November 15 Most Favored: Too much truth is uncouth. Franklin P. Adams, American columnist and regular radio panelist, 1881-1960 It simply is not true that war never settles anything. The mode by which the inevitable is reached is effort. Felix Frankfurter, Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court. He graduated from Harvard Law School and was active politically, helping to found the American Civil Liberties Union. He was a friend and adviser of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, who appointed him to the Supreme Court. Frankfurter served on the Supreme Court for 23 years, and was a noted advocate of judicial restraint in the judgments of the Court, 1882-1965 Youre not free until youve been made captive by supreme belief. As contagion of sickness makes sickness, contagion of trust can make trust. There never was a war that was not inward; I must fight till I have conquered in myself what causes war. War is pillage versus resistance and if illusions of magnitude could be transmuted into ideals of magnanimity, peace might be realized. Marianne Moore, American Modernist poet and writer noted for her irony and wit. Her work Collected Poems (1951) earned her the Pulitzer Prize, the National Book Award, and the Bollingen Prize, 1887-1972 War without Hate. (The title he chose for his memoirs of the North Africa Campaign, published in 1950.) Erwin Rommel, German soldier. He was a highly decorated officer in World War I and in World War II, he further distinguished himself as a commander during the 1940 invasion of France. His leadership of German and Italian forces in the North African campaign earned him the appellation of the Desert Fox. He later commanded the German forces opposing the Allied cross-channel invasion of Normandy. He is regarded as having been a humane and professional officer. His Afrika Korps was never accused of war crimes, and soldiers captured during his Africa campaign were reported to have been treated humanely. Orders to kill Jewish soldiers, civilians and captured commandos were ignored. He was linked to the conspiracy to assassinate Adolf Hitler, and because Rommel was a national hero, Hitler desired to eliminate him quietly. He forced Rommel to commit suicide with a cyanide pill, in return for assurances that Rommels family would not be persecuted following his death. He was given a state funeral, and the cause of his death was announced as a heart attack, following a car crash, 1891-1944 This is my truth, tell me yours. Aneurin Bevan, Welsh Labour Party politician who was the Minister for Health from 1945 to 1951. The son of a coal miner, Bevan was a lifelong champion of social justice and the rights of working people. He overcame a speech impediment and was regarded as one of the most eloquent public speakers of his day. He was a long-time Member of Parliament (MP) for 31 years. He was one of the chief spokesmen for the Labour party’s left wing, and of left-wing British thought generally. However, he was intermittently in trouble with the Labour leadership. His most famous accomplishment came when, as Minister of Health, he spearheaded the establishment of the National Health Service, which was to provide medical care free at point-of-need to all Britons. He resigned when the Attlee government proposed to charge patients a fee for eyeglasses and dentures, 1897-1960 Favorites: Let none turn over books, or roam the stars in quest of God, who sees him not in man. What do I owe to my times, to my country, to my neighbors, to my friends? Such are the questions which a virtuous man ought often to ask himself. Johann Kaspar Lavater, Swiss poet and physiognomist, 1741-1801 He can feel no little wants who is in pursuit of grandeur. I am prejudiced in favor of him who, without impudence, can ask boldly. He has faith in humanity, and faith in himself. No one who is not accustomed to giving grandly can ask nobly and with boldness. Johann Kaspar Lavater The indispensible judicial requisite is intellectual humility. Answers are not obtained by putting the wrong question and thereby begging the real one. Judicial judgment must take deep account of the day before yesterday in order that yesterday may not paralyze today. Felix Frankfurter You get whatever accomplishment you are willing to declare. I decided to start anew, to strip away what I had been taught. One cannot be an American by going about saying that one is an American. It is necessary to feel America, like America, love America and then work. Georgia OKeeffe, American artist. She made large-format paintings of enlarged blossoms, presenting them close up as if seen through a magnifying lens, and New York buildings, most of which date from the same decade. Beginning in 1929, when she began working part of the year in Northern New Mexico—which she made her permanent home in 1949—O’Keeffe depicted subjects specific to that area. She is chiefly known for paintings in which she synthesizes abstraction and representation in paintings of flowers, rocks, shells, animal bones and landscapes. Her paintings present crisply contoured forms that are replete with subtle tonal transitions of varying colors, and she often transformed her subject matter into powerful abstract images. OKeeffe has been recognized as the Mother of American Modernism, 1887-1986 Beauty is everlasting And dust is for a time. Poetry is the art of creating imaginary gardens with real toads. Psychology which explains everything explains nothing, and we are still in doubt. When one cannot appraise out of ones own experience, the temptation to blunder is minimized, but even when one can, appraisal seems chiefly useful as