Rene Girard
René Girard (born December 25, 1923, Avignon, France) is a French historian, literary critic, and philosopher of social science. His work belongs to the tradition of anthropological philosophy.
Desire
@ The ultimate meaning of desire is death.
in Mensonge romantique et vérité romanesque [Deceit, Desire and the Novel : Self and Other in Literary Structure] (1961), p. 290
http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Rene_Girard
Cicero (106 BC-43 BC)
Cicero (106 BC-43 BC)
Marcus Tullius Cicero ( /ˈsɪsɨroʊ/; Classical Latin: [ˈkɪkɛroː]; January 3, 106 BC – December 7, 43 BC; sometimes anglicized as Tully) was a Roman philosopher, statesman, lawyer, orator, political theorist, consul and constitutionalist. He came from a wealthy municipal family of the equestrian order, and is widely considered one of Rome's greatest orators and prose stylists.
He introduced the Romans to the chief schools of Greek philosophy and created a Latin philosophical vocabulary (with neologisms such as humanitas, qualitas, quantitas, and essentia) distinguishing himself as a linguist, translator, and philosopher.
Petrarch's rediscovery of Cicero's letters is often credited for initiating the 14th-century Renaissance. According to Polish historian Tadeusz Zieliński, "Renaissance was above all things a revival of Cicero, and only after him and through him of the rest of Classical antiquity." The peak of Cicero's authority and prestige came during the eighteenth-century Enlightenment, and his impact on leading Enlightenment thinkers such as John Locke, David Hume, and Montesquieu was substantial. His works rank among the most influential in European culture, and today still constitute one of the most important bodies of primary material for the writing and revision of Roman history, especially the last days of the Roman Republic.
Though he was an accomplished orator and successful lawyer, Cicero believed his political career was his most important achievement. It was during his consulship that the Catiline conspiracy attempted the government overthrow through an attack on the city from outside forces, and Cicero suppressed the revolt by executing five conspirators without due process. During the chaotic latter half of the 1st century BC marked by civil wars and the dictatorship of Gaius Julius Caesar, Cicero championed a return to the traditional republican government. Following Julius Caesar's death Cicero became an enemy of Mark Antony in the ensuing power struggle, attacking him in a series of speeches. He was proscribed as an enemy of the state by the Second Triumvirate and subsequently murdered in 43 BC.
Quotes·Quotations by Cicero
Habit
¶ Consuetudo quasi altera natura effici.
Habit is, as it were, a second nature.
Writing·Reading
¶ A room without books is like a body without a soul.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cicero
Blanche DuBois (A Streetcar Named Desire, 1951)
Blanche DuBois from A Streetcar Named Desire (1951)
Quotes·Quotation by Blanche DuBois
Vivien Leigh as Blanche DuBois from A Streetcar Named Desire (1951)
¶ Whoever you are, I have always depended on the kindness of strangers.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vivien_Leigh
Blackstone
Blackstone
Blackstone Group
The Blackstone Group L.P. is a multinational private equity, investment banking, alternative asset management and financial services corporation based in New York City. As the largest alternative investment firm in the world,[2] Blackstone specializes in private equity, credit and hedge fund investment strategies, as well as financial advisory services, such as mergers and acquisitions (M&A), restructurings and reorganizations, and private placements.[3]
Blackstone's private equity business has been one of the largest investors in leveraged buyout transactions over the last decade, while its real estate business has actively acquired commercial real estate. Since its inception, Blackstone has completed investments in such notable companies as Hilton Worldwide, Equity Office Properties, Republic Services, AlliedBarton, United Biscuits, Freescale Semiconductor, Vivint[4] and Travelport.[5]
Blackstone was founded in 1985 as a mergers and acquisitions boutique by Peter G. Peterson and Stephen A. Schwarzman, who had previously worked together at Lehman Brothers, Kuhn, Loeb Inc. Over the course of two decades, Blackstone has evolved into one of the world's largest private equity investment firms. In 2007, Blackstone completed a $4 billion initial public offering to become one of the first major private equity firms to list shares in its management company on a public exchange.[6][7] Blackstone is headquartered at 345 Park Avenue in New York City, with eight additional offices in the United States, as well as offices in London, Paris, Düsseldorf, Sydney, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Beijing, Shanghai, Mumbai, and Dubai.
Quotes·Quotations by Blackstone Group
Investment Philosophy
¶ Buy it, fix it, sell it.
Person
¶ A special person makes a difference.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blackstone_Group
Black Widow (Natalia Romanova)
Black Widow (Natalia Romanova)
Black Widow (Чёрная вдова, 'Chyornaya vdova') (Natalia "Natasha" Alianovna Romanova, also known as Natasha Romanoff) is a fictional character in the Marvel Comics Universe. She was created by editor and plotter Stan Lee, scripter Don Rico and artist Don Heck, and first appeared in Tales of Suspense No. 52 (April 1964).
The Black Widow was played by Scarlett Johansson in the 2010 motion picture Iron Man 2 and 2012 motion picture The Avengers.
Quotes·Quotation by Black Widow (Natalia Romanova)
¶ I need your impression.
¶ I'll persuade you.
¶ Regimes fall every day. I tend not to weep over that, I'm Russian... or was.
¶ Thank you for your cooperation.
¶ Natasha Romanoff: [Clint is waking up from Loki's mind control] Clint, you're gonna be alright.
Clint Barton: You know that? Is that what you know? I got... I gotta go in though. I gotta flush him out.
Natasha Romanoff: You gotta level out, that's gonna take time.
