“
Look. Shit happened. Shit's going to keep happening. You don't need me to tell your life isn't fair. You're here because you know it isn't. Life doesn't care what we want out of it; it's up to us to fight for what we want with everything we've got. Seth wanted us to win. He wanted us to make it past the fourth match. I think we owe it to him to perform. Let's show the world what we've got. Let's make this our year.
”
”
Nora Sakavic (The Raven King (All for the Game, #2))
“
Serious sport has nothing to do with fair play. It is bound up with hatred, jealousy, boastfulness, disregard of all rules and sadistic pleasure in witnessing violence. In other words, it is war minus the shooting.
(in "The Sporting Spirit", Tribune, GB, London, December 1945)
”
”
George Orwell (The Collected Essays, Journalism and Letters of George Orwell 1903-1950)
“
He said, “I know somebody you could kiss.”
“Who?” She realized his eyes were amused. “Oh, wait.”
He shrugged. He was maybe the only person Blue knew who could preserve the integrity of a shrug while lying down. “It’s not like you’re going to kill me. I mean, if you were curious.”
She hadn’t thought she was curious. It hadn’t been an option, after all. Not being able to kiss someone was a lot like being poor. She tried not to dwell on the things she couldn’t have.
But now—
“Okay,” she said.
“What?”
“I said okay.”
He blushed. Or rather, because he was dead, he became normal colored. “Uh.” He propped himself on an elbow. “Well.” She unburied her face from the pillow. “Just, like—”
He leaned toward her. Blue felt a thrill for a half a second. No, more like a quarter second. Because after that she felt the too-firm pucker of his tense lips. His mouth mashed her lips until it met teeth. The entire thing was at once slimy and ticklish and hilarious.
They both gasped an embarrassed laugh. Noah said, “Bah!” Blue considered wiping her mouth, but felt that would be rude. It was all fairly underwhelming.
She said, “Well.”
“Wait,” Noah replied, “waitwaitwait.” He pulled one of Blue’s hairs out of his mouth. “I wasn’t ready.”
He shook out his hands as if Blue’s lips were a sporting event and cramping was a very real possibility.
“Go,” Blue said.
This time they only got within a breath of each other’s lips when they both began to laugh. She closed the distance and was rewarded with another kiss that felt a lot like kissing a dishwasher.
“I’m doing something wrong?” she suggested.
“Sometimes it’s better with tongue,” he replied dubiously.
They regarded each other.
Blue squinted, “Are you sure you’ve done this before?”
“Hey!” he protested. “It’s weird for me, ‘cause it’s you.”
“Well, it’s weird for me because it’s you.”
“We can stop.”
“Maybe we should.”
Noah pushed himself up farther on his elbow and gazed at the ceiling vaguely. Finally, he dropped his eyes back to her. “You’ve seen, like, movies. Of kisses, right? Your lips need to be, like, wanting to be kissed.”
Blue touched her mouth. “What are they doing now?”
“Like, bracing themselves.”
She pursed and unpursed her lips. She saw his point.
“So imagine one of those,” Noah suggested.
She sighed and sifted through her memories until she found one that would do. It wasn’t a movie kiss, however. It was the kiss the dreaming tree had showed her in Cabeswater. Her first and only kiss with Gansey, right before he died. She thought about his nice mouth when he smiled. About his pleasant eyes when he laughed. She closed her eyes.
Placing an elbow on the other side of her head, Noah leaned close and kissed her once more. This time, it was more of a thought than a feeling, a soft heat that began at her mouth and unfurled through the rest of her. One of his cold hands slid behind her neck and he kissed her again, lips parted. It was not just a touch, an action. It was a simplification of both of them: They were no longer Noah Czerny and Blue Sargent. They were now just him and her. Not even that. They were only the time that they held between them.
”
”
Maggie Stiefvater (The Dream Thieves (The Raven Cycle, #2))
“
Wow, Angela and Holly,” Ash said, sounding awed. “Hot.”
“Excuse me, what is wrong with you?” Kami demanded. “Other people’s sexuality is not your spectator sport.”
Ash paused. “Of course,” he said. “But—”
“No!” Kami exclaimed. “No buts. That’s my best friend you’re talking about. Your first reaction should not be ‘Hot.’ ”
“It’s not an insult,” Ash protested.
“Oh, okay,” Kami said. “In that case, you’re going to give me a minute. I’m picturing you and Jared. Naked. Entwined.”
There was a pause.
Then Jared said, “He is probably my half brother, you know.”
“I don’t care,” Kami informed him. “All you are to me are sex objects that I choose to imagine bashing together at random. Oh, there you go again, look at that, nothing but Lynburn skin as far as the mind’s eye can see. Masculine groans fill the air, husky and..."
"Stop it," Ash said in a faint voice. "That isn't fair.
”
”
Sarah Rees Brennan (Untold (The Lynburn Legacy, #2))
“
Sports have nothing to do with fair play. They are bound up with hatred, jealousy, boastfulness, disregard of all rules and sadistic pleasure in witnessing violence
”
”
George Orwell
“
But we are spirits of another sort:
I with the morning's love have oft made sport,
And, like a forester, the groves may tread,
Even till the eastern gate, all fiery-red,
Opening on Neptune with fair blessed beams,
Turns into yellow gold his salt green streams.
”
”
William Shakespeare (A Midsummer Night’s Dream)
“
I had four blak arrows under my belt,
Four for the greefs that I have felt,
Four for the number of ill menne
That have oppressid me now and then.
One is gone; one is wele sped;
Old Apulyaird is dead.
One is for Maister Bennet Hatch,
That burned Grimstone, walls and thatch.
One for Sir Oliver Oates,
That cut Sir Harry Shelton’s throat.
Sir Daniel, ye shull have the fourt;
We shall think it fair sport.
Ye shull each have your own part,
A blak arrow in each blak heart.
Get ye to your knees for to pray;
Ye are ded theeves, by yea and nay!
JON AMEND-ALL
Of the Green Wood,
And his jolly fellaweship
”
”
Robert Louis Stevenson (The Black Arrow)
“
Though this knave came something saucily into this world before he was sent for, yet was is mother Fair; there was good sport at his making, and the Whoreson must be acknowledged.
”
”
William Shakespeare (King Lear)
“
What Joe Hamilton lacked more than anything else in the world was some one to kick him. Many a man who might have lived decently and become a fairly respectable citizen has gone to the dogs for the want of some one to administer a good resounding kick at the right time. It is corrective and clarifying.
”
”
Paul Laurence Dunbar (The Sport of the Gods)
“
Because here's the thing―we don't give a shit about fairness here. We're soldiers. Soldiers do not give the other guy a sporting chance. Soldiers shoot in the back, lay traps and ambushes, lie to the enemy and outnumber the other bastard every chance they get. Your kind of murder only works among civilians. And you were too cocky, too stupid, too insane to realize it.
”
”
Orson Scott Card (Ender's Shadow (The Shadow Series, #1))
“
Be fair. Play hard.
”
”
Dan Venezia
“
If you can't support us when we lose or draw, don't support us when we win
”
”
Bill Shankly
“
Sport, they said, is morally serious because mankind’s noblest aim is the loving contemplation of worthy things, such as beauty and courage. By witnessing physical grace, the soul comes to understand and love beauty. Seeing people compete courageously and fairly helps emancipate the individual by educating his passions.
”
”
George F. Will (Men at Work: The Craft of Baseball)
“
All genders?” whispered Nudge. “Aren’t there just the two? Or did I miss something?” I shrugged. “No idea. Maybe they’ve created others.” The thought was fairly repulsive, and we made “eew” faces at each other.
”
”
James Patterson (Saving the World and Other Extreme Sports (Maximum Ride #3))
“
Le voilà le grand drame de notre société: Même les riches ne font plus envie. Ils sont gros, moches, et vulgaires, leurs femmes sont liftées, ils vont en prison, leurs enfants se droguent, ils ont des goûts de ploucs, ils posent pour Gala. Les riches d'aujourd'hui ont oublié que l'argent est un moyen non une fin. Ils ne savent plus quoi en faire.
Au moins quand on est pauvre, on peut se dire qu'avec du fric, tout s'arrangerait. Mais quand on est riche, on ne peut pas se dire qu'avec une nouvelle baraque dans le Midi, une autre voiture de sport, une paire de pompes à 12000 balles, ou un mannequin supplémentaire, tout s'arrangerait. Quand on est riche, on n'a plus d'excuse. C'est pour ça que tout les milliardaires sont sous Prozac ; parce qu'ils ne font plus rêver personne, même pas eux !
”
”
Frédéric Beigbeder (L'amour dure trois ans (Marc Marronnier, #3))
“
While the truth is putting on its shoes, the lie becomes a champion of a long-distance running.
”
”
Ljupka Cvetanova (The New Land)
“
Since Chuck’s a sporting guy, I think it’s only fair that I keep score of his conversation.
”
”
David Levithan (Boy Meets Boy)
“
To watch the behaviour of a fine lady to other and humbler women is a very good sport for a philosophical frequenter of Vanity Fair.
”
”
William Makepeace Thackeray (Vanity Fair)
“
Prisoners, slaves, women and children, the sick, weak, disabled, animals, the earth itself – all were fair game for the cruel sport of those who had power. It was wrong, it was evil, but it was a fact of life.
”
”
Abigail Padgett (An Unremembered Grave)
“
How sweet I roam'd from field to field,
And tasted all the summer's pride,
'Till I the prince of love beheld,
Who in the sunny beams did glide!
He shew'd me lilies for my hair,
And blushing roses for my brow;
He led me through his gardens fair,
Where all his golden pleasures grow.
With sweet May dews my wings were wet,
And Phoebus fir'd my vocal rage;
He caught me in his silken net,
And shut me in his golden cage.
He loves to sit and hear me sing,
Then, laughing, sports and plays with me;
Then stretches out my golden wing,
And mocks my loss of liberty.
”
”
William Blake (The Complete Poems)
“
This made my father laugh. 'Mary made a cake, did she? Well, well. Better that than she should make a cake for herself, I suppose.'
Peter then burst out: 'Why must you always be making a game of Mary? 'Tis not fair; 'tis not sporting.
”
”
Jennifer Paynter (Mary Bennet)
“
Be hard but fair. Shoot straight. Never cheat, in sports or at work. Show up to your job early and do the best you can at it. Kill anyone that tries to blackmail you, ever. Refuse anyone who gives you an ultimatum, they’re never worth it. Leave a fair tip when you eat somewhere, and take your hat off in someone’s home. And always, always, keep your word.
”
”
Russell Zimmerman (Neat)
“
Here, I could see, was choice matter on which the expert and art critic could exercise their knowledge and judgment. As I had neither, I made an experiment or two, and was able to inform the readers of the paper that if you walked briskly past the picture, winking both eyes as fast as possible, you really got a sort of impression of movement and activity, of ships and boats coming into the harbour and sailing out of it, of sails lowered and hoisted, of an uncertain background, now obscured, now left visible as a ship in full sail passed before it. It struck me that, in my hands, art criticism was in a fair way to become a popular sport.
”
”
Arthur Machen (The Terror and Other Stories (The Best Weird Tales of Arthur Machen #3))
“
Oui, moi aussi, je m'étais souvent demandé: comment font les gents? Et à vrai dire, si ces questions étaient modifiées, elles n'avaient jamais cessé: comment font les gents, pour écrire, aimer, dormir d'une seule traite, varier les menus de leurs enfants, les laisser grandir, les laisser partir sans s'accrocher à eux, aller une fois par an chez le dentiste, faire du sport, rester fidèle, ne pas recommencer à fumer, lire des livres + des bandes dessinées + des magazines + un quotidien, ne pas être totalement dépassé en matière de musique, apprendre à respirer, ne pas s'exposer au soleil sans protection, faire leurs courses une seule fois par semaine sans rien oublier?
”
”
Delphine de Vigan (D'après une histoire vraie)
“
You must know, my loved one, that there are beings in the elements which almost appear like mortals, and which rarely allow themselves to become visible to your race. Wonderful salamanders glitter and sport in the flames; lean and malicious gnomes dwell deep within the earth; spirits, belonging to the air, wander through the forests; and a vast family of water spirits live in the lakes and streams and brooks. In resounding domes of crystal, through which the sky looks in with its sun and stars, these latter spirits find their beautiful abode; lofty trees of coral with blue and crimson fruits gleam in their gardens; they wander over the pure sand of the sea, and among lovely variegated shells, and amid all exquisite treasures of the old world, which the present is no longer worthy to enjoy; all these the floods have covered with their secret veils of silver, and the noble monuments sparkle below, stately and solemn, and bedewed by the loving waters which allure from them many a beautiful moss-flower and entwining cluster of sea grass. Those, however, who dwell there, are very fair and lovely to behold, and for the most part, are more beautiful than human beings. Many a fisherman has been so fortunate as to surprise some tender mermaid, as she rose above the waters and sang. He would then tell afar of her beauty, and such wonderful beings have been given the name of Undines. You, however, are now actually beholding an Undine.
”
”
Friedrich de la Motte Fouqué (Undine)
“
Government as we now know it in the USA and other economically advanced countries is so manifestly horrifying, so corrupt, counterproductive, and outright vicious, that one might well wonder how it continues to enjoy so much popular legitimacy and to be perceived so widely as not only tolerable but indispensable. The answer, in overwhelming part, may be reduced to a two-part formula: bribes and bamboozlement (classically "bread and circuses"). Under the former rubric falls the vast array of government "benefits" and goodies of all sorts, from corporate subsidies and privileges to professional grants and contracts to welfare payments and health care for low-income people and other members of the lumpenproletariat. Under the latter rubric fall such measures as the government schools, the government's lapdog news media, and the government's collaboration with the producers of professional sporting events and Hollywood films. Seen as a semi-integrated whole, these measures give current governments a strong hold on the public's allegiance and instill in the masses and the elites alike a deep fear of anything that seriously threatens the status quo.
”
”
Robert Higgs
“
This is how to play with personal integrity in a tournament’s early rounds, when there is no umpire. Any ball that lands on your side and is too close to call: call it fair. Here is how to be invulnerable to gamesmanship. To keep your attention’s aperture tight. Here is how to teach yourself, when an opponent maybe cheats on the line-calls, to remind yourself that what goes around comes around. That a poor sport’s punishment is always self-inflicted. Try to learn to let what is unfair teach you.
”
”
David Foster Wallace (Infinite Jest)
“
No matter what came our way, I knew one thing for sure. We’d fight it. Together. And just like tonight… We’d win.
”
”
Kandi Steiner (Fair Catch)
“
The path is a ribbon of moonlight across a dusky sea.
The wind sings a song that beckons us
To that great and mighty tree.
We are the Greenowls of Ambala, clad in raiments of moss,
Sprigged with lichens and grasses
Then gilded with silvery frost.
Fair and square we play- for a sporting lot we are.
We ride the boisterous Balefire gusts
And we reach for every star.
”
”
Kathryn Lasky (Exile (Guardians of Ga'Hoole, #14))
“
The DQN AI system of Google DeepMind can accomplish a slightly broader range of goals: it can play dozens of different vintage Atari computer games at human level or better. In contrast, human intelligence is thus far uniquely broad, able to master a dazzling panoply of skills.
A healthy child given enough training time can get fairly good not only at any game, but also at any language, sport or vocation. Comparing the intelligence of humans and machines today, we humans win hands-down on breadth, while machines outperform us in a small but growing number of narrow domains, as illustrated in figure 2.1. The holy grail AI research is to build “general AI” (better known as artificial general intelligence, AGI) that is maximally broad: able to accomplish virtually any goal, including learning.
”
”
Max Tegmark (Life 3.0: Being Human in the Age of Artificial Intelligence)
“
His easy smile looked genuine. It made a dimple pop out in his right cheek, proof that preachers lied when they said God was just. Wasn’t any fairness in giving a man with money the sort of face this one was sporting.
”
”
Meredith Duran (A Lady's Lesson in Scandal)
“
I was talking about soccer. You don’t watch any sports?” I ask. I know Tessa doesn’t. Nora shakes her head. “Nope. I’d rather cut my own eyes out and eat them with ketchup.” I laugh at her very detailed and fairly morbid reply.
