“
So I hear we get to go to town this weekend. Want to catch a movie or something?
--Z
P.S. That is, if Jimmy doesn't mind.
Translation: This weekend might be a good chance for us to see each other outside our school in a social environment, free of competetiton. I do not view other boys as threats, and I enjoy making them seem insignificant by calling them the wrong names. (Translation by Macey McHenry)
”
”
Ally Carter (Cross My Heart and Hope to Spy (Gallagher Girls, #2))
“
This much I'm certain of: it doesn't happen immediately. You'll finish [the book] and that will be that, until a moment will come, maybe in a month, maybe a year, maybe even several years. You'll be sick or feeling troubled or deeply in love or quietly uncertain or even content for the first time in your life. It won't matter. Out of the blue, beyond any cause you can trace, you'll suddenly realize things are not how you perceived them to be at all. For some reason, you will no longer be the person you believed you once were. You'll detect slow and subtle shifts going on all around you, more importantly shifts in you. Worse, you'll realize it's always been shifting, like a shimmer of sorts, a vast shimmer, only dark like a room. But you won't understand why or how. You'll have forgotten what granted you this awareness in the first place
...
You might try then, as I did, to find a sky so full of stars it will blind you again. Only no sky can blind you now. Even with all that iridescent magic up there, your eye will no longer linger on the light, it will no longer trace constellations. You'll care only about the darkness and you'll watch it for hours, for days, maybe even for years, trying in vain to believe you're some kind of indispensable, universe-appointed sentinel, as if just by looking you could actually keep it all at bay. It will get so bad you'll be afraid to look away, you'll be afraid to sleep.
Then no matter where you are, in a crowded restaurant or on some desolate street or even in the comforts of your own home, you'll watch yourself dismantle every assurance you ever lived by. You'll stand aside as a great complexity intrudes, tearing apart, piece by piece, all of your carefully conceived denials, whether deliberate or unconscious. And then for better or worse you'll turn, unable to resist, though try to resist you still will, fighting with everything you've got not to face the thing you most dread, what is now, what will be, what has always come before, the creature you truly are, the creature we all are, buried in the nameless black of a name.
And then the nightmares will begin.
”
”
Mark Z. Danielewski (House of Leaves)
“
You came after all, Z. Glad you made the party. (Acheron)
What the hell? I didn’t have anything better to do. Figured I might as well come kick ass and take names. Not that I really give a damn about their names. I’m just in it for the bloodlust. (Zarek)
”
”
Sherrilyn Kenyon (Kiss of the Night (Dark-Hunter, #4))
“
You could name practically any problem in the hood and there'd be a rap song for you.
”
”
Jay-Z (Decoded)
“
Why' is the only question that bothers people enough to have an entire letter of the alphabet named after it.
The alphabet does not go 'A B C D What? When? How?' but it does go 'V W X Why? Z.
”
”
Douglas Adams
“
I would like a cappuccino," says Linus politely. "Thank you."
"Your name?"
"I'll spell it for you," he says. "Z-W-P-A-E-N--"
"What?" She stares at him, Sharpie in hand.
"Wait, I haven't finished. Double F-hyphen-T-J-U-S. It's an unusual name, Linus adds gravely. "It's Dutch.
”
”
Sophie Kinsella (Finding Audrey)
“
Then no matter where you are, in a crowded restaurant or on some desolate street or even in the comforts of your own home, you'll watch yourself dismantle every assurance you ever lived by. You'll stand aside as a great complexity intrudes, tearing apart, piece by piece, all your carefully conceived denials, whether deliberate or unconscious. And for better or worse you'll turn, unable to resist, though try to resist you still will, fighting with everything you've got not to face the thing you most dread, what is now, what will be, what has always come before, the creature you truly are, the creature we all are, buried in the nameless black of a name.
And then the nightmares will begin.
”
”
Mark Z. Danielewski (House of Leaves)
“
My argument against God was that the universe seemed so cruel and unjust. But how had I got this idea of just and unjust? A man does not call a line crooked unless he has some idea of a straight line. What was I comparing this universe with when I called it unjust? If the whole show was bad and senseless from A to Z, so to speak, why did I, who was supposed to be part of the show, find myself in such a violent reaction against it?... Of course I could have given up my idea of justice by saying it was nothing but a private idea of my own. But if i did that, then my argument against God collapsed too--for the argument depended on saying the world was really unjust, not simply that it did not happen to please my fancies. Thus, in the very act of trying to prove that God did not exist - in other words, that the whole of reality was senseless - I found I was forced to assume that one part of reality - namely my idea of justice - was full of sense. If the whole universe has no meaning, we should never have found out that it has no meaning: just as, if there were no light in the universe and therefore no creatures with eyes, we should never have known it was dark. Dark would be without meaning.
”
”
C.S. Lewis
“
Electing a black man named Barack Obama President in the same country that elected George W. Bush - twice! - is as far-fetched as a hustler from Marcy performing at that President's inauguration. But it happened.
”
”
Jay-Z (Decoded)
“
Yes, he’s like a rash for which there’s no cure. It only goes away for a bit before returning unexpectedly to ruin every pleasurable experience. He should have been named Herpes rather than ZT. Or maybe just Herpes Z, since he’s a very special irritant. (Arik)
”
”
Sherrilyn Kenyon (The Dream-Hunter (Dark-Hunter, #10; Dream-Hunter, #1))
“
A creature without a voice. A voice without a name. As immortal as my life. Come here at long last to summon the wind.
”
”
Mark Z. Danielewski
“
Sometimes we called one another by our future doctor names. We did it partly to be funny, but mostly because we liked it when people did it back to us.
”
”
David Z. Hirsch (Didn't Get Frazzled: humorous medical fiction)
“
The thread has snapped. No sound even to mark the breaking let alone the fall. That long anticipated disintegration, when the darkest angel of all, the horror beyond all horrors, sits at last upon my chest, permanently enfolding me in its great covering wings, black as ink, veined in Bees' purple. A creature without a voice. A voice without a name. As immortal as my life. Come here at long last to summon the wind.
”
”
Mark Z. Danielewski
“
You might try then, as I did, to find a sky so full of stars it will blind you again. Only no sky can blind you now. Even with all that iridescent magic up there, your eye will no longer linger on the light, it will no longer trace constellations. You'll care only about the darkness and you'll watch it for hours, for days, maybe even for years, trying in vain to believe you're some kind of indispensable, universe-appointed sentinel, as if just by looking you could actually keep it all at bay. It will get so bad you'll be afraid to look away, you'll be afraid to sleep.
Then no matter where you are, in a crowded restaurant or on some desolate street or even in the comforts of your own home, you'll watch yourself dismantle every assurance you ever lived by. You'll stand aside as a great complexity intrudes, tearing apart, piece by piece, all of your carefully conceived denials, whether deliberate or unconscious. And then for better or worse you'll turn, unable to resist, though try to resist you still will, fighting with everything you've got not to face the thing you most dread, what is now, what will be, what has always come before, the creature you truly are, the creature we all are, buried in the nameless black of a name.
And then the nightmares will begin.
”
”
Mark Z. Danielewski
“
Anyone getting starry-eyed about owning a bookstore should ask herself a few questions: Can you lift a box weighing fifty pounds? Do you know what cat pee on paper smells like and can you get it out? Will you exude patience while solving puzzles that start "I'm looking for a book..." and peter out somewhere between "it has 'The' in the title" and "It has a red cover and the author was a soldier whose last name started with S. Or was it Z?
”
”
Wendy Welch (The Little Bookstore of Big Stone Gap: A Memoir of Friendship, Community, and the Uncommon Pleasure of a Good Book)
“
Dopamine isn’t the pleasure molecule, after all. It’s the anticipation molecule. To enjoy the things we have, as opposed to the things that are only possible, our brains must transition from future-oriented dopamine to present-oriented chemicals, a collection of neurotransmitters we call the Here and Now molecules, or the H&Ns. Most people have heard of the H&Ns. They include serotonin, oxytocin, endorphins (your brain’s version of morphine), and a class of chemicals called endocannabinoids (your brain’s version of marijuana). As opposed to the pleasure of anticipation via dopamine, these chemicals give us pleasure from sensation and emotion. In fact, one of the endocannabinoid molecules is called anandamide, named after a Sanskrit word that means joy, bliss, and delight.
”
”
Daniel Z. Lieberman (The Molecule of More: How a Single Chemical in Your Brain Drives Love, Sex, and Creativity―and Will Determine the Fate of the Human Race)
“
The magic ground against my mind and I heard the same word whispered over and over in my head.
“Z’emir-amit. Z’emir-amit. Z’emir-amit.”
Oh my God. I knew that name. I read about her. I studied her legends, but I never thought I would come across anything of hers because she had been dead for thousands of years. Dead and buried in distant Iraq, somewhere on the east bank of the Tigris River. That name belonged to the bones in front of me. I could feel it. I knew this magic.
I was looking at the corpse of my grandmother.
She wanted me to say her name. She wanted to know that I understood.
I opened my mouth and said it out loud. “Semiramis.”
Her magic drenched me, not the blow of a hammer, but a cascade of power, pouring onto me as if I stood under a waterfall.
Z’emir-amit. The Branch Bearer. The Shield of Assyria. The Great Queen Semiramis. A line from Sarchedon floated up from my memory. When she turns her eyes on you, it is like the golden lustre of noon-day; and her smile is brighter and more glorious than sunset in the desert… To look on her face unveiled is to be the Great Queen’s slave for ever more.
