Who you refuse to forgive has the power to hold you back. Release them in order to release yourself..

When you argue for your limitations, you get to keep them.

LAUREN MACKLER

Your past is over and cannot touch you. Let it go, and it will cease to hold you back. Only the love in it has lasting consequences.

forgive and forget

If bitterness in our past is brought into the present, it then sabotages our future. 


You can live the rest of your life reacting to and replaying what went before, but that won’t serve you or deliver you to the shining place. 


And everyone you meet will subconsciously know how you’ve responded to your past. They will know whether you’re stuck there or better for having been there. “Forgive and forget” is not mere platitude. Many say, “Yes, I do forgive, but I will never forget.” Beware that sentiment, for it leaves you subtly in the thrall of suffering. 


Do forget what was done to you; just remember the lessons you learned from it. 


Drop the cross. Embrace the sky.
MARIANNE WILLIAMSON

Keep the Spark Alive

Inaugural Speech for the new batch at the Symbiosis BBA program, Pune June, 2008

By Chetan Bhagat

Good Morning everyone and thank you for giving me this chance to speak to you. This day is about you. You, who have come to this college, leaving the comfort of your homes (or in some cases discomfort), to become something in your life. I am sure you are excited. There are few days in human life when one is truly elated. The first day in college is one of them. When you were getting ready today, you felt a tingling in your stomach. What would the auditorium be like, what would the teachers be like, who are my new classmates - there is so much to be curious about. I call this excitement, the spark within you that makes you feel truly alive today. Today I am going to talk about keeping the spark shining. Or to put it another way, how to be happy most, if not all the time.

Where do these sparks start? I think we are born with them. My 3-year old twin boys have a million sparks. A little Spiderman toy can make them jump on the bed. They get thrills from creaky swings in the park. A story from daddy gets them excited. They do a daily countdown for birthday party – several months in advance – just for the day they will cut their own birthday cake.

I see students like you, and I still see some sparks. But when I see older people, the spark is difficult to find. That means as we age, the spark fades. People whose spark has faded too much are dull, dejected, aimless and bitter. Remember Kareena in the first half of Jab We Met vs the second half? That is what happens when the spark is lost. So how to save the spark?

Imagine the spark to be a lamp's flame. The first aspect is nurturing - to give your spark the fuel, continuously. The second is to guard against storms.

To nurture, always have goals. It is human nature to strive, improve and achieve full potential. In fact, that is success. It is what is possible for you. It isn't any external measure - a certain cost to company pay package, a particular car or house.

Most of us are from middle class families. To us, having material landmarks is success and rightly so. When you have grown up where money constraints force everyday choices, financial freedom is a big achievement. But it isn't the purpose of life. If that was the case, Mr. Ambani would not show up for work. Shah Rukh Khan would stay at home and not dance anymore. Steve Jobs won't be working hard to make a better iPhone, as he sold Pixar for billions of dollars already. Why do they do it? What makes them come to work everyday? They do it because it makes them happy. They do it because it makes them feel alive. Just getting better from current levels feels good. If you study hard, you can improve your rank. If you make an effort to interact with people, you will do better in interviews. If you practice, your cricket will get better. You may also know that you cannot become Tendulkar, yet. But you can get to the next level. Striving for that next level is important.

Nature designed with a random set of genes and circumstances in which we were born. To be happy, we have to accept it and make the most of nature's design. Are you? Goals will help you do that.

I must add, don't just have career or academic goals. Set goals to give you a balanced, successful life. I use the word balanced before successful. Balanced means ensuring your health, relationships, mental peace are all in good order.

There is no point of getting a promotion on the day of your breakup. There is no fun in driving a car if your back hurts. Shopping is not enjoyable if your mind is full of tensions.

You must have read some quotes - Life is a tough race, it is a marathon or whatever. No, from what I have seen so far, life is one of those races in nursery school, where you have to run with a marble in a spoon kept in your mouth. If the marble falls, there is no point coming first. Same with life, where health and relationships are the marble. Your striving is only worth it if there is harmony in your life. Else, you may achieve the success, but this spark, this feeling of being excited and alive, will start to die.