appraisal of the appraiser. Marianne Moore Why read the crystal when he can read the book? The Prime Minister has an absolute genius for putting flamboyant labels on empty luggage. Aneurin Bevan I feel that the surrealists have created a series of valid external landscapes which have their direct correspondences within our own minds. Given that external reality is a fiction, the writers role is almost superfluous. He does not need to invent the fiction because it is already there. J. G. Ballard, British novelist and short story writer who was a prominent member of the New Wave in science fiction. His best known books are the controversial Crash, and the autobiographical novel Empire of the Sun, both of which have been adapted to film, 1930-2009 Others: The enjoyments of this life are not equal to its evils. In these matters the only certainty is that there is nothing certain. Let honor be to us as strong an obligation as necessity is to others. William Pitt the elder, British Statesman 1st Earl of Chatham, byname The Great Commoner, British Whig statesman who led Britain during the Seven Years War (known as the French and Indian War in North America). He again led the country between 1766 and 1768. Much of his power came from his brilliant oratory. Pitt is best known for his single-minded devotion to victory over France, a victory which ultimately solidified Britains dominance over world affairs. He is also known for his popular appeal, his opposition to corruption in government, his support for the American position in the run-up to the American War of Independence, his advocacy of British greatness, expansionism and colonialism, and his antagonism toward Britains chief enemies and rivals for colonial power, Spain and France, 1708-1778 The undevout astronomer must be mad. Here is truly a hole in Heaven. (after a long period of scrutinizing a starless spot, probably in the constellation Scorpius) All human discoveries seem to be made only for the purpose of confirming more strongly the truths come from on high, and contained in the sacred writings. William Herschel, German-born British astronomer, technical expert, and composer. He became famous for his discovery of the planet Uranus, along with two of its major moons, and also discovered two moons of Saturn. In addition, he was the first person to discover the existence of infrared radiation. He is also known for the twenty-four symphonies, and many other musical pieces, that he composed, 1738–1822 The worst of faces still is human. Stubbornness is the strength of the weak. Intuition is the clear conception of the whole at once. Act well at the moment, and you have performed a good action to all eternity. There are three classes of men; the retrograde, the stationary and the progressive. He knows very little of mankind who expects, by any facts or reasoning, to convince a determined party-man. If you wish to appear agreeable in society, you must consent to be taught many things which you know already. Depend on no man, on no friend but him who can depend on himself. He only who acts conscientiously toward himself, will act so toward others. Mistrust the person who finds everything good, and the person who finds everything evil, and mistrust even more the person who is indifferent to everything. Who in the same given time can produce more than others has vigor; who can produce more and better, has talents; who can produce what none else can, has genius. The prudent see only the difficulties, the bold only the advantages, of a great enterprise; the hero sees both; diminishes the former and makes the latter preponderate, and so conquers. Johann Kaspar Lavater Since I am used to speaking in public, I know that it is useless. Elections are won by men and women chiefly because most people vote against somebody rather than for somebody. Years ago we discovered the exact point, the dead centre of middle age. It occurs when you are too young to take up golf and too old to rush up to the net. Franklin P. Adams There can be no security where there is fear. Anybody can decide a question if only a single principle is in controversy. Freedom of the press is not an end in itself but a means to the end of achieving a free society. Wisdom too often never comes, and so one ought not to reject it merely because it comes late. It is a wise man who said that there is no greater inequality than the equal treatment of unequals. The mark of a truly civilized man is confidence in the strength and security derived from the inquiring mind. Felix Frankfurter One cant paint New York as it is, but rather as it is felt. I decided that if I could paint that flower in a huge scale, you could not ignore its beauty. I hate flowers. I only paint them because theyre cheaper than models and they dont move. I found I could say things with color and shapes that I couldnt say any other way - things I had no words for. Nobody sees a flower really; it is so small. We havent time, and to see takes time - like to have a friend takes time. I know now that most people are so closely concerned with themselves that they are not aware of their own individuality, I can see myself, and it has helped me to say what I want to say in paint. When you take a flower in your hand and really look at it, its your world for the moment. I want to give that world to someone else. Most people in the city rush around so, they have no time to look at a flower. I want them to see it whether they want to or not. Georgia OKeeffe Egotism is usually subversive of sagacity. We are suffering from too much sarcasm. The passion for setting people right is in itself an afflictive disease. A writer