Clint Barton: You don't understand. Have you ever had someone take your brain and play? Take you out and stuff something else in? You know what it's like to be unmade?
Natasha Romanoff: You know that I do.
Clint Barton: Why am I back? How'd you get him out?
Natasha Romanoff: Cognitive re-calibration. I hit you really hard in the head.
Clint Barton: Thanks.
¶ Clint Barton: [Natasha has freed him from his restraints] Tasha, how many agents did I-?
Natasha Romanoff: Don't. Don't do that to yourself, Clint. This is Loki. This is monsters and magic and nothing we were ever trained for.
Clint Barton: Loki, he got away?
Natasha Romanoff: Yeah. Don't suppose you know where?
Clint Barton: [Shakes head] Didn't need to know. Didn't ask. He's gonna make his play soon though. Today.
Natasha Romanoff: We gotta stop him.
Clint Barton: Yeah, who's "we"?
Natasha Romanoff: [Shrugs] I don't know. Whoever's left.
Clint Barton: Well, I... if I put an arrow through Loki's eye socket, I'd sleep better, I s'pose.
Natasha Romanoff: Now you sound like you.
Clint Barton: But you don't. You're a spy, not a soldier. Now you want to wade into a war. Why? What did Loki do to you?
Natasha Romanoff: He didn't, I just...
[pauses]
Clint Barton: Natasha.
Natasha Romanoff: I've been compromised. I got red in my ledger. I'd like to wipe it out.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Widow_(Natalia_Romanova)
Otto von Bismarck
Otto von Bismarck
Quotes·Quotations by Otto von Bismarck
Politics·Government
@ People never lie so much as after a hunt, during a war or before an election.
Quotes·Quotations by Otto von Bismarck
Politics·Government
@ People never lie so much as after a hunt, during a war or before an election.
Billy Crystal (1948- )
Billy Crystal
William Edward "Billy" Crystal[1] (born March 14, 1948)[1][2] is an American actor, writer, producer, comedian, and film director. He gained prominence in the 1970s for playing Jodie Dallas on the ABC sitcom Soap and became a Hollywood film star during the late 1980s and 1990s, appearing in the critical and box office successes When Harry Met Sally... and City Slickers. He has hosted the Academy Awards nine times through the 84th Academy Awards in 2012.
Quotes·Quotations by Billy Crystal
¶ How about this way? I love that you get cold when it's 71 degrees out. I love that it takes you an hour and a half to order a sandwich. I love that you get a little crinkle above your nose when you're looking at me like I'm nuts. I love that after I spend the day with you, I can still smell your perfume on my clothes. And I love that you are the last person I want to talk to before I go to sleep at night. And it's not because I'm lonely, and it's not because it's New Year's Eve. I came here tonight because when you realize you want to spend the rest of your life with somebody, you want the rest of your life to start as soon as possible.
¶ I came here tonight because when you realize you want to spend the rest of your life with somebody, you want the rest of your life to start as soon as possible.
References
[1]^ a b c On page 17 of his book, 700 Sundays, Crystal displays his birth announcement, which states that his full name is "William Edward", not "William Jacob" Crystal, Billy (2005). 700 Sundays. Grand Central Publishing. p. 17. ISBN 978-0446578677. "Sunday Number One. I'm born. March 14, 1948, in Manhattan at Doctor's [sic] Hospital overlooking Gracie Mansion. 7:30 in the morning."
[2]^ Note: Some sources have given 1947, as per FIlmReference.com, below
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billy_Crystal
Bill H. Gross (1944- )
Bill Gross (1944- )
William Hunt "Bill" Gross (born April 13, 1944) is an American financial manager and investment author who co-founded Pacific Investment Management (PIMCO). Gross also runs PIMCO's $252.2 billion Total Return Fund.
Quotes·Quotations by Bill Gross
Finance
¶ Inflation and deflation in this levered world coexist nearly side-by-side.
¶ There is not a Bond King or a Stock King or an Investor Sovereign alive that can claim title to a throne. All of us, even the old guys like Buffett, Soros, Fuss, yeah – me too, have cut our teeth during perhaps a most advantageous period of time, the most attractive epoch, that an investor could experience. ...What if an epoch changes? What if perpetual credit expansion and its fertilization of asset prices and returns are substantially altered? What if zero-bound interest rates define the end of a total return epoch that began in the 1970s, accelerated in 1981 and has come to a mathematical dead-end for bonds in 2012/2013 and commonsensically for other conjoined asset classes as well? What if a future epoch favors lower than index carry or continual bouts of 2008 Lehmanesque volatility, or encompasses a period of global geopolitical confrontation with a quest for scarce and scarcer resources such as oil, water, or simply food as suggested by Jeremy Grantham? What if the effects of global "climate change or perhaps aging demographics," substantially alter the rather fertile petri dish of capitalistic expansion and endorsement? What if quantitative easing policies eventually collapse instead of elevate asset prices? What if there is a future that demands that an investor—a seemingly great investor—change course, or at least learn new tricks? Ah, now, that would be a test of greatness: the ability to adapt to a new epoch.
Investment
¶ Investment markets in the United States will not ultimately prosper under such an increasingly odorous environment.
