Angst And Hormones

I can be a bit grumpy.  I'm full of angst, and hormones.

-- Nicholas Hoult (1989-), English actor, interview in The Mirror, 2 February 2012

Fear Only One Person

Everybody should fear only one person, and that person should be himself.      
 
-- Philip José Farmer (1918-2009), American author, The Magic Labyrinth (1980), opening lines

Irrational

There's a feedback between financial markets and the economy.  You might think markets are irrational, but even if they are, that spills over into the real economy.

-- Andrew T. Levin, former adviser to Fed chairwoman Janet L. Yellen, on how the decline of oil prices is causing other problems, too, New York Times, 22 January 2016

Aim Of An Argument

The aim of an argument or discussion should not be victory, but progress.

-- Joseph Joubert (1754 - 1824), French moralist and essayist, The Notebooks of Joseph Joubert (1883)

Hero By Mistake

The real hero is always a hero by mistake; he dreams of being an honest coward like everybody else.  If it had been possible he would have settled the matter otherwise, and without bloodshed.  He doesn't boast of his own death or of others'.  But he does not repent.  He suffers and keeps his mouth shut; if anything, others then exploit him, making him a myth, while he, the man worthy of esteem, was only a poor creature who reacted with dignity and courage in an event bigger than he was.

-- Umberto Eco (1932-), Italian philosopher, semiotician, and novelist, "Why Are They Laughing In Those Cages?", in Travels in Hyperreality: Essays (1986), Ch. III: The Gods of the Underworld, p. 122

Conspiracy Theory

You simply cannot invent any conspiracy theory so ridiculous and obviously satirical that some people somewhere don't already believe it.

-- Robert Anton Wilson (1932 - 2007), American novelist, essayist, and absurdist philosopher, Everything Is Under Control: Conspiracies, Cults, and Cover-Ups (1998), Introduction, p. 16

Not Moving

If you're stationary, you're not moving.

-- Ray Spooner, rayslittleride.com, 17 November 2015

Grab You By The Tail

To fear is one thing.  To let fear grab you by the tail and swing you around is another.

-- Katherine Paterson (1932-), American author of children's novels, Jacob Have I Loved (1980)

Don's Detour

Those who wish to follow along can visit my other blog at

http://donsdetour.blogspot.com/

Don's Detour

Trvth will take a brief hiatus while I attend to some medical issues.  I'm sure you'll hear from me again before Christmas.

Comfortable Conviction

Insurance -- an ingenious modern game of chance in which the player is permitted to enjoy the comfortable conviction that he is beating the man who keeps the table.

-- Ambrose Bierce (1842-1913?), American satirist and author, in: The Unabridged Devil's Dictionary, University of Georgia Press (2001) p. 133

Habit Rules

Habit rules the unreflecting herd.

-- William Wordsworth (1770-1850), English poet, Ecclesiastical Sonnets, Part II, No. 28 (1821)

Just Kidding

The only difference between me and most people is that I'm perfectly aware that all my important decisions are made for me by my subconscious. My frontal lobes are just kidding themselves that they decide anything at all. All they do is think up reasons for the decisions that are already made.      

-- Rex Stout (1886-1975), American author of detective novels, "Author Rex Stout Vs. The FBI" in Life Magazine (10 December 1965)

The Same Individual

Creative activity could be described as a type of learning process where the teacher and pupil are located in the same individual.

-- Arthur Koestler (1905-1983), Hungarian-British author and journalist, Drinkers of Infinity: Essays 1955-1967 (1967)

Thanksgiving

For each new morning with its light,
    For rest and shelter of the night,
For health and food, for love and friends,
    For everything Thy goodness sends.

-- Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882), American philosopher, essayist, and poet, Thanksgiving

The Message Is Clear

The message to the West is clear: We have bought their buildings, we have bought their companies, and now we are going to buy their art.

-- Liu Yiqian, Chinese billionaire who made the winning bid at auction for a Modigliani portrait at $170.4 million with fees, New York Times, 18 November 2015

Almost Dead

Almost dead yesterday, maybe dead tomorrow, but alive, gloriously alive, today.

-- Robert Jordan (1948-2007), American fantasy author, Lord Of Chaos (1994)

Acnestis

acnestis:

The part of an animal's skin that it cannot reach to scratch itself, usually the space between the shoulder blades.

Not Something To Aspire To

Normal is not something to aspire to, it is something to get away from.

-- Jodie Foster (19 November 1962-), two-time Academy Award-winning American actress, director, and producer,  as quoted in Diamonds, Pearls & Stones : Jewels of Wisdom for Young Women from Extraordinary Women of the World (2004) p. 6

A Crown

The man who is well wears a crown that only the sick can see.

-- Sir William Osler, (1849 - 1919), Canadian physician