One last thing about nurturing the spark - don't take life seriously. One of my yoga teachers used to make students laugh during classes. One student asked him if these jokes would take away something from the yoga practice. The teacher said - don't be serious, be sincere. This quote has defined my work ever since. Whether its my writing, my job, my relationships or any of my goals. I get thousands of opinions on my writing everyday. There is heaps of praise, there is intense criticism. If I take it all seriously, how will I write? Or rather, how will I live? Life is not to be taken seriously, as we are really temporary here. We are like a pre-paid card with limited validity. If we are lucky, we may last another 50 years. And 50 years is just 2,500 weekends. Do we really need to get so worked up? It's ok, bunk a few classes, goof up a few interviews, fall in love. We are people, not programmed devices.

I've told you three things - reasonable goals, balance and not taking it too seriously that will nurture the spark. However, there are four storms in life that will threaten to completely put out the flame. These must be guarded against. These are disappointment, frustration, unfairness and loneliness of purpose.

Disappointment will come when your effort does not give you the expected return. If things don't go as planned or if you face failure. Failure is extremely difficult to handle, but those that do come out stronger. What did this failure teach me? is the question you will need to ask. You will feel miserable. You will want to quit, like I wanted to when nine publishers rejected my first book. Some IITians kill themselves over low grades – how silly is that? But that is how much failure can hurt you. But it's life. If challenges could always be overcome, they would cease to be a challenge. And remember - if you are failing at something, that means you are at your limit or potential. And that's where you want to be.

Disappointment's cousin is frustration, the second storm. Have you ever been frustrated? It happens when things are stuck. This is especially relevant in India. From traffic jams to getting that job you deserve, sometimes things take so long that you don't know if you chose the right goal. After books, I set the goal of writing for Bollywood, as I thought they needed writers. I am called extremely lucky, but it took me five years to get close to a release. Frustration saps excitement, and turns your initial energy into something negative, making you a bitter person. How did I deal with it? A realistic assessment of the time involved – movies take a long time to make even though they are watched quickly, seeking a certain enjoyment in the process rather than the end result – at least I was learning how to write scripts, having a side plan – I had my third book to write and even something as simple as pleasurable distractions in your life - friends, food, travel can help you overcome it. Remember, nothing is to be taken seriously. Frustration is a sign somewhere, you took it too seriously.

Unfairness - this is hardest to deal with, but unfortunately that is how our country works. People with connections, rich dads, beautiful faces, pedigree find it easier to make it – not just in Bollywood, but everywhere. And sometimes it is just plain luck. There are so few opportunities in India, so many stars need to be aligned for you to make it happen. Merit and hard work is not always linked to achievement in the short term, but the long term correlation is high, and ultimately things do work out. But realize, there will be some people luckier than you. In fact, to have an opportunity to go to college and understand this speech in English means you are pretty damm lucky by Indian standards. Let's be grateful for what we have and get the strength to accept what we don't. I have so much love from my readers that other writers cannot even imagine it. However, I don't get literary praise. It's ok. I don't look like Aishwarya Rai, but I have two boys who I think are more beautiful than her. It's ok. Don't let unfairness kill your spark.

Finally, the last point that can kill your spark is isolation. As you grow older you will realize you are unique. When you are little, all kids want Ice cream and Spiderman. As you grow older to college, you still are a lot like your friends. But ten years later and you realize you are unique. What you want, what you believe in, what makes you feel, may be different from even the people closest to you. This can create conflict as your goals may not match with others. . And you may drop some of them. Basketball captains in college invariably stop playing basketball by the time they have their second child. They give up something that meant so much to them. They do it for their family. But in doing that, the spark dies. Never, ever make that compromise. Love yourself first, and then others.

There you go. I've told you the four thunderstorms - disappointment, frustration, unfairness and isolation. You cannot avoid them, as like the monsoon they will come into your life at regular intervals. You just need to keep the raincoat handy to not let the spark die.

I welcome you again to the most wonderful years of your life. If someone gave me the choice to go back in time, I will surely choose college. But I also hope that ten years later as well, your eyes will shine the same way as they do today. That you will Keep the Spark alive, not only through college, but through the next 2,500 weekends. And I hope not just you, but my whole country will keep that spark alive, as we really need it now more than any moment in history. And there is something cool about saying - I come from the land of a billion sparks.

Thank You!

malcolm in the middle

Fate is what you call it when you don't know the name of the person screwing you over.

Under the Tuscan Sun

Between Austria and Italy, there is a section of the Alps called the Semmering. It is an impossibly steep, very high part of the mountains. They built a train track over these Alps to connect Vienna and Venice. They built these tracks even before there was a train in existence that could make the trip. They built it because they knew some day, the train would come.

What are four walls, anyway? They are what they contain. The house protects the dreamer. Unthinkably good things can happen, even late in the game. It's such a surprise.