”
”
Anna Todd (Nothing More (Landon Gibson, #1))
“
Maybe falling in love isn’t filling up a loyalty card with feelings and actions so much as just adding two things together: desire plus fear. The desire had appeared fairly suddenly—ever since that first kiss, really. The fear, on the other hand, grew gradually: fear that she wouldn’t be coming to the sports bar that night, fear that we wouldn’t end up kissing, fear that she’d change her mind. Those were pretty much the stages of falling in love for me.
”
”
Hanna Bervoets (We Had to Remove This Post)
“
The practice of sport is a human right. Every individual must have the possibility of practicing sport, without discrimination of any kind and in the Olympic spirit, which requires mutual understanding with a spirit of friendship, solidarity and fair play.
”
”
Olympic Charter
“
If you want to teach a kid a life skill, teach him reality. Give him a picture of what the world will throw his way. Even the rich and famous have their share of heartache and loss. People go broke. People get sick. Loved ones die. There are setbacks, cutbacks, rollbacks, buyouts, layoffs, bankruptcies. Is it fair to reward a kid for everything he does until he’s eighteen, filling his room with trophies regardless how he performs, and then find him shocked the first time he fails a course or loses a girlfriend or gets fired from a job?
”
”
Mike Matheny (The Matheny Manifesto: A Young Manager's Old-School Views on Success in Sports and Life)
“
Why do you choose to write about such gruesome subjects?
I usually answer this with another question: Why do you assume that I have a choice?
Writing is a catch-as-catch-can sort of occupation. All of us seem to come equipped with filters on the floors of our minds, and all the filters have differing sizes and meshes. What catches in my filter may run right through yours. What catches in yours may pass through mine, no sweat. All of us seem to have a built-in obligation to sift through the sludge that gets caught in our respective mind-filters, and what we find there usually develops into some sort of sideline.
The accountant may also be a photographer. The astronomer may collect coins. The school-teacher may do gravestone rubbings in charcoal. The sludge caught in the mind's filter, the stuff that refuses to go through, frequently becomes each person's private obsession. In civilized society we have an unspoken agreement to call our obsessions “hobbies.”
Sometimes the hobby can become a full-time job. The accountant may discover that he can make enough money to support his family taking pictures; the schoolteacher may become enough of an expert on grave rubbings to go on the lecture circuit. And there are some professions which begin as hobbies and remain hobbies even after the practitioner is able to earn his living by pursuing his hobby; but because “hobby” is such a bumpy, common-sounding little word, we also have an unspoken agreement that we will call our professional hobbies “the arts.”
Painting. Sculpture. Composing. Singing. Acting. The playing of a musical instrument. Writing. Enough books have been written on these seven subjects alone to sink a fleet of luxury liners. And the only thing we seem to be able to agree upon about them is this: that those who practice these arts honestly would continue to practice them even if they were not paid for their efforts; even if their efforts were criticized or even reviled; even on pain of imprisonment or death.
To me, that seems to be a pretty fair definition of obsessional behavior. It applies to the plain hobbies as well as the fancy ones we call “the arts”; gun collectors sport bumper stickers reading YOU WILL TAKE MY GUN ONLY WHEN YOU PRY MY COLD DEAD FINGERS FROM IT, and in the suburbs of Boston, housewives who discovered political activism during the busing furor often sported similar stickers reading YOU'LL TAKE ME TO PRISON BEFORE YOU TAKE MY CHILDREN OUT OF THE NEIGHBORHOOD on the back bumpers of their station wagons. Similarly, if coin collecting were outlawed tomorrow, the astronomer very likely wouldn't turn in his steel pennies and buffalo nickels; he'd wrap them carefully in plastic, sink them to the bottom of his toilet tank, and gloat over them after midnight.
”
”
Stephen King (Night Shift)
“
One of the many real-life examples comes from Charlie Jones, a well-respected broadcaster for NBC-TV, who revealed that hearing the story of Who Moved My Cheese? saved his career. His job as a broadcaster is unique, but the principles he learned can be used by anyone. Here’s what happened: Charlie had worked hard and had done a great job of broadcasting Track and Field events at an earlier Olympic Games, so he was surprised and upset when his boss told him he’d been removed from these showcase events for the next Olympics and assigned to Swimming and Diving. Not knowing these sports as well, he was frustrated. He felt unappreciated and he became angry. He said he felt it wasn’t fair! His anger began to affect everything he did. Then, he heard the story of Who Moved My Cheese? After that he said he laughed at himself and changed his attitude. He realized his boss had just “moved his Cheese.” So he adapted. He learned the two new sports, and in the process, found that doing something new made him feel young. It wasn’t long before his boss recognized his new attitude and energy, and he soon got better assignments. He went on to enjoy more success than ever and was later inducted into Pro Football’s Hall of Fame—Broadcasters’ Alley. That’s
”
”
Spencer Johnson (Who Moved My Cheese?: An A-Mazing Way to Deal with Change in Your Work and in Your Life)
“
New Rule: Americans must realize what makes NFL football so great: socialism. That's right, the NFL takes money from the rich teams and gives it to the poorer one...just like President Obama wants to do with his secret army of ACORN volunteers. Green Bay, Wisconsin, has a population of one hundred thousand. Yet this sleepy little town on the banks of the Fuck-if-I-know River has just as much of a chance of making it to the Super Bowl as the New York Jets--who next year need to just shut the hell up and play.
Now, me personally, I haven't watched a Super Bowl since 2004, when Janet Jackson's nipple popped out during halftime. and that split-second glimpse of an unrestrained black titty burned by eyes and offended me as a Christian. But I get it--who doesn't love the spectacle of juiced-up millionaires giving one another brain damage on a giant flatscreen TV with a picture so real it feels like Ben Roethlisberger is in your living room, grabbing your sister?
It's no surprise that some one hundred million Americans will watch the Super Bowl--that's forty million more than go to church on Christmas--suck on that, Jesus! It's also eighty-five million more than watched the last game of the World Series, and in that is an economic lesson for America. Because football is built on an economic model of fairness and opportunity, and baseball is built on a model where the rich almost always win and the poor usually have no chance. The World Series is like The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills. You have to be a rich bitch just to play. The Super Bowl is like Tila Tequila. Anyone can get in.
Or to put it another way, football is more like the Democratic philosophy. Democrats don't want to eliminate capitalism or competition, but they'd like it if some kids didn't have to go to a crummy school in a rotten neighborhood while others get to go to a great school and their dad gets them into Harvard. Because when that happens, "achieving the American dream" is easy for some and just a fantasy for others.
That's why the NFL literally shares the wealth--TV is their biggest source of revenue, and they put all of it in a big commie pot and split it thirty-two ways. Because they don't want anyone to fall too far behind. That's why the team that wins the Super Bowl picks last in the next draft. Or what the Republicans would call "punishing success."
Baseball, on the other hand, is exactly like the Republicans, and I don't just mean it's incredibly boring. I mean their economic theory is every man for himself. The small-market Pittsburgh Steelers go to the Super Bowl more than anybody--but the Pittsburgh Pirates? Levi Johnston has sperm that will not grow and live long enough to see the Pirates in a World Series. Their payroll is $40 million; the Yankees' is $206 million. The Pirates have about as much chance as getting in the playoffs as a poor black teenager from Newark has of becoming the CEO of Halliburton.
So you kind of have to laugh--the same angry white males who hate Obama because he's "redistributing wealth" just love football, a sport that succeeds economically because it does just that. To them, the NFL is as American as hot dogs, Chevrolet, apple pie, and a second, giant helping of apple pie.
”
”
Bill Maher (The New New Rules: A Funny Look At How Everybody But Me Has Their Head Up Their Ass)
“
Touch but my lips with those fair lips of thine,--
Though mine be not so fair, yet are they red--
The kiss shall be thine own as well as mine.
What seest thou in the ground? hold up thy head:
Look in mine eye-balls, there thy beauty lies;
Then why not lips on lips, since eyes in eyes?
'Art thou ashamed to kiss? then wink again,
And I will wink; so shall the day seem night;
Love keeps his revels where they are but twain;
Be bold to play, our sport is not in sight:
These blue-vein'd violets whereon we lean
Never can blab, nor know not what we mean.
'The tender spring upon thy tempting lip
Shows thee unripe; yet mayst thou well be tasted:
Make use of time, let not advantage slip;
Beauty within itself should not be wasted:
Fair flowers that are not gather'd in their prime
Rot and consume themselves in little time.
”
”
William Shakespeare (Venus and Adonis)
“
Go ahead. Ask me who the father is.”
He only smiled. “Do I look that stupid to you?”
She pushed back her short hair with a sigh. “He doesn’t know, and you’re not to tell him. In English, Apache or Lakota,” she emphasized, covering all her bases.
He nodded. “What are you going to do?”
“I haven’t the slightest idea,” she confessed. “I only used the home-pregnancy test this morning, but I was pretty sure before then. I’ve got to find a place to live where Leta won’t see me for a while. I can’t risk having her tell Tate.” She glanced at him. “Where were you all this time?” she wanted to know.
“Sitting calmly in a wing chair sipping coffee and trying to look invisible.” He lifted his eyebrows at her disbelieving expression. “Somebody had to keep his head.”
“There’s an old saying that, if you can keep your head when everyone around you is losing theirs, you don’t have a clue what’s going on,” she misquoted.
“Could be. But I’m not sporting a bruised face, like some I could name.” He leaned forward. “Want to marry me?”
“Thanks, Colby,” she said softly. “I really mean it. But it wouldn’t be fair to any of us. Especially you.”
He folded his arms and leaned back. “The offer doesn’t have a time limit. I really do love children.
”
”
Diana Palmer (Paper Rose (Hutton & Co. #2))
“
Acid filled Sara’s mouth.
It wasn’t fair.
That’s what Sara wanted to say. To scream at the top of her lungs.
It just wasn’t fair.
Lena wasn’t strong. She would bend, not break. She would recover from this tragedy the same easy way she recovered from every other tragedy before.
Even if she lost Jared, Lena would always know what it felt like to have his child growing inside of her. She could always hold her baby’s hand and think of holding Jared’s. She could see her child laugh and learn and grow and play sports and do school projects and graduate from college and Lena would always, always remember her husband. She would see Jared in her grandchildren and great-grandchildren. On her deathbed, she would find peace in the knowledge that they had made something beautiful together. That even in death, they would both go on living.
“Sara,” Faith said. “What’s happening here?”
Sara wiped her eyes, angry that she was back in the same dark place she’d started at this morning. “Why does everything come so damn easy to her?” She struggled to speak. Her throat clenched around every word that wanted to come out of her mouth. “Everything just opens up, and she always walks through unscathed and—” Sara had to stop for breath. “It’s just so easy for her. She always has it so goddamn easy.
”
”
Karin Slaughter (Unseen (Will Trent, #7))
“
Men ought to know that from nothing else but the brain come joys, delights, laughter and sports, and sorrows, griefs, despondency, and lamentations. And by this, in an especial manner, we acquire wisdom and knowledge, and see and hear, and know what are foul and what are fair, what are bad and what are good, what are sweet, and what unsavory; some we discriminate by habit, and some we perceive by their utility.
By this we distinguish objects of relish and disrelish, according to the seasons; and the same things do not always please us. And by the same organ we become mad and delirious, and fears and terrors
assail us, some by night, and some by day, and dreams and untimely wanderings, and cares that are not suitable, and ignorance of present circumstances, desuetude, and unskilfulness. All these things we endure from the brain, when it is not healthy, but is more hot, more cold, more moist, or more dry than natural, or when it suffers any other preternatural and unusual affection.
”
”
Hippocrates (On the Sacred Disease (Illustrated))
“
My ideal was contained within the word beauty, so difficult to define despite all the evidence of our senses. I felt responsible for sustaining and increasing the beauty of the world. I wanted the cities to be splendid, spacious and airy, their streets sprayed with clean water, their inhabitants all human beings whose bodies were neither degraded by marks of misery and servitude nor bloated by vulgar riches; I desired that the schoolboys should recite correctly some useful lessons; that the women presiding in their households should move with maternal dignity, expressing both vigor and calm; that the gymnasiums should be used by youths not unversed in arts and in sports; that the orchards should bear the finest fruits and the fields the richest harvests. I desired that the might and majesty of the Roman Peace should extend to all, insensibly present like the music of the revolving skies; that the most humble traveller might wander from one country, or one continent, to another without vexatious formalities, and without danger, assured everywhere of a minimum of legal protection and culture; that our soldiers should continue their eternal pyrrhic dance on the frontiers; that everything should go smoothly, whether workshops or temples; that the sea should be furrowed by brave ships, and the roads resounding to frequent carriages; that, in a world well ordered, the philosophers should have their place, and the dancers also. This ideal, modest on the whole, would be often enough approached if men would devote to it one part of the energy which they expend on stupid or cruel activities; great good fortune has allowed me a partial realization of my aims during the last quarter of a century. Arrian of Nicomedia, one of the best minds of our time, likes to recall to me the beautiful lines of ancient Terpander, defining in three words the Spartan ideal (that perfect mode of life to which Lacedaemon aspired without ever attaining it): Strength, Justice, the Muses. Strength was the basis, discipline without which there is no beauty, and firmness without which there is no justice. Justice was the balance of the parts, that whole so harmoniously composed which no excess should be permitted to endanger. Strength and justice together were but one instrument, well tuned, in the hands of the Muses. All forms of dire poverty and brutality were things to forbid as insults to the fair body of mankind, every injustice a false note to avoid in the harmony of the spheres.
”
”
Marguerite Yourcenar (Memoirs of Hadrian)
“
Don't worry, nothing's going to happen here. Skirmishes, pantomimes, and hypocrisy en masse for a while, that's for certain, but nothing serious. If we're unlucky, some idiot might go too far, but whoever holds the reins won't let anything get out of hand. It wouldn't be worth it. They'll be a fair amount of hullabaloo, but most of it will come to nothing. Records will be broken in the Olympic sport of coat turning and we'll see heroes merging from under the sofa. .. Its going to be like a long constipation.
”
”
Carlos Ruiz Zafón (The Labyrinth of the Spirits)
“
The Erl-King
O, who rides by night thro’ the woodland so wild?
It is the fond father embracing his child;
And close the boy nestles within his loved arm,
To hold himself fast, and to keep himself warm.
“O father, see yonder! see yonder!” he says;
“My boy, upon what doest thou fearfully gaze?” —
“O, ’tis the Erl-King with his crown and his shroud.”
“No, my son, it is but a dark wreath of the cloud.”
(Tke Erl-King speaks.)
“O come and go with me, thou loveliest child;
By many a gay sport shall thy time be beguiled;
My mother keeps for thee full many a fair toy,
And many a fine flower shall she pluck for my boy.”
“O, father, my father, and did you not hear
The Erl-King whisper so low in my ear?” —
“Be still, my heart’s darling — my child, be at ease;
It was but the wild blast as it sung thro’ the trees.”
Erl-King.
“O wilt thou go with me, thou loveliest boy?
My daughter shall tend thee with care and with joy;
She shall bear thee so lightly thro’ wet and thro’ wild,
And press thee, and kiss thee, and sing to my child.”
“O father, my father, and saw you not plain,
The Erl-King’s pale daughter glide past thro’ the rain?” —
“O yes, my loved treasure, I knew it full soon;
It was the grey willow that danced to the moon.”
Erl-King.
“O come and go with me, no longer delay,
Or else, silly child, I will drag thee away.” —
“O father! O father! now, now keep your hold,
The Erl-King has seized me — his grasp is so cold!”
Sore trembled the father; he spurr’d thro’ the wild, Clasping close to his bosom his shuddering child;
He reaches his dwelling in doubt and in dread,
But, clasp’d to his bosom, the infant was dead!
- From the German of Goethe, translation, 1797.
