.......or excerpts from your favorite author/book. I'd love to be exposed to some new stuff/author's I haven't read yet. Also it's just fun to share something resonates with a person as meaningful-even its just that author's way of relating/'saying' something. Sometimes the most profound things and realizations come out of what is just a seemingly common leisurely activity. Stephen King. His observations and character development in that crazy twisting way of his really gets me. “He looks like anybody you see on the street. But when he grins, birds fall dead off telephone lines...the grass yellows up and dies where he spits. He's always outside. He came out of time...He has the name of a thousand demons. Jesus knocked him into a herd of pigs once. His name is Legion. He's afraid of us...He knows magic. He can call the wolves and live in the crows...He's the king of nowhere.†~~~~~~~~~~~~ “There are all sorts of dream interpretations, Freud's being the most notorious, but I have always believed they served a simple eliminatory function, and not much more - that dreams are the psyche's way of taking a good dump every now and then.†~S. King, The Stand There are worse crimes than burning books. One of them is not reading them. ~R. Bradbury\n
" "Mostly wasteland, unfit for cultivation." These words were boldly written across the face of the broad triangle of prairie land drained by the South Saskatchewan River, when Captain John Palliser, Dr. James Hector and Lieutenant Blakison were sent from England in 1857 to survey Ruptersland. They studied altitudes, temperatures and river depths right up to the headwaters of the Saskatchewan. They travelled the South Branch and Palliser had little good to say for the country through which he travelled. The appellation of "Palliser's Triangle" has clung to the territory he labelled as the "Central Desert" ; it starts at Coutts, Alberta, runs to Saskatoon, then southeast to the International boundary in Southwestern Manitoba. In the heart of it lies what has become known as the Rural Municipality of Snipe Lake. " - E. Vernette Armstrong
That movie gave me the whole feeling of what it would be like living up there.. a completely different existence, cold. In that post I immediately heard Hal's voice in my head. haha So I guess I forgot to tell what's going on in The Stand so people will know wtf is going on in the passage. In the book most of the world's population has been wiped out by an airborne virus that has gotten out of a lab. That's the gist. My point is to only show the author's style-not spoilers. \nThunder rolled again, close this time. A chilly breeze ran its hand over the back of his shirt, which was pasted to his skin with sweat. He was going to have to get inside somewhere or else stop shitting around and go through the tunnel. If he couldn't work up the guts to go through, he'd have to spend another night in the city and go over the George Washington Bridge in the morning, and that was 140 blocks north. \nHe tried to think rationally about the tunnel. There was nothing in there that was going to bite him. He'd forgotten to pick up a good big flashlight – Christ, you never remembered everything – but he did have his butanic Bic, and there was a guardrail between the catwalk and the road. Anything else … thinking about all those dead people in their cars, for instance … that was just panic talking, comic-book stuff about as sensible as worrying about the boogeyman in the closet. If that's all you can think about, Larry [he lectured himself], then you're not going to get along in this brave new world. Not at all. You're - A stroke of lightning split the sky almost directly overhead, making him wince. It was followed by a heavy caisson of thunder. He thought randomly, July 1, this is the day you're supposed to take your sweetie to Coney Island and eat hotdogs by the score. Knock down the three wooden milk-bottles with one ball and win the Kewpie doll. The fireworks at night - \nA cold splash of rain struck the side of his face and then another hit the back of his neck and trickled inside the collar of his shirt. Dime-sized drops began to hit around him. He stood up, slung the pack over his shoulders, and hoisted the rifle. He was still not sure which way to go – back to Thirty-ninth or into the Lincoln Tunnel. But he had to get undercover somewhere because it was starting to pour. Thunder broke overhead with a gigantic roar, making him squeal in terror – a sound no different than those made by Cro-Magnon men two million years before. \n“You fucking coward,†he said, and trotted down the ramp toward the maw of the tunnel, his head bent forward as the rain began to come harder. It dripped from his hair. He passed the woman with her nose against the El Dorado's passenger window, trying not to look but catching her out of the tail of his eye just the same. The rain drummed on the car roofs like jazz percussion. It was coming down so hard it bounced back up again, causing a light mist-haze. \nLarry stopped for a moment just outside the tunnel, undecided and frightened again. Then it began to hail, and that decided him. The hailstones were big, stinging. Thunder bellowed again. Okay, he thought. Okay, okay, okay, I'm convinced. He stepped into the Lincoln Tunnel.