Neighbor
¶ What we're doing is kind of expanding upon the neighbor concept.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Gross
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Gross
Images
Wikimedia Commons
 |
| Image: The block of four of the 1869 24c United States stamps with inverted centre from the Gross collection (shown inverted) | Wikimedia Commons in the public domain | https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:1869_24c_United_States_stamps_with_inverted_centre.jpg |
Bill Gates (1955- )
Bill Gates (1955- )
William Henry "Bill" Gates III (born October 28, 1955) is an American business magnate, computer programmer and philanthropist. Gates is the former chief executive and current chairman of Microsoft, the world’s largest personal-computer software company, which he co-founded with Paul Allen. He is consistently ranked among the world's wealthiest people and was the wealthiest overall from 1995 to 2009, excluding 2008, when he was ranked third; in 2011 he was the wealthiest American and the second wealthiest person. During his career at Microsoft, Gates held the positions of CEO and chief software architect, and remains the largest individual shareholder, with 6.4 percent of the common stock. He has also authored or co-authored several books.[1]
Gates is one of the best-known entrepreneurs of the personal computer revolution. Gates has been criticized for his business tactics, which have been considered anti-competitive, an opinion which has in some cases been upheld by the courts. In the later stages of his career, Gates has pursued a number of philanthropic endeavors, donating large amounts of money to various charitable organizations and scientific research programs through the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, established in 2000.
Gates stepped down as chief executive officer of Microsoft in January 2000. He remained as chairman and created the position of chief software architect. In June 2006, Gates announced that he would be transitioning from full-time work at Microsoft to part-time work, and full-time work at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. He gradually transferred his duties to Ray Ozzie, chief software architect, and Craig Mundie, chief research and strategy officer. Gates's last full-time day at Microsoft was June 27, 2008. He remains at Microsoft as non-executive chairman.
Quotes·Quotation by Bill Gates
¶ We've got to put a lot of money into changing behavior.
¶ Life is not divided into semesters. You don't get summers off and very few employers are interested in helping you find yourself.
¶ If GM had kept up with technology like the computer industry has, we would all be driving $25 cars that got 1000 MPG.
¶ You see, antiquated ideas of kindness and generosity are simply bugs that must be programmed out of our world. And these cold, unfeeling machines will show us the way.
¶ Winter is on my head, but eternal spring is in my heart.
¶ I think it's fair to say that personal computers have become the most empowering tool we've ever created. They're tools of communication, they're tools of creativity, and they can be shaped by their user.
 |
| Gates in 2023 |
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Gates
Bill Kilgore (Apocalypse Now)
Lieutenant Colonel Bill Kilgore from Apocalypse Now (1979)
Quotes·Quotation by Robert Duvall
¶ You smell that? Do you smell that? Napalm, son. Nothing else in the world smells like that. I love the smell of napalm in the morning. You know, one time we had a hill bombed, for twelve hours. When it was all over I walked up. We didn't find one of 'em, not one stinkin' dink body. The smell, you know that gasoline smell, the whole hill. Smelled like … victory. Someday this war's gonna end.
Bill Murray (1950- )
Bill Murray (1950- )
William James "Bill" Murray (born September 21, 1950) is an American actor and comedian. He first gained national exposure on Saturday Night Live in which he earned an Emmy Award and later went on to star in a number of critically and commercially successful comedic films, including Caddyshack (1980), Ghostbusters (1984), and Groundhog Day (1993). Murray gained additional critical acclaim later in his career, starring in Lost in Translation (2003), that earned him an Academy Award for Best Actor nomination, and a series of films directed by Wes Anderson, including Rushmore (1998), The Royal Tenenbaums (2001) and The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004).
Quotes·Quotation by Bill Murray
¶ Cinderella story, out of nowhere, former greenskeeper, now about to become the Masters champion. It looks like a mirac- it's in the hole! It's in the hole!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Murray
Ambrose Bierce (1842-1914)
Ambrose Bierce (1842-c.1914)
Ambrose Gwinnett Bierce (June 24, 1842 – Circa 1914) was an American editorialist, journalist, short story writer, fabulist, and satirist. He wrote the short story "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge" and compiled a satirical lexicon, The Devil's Dictionary. His vehemence as a critic, his motto "Nothing matters", and the sardonic view of human nature that informed his work, all earned him the nickname "Bitter Bierce".
Quotes·Quotations by Ambrose Bierce
Love
¶ Love: a temporary insanity, curable by marriage.
Bible
Bible
The Bible (from Koine Greek τὰ βιβλία ta biblia "the books") is any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the contents and the order of the individual books (Biblical canon) vary among denominations. The 24 texts of the Hebrew Bible are divided into 39 books in Christian Old Testaments, and complete Christian Bibles range from the 66 books of the Protestant canon to the 81 books of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church Bible. The Hebrew and Christian Bibles are also important to other Abrahamic religions, including Islam and the Bahá'í Faith, but those religions do not regard them as central religious texts.
The Hebrew Bible, or Tanakh, is divided into three parts: (1) the five books of the Torah ("teaching" or "law"), comprising the origins of the Israelite nation, its laws and its covenant with the God of Israel; (2) the Nevi'im ("prophets"), containing the historic account of ancient Israel and Judah focusing on conflicts between the Israelites and other nations, and conflicts among Israelites – specifically, struggles between believers in "the LORD God" and believers in foreign gods, and the criticism of unethical and unjust behavior of Israelite elites and rulers; and (3) the Ketuvim ("writings"): poetic and philosophical works such as the Psalms and the Book of Job.
The Christian Bible is divided into two parts. The first is called the Old Testament, containing the (minimum) 39 books of Hebrew Scripture, and the second portion is called the New Testament, containing a set of 27 books. The first four books of the New Testament form the Canonical gospels which recount the life of Jesus and are central to the Christian faith. Christian Bibles include the books of the Hebrew Bible, but arranged in a different order: Jewish Scripture ends with the people of Israel restored to Jerusalem and the temple, whereas the Christian arrangement ends with the book of the prophet Malachi. The oldest surviving Christian Bibles are Greek manuscripts from the 4th century; the oldest complete Jewish Bible is a Greek translation, also dating to the 4th century. The oldest complete manuscripts of the Hebrew Bible (the Masoretic text) date from the Middle Ages.
