Monday, December 31, 2012

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, December 30, 2012

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 ~

Saturday, December 29, 2012

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 ~

Friday, December 28, 2012

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.

Thursday, December 27, 2012

Wednesday, December 26, 2012

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.

Monday, December 24, 2012

Saturday, December 22, 2012

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 ~

Friday, December 21, 2012

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.

Thursday, December 20, 2012

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 ~

Wednesday, December 19, 2012

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 ~

Tuesday, December 18, 2012

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 ~

Monday, December 17, 2012

Yes, You Can Teach an Old Dog...

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

~ Nikki Giovanni ~

Sunday, December 16, 2012

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 ~

Saturday, December 15, 2012

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 ~

Thursday, December 13, 2012

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.

Wednesday, December 12, 2012

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.


Tuesday, December 11, 2012

Beyond the Picture Book




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

~ Charlaine Harris ~

Monday, December 10, 2012

It Is a Pleasure!


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

~ Beverly Cleary ~

Sunday, December 9, 2012

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" ~

Saturday, December 8, 2012

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

~ A. A. Milne ~

Friday, December 7, 2012

Poetry Friday


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

~ Rumi ~

Image courtesy Wikipedia.

Thursday, December 6, 2012

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.

Wednesday, December 5, 2012

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.

Tuesday, December 4, 2012

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 ~

Monday, December 3, 2012

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, December 2, 2012

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" ~

Saturday, December 1, 2012

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.