”
”
Ilona Andrews (Magic Breaks (Kate Daniels, #7))
“
Jasper de Zoet. A damn good name. A ‘J’ and a ‘Z.’ Nice high Scrabble score.
”
”
David Mitchell (Utopia Avenue)
“
Then no matter where you are, in a crowded restaurant or on some desolate street or even in the comforts of your own home, you'll watch yourself dismantle every assurance you ever lived by. You'll stand aside as a great complexity intrudes, tearing apart, piece by piece, all of your carefully conceived denials, whether deliberate or unconscious. And then for better or worse you'll turn, unable to resist, though try to resist you still will, fighting with everything you've got not to face the thing you most dread, what is now, what will be, what has always come before, the creature you truly are, the creature we all are, buried in the nameless black of a name.
and then the nightmares will begin.
”
”
Mark Z. Danielewski (House of Leaves)
“
Susan . . . it wasn't a good name, was it? It wasn't a truly bad name, it wasn't like poor Iodine in the fourth form, or Nigella, a name which meant "oops, we wanted a boy." But it was dull. Susan. Sue. Good old Sue. It was a name that made sandwiches, kept its head in difficult circumstances, and could reliably look after other people's children.
It was a name used by no queens or goddesses anywhere.
And you couldn't do much even with the spelling. You could turn it into Suzi, and it sounded as though you danced on tables for a living. You could put in a Z and a couple of Ns and an E, but it still looked like a name with extensions built on. It was as bad as Sara, a name that cried out for a prosthetic H.
”
”
Terry Pratchett (Soul Music (Discworld, #16; Death, #3))
“
I am Nothing. He liked the name. It did not make him feel worthless; on the contrary, he began to think of himself as a blank slate upon which anything could be written. The words inscribed on his soul were up to him.
”
”
Poppy Z. Brite (Lost Souls)
“
I try not to be angry, bitter at the unfairness of it all. I wish I could make sense of it. I once met an ex-Iranian pilot who was traveling through Canada looking for a place to settle down. He said that Americans are the only people he’s ever met who just can’t accept that bad things can happen to good people. Maybe he’s right. Last week I was listening to the radio and just happened to hear [name withheld for legal reasons]. He was doing his usual thing—fart jokes and insults and adolescent sexuality—and I remember thinking, “This man survived and my parents didn’t.” No, I try not to be bitter.
”
”
Max Brooks (World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War)
“
Ask about those whose names are learned by heart, and you will see that they have these distinguishing marks: X cultivates Y and Y cultivates Z – no one bothers about himself.
”
”
Seneca (On the Shortness of Life)
“
Colonel Percy Harrison Fawcett, and his name was known throughout the world.
”
”
David Grann (The Lost City of Z: A Tale of Deadly Obsession in the Amazon)
“
Some scientists christened dopamine the pleasure molecule, and the pathway that dopamine-producing cells take through the brain was named the reward circuit.
”
”
Daniel Z. Lieberman (The Molecule of More: How a Single Chemical in Your Brain Drives Love, Sex, and Creativity―and Will Determine the Fate of the Human Race)
“
Unfortunately nothing happened with the girls. They just ran off giggling into the night. No digits, no dates, not even their names, leaving me feeling dumb and sad, a bit like a broken thermos- fine on the outside, but on the inside nothing but busted glass.
”
”
Mark Z. Danielewski (House of Leaves)
“
Then no matter where you are, in a crowded restaurant or on some desolate street or even in
the comforts of your own home, you’ll watch yourself dismantle every assurance you ever lived
by. You’ll stand aside as a great complexity intrudes, tearing apart, piece by piece, all of your
carefully conceived denials, whether deliberate or unconscious. And then for better or worse
you’ll turn, unable to resist, though try to resist you still will, fighting with everything you’ve got
not to face the thing you most dread, what is now, what will be, what has always come before, the
creature you truly are, the creature we all are, buried in the nameless black of a name.
And then the nightmares will begin.
”
”
Mark Z. Danielewski
“
Do you ever think about how your name doesn't fit you? I mean, you're usually Kit in my head, but really I think your name should have a Z in it, because you're confusing and zigzagged and pop up in surprising places--like my lunch table and these bleachers. I really didn't think you'd come--and maybe also the neighbor eight, because... never mind, and the letter S too. It's my favorite. S. So yeah, Z8S-139. Or 139-Z8S. That's how I think of you sometimes, in my head," I say.
"139-Z8S?" I ask. "Really?"
"Or if you prefer, I can call you: Z8S-139. Or Z8 for short.
”
”
Julie Buxbaum (What to Say Next)
“
The Anne Rice books are a lot about infection. I read "Interview With the Vampire" a million times when I was in seventh and eighth grade. Also, [writing Gavriel's backstory] definitely came from those books: I sat down and reread them all and thought a lot about… the way in which vampirism is pushing away from humanity in interesting ways, and creating something new from humanity. I imprinted on those books pretty hard.
Tanith Lee's "Sabella or the Blood Stone" was a big inspiration. I absolutely loved her books; when I was a kid, I wrote many bad Tanith Lee pastiches. Susie McKee Charnas' "The Vampire Tapestry." Poppy Z. Brite's "Lost Souls." Nancy Collins' "Sunglasses After Dark," which sounds like the most '80s title ever. It's about a vampire named Sonja Blue, and she goes around killing vampires. She's the only vampire who's half-alive. It's a really fun, blood-filled romp. It's very "Blade" before "Blade"--with a lady.
”
”
Holly Black
“
...Zachary winched a few more letters onto his last name and declared himself king of the Z aficionados.
”
”
Ammon Shea (The Phone Book: The Curious History of the Book That Everyone Uses But No One Reads)
“
Eichmann’s anti-Semitism undoubtedly started more as a theoretical position than as anything visceral. His closest childhood friend was a Jew named Harry Selbar.
”
”
Peter Z Malkin (Eichmann in My Hands: A First-Person Account by the Israeli Agent Who Captured Hitler's Chief Executioner)
“
Brendan shuddered. “Honestly? I’m not sure I can say Dirk without laughing. A less Dirk-like person could not exist. Who named you? Clive Cussler? Dirk Melovitch.
”
”
Z.A. Maxfield (All Stirred Up (The Stirring Series #2))
“
You know how to spell that? G-U-Z-M-A-N. Don’t you go spelling my name wrong, or I’ll have to mess you up.
”
”
Edward Bloor (Tangerine)
“
C. S. Lewis’s musings before his conversion: My argument against God was that the universe seemed so cruel and unjust. But how had I got this idea of just and unjust? A man does not call a line crooked unless he has some idea of a straight line. What was I comparing this universe with when I called it unjust? If the whole show was bad from A to Z, so to speak, why did I, who was supposed to be part of the show, find myself in such violent reaction against it? A man feels wet when he falls into water, because man is not a water animal; a fish would not feel wet. Of course I could have given up my idea of justice by saying it was nothing but a private idea of my own. But if I did that, my argument against God collapsed too—for the argument depended on saying that the world was really unjust, not simply that it did not happen to please my fancies. Thus in the very act of trying to prove that God did not exist—in other words, that the whole of reality was senseless—I found I was forced to assume that one part of reality—namely my idea of justice—was full of sense. Consequently atheism turns out to be too simple. If the whole universe has no meaning, we should never have found out that it has no meaning; just as, if there were no light in the universe and therefore no creatures with eyes, we should never have known that it was dark. Dark would be a word without meaning.2
”
”
Ravi Zacharias (Who Made God?: And Answers to Over 100 Other Tough Questions of Faith)
“
And he went up on the mountain and called to him those z whom he desired, and they came to him. 14 y And he appointed twelve (whom he also named apostles) so that they might be with him and he might send them out to preach
”
”
Anonymous (Holy Bible: English Standard Version (ESV))
“
Here’s what I figured: Edouard was less a man than a symbol for me, a symbol of my yearning for something I couldn’t yet name. If I’d heard of Amelia Earhart at the time, I might have been as willing to follow her lead as I was Edouard’s.
”
”
Therese Anne Fowler (Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald)
“
Sing praises to the LORD, O you y his saints, and z give thanks to his holy name. [2] 5 a For his anger is but for a moment, and b his favor is for a lifetime. [3] c Weeping may tarry for the night, but d joy comes with the morning.
”
”
Anonymous (Holy Bible: English Standard Version (ESV))
“
I know “professional” historians like to talk about how Yonkers represented a “catastrophic failure of the modern military apparatus,” how it proved the old adage that armies perfect the art of fighting the last war just in time for the next one. Personally, I think that’s a big ’ole sack of it. Sure, we were unprepared, our tools, our training, everything I just talked about, all one class-A, gold-standard clusterfuck, but the weapon that really failed wasn’t something that rolled off an assembly line. It’s as old as…I don’t know, I guess as old as war. It’s fear, dude, just fear and you don’t have to be Sun freakin Tzu to know that real fighting isn’t about killing or even hurting the other guy, it’s about scaring him enough to call it a day. Break their spirit, that’s what every successful army goes for, from tribal face paint to the “blitzkrieg” to…what did we call the first round of Gulf War Two, “Shock and Awe”? Perfect name, “Shock and Awe”! But what if the enemy can’t be shocked and awed? Not just won’t, but biologically can’t! That’s what happened that day outside New York City, that’s the failure that almost lost us the whole damn war. The fact that we couldn’t shock and awe Zack boomeranged right back in our faces and actually allowed Zack to shock and awe us! They’re not afraid! No matter what we do, no matter how many we kill, they will never, ever be afraid!