is unfair to himself when he is unable to be hard on himself. The deepest feeling always shows itself in silence; not in silence, but restraint. You are not male nor female, but a plan deep-set within the heart of man. (on the sun) Any writer overwhelmingly honest about pleasing himself is almost sure to please others. I, too, dislike it: there are things that are important beyond all this fiddle. Reading it, however, with a perfect contempt for it, one discovers in it after all, a place for the genuine. (on poetry) We are what we were at birth, and each trait has remained in conformity with earths and with heavens logic: Be the devils tool, resort to black magic, None can diverge from the ends which Heaven foreordained. Marianne Moore Sweat saves blood, blood saves lives, and brains saves both. Be an example to your men in your duty and in private life. Never spare yourself, and let the troops see that you dont in your endurance of fatigue and privation. Always be tactful and well-mannered, and teach your subordinates to be the same. Avoid excessive sharpness or harshness of voice, which usually indicates the man who has shortcomings of his own to hide. Erwin Rommel Disputed: Dont fight a battle if you dont gain anything by winning. – This is cited to to Rommels Infanterie Greift An [Infantry Attacks] (1937) in World War II : The Definitive Visual History (2009) by Richard Holmes, p. 128, and Timelines of History (2011) by DK Publishing, p. 392, but to George S. Patton, in Pattons Principles : A Handbook for Managers Who Mean It! (1982) by Porter B. Williamson as well as Leadership (1990) by William Safire and Leonard Safir, p. 47 Americans wanted to settle all our difficulties with Russia and then go to the movies and drink Coke. Roosevelt was the one who had the vision to change our policy from isolationism to world leadership. That was a terrific revolution. Our countrys never been the same since. W. Averell Harriman, American Democratic Party politician, businessman, and diplomat. He was the son of railroad baron and served as Secretary of Commerce and later as Governor of New York. He was a candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1952, and again in 1956 but lost to Adlai Stevenson both times. Harriman served President Franklin D. Roosevelt as special envoy to Europe and served as the U.S. Ambassador to the Soviet Union and U.S. Ambassador to Britain. He served in numerous U.S. diplomatic assignments in the Kennedy and Johnson administrations. He was a core member of the group of foreign policy elders known as The Wise Men, 1891-1986 He seems determined to make a trumpet sound like a tin whistle. I have never regarded politics as the arena of morals. It is the arena of interest. We know what happens to people who stay in the middle of the road. They get run down. The Tories, every election, must have a bogy man. If you havent got a programme, a bogy man will do. It is an axiom, enforced by all the experience of the ages, that they who rule industrially will rule politically. No attempt at ethical or social seduction can eradicate from my heart a deep burning hatred for the Tory Party. So far as I am concerned they are lower than vermin. I am not going to spend any time whatsoever in attacking the Foreign Secretary. If we complain about the tune, there is no reason to attack the monkey when the organ grinder is present. Not even the apparently enlightened principle of the ‘greatest good for the greatest number’ can excuse indifference to individual suffering. There is no test for progress other than its impact on the individual. He has the lucidity which is the by-product of a fundamentally sterile mind. He does not have to struggle... with the crowded pulsations of a fecund imagination. On the contrary he is almost devoid of imagination. Aneurin Bevan Art is the principal way in which the human mind has tried to remake the world in a way that makes sense. Pop artists deal with the lowly trivia of possessions and equipment that the present generation is lugging along with it on its safari into the future. I define Inner Space as an imaginary realm in which on the one hand the outer world of reality, and on the other the inner world of the mind meet and merge. The art of Salvador Dalí, an extreme metaphor at a time when only the extreme will do, constitutes a body of prophecy about ourselves unequaled in accuracy since Freuds Civilization And Its Discontents. Electronic aids, particularly domestic computers, will help the inner migration, the opting out of reality. Reality is no longer going to be the stuff out there, but the stuff inside your head. Its going to be commercial and nasty at the same time. The American Dream has run out of gas. The car has stopped. It no longer supplies the world with its images, its dreams, its fantasies. No more. Its over. It supplies the world with its nightmares now: the Kennedy assassination, Watergate, Vietnam... The marriage of reason and nightmare which has dominated the 20th century has given birth to an ever more ambiguous world. Across the communications landscape move the specters of sinister technologies and the dreams that money can buy. We live in a world ruled by fictions of every kind -- mass merchandising, advertising, politics conducted as a branch of advertising, the instant translation of science and technology into popular imagery…The fiction is already there. The writers task is to invent the reality. J. G. Ballard Chad Kroeger, Canadian musician and producer best known as the lead vocalist and guitarist for the Canadian rock band Nickelback, b. 1974 – info only
Posted on: Fri, 15 Nov 2013 15:53:38 +0000