I Have Nothing to Declare But My Genius

Thirteen Great Quotations By Oscar Wilde:

1) The public have an insatiable curiosity to know everything, except what is worth knowing.

2) As long as war is regarded as wicked, it will always have its fascination. When it is looked upon as vulgar, it will cease to be popular.

3) Democracy means simply the bludgeoning of the people by the people for the people.

4) There is no sin except stupidity.

5) When people agree with me I always feel that I must be wrong.

6) To disagree with three-fourths of the public is one of the first elements of sanity.

7) I sometimes think that God, in creating man, somewhat overestimated his ability.

8) Truth, in matters of religion, is simply the opinion that has survived.

9) I have the simplest tastes. I am always satisfied with the best.

10) When we are happy we are always good, but when we are good we are not always happy.

11) I can resist everything except temptation.

12) The only way to get rid of temptation is to yield to it.

13) (Sex) is the perfect pleasure. It is exquisite, and it leaves one unsatisfied. What more can one want?

Now, I must give credit where credit is due: the idea for today’s list did not come completely from my mind. Yesterday, when I was sitting at work trying to come up with a topic, my mind was in a fog and it was obvious that brilliance would not be forthcoming without assistance. Then a co-worker came by and asked about my blog. I informed her of my dilemma and she, having a fresh, unhampered perspective, proceeded to rattle off three or four really good ideas. I wrote them all down (for later use) and proceeded to work on the one most suited to a library: to list thirteen of my favorite quotes. I then proceeded to get a book of quotations (actually I used three), and started to browse. I found a couple by Oscar Wilde that really struck home, and that’s when I decided to focus the list on his quotes alone (I found many more than thirteen, by the way).

One note about number thirteen: the word sex is in parentheses because it is not the word used in Wilde’s original quote—which was regarding cigarettes (disgusting things). Not only do I think that my substitution is abundantly appropriate in this statement, but I firmly believe that Wilde would have approved of the change (and indeed may have been his original intent).

Lee

(P.S. The title of this post is another quote of Oscar Wilde)

Slaves to the System

If I had the power to change one thing about the world, it would be to eliminate the need for people to have to work. I don’t mean “work” as in doing things around the house, but being obligated to go to some “job” for 40 (or more) hours each week just to bring home a paycheck.

Now, as far as jobs go, I have a pretty nice one. I work in a library, so things are quiet and relaxed. There is no heavy labor involved, and I get to play on the computer most of the time. But it still doesn’t change the fact that I have to sacrifice a big chunk of my waking hours to something or someone else. Am I the only one to see something wrong with this picture?

I long for the freedom to spend my days any way I want to. Now, I don’t want you to picture me sleeping in until noon and then just playing video games all day. I have so many projects I want to work on, that I’d spend hours trying to list them all (writing is probably one of the biggies). But I get so little time to spend on what is meaningful to me, that many of my projects languish for want of attention.

Since my utopia—with no one having to work at all—may be an impossible dream, I’m willing to compromise. A nice start would be to reduce the amount of one’s time spent at a job (maybe only 20 hours/wk?). Of course, along with that we would also need to minimize (or eliminate) the importance of money over one’s quality of living. How we’d actually accomplish something like that is beyond me, but surely it must be possible—after all, it works on Star Trek…

Lee

Two-Rant Tuesday

Part Two:

I think all people who whistle should die on the spot.

Now, let me explain that my dislike of whistling has absolutely nothing to do with people being overly cheerful. It is simply a dislike for the sound itself: loud, high-pitched, and irritating. For me, whistling is like fingernails on a chalkboard, and it makes me want to go “postal” on the perpetrator.

And then there is the disturbing fact that most of the people who whistle (or hum or sing out loud) are also the ones who are (apparently) the most tone deaf. The kind of people who couldn’t carry a tune if their life depended on it (which it might, if they hang around me too long). It’s noise pollution, plain and simple, and it should be ranked among the most heinous of crimes, punishable by death, to subject other people to their god-awful screeching, squawking, and caterwauling.

And don’t get me started on the most evil noise pollution of all: karaoke…

Lee

Two Rant Tuesday

Part One:

To borrow a phrase from Peter Griffin on Family Guy, I ask: “You know what really grinds my gears?” When people don’t use their frickin’ turn signals! A prime example happened to me just this morning on the way to work. I’m sitting at an intersection waiting to turn left, and there is a car coming from the opposite direction. It’s going a tad on the slow side, and I could probably have made it, but I decide to wait. And what happens? The guy slows down even more and ends up turning right. %$#@! If I had known what he was planning to do, I would have gone ahead and turned.