”
”
Max Brooks (World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War)
“
8When the circumcising of the whole nation was finished, they remained in their places in the camp until they were healed. 9And the LORD said to Joshua, “Today I have rolled away the yreproach of Egypt from you.” And so the name of that place is called zGilgal [2] to this day.
”
”
Anonymous (Holy Bible: English Standard Version (ESV))
“
In the name of speed, Morse and Vail had realized that they could save strokes by reserving the shorter sequences of dots and dashes for the most common letters. But which letters would be used most often? Little was known about the alphabet’s statistics. In search of data on the letters’ relative frequencies, Vail was inspired to visit the local newspaper office in Morristown, New Jersey, and look over the type cases. He found a stock of twelve thousand E’s, nine thousand T’s, and only two hundred Z’s. He and Morse rearranged the alphabet accordingly. They had originally used dash-dash-dot to represent T, the second most common letter; now they promoted T to a single dash, thus saving telegraph operators uncountable billions of key taps in the world to come. Long afterward, information theorists calculated that they had come within 15 percent of an optimal arrangement for telegraphing English text.
”
”
James Gleick (The Information: A History, a Theory, a Flood)
“
And now, y O priests, z this command is for you. 2 a If you will not listen, if you will not take it to heart to give honor to my name, says the LORD of hosts, then I will send b the curse upon you and I will curse c your blessings. Indeed, I have already cursed them, because you do not lay it to heart.
”
”
Anonymous (Holy Bible: English Standard Version (ESV))
“
From his beach bag the man took an old penknife with a red handle and began to etch the signs of the letters onto nice flat pebbles. At the same time, he spoke to Mondo about everything there was in the letters, about everything you could see in them when you looked and when you listened. He spoke about A, which is like a big fly with its wings pulled back; about B, which is funny, with its two tummies; or C and D, which are like the moon, a crescent moon or a half-full moon; and then there was O, which was the full moon in the black sky. H is high, a ladder to climb up trees or to reach the roofs of houses; E and F look like a rake and a shovel; and G is like a fat man sitting in an armchair. I dances on tiptoes, with a little head popping up each time it bounces, whereas J likes to swing. K is broken like an old man, R takes big strides like a soldier, and Y stands tall, its arms up in the air, and it shouts: help! L is a tree on the river's edge, M is a mountain, N is for names, and people waving their hands, P is asleep on one paw, and Q is sitting on its tail; S is always a snake, Z is always a bolt of lightning, T is beautiful, like the mast on a ship, U is like a vase, V and W are birds, birds in flight; and X is a cross to help you remember.
”
”
J.M.G. Le Clézio (Mondo et autres histoires)
“
This denial is bizarre. Last time Chomsky denied something I attributed to him, it was Chomsky's word against mine and there was no way to resolve this argument. This time, however, there's some fairly conclusive evidence. Look at http://blog.zmag.org/ttt/. It describes itself as 'the official weblog of Professor Noam Chomsky', and it is attached to Z Magazine, for which Chomsky has regularly written for over a decade. It claims Chomsky makes direct blog entries. Yet Chomsky claims he has 'nothing to with with it'. Are we really meant to believe this? If it is true, why does he carry on writing for a magazine that publishes a false blog in his name?
”
”
Johann Hari
“
Here’s what I figured: Édouard was less a man than a symbol for me, a symbol of my yearning for something I couldn’t yet name. If I’d heard of Amelia Earhart at the time, I might have been as willing to follow her lead as I was Édouard’s. I wasn’t in love with him, not really. Édouard was a symbol. Édouard was a symptom. Scott, for all his shortcomings, owned my heart.
”
”
Therese Anne Fowler (Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald)
“
The LORD said to Moses, 2“See, I have called by name x Bezalel the son of Uri, son of y Hur, of the tribe of Judah, 3and I have z filled him with the Spirit of God, with ability and intelligence, with knowledge and all craftsmanship, 4to devise artistic designs, to work in gold, silver, and bronze, 5in cutting stones for setting, and in carving wood, to work in every craft.
”
”
Anonymous (Holy Bible: English Standard Version (ESV))
“
He imagined a town called A. Around the communal fire they’re shaping arrowheads and carving tributes o the god of the hunt. One day some guys with spears come over the ridge, perform all kinds of meanness, take over, and the new guys rename the town B. Whereupon they hang around the communal fire sharpening arrowheads and carving tributes to the god of the hunt. Some climatic tragedy occurs — not carving the correct tributary figurines probably — and the people of B move farther south, where word is there’s good fishing, at least according to those who wander to B just before being cooked for dinner. Another tribe of unlucky souls stops for the night in the emptied village, looks around at the natural defenses provided by the landscape, and decides to stay awhile. It’s a while lot better than their last digs — what with the lack of roving tigers and such — plus it comes with all the original fixtures. they call the place C, after their elder, who has learned that pretending to talk to spirits is a fun gag that gets you stuff. Time passes. More invasions, more recaptures, D, E, F, and G. H stands as it is for a while. That ridge provides some protection from the spring floods, and if you keep a sentry up there you can see the enemy coming for miles. Who wouldn’t want to park themselves in that real estate? The citizens of H leave behind cool totems eventually toppled by the people of I, whose lack of aesthetic sense if made up for by military acumen. J, K, L, adventures in thatched roofing, some guys with funny religions from the eastern plains, long-haired freaks from colder climes, the town is burned to the ground and rebuilt by still more fugitives. This is the march of history. And conquest and false hope. M falls to plague, N to natural disaster — same climatic tragedy as before, apparently it’s cyclical. Mineral wealth makes it happen for the O people, and the P people are renowned for their basket weaving. No one ever — ever — mentions Q. The dictator names the city after himself; his name starts with the letter R. When the socialists come to power they spend a lot of time painting over his face, which is everywhere. They don’t last. Nobody lasts because there’s always somebody else. They all thought they owned it because they named it and that was their undoing. They should have kept the place nameless. They should have been glad for their good fortune, and left it at that. X, Y, Z.
”
”
Colson Whitehead (Apex Hides the Hurt)
“
Since my school days when I accidentally discovered this form of verse called ‘Limerick’, I have often wondered about the origin of the name. Was it invented in Ireland perhaps? After some research and several years, I think not. The limerick must have been invented long before it reached the jocular pubs of Limerick in Ireland where the Irish undoubtedly made very good use of it whilst consuming copious amounts of Guinness.
”
”
Bernie Morris (An A - Z of Looney Limericks (for big kids))
“
9Or do you not know that the unrighteous [2] will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: x neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, [3] 10nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. 11And y such were some of you. But z you were washed, a you were sanctified, b you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.
”
”
Anonymous (Holy Bible: English Standard Version (ESV))
“
Bless the LORD, O My Soul Of David. PSALM 103 y Bless the LORD, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name! 2 y Bless the LORD, O my soul, and z forget not all his benefits, 3 who a forgives all your iniquity, who b heals all your diseases, 4 who c redeems your life from the pit, who d crowns you with steadfast love and mercy, 5 who e satisfies you with good so that your youth is renewed like f the eagle’s.
”
”
Anonymous (Holy Bible: English Standard Version (ESV))
“
Alternatively, the name may refer to the prized textile dye, ranging in hue from red to dark purple, which was Phoenicia’s prime luxury product. Extracted from sea mollusks’ dead bodies through a secret process, this uniquely beautiful and expensive purple, exported in woven clothing and furnishings, became an international status symbol in antiquity, its use confined to the very rich, chiefly royalty. Down through the early 20th century A.D., the color purple was associated in Europe with kings and emperors.
”
”
David Sacks (Letter Perfect: The Marvelous History of Our Alphabet From A to Z)
“
In the deep, wet tangled, wild jungle where even natives won't go is a mystical, dangerous river. The river's got no name because naming it would make it real, and no one wanted to believe that river be real. They say you get there only inside a dream-but don't you think of it at bedtime, now, 'cause not everyone who goes there be able to leave! That jungle canopy, it so leafy true daylight can never break in the riverbank, it be wet muck thick with creatures that eat you alive if you stay still too long. To miss that fate, you gots to go into the black water. But the water be heavy as hot tar; once you in, it bind you and pull you along, bit by bit, 'til you come to the end of the land, and then over the water goes in a dark, slow cascade, the highest falls in the history of the world ever. There be demons in that cascading water, and snakes, and wraiths that whisper in your ears. They love you, they say. You should give yourself to them, stay with them, become one of them, they say. 'Isn't it good here?' they say. 'No pain, no trouble.' But also no light and no love and no joy and no ground. You tumble and tumble as you fall, and you try and choose, but your mind be topsy-turvy and maybe you can't think so well, and maybe you can't choose right, and maybe you never wake up. "It felt like that," I tell Tootsie, "even after you got me out and Scott moved me to Highland. I couldn't choose. I couldn't shut out the wraiths...But you would say, 'Hang on, sweetie,' and Scottie would say, 'I miss you, Mama,' and Scott would hold me, just hold me and say nothing at all." Tootsie snorts. "Scott was useless the whole while." "Scott was in the river, too.