”
”
Walter Scott (Sir Walter Scott: Complete Works)
“
As I sit there flipping through a Sports Illustrated, listening to the easy-listening station Dr. Patel pumps into his waiting room, suddenly I'm hearing sexy synthesizer chords, faint highhat taps, the kick drum thumping out an erotic heartbeat, the twinkling of fairy dust, and then the evil bright soprano saxophone. You know the title: "Songbird." And I'm out of my seat, screaming, kicking chairs, flipping the coffee table, picking up piles of magazines and throwing them against the wall, yelling, "It's not fair! I won't tolerate any tricks! I'm not an emotional lab rat!
”
”
Matthew Quick
“
1. Whenever you walk through a doorway at home, stop, press the palms of your hands flat against the top of the door frame, get up on your toes, then push up with your arms and try to get your heels back on the floor. But don't let them budge - you're pushing against the calf muscles and recontouring them. Hold it for few seconds and then go on about you chores.
2. Sit on a straight chair, point your toes out straight, and kick up as high as you can with each leg. You'll feel a healthy pull in the calf muscles.
3. After a few kicks, stand up on your toes and lower yourself very slowly to a squatting position, still keeping your weight on the balls of your feet. Then pull slowly up again. It’s fair to balance yourself lightly with your hands on the back of a chair if you have to.
4. Put a book on the floor and place the balls of your feet on the book and your heels on the floor. Raise yourself slowly until you’re on tiptoe on the book. Then lower yourself just as slowly. The thicker the book, the better the results/
These four exercises will slim down fat calves and build up thin ones. The point is that the muscles are being firmed, and no matter what your problem the result is lovelier legs.
”
”
Joan Crawford (My Way of Life)
“
There is an art, it says, or rather, a knack to flying. The knack lies in learning how to throw yourself at the ground and miss. Pick a nice day, it suggests, and try it. The first part is easy. All it requires is simply the ability to throw yourself forward with all your weight, and the willingness not to mind that it’s going to hurt. That is, it’s going to hurt if you fail to miss the ground. Most people fail to miss the ground, and if they are really trying properly, the likelihood is that they will fail to miss it fairly hard. Clearly, it is this second part, the missing, which presents the difficulties. One problem is that you have to miss the ground accidentally. It’s no good deliberately intending to miss the ground because you won’t. You have to have your attention suddenly distracted by something else when you’re halfway there, so that you are no longer thinking about falling, or about the ground, or about how much it’s going to hurt if you fail to miss it. It is notoriously difficult to prise your attention away from these three things during the split second you have at your disposal. Hence most people’s failure, and their eventual disillusionment with this exhilarating and spectacular sport.
”
”
Douglas Adams (The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Omnibus: A Trilogy of Five)
“
Declan Lynch was a liar.
He'd been a liar his entire life. Lies came to him fluidly, easily, instinctively. What does your father do for a living? He sells high-end sports cars in the summer, life insurance in the winter. He's an anesthesiologist. He does financial consulting for divorcees. He does advertising work for international companies in English-speaking markets. He's in the FBI. Where did he meet your mother? They were on yearbook together in high school. They were set up by friends. She took his picture at the county fair, said she wanted to keep his smile forever. Why can't Ronan come to a sleepover? He sleepwalks. Once he walked out to the road and my father had to convince a trucker who'd stopped before hitting him he was really his son. How did your mother die? Brain bleed. Rare. Genetic. Passes from mother to daughter, which is the only good thing, 'cause she only had sons. How are you doing? Fine. Good. Great.
At a certain point, the truth felt worse. Truth was a closed-casket funeral attended by its estranged living relatives, Lies, Safety, Secrets.
He lied to everyone. He lied to his lovers, his friends, his brothers.
Well.
More often he simply didn't tell his brothers the truth.
”
”
Maggie Stiefvater (Call Down the Hawk (Dreamer Trilogy, #1))
“
For I can truly say, that from the first hour I drew my breath in it, to this, that i can now scarce draw it at all, for an asthma I got in scating against the wind in Flanders; I have been the continual sport of what the world calls Fortune; and though i will not wrong her by saying, She has ever made me feel the weight of any great or signal evil; yet with all the good temper in the world, I affirm it of her, That in every stage of my life, and at every turn and corner where she could get fairly at me, the ungracious Duchess has pelted me with a set of as pitiful misadventures and cross accidents as ever small Hero sustained.
”
”
Laurence Sterne (The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman)
“
It’s a work kid, a fucking lie. Our business is built on bullshit, every square inch of it. Call it deception, call it untruth, call it what you will. It is what it is. A work a dirty downright stinking fucking work. And whether it’s the dumb marks who pay to see this shit, or the dumb fucks who lace up every night to do it, they're all fair game, each and every one of em; suckers born to be fleeced for all their worth Anyone who says otherwise is probably working you twice as hard as I am. But hey, you already knew that, didn’t you? Welcome to the beast, that is, pro wrestling kid.
Harvey Wallbanger Wrestling Promoter Extraordinaire
”
”
Stevie Pearson (Real in Memphis: A Tale of Territory, Treachery and Turbulence)
“
Homer's Hymn to the Earth: Mother of All
O universal Mother, who dost keep
From everlasting thy foundations deep,
Eldest of things, Great Earth, I sing of thee!
All shapes that have their dwelling in the sea,
All things that fly, or on the ground divine
Live, move, and there are nourished—these are thine;
These from thy wealth thou dost sustain; from thee
Fair babes are born, and fruits on every tree
Hang ripe and large, revered Divinity!
The life of mortal men beneath thy sway
Is held; thy power both gives and takes away!
Happy are they whom thy mild favours nourish;
All things unstinted round them grow and flourish.
For them, endures the life-sustaining field
Its load of harvest, and their cattle yield
Large increase, and their house with wealth is filled.
Such honoured dwell in cities fair and free,
The homes of lovely women, prosperously;
Their sons exult in youth’s new budding gladness,
And their fresh daughters free from care or sadness,
With bloom-inwoven dance and happy song,
On the soft flowers the meadow-grass among,
Leap round them sporting--such delights by thee
Are given, rich Power, revered Divinity.
Mother of gods, thou Wife of starry Heaven,
Farewell! be thou propitious, and be given
A happy life for this brief melody,
Nor thou nor other songs shall unremembered be
”
”
Percy Bysshe Shelley
“
Homer's Hymn to the Earth: Mother of All
Published by Mrs. Shelley, "Poetical Works", 1839, 2nd edition; dated 1818.
O universal Mother, who dost keep
From everlasting thy foundations deep,
Eldest of things, Great Earth, I sing of thee!
All shapes that have their dwelling in the sea,
All things that fly, or on the ground divine
Live, move, and there are nourished—these are thine;
These from thy wealth thou dost sustain; from thee
Fair babes are born, and fruits on every tree
Hang ripe and large, revered Divinity!
The life of mortal men beneath thy sway
Is held; thy power both gives and takes away!
Happy are they whom thy mild favours nourish;
All things unstinted round them grow and flourish.
For them, endures the life-sustaining field
Its load of harvest, and their cattle yield
Large increase, and their house with wealth is filled.
Such honoured dwell in cities fair and free,
The homes of lovely women, prosperously;
Their sons exult in youth's new budding gladness,
And their fresh daughters free from care or sadness,
With bloom-inwoven dance and happy song,
On the soft flowers the meadow-grass among,
Leap round them sporting—such delights by thee
Are given, rich Power, revered Divinity.
Mother of gods, thou Wife of starry Heaven,
Farewell! be thou propitious, and be given
A happy life for this brief melody,
Nor thou nor other songs shall unremembered be.
”
”
Percy Bysshe Shelley (The Complete Poetry of Percy Bysshe Shelley, Vol. 1)
“
Most of us carry a faded old picture in our heads of what a great captain looks like. It’s usually an attractive person who possesses an abundance of strength, skill, wisdom, charisma, diplomacy, and unflappable calm. These people are not supposed to be difficult to spot. In our imaginations they’re talkative and articulate, charismatic but firm, tough but gracious, and respectful of authority. We expect leaders, especially in sports, to pursue their goals with gusto but to never wander from the principles of sportsmanship and fair play. We believe, as the Stanford social psychologist Deborah Gruenfeld put it, that power is reserved for the kind of person “who possesses some combination of superior charm and ruthless ambition that the rest of us don’t.
”
”
Sam Walker (The Captain Class: The Hidden Force that Creates the World's Greatest Teams)
“
No one ever warns you about the complicated and political decisions regarding lessons and classes and sports you’ll have to make when you become a parent. When I was in eighth grade everyone in Home Economics had to care for flour-sack babies for two weeks to teach us about parenting and no one ever mentioned enrolling your flour baby in sports. Basically, everyone got a sealed paper sack of flour that puffed out flour dust whenever you moved it. You were forced to carry it around everywhere because I guess it was supposed to teach you that babies are fragile and also that they leave stains on all of your shirts. At the end of the two weeks your baby was weighed and if it lost too much weight that meant you were too haphazard with it and were not ready to be a parent. It was a fairly unrealistic child-rearing lesson. Basically all we learned about babies in that class was that you could use superglue to seal your baby’s head after you dropped it. And that eighth-grade boys will play keep-away with your baby if they see it so it’s really safer in the trunk of your car. And that you should just wrap your baby up in plastic cling wrap so that its insides don’t explode when it’s rolling around in the trunk on your way home. And also that if you don’t properly store your baby in the freezer your baby will get weevils and then you have to throw your baby in the garbage instead of later making it into a cake that you’ll be graded on. (The next two weeks of class focused on cooking and I used my flour baby to make a pineapple upside-down cake. My baby was delicious. These are the things you never realize are weird until you start writing them down.)
”
”
Jenny Lawson (Furiously Happy: A Funny Book About Horrible Things)
“
Wow, Angela and Holly,” Ash said, sounding awed. “Hot.”
“Excuse me, what is wrong with you?” Kami demanded. “Other people’s sexuality is not your spectator sport.”
Ash paused. “Of course,” he said. “But—”
“No!” Kami exclaimed. “No buts. That’s my best friend you’re talking about. Your first reaction should not be ‘Hot.’ ”
“It’s not an insult,” Ash protested.
“Oh, okay,” Kami said. “In that case, you’re going to give me a minute. I’m picturing you and Jared. Naked. Entwined.”
There was a pause.
Then Jared said, “He is probably my half brother, you know.”
“I don’t care,” Kami informed him. “All you are to me are sex objects that I choose to imagine bashing together at random. Oh, there you go again, look at that, nothing but Lynburn skin as far as the mind’s eye can see. Masculine groans fill the air, husky and—”
“Stop it,” Ash said in a faint voice. “That isn’t fair.”
Behind them, Jared was laughing. Kami glanced back at him and caught his eye: for once, it made her smile, as if amusement could still travel back and forth like a spark between them.
“Ash is right, this is totally unfair,” Jared told her. “If you insist on this—”
“Oh, I do,” Kami assured him.
“Then I insist on hooking up with Rusty instead of Ash. It’s the least you can do.”
“Ugh,” Ash protested. “You guys, stop.”
“She’s making a point,” Jared said blandly. “I recognize her right to do that. But considering the alternative, I want Rusty.”
Ash gave this some thought. “Okay, I’ll have Rusty too.”
The sound of the door opening behind them made them all look up the stairs to where Rusty stood, with one eyebrow raised.
“Don’t fight, boys,” he remarked mildly. “There’s plenty of Rusty to go around.
”
”
Sarah Rees Brennan (Untold (The Lynburn Legacy, #2))
“
It is time,my darling."
"Oh,Frankie,no-"
"You chose dare," he reminded her.
"I did," she agreed sadly, stepping up. "You're right."
It hadn't been entirely fair of him, starting the game in the middle of Neiman Marcus. The King of Prussia Mall, a zillion acres of retail-and-food-in-a-box, is many people's idea of perfect therapy. Me? If given the choice, I might opt for swimming with sharks instead. But today was about Frankie.
"So," he told her, "I pick out three outfits,head to toe. You put them on."
"Fine." Sadie pulled her jacket closer around her.This one was a muddy pruple, and had a third sleeve stitched tot he back. "But if you pick anything like that"- she pointed to a tiny tartan dress that seemed to be missing its entire back- "I will cry."
"Have faith," he replied with a slightly twisted smile, and dragged her toward women's sportswear. "What our sport is," he said apropos of very little save the sign on the wall, "I have no idea."
Ten minutes later, Sadie was heading into the dressing room with an armful of autumn color and a look like she was on her way off a cliff.
”
”
Melissa Jensen (The Fine Art of Truth or Dare)
“
Augmentez la dose de sports pour chacun, développez l'esprit d'équipe, de compétition, et le besoin de penser est éliminé, non ? Organiser, organisez, super-organisez des super-super-sports. Multipliez les bandes dessinées, les films; l'esprit a de moins en moins d'appétits. L'impatience, les autos-trades sillonnées de foules qui sont ici, là, partout, nulle part. Les réfugiés du volant. Les villes se transforment en auberges routières; les hommes se déplacent comme des nomades suivant les phases de la lune, couchant ce soir dans la chambre où tu dormais à midi et moi la veille. (1re partie)
On vit dans l'immédiat. Seul compte le boulot et après le travail l'embarras du choix en fait de distractions. Pourquoi apprendre quoi que ce soit sinon à presser les boutons, brancher des commutateurs, serrer des vis et des écrous ?
Nous n'avons pas besoin qu'on nous laisse tranquilles. Nous avons besoin d'être sérieusement tracassés de temps à autre. Il y a combien de temps que tu n'as pas été tracassée sérieusement ? Pour une raison importante je veux dire, une raison valable ?
- Tu dois bien comprendre que notre civilisation est si vaste que nous ne pouvons nous permettre d'inquiéter ou de déranger nos minorités. Pose-toi la question toi-même. Que recherchons-nous, par-dessus tout, dans ce pays ? Les gens veulent être heureux, d'accord ? Ne l'as-tu pas entendu répéter toute la vie ? Je veux être heureux, déclare chacun. Eh bien, sont-ils heureux ? Ne veillons-nous pas à ce qu'ils soient toujours en mouvement, toujours distraits ? Nous ne vivons que pour ça, c'est bien ton avis ? Pour le plaisir, pour l'excitation. Et tu dois admettre que notre civilisation fournit l'un et l'autre à satiété.
Si le gouvernement est inefficace, tyrannique, vous écrase d'impôts, peu importe tant que les gens n'en savent rien. La paix, Montag. Instituer des concours dont les prix supposent la mémoire des paroles de chansons à la mode, des noms de capitales d'État ou du nombre de quintaux de maïs récoltés dans l'Iowa l'année précédente. Gavez les hommes de données inoffensives, incombustibles, qu'ils se sentent bourrés de "faits" à éclater, renseignés sur tout. Ensuite, ils s'imagineront qu'ils pensent, ils auront le sentiment du mouvement, tout en piétinant. Et ils seront heureux, parce que les connaissances de ce genre sont immuables. Ne les engagez pas sur des terrains glissants comme la philosophie ou la sociologie à quoi confronter leur expérience. C'est la source de tous les tourments. Tout homme capable de démonter un écran mural de télévision et de le remonter et, de nos jours ils le sont à peu près tous, est bien plus heureux que celui qui essais de mesurer, d'étalonner, de mettre en équations l'univers ce qui ne peut se faire sans que l'homme prenne conscience de son infériorité et de sa solitude.
Nous sommes les joyeux drilles, les boute-en-train, toi, moi et les autres. Nous faisons front contre la marée de ceux qui veulent plonger le monde dans la désolation en suscitant le conflit entre la théorie et la pensée. Nous avons les doigts accrochés au parapet. Tenons bon. Ne laissons pas le torrent de la mélancolie et de la triste philosophie noyer notre monde. Nous comptons sur toi. Je ne crois pas que tu te rendes compte de ton importance, de notre importance pour protéger l'optimisme de notre monde actuel.
”
”
Ray Bradbury (Fahrenheit 451)
“
One of the many real-life examples comes from Charlie Jones, a well-respected broadcaster for NBC-TV, who revealed that hearing the story of Who Moved My Cheese, saved his career.
His job as a broadcaster is unique, but the principles he learned can be used by anyone. Here’s what happened: Charlie had worked hard and had done a great job of broadcasting Track and Field events at an earlier Olympic Games, so he was surprised and upset when his boss told him he’d been removed from these showcase events for the next Olympics and assigned to Swimming and Diving.
