Saturday, 30 April 2011
Friday, 29 April 2011
Absolutely Worthless
I don't give a damn anymore –
I've only wound up betrayed.
It's all been absolutely worthless –
all the efforts I've made
to be gentle and kind
are repaid with contempt,
degraded by sympathy
and worthless kindness
and love that isn't meant.
I'm through with joy and company,
I've done with pretty words,
betrayed – there's no hiding-place
anywhere in the world.
— Peter Hammill 'Betrayed'
Labels:
Lyrics,
Peter Hammill
Thursday, 28 April 2011
Somewhere
"Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?"
"That depends a good deal on where you want to get to," said the Cat.
"I don't much care where — " said Alice.
"Then it doesn't matter which way you go," said the Cat.
" — so long as I get somewhere," Alice added as an explanation.
"Oh, you're sure to do that," said the Cat, "if you only walk long enough."
— Lewis Carroll 'Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'
"That depends a good deal on where you want to get to," said the Cat.
"I don't much care where — " said Alice.
"Then it doesn't matter which way you go," said the Cat.
" — so long as I get somewhere," Alice added as an explanation.
"Oh, you're sure to do that," said the Cat, "if you only walk long enough."
— Lewis Carroll 'Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'
Unwanted: Dead or Alive
no future
no home
— Peter Hammill 'This Side Of The Looking-Glass'
no home
— Peter Hammill 'This Side Of The Looking-Glass'
Labels:
Lyrics,
Peter Hammill
Wednesday, 27 April 2011
Tuesday, 26 April 2011
The Fish Of The Imagination
As I see it, life is an effort to grip,
before they slip through one's fingers and slide into oblivion,
the startling, the ghastly
or the blindingly exquisite fish of the imagination
before they whip away on the endless current
and are lost for ever in oblivion's black ocean.
— Mervyn Peake
before they slip through one's fingers and slide into oblivion,
the startling, the ghastly
or the blindingly exquisite fish of the imagination
before they whip away on the endless current
and are lost for ever in oblivion's black ocean.
— Mervyn Peake
New Enfranchised Noises
We are all imprisoned by the dictionary. We choose out of that vast, paper-walled prison our convicts, the little black printed words, when in truth we need fresh sounds to utter, new enfranchised noises which would produce a new effect.
— Mervyn Peake 'Titus Groan'
— Mervyn Peake 'Titus Groan'
The Thrusting Of Senses
Each day I live in a glass room
unless I break it with the thrusting of my senses
and pass through the splintered walls to the great landscape.
— Mervyn Peake
unless I break it with the thrusting of my senses
and pass through the splintered walls to the great landscape.
— Mervyn Peake
Monday, 25 April 2011
Sunday, 24 April 2011
The Germanic Goddess 'Easter'
Old English Ēostre (also Ēastre) and Old High German Ôstarâ are the names of a putative Germanic goddess whose Anglo-Saxon month, Ēostur-monath (Old English "Ēostre month"), has given its name to the festival of Easter.
Labels:
Mythology
Saturday, 23 April 2011
Friday, 22 April 2011
Passover
This is a crisis I knew had to come,
Destroying the balance I'd kept.
Doubting, unsettling and turning around,
Wondering what will come next.
Is this the role that you wanted to live?
I was foolish to ask for so much.
Without the protection and infancy's guard,
It all falls apart at first touch.
Watching the reel as it comes to a close,
Brutally taking its time,
People who change for no reason at all,
It's happening all of the time.
Can I go on with this train of events?
Disturbing and purging my mind,
Back out of my duties, when all's said and done,
I know that I'll lose every time.
Moving along in our God given ways,
Safety is sat by the fire,
Sanctuary from these feverish smiles,
Left with a mark on the door,
Is this the gift that I wanted to give?
Forgive and forget's what they teach,
Or pass through the deserts and wastelands once more,
And watch as they drop by the beach.
This is the crisis I knew had to come,
Destroying the balance I'd kept,
Turning around to the next set of lives,
Wondering what will come next.