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Therese Anne Fowler (Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald)
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PSALM 91 He who dwells in a the shelter of the Most High will abide in b the shadow of the Almighty. 2 I will say [1] to the LORD, “My c refuge and my d fortress, my God, in whom I e trust.” 3 For he will deliver you from f the snare of the fowler and from the deadly pestilence. 4 He will g cover you with his pinions, and under his h wings you will i find refuge; his j faithfulness is k a shield and buckler. 5 l You will not fear m the terror of the night, nor the arrow that flies by day, 6 nor the pestilence that stalks in darkness, nor the destruction that wastes at noonday. 7 A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near you. 8 You will only look with your eyes and n see the recompense of the wicked. 9 Because you have made the LORD your o dwelling place— the Most High, who is my c refuge [2]— 10 p no evil shall be allowed to befall you, q no plague come near your tent. 11 r For he will command his s angels concerning you to t guard you in all your ways. 12 On their hands they will bear you up, lest you u strike your foot against a stone. 13 You will tread on v the lion and the w adder; the young lion and x the serpent you will y trample underfoot. 14 “Because he z holds fast to me in love, I will deliver him; I will protect him, because he a knows my name. 15 When he b calls to me, I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will rescue him and c honor him. 16 With d long life I will satisfy him and e show him my salvation.
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Anonymous (Holy Bible: English Standard Version (ESV))
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His Steadfast Love Endures Forever A Psalm for o giving thanks. PSALM 100 p Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the earth! 2 q Serve the LORD with gladness! r Come into his presence with singing! 3 Know that s the LORD, he is God! It is he who t made us, and u we are his; [1] we are his v people, and w the sheep of his pasture. 4 x Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his y courts with praise! Give thanks to him; z bless his name! 5 a For the LORD is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his b faithfulness to all generations.
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Anonymous (Holy Bible: English Standard Version (ESV))
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My argument against God was that the universe seemed so cruel and unjust. But how had I got this idea of just and unjust? A man does not call a line crooked unless he has some idea of a straight line. What was I comparing this universe with when I called it unjust? If the whole show was bad and senseless from A to Z, so to speak, why did I, who was supposed to be part of the show, find myself in such violent reaction against it? A man feels wet when he falls into water, because man is not a water animal: a fish would not feel wet. Of course I could have given up my idea of justice by saying it was nothing but a private idea of my own. But if I did that, then my argument against God collapsed too—for the argument depended on saying that the world was really unjust, not simply that it did not happen to please my fancies. Thus in the very act of trying to prove that God did not exist—in other words, that the whole of reality was senseless—I found I was forced to assume that one part of reality—namely my idea of justice—was full of sense. Consequently atheism turns out to be too simple. If the whole universe has no meaning, we should never have found out that it has no meaning: just as, if there were no light in the universe and therefore no creatures with eyes, we should never know it was dark. Dark would be a word without meaning.
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C.S. Lewis (Mere Christianity)
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Moreover, although reference works existed on library shelves in available, and redundant, profusion, no direct access could be obtained to the banned, or burned, books of the three cosmologists, Xertigny, Yates and Zotov (pen names), who had recklessly started the whole business half a century earlier, causing, and endorsing, panic, demency and execrable romanchiks. All three scientists had vanished now: X had committed suicide; Y had been kidnapped by a laundryman and transported to Tartary; and Z, a ruddy, white-whiskered old sport, was driving his Yakima jailers crazy by means of incomprehensible crepitations, ceaseless invention of invisible inks, chameleonizations, nerve signals, spirals of out-going lights and feats of ventriloquism that imitated pistol shots and sirens.
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Vladimir Nabokov (Ada, or Ardor: A Family Chronicle)
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Walk in Love EPHESIANS 5 j Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. 2And k walk in love, l as Christ loved us and m gave himself up for us, a n fragrant o offering and sacrifice to God. 3But p sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness q must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints. 4Let there be r no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, s which are out of place, but instead t let there be thanksgiving. 5For you may be sure of this, that u everyone who is sexually immoral or impure, or who is covetous ( v that is, an idolater), has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. 6 w Let no one x deceive you with empty words, for because of these things y the wrath of God comes upon z the sons of disobedience. 7Therefore a do not become partners with them; 8for b at one time you were c darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. d Walk as children of light
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Anonymous (Holy Bible: English Standard Version (ESV))
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As the Father has loved me, jso have I loved you. Abide in my love. 10 kIf you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as lI have kept mmy Father’s commandments and abide in his love. 11These things I have spoken to you, nthat my joy may be in you, and that oyour joy may be full. 12 p“This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. 13 qGreater love has no one than this, rthat someone lay down his life for his friends. 14You are smy friends tif you do what I command you. 15 uNo longer do I call you servants, [1] for the servant wdoes not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for xall that I have heard from my Father yI have made known to you. 16You did not choose me, but zI chose you and appointed you that you should go and abear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that bwhatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you. 17These things I command you, cso that you will love one another.
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Anonymous (Holy Bible: English Standard Version (ESV))
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Řekl jí, že na Lilu myslí ve dne v noci, ale ne s normální touhou, touha po ní se nepodobá té, kterou zná. Ve skutečnosti ji nechce. Tedy, nechce ji tak, jak obvykle chce ženský, aby je dostal pod sebe, obrátil je, převrátil je, rozpáral je, rozmlátil je, dupal po nich a rozdrtil je. Nechce ji, aby si ji vzal a zapomněl na ni. Chce ji s její bystrou hlavou plnou nápadů. Chce ji s její tvořivostí. A chce ji, ne aby ji zničil, ale aby mu vydržela. Nechce ji, aby ji opíchal, to slovo mu ve spojení s Lilou vadí. Chce ji, aby ji mohl líbat a objímat. Chce ji, aby ho hladila, pomáhala mu, vedla ho, rozkazovala mu. Chce ji, aby viděl, jak se v průběhu času mění, jak stárne. Chce ji, aby s ní věci probíral a aby mu pomáhala věci promyslet. Chápeš? Mluvil o ní tak, jak se mnou, se mnou, se kterou se brzo ožení, nikdy nemluvil. Přísahám, že to tak je. Mumlal: můj brácha Marcello, ten debil Stefano a Enzo se svým prdelním ksichtem, co ty z Liny pochopili? Uvědomili si, o co přišli, o co by mohli přijít? Ne, nejsou na to dost inteligentní. Jen já vím, co ona je, kdo je. Já jsem poznal její pravou povahu. A trpím při pomyšlení, jak se ničí.
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Elena Ferrante (The Story of a New Name (Neapolitan Novels, #2))
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Is she now? I didn’t know the FBI investigated murders,” Mama Z said. “I thought such things were matters for local authorities.” “There might be some civil rights violations involved,” Hind said. “Whose civil rights?” “I don’t know yet.” “I ask because you have to have civil rights in order for the them to be violated.” Mama Z let that hang in the air. “I’m sorry. Forgive my manners. We can sit in here. Gertie, be a dear and make us some tea and bring some cookies. Make sure the cat doesn’t come in here and bother us.” Gertrude nodded. “I actually like cats,” Hind said. “This one sheds like crazy,” Mama Z said. “Your suit would be a mess before you could say, ‘Mississippi goddamn.’” She didn’t quite sing the words. “What is your last name, Mama Z?” Hind asked. “Everybody just calls me Mama Z.” “But for my notes.” “Lynch. My name is Adelaide Lynch.” To Gertrude, “Go get that tea, baby.” Gertrude left. “Where does the Z come in?” “I don’t quite remember,” the old woman said. “It’s easier to spell than Omega.” Mama Z looked Hind in the eye. “How old are you?” “One hundred and five.” “You look great. Moving around like this. Do you live alone?” “Yes.” “That’s amazing. What’s your secret?” “Venom.” “What?” Hind asked. “It’s what I call my nightly tea,” Mama Z said, then, conspiratorially, she added, “I mix it with bourbon.” “I see.