haha..I thought I was going crazy...wtf happened to Hal? Not good enough now? A man and a woman in blue coveralls were crumpled at the foot of the candy machine. A man in a white coverall lay beside the Seeburg jukebox. At the tables themselves were nine men and fourteen women, some of them slumped beside Hostess Twinkies, some with spilled cups of Coke and Sprite still clutched in their stiff hands. And at the second table, near the end, there was a man who had been identified as Frank D. Bruce. His face was in a bowl of what appeared to be Campbell's Chunky Sirloin Soup. ~The Stand
She loaded the gun under the single cobwebby attic bulb, and then went down to eat her breakfast at her own kitchen table. She would not hide like a mouse in a hole any longer. She was armed. Let the rapers beware. That afternoon she went out on the front porch to read her book. The name of the book was Satan Is Alive and Well on the Planet Earth. It was grim and joyful stuff. The sinners and the ingrates had gotten their just deserts, just as the book said they would. They were all gone. Except for a few hippie rapers, and she guessed she could handle them. The gun was by her side. ~The Stand
One of my many favorite quotes from the series, "A song of ice and fire," is from Princess Arianne in Dorne. After sex with Ser Arys Oakheart, he gets up to leave. He is disgusted with himself because he feels like he has soiled his honor. He says, "You know I have no other woman. Only . . . duty." \nShe rolled onto one elbow to look up at him, her big black eyes shining in the candlelight. "That poxy bitch? I know her. Dry as dust between the legs, and her kisses leave you bleeding. Let duty sleep alone for once, and stay with me tonight."
"Perhaps the most pervasive example of how easily wanton speculation and oversimplifications dressed in the stolen garments of science dupe us into false knowledge, is the instant authority we grant to the "study" the ipse dixit of the modern world. Anytime a sentence is prefaced with the phrase "studies have shown," you can be sure to hear either some truism ponderously restated, or some half-baked oversimplification the authors of the study already believed to be true before they even began. And when the "study" purports to prove some truth about that intricate, complex, quirky, unpredictable, unique creature that is a human being, then you can be equally sure that its conclusions add one more disease to the syndrome of false knowledge." (Thornton, 11) "The only vice which i know in the universe is avarice; all the others, whatever name one gives them, are merely forms, degrees of it. . . . Analyze vanity, conceit, pride, ambition, deceitfulness, hypocrisy, villainy; break down the majority of our sophisticated virtues themselves, [they] all dissolve in this subtle and pernicious element, the desire to posses." "Three things by which each simple man From plague escape and sickness can, Start soon, flee far from town or land On which the plague has laid its hand, Return but late to such a place Where pestilence has stayed its pace." -Muhammad ibn Zakariya al-Razi Most of my favorite quotes are from non-fiction books, i like the impact that many quotes have from these sorts of writings.
Also, your making me want to read some stephen king, im not a HUGE fiction fan, but horror fic is where its at! And stephen king is legendary for his storytelling. Hes also written books on how to write, worth looking into if you like writing.
I had pretty much given up on this thread...realizing that people probably didn't feel like putting up a large amount of text. I was going to change it to quote by an author...vs. stories...etc..but it counts as that too. Do read some King you'll be glad you did...favorite summer reading. [SIZE=10.5pt]If we listened to our intellect, we'd never have a love affair. We'd never have a friendship. We'd never go into business, because we'd be cynical. Well, that's nonsense. You've got to jump off cliffs all the time and build your wings on the way down.-Bradbury[/SIZE] [SIZE=10.5pt]*Will look at posts when I get back from work...thanks for putting it u[/SIZE][SIZE=10.5pt]p [/SIZE][SIZE=10.5pt] [/SIZE][SIZE=10.5pt] [/SIZE]
I tried starting a new thread on posting quotes from books, but it won't post the new thread..Not sure what's going on there.... so I will just continue this one. It's similar but different. I'm a quote junkie, especially from authors I love to read. Thinking about the context they are presented in and what they mean in relation to life's bigger picture is important. It's a way to learn more about life by appreciating another's perspective and reflecting on their insights. Maybe somebody will get something out of it. I know I will. Post book quotes you love...and how you interpret it.....or what 'gets you' about it.... I'm reading this book with my 6th grade class, and it has been a great group to do it with.. 'The worst part of holding the memories is not the pain. It's the loneliness of it. Memories need to be shared.' ~From 'The Giver'...Lois Lowry Without going into the entire story here, the Giver is discussing the importance of how a shared past with someone (also a collective historical past) creates an emotional connection that is to be valued. Also, even though some memories can be extremely painful, what's important is helping each other along the way. The little kids went on a field trip today... I get to play!
Curious about this..where is it from...and why do you like it.. ? He is referring to control and attachment...but that doesn't mean everything has to be convoluted as such...'Life's really simple, but we insist on making it complicated.' :lol: Are you a sole believer in Science?