Under the Tuscan Sun

If you smash into something good, you should hold on until it's time to let go.

anantha

patience has a expiry date.

alchemist

They crossed the desert for another two days in silence. the alchemist had become much more cautious, because they were approaching the area where the most violent battles were being waged. As they moved along, the boy tried to listen to his heart.

It was not easy to do; in earlier times, his heart had always been ready to tell its story, but lately that wasn't true. There had been times when his heart spent hours telling of his sadness, and at other times it became so emotional over the desert sunrise that the boy had to hide his tears. His heart beat faster when it spoke to the boy of treasure and more slowly when the boy stared entranced at the endless horizons of the desert. But his heart was never quiet, even when the boy and the alchemist had fallen into silence.

"Why do we have to listen to our hearts?" the boy asked, when they had made camp that day.

"Because, wherever your heart is, that is where you'll find your treasure."

"But my heart is agitated," the boy said. "It has its dreams, it gets emotional, and it's become passionate over a woman of the desert. It asks things of me, and it keeps me from sleeping many nights, when I'm thinking about her."

"Well, that's good. Your heart is alive. Keep listening to what it has to say."

During the next three days, the two travelers passed by a number of armed tribesmen, and saw others on the horizon. The boy's heart began to speak of fear. It told him stories it had heard from the Soul of the World, stories of men who sought to find their treasure and never succeeded. Sometimes it frightened the boy with the idea that he might not find his treasure, or that he might die there in the desert. At other times, it told the boy that it was satisfied: it had found love and riches.

"My heart is a traitor," the boy said to the alchemist, when they had paused to rest the horses. "It doesn't want me to go on."

"That makes sense," the alchemist answered. "Naturally it's afraid that, in pursuing your dream, you might lose everything you've won."

"Well, then, why should I listen to my heart?"

"Because you will never again be able to keep it quiet. Even if you pretend not to have heard what it tells you, it will always be there inside you, repeating to you what you're thinking about life and about the world."

"You mean I should listen, even if it's treasonous?"

"Treason is a blow that comes unexpectedly. If you know your heart well, it will never be able to do that to you. Because you'll know its dreams and wishes, and will know how to deal with them.

"You will never be able to escape from your heart. So it's better to listen to what it has to say. That way, you'll never have to fear an unanticipated blow."

The boy continued to listen to his heart as they crossed the desert. He came to understand its dodges and tricks, and to accept it as it was. He lost his fear, and forgot about his need to go back to the oasis, because, one afternoon, his heart told him that it was happy. "Even though I complain sometimes," it said, "it's because I'm the heart of a person, and people's hearts are that way. People are afraid to pursue their most important dreams, because they feel that they don't deserve them, or that they'll be unable to achieve them. We, their hearts, become fearful just thinking of loved ones who go away forever, or of moments that could have been good but weren't, or of treasures that might have been found but were forever hidden in the sands. Because, when these things happen, we suffer terribly.

"My heart is afraid that it will have to suffer," the boy told the alchemist one night as they looked up at the moonless sky.

"Tell your heart that the fear of suffering is worse than the suffering itself. And that no heart has ever suffered when it goes in search of its dreams, because every second of the search is a second's encounter with God and with eternity."

"Every second of the search is an encounter with God," the boy told his heart. "When I have been truly searching for my treasure, every day has been luminous, because I've known that every hour was a part of the dream that I would find it. When I have been truly searching for my treasure, I've discovered things along the way that I never would have seen had I not had the courage to try things that seemed impossible for a shepherd to achieve."

So his heart was quiet for an entire afternoon. That night, the boy slept deeply, and, when he awoke, his heart began to tell him things that came from the Soul of the World. It said that all people who are happy have God within them. And that happiness could be found in a grain of sand from the desert, as the alchemist had said. Because a grain of sand is a moment of creation, and the universe has taken millions of years to create it. "Everyone on earth has a treasure that awaits him," his heart said. "We, people's hearts, seldom say much about those treasures, because people no longer want to go in search of them. We speak of them only to children. Later, we simply let life proceed, in its own direction, toward its own fate. But, unfortunately, very few follow the path laid out for them---the path to their destinies, and to happiness. Most people see the world as a threatening place, and, because they do, the world turns out indeed, to be threatening place.

"So, we, their hearts, speak more and more softly. We never stop speaking out, but we begin to hope that our words won't be heard: we don't want people to suffer because they don't follow their hearts."

"Why don't people's hearts tell them to continue to follow their dreams?" the boy asked the alchemist.

