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"Enoch approved, so far. Some pugnacity in the lad would be useful. Talent was not rare, the ability to survive having it was."
~ from Neal Stephenson's Quicksilver
(Hear the Story as Read by Douglys)
An elderly Cherokee Native American was teaching his grandchildren about life, saying, "A fight is going on inside me, it is a terrible fight and it is between two wolves. One wolf is evil-he is fear, anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, competition, superiority, and ego. The other is good - he is joy, peace, love, hope, sharing, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, friendship, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion and faith.
This same fight is going on inside you, and inside every other person, too."
They thought about it for a minute and then one child asked, "Which wolf will win?"
The Elder simply replied, "The one you feed."
The real art of conversation is not only to say the right thing in the right place, but...to leave unsaid the wrong thing at the tempting moment.
-Dorothy Nevill
Essiac Tea Recipe (herbal cleanser)
'Imagination is more important than knowledge.'
- Albert Einstein
Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle.
- Plato

"For this wolf, however," Wendell said, "I have no medal."
People gasped. Virginia felt herself grow cold. Wolf looked furious.
"Huff-puff, that's typical," he muttered.
"Instead," King Wendell said, "I have a Royal Pardon for all the wolves everywhere throughout my kingdom. From now on, wolves will be known as heroes. For it was a noble Wolf who saved the Nine Kingdoms."
Wolf beamed and waved at the crowd. "That's wolves for you," he said. "Good guys."
-from The 10th Kingdom
by Kathryn Wesley
When you make an enemy of the earth, you make an enemy of your own body.
-Mayan Proverb
'Peace hath higher tests of manhood
Than battle ever knew.'
- John Greenleaf Whittier
Her body language is elequent enough: "I am aware that men are in the habit of looking at whatever women happen to be nearby, in hopes of deriving enjoyment from their physical beauty, their hair, makeup, frangrance, and clothing. I will ignore this politely and patiently, until you get over it."
-from Neal Stephenson's Cryptonomicon
What to do with funky junk:
Turn da funk inta function
leave da junk at da junction.
- Swami Beyondananda
'Diligently train your ideals UPWARD and STILL UPWARD toward a summit where you will find your chiefest pleasure in conduct which, while contenting you, will be sure to confer benefits upon your neighbor and the community.'
- from Mark Twain's "What Is Man?"
If you try to please everybody, you might end up pleasing nobody.
-anon
'The future is shorter, the past is longer, but the present is about the same size it's always been.'
-W.C. Maxwell
A man traveling across a field encountered a tiger. He fled, the tiger after him. Coming to a precipice, he caught hold of the root of a wild vine and swung himself down over the edge. The tiger sniffed at him from above. Trembling, the man looked down to where, far below, another tiger was waiting to eat him. Only the vine sustained him....
Two mice, one white and one black, little by little started to gnaw away the vine. The man saw a luscious strawberry near him. Grasping the vine with one hand, he plucked the strawberry with the other.
How sweet it tasted!
According to the eminent mythologist, Joseph Campbell, a myth isn't something that never happened; it's something that is always happening.
Temple bells die out.
The fragrant blossoms remain.
A perfect evening!

~Basho
Nothing is more curious than the almost savage hostility that humor excites in those who lack it.
-George Saintsbury
'I find television to be very educational. Whenever someone turns on the set, I go to the other room and read a book.'
-Groucho Marx
Stand up to bullies.
Who would give
a law to lovers?
Love is unto itself a higher law.
~Boethius, The Consolation of Philosophy, A.D. 524
'The person who seeks all their applause from outside has their happiness in another's keeping'.
- Claudius Claudianus
Don't worry what people think about you, because they aren't thinking about you.
- anon
Charm: a way of getting the answer yes without asking a clear question
Beauty without expression is boring.
Film Favs...
Dreamkeeper - Myths and Legends of Native Americans, state of the art digital effects, and told from their perspective. "Not a bunch of cute little characters who get on their horses so John Wayne can shoot 'em down." An incredibly moving film.
A Life Aquatic - Dazzling cinematography, Bill Murray and cast are both funny and endearing.
The Village - Story of a group of people isolated from the outside world by strange creatures in the woods.
Catwoman - Halle Berry delivers feline fun!
Spirited Away - dreamy animae, the scenery is every bit as good as the action scenes.
Amile - lots of fun from beginning to end. Try to get the dvd for the special features.
Red Headed Stranger - Willie Nelson stars as a preacher on a bit of an oddessy in the west of 1901. Listen for the howl toward the very end, an especially nice touch.
"Sojourn" by Elli

