8 hours & a lunch

thursday - quote day - carlin

i realize i'm posting infrequently, irregularly, and not about much in particular.  i'm told those are all things bloggers should never do, as well as never apologizing for it.  well, since the good witch of the south and dr. dad are here for a while visiting, this may continue for a bit.  so i thought i'd just tell you now and not have to apologize for it later.  (also, i've been having some technical woes of late, some of which i'm still working on as time allows.  so if i've not returned emails or responded to comments or....any of that sort of thing....please do not take it personally and know that i will get back to you soon.  thanks ever so much for understanding.)

now, on to thursday - quote day.  naturally, it has to be george carlin, doncha think?  so here we go:

-honesty may be the best policy, but it's important to remember that apparently, by elimination, dishonesty is the second-best policy.

-if it's true that our species is alone in the universe, then i'd have to say that the universe aimed rather low and settled for very little.

-some national parks have long waiting lists for camping reservations.  when you have to wait a year to sleep next to a tree, something is wrong.

-think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that.

-scientists announced today that they have discovered a cure for apathy.  however, they claim no one has shown the slightest interest in it.

-some people see the cup as half empty.  some people see the cup as half full.  i see the cup as too large.

all the best!

deb

thursday - quote day - friendship

It is one of the blessings of old friends that you can afford to be stupid with them." - Ralph Waldo Emerson

It is more shameful to distrust one's friends than to be deceived by them. - Duc de la Rochefoucauld

Anybody can sympathize with the sufferings of a friend, but it requires a very fine nature to sympathize with a friend's success. - Oscar Wilde

If you judge people, you have no time to love them. - Mother Teresa 

Friendship is born at that moment when one person says to another, "What!  You too? I thought I was the only one" -  C.S. Lewis 

I choose my friends for their good looks, my acquaintances for their good characters, and my enemies for their intellects. A man cannot be too careful in the choice of his enemies. - Oscar Wilde 

True friends stab you in the front. - Oscar Wilde

all the best!

deb

thursday - quote day - entrepreneurship

The important thing is not being afraid to take a chance. Remember, the greatest failure is to not try. Once you find something you love to do, be the best at doing it."
- Debbi Fields, founder of Mrs. Fields Cookies

"Entrepreneurs are risk takers, willing to roll the dice with their money or reputation on the line in support of an idea or enterprise. They willingly assume responsibility for the success or failure of a venture and are answerable for all its facets."
- Victor Kiam

"Nobody talks about entrepreneurship as survival, but that's exactly what it is and what nurtures creative thinking. Running that first shop taught me business is not financial science; it's about trading: buying and selling."
- Anita Roddick, founder of The Body Shop

"The entrepreneur is our visionary, the creator in each of us. We're born with that quality and it defines our lives as we respond to what we see, hear, feel, and experience. It is developed, nurtured, and given space to flourish or is squelched, thwarted, without air or stimulation, and dies."
-Michael Gerber

"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover"
- Mark Twain

"Once you say you're going to settle for second, that's what happens to you in life"
- John F. Kennedy

thursday - quote day - why it's thursday

why is "thursday - quote day" on a thursday? well, it all started like this. it was a bad day in the corporate world. (one of many.) and i heard from my best friend maia. and she gets why the answer to life, the universe, and everything is 42. (yes, people. it's under the quotes on the left sidebar and has been since about day 1. and it's really sort of a quiz. cuz if you get it, it tells me something about you. and if you don't, well....sod off. sort of. ha!) and in that vein, i found something that i thought would make the 'good witch of the south' laugh. and so 'thursday - quote day' started like this:

"this must be thursday," said arthur musing to himself, sinking low over his beer, "i never could get the hang of thursdays."

and for mom & because it makes me laugh:
"you know," said arthur, "it's at times like this, when I'm trapped in a vogon airlock with a man from betelgeuse, and about to die of asphyxiation in deep space that I really wish I'd listened to what my mother told me when I was young."
[ford prefect:] "why, what did she tell you?"
[arthur:] "i don't know, i didn't listen."

all the best!
deb

thursday - quote day - coming back

yes, folks. thursday - quote day is coming back. (yes. i know it's not thursday.) but i rather miss that little ritual of mine. and so, starting this week, thursday-quote day will begin again.

as for the picture? what does that have to do with anything? well, it turns out there's a band called thursday that really sounds like something i would have truly jammed to in college (or, at least, in my 20s). i haven't completely checked them out enough to recommend them. but i recommend at least checking them out if you're still punk rock at heart. ;-) although, i don't know how someone can claim to be punk rock and be an unemployed-HR-chick still going to the SHRM convention. uh huh.)

all the best!
deb

thursday - quote day - politics

in honor of tonight's democratic debate, i give you some recent late night political humor:

"The Florida retirees didn't go for that Mitt Romney, either. He reminded them of a guy who tries to get a hold of their nest egg. ... He reminded them of a guy who sells subdivisions in the Everglades. ... He reminded them of the guy who pitches overpriced cemetery plots. ... He reminded them of the pharmacist who doesn't accept their prescription plan." --David Letterman

"Congratulations to Senator John McCain, the big winner in Florida. ... You know, this was what they call a GOP-only primary. So McCain had to win over a whole new voter group for him -- Republicans." --Jay Leno

