April 4, 2014

Good Morning!

Today is the birthday of Marguerite Duras (1914 – 1996) who said:

“That she had so completely recovered her sanity was a source of sadness to her. One should never be cured of one's passion.”

and

“When it's in a book I don't think it'll hurt any more ...exist any more. One of the things writing does is wipe things out. Replace them.”

It is also the birthday of Maya Angelou (1928 - ) who said:

“I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”

and

“If you don't like something, change it. If you can't change it, change your attitude. Don't complain.”

and

“Success is liking yourself, liking what you do, and liking how you do it.”

Happy Birthday to Andrei Tarkovsky (1932 – 1986) who said:

“Some sort of pressure must exist; the artist exists because the world is not perfect. Art would be useless if the world were perfect, as man wouldn’t look for harmony but would simply live in it. Art is born out of an ill-designed world.”

and

“A man writes because he is tormented, because he doubts. He needs to constantly prove to himself and the others that he’s worth something.”

Also to Dan Simmons (1948 - ) who said:

“In the beginning was the Word. Then came the … word processor. Then came the thought processor. Then came the death of literature. And so it goes.”

and

“Words assail me. The thought of books makes me ache. Poetry echoes in my mind, and if I had the ability to banish it, I would do so at once.”

Finally, a heartstricken birthday greeting to an author who left us too soon, Ned Vizzini (1981 – 2013), who said:

“People are screwed up in this world. I'd rather be with someone screwed up and open about it than somebody perfect and ready to explode.”

and

“Things to do today:

1) Breathe in.

2) Breathe out.”

and

“I work. And I think about work, and I freak out about work, and I think about how much I think about work, and I freak out about how much I think about how much I think about work, and I think about how freaked out I get about how much I think about how much I think about work.”

April 3, 2014

Good Morning!

Today is the birthday of Washington Irving (1783 – 1859) who said:

“There is a sacredness in tears. They are not a mark of weakness, but of power. They speak more eloquently than ten thousand tongues. They are the messengers of overwhelming grief, of deep contrition and of unspeakable love.”

and

“Great minds have purpose, others have wishes. Little minds are tamed and subdued by misfortunes; but great minds rise above them.”

It is also the birthday of Jane Goodall (1934 - ) who said:

“What you do makes a difference, and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make.”

and

“If we kill off the wild, then we are killing a part of our souls.”

and

“Only if we understand, can we care. Only if we care, we will help. Only if we help, we shall be saved.” 

Happy Birthday to Alec Baldwin (1958 - ) who said:

“For better or ill, I was very heavily influenced by men I knew who always dressed formally.”

and

“There's less critical thinking going on in this country on a Main Street level - forget about the media - than ever before. We've never needed people to think more critically than now, and they've taken a big nap.”

Also to Mike Ness (1962 - ) who sang:

“Good times come and good times go,

I only wish the good times would last a little longer.

I think about the good times we had

And why they had to end.

So I sit at the edge of my bed

I strum my guitar and I sing an outlaw love song.

Thinkin' 'bout what you're doin' now

And when you're comin' back.”

April 2, 2014

Good Morning!

Today is the birthday of Hans Christian Anderson (1805 – 1875) who said:

“Where words fail, music speaks.”

and

“To travel is to live.”

and

“Life is like a beautiful melody, only the lyrics are messed up.”

It is also the birthday of Serge Gainsbourg (1928 – 1991) who said:

“Luck is a bird of prey flying blindfolded.”  

and

“I know my limits. That's why I'm beyond.”

Happy Birthday to Emmylou Harris (1947 - ) who said:

“Just being in the world is a hard bargain. Everything has a price, a blessing and a curse.”

and

“I just believe in putting kindness into the universe.”

Also to Camille Paglia (1947 - ) who said:

“The only thing that will be remembered about my enemies after they’re dead is the nasty things I’ve said about them.”

and

“Art is something out of the ordinary commenting on the ordinary.”

and

“We must accept our pain

Change what we can

and laugh at the rest”

April 1, 2014

Good Morning!

Today is the birthday of Anne McCaffrey (1926 – 2011) who said:

“A good story is a good story no matter who wrote it.”

and

“Make no judgments where you have no compassion.”

It is also the birthday of Milan Kundera (1929 - ) who said:

“You can't measure the mutual affection of two human beings by the number of words they exchange.”

and

“Dogs are our link to paradise. They don't know evil or jealousy or discontent. To sit with a dog on a hillside on a glorious afternoon is to be back in Eden, where doing nothing was not boring--it was peace.”

and

“Love is the longing for the half of ourselves we have lost.”

Today is the birthday of Samuel R. Delany (1942 - ) who said:

“The only important elements in any society are the artistic and the criminal, because they alone, by questioning the society’s values, can force it to change.”

and

“Good writing is clear. Talented writing is energetic. Good writing avoids errors. Talented writing makes things happen in the reader's mind---vividly, forcefully...”

It is also the birthday of Jimmy Cliff (1948 - ) who said:

“And I keep on fighting for the things I want. Though I know that when you're dead you can't. But I'd rather be a free man in my grave, than living as a puppet or a slave.”

And of Gil Scott-Heron (1949 – 2011) who said:

“The revolution will not be televised.”