During the three centuries following the establishment of Christianity in the 1st century, Church Fathers compiled Gospel accounts and letters of apostles into a Christian Bible which became known as the New Testament. The Old and New Testaments together are commonly referred to as "The Holy Bible" (τὰ βιβλία τὰ ἅγια). Many Christians consider the text of the Bible to be divinely inspired, and cite passages in the Bible itself as support for this belief. The canonical composition of the Old Testament is under dispute between Christian groups: Protestants hold only the books of the Hebrew Bible to be canonical; Roman Catholics and Eastern Orthodox additionally consider the deuterocanonical books, a group of Jewish books, to be canonical. The New Testament is composed of the Gospels ("good news"), the Acts of the Apostles, the Epistles (letters), and the Book of Revelation. The Bible is the best-selling book in history with approximate sales estimates ranging from 2.5 billion to 6 billion.
Quotes·Quotation by Bible
Old Testament
Genesis
Exodus
¶ I have been a stranger in a strange land. [Exodus 2:22, Old Testament]
¶ You shall not steal. You shall not give false evidence against your neighbour. You shall not set your heart on your neighbour's house. You shall not set your heart on your neighbour's spouse, or servant, man or woman, or ox, or donkey, or any of your neighbour's possessions. [Exodus 20:15-17, Old Testament]
¶ But if her death will have followed, he will repay a life for a life, an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, a hand for a hand, a foot for a foot, a scrape for a scrape, a wound for a wound, a bruise for a bruise. [Exodus 21:23-25, Old Testament]
Leviticus
Numbers
Deuteronomy
Joshua
Judges
Ruth
1 Samuel
2 Samuel
1 Kings
2 Kings
1 Chronicles
2 Chronicles
Ezra
Nehemiah
Tobit
Judith
Esther
1 Maccabees
2 Maccabees
Job
Psalms
Proverbs
Ecclesiastes
Song of Songs
Wisdom
Sirach
Isaiah
Jeremiah
Lamentations
Baruch
Ezekiel
Daniel
Hosea
Joel
Amos
Obadiah
Jonah
Micah
Nahum
Habakkuk
Zephaniah
Haggai
Zechariah
Malachi
New Testament
Gospel of Matthew
¶ Do to others whatever you would have them do to you. [Gospel of Matthew 7:12, New Testament]
Gospel of Mark
Gospel of Luke
Gospel of John
Acts
Romans
1 Corinthians
2 Corinthians
Galatians
Ephesians
Philippians
Colossians
1 Thessalonians
2 Thessalonians
1 Timothy
2 Timothy
Titus
Philemon
Hebrews
James
1 Peter
2 Peter
1 John
2 John
3 John
Jude
Revelation
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bible
Books of the Bible http://www.nccbuscc.org/bible/books-of-the-bible/
Phyllis Brooks
Phyllis Brooks
Quotes·Quotations by Phyllis Brooks
Quotes·Quotations by Phyllis Brooks as Lola Lee from Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm (1938)
***
¶
Quotes·Quotations by Phyllis Brooks
Quotes·Quotations by Phyllis Brooks as Lola Lee from Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm (1938)
***
¶
Amos Bronson Alcott
Amos Bronson Alcott (1799-1888)
Amos Bronson Alcott (November 29, 1799 – March 4, 1888) was an American teacher, writer, philosopher, and reformer. As an educator, Alcott pioneered new ways of interacting with young students, focusing on a conversational style, and avoided traditional punishment. He hoped to perfect the human spirit and, to that end, advocated a vegan diet before the term was coined. He was also an abolitionist and an advocate for women's rights.
Quotes·Quotations by Amos Bronson Alcott
Instincts
¶ Who speaks to the instincts speaks to the deepest in mankind and finds the readiest response.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amos_Bronson_Alcott
Betty Friedan (1921-2006)
Betty Friedan (1921-2006)
Betty Friedan (February 4, 1921 - February 4, 2006) was an American writer, activist, and feminist.
A leading figure in the Women's Movement in the United States, her 1963 book The Feminine Mystique is often credited with sparking the "second wave" of American feminism in the twentieth century. In 1966, Friedan founded and was elected the first president of the National Organization for Women, which aimed to bring women "into the mainstream of American society now [in] fully equal partnership with men".
In 1970, after stepping down as NOW's first president, Friedan organized the nation-wide Women's Strike for Equality on August 26, the 50th anniversary of the Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution granting women the right to vote. The national strike was successful beyond expectations in broadening the feminist movement; the march led by Friedan in New York City alone attracted over 50,000 women and men. In 1971, Friedan joined other leading feminists to establish the National Women's Political Caucus. Friedan was also a strong supporter of the proposed Equal Rights Amendment to the United States Constitution that passed the United States House of Representatives (by a vote of 354-24) and Senate (84-8) following intense pressure by women's groups led by NOW in the early 1970s. Following Congressional passage of the amendment Friedan advocated for ratification of the amendment in the states and supported other women's rights reforms. Friedan founded the National Association for the Repeal of Abortion Laws but was later critical of the abortion-centered, politicized tactics of many liberal and radical feminists.
Regarded as an influential author and intellectual in the United States, Friedan remained active in politics and advocacy for the rest of her life, authoring six books. As early as the 1960s Friedan was critical of polarized and extreme factions of feminism that attacked groups such as men and homemakers. One of her later books, The Second Stage, critiqued what Friedan saw as the extremist excesses of some feminists who could be broadly classified as gender feminists.
