Primer Quotes

The difference between stupid and intelligent people – and this is true whether or not they are well-educated – is that intelligent people can handle subtlety.

Ladies and gentlemen of the class of '97: Wear sunscreen. If I could offer you only one tip for the future, sunscreen would be it. The long-term benefits of sunscreen have been proved by scientists, whereas the rest of my advice has no basis more reliable than my own meandering experience. I will dispense this advice now. Enjoy the power and beauty of your youth. Oh, never mind. You will not understand the power and beauty of your youth until they've faded. But trust me, in 20 years, you'll look back at photos of yourself and recall in a way you can't grasp now how much possibility lay before you and how fabulous you really looked. You are not as fat as you imagine. Don't worry about the future. Or worry, but know that worrying is as effective as trying to solve an algebra equation by chewing bubble gum. The real troubles in your life are apt to be things that never crossed your worried mind, the kind that blindside you at 4 pm on some idle Tuesday. Do one thing everyday that scares you. Sing. Don't be reckless with other people's hearts. Don't put up with people who are reckless with yours. Floss. Don't waste your time on jealousy. Sometimes you're ahead, sometimes you're behind. The race is long and, in the end, it's only with yourself. Remember compliments you receive. Forget the insults. If you succeed in doing this, tell me how. Keep your old love letters. Throw away your old bank statements. Stretch. Don't feel guilty if you don't know what you want to do with your life. The most interesting people I know didn't know at 22 what they wanted to do with their lives. Some of the most interesting 40-year-olds I know still don't. Get plenty of calcium. Be kind to your knees. You'll miss them when they're gone. Maybe you'll marry, maybe you won't. Maybe you'll have children, maybe you won't. Maybe you'll divorce at 40, maybe you'll dance the funky chicken on your 75th wedding anniversary. Whatever you do, don't congratulate yourself too much, or berate yourself either. Your choices are half chance. So are everybody else's. Enjoy your body. Use it every way you can. Don't be afraid of it or of what other people think of it. It's the greatest instrument you'll ever own. Dance, even if you have nowhere to do it but your living room. Read the directions, even if you don't follow them. Do not read beauty magazines. They will only make you feel ugly. Get to know your parents. You never know when they'll be gone for good. Be nice to your siblings. They're your best link to your past and the people most likely to stick with you in the future. Understand that friends come and go, but with a precious few you should hold on. Work hard to bridge the gaps in geography and lifestyle, because the older you get, the more you need the people who knew you when you were young. Live in New York City once, but leave before it makes you hard. Live in Northern California once, but leave before it makes you soft. Travel. Accept certain inalienable truths: Prices will rise. Politicians will philander. You, too, will get old. And when you do, you'll fantasize that when you were young, prices were reasonable, politicians were noble, and children respected their elders. Respect your elders. Don't expect anyone else to support you. Maybe you have a trust fund. Maybe you'll have a wealthy spouse. But you never know when either one might run out. Don't mess too much with your hair or by the time you're 40 it will look 85. Be careful whose advice you buy, but be patient with those who supply it. Advice is a form of nostalgia. Dispensing it is a way of fishing the past from the disposal, wiping it off, painting over the ugly parts and recycling it for more than it's worth. But trust me on the sunscreen.

Pocas cosas marcan tanto a un lector como el primer libro que realmente se abre camino hasta su corazón. Aquellas primeras imágenes, el eco de esas palabras que creemos haber dejado atrás, nos acompañan toda la vida y esconden un palacio en nuestra memoria al que, tarde o temprano –no importa cuántos libros leamos, cuántos mundos descubramos, cuánto aprendamos u olvidemos–, vamos a regresar.

Nekima se čini da su moje pesme sve iste ... Shvatam ih potpuno... Meni su, na primer, one Ajnštajnove formule sve iste.... Nismo svi svemu dorasli ...

That we occasionally violate our own stated moral code does not imply that we are insincere in espousing that code.

If people don't think they have the power to solve their problems, they won't even think about how to solve them.

Remember, always, that everything you know, and everything everyone knows, is only a model. Get your model out there where it can be viewed. Invite others to challenge your assumptions and add their own.

Ja sam se, na primer, već gotovo potpuno privikao na sebe, a opet se neprijatno iznenadim svaki put kad stanem pred ogledalo... Eh... Strašno je kad ostariš, zaista... No, još je strašnije kad ostariš mlad.

To escape from the world means that one's mind is not concerned with the opinions of the world.

Nothing can be gained by extensive study and wide reading. Give them up immediately.