"Because that's what makes a heart suffer most, and hearts don't like to suffer."

From then on, the boy understood his heart. He asked it, please, never to stop speaking to him. He asked that, when he wandered far from his dreams, his heart press him and sound the alarm. The boy swore that, every time he heard the alarm, he would heed its message.

That night, he told all of this to the alchemist. And the alchemist understood that the boy's heart had returned to the Soul of the World.

"So, what should I do now?" the boy asked. Continue in the direction of the Pyramids," said the alchemist. "And continue to pay heed to the omens. Your heart is still capable of showing you where the treasure is."

"Is that the one thing I still needed to know?"

"No," the alchemist answered. "What you still need to know is this: before a dream is realized, the Soul of the World tests everything that was learned along the way. It does this not because it is evil, but so that we can, in addition to realizing our dreams, master the lessons we've learned as we've moved toward that dream. That's the point at which most people give up. It's the point at which, as we say in the language of the desert, one `dies of thirst just when the palm trees have appeared on the horizon.'

"Every search begins with beginner's luck. And every search ends with the victor's being severely tested."

The boy remembered an old proverb from his country. It said that the darkest hour of the night came just before the dawn.

Paulo Coelho

alchemist

"We are afraid of losing what we have, whether it's our life or our possessions and property. But this fear evaporates when we understand that our life stories and the history of the world were written by the same Hand."

"Love never keeps a man from pursuing his destiny."

"Making a decision was only the beginning of things. When someone makes a decision, he is really diving into a strong current that will carry him to places he had never dreamed of when he first made the decision."

Paulo Coelho

Mark Twain

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

When Harry Met Sally

I love that you get cold when it is 71 degrees out. I love that it takes you an hour and a half to order a sandwich. I love that you get a little crinkle in your nose when you're looking at me like I'm nuts. I love that after I spend day with you, I can still smell your perfume on my clothes. And I love that you are the last person I want to talk to before I go to sleep at night. And it's not because I'm lonely, and it's not because it's New Year's Eve. I came here tonight because when you realize you want to spend the rest of your life with somebody, you want the rest of your life to start as soon as possible.

Charlie Brown

In the book of life, the answers aren't in the back.

That's the secret to life . . . replace one worry with another.

This is my depressed stance. When you're depressed, it makes a lot of difference how you stand. The worst thing you can do is straighten up and hold your head high because then you'll start to feel better. If you're going to get any joy out of being depressed, you've got to stand like this.

There must be millions of people all over the world who never get any love letters . . . I could be their leader.

Sometimes I lie awake at night and I ask, "Why me?", then a voice answers "Nothing personal, your name just happened to come up."

I've developed a new philosophy . . . I only dread one day at a time.

Nothing takes the taste out of peanut butter quite like unrequited love.

Bill Banyon

Is there such a thing as partial cremation?

Drew Baylor

There's a big difference between a failure and a fiasco.

Claire Colburn

I'm impossible to forget, but I'm hard to remember.

What they say is, it *will* hit you, it could be ten minutes or it could be ten years from now.

Even if the current circumstances look gloomy, have a little faith. Eventually, they're destined to reach a happy ending. The universe just needs some time to work out the perfect way to turn this situation around.

Closed for Holidays

Am on vacation. Yay!!
Next update is on friday March 2.

John Lennon

Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans.

Craig Davis

When you look at an idea and feel envy, it's a Bronze. Jealousy means Silver. Humility, that my friends, is a Gold.

(on clio awards)

General George Patton

Success is how high you bounce when you hit bottom.

Julian Hawthorne

When Half-Gods Go, The Gods Arrive

H. Jackson Brown, Jr.

Sometimes the heart sees what is invisible to the eye.

Useful Phrases at Work

I like you. You remind me of when I was young and stupid.

I'm not being rude. You're just insignificant.

I'm already visualizing the duct tape over your mouth.

It might look like I'm doing nothing, but at the cellular level I'm really quite busy.

Thank you. We're all refreshed and challenged by your unique point of view.

The fact that no one understands you doesn't mean you're an artist

Any connection between your reality and mine is purely coincidental

I have plenty of talent and vision. I just don't care.

I will always cherish the initial misconceptions I had about you.

It's a thankless job, but I've got a lot of Karma to burn off.

Yes, I am an agent of Satan, but my duties are largely ceremonial.

No, my powers can only be used for good.

How about never? Is never good for you?

