

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Quotation of the Day for December 27, 2009



I have no doubt at all the Devil grins,
As seas of ink I spatter.
Ye gods, forgive my "literary" sins --
The other kind don't matter.

- Robert W. Service, in Rhymes of a Rolling Stone.

Submitted by: Mike Krawchuk
Dec. 22, 2009

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Saturday, December 26, 2009

Quotation of the day for December 26, 2009

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Quotation of the Day for December 26, 2009



"There are no people living who aren't capable of doing more than they think they can do."

- Henry Ford

Submitted by: Reddy, Michael
Sep. 15, 2009

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Friday, December 25, 2009

Quotation of the day for December 25, 2009

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Quotation of the Day for December 25, 2009



"It was true that I didn't have much ambition, but there ought to be a place for people without ambition, I mean a better place than the one usually reserved. How in the hell could a man enjoy being awakened at 6:30 a.m. by an alarm clock, leap out of bed, dress, force-feed, shit, piss, brush teeth and hair, and fight traffic to get to a place where essentially you made lots of money for somebody else and were asked to be grateful for the opportunity to do so?"

- Charles Bukowski in Factotum.

Submitted by: Brian K. Read
Dec. 9, 2009

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Thursday, December 24, 2009

Quotation of the day for December 24, 2009

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Quotation of the Day for December 24, 2009



"The most dangerous moment comes with victory."

- Napoleon Bonaparte

Submitted by: Terry Labach
Dec. 15, 2009

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Wednesday, December 23, 2009

Quotation of the day for December 23, 2009

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Quotation of the Day for December 23, 2009



"I'm starting to get the sense that 2009 wants to finish me off before it dies of old age. A calendrical unit yelling "I'm taking you with me, you bastard!" from its vanishing final paper bunker marked December, every spent day a room deleted from the structure until 2009 is finally huddled in one small box marked 31 and screaming obscenities in stark terror."

- Warren Ellis, writer, ranting in his blog

[http://www.warrenellis.com/?p=8157]

Submitted by: Bob Bruhin
Dec. 22, 2009

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Tuesday, December 22, 2009

Quotation of the day for December 22, 2009

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Quotation of the Day for December 22, 2009



"What I don't understand is: Why don't [these same] people worry that Verizon or AT&T is listening in to their cellphone calls every single day? Why don't they worry that MasterCard is peeking into their buying habits? How do they know Microsoft and Apple aren't slurping down private documents off the hard drive and laughing their heads off?

"I mean, if you're gonna be paranoid, at least be rational about it."

- David Pogue, the New York Times's technology columnist.

[http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/10/technology/personaltech/10pogue-email.html?_r=1]

Submitted by: Duffy OCraven
Dec. 15, 2009

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Monday, December 21, 2009

Quotation of the day for December 21, 2009

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Quotation of the Day for December 21, 2009



"People from the village come up to me and tease me, 'We hear you've started drawing on your telephone.' And I tell them, 'Well, no, actually, it's just that occasionally I speak on my sketch pad.'"

- David Hockney, artist, who has begun using the Brushes application to create art on his iPhone.

Submitted by: Mike Krawchuk
Dec. 18, 2009

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Sunday, December 20, 2009

Quotation of the day for December 20, 2009

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Quotation of the Day for December 20, 2009



"The great surgeon invents an operation that only he can do, and the truly great surgeon invents an operation that everyone can do."

- Dr. Jean C. Emond

[http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/15/health/15surg.html?_r=1&nl=health&emc=healthupdateema1]

Submitted by: Patsy Wang-Iverson
Dec. 17, 2009

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Saturday, December 19, 2009

Quotation of the day for December 19, 2009

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Quotation of the Day for December 19, 2009



"Sleeping on the grave of your True Love might indeed bring them back, but not in any condition you'll find appealing."

- J. C. Runolfson, writer.