A great quote to me, is one that provokes thought. This one was written by a guy named Etienne-Gabriel Morelly in his treatise "Code of nature" (thats the english title at least, it was originally french) I find that most things in life can be simply deduced to a desire to possess something though, even if that something is an emotion instead of something physical. The desire to possess is the sole motivator of mankind, as i see it. Which is subject to change as soon as my perspective changes due to new information. I even argue that doing selfless things is selfish, because the emotional urge to do some act of "kindness" is in order to fulfill this emotional tug, so, instead of doing things for the good of others, we do good things because we want to for ourselves, because it makes us feel gratified, or because our emotions urge us to do so. If i had no incentive (an emotional "want" to do this good act) Then, simply put, i wouldn't do that good deed. Im not sure what you mean by, sole believer in science though
Yes, I got the meaning of the quote.. I can see why you believe that-alot of people do..I think there is such a thing as real compassion, however.....and people show it everyday... Even if you don't accept that, you can consider the example of doing something like risking your life for another person...such as getting someone out of a fire, etc... You wouldn't think before you made a split-second decision...'Is this going to make me feel better about myself first?..Should I save them? It would really help my self-esteem if I did'...You get the point. If it could happen in this type of situation, the point he was making would be untrue. All I think I meant by the Science comment is -Are you a black and white type thinker...Mathematical absolutes...etc..B.F. Skinner...we are all just conditioned animals...etc..
But what is real compassion? As opposed to how i worded it "An emotional tug towards an event". My opinion is that a split second decision to risk ones own life for another is still a decision made. The human mind is capable of blistering speed of thought, I personally can bring up a single "keystone" memory or idea, and attached to it are simultaneously 15, 20, even 100 separate ideas that are all at once understood. to simplify this, I have done a lot of thinking about many topics, and by thinking about a fragment of these thoughts that I have i am able to bring forward ALL (not all, but really alot.) of my previous ideas about this topic. And convert all this information into a single "feeling" or really, an emotional tug towards something, maybe leading to another idea, and so on. honestly, im not sure where i was going with that block of text i just typed....but im going to leave it in anways, When a person risks there life to save another person, they have made a decision. They decided in that split second that running in front of a moving vehicle to push a loved one out of the way is worth the risk of death or serious injury. But if the risk was not worth it, then they would simply stand there and watch the person get slammed by the front bumper of the car. I feel like we are both arguing the same point. Just calling it something different. Semantics really. Like, "Load the wagon with hay" and "Load the hay into the wagon" <- those have different implied meanings though, i know. But still, I guess my question to you is, what are you asking, or stating? Maybe thats what im confused about. Also, i lean towards logic, but logic is not always the best thing to use, in quantum physics for example, that shit is illogical. Philosophy is subjective also, so are the social sciences. And even plenty of topics in the hard sciences like biology. Im logical and objective when doing math, im subjective when considering motivations of criminal acts. I guess. I cant concentrate on this right now, I barely know what i even just said, Ill come back to this later after ive considered the question, and give a real answer.
I see why you say it's semantics. Compassion is wanting to lessen a person's suffering....and that can be emotional, a decision has been made in your heart...or mind as you would say...to do something-yes. Even when you have made no decision you still have made a choice... I am talking about altruism in the truest sense. Certainly people do things to make themselves feel better in some way in terms of helping. I'm not sure you 'possess' anything when you are diving in to stop someone from getting hit though...except in the example I would use...it's not a loved one. With no invested interest, why would that ever happen? It does. I believe you are saying it doesn't/wouldn't. "The only vice which i know in the universe is avarice; all the others, whatever name one gives them, are merely forms, degrees of it. . The only vice there is in the universe is 'gain'-and all the others are related to some form of it.^^^ I am just saying compassion wouldn't be one. It is not always self-serving. Not a bone of contention...Just something I observed and was interested in talking about more... That's why I made the thread.
Nobody realizes that some people expend tremendous energy merely to be normal. -- Albert Camus This is my life. Nobody in my life knows how much I deal with it, either. Some times are worse than others...and these moments come and go as they please.
He believed that life was absurd but did have meaning...they were two different levels. It's easy to misconstrue that. He thought man himself gives it meaning other than some unknown deity. This is my favorite quote by him and I think about it often.. You will never be happy if you continue to search for what happiness consists of. You will never live if you are looking for the meaning of life. ~Camus \nSelf-explanatory
Just some good ones... [SIZE=10.5pt]Fiction is the truth inside the lie.- Stephen King[/SIZE] Science has not yet taught us if madness is or is not the sublimity of the intelligence.~Poe
With school turning out more runners, jumpers, racers, tinkerers, grabbers, snatchers, fliers, and swimmers instead of examiners, critics, knowers, and imaginative creators, the word `intellectual,' of course, became the swear word it deserved to be. You always dread the unfamiliar. -Fahrenheit 451