It’s just common courtesy (not to mention a safety issue) to let other drivers know where you’re going. I can’t tell you how often I’m held up or delayed because I had no idea what the nimrod in the next car was going to do.

And don’t even get me started on old farts who leave their turn signals on for several miles.

Lee

Movie Monday

I saw two really good movies over the weekend, one on DVD and the other was in the theater.

The DVD was the 2003 remake of the Lion in Winter, with Glenn Close and Patrick Stuart reprising the Katherine Hepburn and Peter O’Toole roles. The story (for those of you who are unfamiliar with the 1968 classic which won an Oscar for Hepburn) gives us a riveting look at the tumultuous relationship of Eleanor of Aquitaine and Henry II, and their troubles with their three, power-hungry sons. Both films were based on the same play, and much of the story and dialogue are identical.

Not surprisingly, the production values of the newer version are superior to the original (better sets, costuming, music, etc.), but the most noticeable difference is its length. The original was just over two hours, while the newer film is closer to three (and that, I think, was one of its failings).

Close and Stuart are among my favorite actors and they give wonderful performances in this film (as do the entire cast), but I couldn’t help comparing them to their larger-than-life predecessors and feeling that they just didn’t quite get it right. Don’t get me wrong, the movie is spectacular and there’s technically nothing wrong with it (except maybe its length), but I have to say that I liked the original version better.

My Score (out of 10): 7.5

The other film of the weekend was Neil Gaiman’s fantasy, Stardust. I went into the theater as a blank canvas; I knew nothing about it beyond the bare bones I just laid out in my first sentence. But I love fantasy, and there were some impressive names attached (Michelle Pfeiffer and Robert DeNiro being the biggest), so I was curious to see what it was all about.

Magical. Charming. Heartwarming. Delightful. The film is all of these things and more. Stardust is visually stunning and beautiful, with a well-paced plot that sweeps you along on a wild adventure. Since part of the enjoyment, for me, was not knowing what was coming next, I won’t say another word. Except: Go see this film!

My Score (out of 10): 9

World of the Living Brain-Dead

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I have little or no patience for ignorance or stupidity. Unfortunately it’s a rampant problem and, from my perspective, appears to be spreading. There are times when I feel like I’m in one of those zombie movies, surrounded by ever growing numbers of brainless nimrods. No matter where I run, I can’t get away… They’re everywhere. Even here at the library (where I work) I’m not safe from it.

For starters, a day doesn’t go by that I don’t hear that god-awful mispronunciation of the word “library.” Something in their shrunken zombie brains insists on moving the two R’s together: “li-berry.”

And when they check out, their glassy, vacant eyes watch me stamp the date in the front of the books, but invariably they ask: “When are they due back?” Hel-lo! It’s right there, where I stamped it. Even if I told them, I know they won’t remember by tomorrow, let alone two weeks from now, so why do they bother asking? That’s why we stamp the date in the front of the book.

Sometimes I wonder how these people manage to get dressed in the morning…then again, that may explain something about my rant from Tuesday…

Lee

Like, Totally Far Out!

My Thirteen Favorite Songs from the 80s
(listed chronologically by release date)

1 (1982) I Ran (So Far Away), by Flock of Seagulls
2 (1983) Always Something There to Remind Me, by Naked Eyes
3 (1983) I Melt With You, by Modern English
4 (1983) Our House, by Madness
5 (1983) Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This), by the Eurythmics
6 (1984) Karma Chameleon, by Culture Club
7 (1985) Everybody Wants to Rule the World, by Tears for Fears
8 (1985) Take On Me, by a-ha
9 (1986) Everybody Have Fun Tonight, by Wang Chung
10 (1986) If You Leave, by OMD
11 (1987) Something So Strong, by Crowded House
12 (1988) Shattered Dreams, by Johnny Hates Jazz
13 (1990) Vogue, by Madonna

Wow, I guess 1983 was a good year for music, huh? Actually, the whole decade produced a lot of great music, and this was another hard list to compile (though not as hard as last week’s). Now, I can already hear all of you complaining that number 13 is bending the rules a little. My argument is this: First, no one will deny that Madonna and the 80s are practically synonymous. Second, according to Wikipedia, Vogue was released in the early part of the year (3/90) so it’s probably a safe bet that it was actually written and recorded in 1989. And third, it’s MY list and I can bend any rule I want.

Lee