Not knowing these sports as well, he was frustrated.
He felt unappreciated and he became angry.
He said he felt it wasn’t fair!
His anger began to affect everything he did.
Then, he heard the story of Who Moved My Cheese.
After that he said he laughed at himself and changed his attitude.
He realized his boss had just “Moved his Cheese.”
So he adapted. He learned the two new sports, and in the process, found that doing something new made him feel young. It wasn’t long before his boss recognized his new attitude and energy, and he soon got better assignments.
He went on to enjoy more success than ever and was later inducted into Pro Football’s Hall of Fame.
Remember: MOVE with the cheese.
”
”
Spencer Johnson (Dr Spencer Johnson 3 Books Collection Set (Who Moved, Out of the Maze[Hardcover], The Present))
“
everything in our culture tells men and boys to avoid any interest, activity or community dominated by women - and when article after article insists that boys are reading less than girls; when the pop cultural discourse shies away from portraying boys as readers, or closely associates male reading with male unpopularity and outcastness; when the humanities is widely touted as being the feminine alternative to the masculine sciences; when finally, after centuries of exclusion, girls are actually getting a break at something, the consequence is that boys are keeping away in droves.
[...]Having been raised to exclude girls from manly pursuits, boys are also reluctant to pursue female ones. If that means reading – and in some cases, sadly, it does, reading and other sedentary or indoor hobbies being viewed as the antithesis of sports, and therefore by extension the enemy of all things masculine – then writing more boy-centric books won’t help. (Unless, of course, your ultimate long-term plan is to take reading away from girls and return it to boys, in which case, you fail everything.) If, on the other hand, you want boys and girls to be reading with equal passion and in equal numbers, then a very clear alternative presents itself: teach your boys that there’s nothing wrong with girls, or girl things, period. Take away the stigma, and let everyone read without judgement. Stories are genderless, no matter who writes or stars in them. And if we can’t bear to teach our teenagers that, then we need to seriously rethink our sstatus as an equal and fair society.
”
”
Foz Meadows
“
His Sons, the fairest of her Daughters Eve. Under a tuft of shade that on a green Stood whispering soft, by a fresh Fountain side They sat them down, and after no more toil Of thir sweet Gardning labour then suffic’d To recommend coole Zephyr, and made ease More easie, wholsom thirst and appetite More grateful, to thir Supper Fruits they fell, Nectarine Fruits which the compliant boughes Yeilded them, side-long as they sat recline On the soft downie Bank damaskt with flours: The savourie pulp they chew, and in the rinde Still as they thirsted scoop the brimming stream; Nor gentle purpose, nor endearing smiles Wanted, nor youthful dalliance as beseems Fair couple, linkt in happie nuptial League, Alone as they. About them frisking playd All Beasts of th’ Earth, since wilde, and of all chase In Wood or Wilderness, Forrest or Den; Sporting the Lion rampd, and in his paw Dandl’d the Kid; Bears, Tygers, Ounces, Pards Gambold before them, th’ unwieldy Elephant To make them mirth us’d all his might, & wreathd His Lithe Proboscis; close the Serpent sly Insinuating, wove with Gordian twine His breaded train, and of his fatal guile Gave proof unheeded; others on the grass Coucht, and now fild with pasture gazing sat, Or Bedward ruminating: for the Sun Declin’d was hasting now with prone carreer To th’ Ocean Iles, and in th’ ascending Scale Of Heav’n the Starrs that usher Evening rose: When Satan still in gaze, as first he stood, Scarce thus at length faild speech recoverd sad. O Hell! what doe mine eyes with grief behold, Into our room of bliss thus high advanc’t Creatures of other mould, earth-born perhaps, Not
”
”
John Milton (Paradise Lost: An Annotated Bibliography (Paradise series Book 1))
“
Brandishing a green mallet, Hannah grinned at John. “We’ll take sides. You and me against Andrew and Theo.”
Hannah went first. Theo and I watched her knock her ball through the first two wickets and aim for the third. She missed and stepped back to let Theo take his turn.
I leaned on my mallet and waited. It had taken me a while to understand the game, but once I learned the rules, I’d become a pretty good strategist. As soon as I had the opportunity, I planned to knock John’s ball clear off the court, maybe all the way into the poison ivy at the bottom of the hill.
In a few minutes, I saw my chance. My ball rolled through a wicket and hit his. To keep mine steady, I put my foot on it and whacked my ball hard enough to drive John’s into the poison ivy.
“It’s dead,” I crowed. “I got you!”
Hannah gave me one of her vexed looks. Turning to John, she said, “I swear he’s getting more like his old self every day.”
At the same moment, Buster went tearing into the poison ivy and emerged with the ball in his mouth. Waging his tail proudly, he ran off with it. He’d lost Mrs. Armiger’s hat, but he wasn’t going to give up the ball. Ignoring our commands to drop it, he dashed under the rose trellis and disappeared behind the hedge.
“Drat,” Hannah said. “That stupid dog must have buried a dozen croquet balls by now.”
I glanced at John, hoping he’d be a bad sport. Maybe he’d say I cheated. Maybe he’d say it wasn’t fair. Maybe he’d disgrace himself by refusing to play. Instead, he slapped my back and said, “Well, it looks like you’ll win this game, Andrew.”
Hannah glowed with admiration. Frank Merriwell himself couldn’t have been a finer gentleman.
”
”
Mary Downing Hahn (Time for Andrew: A Ghost Story)
“
Hey,” Sean said as he stretched. “I just took Scout out.”
“Thanks,” Cade said.
Sean glanced back and noticed me. “Hey, Fallon.” He smirked at Cade. “Well, guess I’ll be heading to my room now.”
Scout raised his head and his tail slapped against the couch.
“Three’s a crowd, and all that.” Sean ruffled the fur along Scout’s neck. “Unless, of course, you’re a dog.” He stood and stretched again. “Oh, to be a dog in a crate.”
Cade rolled his eyes at Sean’s fly-on-a-wall reference. “ ’Night, Sean,” he grumbled.
“See you two crazy kids later.” He strolled out of the room but paused and patted the kitchen wall. “Oh, and FYI, the shower in Cade’s room backs to the kitchen.”
God, Sean was like a male version of me. Poor Brinley, always having to put up with my crap. She was a damn good sport.
Cade just shook his head and muttered, “Jealous?”
“Fuck yeah, I am,” Sean called back as he wandered down the hall. “I’m going to start calling you magic hands.”
Though Sean was still fucking around, I sensed Cade losing his patience.
“It’s not just his hands,” I said.
Sean looked over his shoulder at me.
“I mean, call him what you want, but don’t sell him short.”
Sean just stared at me, surprised by either what I’d said or the fact I’d said anything at all.
I smiled in the way that always drove guys crazy, totally fake but filled with flirtation. “Listen close tonight and maybe you can figure out what I like to call him.”
He leaned his head against his door frame and groaned. “Just not even fair.” He picked his head up and glanced at me. “If you get bored, you know I live right down the hall.”
I laughed, though Cade didn’t seem to find quite the humor in it I did.
He slipped his hand in mine. “Not happening, bro.”
Sean raised his hands. “Just throwing it out there.”
“Thanks,” I said sweetly. “But my schedule is pretty full with Cade RSVPing to my fuckfest and all…”
Cade chuckled.
Sean gaped at me then, with a pointed look at Cade, said, “Marry her, dude. Seriously, if you don’t, I will.” He stepped into his room grumbling something about fuckfests.
“My roommate is in love with you now. You’re like this hot female version of him. His dream girl.
”
”
Renita Pizzitola (Just a Little Flirt (Crush, #2))
“
(Amavia's suicide)
But if that carelesse heauens (quoth she) despise
The doome of iust reuenge, and take delight
To see sad PAGEANTS OF MEN'S MISERIES,
As bound by them to liue in liues despight,
Yet can they not warne death from wretched wight.
Come then, come soone, come sweetest death to mee,
And take away this LONG LENT LOATHED LIGHT:
Sharpe be thy wounds, but sweet the medicines bee,
That long captiued soules from wearie thraldome free.
But thou, sweet Babe, whom frowning froward fate
Hath made sad witnesse of thy fathers fall,
Sith heauen thee deignes to hold in liuing state,
Long maist thou liue, and better thriue withall,
Then to thy lucklesse parents did befall:
Liue thou, and to thy mother dead attest,
That cleare she dide from blemish criminall;
Thy litle hands embrewd in bleeding brest
Loe I for pledges leaue. So giue me leaue to rest.
With that a deadly shrieke she forth did throw,
That through the wood reecchoed againe,
And after gaue a grone so deepe and low,
That seemd her tender heart was rent in twaine,
Or thrild with point of thorough piercing paine;
As gentle Hynd, whose sides with cruell steele
Through launched, forth her bleeding life does raine,
Whiles the sad pang approching she does feele,
Brayes out her latest breach, and vp her eyes doth seele.
Which when that warriour heard, dismounting straict
From his tall steed, he rusht into the thicke,
And soone arriued, where that sad pourtraict
Of death and dolour lay, halfe dead, halfe quicke,
In whose white alabaster brest did sticke
A cruell knife, that made a griesly wound,
From which forth gusht a streme of gorebloud thick,
That all her goodly garments staind around,
And into a deepe sanguine dide the grassie ground.
Pittifull spectacle of deadly smart,
Beside a bubbling fountaine low she lay,
Which she increased with her bleeding hart,
And the cleane waues widi purple gore did ray;
Als in her lap a louely babe did play
His cruell sport, in stead of sorrow dew;
For in her streaming blood he did embay
His litle hands, and tender ioynts embrew;
Pitifull spectacle, as euer eye did view.
Out of her gored wound the cruell steele
He lighdy snatcht, and did the floudgate stop
With his faire garment: then gan softly feele
Her feeble pulse, to proue if any drop
Of liuing bloud yet in her veynes did hop;
Which when he felt to moue, he hoped faire
To call backe life to her forsaken shop.
...
Not one word more she sayd
But breaking off, the end for want of breath,
And slyding soft, as downe to sleepe her layd,
And ended all her woe in quiet death.
That seeing good Sir Guyon, could vneath
From tears abstaine, for griefe his hart did grate,
And from so heauie sight his head did wreath,
Accusing fortune, and too cruell fate,
Which plunged had faire Ladie in so wretched state.
Then turning to his Palmer said, Old syre
Behold the image of mortalitie,
And feeble nature cloth’d with fleshly tyre,
When raging passion with fierce tyrannie
Robs reason of her due regalitie,
And makes it seruant to her basest part:
The strong it weakens with infirmitie,
And with bold furie armes the weakest hart;
The strong through pleasure soonest falles, the weake through smart.
”
”
Edmund Spenser (The Faerie Queene)
“
When Oliver called time a few moments later, she’d beaten them all. But she’d beaten Mr. Pinter by only one bird.
“It appears, Lady Celia, that you’ve won a new rifle,” the duke said graciously.
“No,” she answered. They all stared at her. “It doesn’t seem sporting to win a challenge only because one of my opponents had a faulty firearm. Which we provided to him, by the way.”
“Don’t worry,” Mr. Pinter drawled. “I won’t hold the fault firearm against you and your brothers.”
“That’s not the point. This should be fair, and it isn’t.”
“Then we’ll move forward,” Oliver said, “and let the servants flush the grouse again. Pinter can take one more shot. That’s probably all that the misfire delayed him by. If he misses, then you’ve won squarely. If he hits his target then it’s a tie, and we’ll decide a tie breaker.”
“That seems fair.” She glanced over at Mr. Pinter. “What do you say, sir?”
“Whatever my lady wishes.” His eyes met hers in a heated glance.
She had the unsettling feeling that he referred to more than just the shooting. “Well, then,” she said lightly. “Let’s get on with it.”
The beaters headed forward to flush the grouse, but either because of where the grouse had last settled or because of the beaters’ position, the birds rose farther away than was practical.
“Damn it all,” Gabe uttered. “He won’t make a shot from here.”
“You can ignore this one, and we’ll have them flushed again,” Celia said.
But Mr. Pinter raised his gun to follow their flight. With a flash and the repugnant smell of black powder igniting, the gun fired and white smoke filled the air. She saw a bird fall.
No, not one bird. He’d hit two birds with an impossible shot.
Her breath lodged in her throat. She’d hit two with one shot a few times, due to how they clustered and how well the birdshot scattered, but to do it at such a distance…
She glanced at him, astonished. No one had ever beaten her-and certainly not with such an amazing shot.
Mr. Pinter gazed at her steadily as he handed off the gun to a servant. “It appears that I’ve won, my lady.”
Her mouth went dry. “It does indeed.”
Gabe hooted pleased at having escaped buying her a rifle. The duke and the viscount scowled, while Devonmont just looked amused as usual.
All of that fell away as Mr. Pinter’s gaze dropped to her mouth.
“Well done, Pinter,” Oliver said, clapping him on the shoulder. “You obviously more than earned a kiss.”
For a moment, raw hunger flickered in his eyes. Then it was as if a veil descended over his face, for his features turned blank. He walked up to her, bent his head…
And kissed her on the forehead.
Hot color flooded her cheeks. How dared he kiss her last night as if she were a woman, and then treat her like a child in front of her suitors! Or worse, a woman beneath his notice!
“Thank heavens that’s done,” she said loftily, trying to retain some dignity.
The men all laughed-except Mr. Pinter, who watched her with a shuttered expression.
As the other gentleman crowded round to congratulate him on his fine shot, she plotted. She would make him answer for every remark, every embarrassment of this day, as soon as she had the chance to get him alone.
Because no man made a fool of her and got away with it.
”
”
Sabrina Jeffries (A Lady Never Surrenders (Hellions of Halstead Hall, #5))
“
just because you have achieved something many times doesn’t mean you won’t have to prove yourself again.
”
”
Brandi Chastain (It's Not about the Bra: Play Hard, Play Fair, and Put the Fun Back into Competitive Sports)
“
The door opened behind us and several of the cheerleaders shrieked as Darius strode in wearing his Pitball uniform, making a beeline for Tory.
She was only in her skirt and sports bra, looking to him with her brows arching.
“Flans on a Friday!” Geraldine exclaimed mid-lunge. “This is the ladies room and Jacinta has her Petunia out!” She pointed at Jacinta who was struggling to get her panties up her legs, getting entangled as she stared at Darius’s back in alarm.
Darius rolled his eyes, ignoring the chaos around him as he fixed Tory in his sights while I fought a grin at the two of them. I couldn’t believe what Caleb had done for them and I was so happy that there was a way they could be together sometimes. Even if that did involve a threesome with two Heirs, at least she was enjoying herself. Get it, Tor.
“Cheerleaders sometimes support a certain player on the field,” Darius said as he pushed his hand into his pocket and took out a navy ribbon with the word Fireshield on it. “Will you cheer for me today, Roxy?”
He held it out for her and I swear she actually blushed. “I’m cheering for Darcy and Geraldine too.”
“We don’t mind,” I said immediately. “Do we Geraldine?”
“By all the rocks in Saturn’s rings, of course we don’t!”
Tory shrugged in answer, a smile playing around her mouth and he leaned forward and wrapped the ribbon around her throat and tied it in place.
“They’re normally worn on the wrist,” Geraldine whispered to me overly loudly. “This is most romantic.”
“Good luck,” Tory said and he nodded before heading out of the room.
I bit my lip, looking to her for a comment while Geraldine rested a foot up on the bench, pressing her elbow to her knee and perching her chin on her knuckles as she gazed wistfully at my sister.
“What?” Tory asked innocently.
“You know what,” I teased and she fought a grin, glancing over her shoulder as if checking to make sure he was really gone. Then she cast a silencing bubble around thethree of us and her expression became anxious.
“It’s not that I don’t like the sweet side of Darius, but…” she started.
“But what?” Geraldine gasped.
“What is it?” I pressed gently when she didn’t elaborate.
She sighed, looking a bit guilty. “I just miss our back and forth. This isn’t him. It’s just a nice version of him. I want the real Darius, not some watered down version. And I need to be sure the real Darius isn’t going to hurt me again. Like what happens when one day I piss him off and make him lose his temper again?”