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Percival Everett (The Trees)
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Isis is the Egyptian mother goddess of magick, whose worship prevailed in the Greco-Roman world. Her name means “Throne”, reflected in her headdress which is shaped like a throne. Her spouse was originally Osiris, but became Serapis in the Greco-Roman myths, and her son became transformed from Horus to Harpocrates. Evidence of her worship in Britain has been found in an inscription on a jug found in Southwark (London).[369] The inscription on the jug indicates an Iseum (Isis temple) in London, but the location of this temple has yet to be determined. An altar found in Blackfriars records the restoration of a temple to Isis in the third century CE, further reinforcing evidence of her worship.[370] It has been suggested by some modern writers that the river Isis in Oxfordshire was named after this goddess, though this may in fact be a coincidence. The name of the river Isis is most probably a contraction of the name Thamesis. It is likely that "Thamesis" is a Latinisation of the Celtic river names "Taom"(Thames) and"Uis"(is), giving "Taom-Uis"meaning "The pouring out of water". An engraved onyx intaglio found at Wroxeter (Shropshire) dating to the third century CE shows Isis bearing a sistrum in her right hand.[371] Another gem from Lockleys (Hertfordshire) dating to the fourth century CE shows Isis standing between Bes and a lioness, all surrounded by a serpent ouroboros.[372]
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David Rankine (The Isles of the Many Gods: An A-Z of the Pagan Gods & Goddesses of Ancient Britain Worshipped During the First Millenium Through to the Middle Ages)
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David's Song of Thanks 8 f Oh give thanks to the LORD; g call upon his name; h make known his deeds among the peoples! 9 Sing to him, sing praises to him; tell of all his wondrous works! 10 Glory in his holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the LORD rejoice! 11 i Seek the LORD and his strength; seek his presence continually! 12 j Remember the wondrous works that he has done, k his miracles and the judgments he uttered, 13 O offspring of Israel his servant, children of Jacob, his chosen ones! 14 He is the LORD our God; l his judgments are in all the earth. 15 Remember his covenant forever, the word that he commanded, for a thousand generations, 16 the covenant m that he made with Abraham, his sworn promise to Isaac, 17 which n he confirmed to Jacob as a statute, to Israel as an everlasting covenant, 18 saying, o “To you I will give the land of Canaan, as your portion for an inheritance.” 19 When you were p few in number, of little account, and q sojourners in it, 20 wandering from nation to nation, from one kingdom to another people, 21 he allowed no one to oppress them; he r rebuked kings on their account, 22 saying, “Touch not my anointed ones, do my s prophets no harm!” 23 t Sing to the LORD, all the earth! Tell of his salvation from day to day. 24 Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous works among all the peoples! 25 For u great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised, and he is to be feared v above all gods. 26 For all the gods of the peoples are worthless idols, w but the LORD made the heavens. 27 Splendor and majesty are before him; strength and joy are in his place. 28 Ascribe to the LORD, O families of the peoples, x ascribe to the LORD glory and strength! 29 Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name; bring an offering and come before him! y Worship the LORD in the splendor of holiness; [2] 30 tremble before him, all the earth; yes, the world is established; it shall never be moved. 31 z Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice, and let them say among the nations, a “The LORD reigns!” 32 b Let the sea roar, and all that fills it; let the field exult, and everything in it! 33 Then shall the trees of the forest sing for joy before the LORD, for he comes to judge the earth. 34 Oh give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever! 35 c Say also: “Save us, O God of our salvation, and gather and deliver us from among the nations, that we may give thanks to your holy name and glory in your praise. 36 d Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting!” e Then all the people said, “Amen!” and praised the LORD.
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Anonymous (Holy Bible: English Standard Version (ESV))
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JOHN 14 d“Let not your hearts be troubled. eBelieve in God; [1] believe also in me. 2In fmy Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that gI go to prepare a place for you? [2] 3And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you hto myself, that iwhere I am you may be also. 4And you know the way to where I am going.” [3] 5 jThomas said to him, “Lord, kwe do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?” 6Jesus said to him, “I am lthe way, and mthe truth, and nthe life. No one comes to the Father except through me. 7 oIf you had known me, you would have pknown my Father also. [4] From now on you do know him and qhave seen him.” 8 rPhilip said to him, “Lord, sshow us the Father, and it is enough for us.” 9Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip? tWhoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? 10Do you not believe that uI am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you vI do not speak on my own authority, but the Father who dwells in me does his works. 11Believe me that uI am in the Father and the Father is in me, or else wbelieve on account of the works themselves. 12“Truly, truly, I say to you, xwhoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I yam going to the Father. 13 zWhatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that athe Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 zIf you ask me [5] anything in my name, I will do it.
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Anonymous (Holy Bible: English Standard Version (ESV))
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Mithras is a Persian light and warrior god adopted by the Roman army as their tutelary deity. His name means “Friend”. Mithras was the emissary of Ahura Mazda, the supreme power of good, who battled Ahriman, the supreme evil. Mithras slew the divine bull to release its life-giving blood into the earth, and creatures that served Ahriman like scorpions and serpents tried to stop this happening. Mithras was often depicted with a pointed cap, and a number of reliefs show him in the act of slaying the bull. As a solar god he was directly equated to Sol Invictus by the Romans, as can be seen from inscriptions.[469] Twelve inscriptions to him have been found to date.[470] There were seven grades in the Mithraic mysteries, which were only open to free men. The Mithraic cult was highly tolerant of other deities, as is evidences by depictions of other gods in the shrines. Also as the soldier god, priesthoods were known to bring their statues to the Mithraea (temples) for protection when danger threatened. The Mithraea were usually small, and have preserved their mysteries to an extent as little writing remains from them. A relief from Housesteads (Northumberland) shows Mithras bearing a sword and spear rising from an egg, surrounded by a hoop depicting the signs of the zodiac. A silver amulet found at St Albans similarly depicts Mithras rising from a pile of stones. More commonly images on altars showed him sacrificing a bull, such as at Rudchester (Northumberland), Carrawburgh (Northumberland) and the London Mithraeum. There are now five known Mithraea in Britain, those at Caernarvon, Carrawburgh, Housesteads, London and Rudchester. Of these all were purely military apart from the London Mithraea.
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David Rankine (The Isles of the Many Gods: An A-Z of the Pagan Gods & Goddesses of Ancient Britain Worshipped During the First Millenium Through to the Middle Ages)
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The Ten Commandments EXODUS 20 z And a God spoke all these words, saying, 2 b “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. 3 c “You shall have no other gods before [1] me. 4 d “You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. 5 e You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the LORD your God am f a jealous God, g visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me, 6but showing steadfast love to thousands [2] of those who love me and keep my commandments. 7 h “You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain. 8 i “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. 9 j Six days you shall labor, and do all your work, 10but the k seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the l sojourner who is within your gates. 11For m in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy. 12 n “Honor your father and your mother, o that your days may be long in the land that the LORD your God is giving you. 13 p “You shall not murder. [3] 14 q “You shall not commit adultery. 15 r “You shall not steal. 16 s “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. 17 t “You shall not covet u your neighbor’s house; v you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male servant, or his female servant, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor’s.
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Anonymous (Holy Bible: English Standard Version (ESV))
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THIS IS MY ABC BOOK of people God loves. We’ll start with . . . A: God loves Adorable people. God loves those who are Affable and Affectionate. God loves Ambulance drivers, Artists, Accordion players, Astronauts, Airplane pilots, and Acrobats. God loves African Americans, the Amish, Anglicans, and Animal husbandry workers. God loves Animal-rights Activists, Astrologers, Adulterers, Addicts, Atheists, and Abortionists. B: God loves Babies. God loves Bible readers. God loves Baptists and Barbershop quartets . . . Boys and Boy Band members . . . Blondes, Brunettes, and old ladies with Blue hair. He loves the Bedraggled, the Beat up, and the Burnt out . . . the Bullied and the Bullies . . . people who are Brave, Busy, Bossy, Bitter, Boastful, Bored, and Boorish. God loves all the Blue men in the Blue Man Group. C: God loves Crystal meth junkies, D: Drag queens, E: and Elvis impersonators. F: God loves the Faithful and the Faithless, the Fearful and the Fearless. He loves people from Fiji, Finland, and France; people who Fight for Freedom, their Friends, and their right to party; and God loves people who sound like Fat Albert . . . “Hey, hey, hey!” G: God loves Greedy Guatemalan Gynecologists. H: God loves Homosexuals, and people who are Homophobic, and all the Homo sapiens in between. I: God loves IRS auditors. J: God loves late-night talk-show hosts named Jimmy (Fallon or Kimmel), people who eat Jim sausages (Dean or Slim), people who love Jams (hip-hop or strawberry), singers named Justin (Timberlake or Bieber), and people who aren’t ready for this Jelly (Beyoncé’s or grape). K: God loves Khloe Kardashian, Kourtney Kardashian, Kim Kardashian, and Kanye Kardashian. (Please don’t tell him I said that.) L: God loves people in Laos and people who are feeling Lousy. God loves people who are Ludicrous, and God loves Ludacris. God loves Ladies, and God loves Lady Gaga. M: God loves Ministers, Missionaries, and Meter maids; people who are Malicious, Meticulous, Mischievous, and Mysterious; people who collect Marbles and people who have lost their Marbles . . . and Miley Cyrus. N: God loves Ninjas, Nudists, and Nose pickers, O: Obstetricians, Orthodontists, Optometrists, Ophthalmologists, and Overweight Obituary writers, P: Pimps, Pornographers, and Pedophiles, Q: the Queen of England, the members of the band Queen, and Queen Latifah. R: God loves the people of Rwanda and the Rebels who committed genocide against them. S: God loves Strippers in Stilettos working on the Strip in Sin City; T: it’s not unusual that God loves Tom Jones. U: God loves people from the United States, the United Kingdom, and the United Arab Emirates; Ukrainians and Uruguayans, the Unemployed and Unemployment inspectors; blind baseball Umpires and shady Used-car salesmen. God loves Ushers, and God loves Usher. V: God loves Vegetarians in Virginia Beach, Vegans in Vietnam, and people who eat lots of Vanilla bean ice cream in Las Vegas. W: The great I AM loves will.i.am. He loves Waitresses who work at Waffle Houses, Weirdos who have gotten lots of Wet Willies, and Weight Watchers who hide Whatchamacallits in their Windbreakers. X: God loves X-ray technicians. Y: God loves You. Z: God loves Zoologists who are preparing for the Zombie apocalypse. God . . . is for the rest of us. And we have the responsibility, the honor, of letting the world know that God is for them, and he’s inviting them into a life-changing relationship with him. So let ’em know.
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Vince Antonucci (God for the Rest of Us: Experience Unbelievable Love, Unlimited Hope, and Uncommon Grace)
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Stiller jo je debelo gledal.