Nell," the Constable continued, indicating through his tone of voice that the lesson was concluding, "the difference between ignorant and educated people is that the latter know more facts. But that has nothing to do with whether they are stupid or intelligent. The difference between stupid and intelligent people—and this is true whether or not they are well-educated—is that intelligent people can handle subtlety. They are not baffled by ambiguous or even contradictory situations—in fact, they expect them and are apt to become suspicious when things seem overly straightforward.

Bienvenida a mi mundo. Verás algunos monstruos por los pasillos, procura no asustarlos, se enamoran al primer suspiro.

The human spirit glows from that small inner light of doubt whether we are right, while those who believe with certainty that they possess the right are dark inside and darken the world outside with cruelty, pain, and injustice.

Boys, welcome to the wonderful world of talking to women about their feelings. As a handy primer, here are a few things you should know: 1) Women have feelings. 2) You will spend the next seventy years or so trying to guess what they're feeling and why. 3) You will be wrong most of the time. 4) I like French Fries.

Ja uopšte mislim da najčudniji ljudi izgledaju vrlo konvencionalno, vrlo standardno. Jer čovek koji je zaista čudan iznutra, onaj koji je u dubokom nesporazumu sa svetom koji ga ne prihvata i ne shvata, ne oseća nikakvu potrebu da se ukrašava spolja, da privlači ičiju pažnju. Naprotiv! On želi da se sakrije. Ima li čudnijeg ljudskog stvorenja od Kafke, na primer, a on je gotovo čitavog života radio u jednom osiguravajućem društvu u Pragu, ne razlikujući se spolja od ostalih činovnika.

One must be deeply aware of the impermanence of the world.

No se me importa un pito que las mujeres tengan los senos como magnolias o como pasas de higo; un cutis de durazno o de papel de lija. Le doy una importancia igual a cero, al hecho de que amanezcan con un aliento afrodisíaco o con un aliento insecticida. Soy perfectamente capaz de sorportarles una nariz que sacaría el primer premio en una exposición de zanahorias; ¡pero eso sí! -y en esto soy irreductible- no les perdono, bajo ningún pretexto, que no sepan volar. Si no saben volar ¡pierden el tiempo las que pretendan seducirme!

La vida deberia ser al reves; Se debería empezar muriendo y así ese trauma está superado; luego te despiertas en una residencia mejorando día a día… después te echan de la residencia porque ya estás bien, y lo primero que haces es cobrar tu pensión! Luego en tu primer día de trabajo te dan un reloj de oro… Trabajas 40 años hasta que seas lo bastante joven como para disfrutar de tu retiro laboral; entonces vas de fiesta en fiesta, bebes, practicas el sexo y te preparas para empezar a estudiar. Luego empiezas el colegio, jugando con tus amigos sin ningún tipo de obligación, hasta que seas bebé. Y te pasas los últimos nueve meses flotando tranquilo, con calefacción central, servicio de habitaciones, etc. Y al final abandonas este mundo en un gran orgasmo!

...desde el primer momento en que te vi supe que serías mi perdición.

All matter, including you and I, has rhythmic movement within it and our quest should be to create a proper rhythmic harmony within ourselves…you feel happy when you sit near an ocean because your vibrations try to synchronize with the frequency of the waves.

I hope one of those books is a primer on etiquette. You seriously need a refresher.” “You’re not queen yet, Eadlyn. Take it down a notch.” He walked away, and I was furious with myself for not getting the last word.

Curiosity and irreverence go together. Curiosity cannot exist without the other. Curiosity asks, "Is this true?" "Just because this has always been the way, is the best or right way of life, the best or right religion, political or economic value, morality?" To the questioner, nothing is sacred. He detests dogma, defies any finite definition of morality, rebels against any repression of a free, open search of ideas no matter where they may lead. He is challenging, insulting, agitating, discrediting. He stirs unrest.

Si antes de cada acción, pudiésemos prever todas sus consecuencias, nos pusiésemos a pensar en ellas seriamente, primero en las consecuencias inmediatas, después, las probables, más tarde las posibles, luego las imaginables, no llegaríamos siquiera a movernos de donde el primer pensamiento nos hubiera hecho detenernos.

Live in New York City once, but leave before it makes you hard. Live in Northern California once, but leave before it makes you soft

—¿Y por qué querías mantenerme a salvo antes de conocerme? —Porque desde el primer momento en que te vi supe que serías mi perdición.

Un camino de mil millas comienza con un primer paso.

To enter the Buddha Way is to stop discriminating between good and evil and to cast aside the mind that says this is good and that is bad.

You think that because you understand “one” that you must therefore understand “two” because one and one make two. But you forget that you must also understand “and.

Do one thing everyday that scares you.

No hay nada en este mundo que desee más. Lo intento desde el primer día que te vi, con todas mis fuerzas. Quiero odiarte, necesito odiarte...

