March 2012
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“The opposite of love is not hate, it’s indifference. The opposite of art...”
– Elie Wiesel
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Vincent's Birthday
It’s the birthday of Vincent van Gogh, born in Zundert, Holland in 1853.
He was a painter, but also a great letter-writer. He wrote about art, of course, but also friendship, religion, prostitutes, interior decorating, and his love affairs. His letters are often lively, engaging, and passionate; they also frequently reflect his struggles with bipolar disorder.
“I have a terrible...
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“It’s not denial. I’m just selective about the reality I accept.”
– Bill Watterson
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“It was comforting to know I had fallen and could fall no farther.”
– Sylvia Plath - The Bell Jar
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“Men who wear glasses are so much more gentle, and sweet, and helpless. Haven’t...”
– Sugar Kane Kowalczyk (played by Marilyn Monroe in Some Like It Hot)
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“Numbing the pain for a while will make it worse when you finally feel it.”
– J.K Rowling
Tumblr
I had to agree to the new terms of service for tumblr today. You know, that long page of fine print that 99% of people do not read but agree to.
My favorite line: “Don’t do bad things to Tumblr or other users.”
I agree.
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“Read as if you’re a writer, and write as if you’re the reader.”
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On Robert Frost's birthday
Oh, give us pleasure in the flowers today; And give us not to think so far away As the uncertain harvest; keep us here All simply in the springing of the year…
“A Prayer in Spring” by Robert Frost
Robert Lee Frost (March 26, 1874 – January 29, 1963) was an American poet who is highly regarded for his realistic depictions of rural life and his command of American colloquial...
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European Shopping Bags
They have a much better sense of humor than we do. European shopping bags.
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“To live is the rarest thing in the world. Most people exist, that is all.”
– Oscar Wilde
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“I have made this letter longer, because I have not had the time to make it...”
– Blaise Pascal
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“Writing a novel is like driving a car at night. You can only see as far as your...”
– E. L. Doctorow
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“Nobody realises that some people expend tremendous energy merely to be normal.”
– Albert Camus
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When the wind opens its doors...
March
by James Wright
A bear under the snow Turns over to yawn. It’s been a long, hard rest…
more
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Students Say
A few gems from a recent batch of Western Civilization papers:
“Humanity has no place for humility when the fact is that we know we supersede one another.”
“America is the strongest country in the world and we know this. We knew it generations before it was.”
“Soldiers were broken and caught to be tickets for the Roman’s greedy rewards.”
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“Oh, give us pleasure in the flowers today
And give us not to think so far away...”
– Robert Frost
on the first day of spring 2012
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William Carlos Williams
New Jersey doctor and poet William Carlos Williams was born the first of two sons of an English father and a Puerto Rican mother of French, Dutch, Spanish, and Jewish ancestry.
Williams grew up in Rutherford, where he spent many years of his life as an adult caring for his patients.
I just discovered that his father’s mother was coincidentally named Emily Dickinson.
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“Everybody else is working to change, persuade, tempt and control them. The best...”
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Philip Roth
The author of American Pastoral and 30 other books was born on this day in 1933.
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“If you live to be 100, I hope I live to be 100 minus 1 day, so I never have to...”
– Pooh Bear
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“Good writing is always about things that are important to you, things that are...”
– John Edgar Wideman
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13 million pints
Today is St. Patrick’s Day. St. Patrick himself was English, not Irish. He was born into an aristocratic family, but was kidnapped and taken to Ireland. Eventually, he escaped, went home, became a priest, and returned to Ireland to convert the natives to Christianity.
Until fairly recently, St. Patrick’s Day was celebrated only as a religious holiday in Ireland. People were given the...
