The Highlight

The highlight of my childhood was making my brother laugh so hard that food came out of his nose.

~ Garrison Keillor ~
Graphic courtesy Library of Congress.

Sunday's Kat Kwote

My sister grumbles about sharing dedication space in my book with my cat, Perdita. I like cats. People are fine, but, like Ivan Karamazov, I prefer them in the abstract. Most of them are very stupid.

~ Michael Robbins ~

Wake Them Up!

Walking the stacks in a library, dragging your fingers across the spines--it's hard not to feel the presence of sleeping spirits.

~ Robin Sloan from
Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore ~

Poetry Friday

The web, then, or the pattern, a web at once sensuous and logical, an elegant and pregnant texture: that is style, that is the foundation of the art of literature.

~ Robert Louis Stevenson ~
John Singer Sargent painting of Stevenson courtesy ARC Museum.

Literary Tattoo

Photo of Alice in Wonderland quote by never going home.

He Was Right

It feels great to have the iPad launched into the world--it's going to be a game changer.

~ Steve Jobs ~



Photo by Matt Buchanan.

Christmas Greetings!

Courtesy how to build & repair.

Getting Ready!

Note: click on the image for a larger view.
From Christmas: Its Origin and Associations by W. F. Dawson.

Sunday's Kat Kwote

Meowy Christmas!

Dance Me

Dance me to your beauty with a burning violin
Dance me through the panic 'til I'm gathered safely in
Lift me like an olive branch and be my homeward dove
Dance me to the end of love
Dance me to the end of love

~ Leonard Cohen ~

Poetry Friday

Knowledge is good, method is good, but one thing beyond all others is necessary; and that is to have a head, not a pumpkin, on your shoulders and brains, not pudding, in your head.

~ A. E. Housman ~
Christmas pudding photo by Turkinator.

Forget Yourself--More Good Advice

Develop an interest in life as you see it; the people, things, literature, music--the world is so rich, simply throbbing with rich treasures, beautiful souls and interesting people. Forget yourself.

~ Henry Miller ~

Good Advice for Non-Hoosiers, Too!

If I could offer but one helpful hint to young Hoosiers hoping to better their odds for success in life, I would simply note the importance of thoughtful reading.

~ Richard Lugar ~

Plastics

Mr. McGuire: I just want to say one word to you. Just one word.
Benjamin: Yes, sir.
Mr. McGuire: Are you listening?
Benjamin: Yes, I am.
Mr. McGuire: Plastics.

~ From The Graduate ~

Yes, You Can Teach an Old Dog...

You must invent your own games and teach us old ones how to play.

~ Nikki Giovanni ~

Sunday's Kat Kwote

Now, Pussy, you must be real good,
       And learn to spell like me;
When I say, "Pussy, what is this?"
       You must say, That is C.

~ R. Worthington, "The Spelling Lesson" from Baby Chatterbox ~

This Sickness...

Some look for scapegoats, others look for conspiracies, but this much is clear; violence breeds violence, repression brings retaliation, and only a cleaning of our whole society can remove this sickness from our soul.

~ Robert F. Kennedy ~

Poetry Friday

Waiting...

I didn't know the full dimensions of forever, but I knew it was longer than waiting for Christmas to come.

~ Richard Brautigan ~
"Hello Santa" stereograph card courtesy Library of Congress.

The Very Latest Fashion

Watch 'em splishin' and a-splashin'
(Do de rubber duck!)
It's the very latest fashion!
(Do de rubber duck!)

~ Guy Smiley singing "Do de Rubber Duck" ~

Guy Smiley courtesy Sesame Street.

Beyond the Picture Book

I certainly think we're going to see more and more graphic novels and more illustrated novels.

~ Charlaine Harris ~

It Is a Pleasure!

Children should learn that reading is pleasure, not just something that teachers make you do in school.

~ Beverly Cleary ~

Sunday's Kat Kwote

She dreams she is a tiger fierce
With great majestic claws that pierce;
She sits by the hot water pipes
And dreams about a coat of stripes;

~ Patrick Chalmers from "The Gardener's Cat" ~

Almost anyone can be an author; the business is to collect money and fame from the state of being.

~ A. A. Milne ~

Poetry Friday

I want to sing like the birds sing, not worrying who listens or what they think.

~ Rumi ~
Image courtesy Wikipedia.

Lady Talk

Lady Mary Crawley: "Sybil is entitled to her opinions."

Lady Grantham: "No. She isn't until she is married, then her husband will tell her what her opinions are."

~ from Downton Abbey ~
Photo courtesy MSN UK.

A Lot of People Feel This Way

The better I get to know men, the more I find myself loving dogs.

~ Charles de Gaulle ~
Photo by Greg Westfall.

Snip, Snap, Snip

The fox sprang ashore and threw back his head.
Snip--half the Gingerbread Boy was gone.
Snip, Snap--he was three-quarters gone.

Snip, Snap, Snip,
at last and at last
he went the way of
every single gingerbread boy
that ever came
out of an oven...

~ Paul Galdone from The Gingerbread Boy ~

Fanciful Shapes

gin·ger·bread
[jin-jer-bred]
noun
1. a type of cake flavored with ginger and molasses.
2. a rolled cookie similarly flavored, often cut in fanciful shapes, and sometimes frosted.

Photo by Diane Mayr taken at Strawbery Banke, Portsmouth, NH.

Sunday's Kat Kwote

This is Mary Jane,
See! she has a saucer:
To her cat she says,
"Give me up your paw, sir.
I've some fresh, nice milk
You will relish greatly."
Pussy then put up her paw;
All this happened lately.

~ K.G. from "Portraits for Little Folks" ~

Wonder

He who can no longer pause to wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead; his eyes are closed.

~ Albert Einstein ~
Photo courtesy NASA.