Si Eva hubiera escrito el Génesis, ¿cómo sería la primera noche de amor del género humano? Eva hubiera empezado por aclarar que ella no nació de ninguna costilla, ni conoció a ninguna serpiente, ni ofreció manzanas a nadie, y que Dios nunca le dijo que parirás con dolor y tu marido te dominará. Que todas esas historias son puras mentiras que Adán contó a la prensa.

Those who are most moral are farthest from the problem.

Lest we forget at least an over the shoulder acknowledgment to the very first radical: from all our legends, mythology and history (and who is to know where mythology leaves off and history begins - or which is which), the very first radical known to man who rebelled against the establishment and did it so effectively that he at least won his own kingdom - Lucifer.

Which path do you intend to take, Nell?' said the Constable, sounding very interested. 'Conformity or rebellion?' Neither one. Both ways are simple-minded - they are only for people who cannot cope with contradiction and ambiguity.

Action comes from keeping the heat on. No politician can sit on a hot issue if you make it hot enough.

Mi padre decía que la primera vez que te enamoras te cambia la vida para siempre, y por más que lo intentes, jamás lograrás borrar ese sentimiento tan profundo. Esa chica fue tu primer amor, y hagas lo que hagas, siempre estará presente en tu corazón.

We can't impose our will on a system. We can listen to what the system tells us, and discover how its properties and our values can work together to bring forth something much better than could ever be produced by our will alone.

Every man possesses the Buddha-nature. Do not demean yourselves.

El primer amor, es amor; el segundo amor, es despecho; el tercero, el cuarto, el quinto y los siguientes, son deporte.

Sé que no soy tu primer algo, pero espero ser tu último todo.

Antonia had always been one to leave images in the mind that did not fade - that grew stronger with time. In my memory there was a succession of such pictures, fixed there like the old woodcuts of one's first primer...She lent herself to immemorial human attitudes which we recognize by instinct as universal and true...She was a battered woman now, not a lovely girl; but she still had that something which fires the imagination, could still stop one's breath for a moment by a look or gesture...All the strong things of her heart came out in her body, that had been so tireless in serving generous emotions.

Es el primer beso del que ambos estamos plenamente conscientes. Ninguno está debilitado por la enfermedad o el dolor, tampoco desmayado; no nos arden los labios de fiebre ni de frío. Es el primer beso que de verdad hace que se me agite algo en el pecho, algo cálido y curioso. Es el primer beso que me hace desear un segundo. [pp. 319]

The difference between stupid and intelligent people -- and this is true whether or not they are well-educated -- is that intelligent people can handle subtlety. They are not baffled by ambigous or even contradictory situations -- in fact, they expect them and are apt to become suspicious when things seem overly straightforward.

Solo puedes dar tu corazón una vez, después de eso, todo lo demás perseguirá a tu primer amor.

Sometimes a scent is more evocative than a photo or an image. It is a primer for the deflagration of sensation, emotions, desires, uncontrollable atmospheres, dejavus that flood and wrap us like honey, until they make us drown in an unrepeatable moment of wellbeing... olfactory hallucinations that lead us anywhere: to the North of any South, to the East of any West...

Purposes are deduced from behavior, not from rhetoric or stated goals.

a system must consist of three kinds of things: elements, interconnections, and a function or purpose.

We ignore the blackness of outer space and pay attention to the stars, especially if they seem to order themselves into constellations. “Common as the air” meant something worthless, but Hackworth knew that every breath of air that Fiona drew, lying in her little bed at night, just a silver flow in the moonlight, was used by her body to make skin and hair and bones. The air became Fiona, and deserving—no, demanding—of love. Ordering matter was the sole endeavor of Life, whether it was a jumble of self-replicating molecules in the primordial ocean, or a steam-powered English mill turning weeds into clothing, or Fiona lying in her bed turning air into Fiona.

—Déjeme informarte de algo —dice en voz baja—. En el momento en que mis labios toquen los tuyos, será tu primer beso. Porque si nunca has sentido nada cuando alguien te dio un beso, entonces nunca nadie realmente te besó. No en la forma en que planeo besarte.

In the beginning the organizer's first job is to create the issues or problems.

So, what is a system? A system is a set of things—people, cells, molecules, or whatever—interconnected in such a way that they produce their own pattern of behavior over time.

Be careful whose advice you buy, but be patient with those who supply it. Advice is a form of nostalgia.

Sorry,” she said, “I got out as fast as I could, but I had to stay and socialize. Protocol, you know.” “Explain protocol,” Nell said. This was how she always talked to the Primer. “At the place we’re going, you need to watch your manners. Don’t say ‘explain this’ or ‘explain that.’” “Would it impose on your time unduly to provide me with a concise explanation of the term protocol?” Nell said. Again Rita made that nervous laugh and looked at Nell with an expression that looked like poorly concealed alarm.