Destroying the balance I'd kept.
Doubting, unsettling and turning around,
Wondering what will come next.
Is this the role that you wanted to live?
I was foolish to ask for so much.
Without the protection and infancy's guard,
It all falls apart at first touch.
Watching the reel as it comes to a close,
Brutally taking its time,
People who change for no reason at all,
It's happening all of the time.
Can I go on with this train of events?
Disturbing and purging my mind,
Back out of my duties, when all's said and done,
I know that I'll lose every time.
Moving along in our God given ways,
Safety is sat by the fire,
Sanctuary from these feverish smiles,
Left with a mark on the door,
Is this the gift that I wanted to give?
Forgive and forget's what they teach,
Or pass through the deserts and wastelands once more,
And watch as they drop by the beach.
This is the crisis I knew had to come,
Destroying the balance I'd kept,
Turning around to the next set of lives,
Wondering what will come next.
Labels:
Joy Division,
Lyrics
Wednesday, 20 April 2011
A Matter Of Perception
George Berkeley is important in philosophy through his denial of the existence of matter…He maintained that material objects only exist through being perceived.
— Bertrand Russell 'The History Of Western Philosophy'
Labels:
Berkeley,
Bertrand Russell,
Philosophy
Putting The Negation In Negotiation
[For Spinoza] finite things are defined by their boundaries, physical or logical, that is to say, by what they are not: ‘all determination is negation’.
— Bertrand Russell 'The History Of Western Philosophy'
Labels:
Bertrand Russell,
Philosophy,
Spinoza
Know Your Own Mind
There is thus, in all philosophy derived from Descartes, a tendency to subjectivism, and to regarding matter as something only knowable, if at all, by inference from what is known of mind.
— Bertrand Russell 'The History Of Western Philosophy'
— Bertrand Russell 'The History Of Western Philosophy'
Labels:
Bertrand Russell,
Descartes,
Philosophy
Without
Hobbes, as might be expected, is an out-and-out nominalist. There is, he says, nothing universal but names, and without words we could not conceive any general ideas. Without language, there would be no truth or falsehood, for ‘true’ and ‘false’ are attributes of speech.
— Bertrand Russell 'The History Of Western Philosophy'
— Bertrand Russell 'The History Of Western Philosophy'
Labels:
Bertrand Russell,
Hobbes,
Philosophy
Tuesday, 19 April 2011
Monday, 18 April 2011
Past-In-Present
the past lingers with me
— Peter Hammill 'This Side Of The Looking-Glass'
Labels:
Lyrics,
Peter Hammill
Sunday, 17 April 2011
I Only Sing The Tunes
I cannot give the reasons,
I only sing the tunes:
the sadness of the seasons
the madness of the moons.
I cannot be didactic
or lucid, but I can
be quite obscure and practic-
ally marzipan
In gorgery and gushness
and all that's squishified.
My voice has all the lushness
of what I can't abide
And yet it has a beauty
most proud and terrible
denied to those whose duty
is to be cerebral.
Among the antlered mountains
I make my viscous way
and watch the sepia fountains
throw up their lime-green spray.
I only sing the tunes:
the sadness of the seasons
the madness of the moons.
I cannot be didactic
or lucid, but I can
be quite obscure and practic-
ally marzipan
In gorgery and gushness
and all that's squishified.
My voice has all the lushness
of what I can't abide
And yet it has a beauty
most proud and terrible
denied to those whose duty
is to be cerebral.
Among the antlered mountains
I make my viscous way
and watch the sepia fountains
throw up their lime-green spray.
— Mervyn Peake 'I Cannot Give The Reasons'
Labels:
Mervyn Peake,
Poems
Saturday, 16 April 2011
Friday, 15 April 2011
Thursday, 14 April 2011
Wednesday, 13 April 2011
Life Kills
the life is false, it's killing me…
— Peter Hammill 'Modern'
Labels:
Lyrics,
Peter Hammill
Tuesday, 12 April 2011
Got To
Tiger got to hunt, bird got to fly;
Man got to sit and wonder, 'Why, why, why?'
