Si Non Oscillas, Noli Tintinnare

from the ol' spam files

2008-09-05T03:58:47Z

Art is one of the means whereby man seeks to redeem a life which is experienced as chaotic, senseless, and largely evil.
— Aldous Huxley, Themes and Variations

freezing-my-butt-off.com - Server not found

2008-06-05T03:00:55Z

...definition of a classic: a book everyone is assumed to have read and which they often think they have.
— Alan Bennett, Writing Home

circa 31 May 2004

2008-02-13T04:13:15Z

spam gave me quotes from women:

Life is not easy for any of us. But what of that? We must have perseverance and above all confidence in ourselves. We must believe that we are gifted for something and that this thing, at whatever cost, must be attained.
— Marie Curie (1867-1934)

If a child is to keep alive his inborn sense of wonder...he needs the companionship of at least one adult who can share it, rediscovering with him the joy, excitement and mystery of the world we live in.
— Rachel Louise Carson (1907-1964), The Sense of Wonder

Since when was genius found respectable?
— Elizabeth Barrett Browning (1806-1861), Aurora Leigh Book vi

Surgeons must be very careful,
When they take the knife!
underneath their fine incisions,
stirs the Culprit — Life!
— Emily Dickinson (1830-1886)

When I can look Life in the eyes,
Grown calm and very coldly wise,
Life will have given me the Truth,
And taken in exchange—my youth.
— Sara Teasdale (1884-1933), "Wisdom"

Life loves to be taken by the lapel and told: "I'm with you, kid. Let's go."
— Maya Angelou

I think there is choice possible to us at any moment, as long as we live. But there is no sacrifice. There is a choice, and the rest falls away. Second choice does not exist. Beware of those who talk about sacrifice.
— Muriel Rukeyser (1913-1980)

It will never rain roses: when we want
To have more roses we must plant more trees.
— George Eliot (1819-1880), "The Spanish Gypsy" book III

You do not notice changes in what is always before you.
— Colette (1873-1954), Mes Apprentissages

Morning comes whether you set the alarm or not.
— Ursula K. Le Guin, Dancing at the Edge of the World: Thoughts on Words, Women, Places

Self-revelation is a cruel process. The real picture, the real "you" never emerges. Looking for it is as bewildering as trying to know how you really look. Ten different mirrors show you ten different faces.
— Shashi Deshpande

...it is not so important to know every thing, as to know the exact value of every thing, to appreciate what we learn, and to arrange what we know.
— Hannah More (1745-1833), Hints Towards Forming the Character of a Young Princess

We cannot really love anybody with whom we never laugh.
— Agnes Repplier (1855-1950), Americans and Others

Faith is the first factor in a life devoted to service. Without it, nothing is possible. With it, nothing is impossible.
— Mary McLeod Bethune (1875-1955), Building a Better World: Essays and Selected Documents

Never allow a person to tell you no who doesn't have the power to say yes.
— Eleanor Roosevelt (1884-1962)

Creative minds have always been known to survive any kind of bad training.
— Anna Freud (1895-1982), The Ego and the Mechanisms of Defense

Love, with very young people, is a heartless business. We drink at that age from thirst, or to get drunk; it is only later in life that we occupy ourselves with the individuality of our wine.
— Isak Dinesen (1885-1962), Seven Gothic Tales

I don't want to live. I want to love first, and live incidentally.
— Zelda Fitzgerald (1900-1948), letter to F. Scott Fitzgerald in 1919

...the lessons taught in great books are misleading. The commerce in life is rarely so simple and never so just.
— Anita Brookner in Novelists in Interview

It is funny the two things most men are proudest of is the thing that any man can do and doing does in the same way, that is being drunk and being the father of their son.
— Gertrude Stein (1874-1946), Everybody's Autobiography

No man or woman who tries to pursue an ideal in his or her own way is without enemies.
— Daisy Bates (1863-1951)

In any free society, the conflict between social conformity and individual liberty is permanent, unresolvable, and necessary.
— Kathleen Norris

It is a weakness that I lead from my heart, and not my head?
— Diana, Princess of Wales (1961-1997)

I have often depended on the blindness of strangers.
— Adrienne E. Gusoff

So long as little children are allowed to suffer, there is no true love in this world.
— Isadora Duncan (1877-1927)