--while the sun and wind played gently in its spreading branches; the bells of the Donskoy monastery would sometimes float across--tranquil and sad--and I would sit and gaze and listen, and would be filled with a nameless sensation which had everything in it; sorrow and joy, a premonition of the future, and desire, and fear of life.

The hour of noon has passed,' said Judge Fang. 'Let us go and get some Kentucky Fried Chicken.

To say that corrupt means corrupt the ends is to believe in the immaculate conception of ends and principles. The real arena is corrupt and bloody. Life is a corrupting process from the time a child learns to play his mother off against his father in the politics of when to go to bed; he who fears corruption fears life.

entonces Adam Wilde aparece en Carnegie Hall en la noche más grande de mi carrera, y se sintió como más que una coincidencia. Se sintió como un regalo. De ellos. Para mi primer recital, me dieron un violonchelo. Y para éste, me dieron tu presencia. -Mia

Nada era difícil una vez decidido, un tren nocturno, un primer barco, otro barco viejo y sucio, la escala en Rynos, la negociación interminable con el capitán de la falúa, la noche en el puente, pegado a las estrellas, el sabor de anís y del carnero, el amanecer entre las islas.

Addiction is finding a quick and dirty solution to the symptom of the problem, which prevents or distracts one from the harder and longer-term task of solving the real problem.

Thou shalt not distort, delay, or withhold information.

What are letters?” “Kinda like mediaglyphics except they’re all black, and they’re tiny, they don’t move, they’re old and boring and really hard to read. But you can use ’em to make short words for long words.

Hay algunas experiencias en tu vida que nunca olvidarías por más que quieras, como tu primer beso, tu primer amor, tu primer novio, tu primera vez, tu primer corazón roto. En fin...muchas otras cosas pero, entonces ¿cómo hacemos para olvidar esas pruebas que nos han hecho daño o nos han marcado para siempre?

-¿Cuál es el problema, Ángel? -¡Ese imbécil se robó mi primer beso! -. Liam se echó a reír y me sentí aún peor. -¡No es gracioso, Liam! El primer beso de una chica es importante para ella. Sólo porque seas una clase de súper puta a la que no le importa, y probablemente no recuerda su primer beso, no significa que las pequeñas cosas no son importantes. -Ángel, cálmate. Él no te robó tu primer beso.

Let's face it, the universe is messy. It is nonlinear, turbulent, and chaotic. It is dynamic. It spends its time in transient behavior on its way to somewhere else, not in mathematically neat equilibria. It self-organizes and evolves. It creates diversity, not uniformity. That's what makes the world interesting, that's what makes it beautiful, and that's what makes it work.

Ópalo y Ámbar forman el primer par, Ágata canta en si, del lobo el avatar, Dueto —¡Solutio!— con Aguamarina. Siguen poderosas las Esmeralda y la Citrina, los gemelos cornalina en Escorpión, y Jade, el número 8, digestión. En mi mayor: negra Turmalina, Zafiro en fa se ilumina. Y casi al mismo tiempo el Diamante, 11 y 7, del León rampante. ¡Projectio llega! Fluye el tiempo, Y Rubí constituye el final y el comienzo. De los Escritos secretos del conde de Saint Germain.

They wanted to carry her, but she jumped to the stones of the plaza and strode away from the building, toward her ranks, which parted to make way for her. The streets of Pudong were filled with hungry and terrified refugees, and through them, in simple peasant clothes streaked with the blood of herself and of others, broken shackles dangling from her wrists, followed by her generals and ministers, walked the barbarian Princess with her book and her sword.

He had some measure of the infuriating trait that causes a young man to be a nonconformist for its own sake and found that the surest way to shock most people, in those days, was to believe that some kinds of behavior were bad and others good, and that it was reasonable to live one's life accordingly.

A system* is an interconnected set of elements that is coherently organized in a way that achieves something.

An important function of almost every system is to ensure its own perpetuation.

Whatever you do, don't congratulate yourself too much, or berate yourself either. Your choices are half chance. So are everybody else's.

For reasons unexplained, every person in the world is born with a large gaping hole in the center of their chest...while not uncomfortable, it is widely considered unsightly, and pretty much everyone tries to fill it with something...some people fill it with religion, others just buy a bunch of stuff, and some even fill it with other folks...I left mine alone, though, because I found out if you run against the wind at just the right angle, it makes a whistling noise.

