A Great Book

The great book for you is the book that has the most to say to you at the moment when you are reading. I do not mean the book that is most instructive, but the book that feeds your spirit.

~ Robertson Davies ~





Image courtesy Library of Congress.

Which Will Never Happen, People!

What is human warfare but just this; an effort to make the laws of God and nature take sides with one party.

~ Henry David Thoreau ~

Sunday's Kat Kwote

Pussycat Sits on a Chair

Pussycat sits on a chair
Implacably with acid stare.

Those who early loved in vain
Use the cat to try again,

And test their bruised omnipotence
Against the cat's austere defense.

~ Edward Newman Horn ~

Photo by jabberwik.

A Lovely Image

Ever drifting down the stream--
Lingering in the golden gleam--
Life, what is it but a dream?

~ Lewis Carroll from Through the Looking-Glass ~



Photo by taratp

Poetry Friday

We all write poems; it is simply that poets are the ones who write in words.

~ John Fowles ~

Patience and Fortitude

Patience and fortitude conquer all things.

~ Ralph Waldo Emerson ~

Photo by Carol M. Highsmith courtesy Library of Congress.

A Lucky Fool

A person is a fool to become a writer. His only compensation is absolute freedom.

~ Roald Dahl ~

70 Years Old Today

This land is your land and this land is my land, sure, but the world is run by those that never listen to music anyway.

~ Bob Dylan ~

Practical Advice

I have found the best way to give advice to your children is to find out what they want and then advise them to do it.

~ Harry S. Truman ~

Sunday's Kat Kwote

Now and then I may possess
Hours of perfect gladsomeness.
--Pleased by any random toy;
By a kitten's busy joy,

~ William Wordsworth from "The Kitten and Falling Leaves" ~

Photo by notti cabirian.

Not Happy!

The question is, are we happy to suppose that our grandchildren may never be able to see an elephant except in a picture book?

~ David Attenborough ~

Poetry Friday

Write what moves you. Write what interests you. Write what frightens you. Write what thrills you. Take a cue from the poets, bless their underfunded little hearts.

~ Monica Wood ~





Photo by Infrogmation.

He's Right!

I cringe when I hear a teacher talk about a poetry unit. That means they’re going to spend two or three days on poetry and then be done with it. But children will not gravitate to poetry; you have to bring it to them. I think poetry needs to be an everyday affair.

~ J. Patrick Lewis ~

E-Waste

Main Entry: e-waste
Part of Speech: n
Definition: any discarded electronic or electrical devices or their parts; also called electronic waste
Example: E-waste has raised concern considering that many components of such equipment are considered toxic and are not biodegradable.
Etymology: by 1980
Usage: computing

Dictionary.com's 21st Century Lexicon
Copyright © 2003-2011 Dictionary.com, LLC

WEEE Man photo by polymer808

Teach Your Children Well

It's never too early to start teaching children about places that matter. From art to social studies, lessons that incorporate historic preservation topics go beyond typical textbook activities by teaching your students to recognize and appreciate the rich heritage that surrounds them.

~ from the National Trust for Historic Preservation website ~



Photo by drtana.

Something We Should All Consider

The most common trait of all primitive peoples is a reverence for the life-giving earth, and the Native American shared this elemental ethic: The land was alive to his loving touch, and he, its son, was brother to all creatures.

~ Stewart Udall ~

Sunday's Kat Kwote

What mystery is it that lies,
    Behind those slits that glare and gleam,

~ Lytton Strachey from "Cat" ~


There have been some MAJOR Blogger problems over the past few days. I hope they are now over and that posting will return to normal! --KK

Poetry Friday

The first man to compare the cheeks of a young woman to a rose was obviously a poet; the first to repeat it was possibly an idiot.

~ Salvador Dali ~

Photo by Carl Van Vechten courtesy the Library of Congress.

Clouds of Darkness

To penetrate and dissipate these clouds of darkness, the general mind must be strengthened by education.

~ Thomas Jefferson ~

Photo by Niklas Barsk.

Age Isn't Just a Number

The fake ID has gone digital, and spread to elementary school.

~ Matt Richtel and Miguel Helft from "Facebook Users Who Are Under Age Raise Concerns" ~


Image courtesy Open Clip Art Library

Better Talking Dogs Than Talking Cats!

If dogs could talk it would take a lot of the fun out of owning one.

~ Andy Rooney ~


Photo by gryhrt

Sunday's Kat Kwote

~ Eliza Lee Follen ~

The Best Company!

Books are good company, in sad times and happy times, for books are people---people who have managed to stay alive by hiding between the covers of a book.

~ E.B. White ~

Poetry Friday

Once a poet launches a poem like an arrow into the world, it belongs to the reader.

~ Sage Cohen ~



Image courtesy Open Clip Art Library

Let's Hope This Is True

The mind, once expanded to the dimensions of larger ideas, never returns to its original size.

~ Oliver Wendell Holmes ~

Painting

Painting from nature is not copying the object; it is realizing one's sensations.

~ Paul Cezanne ~

"Stilleben mit offener Schublade" by Paul Cezanne, courtesy The Yorck Project.

Writing for Children

I always write for the child in me, and she is still in there.

~ Katherine Paterson ~

Amen

I believe in Michelangelo, Velasquez, and Rembrandt; in the might of design, the mystery of color, the redemption of all things by Beauty everlasting, and the message of Art that has made these hands blessed. Amen. Amen.

~ George Bernard Shaw ~
Rembrandt, "Artist in His Studio," courtesy Museum of Fine Arts.

Sunday's Kat Kwote

Perhaps he is a god, or fay.

~ Charles Baudelaire ~

Photo by martisimas