Geraldine’s jaw almost hit the floor, but before she could try and convince Tory otherwise, I spoke. Because I knew my sister, and I was starting to get a fairly good read on Darius too. And she had a point. He was on his best behaviour right now, but that couldn’t go on forever. If they were going to find some way to make this work, she needed to know what long-term Darius looked like. And besides that, she lived for being kept on her toes.
(Darcy)
”
”
Caroline Peckham (Cursed Fates (Zodiac Academy, #5))
“
Would there ever be a woman who would be his equal? I scowled. Equal? From where? As an athlete I wasn’t allowed to compete against men. We accelerated—but so did they. The performance gap between the sexes stood in most sports. The wage gap stood in every industry. The gaps were everywhere. Why did everyone insist on pretending, all the time, that anything was fair? Fairness only existed if you started in the same place, with the same tools and the same resources.
”
”
Barbara Bourland (The Force of Such Beauty)
“
If we cannot segregate ourselves from the opposite sex when vulnerable in locker rooms and bathrooms, if we cannot compete fairly in sports and other endeavors, then we lose all sense of self, security, and even justice.
”
”
Jessica Marie Baumgartner (Reclaiming Femininity: Saving Women's Traditions & Our Future)
“
Aye, Rip, not fair, not fair!” shouted the boy, his laughter pealing upward in the cold air, his breath turning to white puffs, the sheep and the birds all laughing with the great sport that does erupt, from time to time, in creation.
”
”
Michael D. O'Brien (A Cry of Stone: A Novel)
“
What else dwells here other than kelpies?” “Some say witches,” he murmured. “Not the human kind,” he added when she raised a brow. “The kind that used to be something else and then their thirst for magic and power turned them into wretched creatures, banished here by various High Lords.” “They don’t sound so bad.” “They drink young blood to fill the coldness the magic left in them.” Nesta winced. Cassian went on as she scanned the bog, “There are lightsingers: lovely, ethereal beings who will lure you, appearing as friendly faces when you are lost. Only when you’re in their arms will you see their true faces, and they aren’t fair at all. The horror of it is the last thing you see before they drown you in the bog. But they kill for sport, not food.” “And all these horrible creatures are just left here, untended?” “The Middle lies under no High Lord’s jurisdiction. It’s long been the dumping ground for any unwanteds.” “Not the Prison?” “Their crimes are ones of nature. A kelpie is designed to lure and kill, just as a wolf is designed to hunt its prey. The Middle keeps them separate from us without punishing them for what they were made to be.
”
”
Sarah J. Maas (A Court of Silver Flames (A Court of Thorns and Roses, #4))
“
Influential educational school in Abu Dhabi: Reach British School
Selecting schools that speak about the type of education you want to impart to your kid is an important decision. Like all other difficult decisions that parenthood brings with it, this one too cannot be decided based on one impulsive thought.
School is an important part of any child's growth. They learn, they giggle, and grow into beautiful individuals. Thus, schools build them into responsible beings. However, finding the right school can be research-heavy and hectic.
International education in the United Arab Emirates is not cheap, and this adds to an extra load of pressure on deciding parents. Yet, Abu Dhabi is known to host an excellent range of international schools that are somewhat budget-friendly.
The British International School is one such example, they surely secure a place in the list of best schools in Abu Dhabi.
Why choose Reach British School?
Reading through different curriculums, and googling into millions of school websites is a part of this decision-making. You look for that spark, one that you look for in any relationship. Yes, choosing a school is the beginning of a life-long relationship, an important part of your child’s life.
This article will push you towards decision making, as it lists the points on why you should choose Reach British School. The following reasons will convince you that it fits into the best schools in Abu Dhabi.
English proficiency
The staff is filled with native English-speaking teachers. Thus, they bring with them, years of experience in the language field and absolute English proficiency. Being native English speakers, they can showcase experience in the UK or other international schools.
Excellent facilities
Schooling is a part of a child's overall growth, and there is more to it than just academics. Being one of the best schools in Abu Dhabi, they support an exciting curriculum. It includes sports, arts, academic subjects, and a bunch of other extra-curricular activities.
High Academic standards and behavioral expectations
A child grows into a successful human being, who is also a responsible citizen. Thus, the school sets a strong focus on the academic depth and the behavioral patterns of the child. They ensure that your child reaches their fullest potential in a safe and secure environment.
Student progress tracking
You will get a chance to be deeply involved in your child's progress. The school will provide regular reports on your child's growth that will give you a fair idea about their needs, likes, and dislikes. Thus, you can take an active part in their academic progress, social and emotional well-being.
Secondary scholarships
The school funds a scholarship program to motivate students to achieve their dreams. The program attracts bright minds and pushes them to reach their potential in the fields they are passionate about.
Amazing learning
Not just the staff, but also the environment of the school will enable your child to go through an amazing learning experience. Your child will be motivated and encouraged to perform better as that is the base for amazing learning.
Endnotes
Reach British School wants to let your child shine, in the truest sense possible. Keeping the tag of being one of the best schools in Abu Dhabi, is difficult. Thus, they aspire to be better every day and sculpt new souls into responsible adults, while protecting their innocence and childhood.
”
”
Deen Bright
“
It all made for a mixed first impression. When I watched training with the new draftees, I could see this was an AFL team with some seriously good players. But the infrastructure around the team was relatively scant, felt amateurish and was not what I expected from an AFL club. It was all by virtue of not having a home; we had a nomadic existence in those formative years. At that point most Victorian clubs too still had to be satisfied with unprofessional working environments at suburban grounds, but it is fair to say that Fremantle was at the extreme end of the scale.
”
”
Matthew Pavlich (Purple Heart)
“
Robert Walls asked him what Fremantle stood for. He couldn’t give a clear answer. It is fair to say the question caught him on the hop and he didn’t handle it well. I remember sitting on the couch at Yeoy’s Melbourne pad watching the show and being shocked and embarrassed. I’m sure my teammates and our members were too.
”
”
Matthew Pavlich (Purple Heart)
“
There is an inevitable lag in draft decisions; things can look ‘wrong’ for a fair while before the effects kick in.
”
”
Matthew Pavlich (Purple Heart)
“
#11forJacob Movement
Jacob Wetterling loved sports. His dad coached his soccer team. He wanted to be a football player. He was a skilled hockey goalie. Jacob also believed in a fair and just world, a world where all children know they are special and deserve to be safe. We ask you to be part of #11forJacob.
This movement centers around 11 simple traits that Jacob valued:
Be fair
Be kind
Be understanding
Be honest
Be thankful
Be a good sport
Be a good friend
Be joyful
Be generous
Be gentle with others
Be positive
”
”
Patty Wetterling (Dear Jacob: A Mother's Journey of Hope)
“
If you’re not sure what your passion is or what it once was, try brainstorming with the following questions: I would like more time for ________________ Or I want to get back to _______________________ Or I have always wanted to __________________ (If you have more than one, pick one for now.) Or When doing _______ or thinking of doing _______ I feel at least two of the following: Exhilarated Content Fulfilled Focused If you’re still drawing a blank, consider the following visual prompts to spark an idea. Are you more drawn to activities that utilize your hands, build heart connections or heart-pumping adrenaline, or challenge you to use your head and/or align with a higher purpose? Pick one category that appeals to you today and drill down to identify a trade, skill, sport, art, practice, or class that you want to commit to exploring, developing, or completing over the next six months. It’s not forever—whatever you choose today can change.
”
”
Eve Rodsky (Fair Play: A Game-Changing Solution for When You Have Too Much to Do (And More Life to Live))
“
In all fairness, beyond skin colour, we are all the same. We all cut easily, bleed, weep, and cheer sporting glory similarly.
”
”
Siile Matela (The Door to the past, Present and Future)
“
Dutch historian J. Huizinga argues in 'Homo Ludens' that a competition, in order to be interesting to the public, has to be perceived as fair.
There is a widespread perception, however, that the judging of FS is biased and that the results of competitions are often fixed.
[...] But the perception of bias and favoritism in the judging of skating persists; and it persists because, well, there is bias and favoritism in judging
”
”
M.G. Piety (Sequins and Scandals: Reflections on Figure Skating, Culture, and the Philosophy of Sport)
“
Girls and women, both straight and lesbian, are particularly affected by gender ideology; they are losing their rights, safe spaces, and fairness in sports.
”
”
Lisa Shultz (The Trans Train: A Parent's Perspective on Transgender Medicalization and Ideology)
“
Meditation is a bit like the term “sport” in that it encompasses a fairly wide range of activities
”
”
David Michie (Mindfulness Is Better Than Chocolate: A Practical Guide to Enhanced Focus and Lasting Happiness in a World of Distractions)
“
Bienvenue sur Athlé Expliqué, votre site d'expertise sur la course sur route, trail et sports outdoor ! Ma mission est simple : vous faire réellement progresser dans la durée pour atteindre vos objectifs en course à pied (perdre du poids, améliorer votre vitesse, préparer une compétition, etc.)
”
”
Athlé Expliqué
“
I saw new Worlds beneath the Water ly,
New Peeple; yea, another Sky
And Sun, which seen by Day
Might things more clear display.
Just such another
Of late my Brother
Did in his Travel see, & saw by Night,
A much more strange & wondrous Sight:
Nor could the World exhibit such another,
So Great a Sight, but in a Brother.
Adventure strange! No such in Story we
New or old, tru or feigned, see.
On Earth he seem'd to mov
Yet Heven went abov;
Up in the Skies
His Body flies
In open, visible, yet Magick, sort:
As he along the Way did sport,
Over the Flood he takes his nimble Cours
Without the help of feigned Horse.
As he went tripping o'r the King's high-way,
A little pearly River lay
O'r which, without a Wing
Or Oar, he dar'd to swim,
Swim throu the Air
On Body fair;
He would not use nor trust Icarian Wings
Lest they should prov deceitful things;
For had he faln, it had been wondrous high,
Not from, but from abov, the Sky:
He might hav dropt throu that thin Element
Into a fathomless Descent;
Unto the nether Sky
That did beneath him ly,
And there might tell
What Wonders dwell
On Earth abov. Yet doth he briskly run,
And bold the Danger overcom;
Who, as he leapt, with Joy related soon
How happy he o'r-leapt the Moon.
”
”
Thomas Traherne (Traherne's Poems of Felicity)
“
In the fourteenth-century romance Perceforest,6 we find the sprite Zephyr, who introduces himself as a sort of demon: “I am one of the angels that stumbled with Lucifer,” a kind of fallen angel with a fairly high rank in the hierarchy of spirits. He possesses a body and the gift of metamorphosis. We generally encounter him in the guise of an old man wearing a robe of black homespun fabric, but when sporting with humans he also assumes the shape of a donkey, a stag, or a bear, as well as that of a beautiful young girl who, once embraced, turns into a horrible old crone. He also has the power to transport himself wherever he wishes to be. He is malicious, teasing, affectionate, and cheerful, and the tricks he plays are not wickedly intended. Zephyr never loses sight of his friends’ interests. He helps them, transports them, frees them, and is generous with his offers of excellent advice. Two words characterize his nature: transformation and pranks.
”
”
Claude Lecouteux (The Hidden History of Elves and Dwarfs: Avatars of Invisible Realms)
“
L'économie est devenue le succube de l'homme. Toute notre vie est déterminée par l'économie. Je pense que la grande bataille de notre avenir sera la bataille contre l'économie qui domine nos vies, la bataille pour le retour à une forme de spiritualité - qu'on peut appeler religiosité, si l'on veut - à laquelle on puisse s'adresser. Car c'est une constante dans l'histoire de l'humanité, ce désir de savoir ce qu'on est venu faire sur Terre.
Il nous faut de nouveaux modèles de développement. Pas seulement la croissance, mais également la parcimonie. Tu vois, Folco, je dis, moi, qu'il faut se libérer des désirs. Mais, précisément à cause du système pervers de notre société de consommation, notre vie est entièrement axée autour des jeux, du sport, de la nourriture, des plaisirs. La question est de savoir comment sortir de ce cercle vicieux : petit à petit, l'oiseau fait son nid. Mais, putain, ce système nous impose des comportements qui sont complètement absurdes. On ne veut pas certaines choses, mais le système de la société de consommation nous séduit et nous convainc de désirer ces choses-là. Toute notre vie dépend de ce mécanisme. Il suffit pourtant de décider de ne pas participer à ce système en résistant, en jeûnant ; alors, c'est comme si on utilisait la non-violence contre la violence. Finalement, à quoi bon toute cette violence ? Ils ne vont tout de même pas nous les enfourner dans la gueule, leurs trucs !
Ce qu'il faut, c'est un effort spirituel profond, une réflexion profonde, un réveil profond. Ce qui, du reste, a quelque chose à voir avec la vérité, dont plus personne ne se soucie. Et là, une fois de plus, Gandhi était extraordinaire. Il cherchait la vérité, ce qui est derrière tout. "Avant, je croyais que Dieu était la vérité. Maintenant, je dirais que la vérité est Dieu." (p. 459-460)
”
”
Tiziano Terzani (La fine è il mio inizio)
“
Sports in general, and hockey specifically, forced those lessons on us all, and they stuck with us for a lifetime. No coaches to tell you what to do. No parents to tell you how to behave. No referees to tell you what’s fair. And no linesmen to break up trouble if someone loses his temper. Yes, that’s freedom. But it’s also responsibility—we had to figure things out for ourselves or there wouldn’t have been those day-long games we loved so much. Unfortunately, in many respects those long-ago days are a world removed from what we see today.
”
”
Bobby Orr (Orr: My Story)
“
Rishikesh is one of the most wanted places for adventure lovers. Rishikesh is also well-known among Hindus for its pilgrimage. The free of charge graceful river and also Substring Mountains make this place beautiful for travelers. It is really one of the best locations for people wanting onward to get tons of adventure, and fun. It's also a precious knowledge for nature lovers. The major fair activity in Rishikesh is White Water Rafting. It has grown to a well-liked and daring spot for white water rafting enthusiast as the place offers an impressive experience of average to very tough and rough rapids in the region of River Ganges. Uttarakhand adventure is well known rafting company in Rishikesh. Many adventurous tourists both from India and overseas stay this place to experience the real challenge of white water rafting. All services for white water rafting Rishikesh is available here, and there are preparation guides for rafting from whom a tourist can take help in this sport.
River rafting in Rishikesh is one of the majority popular sport activities because of free flowing rivers from Himalayas. Rafting, camping, trekking, and Rock Climbing, Bungee jumping is some of the sports education that a traveler can consider. We are best rafting company in Rishikesh. Important and Helpful Information and Rafting Safety Tips for All Rafting Users
• Important Equipments Shell Be take for River Rafting and Camping
• Sunglasses and water glasses with retaining cord, Battery Torch
• Swimming costume and quick drying shorts for river
• Odomos, Antiseptic Cream and Sunscreen Lotion, First Aid Box
• Only Use River Sandals & old Sneakers , no flip flops
• River Rafting Guide & Splash life jackets.
• Other required safety accessories
• Waterproof disposable camera with Extra Battery (Full Battery Charge).
• Mobile Phone with Extra Mobile Batteries (Electricity may be off)
• We provide River Rafting Gears & Assistance
• Helmets & river rafting gears
• Trekking Shoes
”
”
uttarakhand adventure
“
The Comanche rode in a wide circle around the frightened, riderless horses and tossed Amy into the arms of a fellow Indian who waited in the ranks. The little girl’s indignant screeching filled the air. Loretta lifted the Spencer carbine to her shoulder, leveling the sights on the Comanche as he circled back to her. The bells on his moccasins tinkled merrily with each movement of his horse.
“Let me go!” Amy screamed. “You stinkin’ savage.”
Loretta glanced toward the child. A young brave struggled to keep Amy atop his pony. He laughed uproariously when she tried to scratch him. The girl caught a handful of his black hair and pulled with all her might.
“Ai-ee!” the boy exclaimed. “She tries to take my scalp.”
Whoops of laughter spiraled among the men. Loretta dragged her gaze back to Hunter. He had halted his mount some fifteen feet from her.
“Where will you spend your cartridge?” he asked. “If you love her, shoot her. It is wisdom.”