Tiger got to sleep, bird got to land;
Man got to tell himself he understand.
Labels:
Kurt Vonnegut,
Michæl Leunig
Monday, 11 April 2011
The Law Of Inverse Relevance
The less you intend to do about something,
the more you have to keep talking about it.
the more you have to keep talking about it.
— Sir Arnold Robinson
Labels:
Yes Minister
Is There Anybody In There?
Meanwhile, back at the PFJ HQ…
Reg: Right, now, eh. item four: attainment of world supremacy within the next five years. Eh, Francis, you've been doing some work on this.
Francis: Yeah, thank you, Reg. Well, quite frankly, siblings, I think five years is optimistic, unless we can smash the Roman empire within the next twelve months.
Reg: Twelve months?
Francis: Yeah. Twelve months. And let's face it... as empires go, this is the big one, so we've got to get up of our arses, and stop just talking about it.
PFJ: Hear Hear!!!
Loretta: I agree. It's action that counts, not words, and we need action now.
PFJ: Hear Hear!!!
Reg: You're right. We could sit around here all day talking, passing resolution, making clever speeches, it's not going to shift one Roman soldier.
Francis: So let's just stop gabbing on about it, it's completely pointless, and it's getting us nowhere.
PFJ: Right.
Loretta: I agree. This is a complete waste of time.
Judith runs in, panic-stricken.
Judith: They've arrested Brian!!
PFJ: What?
Judith: They've dragged him off. They're going to crucify him.
Reg: Right. This calls for immediate discussion.
Judith: What?!?
Rebel1: Immediate.
Rebel2: Right.
Loretta: new motion. Eh, That, ah. That there be, ah, immediate action,
Francis: ... ah, once the vote has been taken.
Reg: Well, obviously once the vote has been taken, you can't act on a resolution 'till you've voted on it.
Judith: Reg, for God's sake, let's go now, please!
Reg: Yeah, yeah. Right, right. In the, in the ligh of fresh information from ah, sibling Judith.
Loretta [Who's taking notes]: Ah, not so fast, Reg.
Judith: Reg, For God's sake. It's perfectly simple. All you've got to do is to go out of that door now, and try to stop the Romans nailing him up. It's happening, Reg. Something's actually happening, Reg. Can't you understand? Aaawoooooo!!!!!
She rushes out in a rage.
Francis: Ooh. Ooh dear.
Reg: Hello... and a litle ego-trip for the feminists.
Loretta: What?
Reg: Ah, oh, sorry, Loretta. Aah. Aah, read that back, would you?
Labels:
Cinema,
Hunters And Collectors,
Lyrics,
Monty Python
Sunday, 10 April 2011
Ignorance, Stupidity, And Nothing Else
It is often said that a disproportionate obsession with purely academic or abstract matters indicates a retreat from the problems of real life. However, most of the people engaged in such matters say that this attitude is based on three things: ignorance, stupidity, and nothing else.
— Douglas Adams 'The Hitch-Hiker's Guide To The Galaxy'
— Douglas Adams 'The Hitch-Hiker's Guide To The Galaxy'
Labels:
Douglas Adams,
Philosophy
Mediocracy
In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king.
— Desiderius Erasmus Roterodamus (Adagia III, IV, 96)
Labels:
Erasmus,
Philosophy,
Social Insects
Saturday, 9 April 2011
Resignation
Dr Cartwright: "I shall rise no further."
Jim Hacker: "Why?"
Dr Cartwright; "Alas, I'm an expert."
Jim Hacker: "Why?"
Dr Cartwright; "Alas, I'm an expert."
Labels:
Yes Minister
Friday, 8 April 2011
Thursday, 7 April 2011
Wednesday, 6 April 2011
When
Nothing left to do
when you know that you've been taken.
Nothing left to do
when you're begging for a crumb
Nothing left to do
when you've got to go on waiting
waiting for the miracle to come.
