If originality is a “sense of novelty and freshness” then, in the act of constructing ourselves, originality is not the goal. We construct a self-portrait, relying on existing objects – books, quotes from authors and artists, images, art – th...
Machine men, with machine minds and machine hearts! You are not machines, you are not cattle, you are men! You have the love of humanity in your hearts. You don’t hate: only the unloved hate, the unloved and the unnatural. Soldiers, don’t fight f...
At present we are on the outside… the wrong side of the door. We discern the freshness and purity of morning, but they do not make us fresh and pure. We cannot mingle with the pleasures we see. But all the pages of the New Testament are rustling wi...
Lost opportunities, lost possibilities, feelings we can never get back. That's part of what it means to be alive. But inside our heads - at least that's where I imagine it - there's a little room where we store those memories. A room like the stacks ...
Not only are we digital immigrants, we are also media dinosaurs. We enjoy thumbing through glossy magazines, and maybe still subscribe to a daily newspaper. We schedule at least one evening per week around a favorite TV program, created by one of the...
Sometimes during our lives, the Universe ensures that we come back into the silence. If we don’t consciously stop in our busy lives, we may have perceptively negative things happen in our lives, sickness, change, events that force us to stop and be...
When clouds of pain loom in the sky When a shadow of sadness flickers by When a tear finds its way to the eye When fear keeps the loneliness alive I try and console my heart Why is it that you cry? I ask This is only what life imparts These deep sile...
Options abound in our world. You can choose where to stay and how to stay there. Where you are Today is as a result of the option you took yesterday and no doubt where you will be Tomorrow is embedded in your option Today. Choose right; choose wisely...
The Post is famous for its investigative journalism. It pours energy and investment and sweat and dollars into uncovering important stories. And then a bunch of websites summarize that [work] in about four minutes and readers can access that news for...
For those who believe in God, most of the big questions are answered. But for those of us who can't readily accept the God formula, the big answers don't remain stone-written. We adjust to new conditions and discoveries. We are pliable. Love need not...
I am convinced that the way forward for the human race is to recognize and protect the fundamental right of sovereignty over consciousness, to throw off the chains of our divisive religious heritage, to seek out forms of spirituality (or no spiritual...
The only thing worth writing about is people. People. Human beings. Men and women whose individuality must be created, line by line, insight by insight. If you do not do it, the story is a failure. [...] There is no nobler chore in the universe than ...
The social prestige of wine at table and at the club must be destroyed through lofty example and polite ridicule; forces which are not always available, and for whose successful operation much time will be required. But the outstanding fact remains, ...
The essence of physical education in Naperville 203 is teaching fitness instead of sports. The underlying philosophy is that if physical education class can be used to instruct kids how to monitor and maintain their own health and fitness, then the l...
When my late father died — now I'm in mourning for my late mother — that sense of grief and bereavement suddenly taught me that so many things that I thought were important, externals, etc., all of that is irrelevant. You lose a parent, you sudde...
My father is the most genial Midwestern guy imaginable, but for him, disaster lurks around every corner—financial ruin, squandered health, pyramid schemes, airbags failing to deploy—so he tends to use fear as a parenting tool to try to goad his d...
A very focused Chinese government, with firm, long-term social and economic goals, and an increasingly assertive international voice, is feeling more pressure from the Chinese dreamers, and is putting more pressure on foreign business interests. The ...
Chris: You ready for school? Gordie: No. Chris: Junior High. You know what that means. Next year we'll all be split up. Gordie: What are you talking about? Why would that happen? Chris: 'Cause it's not gonna be like grammar school, that's why. You'll...
Old Man Dantes: [Making a toast] May this moment be the dawn of a new and wonderful life for you both... Gendarmes Captain: [after smashing open the door] Which one of you is Edmond Dantes? Edmond: I am. Gendarmes Captain: Edmond Dantes, you are unde...
Lt. James Gordon: [after Bruce saves Reese by blocking a truck with his car] It's mister Wayne, isn't it? That was a very brave thing you did! Bruce Wayne: Trying to catch the light? Lt. James Gordon: You weren't protecting the van? Bruce Wayne: Why,...
Frank Costello: I got this rat, this gnawing, cheese eating fuckin' rat and it brings up questions... You know, see, Bill, like you're the new guy. Girlfriend... Why don't you stay in the bar that night I got your numbers. Social Security numbers. Ev...