The hardest years in life are those between ten and seventy.
— Helen Hayes (1900-1993)

You're never too old to become younger.
— Mae West (1893-1980)

He who hesitates is a damned fool.
— Mae West

The trouble with the rat race is that even if you win, you're still a rat.
— Lily Tomlin (1939-)

All my life I've wanted to be someone; I guess I should have been more specific.
— Jane Wagner / Lily Tomlin

We spend the first twelve months of our children's lives teaching them to walk and talk and the next twelve telling them to sit down and shut up.
— Phyllis Diller

Cleaning your house while your kids are still growing is like shoveling the walk before it stops snowing.
— Phyllis Diller

Fate cast me to play the role of an ugly duckling with no promise of swanning. I have played my life as a comedy rather than the tragedy many would have made of it.
— Marie Dressler (1868-1934), The Life Story of an Ugly Duckling

There is not one female comic who was beautiful as a little girl.
— Joan Rivers in L.A. Times, 10 May 1974

A man in love is incomplete until he has married—and then he's finished.
— Zsa Zsa Gabor in Newsweek, 28 March 1960

My theory is that if you look confident, you can pull anything off—even if you have no clue what you're doing.
— Jessica Alba

happy new year

2007-01-01T19:20:29Z

Your future lies before you like a field of driven snow / Be careful how you tread it for every step will show

from Vin

2006-08-31T05:52:18Z

Love many things for therein lies the true strength, and whosoever loves much performs much, and can accomplish much, and what is done in love is done well.
— Vincent van Gogh

Sent:
17-Aug-2006
06:36:38

dead languages are nice to look at.

2005-09-13T17:46:46Z

Vidi aquam egredientem de templo,
a latere dextro, alleluia:
et omnes ad quos pervenit aqua ista
salvi facti sunt, et dicent.

Confitemini Domino, quoniam bonus:
Quoniam in seculum misericordia eius.

Gloria Patri, et Filio, et Spiritui Sancto:
Sicut erat in principio, et nunc, et semper
et in secula sæculorum

fw from Vin.

2005-06-16T09:16:21Z

This is a tribute to the nice guys. The nice guys that finish last.

This is for the guys who escort their drunk, bewildered female friends back from parties and never take advantage once they're at her door, for the guys who accompany girls to bars as buffers against the rest of the creepy male population, for the guys who know a girl is fishing for compliments but give them out anyway, for the guys who always play by the rules in a game where the rules favor cheaters, for the guys who are accredited as boyfriend material but somehow don't end up being boyfriends, for all the nice guys who are overlooked, underestimated, and unappreciated, for all the nice guys who are manipulated, misled, and unjustly abandoned, this is for you.

This is for that time she left 40 urgent messages on your cell phone, and when you called her back, she spent three hours painstakingly dissecting two sentences her boyfriend said to her over dinner. And even though you thought her boyfriend was a chump and a jerk, you assured her that it was all OK and she shouldn't worry about it. This is for that time she interrupted the best killing spree you'd ever orchestrated in GTA3 to rant about a rumor that romantically linked her and the guy she thinks is the most repulsive person in the world. And even though you thought it was immature and you had nothing against the guy, you paused the game for two hours and helped her concoct a counter-rumor to spread around the floor.

This is also for that time she didn't have a date, so after numerous vows that there was nothing "serious" between the two of you, she dragged you to a party where you knew nobody, the beer was awful, and she flirted shamelessly with you, justifying each fit of reckless teasing by announcing to everyone: "oh, but we're just friends!" And even though you were invited purely as a symbolic warm body for her ego, you went anyways. Because you're nice like that. The nice guys don't often get credit where credit is due. And perhaps more disturbing, the nice guys don't seem to get laid as often as they should.