Submitted by: Mike McGuffin
Dec. 5, 2009

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Friday, December 18, 2009

Quotation of the day for December 18, 2009

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Quotation of the Day for December 18, 2009



"All the business of war, and indeed all the business of life, is to endeavor to find out what you don't know by what you do; that's what I called 'guessing what was at the other side of the hill.'"

- Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington

Submitted by: Terry Labach
Dec. 15, 2009

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Thursday, December 17, 2009

Quotation of the day for December 17, 2009

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Quotation of the Day for December 17, 2009



"Think about it in the context of the Mexican drug problem. A couple of years ago, Mexico didn't have much of a problem because all of the drugs were going north and Mexico was just a conduit. Now, their whole police structure is compromised. They're bringing in the army. They're staging gun battles in the streets with drug gangs. They just allowed it to go on too long. And that's a worry that many of us have [about cybercrime]. The problem is that you're institutionalizing it and allowing a criminal element to get established. How far away might we be from a criminal group extorting a government for money? Who would be responsible for responding? It's not a military problem."

- Eugene Spafford, of Purdue University's CERIAS centre, in an interview on cybercrime.

[http://threatpost.com/en_us/blogs/qa-eugene-spafford-121409]

Submitted by: Terry Labach
Dec. 15, 2009

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Wednesday, December 16, 2009

Quotation of the day for December 16, 2009

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Quotation of the Day for December 16, 2009



We never put up trimmings 'cause we never had a tree
I wouldn't know a mistletoe from a torpedo's knee
I never sat on Santa's lap - but hey, if Jesus was a Jew...
Wouldn't that make Santa be one too?


I used to hate when it was cold enough for Christmas to be white
Never hung a wreath of holly - or strung the yard with lights
Those other houses looked so pretty - but the electricity they must've used!
We lit candles - 'cause we were Jews


- Chuck Brodsky, from his song On Christmas I Got Nothing, recorded on his CD, Radio.

[http://www.chuckbrodsky.com/clips/OnChristmasIGotNothingClip_mp3.mp3]

Submitted by: Mike Krawchuk
Dec. 11, 2009

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Tuesday, December 15, 2009

Quotation of the day for December 15, 2009

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Quotation of the Day for December 15, 2009



"I came suddenly, a jolt that emptied my head like a spoon scraping the inside of a soft-boiled egg."

- Jonathan Littell, from his novel The Kindly Ones. Prose like this won Littell the Literary Review's 2009 bad sex in fiction award.

[http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2009/nov/30/bad-sex-award-jonathan-littell-kindly-ones]

Submitted by: Terry Labach
Dec. 2, 2009

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Monday, December 14, 2009

Quotation of the day for December 14, 2009

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Quotation of the Day for December 14, 2009



"It is no bad idea, if you want anything, to look at people who already have it, and ask how they acquired it. So who and where are the people who have achieved rich self-development?

"Looking around, it is easier to say who they are not. They are seldom into depth analysis. They are not thronging consulting rooms of psychotherapists. They are not recounting their dreams at mind-numbing length. They are not trying to explain their problems in terms of what mummy and daddy did or neglected to do. They are not dredging up their incest fantasies.

"On the contrary, you may find they are busy doing things that passionately interest them. They have work they feel enthusiastic about, absorbing hobbies. They are involved with other people and give time and effort to these human contacts. In short, they are the paid-up, contributing members of the human race. These people demonstrate that personal growth does not happen in a vacuum, but takes place without our directly striving for it when we involve ourselves in the activities, issues, concerns, questions and situations, which are appropriate to our nature."

- Dennis Elwell, in the 'Cosmic Loom', pp. 195-196.

Submitted by: John Cole
Nov. 17, 2009

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Sunday, December 13, 2009

Quotation of the day for December 13, 2009

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Quotation of the Day for December 13, 2009



"When I was 11, I asked my elders if Our Lord did defecate and was there such a thing as holy excrement, and that upset them and there was anguished discussion about whether I was perhaps unsaved and bound for perdition, and then they decided to ignore the whole thing and put supper on the table.