»Tako torej gledaš name!« je rekla Julika. »Si pač naredil podobo o meni, to pač vidim, dokončno podobo za vselej, in konec. Drugače kot takšne, saj to čutim, me zdaj kratko in malo več ne moreš videti. Kajne?« Stiller si je prižgal cigareto. »Jaz sem v zadnjem času tudi o mnogočem premišljevala,« je rekla Julika in pihala snežne kristale s svoje odeje tudi zdaj, ko je govorila sama, »- v zapovedih ne stoji kar tako: ne smeš si ustvariti podobo! Vsaka podoba je greh. Tole je ravno nasprotno kot ljubezen, vidiš, kar zdajle počneš s takim govorjenjem. Ne vem, če to razumeš. Če takega človeka ljubiš, mu vendar pustiš odprto možnost in si kljub vsem spominom kratko in malo pripravljen čuditi se, zmerom znova se čuditi, kako je drugačen, kako različen in ne takšenle, ne dokončna podoba, kakršno si delaš ti o svoji Juliki. Lahko ti rečem samo to: ni tako. Vselej se z govorjenjem v kaj zapičiš – ne smeš si delati podobe o meni! To je vse, kar ti na to lahko rečem.
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Max Frisch (Stiller)
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Structure of the Calendar When we talk about the Mayan Calendar, we are really talking about two calendars—one that measures ordinary time, and one that measures sacred time. These two calendars interpenetrate in such a way as to integrate and synthesize the secular and sacred dimensions of reality. In this book we shall be primarily concerned with the measure of ritual time, usually called the tzolk’in and sometimes referred to as the Ritual Almanac or Divinatory Almanac. We do not know what the ancient Maya called this ritual or sacred aspect of the Calend a r . M o s t s c h o l a r s u s e t h e Y u c a t e c t e r m t z o l k’i n (f ro m tzol = count and k’in = day, hence "count of days"), but this term may not have been used by the Classic Maya and is in fact based on the equivalent K’iche’ term ch’olq’ij. 1 The tzolk’in is a unique method of reckoning time. It consists of twenty named days combined with thirteen numbers. Each day-name is repeated thirteen times during the Calendar cycle, for a total of 260 days (13 x 20 = 260). The twenty days, with their glyphs, directional correspondences, Mayan names, and some of their most common English meanings, are shown here as “The Names of the Days.
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Anonymous
“
Fuel for Life Men (Diesel) ★ ★ ★ ★ modern fougère The name sounds like a lottery for guys trying to ignore Prius ads, and the bottle, wrapped in a zippered, stitched distressed-canvas bag, conjures up third-world labor making frivolous objects for the idle rich. After all that, the fragrance comes as a pleasant surprise: it is none other than a brilliantly inventive variation on the purest, most classical fougère theme as seen in Brut and Canoe, enlivened with a sweet-woody-amber accord that somehow overlaps perfectly with the original structure without masking it. Nice work. LT
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Luca Turin (Perfumes: The A-Z Guide)
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He didn’t have to tell me that. I knew Hank better than anyone else. He went out of his way not to hurt people. “And I love you even more for it. But you should know, I’m willing to be hurt because that’s what love is.”
Hank stared at me out of the corners of his eyes. Clearly he was questioning my sanity.
“It’s true,” I said with a firm nod. “It’s not always hot sex and romantic candlelit dinners. Or picnics in the park or fun days at the zoo. True love exists in the gaps between those moments. It’s in the arguments, where you’re so angry at each other that you may want to throw a tantrum and walk out the door, but you don’t. It lives in the hard times when one of you is sick or exhausted, and you have to carry each other for miles with no rest, and even though your body aches and you want to let go, you don’t.”
“I don’t think I’ve ever known that kind of love.” He glanced at his hands in his lap. “My relationships have always been the bad kind. Where one of us gives up or gives in.”
“Well, love that is worth anything isn’t like that. It blooms in the dead of winter because we have fed its soul in the spring and summer. That is what I fight for. You may not feel what I do because you lack the memories I have, but you feel something. I can see it in the way you look at me or touch me, and I can see you fighting it. Maybe because you’re afraid of hurting me or because you don’t understand what these emotions are. I don’t really know, but you should know this: Fighting it won’t make it go away, and it won’t change how our story will end. We will get married. We will grow old together. And before we breathe our last, the final words we will utter will be each other’s names.
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Jacob Z. Flores (Please Remember Me)
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Bucket ~ A round, open vessel for carrying water (Ooops! Almost forgot—Bucket is the name of one of the most important families in the history of books featuring boys called Charlie and lots of chocolate.)
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Wendy Cooling (D Is for Dahl: A Gloriumptious A-Z Guide to the World of Roald Dahl)
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You’ve just found a lyric pulse. It’s a monumental discovery. A living, breathing, noted, literature specie able to work beyond the five natural senses of physical beings. A grammar entity with a transcendent dialect communicated in a fluent flow of sentences, phrases, verses, choruses and all manner of articulations accustomed to a alphabet able to breach its own circumference. The verbal imagery sets up, and looks at you, curious of to how far you can see into its eyes. How far can you go beyond the music? It stares, peering into the psychological galaxies (most commonly known as thoughts) wondering how tuned in to your consciousness you really are, and what borders might there be to prevent you from deciphering its scribing to the fullest detail? To what extent can you push the comprehension accelerator to get from point A to point Z to its point made? An analyzation is underway. My name is Wade The Wordsmith, and I welcome you to Verbal Imagery: Transcendental Industry .
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Wade The Wordsmith (Verbal Imagery)
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We like to believe ourselves sympathetic, but, in truth, Nature has designed us, perhaps necessarily, to be callous. A murder in Newcastle is of less importance than a cut finger in our own home, and therefore Winifred Mostyn was only mildly interested. All at once, however, the mildness evaporated. In the next column a name had caught her eye.
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J. Jefferson Farjeon (The Z Murders)
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concerned an exercise machine called the Alpine Ski, a magnificently designed device that simulates downhill skiing, giving the user not only the aerobic benefits you get from something like the NordicTrack, but at the same time, a serious muscular workout. The Alpine Ski’s inventor, Herb Schell, was my client. A former personal trainer in Hollywood, he had made a bundle with this invention. Then suddenly, about a year ago, cheaply produced ads began to run on late-night television for something called the Scandinavian Skier, unmistakably a knockoff of Herb’s invention. It was a lot less expensive, too: whereas the real Alpine Ski sells for upward of six hundred dollars (and Alpine Ski Gold for over a thousand), the Scandinavian Skier was going for $129.99. Herb Schell was already seated in my office, along with the president and chief executive officer of E-Z Fit, the company that was manufacturing Scandinavian Skier, Arthur Sommer; and his attorney, a high-powered lawyer named Stephen Lyons, whom I’d heard of but never met. On some level I found it ironic that both Herb Schell and Arthur Sommer were paunchy and visibly in lousy shape. Herb had confided to me over lunch shortly after we met that, now that he was no longer a personal trainer, he’d grown tired of working out all the time; he much preferred liposuction.
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Joseph Finder (Extraordinary Powers)
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C: always had the sound of English k. The facts upon which this statement is founded are as follows: (a) The pronunciation of this letter is so described for us by Martianus Capella (III. 261) as to prove it a hard palatal. (b) C took the place of an original k in the early alphabet as previously stated; and in succeeding ages at times c reappears in inscriptions indifferently before the various vowels. Thus we have the form Caelius alternating with Kaelius, Cerus with Kerus, and decembres with dekembres,—showing that c and k were identical in sound. Quintilian (I. 7. 10) says: "As regards k, I think it should not be used in any words...This remark I have not failed to make, for the reason that there are some who think k necessary when a follows; though there is the letter C, which has the same power before all vowels." (c) In the Greek transliteration of Latin names, Latin c is always represented by k; and in Latin transliteration of Greek names, k is always represented by Latin c. And we know that Greek k was never assibilated before any vowel. Suidas calls the C on the Roman senators' shoes, "the Roman kappa." (d) Words taken into Gothic and Old High German from the Latin at an early period invariably represent Latin c by k; thus, Latin carcer gives the Gothic karkara and the German Kerker; Latin Caesar gives the German Kaiser; Latin lucerna gives the Gothic lukarn; the Latin cellarium gives the German Keller; the Latin cerasus gives the German Kirsche. Also in late Hebrew, Latin c is regularly represented in transliteration by the hard consonant kôph. [Advocates of the English system claim that Latin c had the sound of s before e or i because every modern language derived from the Latin has in some way modified c when thus used. It is true that modern languages have so modified it; but, as already noted, the modern languages are the children not of the classical Latin spoken in the days of Cicero, but of the provincial Latin spoken five or six centuries later. There is no doubt that at this late period, Latin c had become modified before e or i so as to be equivalent to s or z. Latin words received into German at this time represent c before e or i by z. But had this modification been a part of the usage of the classical language, it would have been noticed by the grammarians, who discuss each letter with great minuteness. Now no grammarian ever mentions more than one sound for Latin c. Again, if Latin c had ever had the sound of s, surely some of the Greeks, ignorant of Latin and spelling by ear, would at least occasionally have represented Latin c by σ,—a thing which none of them has ever done. It is probable that the modification of c which is noticed in the modern languages was a characteristic of the Umbrian and Oscan dialects and so prevailed to some extent in the provinces, but there is absolutely not the slightest evidence to show that it formed a part of the pronunciation of cultivated men at Rome.]