…
When you've fallen on the highway
and you're lying in the rain,
and they ask you how you're doing
of course you'll say you can't complain --
If you're squeezed for information,
that's when you've got to play it dumb:
You just say you're out there waiting
for the miracle, for the miracle to come.
when you know that you've been taken.
Nothing left to do
when you're begging for a crumb
Nothing left to do
when you've got to go on waiting
waiting for the miracle to come.
…
When you've fallen on the highway
and you're lying in the rain,
and they ask you how you're doing
of course you'll say you can't complain --
If you're squeezed for information,
that's when you've got to play it dumb:
You just say you're out there waiting
for the miracle, for the miracle to come.
— Leonard Cohen 'Waiting For The Miracle'
Labels:
Leonard Cohen,
Lyrics
Passenging
Oh the passenger
He rides and he rides
He sees things from under glass
He looks through his window side
He rides and he rides
He sees things from under glass
He looks through his window side
— Iggy Pop 'The Passenger'
Tuesday, 5 April 2011
Feels Unfair
Here I go
out to see again
The sunshine fills my hair
And dreams hang in the air
Gulls in the sky
and in my blue eyes
You know it feels unfair
There's magic everywhere
out to see again
The sunshine fills my hair
And dreams hang in the air
Gulls in the sky
and in my blue eyes
You know it feels unfair
There's magic everywhere
— Black 'Wonderful Life'
Labels:
Lyrics
Doing Your Duty
And I thank you,
I thank you
for doing your duty,
you keepers of truth,
you guardians of beauty.
Your vision is right,
my vision is wrong,
I'm sorry for smudging
the air with my song.
I thank you
for doing your duty,
you keepers of truth,
you guardians of beauty.
Your vision is right,
my vision is wrong,
I'm sorry for smudging
the air with my song.
— Leonard Cohen 'A Singer Must Die'
Labels:
Leonard Cohen,
Lyrics
Monday, 4 April 2011
Doing
Do you like what you’re doing?
Would you do it some more?
Or will you stop once and wonder
What you’re doing it for?
…
Do you hope to find new ways
Of quenching your thirst?
Do you hope to find new ways of doing
Better than your worst?
— Nick Drake 'Hazy Jane I'
Would you do it some more?
Or will you stop once and wonder
What you’re doing it for?
…
Do you hope to find new ways
Of quenching your thirst?
Do you hope to find new ways of doing
Better than your worst?
— Nick Drake 'Hazy Jane I'
Labels:
Lyrics,
Nick Drake
Sunday, 3 April 2011
Suspension Of Disbelief
It is the mark of an educated mind
to be able to entertain a thought
without accepting it.
to be able to entertain a thought
without accepting it.
— Aristotle
Saturday, 2 April 2011
Friday, 1 April 2011
Estupidez
It's too bad that stupidity isn't painful.
— Anton LaVey
Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I'm not sure about the the universe.
— Albert Einstein
The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has its limits.
— Anonymous (often attributed to Albert Einstein)
The only way to comprehend what mathematicians mean by Infinity is to contemplate the extent of human stupidity.
— Voltaire
Stupidity has a knack of getting its way.
— Albert Camus
Just think of how stupid the average person is, and then realise half of them are even stupider!
— George Carlin
The two most common elements in the universe are hydrogen and stupidity.
— Harlan Ellison
— Anton LaVey
Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I'm not sure about the the universe.
— Albert Einstein
The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has its limits.
— Anonymous (often attributed to Albert Einstein)
The only way to comprehend what mathematicians mean by Infinity is to contemplate the extent of human stupidity.
— Voltaire
Stupidity has a knack of getting its way.
— Albert Camus
Just think of how stupid the average person is, and then realise half of them are even stupider!
— George Carlin
The two most common elements in the universe are hydrogen and stupidity.
— Harlan Ellison
Labels:
Albert Camus,
Albert Einstein,
Social Insects,
Voltaire
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