Amy’s screaming turned to pitiful sobbing. Loretta’s aim wavered, and she glanced toward the other Indians, trying to see her cousin. What was Henry doing? Why didn’t he back her up? How long could it take to load a rifle? The miserable coward.
“You have time for one shot,” Hunter went on. “If you waste it on me, my friend will take your sister and avenge me. Your father hides behind his wooden walls. You stand alone.”
Sweat ran into Loretta’s eyes. She turned slightly and leveled the barrel of her gun at Amy. Blinking, she snugged her finger around the trigger. Tears sprang to her eyes as she recalled Amy’s queries about blessed release. It’s something bad, isn’t it? It’s killing yourself, isn’t it? Not always, Loretta thought. Sometimes it was death by a loved one’s hand.
“Think long on this, Yellow Hair,” Hunter cautioned. “I came in peace to buy a woman, not steal a child. She is too skinny to bring this Comanche pleasure. You are not.” He leaned forward, stretching an arm along his horse’s neck, his hand open to her. “Come to me, and I will send your sister back to her mother unharmed.”
Loretta stared at him. Did he mean it? His eyes pierced hers. The scar on the side of his face flickered as his jaw muscle tightened. If the tales about him were true, he might spare Amy. On the other hand, he might take them both captive if given half a chance. She remembered how gently he had touched her last night, and her confusion mounted.
“Drop the weapon and come,” he urged. “It is a fair trade, no? She goes free. I have spoken it.”
In the background, Loretta heard laughter ringing. Already the braves made sport of Amy. The child screeched again.
“You will do this, no? You have courage. It shines in your eyes. If you fight the big fight, you cannot win. It is best to hold the head high and surrender with dignity. Put down the gun.
”
”
Catherine Anderson (Comanche Moon (Comanche, #1))
“
Build a foundation for continuous growth
What matters, then, is having a good education, good work habits, and a good attitude that gives you a foundation to build on. Popularity is about wanting people to like you, but happiness is about liking yourself.
In most schools, the science fair is not the most popular event. Being in the math club isn’t nearly as cool as being on the football team. Some of my friends made fun of people on the debate team. But now they work for people who were on the debate team.
Junior high and high school are critical times in our lives and our formative years. There’s so much emphasis on sports and not enough on studies. I love sports. I played sports growing up, still do. They teach discipline and teamwork and perseverance, and that’s all great. But we need to keep sports in perspective.
Most of us are not going to play sports for a living. One in one million kids will play professional basketball. I don’t mean to depress you, but if you’re white it’s one in five million! The average professional football career is three and a half years. Even if you do make it, you still need a good foundation for life after football.
When you study and learn, and take school seriously you may be called a bookworm, a geek, or a nerd, but don’t worry about those names. In a few years you’ll be called the boss. You’ll be called CEO, president, senator, pastor, or doctor.
Thomas Edison, Henry Ford, and Harvey Firestone had summer homes next to each other in Florida. They were close friends and spent much of their summers together.
Who you associate with makes a difference in how far you go in life. If your friends are Larry, Curly, and Moe, you may have fun, but you may not be going anywhere. The scripture says, “We should redeem the time.” You need to see time as a gift. God has given us 86,400 seconds each today.
”
”
Joel Osteen (You Can You Will: 8 Undeniable Qualities of a Winner)
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Those who went to B-School are all too familiar with the concept of ‘batch parity’ and that is a tough one to unlearn! Today it’s possible you might have to report to someone younger and on paper, less qualified than you. Those who have seen a fair bit of success find it particularly difficult to accept that what brought them success is not going to work anymore. Sandip Das believes it’s possible to stay relevant if you are curious and not worried about the age of the person teaching you!
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Anita Bhogle and Harsha Bhogle (The Winning Way 2.0Learnings from Sport for Managers)
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Whoa. Offsides. High-sticking. Hitting below the belt. And other such sports metaphors I could think of that express my feelings that he was so not playing fair. He’s dumping you. Focus. Eye on the prize. Prize? Not sure there’s any prize to be had here, so let’s go with the “focus” suggestion.
”
”
Erin Lyon (I Love You Subject to the Following Terms and Conditions)
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Reflecting on the appeal of history in Jane Austen’s Northanger Abbey, heroine Catherine Morland comments, “I often think it odd that it should be so dull, for a great deal of it must be invention.” Indeed. And in no field of American endeavor is invention more rampant than in baseball, whose whole history is a lie from beginning to end, from its creation myth to its rosy models of commerce, community, and fair play. The game’s epic feats and revered figures, its pieties about racial harmony and bleacher democracy, its artful blurring of sport and business—all of it is bunk, tossed up with a wink and a nudge. Yet we love both the game and the flimflam because they are both so . . . American.
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John Thorn (Baseball in the Garden of Eden: The Secret History of the Early Game)
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Sport has a way of finding characters who se impact goes well beyond the playing fields, and touches the core of what life means. War, and its experiences, unfortunately has sometimes played more than its fair share of a role in shaping such men.
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Anindya Dutta (A Gentleman's Game: Reflections on Cricket History)
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Joyce points out that there were three objects fulfilled by these great gatherings. Here the people learnt their laws, their rights, the past history of their country, the warlike deeds of their ancestors. Here also they got their relaxation and enjoyment, in the music, the poetry, the fun, the games, and the sports, provided for them. And here, likewise, were their markets[18] for buying, selling and exchanging. It should be added that a fourth most important function of the fairs was the opportunity they provided for mating and marrying the young, and thereby drawing closer the relationship of families and clans who had been distant, or at enmity. Studying
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Seumas MacManus (The Story of the Irish Race: A Popular History of Ireland)
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There was every type of the genus sporting man; stout, square farmers, with honest bull-dog physique, characteristic of John Bull plebeian; wild young Cantabs, mounted showily from livery-stables, with the fair, fearless, delicate features characteristic of John Bull patrician; steady old whippers-in, very suspicious of brandy; wrinkled feeders, with stentorian voices that the wildest puppy had learned to know and dread; the courteous, cordial aristocratic M.F.H., with the men of his class, the county gentry; rough, ill-looking cads, awkward at all things save crossing country; no end of pedestrians, nearly run over themselves, and falling into everybody’s way; and last, but in our eyes not least, the ladies who had come to see the hounds throw off.
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Ouida (Delphi Collected Works of Ouida (Illustrated) (Delphi Series Eight Book 26))
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Activity pouch on airplanes Buttons and pins Crayons and coloring place mats from restaurants Disposable sample cup from the grocery store Erasers and pencils with eraser tops Fireman hat from a visit to the fire station Goodie bags from county fairs and festivals Hair comb from picture day at school Infant goods from the maternity ward Junior ranger badge from the ranger station and Smokey the Bear Kids’ meal toys Lollipops and candy from various locations, such as the bank Medals and trophies for simply participating in (versus winning) a sporting activity Noisemakers to celebrate New Year’s Eve OTC samples from the doctor’s office Party favors and balloons from birthday parties Queen’s Jubilee freebies (for overseas travelers) Reusable plastic “souvenir” cup and straw from a diner Stickers from the doctor’s office Toothbrushes and floss from the dentist’s office United States flags on national holidays Viewing glasses for a 3-D movie (why not keep one pair and reuse them instead?) Water bottles at sporting events XYZ, etc.: The big foam hand at a football or baseball game or Band-Aids after a vaccination or various newspapers, prospectuses, and booklets from school, museums, national parks . . .
”
”
Bea Johnson (Zero Waste Home: The Ultimate Guide to Simplifying Your Life by Reducing Your Waste (A Simple Guide to Sustainable Living))
“
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A leader in sports, business, or any other field of endeavor should possess and provide the same qualities inherent in a good parent: character, consistency, dependability, accountability, knowledge, good judgment, selflessness, respect, courage, discipline, fairness, and structure.
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John Wooden (Wooden on Leadership: How to Create a Winning Organization)
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You were my hero when I was fourteen or fifteen because you represented a totally new philosophy of football. You will always embody the ideas of loyalty and fair play in football.
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Sepp Blatter
“
Burlington, Vermont, Nouvelle-Angleterre, était considéré par le reste du pays comme un trou perdu.
Charmant, mais tellement ennuyeux. Ça me convenait plutôt bien au début, du moins jusqu'à ce que je réalise que ce paisible petit bled abritait en secret l'une des plus vieilles communautés surnaturelles du pays. Vous me direz, rien n'est parfait... peut être, mais si j'avais su, j'y aurais regardé à deux fois avant de de venir m'y installer six mois plus tôt. Les humains de l'office du tourisme auraient dû le mentionner dans leurs prospectus. Ça aurait donné un truc du genre :
"Venez visiter Burlington, l'été, vous pourrez pratiquer les sports nautiques ou pêcher sur le lac Champlain et l'hiver, vous pourrez faire du ski ou de la randonnée en raquettes, ah, au fait, n'oubliez pas d'amener avec vous quelques fusils munis de balles d'argent, un ou deux pieux, trois ou quatre lance-flammes, les habitants du coin sont du genre irritable...
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Cassandra O'Donnell (Traquée (Rebecca Kean, #1))
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It wasn’t fair, he thought. The world of pro sports was stuck in a time warp, still in the 1950s as far as sexuality went, even as the rest of the country, save for small pockets of deliberately cultivated ignorance, moved on, got over it. What kind of life are we going to have? Brian thought. Then he laughed at the thought of himself as a football wife, hanging out with the other wives and working on a charity cookbook. “What?
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Brad Vance (Given the Circumstances)
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One of the privileges of being an athlete is that on days when I have practice and games, I’m present whether I’m present or not. It’s not fair, but that’s the system. What can I do about it?
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Erin O'Riordan (Cut)
“
Imagine this for a moment, if you will (you can reject the premise later on, but please just go along with it for now): imagine a baseball game. The Dodgers are playing the Giants. If you don’t know much about baseball, you may not know the Dodgers and Giants are bitter rivals. They both want to win, obviously. And obviously it’s just a sport, so it’s ok that they both want to win. But suppose the score is 10-1, with the Dodgers leading, and it’s the ninth (last) inning. Suppose after all those games, and all those years and decades (over a century) of this bitter rivalry, the players, managers, coaches and fans said, “Let’s do something different. Just for this one game, let’s see if we can play to a tie. It will be different. I mean we’ve played hundreds of games the other way. And that was fun. But let’s just try something different for now. I mean, all this sweating and fighting and yelling just to win a game—it’s not the only thing in the world. It’s good, but why not try something new for a change? So let’s just play the game differently the rest of the way out, this one game. And how about the fans of the Dodgers and the fans of the Giants switch caps, or at least try to root for the other guys for a while? I mean, it’s just this once—it can’t hurt, right? This old game of baseball, it’s a wonderful game, but come on—do we have to play the same way over and over game after game for the rest of our lives? Just once can we do things differently?” Well, i know some of you sports fans are laughing right now, if not vomiting. I mean, this is kind of ridiculous—trying to lose, on purpose? It’s a bit of a left-wing stereotype i’m living up to right now. So go ahead, get it all out of your system. Call me every name in the book. Say the world will fall apart if one baseball game is played differently. I mean competition is the basis of everything. If we didn’t compete over everything in life, what sort of meaning would life have? Our civilization would fall apart. The Dodgers letting the Giants win would be the end of western civilization. It would destroy all our western values. It might even be un-Christ-like. A lot of you may not be able to imagine such a ridiculous thing even being considered, much less actually happening. And i find this interesting. I find it interesting that we are so wrapped up in the idea that there must be winners and losers, and that somehow the outcome of this competition (whether it’s a baseball game or the life of a nation) is fair because that’s simply the natural order of things. The side that wins is supposed to win; the side that loses is supposed to lose. To dispute this is to dispute the most basic assumptions of who we are. If winning is this important to us, and—by extension—competition is too, then we need to be completely certain that the rules are fair, that nobody is cheating. That is, suppose the Dodgers were cheating and that’s how they scored 10 runs? What would we do then? They probably should forfeit the game, right? Well, i say white amerika has been cheating. We’re not all bad—we have talent, we played hard, we love our mothers, but the fact is we’ve been cheating. White amerika should forfeit.
”
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Samantha Foster (an experiment in revolutionary expression: by samantha j foster)
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Bennett couldn’t help feeling, as he watched Sport walk away, that he had been burdened with more than his fair share of dumbasses.
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Dawn Lee McKenna (Low Tide (The Forgotten Coast, #1))
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How you harangue referees. How you fall over when you've not been touched. How you make a meal out of every tackle to try and get the other player booked. How you protest when you have nothing to fucking protest about –
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David Peace (The Damned Utd)
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Unfortunately, we have become a civilization of pussies. To give you an example, do you remember a news story on Yahoo! about a high school basketball team that scored over 100 points, and the other team had less than 20 points? The “officials” in charge said that the winning team was wrong for embarrassing the other team like that. I remember the good ole’ days when sports were meant to be won, and the winning team got the glory. Instead of that happening now, we are supposed to make every kid feel like they did a good job even if they sucked ass. Sorry, but they were losers that day. Does that make them losers in life? Not unless they bitch and whine about it not being fair that they lost by that difference in points. If
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Some Anonymous Dude (How to Be Dr. House & Simon Cowell: The Guide to Always Being Right & Alienating Others)
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This was Deborah’s case, and this was Deborah’s hunch, and yet here I was getting ready to take on the stupid part. I didn’t even agree with her that it had to be done, but merely because I was her brother—and adopted, at that—I had to do it. I don’t ask for fair; I know better than that. But shouldn’t things at least make sense? I go through life and work hard to blend in, follow the rules, and be a good sport—and yet when it comes time for the cigar to explode, somehow it’s always me puffing on it. But
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Jeff Lindsay (Dexter is Delicious (Dexter, #5))
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Throughout your life, you’ll end up getting a fairly-even dose of good luck and bad luck. It’s how you respond to luck—good or bad—that makes the difference.
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Darrin Donnelly (Victory Favors the Fearless: How to Defeat the 7 Fears That Hold You Back (Sports for the Soul Book 5))
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I don’t have to tell you that life isn’t always fair. A lot of things happen that you have no control over. It happens in football and, as you’re all seeing this week, it happens in life. But there is nothing to fear. I promise you that. If you march forward in faith, if you attack the day with courage, if you do things with character, and if you always put your family first; you will be successful. Nothing can stop you.
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Darrin Donnelly (Life to the Fullest: A Story About Finding Your Purpose and Following Your Heart (Sports for the Soul Book 4))
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When I stepped on the pedal below the sink to flush the toilet, the whole plastic sink unit came away from the wall of the portaloo and – to my absolute horror – my phone plunged down the abyss. It would be fair to say that pushing my arm into the dark unknown of a portaloo in the middle of the night in Bangalore was something of a low point.
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Nicholas Turner (How Not To Run 100 Marathons)
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He stared at me the entire time he said it. I was definitely in trouble now. Betrayal We were halfway out of school when Dad finally burst into an angry shout: “You made me apologize!” I couldn’t help the smile that popped back onto my face. “Yeah,” I said. “Being forced to do something you don’t want to do must be horrible. I wonder what that is like.” I let the words hang in the air between us. He knew exactly what I meant. After all, he’d made me apologize to the football team for being late and embarrassed me beyond belief just a few weeks ago! Dad stood in my way, bringing me to a halt. “You and I need to talk, mister. I think you’re letting this adult thing go to your head!” I nodded. “Uh huh, uh huh.” I wasn’t really listening. I was distracted by the two figures coming out of the sports hall in front of us. I frowned. Why was anyone still in the school at this hour? Did more people have parent-teacher meetings? Then I remembered. Today was the day of the school fair meeting! I grabbed Dad by
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Katrina Kahler (I'm a Kid! Get Me Out of Here! (Body Swap #2))
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Her heart pounded; her adrenaline rushed. The calm crashing of the ocean waves was completely drowned out by bass-heavy pop mixes pumping out of the stereo systems that seemed to span the coastline. As she tried to take in full, deep breaths to calm her racing mind, things only became worse as the crowds of glitter, loud colors, and bows began spinning all around her. This was cheer world.