Quotes·Quotation
Women
When she finally stopped conforming to the conventional picture of femininity she finally began to enjoy being a woman.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Betty_Freidan
Bette Davis (1908-1989)
Bette Davis (1908-1989)
Ruth Elizabeth "Bette" Davis (April 5, 1908 – October 6, 1989) was an American actress of film, television and theater. Noted for her willingness to play unsympathetic characters, she was highly regarded for her performances in a range of film genres, from contemporary crime melodramas to historical and period films and occasional comedies, although her greatest successes were her roles in romantic dramas.
After appearing in Broadway plays, Davis moved to Hollywood in 1930, but her early films for Universal Studios were unsuccessful. She joined Warner Bros. in 1932 and established her career with several critically acclaimed performances. In 1937, she attempted to free herself from her contract and although she lost a well-publicized legal case, it marked the beginning of the most successful period of her career. Until the late 1940s, she was one of American cinema's most celebrated leading ladies, known for her forceful and intense style. Davis gained a reputation as a perfectionist who could be highly combative, and confrontations with studio executives, film directors and costars were often reported. Her forthright manner, clipped vocal style and ubiquitous cigarette contributed to a public persona which has often been imitated and satirized.
Davis was the co-founder of the Hollywood Canteen, and was the first female president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. She won the Academy Award for Best Actress twice, was the first person to accrue 10 Academy Award nominations for acting, and was the first woman to receive a Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Film Institute. Her career went through several periods of eclipse, and she admitted that her success had often been at the expense of her personal relationships. Married four times, she was once widowed and thrice divorced, and raised her children as a single parent. Her final years were marred by a long period of ill health, but she continued acting until shortly before her death from breast cancer, with more than 100 films, television and theater roles to her credit. In 1999, Davis was placed second, after Katharine Hepburn, on the American Film Institute's list of the greatest female stars of all time.
Quotes·Quotation by Bette Davis
¶ Oh, Jerry, don't let's ask for the moon. We have the stars.
¶ What a dump!
¶ Fasten your seatbelts. It's going to be a bumpy night.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bette_Davis
Bertrand Russell (1872-1970)
Bertrand Russell (1872-1970)
Bertrand Arthur William Russell, 3rd Earl Russell, OM, FRS (18 May 1872 – 2 February 1970) was a British philosopher, logician, mathematician, historian, and social critic. At various points in his life he considered himself a liberal, a socialist, and a pacifist, but he also admitted that he had never been any of these things in any profound sense. He was born in Monmouthshire, into one of the most prominent aristocratic families in Britain.
Russell led the British "revolt against idealism" in the early 20th century. He is considered one of the founders of analytic philosophy along with his predecessor Gottlob Frege and his protégé Ludwig Wittgenstein, and is widely held to be one of the 20th century's premier logicians. He co-authored, with A. N. Whitehead, Principia Mathematica, an attempt to ground mathematics on logic. His philosophical essay "On Denoting" has been considered a "paradigm of philosophy." His work has had a considerable influence on logic, mathematics, set theory, linguistics, computer science, and philosophy, especially philosophy of language, epistemology, and metaphysics.
Russell was a prominent anti-war activist; he championed free trade and anti-imperialism. Russell went to prison for his pacifism during World War I. Later, he campaigned against Adolf Hitler, then criticised Stalinist totalitarianism, attacked the United States of America's involvement in the Vietnam War, and was an outspoken proponent of nuclear disarmament. One of his last acts was to issue a statement which condemned Israeli aggression in the Middle East.
A prolific commentator on religion, Russell—along with others such as Karl Marx, Sigmund Freud, and Friedrich Nietzsche—advanced a "new school of thought" that Greg Epstein calls "antagonistic atheism", which was "the view that religion was a thing of the past and ought to be brought hastily toward a point of declining influence". In 1950, Russell was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature, "in recognition of his varied and significant writings in which he champions humanitarian ideals and freedom of thought."
Quotes·Quotations by Bertrand Russell
Happiness
¶ Anything you're good at contributes to happiness.
Patriots
¶ Patriots always talk of dying for their country and never of killing for their country.
Study
¶ Passive acceptance of the teacher's wisdom is easy to most boys and girls. It involves no effort of independent thought, and seems rational because the teacher knows more than his pupils; it is moreover the way to win the favour of the teacher unless he is a very exceptional man. Yet the habit of passive acceptance is a disastrous one in later life. It causes man to seek and to accept a leader, and to accept as a leader whoever is established in that position.
Universe
¶ In the part of this universe that we know there is great injustice, and often the good suffer, and often the wicked prosper, and one hardly knows which of those is the more annoying.
War
¶ War does not determine who is right - only who is left.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bertrand_Russell
Bertolt Brecht (1898-1956)
Bertolt Brecht (1898-1956)
Bertolt Brecht (German: [ˈbɛɐ̯tɔlt ˈbʁɛçt]; born Eugen Berthold Friedrich Brecht (help·info); 10 February 1898 – 14 August 1956) was a German poet, playwright, and theatre director.
An influential theatre practitioner of the 20th century, Brecht made equally significant contributions to dramaturgy and theatrical production, the latter particularly through the seismic impact of the tours undertaken by the Berliner Ensemble—the post-war theatre company operated by Brecht and his wife, long-time collaborator and actress Helene Weigel.
