“These people who expect to be saints in heaven, though they were not on Earth, have ignored the wisdom of the founders of the great religions. This wisdom is that the kingdom of heaven is within you and that you do not go to heaven unless you are already in it. The magic must be wrought by you and you alone. God has no fairy wand to tap the pig and turn it into a swan.
People ignore this. And those who believe in sinners burning in hell are, perhaps, not so much concerned with going to heaven as with being sure that sinners-–others-–roast forever in the flames.”
― Philip José Farmer
Tag: quotes
Review: Guards! Guards!
Guards! Guards! by Terry Pratchett
View book info on GoodReads
My Rating: 
5 out of 5 stars
First Published: 1989
Read from: November 21 to December 04, 2013
Guards! Guards! This much fun must be illiegal.
Wonderful fun! Best of the Discworld series so far. Loved the characters, plot, humor and excellent prose. And underneath it all incredibly deep undercurrents with serious (but ironically funny) truths about life, love, civilization, patriotism, politics, evil and heroism. But all those serious thoughts are delivered in such a way that they only add to, instead of disturbing, the fun.
Conscience, Morality, Civilization
Maybe it’s odd that a passing comment by a character in a Tom Clancy thriller got me thinking deep thoughts this morning, but it did…
“A conscience is the price of morality, and morality is the price of civilization.”
“Patriot Games” by Tom Clancy, Page 97.
I do not agree with this. Especially the last part about civilization.
You Have a Story Worth Telling
You have a story worth telling. First, here is what we’re not entitled to: being listened to by the masses. The honest truth is that attention is earned. But there can be incredible epiphanies that come from telling yourself your story. There are so many possibilities inside you. It’s a worthy thing you do, exploring those paths.
Everybody starts with an audience of one, and nobody has the right to silence you, not even your own inner editor.
We *ARE* In The Twilight Zone
While doing house work, I have been watching original episodes of The Twilight Zone. Heard this little bit of narration from the pen and mouth of Rod Serling.
“You’re looking at Mr. Fred Renard, who carries on his shoulder a chip the size of the national debt.” — “What You Need” The Twilight Zone, S01E11 (1959)
Even in 1959, the U.S. national debt was considered incredibly large. In 1959 it was “only” $290,797,771,717.63 ($290.8 billion). As I write this @ 2pm on 8/21/2013, it just passed $16,909,269,760,000 ($16.9 TRILLION). And you can visually watch it increase by the tune of over $10,000 per SECOND.
But really, I guess it’s not that bad… That is only 58 times bigger than it was 54 years ago. Now just wait $10,000, did I just say that? Just goes to show that we ARE in the Twilight Zone.
Only In Our Dreams
“Only in our dreams are we free. The rest of the time we need wages.” Wyrd Sisters, pg.225 – Terry Pratchett
So hard to see the beauty.
Some days it is SO hard to see the beauty… Today (7/28/2013) was one of those days.
I won’t go into a lot of detail, but I had an experience with a supervisor / co-worker and supposed comrade / shipmate which shook my faith in humanity. The discovery initially just made me angry. But the action was so blatant and apparently vindictive. The person lied and plead ignorance when I initially asked them about it, and then changed their story and lied to me again when I confronted them with the truth. The event was minor but the vindictiveness of it, the dishonesty, and what it appeared to reveal of this person’s opinion of me… these things quickly turned my initial anger to a deep feeling of sadness and has left me with a very negative outlook on humanity and life. Continue reading So hard to see the beauty.
Lose your anger, Win the war
“If you lose your temper, you’ve lost the argument.” — Proverb
Or as I see it: “Lose your anger and win the ‘war’.”
Intimate with Few…
“Be courteous to all, but intimate with few, and let those few be well tried before you give them your confidence. True friendship is a plant of slow growth, and must undergo and withstand the shocks of adversity before it is entitled to the appellation.” – George Washington (U.S. General & President 1732-1799)
Crazy Eddie Wants You!
Reading The Mote in God’s Eye by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle for probably the 30th time. I love this book. Here’s a couple of quotes that sound VERY familiar… Sounds like every politician that is or has been in office in America for the past 10 years or more…
“When a city has grown so overlarge and crowded that it is in immediate danger of collapse . . . when food and clean water flow into the city at a rate just sufficient to feed every mouth, and every hand must work constantly to keep it that way . . . when all transportation is involved in moving vital supplies, and none is left over to move people out of the city should the need arise . . . then it is that Crazy Eddie leads the movers of garbage out on strike for better working conditions.” There was considerable laughter in the wardroom. Renner’s image grinned and said, “I think I know the gentleman. …” — pg. 226, Chap. 24, The Mote in God’s Eye
“And mine spoke of Crazy Eddie as an engineer always using tomorrow’s capital to fix today’s problems,” Sinclair blurted. — pg. 227, Chap. 24, The Mote in God’s Eye