I'm really easy to get along with once you people learn to worship me

You sound reasonable...Time to up my medication

I'll try being nicer if you'll try being smarter.

I don't work here. I'm a consultant.

Who me? I just wander from room to room.

My toys! My toys! I can't do this job without my toys!

At least I have a positive attitude about my destructive habits.

You are validating my inherent mistrust of strangers.

I see you've set aside this special time to humiliate yourself in public.

Someday, we'll look back on this, laugh nervously and change the subject.

ps. thanks freindly neighbourhood copywriter.

There is no situation so bad that it can't get worse.

Pluck the flower when it has blossomed; don't wait until there are no flowers with only branches to break.

Murphy's Laws on Work

A pat on the back is only a few centimeters from a kick in the pants.

Don't be irreplaceable, if you can't be replaced, you can't be promoted.

The more crap you put up with, the more crap you are going to get.

You can go anywhere you want if you look serious and carry a clipboard.

Eat one live toad the first thing in the morning and nothing worse will happen to you the rest of the day.

Never ask two questions in a business letter. The reply will discuss the one you are least interested in, and say nothing about the other.

When the bosses talk about improving productivity, they are never talking about themselves.

If at first you don't succeed, try again. Then quit. No use being a damn fool about it.

There will always be beer cans rolling on the floor of your car when the boss asks for a ride home from the office.

Mother said there would be days like this, but she never said there would be so many.

Keep your boss's boss off your boss's back. This is what I'm doing wrong.

Everything can be filed under "miscellaneous."

Never delay the ending of a meeting or the beginning of a cocktail hour.

To err is human, to forgive is not company policy.

Anyone can do any amount of work provided it isn't the work he is supposed to be doing.

Important letters that contain no errors will develop errors in the mail.

The last person that quit or was fired will be the one held responsible for everything that goes wrong - until the next person quits or is fired.

There is never enough time to do it right the first time, but there is always enough time to do it over.

The more pretentious a corporate name, the smaller the organization. (For instance, The Murphy Center for Codification of Human and Organizational Law, contrasted to IBM, GM, AT&T ...).

If you are good, you will be assigned all the work. If you are really good, you will get out of it.

You are always doing something marginal when the boss drops by your desk.

People are always available for work in the past tense.

If it wasn't for the last minute, nothing would get done.

At work, the authority of a person is inversely proportional to the number of pens that person is carrying.

When you don't know what to do, walk fast and look worried.

You will always get the greatest recognition for the job you least like.

No one gets sick on Wednesdays.


The longer the title, the less important the job.

Machines that have broken down will work perfectly when the repairman arrives.

An "acceptable" level of employment means that the government economist to whom it is acceptable still has a job.

Once a job is fouled up, anything done to improve it makes it worse.


ps. thanks friendly neighbourhood copywriter.

Leo Burnett

When you reach for the stars, you may not quite get one, but you won't come up with a handful of mud either.

Leo Burnett

“Somewhere along the line, after I’m finally off the premises, you -- or your successors -- may want to take my name off the premises, too.
You may want to call yourselves "Twain, Rogers, Sawyer and Finn Inc." ... Or "Ajax Advertising" or something.

That will certainly be okay with me -- if it's good for you....
But let me tell you when I might demand that you take my name off the door.

That will be the day when you spend more time trying to make money and less time making advertising -- our kind of advertising.

When you forget that the sheer fun of ad-making and the lift you get out of it -- the creative climate of the place -- should be as important as money to the very

special breed of writers and artists and business professionals who compose this company of ours and make it tick.

When you lose that restless feeling that nothing you do is ever quite good enough.

When you lose your itch to do the job well for its own sake -- regardless of the client, or the money or the effort it takes.

When you lose your passion for thoroughness ... your hatred of loose ends.

When you stop reaching for the manner, the overtone, the marriage of words and pictures that produces the fresh, the memorable and the believable effect.

When you stop rededicating yourselves every day to the idea that better advertising is what the Leo Burnett Company is all about.

When you are no longer what Thoreau called a "corporation with a conscience" -- which means to me, a corporation of conscientious men and women.

When you begin to compromise your integrity -- which has always been the heart's blood -- the very guts of this agency.

When you stoop to convenient expedience and rationalize yourselves into acts of opportunism -- for the sake of a fast buck.

When you show the slightest sign of crudeness, inappropriateness or smart-aleckness -- and you lose that subtle sense of the fitness of things.

When your main interest becomes a matter of size just to be big -- rather than good, hard, wonderful work.