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Dani J. Norwell (Fairly Familiar: A Collection of Short Stories)
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His torso was a perfect "V" of golden skin and muscle; his slim hips, whiter than the rest of him, tapered to thighs and calves that could have been turned on a lathe, and these were dusted all over with fair hair that glinted in the low sunlight. The hair on his head was cropped short and beacon-bright, but the features of his face were nearly indistinct from where she watched. Given the glory of the rest of him, they scarcely seemed to matter. The man's beauty was, in fact, an assault, and a peculiar tangle of shock and delight and yearning began to beat inside her like a secret, second heart.
And then the man stretched his arms upward, arching his back indolently; exposing the dark fluffs under his arms, and this, somehow, seemed more erotic and intimate than the rest of his naked body combined. Susannah had seen paintings and statues of naked men, for heaven's sake, but none of them had ever sported fluffy hair beneath their arms. In fact, the sheer easiness with which this man wore all his raw beauty frightened her a little. He was like someone too casually wielding a weapon.
She fumbled her sketchbook open.
Quickly, roughly, she sketched him: the upraised arms, the curves of his biceps and legs and the planes of his chest, and when he turned, the darker hair that curled between his legs and narrowed up to a frayed silvery-blond line over his flat stomach. Nestled right between his legs were, of course, his... male parts...which looked entirely benign at the moment, really, at least from this distance. She sketched those, too, as she intended to be thorough, hardly thinking of them as anything other than part of her drawing.
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Julie Anne Long (Beauty and the Spy (Holt Sisters Trilogy #1))
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They have to see women in sports as being worthy of being treated fairly and right.
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Julie Dicaro (Sidelined: Sports, Culture, and Being a Woman in America)
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Much like GM and GE, Kodak had a fair employment policy in place by the 1960s and had laid out is own Plan for Progress, which included a commitment to “hold discussions with the employment interviewers in the various division to remind them: that “such things as race, creed, color, or national origin” are neither to “help nor hinder in getting a job at Kodak.” Yet for blacks trying to work and move up at the company, these assurances didn’t mesh with their own experiences. Some of this was a consequence of blacks being poorly educated, especially those who had relocated to Rochester from the rural South. In the company’s eyes, the simply weren’t qualified. “We don’t grow many peanuts in Eastman Kodak,” Monroe Dill, Kodak’s industrial relations director said in 1963, adding that the company would start to recruit more from all-black colleges so as to not keep “discriminating by omission.” But there was also plenty of discrimination by commission, as individual Kodak managers used their discretion to hire whomever they liked and cast off whomever they didn’t. “They would say it blatant, like, 'We don't have any colored jobs,"" recalled Clarence Ingram, who served as general manager of the Rochester Business Opportunities Corporation, an entity formed after the '64 riots to support minority businesses. "They would tell you that." Apparently, they told a lot of blacks that. In 1964, only about 600 African Americans worked for Kodak in Rochester. less than 2 percent of the 33,000 employees based there.
Determined to remedy this was FIGHT, which was led by Franklin Delano Roosevelt Florence, the thirty-one-year-old pastor of the Reynolds Street Church of Christ, a stocky, hard-charging, charismatic man, who called Malcolm X a friend. On September 2, 1966, a delegation of sixteen from FIGHT walked into Kodak's executive suite. Florence, sporting a Black Power button in his lapel, said he wanted to see "the top man." Before he knew it, the minister and his retinue were sitting in front of three top men: Kodak chairman Albert Chapman, president William Vaughn, and executive vice president Louis Eilers. Florence told them about the harshness of life in Rochester's black ghetto and said he wanted Kodak to start a training program for people who normally wouldn't be recruited into the company. Florence braced himself, expecting Kodak to resist. But Vaughn listened carefully and then asked Florence to submit a more specific proposal. Two weeks later, he did. Calling FIGHT " the only mass based organization of poor people and near poor people in the Rochester area," Florence requested that Kodak train 500 to 600 men and women over eighteen months. FIGHT also wanted direct involvement in the process; the group would "recruit and counsel trainees and offer advice, consultation, and assistance.
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Rick Wartzman (The End of Loyalty: The Rise and Fall of Good Jobs in America)
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En Inde, la realite, c'est sauvagerie, brutalite, egoisme sans aucune retenue, mepris complet de l'homme pour l'homme et salete inexprimable.
Tout est tragique ici, en Inde, l'art, la religion, les imaginations, les consciences, la vie journaliere ou les plus simples faits ou gestes, il y a un reflet de la terreur sacree dont parlent les anciens.
L'idee des incarnations donne l'habitude de mourir. On se dit qu'on est mort tant de fois deja que cette formalite a remplir perd de son epouvante.
Il fait froid et triste quand on demande aux etres de vous etre un soutien, de vous rechauffer, d'alleger le fardeau de misere inherente a toute existence. C'est en soi qu'il faut cultiver la flamme qui rechauffe.
Ce que nous aimons, ce sont nos sensations, la satisfaction de nos desirs.
Quand les hommes ont peur, ils se tournent vers les dieux, vers le surnaturel, comme les enfants qui s'accrochent aux jupes de leur mere.
Une tradition et une chaine de pensees millenaires sont une force, une energie aussi reelle dans le domaine mental que l'electricite sur le plan physique.
Parfois je fais ce qu'on l'on appelle en tibetain: tsam. C'est a dire que, pendant plusieurs jours, je ne vois personne ni ne parle a personne. C'est tres reposant, ces jours de solitude complete.
Les peuples primitifs restent bien pres de l'animal; leur plus grande joie est de manger. Pas mal de civilises leur ressemblent.
Les voyages ne fouettent pas seulement le sang, comme un sport hygienique, ils fouettent l'esprit et lui communiquent de la vigueur. Voyager, c'est de meme qu'etudier, faire un long bail avec la jeunesse. Il n'existe pas, je crois, de plus efficace fontaine de jouvence que ces deux choses combinees: voyage et activite intellectuelle.
A ceux qui sentent autrement que le public vulgaire, le superflue est plus indispensable que le pretendu necessaire.
Quand on voyage, le voyage lui-meme tient lieu de tout, mais lorsque l'on devient sedentaire, l'on aime bien vivre dans un decor agreable.
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Alexandra David-Néel (Correspondance avec son mari Edition intégrale 1904-1941)
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They choose to believe that because of where they were born, or who their parents are, they don’t have a fair chance in life. They choose to believe that the competition in America, and around the world is too tough. They’re choosing to believe in someone else’s talent more than their own. They’re choosing to be mediocre.
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Bob Rotella (How Champions Think: In Sports and in Life)
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The IPS training made me acutely aware of the gaps in my upbriniging. Why do we not encourage our girls to take up a sport, to build muscle, to build stamina? Why do we protect them from the outdoors for fear of “ruining” their complexion? Sure a strong body and fit mind are more to be coveted than fair skin.
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Manjari Jaruhar (Madam Sir: The Story of Bihar’s First Woman IPS Officer)
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Each tower sports a circular walk at the apex, but there are no guards manning them. The castle is enormous, a fair chunk of the White Mansion, but the bulk of it is concealed behind forty-foot-high walls of silvery, metal-laced ice. With the exception of the slopes of snow-drifted roofs, flying buttresses, and the currently empty promenade that crowns the main hall, I can see none of the enormous courtyard I’ve read about in my files which is capable of comfortably accommodating tens of thousands of Fae. Last time I was here, the walls had collapsed and the castle was a dripping, icicle-drenched ruin, abandoned for millennia; all of it little more than a misshapen sloe of ice.
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Karen Marie Moning (Kingdom of Shadow and Light (Fever, #11))
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The kettlebell originated in Russia in the 1700s, when farmers used to use kettlebells to help weigh their crops. After a while though, it is said that the farmers realized that they were getting stronger, and they found out that these new weights they were using on their crops were perfect for showcasing their new found strength. They started off competing in local trade fairs and festivals; but by the 1900s, the sport was being practiced all over Eastern Europe. It was so popular and so effective at conditioning the body that even the soviet military used kettlebells as part of their physical training and conditioning regime.
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Jonathan Bukowski (Kettlebell: The Fastest Way to Strength and Muscle with Kettlebell Workouts (Kettlebell training, Kettlebell workout))
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Robin Hood strung his bow and took his place with never a word, albeit his heartstrings quivered with anger and loathing. Twice he shot, the first time hitting within an inch of the wand, the second time splitting it fairly in the middle. Then, without giving the other a chance for speech, he flung his bow upon the ground. "There, thou bloody villain!" cried he fiercely, "let that show thee how little thou knowest of manly sports. And now look thy last upon the daylight, for the good earth hath been befouled long enough by thee, thou vile beast! This day, Our Lady willing, thou diest—I am Robin Hood." So saying, he flashed forth his bright sword in the sunlight.
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Howard Pyle (The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood)
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As I paint this unappealing picture of Coach Wade Wyatt, it’s fair to question why I signed with Arkansas A&M and agreed to play for a coach like him in the first place. Two reasons. One, because my high school girlfriend, Sherry, was going to the same college. And two, because it was the only Division 1 school that offered me a scholarship. There wasn’t much else to consider.
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Darrin Donnelly (The Turnaround: How to Build Life-Changing Confidence (Sports for the Soul Book 6))
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Fair enough. But just so you know, I’ve heard a lot, and there’s not much that shocks me.” “Good, because this one’s a doozy.” He hesitated. “There’s really no elegant way to say this. So I’ll just spit it out.” He paused for what seemed like a minute. “Apparently my client has a thing for peeing on men.” Another pause. “She hires them from some sort of ‘service’ in Manhattan.” “Ah, water sports,” I replied, proud of my knowledge in these matters. “Excuse me?” “Urinating on another person for pleasure is known as water sports. The formal name is urolagnia. It’s not as uncommon as you’d think.” “Well, it’s pretty uncommon in my world,” he said.
”
”
Paul L. Hokemeyer (Fragile Power: Why Having Everything Is Never Enough; Lessons from Treating the Wealthy and Famous)
Meghan Quinn (Fair Catch (Love and Sports, #1))
“
Winning is the only thing' does not mean 'win at all costs, by any means, fair or foul.' Nor does it mean that losing is without dignity. Every team, even the Green Bay Packers at their best, loses sometimes. It means that losing is, in the end, one's own responsibility. One's own fault. It means there are no excuses. 'Winning is the only thing' is capable of sinister interpretations. But it is also capable of expressing the highest human cravings for perfection. Winning does not simply mean crushing one's foes but being the best one can possibly be--and conquering the fates and adversities that are stronger forces even than opposing teams. Winning is both excellence and vindication in the face of the gods. It is a form of thumbing one's nose, for a moment, at the cancers and diseases that, in the end, strike us all down, every one of us, even spirits as alive as Vince Lombardi's.
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Michael Novak (The Joy of Sports, Revised: Endzones, Bases, Baskets, Balls & the Consecration of the American Spirit)
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There was a time when the [National baseball]League stood for integrity and fair dealing. Today it stands for dollars and cents. Once it looked to the elevation of the game and an honest exhibition of the sport. Today its eyes are on the turnstile. Men have come into the business for no other motive than to exploit it for every dollar in sight.
Brotherhood Manifesto, November 1889
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Mike Sowell (July 2, 1903: The Mysterious Death of Hall-Of-Famer Big Ed Delahanty)
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Sports are the perfect venue to develop character and core values based upon universally accepted social and ethical principles. I am speaking about things such as grit, commitment, integrity, humility, fairness, excellence, and self-control. Sports are a venue to teach kids that failure is a part of learning and that overcoming challenges is a part of life. Youth sports are a microcosm of the challenges, obstacles, and situations our children will face throughout their lives. They are the perfect place to encounter tough teachers and coaches, difficult situations, and events beyond their control. They are a great educational tool.
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John O'Sullivan (Changing the Game: The Parent's Guide to Raising Happy, High-Performing Athletes and Giving Youth Sports Back to Our Kids)
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Maybe falling in love isn't filling up a loyalty card with feelings and actions so much as just adding two things together: desire plus fear. The desire had appeared fairly suddenly - ever since that first kiss, really. The fear, on the other hand, grew gradually: fear that she wouldn't be coming to the sports bar that night, fear that we wouldn't end up kissing, fear that she'd change her mind. Those were pretty much the stages of falling in love for me.
”
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Hanna Bervoets (We Had to Remove This Post)
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HT-1 This point is difficult to access, as it is well protected by the structure of the human body. HT-1is a bilateral Vital Point that is located in the armpit at the junction of the inner arm with the torso. It is associated with the Heart Meridian and is the point that the internal aspects of that meridian leaves the inner torso and emerges close to the surface of the skin. It does not have a direct connection to any Extraordinary Vessels, but is highly sensitive to attack. Traditional Chinese Medicine state that this is a no-needle point in many related textbooks. On the surface, this point would appear to be a difficult one to access during an altercation, but it is accessible. HT-1 becomes easily accessible if the opponent’s arm is raised, which occurs in the short instances that they are throwing a punch. A quick finger thrust or one-knuckle fist strike can easily activate it, but it requires a fair amount of precision to land. Combat science teaches us that precision generally diminishes during an altercation, but I add the above variant for those that would be willing to put in the training time for achieve such a strike. Just remember that the likelihood of landing such a technique during an actual altercation is remote, even with copious amounts of practice. A more realistic attack to HT-1 is when you have used your opponent’s arm to take them to the ground. Once established, as a generally rule of thumb, it is advised that if you have established control over an opponent’s arm that you should maintain that control until you deliver a blow that ends the fight. So, with that in mind, one of my favorite attacks to HT-1 after driving an opponent to ground while having established and maintained arm control, that you jerk the arm towards yourself as you throw a kick into this Vital Point. The type of kick will be dependent on the positioning of your opponent. If he is bladed on the ground (laying on one side with the arm you control in the air) a hard side kick or stomp works well. If the opponent starts turning, or squaring his shoulders towards you as he hits the ground in an attempt to regain his feet, then a forceful forward, or straight kick, can work. I would suggest working with a training partner to determine the various configurations that a downed opponent would react when you maintain control of one of their arms. Notice that I did not advise that you kick your training partner in HT-1, which is ill advised since it theoretically can cause disruptions to the heart and according to Traditional Chinese Medicine theory even death. Again, this technique is not for demonstration or sport-oriented martial arts, but mature and thoughtful training practice can provide a wealth of knowledge on how best to attack a Vital Point, even if it is not actually struck.
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Rand Cardwell (36 Deadly Bubishi Points: The Science and Technique of Pressure Point Fighting - Defend Yourself Against Pressure Point Attacks!)
“
Perhaps most importantly, through sports we can demonstrate to our kids that life is definitely not fair, often unjust, and quite often may end in failure, but that is fine. It is how we handle this adversity that matters most.
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John O'Sullivan (Changing the Game: The Parent's Guide to Raising Happy, High-Performing Athletes and Giving Youth Sports Back to Our Kids)
“
Why are you learning sign?” I’m fairly certain I know the reason, but I want to hear him say it. “Because they’re your family and you’re mine, and the fact you even have to ask is mind-blowing to me. Learning to communicate with your family is the bare minimum, Ind.”
I guess it is, but I didn’t know the bar was on the floor until Ryan Shay walked into my life and quietly raised it to the fucking moon. “And because I love you and when I tell your dad that, I’ll be the one to say it.
”
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Liz Tomforde (The Right Move (Windy City, #2))
“
On the fourteenth of May, at the dawn of the day With me gun on me shoulder to the woods I did stray In search of some game, if the weather prove fair To see can I get a shot at the bonny black hare. I met a young girl there with her face as a rose And her skin were as fair as the lily that grows I says, My fair maid, why ramble you so Can you tell me where the bonny black hare do go. The answer she gave me, O, the answer were no But under me apron they say it do go And if you’ll not deceive me, I vow and declare We’ll both go together to hunt the bonny black hare. I laid this girl down with her face to the sky I took out me ramrod, me bullets likewise Saying, Wrap your legs round me, dig in with your heels For the closer we get, O, the better it feels.” Abitha snorted. “The birds, they were singing in the bushes and trees And the song that they sang was, She’s easy to please I felt her heart quiver and I knew what I’d done Says I, Have you had enough of me old sporting gun.” Abitha let out a loud laugh and glanced at Samson; he looked puzzled but intrigued. “The answer she gave me, O, the answer were nay It’s not often young sportsmen like you come this way And if your powder is good and your bullets are fair Why don’t you keep firing at the bonny black hare.” Abitha was having a hard time finishing the song between snorts of laughter. Samson too was smiling, but she saw it was at her, not the song. “Oh, me powder is wet and me bullets all spent And me gun I can’t fire, for it’s choked at the vent But I’ll be back in the morning, and if you are still here We’ll both go together to hunt the bonny black hare.