Quotes
He who laughs last has not yet heard the bad news.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bertolt_Brecht
Bernard Bailey (1916-1996)
Bernard Bailey (1916-1996)
Bernard Baily (April 5, 1916 – January 19, 1996)[3][4] was an American comic book artist best known as co-creator of the DC Comics characters the Spectre and Hourman, and a comics publisher, writer, and editor.
Quotes·Quotations by Bernard Bailey
Universe
¶ When they discover the center of the universe, a lot of people will be disappointed to discover they are not it.
References
[1]^ "United States Social Security Death Index," index, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/JKRQ-Q2W : accessed 20 Feb 2013), Bernard Baily, 19 January 1996; citing U.S. Social Security Administration, Death Master File, database (Alexandria, Virginia: National Technical Information Service, ongoing).
[2]^ a b c d Bails, Jerry; Hames Ware. "Bernard Baily". Who's Who of American Comic Books 1928-1999. Archived from the original on July 23, 2010.
[3]^ a b Bernard Baily at the Social Security Death Index. Archived from the original on March 8, 2012.
[4]^ a b Bernard Baily at the Lambiek Comiclopedia. Archived from the original on November 23, 2009.
[5]^ a b c d e Bernard Baily at the Grand Comics Database
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernard_Baily
Bernard Werber (1861- )
Bernard Werber
Bernard Werber (born 18 September 1961 in Toulouse) is a French science fiction writer active since the 1990s. He is today the second most read contemporary French writer worldwide after Marc Levy.
Quotes·Quotations by Bernard Werber
***
¶
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernard_Werber
Bernard Werber (born 18 September 1961 in Toulouse) is a French science fiction writer active since the 1990s. He is today the second most read contemporary French writer worldwide after Marc Levy.
Quotes·Quotations by Bernard Werber
***
¶
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernard_Werber
Bernard Montgomery (1887-1976)
Bernard Montgomery (1887-1976), 1st Viscount Montgomery of Alamein
Field Marshal Bernard Law Montgomery, 1st Viscount Montgomery of Alamein, KG, GCB, DSO, PC ( /məntˈɡʌmərɪ əv ˈæləmeɪn/; 17 November 1887 – 24 March 1976), nicknamed "Monty" and the "Spartan General" was a British Army officer. He saw action in the First World War, when he was seriously wounded, and during the Second World War he commanded the 8th Army from August 1942 in the Western Desert until the final Allied victory in Tunisia. This command included the Battle of El Alamein, a major turning point in the Western Desert Campaign. He subsequently commanded the Eighth Army in Sicily and Italy before being given responsibility for planning the D-Day invasion in Normandy. He was in command of all Allied ground forces during Operation Overlord from the initial landings until after the Battle of Normandy. He then continued in command of the 21st Army Group for the rest of the campaign in North West Europe. As such he was the principal field commander for the failed airborne attempt to bridge the Rhine at Arnhem and the Allied Rhine crossing. On 4 May 1945 he took the German surrender at Luneburg Heath in northern Germany. After the War he became Commander-in-Chief of the British Army of the Rhine (BAOR) in Germany and then Chief of the Imperial General Staff.
Quotes·Quotations by Bernard Montgomery
Optimism
¶ The first and foremost responsibility of a leader is optimism. If your people do not feel uplifted after their meeting with you, then you are not a leader yet.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernard_Montgomery
Milton Berle (1908-2002)
Milton Berle (1908-2002)
Milton Berle (born Milton Berlinger; July 12, 1908 – March 27, 2002) was an American comedian and actor. As the host of NBC's Texaco Star Theater (1948–55), he was the first major American television star and was known to millions of viewers as "Uncle Miltie" and "Mr. Television" during TV's golden age.
Quotes·Quotations by Milton Berle
Age
@ I'm 83, and I feel like a 20-year-old, but unfortunately there's never one around. [Interview for It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World]
Life
¶ I'd rather be a could - be if I cannot be an are; because a could - be is a maybe who is reaching for a star, I'd rather be a has - been than a might - have - been, by far; for a might have - been has never been, but a has was once an are.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milton_Berle
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milton_Berle
Henri Bergson (1859-1941)
Henri Bergson (1859-1941)
Henri-Louis Bergson (French: [bɛʁksɔn] 18 October 1859 – 4 January 1941) was a major French philosopher, influential especially in the first half of the 20th century. Bergson convinced many thinkers that immediate experience and intuition are more significant than rationalism and science for understanding reality.
He was awarded the 1927 Nobel Prize in Literature "in recognition of his rich and vitalizing ideas and the brilliant skill with which they have been presented".[2] In 1930, France awarded him its highest honour, the Grand-Croix de la Legion d'honneur.
Quotes·Quotations by Henri Bergson
Universe
¶ [L]'universe […] est une machine à faire des dieux.
Translation: The universe is a machine for making gods.
[The Two Sources of Morality and Religion (1932). Notre Dame, IN: University of Notre Dame Press, 2002, p. 317.]
References
[1]^ Hancock, Curtis L. (May 1995). "The Influence of Plotinus on Berson's Critique of Empirical Science". In R. Baine Harris. Neoplatonism and Contemporary Thought. Congress of the International Society for Neoplatonic Studies held in May 1995 at Vanderbilt University 10. International Society for Neoplatonic Studies. Albany: State University of New York Press. p. 139ff Extra |pages= or |at= (help). ISBN 0-7914-5275 Check |isbn= value (help). "That the philosophy of Henri Bergson is significantly influenced by the doctrines of Plotinus is indicated by the many years Bergson devoted to teaching Plotinus and the many parallels in their respective philosophies. This influence has been discussed at some length by Bergson's contemporaries, such as Emile Bréhier and Rose-Marie Rossé-Bastide. [...]" |accessdate= requires |url= (help)
[2]^ "The Nobel prize in Literature". Retrieved 2010-11-15.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henri_Bergson
Ben Bernanke (1953- )
Ben Bernanke (1953- )
Ben Shalom Bernanke (English pronunciation: /bərˈnæŋki/ bər-NANG-kee; born December 13, 1953) is an American economist, and the current Chairman of the Federal Reserve, the central bank of the United States. During his tenure as Chairman, Bernanke has overseen the response of the Federal Reserve to late-2000s financial crisis.