And I wish I could logically explain this trend, but I can't. Many girls claim they just want to date a nice guy, but when presented with such a specimen, they say irrational, confusing things such as "oh, he's too nice to date" or "he would be a good boyfriend but he's not for me" or "he already puts up with so much from me, I couldn't possibly ask him out!" or the most frustrating of all: "no, it would ruin our friendship." Yet, they continue to lament the lack of datable men in the world, and they expect their too-nice-to-date male friends to sympathize and apologize for the men that are jerks. Sorry, guys, girls like that are beyond my ability to fathom. I can't figure out why the connection breaks down between what they say (I want a nice guy!) and what they do (I'm going to sleep with this complete ass now!). But one thing I can do, is say that the nice-guy-finishes-last phenomenon doesn't last forever. There are definitely many girls who grow out of that train of thought and realize they should be dating the nice guys, not taking them for granted. The tricky part is finding those girls, and even trickier, finding the ones that are single. So, until those girls are found, I propose a toast to all the nice guys. You know who you are, and I know you're sick of hearing yourself described as ubiquitously nice. But the truth of the matter is, the world needs your patience in the department store, your holding open of doors, your party escorting services, your propensity to be a a sucker for a pretty smile.

For all the crazy, inane, absurd things you tolerate, for all the situations where you are the faceless, nameless hero, my accolades, my acknowledgement, and my gratitude go out to you. You do have credibility in this society, and your well-deserved vindication is coming soon.

from deej

2005-01-25T13:36:52Z

Sent: Tuesday, May 27, 2003 3:15 PM

...it will take just 37 seconds to read this and change your thinking.

Two men, both seriously ill, occupied the same hospital room.

One man was allowed to sit up in his bed for an hour each afternoon to help drain the fluid from his lungs. His bed was next to the room's only window.

The other man had to spend all his time flat on his back.

The men talked for hours on end.

They spoke of their wives and families, their homes, their jobs, their involvement in the military service, where they had been on vacation.

Every afternoon when the man in the bed by the window could sit up, he would pass the time by describing to his roommate all the things he could see outside the window.

The man in the other bed began to live for those one-hour periods where his world would be broadened and enlivened by all the activity and color of the world outside.

The window overlooked a park with a lovely lake.

Ducks and swans played on the water while children sailed their model boats.

Young lovers walked arm in arm amidst flowers of every color and a fine view of the city skyline could be seen in the distance.

As the man by the window described all this in exquisite detail, the man on the other side of the room would close his eyes and imagine the picturesque scene.

One warm afternoon the man by the window described a parade passing by.

Although the other man couldn't hear the band - he could see it. In his mind's eye as the gentleman by the window portrayed it with descriptive words. Days and weeks passed.

One morning, the day nurse arrived to bring water for their baths only to find the lifeless body of the man by the window, who had died peacefully in his sleep. She was saddened and called the hospital attendants to take the body away.

As soon as it seemed appropriate, the other man asked if he could be moved next to the window.

The nurse was happy to make the switch, and after making sure he was comfortable, she left him alone.

Slowly, painfully, he propped himself up on one elbow to take his first look at the real world outside.

He strained to slowly turn to look out the window beside the bed.

It faced a blank wall. The man asked the nurse what could have compelled his deceased roommate who had described such wonderful things outside this window.

The nurse responded that the man was blind and could not even see the wall.

She said, "Perhaps he just wanted to encourage you."

Epilogue:

There is tremendous happiness in making others happy, despite our own situations

Shared grief is half the sorrow, but happiness when shared, is doubled

If you want to feel rich, just count all the things you have that money can't buy

Today is a gift, that's why it is called the present.

livingdeadgrrrl @ 2004-09-03T17:44:00

2004-09-03T09:27:17Z

I wanted a perfect ending. Now I've learned, the hard way, that some poems don't rhyme, and some stories don't have a clear beginning, middle, and end. Life is about not knowing, having to change, taking the moment and making the best of it, without knowing what's going to happen next.
— Gilda Radner (1946-1989), It's Always Something

M. Night Shyamalan

2004-07-23T07:57:15Z

find the heart of our fears in the intersection of the humdrum and horrible.

I have come to believe that the whole world is an enigma, a harmless enigma that is made terrible by our own mad attempt to interpret it as though it had an underlying truth.
— Umberto Eco, Foucault's Pendulum

shrug

2004-06-19T17:17:53Z

And I looked and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death and Hell followed with him.
— Revelations 6:8

i like how . . .

