January 2012
239 posts
And so we have two types of people: Those who want to be actors, and those who want to act.
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A Smile and A Gentleness
There is a smile and a gentleness
inside. When I learned the name
and address of that, I went to where
you sell perfume. I begged you not
to trouble me so with longing. Come
out and play! Flirt more naturally.
Teach me how to kiss. On the ground
a spread blanket, flame that’s caught
and burning well, cumin seeds browning,
I am inside all of this with my soul.
Rumi
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Schoolyard Shouts
No more pencils, no more books! No more teacher’s dirty looks! Kick the table, kick the chairs! Kick the teacher down the stairs!
Kids can be quite violent.
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Fear
There are some things that are best avoided in life. If you can, avoid making decisions out of fear. Fear for the unknown, fear for what not might be, fear for what could be, fears of whatever happens to be staring you in the face. That goes for both options, for doing and not doing. Do not deny yourself a chance because of what you fear might happen if you do it and do not continue going on with...
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Pasta Pound Law
You make 2 pounds of pasta, everybody eats and there’s not enough. Next time, you make 3 pounds. Nobody eats. You revert back to 2 pounds. Not enough. Cycle continues.
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Mafioso
“Look over there! Sicily! Island of the sun and Cyclops! The inspiration to all the poets! What’s the matter, Marta?”
“Nothing. I was just watching Italy fade away.”
From Mafioso
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“I thought that as I had failed in the contemplation of true existence, I ought...”
– Aristotle
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That Soulful Look
Ask me to forget just any thing, But not that look that hooked Me to you for life, for all times, To come, whatever it takes. Never would I be able to forget, The moment, those soulful eyes, Delved deep into my psyche. In that connect, codes of the Vaults to the heart’s secrets Got transferred, forever. And how quick it all happened! Even without leaving a breather To think and wonder...
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The Houses of Los Angeles
I couldn’t find a name for the style or architecture of homes here in Los Angeles. Maybe they don’t have a name, maybe they were not ever meant to be admired or mimicked and so no one ever bothered with a name. Okay, and maybe I should clarify because there are many kinds of houses in Los Angeles. I am talking about the ones you find south of 10 and west of 110 (they are in other...
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“I gave you a brand new Ford
But you said “I want a Cadillac,”
I...”
– How Blue Can You Get? by B.B. King
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hnamed-deactivated20120503 asked: I'll favorite your page instead of following you.. Its mesmerizing.
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Chapter Six
It wasn’t the unhappiness of wanting a new dress, or the unhappines of wanting to go to the cinema on a Sunday afternoon and not being allowed to do so, or the unhappiness of being unable to solve some mystery in geometry, or the unhappiness at causing my dearest friend, Gwen, some pain. My unhappiness was something deep inside me, and when I closed my eyes I could even see it. It sat...
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“Of all the verses which thou hast made, the fairest in praise is that whereof,...”
– Zuhayr ibn Abi Sulma
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Charter of 1663
That our royal will and pleasure is,that no person within the said colony, at any time hereafter, shall be any way molested, punished, disquieted, or called in question, for an ydifferences in opinion in matters of religion… that all and every person and persons may, from time to time, and at all times hereafter,freely and fully have and enjoy his and their own judgments, in matters of religious...
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The Dove
The surprise of my life: On a bough between Isle and river a dove Cooing, his collar Pistache green, lapis his breast, Neck shimmering and maroon His back and wingtips. Pupils of ruby, over them eyelids Of pearl flitted, trimmed with gold, Black the point of his beak, like The tip of a reed Dipped in ink. On the arak bough, His throne, throat now hid In the fold of a wing, he rested. But he saw me...
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From Out the Street of So-and-So
FROM out the street of So-and-So, Oh wind, bring perfumes sweet to me For I am sick and pale with woe; Oh bring me rest from misery! The dust that lies before her door, Love’s long desired elixir, pour Upon this wasted heart of mine— Bring me a promise and a sign!
Between the ambush of mine eyes And my heart’s fort there’s enmity— Her eye-brow’s bow, the dart that...
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“Feet, what do I want them for if I have wings to fly?”
– Frida Kahlo
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Dream Boogie
Good morning, daddy!
Ain’t you heard
The boogie-woogie rumble
Of a dream deferred?
Listen closely:
You’ll hear their feet
Beating out and beating out a-
You think
It’s a happy beat?
Listen to it closely:
Ain’t you heard
Something underneath
Like a-
What did I say?
Sure,
I’m happy!
Take it away!
Hey, pop!
Re-bop!
Mop!
Y-e-a-h!
Langston...
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Me vs. the Mitt
So via moneyisnotimportant.tumblr.com, I did the Slate “Mitt’s Income vs. Your Income” calculator. You type in how much money you made last year and see how long it took Mitt to make the equivalent in 20010, and how long it would take you, at that rate, to make what Mitt made in 2010.
My results:
It took Mitt Romney 3 hours, 46 minutes, and 31 seconds to make the equivalent to...
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Figures in the Distance
When I cam home from school that day, my mother said, “Miss Charlotte is dead.” I had known Miss Charlotte very well, and I tried to imagine her dead. I couldn’t. I did not know what someone looked like dead. I knew what Miss Charlotte looked like coming from market. I knew what Miss Charlotte looked like going to church. I knew what she looked like when she told her dog not to...
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Chapter 48
I’ll never forget how, one night, with my two sons, I went to the river. Near the bank, in front of a cottonwood tree I called my tre. I undressed and danced and fell on the ground squirming and swiveling as if I was mating with the Earth.
I held the hands of my sons and crouched on the muddy bank and I dipped my hand in the water and wet our faces. I dried us off with my skirt and we laid...
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“Selfishness must always be forgiven, you know, because there is no hope for a...”
– Mary Crawford in Mansfield Park by Jane Austen
Full disclosure: Unlike most of the quotes and selections I take from novels and other readings, I have never actually read Mansfield Park or anything by Jane Austen, but in honor of my friend’s, a Jane Austen obsessor, birthday, I must post...
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“I come from Mississippi
I was young and running wild
Moved to New York City...”
– Olu Dara
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“When people are fanatically dedicated to political or religious faiths or any...”
– From Zen in the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Robert Pirsig
I read this junior year of high school. I will never forget the opening images ever in my life. I really need to read it again.
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The Face We Chose to Miss
The Face we choose to miss,
Be it but for a day–
As absent as a hundred years
When it has rode away.
Emily Dickinson
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You Went Away but Remained in Me
You went away but remained in me And thus became my peace and happiness. In separation, separation left me And I witnessed the Unknown. You were the hidden secret of my longing, Hidden deep within my conscience deeper than a dream. You were my true friend in the day And in darkness my companion.
Mansur Hallaj
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Sometimes philosophy and logic butt heads. Take this philosophical question: “Is the glass half empty? Or is the glass half full?” Posing this question supposedly provides us with insight into a persons outlook on life or a given situation. But taking the example in a more literal fashion, one might say that the if one half of the glass if half empty, then the other half is full, so...
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“I do not want to live. I want to love, and live incidentally.”
– Emily Gilmour, author of the melodic poem posted just below this one.
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Letter to a Stranger
“You know, life is a lot longer than you think.” You said it with such convincing calm. With so much depth and knowledge in your eyes. I had nothing to respond with. Only the thought that - I must be too young to understand what you meant. Or just too oblivious to care. Why do you find me so interesting? What has captured your attention? Lately, I feel as though I have nothing to share...