Bernanke was a tenured professor at Princeton University and was chair of the Department of Economics there from 1996 to September 2002, when he went on public service leave. From 2002 until 2005, he served as a member of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. Here he outlined the Bernanke Doctrine and first spoke of the Great Moderation, where he postulated that we are in a new era, where modern macroeconomic policy has decreased the volatility of the business cycle. He then served as Chairman of President George W. Bush's Council of Economic Advisers before President Bush appointed him to be Chairman of the United States Federal Reserve on February 1, 2006. Bernanke was confirmed for a second term as Chairman on January 28, 2010, after being nominated by President Barack Obama.
Quotes·Quotation by Ben Bernanke
Finance, Finance·Money
¶ The U.S. government has a technology, called a printing press, that allows it to produce as many U.S. dollars as it wishes at no cost. [Remarks by Governor Ben S. Bernanke, Before the National Economists Club, Washington, D.C., November 21, 2002]
¶ Under a paper-money system, a determined government can always generate higher spending and, hence, positive inflation. [Remarks by Governor Ben S. Bernanke, Before the National Economists Club, Washington, D.C., November 21, 2002]
¶ The U.S. government is not going to print money and distribute it willy-nilly ... although there are policies that approximate this behavior. [Remarks by Governor Ben S. Bernanke, Before the National Economists Club, Washington, D.C., November 21, 2002]
¶ A central bank should always be able to generate inflation, even when the short-term nominal interest rate is zero ...[this] more direct method, which I personally prefer, would be for the Fed to announce ceilings for yields on all longer-maturity Treasury debt. [Remarks by Governor Ben S. Bernanke, Before the National Economists Club, Washington, D.C., November 21, 2002]
¶ This devaluation and the rapid increase in money supply ... ended the U.S. deflation remarkably quickly. [Remarks by Governor Ben S. Bernanke, Before the National Economists Club, Washington, D.C., November 21, 2002]
¶ The Fed has the authority to buy foreign government debt, as well as domestic government debt. Potentially, this class of assets offers huge scope for Fed operations, as the quantity of foreign assets eligible for purchase by the Fed is several times the stock of U.S. government debt. [Remarks by Governor Ben S. Bernanke, Before the National Economists Club, Washington, D.C., November 21, 2002]
¶ A money-financed tax cut is essentially equivalent to Milton Friedman's famous "helicopter drop" of money. [Remarks by Governor Ben S. Bernanke, Before the National Economists Club, Washington, D.C., November 21, 2002]
¶ To avoid large and unsustainable budget deficits, the nation will ultimately have to choose among higher taxes, modifications to entitlement programs such as Social Security and Medicare, less spending on everything else from education to defense, or some combination of the above. [Ben Bernanke, Speech given on Apr. 7, 2010 to the Dallas Regional Chamber of Commerce, "Economic Challenges: Past, Present and Future"]
¶ And so yeah, I'm sleeping a little better, but again, I think it's really important not to be complacent. We have a long way to go, a lot of work to do, and we're going to keep doing that. [in an interview with ABC's Diane Sawyer on "World News," 03/27/2012]
¶ We're not paying any attention to election calendars or political debates. We're looking at the economy. We want to make the right decision. We want to do it without political pressure, and that's what we're going to do. [in an interview with ABC's Diane Sawyer on "World News," 03/27/2012]
Nerd
¶ I am very proud of my nerd-dom. In fact, the world needs more nerds. Nerds, you know, create more jobs and advance science and I hope make good economic policy but that remains to be seen. [in an interview with ABC's Diane Sawyer on "World News," 03/27/2012]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ben_Bernanke
Benjamin Zander (1939- )
Benjamin Zander (1939- )
Benjamin Zander (born March 9, 1939, Gerrards Cross, Buckinghamshire, England) is an American conductor from the United Kingdom.
Quotes·Quotation
Leader
¶ A conductor does not make a sound. He depends for his power on his ability to make other people powerful. As a leader your job is to awaken possibility in other people.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ben_Zander
Timothy Bentley
Timothy Bentley
Quotes·Quotations by Timothy Bentley
Attitudes
¶ Whenever you're in conflict with someone, there is one factor that can make the difference between damaging your relationship and deepening it. That factor is attitude.
Benjamin Braddock (The Graduate)
Benjamin Braddock from The Graduate
Quotes·Quotation by Benjamin Braddock
Dustin Hoffman as Benjamin Braddock from The Graduate (1967)
¶ Mrs. Robinson, you're trying to seduce me... Aren't you?
Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790)
Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790)
Benjamin Franklin (January 17, 1706 [O.S. January 6, 1705] – April 17, 1790) was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. A noted polymath, Franklin was a leading author, printer, political theorist, politician, postmaster, scientist, musician, inventor, satirist, civic activist, statesman, and diplomat. As a scientist, he was a major figure in the American Enlightenment and the history of physics for his discoveries and theories regarding electricity. He invented the lightning rod, bifocals, the Franklin stove, a carriage odometer, and the glass 'armonica'. He formed both the first public lending library in America and the first fire department in Pennsylvania.