Alexander, me has roto el corazón. Pero por haberme llevado a tu espalda, por tirar de mi trineo de muerte, por darme tu último pedazo de pan, por el cuerpo que te destrozaste por mí, por el hijo que me has dado, por los veintinueve días que vivimos en el paraíso, por todas nuestras arenas blancas de Naples y nuestros vinos de Napa, por todos los días que has sido mi primer y mi último aliento, por Orbeli... Te perdonaré.

Constable Moore had reached the age when men can subject their bodies to the worst irritations - whiskey, cigars, woolen clothes, bagpipes - without feeling a thing or, at least, without letting on.

Advice is a form of Nostalgia

The public library is a center of public happiness first, of public education next.

Writing often reveals us to ourselves, lets us name what’s important to us and what has been silent or silenced inside us.

Preaching the gospel to myself each day mounts a powerful assault against my pride and serves to establish humility in its place. Nothing suffocates my pride more than daily reminders regarding the glory of my God, the gravity of my sins, and the crucifixion of God’s own Son in my place. Also, the gracious love of God, lavished on me because of Christ’s death, is always humbling to remember, especially when viewed against the backdrop of the Hell I deserve.

Aquí es donde cumplí mi primer castigo Y aquí es donde una estatua de mármol casi me decapita Y aquí es donde compartí el picnic más raro de mi vida con un chico del reformatorio que no les gustaría nada..." Tengo que vivir, ver a los niños nacer, crecer y enamorarse. Veo cómo ellos mismos tienen hijos y envejecen. Veo cómo mueren. Luce, estoy condenado a verlos una y otra vez. A todos menos a ti..." "Vago por la tierra y en el fondo siempre sé que voy a encontrarte...Siempre volvias cada 17 años..." "Tu eres mi amor, Lucinda. Para mi, ere lo único que existe..." "Jamás podrán creer nada de esto...Puedes tú?

Missing information flows is one of the most common causes of system malfunction. Adding or restoring information can be a powerful intervention, usually much easier and cheaper than rebuilding physical infrastructure.

There are only two industries. This has always been true....There is the industry of things, and the industry of entertainment....After people have the things they need to live, everything else is entertainment. Everything.

No one can define or measure justice, democracy, security, freedom, truth, or love. No one can define or measure any value. But if no one speaks up for them, if systems aren’t designed to produce them, if we don’t speak about them and point toward their presence or absence, they will cease to exist.

If you define the goal of a society as GNP, that society will do its best to produce GNP. It will not produce welfare, equity, justice, or efficiency unless you define a goal and regularly measure and report the state of welfare, equity, justice, or efficiency.

The House of the Venerable and Inscrutable Colonel was what they called it when they were speaking Chinese. Venerable because of his goatee, white as the dogwood blossom, a badge of unimpeachable credibility in Confucian eyes. Inscrutable because he had gone to his grave without divulging the Secret of the Eleven Herbs and Spices.

Me llamo Kvothe, que se pronuncia «cuouz». Los nombres son importantes porque dicen mucho sobre la persona. He tenido más nombres de los que nadie merece. Los Adem me llaman Maedre. Que, según como se pronuncie, puede significar la Llama, el Trueno o el Árbol Partido Mi primer mentor me llamaba E’lir porque yo era listo y lo sabía. Mi primera amante me llamaba Dulator porque le gustaba cómo sonaba. Me han llamado Kvothe el Sin Sangre, Kvothe el Arcano y Kvothe el Asesino de Reyes. Todos esos nombres me los he ganado. Los he comprado y he pagado por ellos. Pero crecí siendo Kvothe. Una vez mi padre me dijo que significaba «saber». He robado princesas a reyes agónicos. Incendié la ciudad de Trebon. He pasado la noche con Felurian y he despertado vivo y cuerdo. Me expulsaron de la Universidad a una edad a la que a la mayoría todavía no los dejan entrar. He recorrido de noche caminos de los que otros no se atreven a hablar ni siquiera de día. He hablado con dioses, he amado a mujeres y he escrito canciones que hacen llorar a los bardos. Quizá hayas oído hablar de mí.

Después de todo, amamos como nos han amado en la infancia, y los amores posteriores suelen ser sólo una réplica del primer amor. Te debo, pues, todos mis amores posteriores, incluido el amor salvaje y ciego que siento por mis hijos. Ya no puedo abrir un libro sin desear ver tu cara de calma y de concentración, sin saber que no la veré más y, lo que tal vez sea incluso más grave, que no me verá más. Nunca volveré a ser mirada por tus ojos. Cuando el mundo empieza a despoblarse de la gente que nos quiere, nos convertimos, poco a poco, al ritmo de las muertes, en desconocidos. Mi lugar en el mundo estaba en tu mirada y me parecía tan incontestable y perpetuo que nunca me molesté en averiguar cuál era. No está mal, he conseguido ser una niña hasta los cuarenta años, dos hijos, dos matrimonios, varias relaciones, varios pisos, varios trabajos, esperemos que sepa hacer la transición a adulto y que no me convierta directamente en una anciana. No me gusta ser huérfana, no estoy hecha para la tristeza.