"Both Rudy Giuliani and John Edwards officially dropped out of the race today. I love how candidates have to make it official when they drop out. Like we have no idea they lost." --Jay Leno

"On the heels of the Florida results, both parties have lost a mainstream candidate. First up, South Carolina's favorite son, well, I guess in the primary there second favorite son. Obama won South Carolina and then there was their favorite daughter Hillary. I guess what I'm saying is, John Edwards turns out to be the Cindy Brady of South Carolina." --Jon Stewart

"Edwards' departure leaves the Democratic nomination down to Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, which means that the Founding Fathers finally have a winner in their 'How Long Will It Take Our Nation To Nominate A Non-White Male' betting pool. Oh, I can't wait to find out who is the winner. Ladies and gentlemen, George Mason of Virginia correctly guessed 219 years. Congratulations, Georgey!" --Jon Stewart

"On the Republican side, Rudolph Giuliani has dropped out. America's Mayor, John Q 9/11, it's over. For months, Giuliani was the frontrunner for the Republican nomination, and then people started voting. ... He finished in ninth place and 11th place." --Jon Stewart

all the best!
deb

thursday - quote day - peter gabriel

have i mentioned that i love peter gabriel? no seriously. i love peter gabriel. i've loved peter gabriel's music for...well...ever. his real world tour still ranks amongst my top five concerts i've attended. i even love several artists he's highlighted like manu katche (amazing drummer) and artists his label has carried like afro-celt sound system. so today's thursday - quote day - comes from peter gabriel.

(side note: there are stories out there that this is the story of gabriel's decision to leave genesis. and the eagle that "comes out of the night" is bruce springsteen. and then there's the line i love: "Just had to trust imagination - my heart going boom boom boom." that's how a leap of faith feels.)

by the way, that picture is a picture of the view from solsbury hill.

enjoy!
all the best!
deb

Climbing up on Solsbury Hill
I could see the city light
Wind was blowing, time stood still
Eagle flew out of the night
He was something to observe
Came in close, I heard a voice
Standing stretching every nerve
Had to listen had no choice
I did not believe the information
(I) just had to trust imagination
My heart going boom boom boom
"Son," he said "Grab your things,
I've come to take you home."

To keep in silence I resigned
My friends would think I was a nut
Turning water into wine
Open doors would soon be shut
So I went from day to day
Tho' my life was in a rut
"Till I thought of what I'd say
Which connection I should cut
I was feeling part of the scenery
I walked right out of the machinery
My heart going boom boom boom
"Hey" he said "Grab your things
I've come to take you home."
(Back home.)

When illusion spin her net
I'm never where I want to be
And liberty she pirouette
When I think that I am free
Watched by empty silhouettes
Who close their eyes but still can see
No one taught them etiquette
I will show another me
Today I don't need a replacement
I'll tell them what the smile on my face meant
My heart going boom boom boom
"Hey" I said "You can keep my things,
they've come to take me home."

thursday - quote day - gratitude

at times our own light goes out and is rekindled by a spark from another person.
each of us has cause to think with deep gratitude of those who have lighted the flame within us. - albert schweitzer

gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all the others. - cicero

as we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them. - john f. kennedy

gratitude is a quality similar to electricity: it must be produced and discharged and used up in order to exist at all. ~william faulkner

even though we can't have all we want, we ought to be thankful we don't get what we deserve - unknown

no one is as capable of gratitude as one who has emerged from the kingdom of night. - elie wiesel

thursday - quote day - outcomes

“we are responsible for the effort, not the outcome”

“it is our attitude at the beginning of a difficult undertaking which, more than anything else, will determine its successful outcome.” - william james

“a person should set his goals as early as he can and devote all his energy and talent to getting there. with enough effort, he may achieve it. or he may find something that is even more rewarding. but in the end, no matter what the outcome, he will know he has been alive.” - walt disney

“if you accept the expectations of others, especially negative ones, then you never will change the outcome.” - michael jordan

"i can honestly say that i was never affected by the question of the success of an undertaking. if i felt it was the right thing to do, i was for it regardless of the possible outcome.” - golda meir

thursday - quote day - ralph waldo emerson

what i must do is all that concerns me, not what the people think. this rule, equally arduous in actual and intellectual life, may serve for the whole distinction between greatness and meanness. it is the harder, because you will always find those who think they know what is your duty better than you know it. it is easy in the world to live after the world's opinion; it is easy in solitude to live after our own; but the great person is one who in the midst of the crowd keeps with perfect sweetness the independence of solitude.

insist on yourself; never imitate. your own gift you can present every moment with the cumulative force of a whole life's cultivation; but of the adopted talent of another you have only an extemporaneous, half possession.

each man has his own vocation; his talent is his call. there is one direction in which all space is open to him.

finish each day and be done with it. you have done what you could; some blunders and absurdities have crept in; forget them as soon as you can. tomorrow is a new day; you shall begin it serenely and with too high a spirit to be encumbered with your old nonsense.

nothing is at last sacred but the integrity of your own mind.

make the most of yourself, for that is all there is of you.

a person will worship something, have no doubt about that. we may think our tribute is paid in secret in the dark recesses of our hearts, but it will out. that which dominates our imaginations and our thoughts will determine our lives, and our character. therefore, it behooves us to be careful what we worship, for what we are worshipping we are becoming

all the best!
deb