Franklin earned the title of "The First American" for his early and indefatigable campaigning for colonial unity; as an author and spokesman in London for several colonies, then as the first United States Ambassador to France, he exemplified the emerging American nation. Franklin was foundational in defining the American ethos as a marriage of the practical and democratic values of thrift, hard work, education, community spirit, self-governing institutions, and opposition to authoritarianism both political and religious, with the scientific and tolerant values of the Enlightenment. In the words of historian Henry Steele Commager, "In a Franklin could be merged the virtues of Puritanism without its defects, the illumination of the Enlightenment without its heat." To Walter Isaacson, this makes Franklin "the most accomplished American of his age and the most influential in inventing the type of society America would become."
Franklin, always proud of his working class roots, became a successful newspaper editor and printer in Philadelphia, the leading city in the colonies. He was also partners with William Goddard and Joseph Galloway the three of whom published the Pennsylvania Chronicle, a newspaper that was known for its revolutionary sentiments and criticisms of the British monarchy in the American colonies. He became wealthy publishing Poor Richard's Almanack and The Pennsylvania Gazette. Franklin gained international renown as a scientist for his famous experiments in electricity and for his many inventions, especially the lightning rod. He played a major role in establishing the University of Pennsylvania and was elected the first president of the American Philosophical Society. Franklin became a national hero in America when he spearheaded the effort to have Parliament repeal the unpopular Stamp Act. An accomplished diplomat, he was widely admired among the French as American minister to Paris and was a major figure in the development of positive Franco-American relations. For many years he was the British postmaster for the colonies, which enabled him to set up the first national communications network. He was active in community affairs, colonial and state politics, as well as national and international affairs. From 1785 to 1788, he served as governor of Pennsylvania. Toward the end of his life, he freed his slaves and became one of the most prominent abolitionists.
His colorful life and legacy of scientific and political achievement, and status as one of America's most influential Founding Fathers, have seen Franklin honored on coinage and money; warships; the names of many towns, counties, educational institutions, namesakes, and companies; and more than two centuries after his death, countless cultural references.
Quotes·Quotations by Benjamin Franklin
Attitude
¶ Speak little, do much.
Business·Employment
¶ When men are employed, they are best contented.
Faith
¶ To follow by faith alone is to follow blindly.
Friend·Friendship
¶ There are three great friends: an old wife, an old dog, and ready money.
Time
¶ You may delay, but time will not.
Writing·Reading
¶ Read much, but not many books.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benjamin_Franklin
Belladonna (Your Highness, 2011)
Belladonna from Your Highness (2011)
Quotes·Quotations by Belladonna
Zooey Deschanel as Belladonna from Your Highness (2011)
¶ Belladonna: Look at yourself. Why would anyone ever want to be with you?
Leezar: Hm, I'm not sure really. Oh yeah, perhaps because I'm rich, I live in a castle and I can do magic.
Bell Hooks (1952- )
Bell Hooks (1952- )
Gloria Jean Watkins (born September 25, 1952), better known by her pen name bell hooks (intentionally uncapitalized), is an American author, feminist, and social activist. She took her nom de plume from her maternal great-grandmother Bell Blair Hooks.
Her writing has focused on the interconnectivity of race, capitalism, and gender and what she describes as their ability to produce and perpetuate systems of oppression and class domination. She has published over thirty books and numerous scholarly and mainstream articles, appeared in several documentary films and participated in various public lectures. Primarily through a postmodern perspective, hooks has addressed race, class, and gender in education, art, history, sexuality, mass media and feminism.
Quotes·Quotations by Bell Hooks
Writing·Reading
¶ Life-transforming ideas have always come to me through books.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bell_Hooks
Belgium
Belgium
Belgium (i/ˈbɛldʒəm/ BEL-jəm), officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO. Belgium covers an area of 30,528 square kilometres (11,787 sq mi), and it has a population of about 11 million people. Straddling the cultural boundary between Germanic and Latin Europe, Belgium is home to two main linguistic groups, the Dutch-speakers, mostly Flemish (about 60%), and the French-speakers, mostly Walloons (about 40%), plus a small group of German-speakers. Belgium's two largest regions are the Dutch-speaking region of Flanders in the north and the French-speaking southern region of Wallonia. The Brussels-Capital Region, officially bilingual, is a mostly French-speaking enclave within the Flemish Region. A German-speaking Community exists in eastern Wallonia. Belgium's linguistic diversity and related political conflicts are reflected in the political history and a complex system of government.
Historically, Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg were known as the Low Countries, which used to cover a somewhat larger area than the current Benelux group of states. The region was called Belgica in Latin because of the Roman province Gallia Belgica which covered more or less the same area. From the end of the Middle Ages until the 17th century, it was a prosperous centre of commerce and culture. From the 16th century until the Belgian Revolution in 1830, when Belgium seceded from the Netherlands, many battles between European powers were fought in the area of Belgium, causing it to be dubbed the battleground of Europe, a reputation strengthened by both World Wars.
Upon its independence, Belgium participated in the Industrial Revolution and, during the course of the 20th century, possessed a number of colonies in Africa. The second half of the 20th century was marked by the rise of contrasts between the Flemish and the Francophones fuelled by differences of language and the unequal economic development of Flanders and Wallonia. This ongoing antagonism has caused far-reaching reforms, changing the formerly unitary Belgian state into a federal state, and a long period of political instability.
Belgian Proverb
Anticipation
¶ It is no use to wait for your ship to come in, unless you have sent one out.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belgium
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)