"Food was how we solved a lot of problems. Supper was grilled cheese sandwiches and Hormel chili from a can. A wonderful meal, and it took the edge off their anger."

- Garrison Keillor, author of "77 Love Sonnets" and radio host of "A Prairie Home Companion", commenting in his weekly column, Dec. 8 2009.

[http://rss.tmsfeatures.com/websvc-bin/rss_story_read.cgi?resid=200912081700TMS_____GKEILLOR_ctngk-a_20091208]

Submitted by: Manavendra Thakur
Dec. 9, 2009

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Saturday, December 12, 2009

Quotation of the day for December 12, 2009

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Quotation of the Day for December 12, 2009



"Knowing about ubiquity of complex language across individuals and cultures and the single mental design underlying them all, no speech seems foreign to me, even when I cannot understand a word. The banter among New Guinean highlanders in the film of their first contact with the rest of the world, the motions of a sign language interpreter, the prattle of little girls in a Tokyo playground - I imagine seeing through the rhythms to the structures underneath, and sense that we all have the same minds."

- Steven Pinker, The Language Instinct

Submitted by: Kathleen Magone
Dec. 9, 2009

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Friday, December 11, 2009

Quotation of the day for December 11, 2009

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Quotation of the Day for December 11, 2009



"It's like they're coming in and saying to you, 'I'm going to drive my car off a cliff. Should I or should I not wear a seatbelt?' And you say, 'I don't think you should drive your car off the cliff.' And they say, 'No, no, that bit's already been decided--the question is whether to wear a seatbelt.' And you say, 'Well, you might as well wear a seatbelt.' And then they say, 'We've consulted with policy expert Rory Stewart and he says. ...'"

- Rory Stewart, describing how his advice on Afghanistan is sought and used, in an interview with the Financial Times.

[http://www.tnr.com/article/world/the-t%E2%80%85e-lawrence-afghanistan]

Submitted by: Terry Labach
Nov. 27, 2009

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Thursday, December 10, 2009

Quotation of the day for December 10, 2009

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Quotation of the Day for December 10, 2009



`We are a dynastic fam'ly. Aristocratic British stock. Traditional values. We obey the landowners' creed. If it's attractive you shoot it, if it's ugly you marry it....

'We knew what was expected of us in those days,' he was saying. `Have a herd of children, marry the daughters into money, stick the bright sons in business, the dim ones in the Church and the mad ones in the army.'

- Christopher Fowler, in the novel Seventy-Seven Clocks.

Submitted by: Lynn Kisilenko
Dec. 1, 2009

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Wednesday, December 9, 2009

Quotation of the day for December 9, 2009

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Quotation of the Day for December 9, 2009



"The greatest obstacle to discovery is not ignorance--it is the illusion of knowledge."

- Daniel J. Boorstin

Submitted by: Reddy, Michael
Nov. 17, 2009

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Tuesday, December 8, 2009

Quotation of the day for December 8, 2009

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Quotation of the Day for December 8, 2009



"We started our research seeking men in their 20s who had never consumed pornography. We couldn't find any."

- Simon Louis Lajeunesse, professor at the University of Montreal, on the first hurdle in the way of a recent research project.

[http://www.telegraph.co.uk/relationships/6709646/All-men-watch-porn-scientists-find.html]

Submitted by: Mike Krawchuk
Dec. 3, 2009

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Monday, December 7, 2009

Quotation of the day for December 7, 2009

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Quotation of the Day for December 7, 2009



"(His job is to) inflict a lot of pain, but in a Christian-like manner."

- Barrin Simpson, linebacker with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and ordained minister, on reconciling a career in football with his religious beliefs.

[http://www.calgaryherald.com/sports/Game/2021695/story.html]

Submitted by: Terry Labach
Dec. 3, 2009

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