When your outlook narrows down to the number of windows -- from zero to five -- in the walls of your office.

When you lose your humility and become big-shot weisenheimers... a little too big for your boots.

When the apples come down to being just apples for eating (or for polishing) -- no longer a part of our tone -- our personality.

When you disapprove of something, and start tearing the hell out of the man who did it rather than the work itself.

When you stop building on strong and vital ideas, and start a routine production line.

When you start believing that, in the interest of efficiency, a creative spirit and the urge to create can be delegated and administered, and forget that they can

only be nurtured, stimulated and inspired.

When you start giving lip service to this being a "creative agency" and stop really being one.

Finally, when you lose your respect for the lonely man -- the man at his typewriter or his drawing board or behind his camera or just scribbling notes with one ofour big black pencils -- or working all night on a media plan. When you forget that the lonely man -- and thank God for him -- has made the agency we now havepossible. When you forget he's the man who, because he is reaching harder, sometimes actually gets hold of -- for a moment -- one of those hot, unreachable stars.

THAT, boys and girls, is when I shall insist you take my name off the door.

And by golly, it will be taken off the door.

Even if I have to materialize long enough some night to rub it out myself -- on every one of your floors.

And before I dematerialize again, I will paint out that star-reaching symbol, too.

And burn all the stationery.

And tear up a few ads in passing.

And throw every goddamned apple down the elevator shafts.

You just won't know the place the next morning.

You'll have to find another name.”

Via Cia Advertising

phew!!!

after a long-short break... I am back

Good Deeds Circle

Every day a new message will be posted, which is the good deed for the day. Lets make the world a little better, one good deed at a time.

This is a new blog with my sis.. do visit Good Deeds Circle

Sparkling Diwali!

May the lite of all the lamps in the universe always glow in your heart and brighten your life and every other life connected with yours.

Carpe diem

Leuconoe, don't ask it's forbidden to know what end the gods will give me or you. Don't play with Babylonian fortune-telling either. Better just deal with whatever comes your way. Whether you'll see several more winters or whether the last one upiter gives you is the one even now pelting the rocks on the shore with the waves of the Tyrrhenian sea--be smart,drink your wine. Scale back your long hopes to a short period. Even as we speak,envious time is running away from us. Carpe diem, and trust as little as possible in the future.

calvin & hobbes rules..

It's hard to be religious when certain people are never incinerated by bolts of lightning.
- Attack of the Deranged Mutant Killer Monster Snow Goons p62

The problem with people is that they don’t look at the big picture. Eventually, we’re each going to die, our species will go extinct, the sun will explode, and the universe will collapse. Existence isn’t only temporary, it’s pointless! We’re all doomed, and worse, nothing matters!
- Homicidal Psycho Jungle Cat p125

To make a bad day worse, spend it wishing for the impossible.

But Calvin is no kind and loving god! He's one of the old gods! He demands sacrifice!
- The Authoritative Calvin and Hobbes p99


I think nighttime is dark so you can imagine your fears with less distraction.
- The Indispensable Calvin and Hobbes p77

The strength to change what I can, the inability to accept what I can't, and the incapacity to tell the difference.
- The Days are Just Packed p137

There's never enough time to do all the nothing you want.
- The Authoritative Calvin and Hobbes p213

Most people don't sleep well next to a hungry tiger.
- The Authoritative Calvin and Hobbes p214

Our class voted Calvin the "Most likely to be seen on the news some day".

The way Calvin's brain is wired, you can almost hear the fuses blowing.

Hobbes: Did you ask your Mom if you could jump off the roof?
Calvin: Questions I know the answers to I don't need to ask, right?

Good Riddance

Another turning point, a fork stuck in the road
Time grabs you by the wrist, directs you where to go
So make the best of this test, and don't ask why
It's not a question, but a lesson learned in time

It's something unpredictable, but in the end it's right.
I hope you had the time of your life.

So take the photographs, and still frames in your mind
Hang it on a shelf in good health and good time
Tattoos of memories and dead skin on trial
For what it's worth it was worth all the while

It's something unpredictable, but in the end it's right.
I hope you had the time of your life.

It's something unpredictable, but in the end it's right.
I hope you had the time of your life.

It's something unpredictable, but in the end it's right.
I hope you had the time of your life.

GREEN DAY LYRICS

Charles Dickens

It is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done; it is a far, far better rest that I go to than I have ever known.

