"For in politics, as in religion my tenets are few and simple. The leading one of which, and indeed that which embraces most others, is to be honest and just ourselves and to exact it from others, meddling as little as possible in their affairs where our own are not involved. If this maxim was generally adopted, wars would cease and our swords would soon be converted into reap hooks and our harvests be more peaceful, abundant, and happy."
George Washington
I made this a few years ago. It hung in my cube for quite a long time.
Wishing there were more Pete Seegers in the world.
I caught a bit of the This American Life broadcast last weekend where Jonathan Goldstein reads his short story about The Penguin (pre-Gotham) meeting Mary Poppins. It is absurd and hilarious.
Here's the first paragraph. Follow the link to keep reading. (DO IT!)
Before he ever moved to Gotham City, before he grew into the overweight, obsessive sad sack of his later years, the Penguin was a poet and a dandy who lived in London. He wrote complex villanelles and threw lavish dinner parties at which he only became more charming the more he drank. He wore a monocle, a top hat and carried an umbrella.
One evening, at one of his dinner parties after hours spent sipping absinthe, the Penguin ran up to the roof of his building, opened up his large, black umbrella and leaped off into the air. As he coasted to the ground, he hollered out lines from Blake, stuff about grabbing life by the fat of its stomach and giving it a twist. He was that crazy. He was that bursting with life.
Continue reading ...
Travel is oxygen. The collected experiences of new countries, cultures, and landscapes seems to linger in the mind with equal fervor forever after. It's been a year since my last international trip and I still think about it all the time.
Edna St. Vincent Millay, 1892 - 1950
The railroad track is miles away,
And the day is loud with voices speaking,
Yet there isn’t a train goes by all day
But I hear its whistle shrieking.
All night there isn’t a train goes by,
Though the night is still for sleep and dreaming,
But I see its cinders red on the sky,
And hear its engine steaming.
My heart is warm with friends I make,
And better friends I’ll not be knowing;
Yet there isn’t a train I wouldn’t take,
No matter where it’s going.
“Now and then it's good to pause in our pursuit of happiness and just be happy.” - Apollinaire
I spent the holiday weekend in Wisconsin at my friend's glorious family farm (which is sort of like their cabin). It was a fun, fresh-air filled, holiday weekend with a bunch of good people. Life at it's best.
