“There’s only one rule that I know of, babies—God damn it, you’ve got to be kind.” — Kurt Vonnegut
This line from God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater comes as part of a baptismal speech the protagonist says he’s planning for his neighbor’s twins:
Hello babies. Welcome to Earth. It’s hot in the summer and cold in the winter. It’s round and wet and crowded. At the outside, babies, you’ve got 100 years here. there’s only one rule that I know of, babies–God damn it, you’ve got to be kind.
It’s an odd speech to make over a couple of infants, but it’s playful, sweet, yet keenly precise in its summation of everything a new addition to the planet should need to know. By narrowing down all his advice for the future down to a few simple words, Vonnegut emphasizes what’s most important in life. At the same time, he lets his frustration with all the people who obviously do not get it leak through just a little.
From 15 Things Kurt Vonnegut Said Better Than Anyone Else Ever Has Or Will
In the words of John F. Kennedy: “On Thanksgiving, as we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.”
William Hutchison Murray was one of a group of active Scottish mountain climbers. Murray did much of his most influential climbing in the period just before (and just after) World War II. The following passage occurs near the beginning of Murray’s The Scottish Himalayan Expedition (1951):
Until one is committed, there is hesitancy, the chance to draw back, always ineffectiveness concerning all acts of initiative and creation. There is one elementary truth, the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans; that the moment one definitely commits oneself, then providence moves too. All sorts of things occur to help one that would never otherwise have occurred. A whole stream of events issues from the decision raising in one’s favor all manner of unforeseen events, meetings and material assistance which no one could have dreamed would have come their way. I have learned a deep respect for one of Goethe’s couplets: “Whatever you can do or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power and magic in it. Begin it now!”
—W.H. Murray Quotes
The above reference to Goethe is widely misattributed to Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. The “Goethe couplet” referred to here is from an extremely loose translation of Goethe’s Faust lines 214–30 made by John Anster in 1835.
A spokesperson for 20th Century Fox Television confirms that the network has ordered a whopping 26 new episodes of Matt Groening’s and David X. Cohen’s late, great animated series to air beginning in 2010.
The studio cites Futurama’s “blockbuster” performance on DVD and in reruns on Comedy Central as the reason for its rebirth. Alright Fox, we’re even — I’ll forgive you for ‘Fox News’. Aw, who am I kidding? No we’re not. Fox has filled me with hope. Plus some other emotions which are weird and deeply confusing.
Read here for the full story.
Writes Gary Smith: “Everything I know I learned from my cat: When you’re hungry, eat. When you’re tired, nap in a sunbeam. When you go to the vet’s, pee on your owner…”
There’s no sunbeam too small for a cat nap, but the early April sun gave forth voluminously today, and my parent’s cat, for whom we are catsitting, took full advantage. His name is Mookie—and my wife, Katie, caught him in this shot.
Mookie’s 19 years old and named for Mookie Wilson, who the Mets traded to the Blue Jays in exchange for Jeff Musselman and Mike Brady on August 1, 1989. Wilson’s last appearance with the Jays was October 6, 1991. So, our cat Mookie is ~19 years old.