A Tale of Two Cities

F. Scott Fitzgerald

In my younger and more vulnerable years my father gave me some advice that I've been turning over in my mind ever since. "Whenever you feel like criticizing anyone," he told me, "just remember that all the people in this world haven't had the advantages that you've had."

The Great Gatsby

Charles Dickens

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way - in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only.

A Tale of Two Cities

Inferno

Midway in our life's journey, I went astray from the straight road and woke to find myself alone in a dark wood.

Dante Alighieri, The Divine Comedy

movie time

Shaken, not stirred.
- James Bond


Years from now, when you talk about this, and you will, be kind
- Tea & Sympathy


I'm in love with you.
reply: Snap out of it!
- Moonstruck

Gregory David Roberts

Every free minute is a short story with a happy ending.

Sometimes you break your heart in the right way.
You learn something or you feel something completely new, when you break your heart that way.

If you have to ask the question, you have no right to the the answer.

Source: Shantaram

more Calvin & Hobbes

Calvin: "I'm being educated against my will! My rights are being trampled!"
Hobbes: "Is it a right to remain ignorant?"
Calvin: "I don't know, but I refuse to find out!"

Hobbes: "Did you ask your Mom if you could jump off the roof?"
Calvin: "Questions I know the answers to I don't need to ask, right?"

Calvin
I find it easier to live my life with lowered expectations.
Getting an inch of snow is like winning 10 cents in the lottery.

Calvin's excuse for why he didn't read his history text as assigned: "The book publisher didn't use the proper print fixative. Needless to say, when I picked up the book, all the letters slid off the pages and fell on the floor in a heap of gibberish."

Hobbes: "Shouldn't you be doing your homework?"
Calvin: "I'm pretty sure the assignment was optional."
Hobbes: "Denial springs eternal."
Calvin: "It's not denial. I'm just very selective about the reality I accept."

Mrs. Wormwood: "CALVIN, PAY ATTENTION! We're studying GEOGRAPHY! Now What state do you live in?"
Calvin: "Denial."

Calvin: "They say that all the world's a stage. But obviously the play is unrehearsed and everybody is adlibbing his lines."
Hobbes: "Maybe that's why it's so hard to tell if we're living in a tragedy or a farce."
Calvin: "We need more special effects and dance numbers."

Lizzie McGuire

A budget? I couldn't possibly be on a budget. I'd run out of money.

It's true. I mean, pictures fade, and they get torn, and stuff spills on them, and your haircut looks really dorky, but memories last forever.

The Ride

Everyday is a new journey..
enjoyin the ride..
riding the wave..
unexpected detours makin my day..

Greek Gods and their Roman names

Aphrodite is Venus
Apollon is Apollon
Ares is Mars
Artemis is Diana
Athene, Athena is Minerva
Eros is Cupid
Hades is Pluto
Helios is Apollo
Hermes is Mercury
Odysseus is Ulysses
Poseidon is Neptune
Zeus is Jupiter

The problem of going on a world tour, is how would you top it next summers.

I felt sorry that I had no shoes, until I met a man with no feet.

Paisley Brad

Where you go through life
So sure of where you’re headin'
And you wind up lost and it's
The best thing that could have happened
‘Cause sometimes when you loss your way it's just as well
Because you find yourself
Yeah that’s when you find yourself.

source: Find yourself, lyrics.

Pablo Picasso

I paint what I think, not what I see.

Walt Disney

I believe in being an innovator.
(this one goes out to you CC)

I only hope that we don't lose sight of one thing - that it was all started by a mouse.

It's kind of fun to do the impossible.

You may not realize it when it happens, but a kick in the teeth may be the best thing in the world for you.

When you're curious, you find lots of interesting things to do.

Bill Watterson

There is not enough time to do all the nothing we want to do.

Talking with you is sort of the conversational equivalent of an out of body experience.

C&H

If something is so complicated that you can't explain it in 10 seconds, then it's probably not worth knowing anyway.

Who wouldn't be interested in everything we do?!

My life needs a rewind/erase button.

If you do the job badly enough, sometimes you don't get asked to do it again.

One of the Kindly Ones

Can't say I've ever been too fond of beginnings, myself. Messy little things. Give me a good ending any time. You know where you are with an ending.

Anais Nin

The dream was always running ahead of me. To catch up, to live for a moment in unison with it, that was the miracle.

Charles Schulz

(Linus walks past, dragging his blanket. Snoopy puts a paw on it.)
Linus : Get that paw off my blanket, you stupid dog or be prepared to suffer the consequences! (Snoopy obeys.)
Snoopy: My life is full of unsuffered consequences...