Nell did not imagine that Constable Moore wanted to get into a detailed discussion of recent events, so she changed the subject. "I think I have finally worked out what you were trying to tell me, years ago, about being intelligent," she said. The Constable brightened all at once. "Pleased to hear it." The Vickys have an elaborate code of morals and conduct. It grew out of the moral squalor of an earlier generation, just as the original Victorians were preceded by the Georgians and the Regency. The old guard believe in that code because they came to it the hard way. They raise their children to believe in that code– but their children believe it for entirely different reasons." They believe it," the Constable said, "because they have been indoctrinated to believe it." Yes. Some of them never challenge it– they grow up to be smallminded people, who can tell you what they believe but not why they believe it. Others become disillusioned by the hypocrisy of the society and rebel– as did Elizabeth Finkle-McGraw." Which path do you intend to take, Nell?" said the Constable, sounding very interested. "Conformity or rebellion?" Neither one. Both ways are simple-minded– they are only for people who cannot cope with contradiction and ambiguity.

Human rights pale beside the rights of machines. In more and more cities, especially in the great metropolises of the South, people have been banned. Automobiles usurp human space, poison the air, and frequently murder the interlopers who invade their conquered territory -and no one lifts a finger to stop them. Is there a difference between violence that kills by car and that which kills by knife or bullet?" (p.231)

A word about my personal philosophy. It is anchored in optimism. It must be, for optimism brings with it hope, a future with a purpose, and therefore, a will to fight for a better world. Without this optimism, there is no reason to carry on. If we think of the struggle as aclimb up a mountain, then we must visualize a mountain with no top. We see a top, but when we finall yreach it, the overcast rises and we find ourselves merely on a bluff. The mountain continues on up. Now we see the "real" top ahead of us, and strive for it, only to find we've reached another bluff, the top still above us. And so it goes on, interminably. Knowing that the mountain has no top, that it is a perpetual quest from plateau to plateau, the question arises, "Why the struggle, the conflict, the heartbreak, the danger, the sacrifice. Why the constant climb?" Our answer is the same as that which a real mountain climber gives when he is asked why he does what he does. "Because it's there." Because life is there ahead of you and either one tests oneself in its challenges or huddles in the valleys of a dreamless day-to-day existence whose only purpose is the preservation of a illusory security and safety. The latter is what the vast majority of people choose to do, fearing the adventure into the known. Paradocically, they give up the dream of what may lie ahead on the heighs of tomorrow for a perpetual nightmare - an endless succession of days fearing the loss of a tenuous security.

—¿Y de qué sirve la esperanza? No existe, no se puede tocar. Es sólo una idea, un sueño… ¡una mentira! Es un eufemismo como cualquier otro. La esperanza es únicamente una palabra bonita con la que maquillar la realidad —se defendió, recordándole a Lan la actitud derrotista de su primer encuentro. La muchacha permaneció en silencio, dejando que el Errante se calmara, y después le dijo con voz pausada: —Significa mucho más que eso. La esperanza es creer más allá de lo que podemos controlar. Es un sentimiento, como la alegría, el miedo o el odio, al que te puedes aferrar incluso en los momentos más difíciles, cuando sabes que ya no puedes hacer nada por ti mismo. Incluso cuando todo está perdido, siempre queda la esperanza.

... no tuvieron que hacer ningún `pacto de amistad´, como suelen los muchachos de su edad, cuando organizan solemnes ritos ridículos, llenos de pasión exagerada, al aparecer la primera pasión en ellos- de una forma inconsciente y desfigurada-, al pretender por primera vez apropiarse del cuerpo y del alma del otro, sacándole del mundo para poseerlo en exclusiva. Esto y sólo esto es el sentido del amor y de la amistad. La amistad entre los dos muchachos era tan seria y tan callada como cualquier sentimiento importante que dura toda una vida. Y como todos los sentimientos grandiosos, también contenía elementos de pudor y de culpa. Uno no puede apropiarse de una persona y alejarla de todos los demás sin tener remordimientos. Ellos supieron, desde el primer momento, que su encuentro prevalecería durante toda su vida.

Love and faith are not common companions. More commonly power and fear consort with faith....Power is not to be crossed; one must respect and obey. Power means strength, whereas love is a human frailty the people mistrust. It is a sad fact of life that power and fear are the fountainheads of faith.