2004-06-16T07:00:49Z

. . . quaintly stilted the language in the KJV is:

An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief.
— Proverbs 6:18, KJV

For jealousy is the rage of a man: therefore he will not spare in the day of vengeance.
— Proverbs 6:34, KJV

the summer of my discontent

2004-04-08T07:56:10Z

down with the haters because we shouldn't let them win.
that anti-Semitic site just should not be first in the Google rankings.
more information here.

am kind of a sap for posting stuff like this, aren't i?

2004-04-07T12:23:02Z

----- Original Message -----
From: Jhoanna
Sent: Tuesday, January 20, 2004 6:20 PM

--

Parable: On True Love (orig. subj.)

"WHY IS TRUE LOVE SO DIFFICULT TO FIND?"

The old woman sat on the antique rattan rocking chair. Her eyeglasses were
perched precariously on her nose as she concentrated on her sewing chores. A
gentle breeze swept the wisp of whitish hair on her temples.

Beside her sat her teen-age granddaughter. She was like a fresh flower recently
bloomed. Without warning she suddenly blurted out, "Grandmother, why is true
love so difficult to find?"

The old woman with a kindly face stopped sewing and touched her granddaughter's
head affectionately. After a moment, the young girl cuddled closer resting her
head on the old woman's lap.

"Listen and I will tell you why," began the grandmother.

"Many centuries ago, when the world was young, true love existed everywhere. It
was available for the asking. Because of this, and women took true love for
granted so God decided to keep true love."
She stopped and smiled as she gently stroke the young girl's soft tresses.
"God asked a pair of angels to keep true love.

First, they buried true love in the ground. But man and woman easily dug it out.
Next, the angels took true love to the highest mountain. But again man and woman
easily climbed to the top. Then the angels submerged true love in the deepest
sea. Man and woman swam to the bottom of the body of water and with ease
retrieved true love."

"So true love is easy to find," commented the young girl. "For man and woman
will dig, climb and swim."

"Yes, but finally the angels kept true love in the hearts of man and woman.
Since then people have had difficulty searching for true love.
For they look everywhere except in the one place that should keep it."

--------- End Forwarded Message ---------

for my Harry icon

2004-04-06T06:12:06Z

http://www.trinityofiniquity.com/ep6-9/s1e7_act2c.jpg

@

http://www.trinityofiniquity.com/screening/sr_s1e7.htm

and lots of little screencaps on

http://www.angelsacolyte.com/epguides/07bachelor.html

How're you doing?

2004-03-22T07:07:07Z

Without knowledge, life is not more than the shadow of death. [Moliere]

-----
It is not the quantity but the quality of knowledge which determines the mind's dignity. [William Ellery Channing]

Take the world as it is, not as it ought to be. [German proverb]

Fw [from Ai]

2004-03-19T03:17:17Z

"Commitment"

Until one is committed there is hesitancy, the chance to draw back,
always ineffectiveness. Concerning all acts of initiative and
creation, there is one elementary truth, the ignorance of which kills
countless ideas and splendid plans. The moment one definitely commits
oneself, all sorts of things begin to happen that would never
otherwise have occurred. A whole stream of events issues from the
committed decision, raising in one's favor all matter of incidents,
meetings and material assistance, which no man could have dreamed
would come his way. Whatever you can do, or dream, you can begin.
Boldness has genius, power and magic in it. Begin it now. — Goethe

farewell letter [fwd from nadet]

2004-02-05T06:02:39Z

Gabriel García Márquez disavowed this "farewell letter" as "cursi" (corny, affected, pretentious) LOL

the actual writer is a Mexican ventriloquist named Johnny Welch, who wrote the poem for his puppet sidekick Mofles *more LOL*

*******If, for an instant, God were to forget that I am a rag doll and gifted me with a piece of life, possibly I wouldn't say all that I think, but rather I would think of all that I say. I would value things, not for their worth, but for what they mean. I would sleep little, dream more, understanding that for each minute we close our eyes we lose 60 seconds of light. I would walk when others hold back, I would wake when others sleep. I would listen when others talk, and how I would enjoy a good chocolate ice cream!

If God were to give me a piece of life, I would dress simply, throw myself face first into the sun, baring not only my body but also my soul.

My God, if I had a heart, I would write my hate on ice, and wait for the sun to show. Over the stars I would paint with a Van Gogh dream a Benedetti poem, and a Serrat song would be the serenade I'd offer to the moon. With my tears I would water roses, to feel the pain of their thorns, and the red kiss of their petals...

