Christian Nestell Bovee (1820-1904)

Christian Nestell Bovee

Christian Nestell Bovee (February 22, 1820 – January 18, 1904) was an epigrammatic New York writer.


Language

@ The language denotes the man. A coarse or refined character finds its expression naturally in a coarse or refined phraseology.
Christian Nestell Bovee, Intuitions and Summaries of Thought (1862), Volume II, p. 7.


http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Christian_Nestell_Bovee

Rene Girard

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

Tom Blandi

Tom Blandi


Quotes·Quotations by ***

***


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)

Scarlett Johansson as Natalie Rushman/Black Widow from Iron Man 2 (2010)

¶ I need your impression.

¶ That's not up to you.

Scarlett Johansson as Natasha Romanoff from Avengers (2012)

¶ 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.

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

Billy Crystal as Harry Burns from When Harry Met Sally (1989)

¶ 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

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
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