Lest we forget at least an over-the-shoulder acknowledgment to the very first radical: from all our legends, mythology, and history (and who is to know where mythology leaves off and history begins — or which is which), the first radical known to man who rebelled against the establishment and did it so effectively that he at least won his own kingdom — Lucifer.

En griego, «regreso» se dice nostos. Algos significa “sufrimiento”. La nostalgia es, pues, el sufrimiento causado por el deseo incumplido de regresar. La mayoría de los europeos puede emplear para esta noción fundamental una palabra de origen griego (nostalgia) y, además, otras palabras con raíces en la lengua nacional: en español decimos “añoranza”; en portugués, saudade. En cada lengua estas palabras poseen un matiz semántico distinto. Con frecuencia tan sólo significan la tristeza causada por la imposibilidad de regresar a la propia tierra. Morriña del terruño. Morriña del hogar. En inglés sería homesickness, o en alemán Heimweh, o en holandés heimwee. Pero es una reducción espacial de esa gran noción. El islandés, una de las lenguas europeas más antiguas, distingue claramente dos términos: söknudur: nostalgia en su sentido general; y heimfra: morriña del terruño. Los checos, al lado de la palabra “nostalgia” tomada del griego, tienen para la misma noción su propio sustantivo: stesk, y su propio verbo; una de las frases de amor checas más conmovedoras es styska se mi po tobe: “te añoro; ya no puedo soportar el dolor de tu ausencia”. En español, “añoranza” proviene del verbo “añorar”, que proviene a su vez del catalán enyorar, derivado del verbo latino ignorare (ignorar, no saber de algo). A la luz de esta etimología, la nostalgia se nos revela como el dolor de la ignorancia. Estás lejos, y no sé qué es de ti. Mi país queda lejos, y no sé qué ocurre en él. Algunas lenguas tienen alguna dificultad con la añoranza: los franceses sólo pueden expresarla mediante la palabra de origen griego (nostalgie) y no tienen verbo; pueden decir: je m?ennuie de toi (equivalente a «te echo de menos» o “en falta”), pero esta expresión es endeble, fría, en todo caso demasiado leve para un sentimiento tan grave. Los alemanes emplean pocas veces la palabra “nostalgia” en su forma griega y prefieren decir Sehnsucht: deseo de lo que está ausente; pero Sehnsucht puede aludir tanto a lo que fue como a lo que nunca ha sido (una nueva aventura), por lo que no implica necesariamente la idea de un nostos; para incluir en la Sehnsucht la obsesión del regreso, habría que añadir un complemento: Senhsucht nach der Vergangenheit, nach der verlorenen Kindheit, o nach der ersten Liebe (deseo del pasado, de la infancia perdida o del primer amor).

The difference between ignorant and educated people is that the latter know more facts. But that has nothing to do with whether they are stupid or intelligent. The difference between stupid and intelligent people—and this is true whether or not they are well-educated—is that intelligent people can handle subtlety. They are not baffled by ambiguous or even contradictory situations—in fact, they expect them and are apt to become suspicious when things seem overly straightforward.

Jedne je večeri došla kasnije nego obično. Bio sam legao. Brzo sam navukao prve gaće koje su mi se našle pod rukom. Ispostavilo se da su me baš te gaće, od svih koje sam imao, najviše izdavale. Lastiša oko butina skoro i nije bilo – praktično sam bio u suknji. Sve vreme sam morao dobro da pazim da sedim u određenom položaju i da ne ustajem naglo. Ipak mi se činilo da bi još nesrećnije rešenje bilo obući pantalone. Ona bi to naime protumačila kao signal da može da ostane, da uopšte nemam nameru da spavam i da je i moja noć bez kraja i konca. Shvatio sam koliko je ta odluka bila ispravna, i u istom trenutku uvideo da je razlika između čoveka u gaćama i čoveka u pantalonama ogromna, skoro nepojmljiva. U pantalonama si spreman za sve. Nijedan poduhvat nije nezamisliv. U gaćama si pak slobodan. Čoveka u gaćama je, na primer, teško usred noći pozvati u šetnju, što me od nje inače uopšte ne bi iznenadilo.

Me fijé en que Fela giraba la cabeza y miraba a Simmon como si le sorprendiera verlo allí sentado. O mejor dicho: fue como si hasta ese momento Simmon únicamente hubiera ocupado espacio alrededor de Fela, como un mueble. Pero esa vez, cuando ella lo miró, lo captó por entero. El cabello rubio rojizo, la línea de su mandíbula, la amplitud de los hombros bajo la camisa. Esa vez, cuándo lo miró, lo vio de verdad. Dejadme decir una cosa. Todas las horas que pasamos buscando en el Archivo, todo el fastidio y el cansancio valieron la pena solo para presenciar aquel momento. Valió la pena sangre y temer a la muerte por verla enamorarse de Sim. Solo un poco. Solo el primer hálito débil del amor, tan leve que seguramente ni siquiera ella lo percibió. No fue espectacular, como un rayo seguido del estruendo de un trueno. Fue más bien como cuando golpeas pedernal contra acero y salta una chispa que se desvanece tan deprisa que casi no la ves. Pero sabes que está allí, donde no puedes verla, prendiendo.