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Harry Thurston Peck (Latin Pronunciation A Short Exposition of the Roman Method)
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Jez, this story is cray,” Annabelle breathed. Jezebel looked at her perplexed. “What in God’s name is cray?” she laughed. “Short for crazy,” she explained. “It’s not exactly any shorter than crazy. Cray, crazy, is the z really such a nuisance?
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K. Larsen (Jezebel (Jezebel, #1))
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The sound of some initials is similar to that of English letters: b like “b” in ball p like “p” in push m like “m” in mine f like “f” in far d like “d” in day t like “t” in tea n like “n” in name l like “l” in look g like “g” in girl k like “k” in kind h like “h” in hot j like “j” in just q like “ch” in cheese x like “sh” in sheep z like “ds” in reads c like “ts” in sits s like “s” in silk zh like “dge” in judge ch like “ch” in rich sh like “sh” in shop r like “r” in rubber y like “y” in yellow w like “w” in way
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Yi Ren (Mandarin Chinese for Beginners: Mastering Conversational Chinese (Fully Romanized and Free Online Audio))
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Newspapers and old magazines were piled everywhere. A door to an inner room burst open and Norman Z. Moody emerged. He was about five foot five and must have weighed three hundred pounds. He rolled as he walked, reminding Judd of an animated Buddha. He had a round, jovial face with wide, guileless, pale blue eyes. He was totally bald and his head was egg-shaped. It was impossible to guess his age. “Mr. Stevenson?” Moody greeted him. “Dr. Stevens,” Judd said. “Sit down, sit down.” Buddha with a Southern drawl. Judd looked around for a seat. He removed a pile of old body-building and nudist magazines from a scrofulous-looking leather armchair with strips torn out of it, and gingerly sat down. Moody was lowering his bulk into an oversized rocking chair. “Well, now! What can I do for you?” Judd knew that he had made a mistake. Over the phone he had carefully given Moody his full name. A name that had been on the front page of every New York newspaper in the last few days. And he had managed to pick the only private detective in the whole city who had never even heard of him. He cast about for some excuse to walk out. “Who recommended me?” Moody prodded. Judd hesitated, not wanting to
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Sidney Sheldon (The Naked Face)
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under the name Jack Kilborn. It’s called Afraid, and I think it’s one of the best pieces of horror fiction to come out in recent memory. HW: Work
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Blake Crouch (Desert Places (Andrew Z. Thomas/Luther Kite #1))
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Dopamine isn’t the pleasure molecule, after all. It’s the anticipation molecule. To enjoy the things we have, as opposed to the things that are only possible, our brains must transition from future-oriented dopamine to present-oriented chemicals, a collection of neurotransmitters we call the Here and Now molecules, or the H&Ns. Most people have heard of the H&Ns. They include serotonin, oxytocin, endorphins (your brain’s version of morphine), and a class of chemicals called endocannabinoids (your brain’s version of marijuana). As opposed to the pleasure of anticipation via dopamine, these chemicals give us pleasure from sensation and emotion. In fact, one of the endocannabinoid molecules is called anandamide, named after a Sanskrit word that means joy, bliss, and delight. According to anthropologist Helen
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Daniel Z. Lieberman (The Molecule of More: How a Single Chemical in Your Brain Drives Love, Sex, and Creativity―and Will Determine the Fate of the Human Race)
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Only 0.0005 percent of brain cells produce dopamine—one in two million—yet these cells appeared to exert an outsized influence on behavior. Research participants experienced feelings of pleasure when they turned dopamine on, and went to great lengths to trigger the activation of these rare cells. In fact, under the right circumstances, pursuit of feel-good dopamine activation became impossible to resist. Some scientists christened dopamine the pleasure molecule, and the pathway that dopamine-producing cells take through the brain was named the reward circuit.
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Daniel Z. Lieberman (The Molecule of More: How a Single Chemical in Your Brain Drives Love, Sex, and Creativity―and Will Determine the Fate of the Human Race)
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This simple idea provides a chemical explanation for an age-old question: Why does love fade? Our brains are programmed to crave the unexpected and thus to look to the future, where every exciting possibility begins. But when anything, including love, becomes familiar, that excitement slips away, and new things draw our attention. The scientists who studied this phenomenon named the buzz we get from novelty reward prediction error, and it means just what the name says.
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Daniel Z. Lieberman (The Molecule of More: How a Single Chemical in Your Brain Drives Love, Sex, and Creativity―and Will Determine the Fate of the Human Race)
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sndmsg, for “send message.” Invoke it, and the thing would ask you for a To: field, a From: field, and a Copy: field, plus a few other options. Then you would type your message and hit Control-Z, and off it would go. At the other end, the recipient could see what you’d sent by invoking a companion utility that Tomlinson called readmail. In writing these utilities, moreover, Tomlinson had come up with an elegant way to define E-mail addresses: take the “user name” that the person typed when logging in to his or her host computer, and simply link it to that computer’s “host name” on the network with an “at” sign: username @ hostname.
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M. Mitchell Waldrop (The Dream Machine)
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One result was the publication of the names of confidential informants, including political dissidents, who had spoken with American diplomats in Iran, China, Afghanistan, the Arab world, and elsewhere.6 As a consequence, some of these individuals had to be relocated to protect their lives. More importantly, the revelations made it more difficult for American diplomats to acquire human intelligence in the future, since the confidentiality of conversations could not be relied upon.
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Jerry Z. Muller (The Tyranny of Metrics)
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You do X for Y because you want to solve Z.
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Category Pirates (The 22 Laws of Category Design: Name & Claim Your Niche, Share Your POV, And Move The World From Where It Is To Somewhere Different)
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14 zIf you ask me [5] anything in my name, I will do it.
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Anonymous (Holy Bible: English Standard Version (ESV))
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We didn’t like hearing our names called in last place; we’re going to use that humiliation to push ourselves,” we said. “As amazing as the restaurants in the top ten are, we could be just as good, if not better. We want to be number one.” It was a tremendous risk to articulate that dream out loud. When you set a goal for your team and fail to achieve it, you run the risk of damaging morale—and this was a particularly audacious benchmark, given that slipping a single spot would mean falling off the list entirely. But the engine behind that bold statement was another quote, this one by Jay-Z: “I believe you can speak things into existence.” I know this for sure: if you don’t have the courage to state a goal out loud, you’ll never achieve it.
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Will Guidara (Unreasonable Hospitality: The Remarkable Power of Giving People More Than They Expect)
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The Bible does not deny that we were various things—addicts, homosexuals, hateful, prideful, pornographic masturbators—but that is what we were (past tense) (1 Cor. 6:9-11; Titus 3:3-5). The emphasis in Scripture is on what we are and what we are called to be. The Christian does not say, Hello, my name is _____ and I am an X Y or Z.” The Christian says I was dead, but now I am alive. The Christian says I am a struggling sinner, yet I am a saint. The Christians says I am a new creation; I am transformed.
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Paul O'Brien
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The Perfect Seed Minecraft 1.7.9 Seed: 686298914 This has got to be the perfect seed with Villages, Desert Temples, Dungeons, Desert Villages and Strongholds. What more do you need! Village with Diamonds & Tools: x: (-151) y: (72) z: (236) NPC Village with Iron Armor & Tools: x: (-323) y: (75) z: (1039) Desert temple: x: (-184) y: (73) z: (648) Desert temple: x: (-500) y: (74) z: (329) Desert temple: x: (-197) y: (67) z: (650) Desert village (large): x: (-328) y: (82) z: (560) Desert village (small): x: (-1254) y: (71) z: (743) Desert temple (buried): x: (-804) y: (74) z: (1050) Desert village: x: (-804) y: (74) z: (1050) Desert village (tiny): x: (88) y: (77) z: (139) Stronghold: x: (-973) y: (93) z: (127) Dungeon -- Zombie Spawner (Contains Golden Apple): x: (-149) y: (68) z: (343) Dungeon -- Spider Spawner (Lots of Name Tags): x: (-446) y: (59) z: (386) Best Seed Ever! Minecraft 1.7.9 Seed: 2138374464889032671 This is probably the best seed you will ever find simply because it has everything you coukld ever want including Villages, Dungeon Spawners, Abandoned Mineshafts and even a stronghold. Take this seed for a spin for a great minecraft experience. 1st NPC Village w/Blacksmith: x: (-346) y: (67) z: (320) 2nd NPC Village (3 Dungeons underneath): x: (-850) y: (64) z: (250) 1st Dungeon spawner (contains enchanted book): x: (-852) y: (57) z: (252) 2nd Dungeon spawner (contains enchanted book): x: (-856) y: (56) z: (265) 3rd Dugneon spawner: x: (-861) y: (56) z: (270) 4th Dugneon spawner: x (-773) y: (23) z: (183) 5th Dungeon spawner: x: (-733) y: (19) z: (321) 6th Dungeon spawner: x: (-711) y: (41) z: (201) Abandoned Mineshaft w/Diamonds: x: (-839) y: (42) z: (633) Stronghold w/End Portal: x: (-80) y: (42) z: (795)
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Jens Larrson (Minecraft: Book Of Seeds (Book of Minecraft - Unofficial Minecraft Guides - Minecraft Books for kids, Minecraft Handbooks, Childrens minecraft books 6))
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Hugh Liedtke had a simple rule of thumb: Pick a name that started with either A or Z, so you would be first or last in the telephone listings. With that in mind, the team chose Zapata Petroleum Corporation, after the Marlon Brando movie Viva Zapata!, which was playing in Midland.