Linus: If you have some problem in your life, do you believe you should try to solve it right away or think about it for awhile?
CB: Oh, think about it, by all means! I believe you should think about it for awhile.
Linus: To give yourself time to do the right thing about the problem?
CB: No, to give it time to go away!


Linus: It's fair weather today Charlie Brown.
CB: So where are all my friends?

Frieda: It's a nice day. If I were a dog, I'd be out chasing rabbits on such a nice day...
Snoopy: If it's such a nice day, why spoil it for the rabbits?

This is as bad as it can get, but If I were you I would not bet on it.

You cannot tell which way the train went by looking at the track.

If you lend someone twenty dollars and never see that person again, it was probably worth it.

Junk is something you've kept for years and throw away three weeks before you need it.

There is always one more imbecile than you counted on.

If you can smile when things go wrong, you have someone in mind to blame.

Even if you're on the right track, you'll get run over if you just sit there.

Work like you don't need the money.
Love like you've never been hurt.
Dance like nobody's watching.
Sing like nobody's listening.
Live like it's Heaven on Earth.

I can't tell you to go to hell, I know you live there.

Terminator

I'll be back.

A star is born everyday.

Oscar Wilde

In this world there are only two tragedies. One is not
getting what one wants, and the other is getting it.
(Lady Windermere's Fan)

Oscar Wilde

I never put off till tomorrow what I can do the day after.

Don't miss the woods for the trees.

Sly Stone

Different strokes for different folks

Goldman

Angels don't come when you call them. They come when you need them.

Gone with the wind

Scarlett O'Hara

Well I guess I've done murder. Well I won't think about this now. I'll think about it tomorrow.

Another dance and my reputation will be gone forever.*


Rhett Butler

With enough courage you can do without a reputation.*

You're like the thief who isn't the least bit sorry he stole but is terribly terribly sorry he's going to jail.

You helpless? Heaven help the Yankees if they catch you.

I can't go all my life waiting to catch you between husbands.


*in conversation.

Margaret Mitchell, 1936 and won the Pulitzer Prize in 1937.

All About Eve

Fasten your seatbelts. It's going to be a bumpy night.

Star Wars

May the Force be with You.

Sudden Impact

Go ahead, make my day.

The Godfather

I'm going to make him an offer he can't refuse.

Vivien Leigh

After all... tomorrow is another day.

Rhett Butler

Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn.

Gone with the wind.

Samuel Johnson

We are inclined to believe those whom we do not know because they have never deceived us.

Salvador Dali

I will be so brief I have already finished.
(entire speech)

Rik Mayall

I told you a million times, don't exaggerate.

(lol)

Mel Brooks

There's a perfectly good explanation for this, which I'll make up later.

Winston Churchill

A lie can be halfway around the world before the truth has got its boots on.

Once in a while you will stumble upon the truth but most of us manage to pick ourselves up and hurry along as if nothing had happened.

Quit, when you are ahead.

Sometimes it's important to give of yourself even when you don't feel like it.

Oscar Wilde

Let your love be stronger than your hate or anger. Learn the wisdom of compromise, for it is better to bend a little than to break.

Learn what not to say.

Be willing to give someone a seond chance.
At the same time don't forget, If u cheat me once, shame on you, cheat on me twice shame on me.

Know where the line is drawn and never cross it.

Stop stealing my thoughts before i think them!

The ancients stole my thoughts.

Still waters run deep.

Nike

You don't win silver, you lose gold.

Yogi Berra

Congratulations. I knew the record would stand until it was broken.

Half the lies they tell about me aren't true.

I never said most of the things I said.

If you ask me anything I don't know, I'm not going to answer.

It ain't over till it's over.

It gets late early out there.

The future ain't what it used to be.

The other teams could make trouble for us if they win.

Always go to other people's funerals, otherwise they won't come to yours.

You wouldn't have won if we'd beaten you.

You've got to be very careful if you don't know where you are going, because you might not get there.

Swatch

Time is what you make of it.

Future

What if your life flashed before your eyes in the beginning?
You would know your fortune from the start.
There would be no moments of uncertainty.
But, also no surprise parties,
no getting caught in the rain,
no curious shaking of gifts.
Life would be ordered, predictable, precise.
That is, if you still called it that.

Live every moment!

Cure for all aches and pains

Gooey double choco chip muffins.

Fixes everythings..

prekz

it had to happen..it happened..i dealt with it..it's over now..

?!

It’s what lies between the lines.