My God, if I had a piece of life... I wouldn't let a single day pass without telling the people I love that I love them. I would convince each woman and each man that they are my favorites, and I would live in love with love. I would show men how very wrong they are to think that they cease to be in love when they grow old, not knowing that they grow old when they cease to be in love! To a child I shall give wings, but I shall let him learn to fly on his own. I would teach the old that death does not come with old age, but with forgetting.
So much have I learned from you, oh men...

I have learned that everyone wants to live on the peak of the mountain, without knowing that real happiness is in how it is called.

I have learned that when a newborn child squeezes for the first time with his tiny fist his father's finger, he has him trapped forever. I have learned that a man has the right to look down on another only when he has to help the other get to his feet. From you I have learned so many things, but in truth they won't be of much use, for when I keep them within this suitcase, unhappily shall I be dying.

because the anniversary of his death is near

2003-11-25T19:00:22Z

Glenn's charity was the UCLA Women's Cancer Research Program. Cheques can be made payable to UCLA's Jonsson Cancer Center Foundation.

Attention: Tribute Gifts
UCLA's Jonsson Cancer Center Foundation
8-950 Factor Building
Box 951780
Los Angeles, CA 90095-1780

Just include a note indicating the donation is in honour of Glenn Quinn.

Listen to Love

2003-11-10T01:13:03Z

from a real Lady, @ The Creek

It was a busy morning, approximately 8:30 a.m., when an elderly gentleman, in his 80's, presented to have sutures removed from his thumb.

He stated that he was in a hurry as he had an appointment at 9:00 a.m. I took his vital signs and had him take a seat, knowing it would be over an hour before someone would to able to see him.

I saw him looking at his watch and decided, since I was not busy with another patient, I would evaluate his wound.

On exam it was well healed, so I talked to one of the doctors, got the needed supplies to remove his sutures and redress his wound. While taking care of his wound, we began to engage in conversation. I asked him if he had a doctor's appointment this morning, as he was in such a hurry.

The gentleman told me no, that he needed to go to the nursing home to eat breakfast with his wife. I then inquired as to her health. He told me that she had been there for a while and that she was a victim of Alzheimer Disease.

As we talked, and I finished dressing his wound, I asked if she would be worried if he was a bit late.

He replied that she no longer knew who he was, that she had not recognized him in five years now. I was surprised, and asked him. "And you're still going every morning, even though she doesn't know who you are?"

He smiled as he patted my hand and said. "She doesn't know me, but I still know who she is."

I had to hold back tears as he left, I had goose bumps on my arm, and thought, "That is the kind of love I want in my life."

True love is neither physical, nor romantic.

True love is an acceptance of all that is, has been, will be, and will not be.

Good friends are like stars... You don't always see them, but you always know they're there.

this was in a fwd from Alvin.

2003-11-06T04:15:26Z

There is more in us than we know. If we can be made to see it perhaps for the rest of our lives we will be unwilling to settle for less.
— Kurt Hahn (1886-1974)

from Julie @ The Creek

2003-11-04T05:24:00Z

The Moment
By Melanie T. Lim

It's when you realize another year has gone by and you have enjoyed every moment of the year gone past. Hardship and heartbreak. Romance and adventure. Crisis, catastrophe and all.

It's when you know you have to make a choice between what you want and what is best and you choose what is right. When you make a choice and never look back. When you close a chapter in your life with neither remorse nor regret.

It's when you know you have fallen and failed, loved and lost yet recognize the day isn't spent and the rest of life is yet to follow. When you know that no matter what the odds, you can wake up with purpose and sleep in peace. When you know that no matter what the risks, you can live with passion and die with courage.

It's when you know no one can take away what in your heart you hold dear. And that whatever the world thinks, you can stand up for what you believe in, hope for and dream about. It's when you know no one can take away from you, who you are and what you have become.

It's when you know that to live means to live now, not some other time in the future or the past. It's when you realize you can't have eternity but that now is enough.

It's when you know it's time to grow up not grow old. When you know you are only as young as you feel and as old as you think. It's when you know that moment has come for you to do today, all that you had planned to do tomorrow. Because now isn't soon enough.