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Jon Meacham (Destiny and Power: The American Odyssey of George Herbert Walker Bush)
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Creating Strong Passwords One method used to make passwords more secure is to require them to be strong. A strong password is at least eight characters in length, doesn’t include words found in a dictionary or any part of a user’s name, and combines three of the four following character types: Uppercase characters (26 letters A–Z) Lowercase characters (26 letters a–z) Numbers (10 numbers 0–9) Special characters (32 printable characters, such as !, $, and *) A complex password uses multiple character types, such as Ab0@. However, a complex password isn’t necessarily strong. It also needs to be sufficiently long. It’s worth noting that recommendations for the best length of a strong password vary depending on the type of account.
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Darril Gibson (CompTIA Security+: Get Certified Get Ahead: SY0-401 Study Guide)
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my worshipers, the daughter of my dispersed ones, shall bring my offering. 11 z “On that day a you shall not be put to shame because of the deeds by which you have rebelled against me; for then b I will remove from your midst your proudly exultant ones, and c you shall no longer be haughty in my holy mountain. 12 But I will leave in your midst a people d humble and lowly. e They shall seek refuge in the name of the LORD, 13 f those who are left in Israel; they g shall do no injustice and speak no lies, h nor shall there be found in their mouth a deceitful tongue. i For they shall graze and lie down, and none shall make them afraid.” Israel’s Joy and Restoration 14[†] j Sing aloud, O daughter of Zion; shout, O Israel! Rejoice and exult with all your heart, O daughter of Jerusalem! 15 The LORD has taken away the judgments against you; he has cleared away your enemies. k The King of Israel, l the LORD, is in your midst; you shall never again fear evil. 16 z On that day it shall be said to Jerusalem: “Fear not, O Zion; m let not your hands grow weak. 17 l The LORD your God is in your midst, n a mighty one who will save; o he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing. 18 I will gather those of you who mourn p for the festival, so that you will no longer suffer reproach. [3] 19 Behold, at that time q I will deal with all your oppressors. And r I will save the lame and gather the outcast, and I will change s their shame into t praise and renown in all the earth. 20 u At that time I will bring you in, at the time when I gather you together; for I will make you renowned and praised among all the peoples of the earth, v when I restore your fortunes before your eyes,” says the LORD.
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Anonymous (ESV Gospel Transformation Bible)
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The technical name for this is the Brazilian Nut Effect. The phrase is descriptive of the phenomenon in which larger objects tend to surface when a mixture of different sized particles is disturbed.” He pointed to the bowl. “The biggest nuts always come right to the top.” I nodded. “Can’t argue with that.” Tex went on, “I’m doing a study. My theory is that this phenomenon correlates to the social structures in our society. The larger nuts always come to surface.” I thought about my friends, the police department, our political system. “I think maybe you’re onto something, Tex.
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M.Z. Kelly (Hollywood Dirty (Hollywood Alphabet, #4))
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Sing praises to the LORD, O you y his saints, and z give thanks to his holy name. [2] 5 a For his anger is but for a moment, and b his favor is for a lifetime. [3] c Weeping may tarry for the night, but d joy comes with the morning. 6[†] As for me, I said in my e prosperity, “I shall never be f moved.” 7 By your favor, O LORD, you made my g mountain stand strong; you h hid your face; I was i dismayed. 8[†] To you, O LORD, I cry, and j to the Lord I plead for mercy: 9 “What profit is there in my death, [4] if I go down to the pit? [5] Will k the dust praise you? Will it tell of your faithfulness? 10 l Hear, O LORD, and be merciful to me! O LORD, be my helper!
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Anonymous (ESV Study Bible)
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She’s been involved in politics for the last few years, though,” A.Z. mused. “Makes for strange bedfellows.”
A vision of Anderson in his red bikini briefs flared briefly in Lillian’s mind. “You can say that again.”
“We’ll replace the camera, A.Z,” Gabe said. “In the meantime, you have our full report. The bottom line is that there was no sign of heavy-duty lab equipment in the new wing and we found no evidence of frozen extra-terrestrials. If those alien bodies were moved into the institute, they’ve got them well-hidden.”
“Figures,” Arizona nodded sagely. “Should’ve known it wouldn’t be this easy. We’ll just have to keep digging. Maybe literally, if they’ve hidden the lab underground.”
“A scary thought,” Lillian murmured.
“My work will continue,” Arizona assured them. “Meanwhile, thanks for the undercover job. Couldn’t have done it without you. Unfortunately, you’ll never get the public recognition you deserve because we have to maintain secrecy.”
“We understand,” Gabe said.
Arizona nodded. “But I want you to understand your names will be legend among the ranks of those of us who seek the truth about this vast conspiracy.”
“That’s certainly good enough for me,” Lillian said quickly. “How about you, Gabe?”
“Always wanted to be a legend in my own time,” Gabe said.
“We don’t want any public recognition,” Lillian added, eager to emphasize the point. “Just knowing that we did our patriotic duty is all the reward we need. Isn’t that right, Gabe?”
“Right,” Gabe got to his feet. “Publicity would be a disaster. If our identities as secret agents were exposed, it would ruin any chance of us helping you out with future undercover work.”
Lillian was almost to the door. “Wouldn’t want that.”
“True,” Arizona said. “Never known when we might have to call on you two again.
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Jayne Ann Krentz (Dawn in Eclipse Bay (Eclipse Bay Trilogy, #2))
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PSALM 103 [†] y Bless the LORD, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name! 2 y Bless the LORD, O my soul, and z forget not all his benefits,
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Anonymous (ESV Study Bible)
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Thoth is the Egyptian ibis-headed god of magick and writing, whose name means “Leader”. His worship has been suggested by bronze ibis heads at Chiddingfold (Surrey) and Caerwent (Monmouthshire), indicating his worship found its way to Britain, if only in private villas.
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David Rankine (The Isles of the Many Gods: An A-Z of the Pagan Gods & Goddesses of Ancient Britain Worshipped During the First Millenium Through to the Middle Ages)
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Viradecthis is an obscure (possibly Germanic) goddess, the meaning of whose name is uncertain. The name may be derived from the words wiro meaning “truth” and dekos meaning “honour”, giving a possible meaning of something like “She who honours truth”. An inscription to her was found at Birrens set up by the Condrusi, a Germanic tribe serving in the Roman army.[605]
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David Rankine (The Isles of the Many Gods: An A-Z of the Pagan Gods & Goddesses of Ancient Britain Worshipped During the First Millenium Through to the Middle Ages)
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Today, Carter is better known as a rapper named Jay-Z. By 2013, after twenty years of success in music and business, he had a personal fortune of around half a billion dollars.
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Kevin Ashton (How to Fly a Horse: The Secret History of Creation, Invention, and Discovery)
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both zed and zee were used interchangeably in both British and American English, alongside a whole host of other more outlandish names for Z including izzard, shard, ezod and uzzard, all of which have long since fallen out of use. Of the two, zed is the earlier, derived at length from the name of the equivalent Greek letter zeta and first attested in written
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Paul Anthony Jones (Haggard Hawks and Paltry Poltroons: The Origins of English in Ten Words)
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D’aron the Daring, Derring, Derring-do, stealing base, christened D’aron Little May Davenport, DD to Nana, initials smothered in Southern-fried kisses, dat Wigga D who like Jay Z aw-ite, who’s down, Scots-Irish it is, D’aron because you’re brave says Dad, No, D’aron because you’re daddy’s daddy was David and then there was mines who was named Aaron, Doo-doo after cousin Quint blew thirty-six months in vo-tech on a straight-arm bid and they cruised out to Little Gorge glugging Green Grenades and read three years’ worth of birthday cards, Little Mays when he hit those three homers in the Pee Wee playoff, Dookie according to his aunt Boo (spiteful she was, misery indeed loves company), Mr. Hanky when they discovered he TIVOed ‘Battlestar Galactica,’ Faggot when he hugged John Meer in third grade, Faggot again when he drew hearts on everyone’s Valentine’s Day cards in fourth grade, Dim Dong-Dong when he undressed in the wrong dressing room because he daren’t venture into the dark end of the gym, Philadelphia Freedom when he was caught clicking heels to that song (Tony thought he was clever with that one), Mr. Davenport when he won the school’s debate contest in eighth grade, Faggot again when he won the school’s debate contest in eighth grade, Faggot again more times than he cared to remember, especially the summer he returned from Chicago sporting a new Midwest accent, harder on the vowels and consonants alike, but sociable, played well with others that accent did, Faggot again when he cried at the end of ‘WALL-E,’ Donut Hole when he started to swell in ninth grade, Donut Black Hole when he continued to put on weight in tenth grade (Tony thought he was really clever with that one), Buttercup when they caught him gardening, Hippie when he stopped hunting, Faggot again when he became a vegetarian and started wearing a MEAT IS MURDER pin (Oh yeah, why you craving mine then?), Faggot again when he broke down in class over being called Faggot, Sissy after that, whispered, smothered in sniggers almost hidden, Ron-Ron by the high school debate team coach because he danced like a cross between Morrissey and some fat old black guy (WTF?) in some old-ass show called ‘What’s Happening!!’, Brainiac when he aced the PSATs for his region, Turd Nerd when he hung with Jo-Jo and the Black Bruiser, D’ron Da’ron, D’aron, sweet simple Daron the first few minutes of the first class of the first day of college.
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T. Geronimo Johnson (Welcome to Braggsville)