Libertarianism is the view that each person has the right to live his life in any way he chooses so long as he respects the equal rights of others. Libertarians defend each person's right to life, liberty, and property - rights that people possess naturally, before governments are created. In the libertarian view, all human relationships should voluntary; the only actions that should be forbidden by law are those that involve the initiation of force against those who have themselves used force - actions like murder, rape, robbery, kidnapping, and fraud.

REGLAMENTO OFICIAL DEL CLUB DE LOS CORAZONES SOLITARIOS, DE PENNY LANE. El presente documento expone las normas para las socias del Club de los Corazones Solitarios. Todas las socias deberán aprobar los términos de este reglamento pues, de lo contrario, su afiliación quedará anulada automáticamente. 1. Las socias están en su derecho de salir con chicos si bien nunca, jamás, olvidarán que sus amigas son lo primero y principal. 2. A las socias no se les permite salir con cretinos, manipuladores, mentirosos, escoria en general o, básicamente, con cualquiera que no las trate como es debido. 3. Se exige a las socias que asistan a todas las reuniones de los sábados por la noche. Ninguna socia excusará su presencia en la fecha señalada para las reuniones con objeto de citarse con un chico. Se mantienen como excepción las emergencias familiares y los días de pelo en mal estado, exclusivamente. 4. Las socias asistirán juntas, como grupo, a todos los eventos destinados a parejas incluyendo (pero no limitándose a) la fiesta de antiguos alumnos, el baile de fin de curso, celebraciones varias y otros acontecimientos. Las socias podrán llevar a un chico como acompañante, pero el mencionado varón asistirá al evento bajo su propio riesgo. 5. Las socias deben apoyar siempre y en primer lugar a sus amigas, a pesar de las elecciones que éstas puedan hacer. 6. Y sobre todo, bajo ninguna circunstancia, las socias utilizarán en contra de una compañera los comentarios realizados en el seno del club. Todas sabéis a qué me refiero. La violación de las normas conlleva la inhabilitación como socia, la humillación pública, los rumores crueles y la posible decapitación.

I’m riding a tram and, as is my habit, slowly absorbing every detail of the people around me. By ‘detail’ I mean things, voices, words. In the dress of the girl directly in front of me, for example, I see the material it’s made of, the work involved in making it – since it’s a dress and not just material – and I see in the delicate embroidery around the neck the silk thread with which it was embroidered and all the work that went into that. And immediately, as if in a primer on political economy, I see before me the factories and all the different jobs: the factory where the material was made; the factory that made the darker coloured thread that ornaments with curlicues the neck of the dress’ and I see the different workshops in the factories, the machines, the workmen, the seamstresses. My eyes’ inward gaze even penetrates into the offices, where I see the managers trying to keep calm and the figures set out in the account books, but that’s not all: beyond that I see into the domestic lives of all those who spend their working hours in these factories and offices...A whole world unfolds before my eyes all because the regularly irregular dark green edging to a pale green dress worn by the girl in front of me of whom I see only her brown neck. ‘A whole way of life lies before me. I sense the loves, the secrets, the souls of all those who worked just so that this woman in front of me on the tram should wear around her mortal neck the sinuous banality of a thread of dark green silk on a background of light green cloth. I grow dizzy. The seats on the tram, of fine, strong cane, carry me to distant regions, divide into industries, workmen, houses, lives, realities, everything. I leave the tram exhausted, like a sleepwalker, having lived a whole life.

The most damaging example of the systems archetype called “drift to low performance” is the process by which modern industrial culture has eroded the goal of morality. The workings of the trap have been classic, and awful to behold. Examples of bad human behavior are held up, magnified by the media, affirmed by the culture, as typical. This is just what you would expect. After all, we’re only human. The far more numerous examples of human goodness are barely noticed. They are “not news.” They are exceptions. Must have been a saint. Can’t expect everyone to behave like that. And so expectations are lowered. The gap between desired behavior and actual behavior narrows. Fewer actions are taken to affirm and instill ideals. The public discourse is full of cynicism. Public leaders are visibly, unrepentantly amoral or immoral and are not held to account. Idealism is ridiculed. Statements of moral belief are suspect. It is much easier to talk about hate in public than to talk about love.