It's when you know you have a priceless cache of moments and memories you should never trade for any sum. Because memories are precious and moments are priceless.

It's when you know you hold your heart forever, the moment when you couldn't be happier. When you couldn't love more. When nothing could be less perfect. When walking across the city with the wind on your cheeks. Strolling by the shore, your heart pounding louder than the tide. Dancing magically under a moonlit night, the hand that held yours was yours for that brief but eternal moment.

It's when you can walk away when it's over without anger and bitterness. When you can smile a brave smile when you say goodbye. And when you can move on, better and braver, because you have learned that love isn't love till you let it go.

You spend an entire life searching for that one, defining moment that will trigger an avalanche of enlightening and empowering moments. But you search in vain because there is no one, defining moment only a series of unforgettable moments that define you.

The moment you know with certainty you are loved. The moment you know with finality it is over. The moment you realize that eternity can never be yours. But that the moment is there for you, to seize and savor.

Everyday. For the rest of your life.

The moment is always yours if you can find it.

FW: [TXT EXTREME] A LOVE STORY

2003-07-13T22:24:41Z

----- Original Message -----
From: teena
Sent: Saturday, June 28, 2003 5:48 PM

Once upon a time, there was an island where all the feelings lived; Happiness, Sadness, Knowledge, and all the others, including Love.

One day it was announced to the feelings that the island would sink, so all repaired their boats and left.

Love wanted to persevere until the last possible moment. When the island was almost sinking, Love decided to ask for help. Richness was passing by Love in a grand boat. Love said "Richness, can you take me with you?"
Richness answered, "No, I can't. There is a lot of silver in my boat. There is no place here for you."

Love decided to ask Vanity who was also passing by in a beautiful vessel. "Vanity, please help me!"
"I can't help you Love. You are all wet and might damage my boat," Vanity answered.

Sadness was close by so Love asked for help, "Sadness, let me go with you."
"Oh....Love, I am so sad that I need to be by myself."

Happiness passed by Love too, but she was so happy that she did not even hear when Love called her!

Suddenly there was a voice, "Come Love, I will take you." It was an elder. Love felt so blessed and overjoyed that he even forgot to ask the elder his name. When they arrived at dry land, the elder went his own way.

Love realizing how much he owed the elder, asked Knowledge, another elder. "Who helped me?"
"It was Time," Knowledge answered.
"Time?" asked Love. "But why did Time help me?"
Knowledge smiled with deep wisdom and answered, "Because, only Time is capable of understanding how great Love is."

-- Author Unknown

Quote of the Day (excite.com)

2003-05-21T08:46:49Z

...a hero is a man who does what he can.
— Romain Rolland (1866-1944), Jean-Christophe

nostalgia is forever.

2003-05-10T08:07:15Z

"You never know until you're tested." -- Doyle, "Hero"

Since he arrived in Los Angeles, Angel's mission has been to help the helpless. He has saved countless innocents in his city. However, one escaped his grasp: Doyle, the hard-drinking, easy-living half-demon who came to Angel on a vision quest. Doyle sacrificed himself and in turn reconciled his internal conflict toward his own demonic heritage, leaving Angel (with Cordelia and, ultimately, a new cadre) to carry on with the good fight. And fight they do.

But as the group squares off against evil in the City of Angels, little do they know that back in Sunnydale trouble is brewing as usual. A shakedown of snitches yields info: Someone other than Buffy has been slaying -- and whoever it is, he or she is strictly after half-breeds, going so far as to lie in wait to attack. It doesn't add up, and the Scoobies are stumped.

Back in L.A. the picture becomes clearer when Angel Investigations is visited by an unexpected guest. It's Doyle's father, a Brachen demon named Axtius. He's come to give Doyle a gift: Daddy's going to rid Doyle of his pesky human side. In fact he's looking to rid the world of half-breeds. He's not happy to learn that Doyle's gone, and if someone is to be blamed, it's Angel. But Axtius doesn't have time to point fingers -- he knows where the mixed-blood demons have set up camp. Before long Buffy and her avengers have assembled right alongside Angel and Co. Both slayer and vampire have skirted the boundaries of humanity, but neither can support a massacre. A crime against monsters is a crime nonetheless....
Monster Island by Christopher Golden & Thomas Sniegoski