In the dark realm of night he came to me
"Fair one" he asks,
"Come with me on a sojourn
to the spirit of the sapphire sea"
The amber moon shines down upon us
and we will be free.
The peaceful warmth, the gentle breeze
will guide us to our longing past.
"Yes , my love", a sojourn to the sea,
beneath the never ending
glistening beacons of light
across a painted sky of dreams
Heart mind and body in rhythm as one
Filled with emotion as the crystal waves flow
And time stands still

The endless spirit of the sea onward forever
The brightness of hope and emerald promise
To prepare us for the momentous
love beyond all expectations.

Foating on each memory
never to part
Reflections across the water
replentish my soul, a miracle to the
Spirit of life and heart on a sojourn
to the sapphire sea.
Novel Novels...
 Snowcrash & The Diamond Age by Neal Stephenson. Both books are non-stop futuristic sci-fi-fantasy fun!
The Once and Future King by T.H. White. So much more than the animated movie you may have seen as a kid. (Both lead characters were reading it in a fav film of ours X-Men 2, but we digress). Don't miss this book's conclusion, The Book of Merlin, ironically unpublished during WWII due to "paper shortages".
If you follow your Bliss, you put yourself on a kind of track that has been there all the while, waiting for you. And the life you ought to be living is the one you are living. Wherever you are, if you follow your bliss, you are enjoying that refreshment, that life within you, all the time.
-Joseph Campbell
'Maybe we should develop a Crayola bomb as our next secret weapon. A happiness weapon. A beauty bomb. And every time a crisis developed, we would launch one. It would explode high in the air - explode softly - and send thousands, millions, of little parachutes into the air. Floating down to earth - boxes of Crayolas.
And we wouldn't go cheap, either - not little boxes of eight. Boxes of sixty-four, with the sharpener built right in. With silver and gold and copper, magenta and peach and lime, amber and umber and all the rest. And people would smile and get a little funny look on their faces and cover the world with imagination.'
-Robert Fulghum
'Love, enjoyed by the ignorant, becomes bondage. The very same love, tasted by one with understanding, brings liberation.'
–Cittaviœuddhiprakanana
"We gaze up at the same stars, the sky covers us all, the same universe encompasses us. What does it matter what practical system we adopt in our search for the truth? Not by one avenue only can we arrive at so tremendous a secret."
- Symmachus 384, C.E.
Little Red Riding Hood is skipping down the road when she sees the Big Bad Wolf crouched down behind a log. "My what big eyes you have, Mr. Wolf," says Little Red Riding Hood. The surprised wolf jumps up and runs away. Further down the road Little Red Riding Hood sees the wolf again, this time he is crouched behind a tree stump. "My what big ears you have Mr. Wolf," says Little Red Riding Hood. Again the foiled wolf jumps up and runs away. About 2 miles down the road, Little Red Riding Hood sees the wolf again,this time crouched down behind a road sign. "My what big teeth you have Mr. Wolf," taunts Little Red Riding Hood. With that the Big Bad Wolf jumps up and screams, "Will you get lost?! I'm trying to take a dump!"
May we all live to the day when we may embrace the greater Whole of which we are all but a small part and be able to see the face of the Divine in everybody else’s face, no matter what their nationality, religion, culture, or color.
 Diane Brandon