”
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Brom (Slewfoot: A Tale of Bewitchery)
“
Cricket is the most popular sport in India, and with the rise of online betting, fans now have access to a wide range of cricket betting platforms. Finding the best cricket betting site in India is crucial for a safe and enjoyable experience. A top betting site should offer competitive odds, a user-friendly interface, secure payment methods, and excellent customer support.
What Makes a Cricket Betting Site the Best?
With numerous options available, selecting the right cricket betting platform requires careful consideration. Here are the key features to look for:
Licensing and Security – Choose a site that is licensed and regulated by a reputable authority to ensure fair play and security.
Variety of Betting Markets – A good site should offer multiple betting options, including match winner, top batsman, total runs, and in-play betting.
Competitive Odds – Higher odds lead to better payouts, making it essential to compare different platforms before placing bets.
Live Betting and Streaming – The ability to bet on live matches while watching them enhances the excitement.
Payment Methods – Look for platforms that support UPI, Paytm, bank transfers, cryptocurrencies, and other secure payment options.
Bonuses and Promotions – Many sites offer welcome bonuses, free bets, and cashback to attract new users and reward loyal bettors.
Customer Support – 24/7 support through live chat, email, and phone ensures a seamless betting experience.
Top Betting Markets for Cricket in India
Cricket betting is diverse, and top betting sites offer numerous markets, such as:
Match Winner – Predict which team will win the match.
Top Batsman/Bowler – Bet on the highest run-scorer or leading wicket-taker.
Total Runs/Wickets – Predict the total number of runs scored or wickets taken.
Over/Under Bets – Wager on whether a team’s total score will be above or below a certain figure.
Live Betting – Place bets in real-time as the match progresses.
How to Start Betting on Cricket Online
Choose a Trusted Betting Site – Select a platform with good reviews and strong security features.
Sign Up and Verify Your Account – Complete the registration process and verify your identity.
Deposit Funds – Add money using your preferred payment method.
Explore Betting Options – Browse different markets and analyze odds before placing bets.
Start Betting – Place your bets and enjoy the game responsibly.
Withdraw Winnings – Cash out your winnings using secure withdrawal methods.
Responsible Betting Tips
Set a budget and stick to it.
Avoid chasing losses.
Use reliable platforms with strong security measures.
Research teams and players before placing bets.
Take breaks to maintain a healthy balance between betting and entertainment.
Conclusion
Finding the best cricket betting site in India ensures a safe, secure, and enjoyable experience. By choosing a licensed platform with great odds, multiple betting markets, and excellent customer support, you can enhance your betting journey. If you're looking for a trusted site, check out Real money betting for the ultimate cricket betting experience.
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Best Cricket Betting Site in India: Your Ultimate Guide
“
Let me guess—you were good at hockey and football when you were at school, but not at tennis.” He laughed at that, eyes crinkling at the corners. “Tennis? At an Inverness grammar school? Soft Southron sport, we’d have called it; game for poofters. But I take your point—no, you’re right, I was fine at the football, but not much at rounders. Why?” “You don’t have any binocular vision,” I said. “Chances are that someone noticed it when you were a child, and made an effort to correct it with prismatic lenses—but it’s likely that it would have been too late by the time you were seven or eight,” I added hastily, seeing his face go blank. “If that’s going to work, it needs to be done very young—before the age of five.” “I don’t … binocular vision? But doesn’t everyone?… I mean, both my eyes do work, don’t they?” He looked mildly bewildered. He looked down into the palm of his hand, closing one eye, then the other, as though some answer might be found among the lines there. “Your eyes are fine,” I assured him. “It’s just that they don’t work together. It’s really a fairly common condition—and many people who have it don’t realize it. It’s just that in some people, for one reason or another, the brain never learns to merge the images coming in from both eyes in order to make a three-dimensional image.” “I don’t see in three dimensions?” He looked at me, now, squinting hard, as though expecting me suddenly to flatten out against the wall. “Well, I haven’t quite got a trained oculist’s kit”—I waved a hand at the burned-out candle, the wooden spoon, the drawn figures, and a couple of sticks I had been using—“nor yet an oculist’s training. But I’m reasonably sure, yes.
”
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Diana Gabaldon (The Fiery Cross (Outlander, #5))
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Serious sport has nothing to do with fair play. It is bound up with hatred, jealousy, boastfulness, disregard of all rules and sadistic pleasure in witnessing violence. In other words, it is war minus the shooting. George Orwell
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Angry Jogger (Angry Jogger)
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à l'arrêt » Proverbe Africain La procrastination est la tendance à repousser au lendemain ce qu’on pourrait faire quelque chose aujourd’hui. Pour cela, on se donne tout plein de bonnes raisons (lire ses e-mails, faire les courses…) pour repousser des tâches importantes… qui au final ne sont jamais réalisées. Vous savez, c’est comme toutes les fois que vous pouvez vous dire « demain, je me mets au sport »
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Martin Kurt (15 trucs pour ne plus procrastiner: Stop à la procrastination (French Edition))
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If anything, he had a reputation for being a beast in the gym and treating his body like a temple. To last as long as he had in this sport, he had to.
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Katie Kenyhercz (Fair Trade (Las Vegas Sinners, #5))
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Consequently the Harney High athletic department decided to focus on another sport, basketball. The first order of business was to build a gymnasium with a basketball court and some portable bleachers. The second order of business was to send a cautious delegation of coaches and teachers into the black neighborhood to recruit some good basketball players. A few old crackers in Harney huffed and swore about having to watch a bunch of skinny spooks tear up and down the court, and about how it wasn't fair to the good Christian white kids, but then it was pointed out that the good Christian white kids were mostly slow and fat and couldn't make a lay-up from a trampoline.
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Carl Hiaasen (Double Whammy (Skink #1))
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Which brings us to a little book that may provide a clue to the cure. My wife got it as a gift from a friend. It is titled Porn for Women. It’s a picture book of hunks, photographed in all their chiseled, muscle-bound, testosterone-marinated, PG-rated glory. Lots of naked chests and low-cut jeans, complete with tousled hair and beckoning eyes. And they are ALL doing housework. There’s a picture of a well-cut Adonis, and he’s loading the washing machine. The caption reads: “As soon as I finish the laundry, I’ll do the grocery shopping. And I’ll take the kids with me so you can relax.” There’s another hunk, the cover guy, vacuuming the floor. A particularly athletic-looking man peers up from the sports section and declares, “Ooh, look, the NFL playoffs are today. I bet we’ll have no trouble parking at the crafts fair”. Porn for Women. Available at a marriage near you.
”
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Anonymous
“
A climber arrives, fairly pumped, at a clipping stance on a sport climb. He is ten feet out from his last bolt and very anxious to get clipped in. He’s tense, over-gripping, and out of balance. Gritting his teeth, close to falling, he finally makes the clip—and instantly relaxes. Immediately he finds another good handhold within reach. A sloping foothold he mistrusted suddenly feels very adequate.
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Arno Ilgner (The Rock Warrior's Way: Mental Training For Climbers)
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The reason fluency isn’t a given is that life isn’t fair. The classroom can only take you so far. There’s preseason and regular season, and players of all sports will tell you, the speed’s just not the same.
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John von Sothen (Monsieur Mediocre: One American Learns the High Art of Being Everyday French)
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Things aren’t always fair in this world,” Coach Wooden said calmly. “Things aren’t always going to go your way. That’s life. I see so much self-inflicted pain and stress caused by people who think they’re entitled to having everything go their way. They think everything should always be fair. But that’s not the way this world works. “It’s actually quite liberating when you accept this fact,” he added.
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Darrin Donnelly (Think Like a Warrior: The Five Inner Beliefs That Make You Unstoppable (Sports for the Soul Book 1))
“
I hear the door open and close, and I peek to see the one and only.
“What do you want?” I ask, staring back up at the stars, taking a large sip of my beer.
He doesn’t answer, but takes a seat next to me. I turn to see he’s also drinking a beer. He’s back in his work attire, sporting a pair of kakis and a button up polo. “What happened to your Guns-N-Roses shirt? Don’t want anyone to know your alter ego? They might find out you’re really some sort of party animal who raves to heavy metal and goes on drinking binges instead of science fairs?” I laugh taking another swig. We connect eyes and something in them tells me that I might be on to something. “No way. Tell me I’m not wrong. The science teacher secretly has a bad side.” He stands quickly sticking out his hand.
“Come with me.”
Huh? “No way. Why? You gonna try and retaliate? Avenge all teachers I’ve tried to take out this week?” His laugh is like a tickle to my lady parts. I fight to admit that I seriously love that sound.
“No, but it would be fitting though, Peter Parker, saving the world from the reckless bad girl.” I give him my evil eye while he smiles wider. “Come with me. I promise, I’ll bring you back in one piece.” His hand taunting, I decide, what the hell. I stick my hand out, sliding it into his, the feel of his warm skin wrapped around mine. He walks me around to the front of the house and a few cars down, until he stops beside a Jeep. Unlocking the door, he says, “Jump in,” and walks around the other side. Knowing I have a pretty loud voice if he does try and kill me, I jump in. The inside smells just like him. Of spice and aftershave.
”
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J.D. Hollyfield (Passing Peter Parker)
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Bring Back Our Baskets! That was the cry heard from Quidditch players across the nation last night as it became clear that the Department of Magical Games and Sports had decided to burn the baskets used for centuries for goal-scoring in Quidditch. ‘We’re not burning them, don’t exaggerate,’ said an irritable-looking Departmental representative last night when asked to comment. ‘Baskets, as you may have noticed, come in different sizes. We have found it impossible to standardise basket size so as to make goalposts throughout Britain equal. Surely you can see it’s a matter of fairness. I mean, there’s a team up near Barnton, they’ve got these minuscule little baskets attached to the opposing team’s posts, you couldn’t get a grape in them. And up their own end they’ve got these great wicker caves swinging around. It’s not on. We’ve settled on a fixed hoop size and that’s it. Everything nice and fair.’ At this point, the Departmental representative was forced to retreat under a hail of baskets thrown by the angry demonstrators assembled in the hall. Although the ensuing riot was later blamed on goblin agitators, there can be no doubt that Quidditch fans across Britain are tonight mourning the end of the game as we know it. ‘’T won’t be t’ same wi’out baskets,’ said one apple-cheeked old wizard sadly. ‘I remember when I were a lad, we used to set fire to ’em for a laugh during t’ match. You can’t do that with goal hoops. ’Alf t’ fun’s gone.’ Daily Prophet, 12 February 1883
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J.K. Rowling (Quidditch Through the Ages)
Meghan Quinn (Fair Catch (Love and Sports, #1))
“
They sat quietly for a few minutes. Finally, Alex said, “So Ben, right now I like baseball because I just caught one. Why do you like baseball so much?”
“I don’t like baseball. I love baseball.”
“That’s pretty obvious, but why?”
Ben looked at his brother and shook his head thoughtfully. “It’s different than any other sport. It’s like life. The only way you can appreciate it is slowly. The drama of the game builds as each inning goes by. Sure, it’s great seeing your team hit a home run in the first inning, but it’s even better to see one in the ninth inning, especially when your team is down and you win because of it. The entire season is like that too, the same kind of pace from game one until the World Series. It’s not about any individual play, although that’s important. It’s not the home run itself. It’s the drama that precedes the home run, maybe a whole game that’s turned around and changed by it. You can’t appreciate baseball if all you watch are the highlight reels or all you see is one inning or one play. I’m not the first to say this, but baseball is life.”
Alex smiled at his brother.
“Look, I play basketball and I’ve played it my whole life, but frankly, when you watch a professional game, in my opinion the defense is almost nonexistent and the only thing good about it is the last couple of minutes,” Ben said. “You don’t get that in baseball. The drama of baseball is in every moment of the game, it builds until the last out. Baseball is all about the whole game.”
“What about football?” asked Alex. “That has drama. The game is played over sixty minutes. I find it a whole lot more exciting than baseball.”
“It’s not the same thing. It has many of the same elements when you look at the basics of it. They both have athleticism, strategy, and tactics, but it’s different. I’ll bet you find it exciting because of its ferocity. The violence is what turns me off about football. Don’t get me wrong, you still have to be able to think to play the game, but at the end of the day football is about violence—linemen trying to kill each other, the defensive guys trying to kill the quarterback, the receiver. The violence overshadows the thinking. I’ve seen games where the fans actually cheered when a visiting player was injured.”
“Yeah, welcome to Philly.” Alex smiled.
“Fair enough, but I bet it’s the same in any city,” Ben said. “Baseball isn’t about violence. Look, I know it has violence. God must love the catchers. I don’t know how they survive a two-hundred-pound base runner sliding into home, cleats first, and many second basemen have been hurt trying to put a man out at second. But that’s not what the game is about. It’s just a part of it, like life.
“If I had to summarize the difference between baseball and football, football is about war; baseball is about life. In football you have two armies clashing, over and over again. They keep at it until one side overwhelms the other. Baseball is different. It’s about going out and working hard and having little victories and defeats along the way and sometimes you win and sometimes you lose. Hopefully you win, but even if you don’t you keep coming back every day. It’s like when you drive a truck, cut hair, sell buttons and zippers, or do advertising. It’s the same thing for all of us. It’s day-in and day-out work, and you hope at the end of the year you’ve won more than you’ve lost. If I want violence all I have to do is open the paper and read about Korea, or close my eyes and think about Okinawa. I get inspired by baseball to come back every day and try harder and if I work as hard as I can, and have a little luck, I get rewarded for it.
”
”
Joel Burcat
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Wyatt Jackson
“
Despite a decline in lvnching it has developed into a spectacle, a grand sport which draws huge "gates Promoters—and that term is no exaggeration—are aided by improved means of transportation, the telephone, the radio and the press, the latter being essential for ballyhoo
and for furnishing a pictoral and reportorial account.”
Austin Gilmour, “Lynching in America” June 1935
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Graydon Carter (Vanity Fair 100 Years: From the Jazz Age to Our Age)
“
door. Thankfully, I was the only one in the office, so Kenneth didn’t see me chasing two ferrets around a four-bedroom apartment. If the ferrets pooped before I caught them, at least there was newspaper everywhere. I got used to the ferret smell after a while and got down to work, but I screwed up during my first week (and not just because I almost lost the ferrets). Before Kenneth left to cover a game, he told me to finish researching for a story he was working on. So I did and then headed home. What I didn’t do is tell him where on the computer I had stored the completed files. While I was away for the weekend, visiting family and unreachable, Kenneth had to redo all of my work from the week because he couldn’t find what I’d already done. I learned an important lesson about communication that day, as well as how to stare at the floor when your boss is yelling at you. I spent most of the next week on ferret duty. Yes, the pun is intentional. Over the next few weeks, I got better at completing my job, and I started enjoying it, too. I mainly did research for Kenneth’s books, but there were perks. One day, I had to go to the NHL’s offices to pick up a packet of media clips that Kenneth needed for a story. Beaming with pride, I walked into the NHL’s office and picked up an envelope—a job any bicycle courier would have found boring. But this was the office of a professional sports league. To me, that manila envelope was magic. Kenneth began trusting me more and more and even let me contribute a few quips for a column he wrote for a newspaper in upstate New York. His column always ended with one-liner observations about sports (and occasionally about music for old people). Kenneth’s one-liners were usually spot-on but fairly dry, so I started writing jokes. After the first few weeks of Kenneth using some of my work, he gave me space in his column, referring to me as his intrepid young reporter or other such terms usually found in Superman comics from the
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Steve Hofstetter (Ginger Kid: Mostly True Tales from a Former Nerd)