Shantaram Quotes

I’ll be reviewing this book tomorrow, but in its 900+ pages there were so many wonderful passages I wanted to share some of them.  Hopefully these will give you a taste of the book and you’ll come back tomorrow for my review.

“When we’re young, we think that suffering is something that’s done to us.  When we get older – when the steel door slams shut, in one way or another – we know that real suffering is measured by what’s taken away from us.”   Chapter 14

The only victory that really counts in prison, an old-timer in the Australian jail once said to me, is survival.  But survival means more than simply being alive.  It’s not just the body that must survive a jail term: the spirit and the will and the heart have to make it through as well.  If any one of them is broken or destroyed , the man whose living body walks through the gate, at the end of his sentence, can’t be said to have survived it.  And it’s for those small victories of the heart, and the spirit, and the will that we sometimes risk the body that cradles them.  Chapter 20

“Lin, a man has to find a good woman, and when he finds her he has to win her love.  Then he has to earn her respect.  Then he has to cherish her trust.  And then he has to, like, go on doing that for as long as they live.  Until they both die.  That’s what it’s all about.  That’s the most important thing in the world.  That’s what a man is, yaar.”  Chapter 29

Lettie had once said that she found it strange and incongruous to hear me describe criminals, killers, and mafiosi as men of honour.  The confusion, I think, was hers, not mine.  She’d confused honour with virtue.  Virtue is concerned with what we do, and honour is concerned with how we do it.  You can fight a war in an honourable way – the Geneva Convention exists for that very reason – and you can enforce the peace without any honour at all.  In its essence, honour is the  art of being humble.  And gangsters, just like cops, politicians, soldiers, and holy men, are only ever good at what they do if they stay humble.     Chapter 39

Oscar Winning Quotes Quiz

Thanks for participating!  10 out 15 is not too bad!

The Oscars are next Sunday.  I looked through the list of past Best Picture winners and chose my favorite 15.  Let’s see if you can guess them by the quotes from the movies I chose.

Here’s how to play…Identify these Best Picture Oscar winning movies and leave a comment with the # and movie,  and I’ll cross it off the list. No Googling, that’s cheating and no fun!  To help you out these are in chronological order (the first one winning an Oscar in the 1930′ s and the last one winning in the 2000’s)

1. “What she needs is a guy that’d take a sock at her once a day, whether it’s coming to her or not.  If you had half the brains you’re supposed to have, you’d have done it yourself long ago.”  It Happened One Night (1934 winner)

2. “Of all the gin joints in all the towns in all the world, she walks into mine.”  Casablanca (1943 winner), Mark

3. “You gotta hand it to the Navy; they sure trained that kid how to use those hooks.”

    “They couldn’t train him to put his arms around his girl, or to stroke her hair.”  The Best Years of Our Lives (1946 winner), Hockee

4. “You’re maudlin and full of self-pity.  You’re magnificent!”  All About Eve (1950 winner)

5. “A word to you about escape.  There is no barbed. No stockade.  No watchtower.  They are not necessary.  We are an island in the jungle.  Escape is impossible.  You would die.”  The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957 winner)

6. “The mirror…it’s broken.”

    “Yes I know.  I like it that way.  Makes me look the way I feel.”  The Apartment (1960 winner)

7. “The best of them won’t come for money; they’ll come for me.”  Lawrence of Arabia (1962 winner)

8. “Where the Lord closes a door, somewhere He opens a window.”  The Sound of Music (1965 winner), Kathy

9. “Leave the gun.  Take the canolies.”  The Godfather (1972 winner), Don

10. “I think we make a real sharp couple of coconuts- I’m dumb, you’re shy, whaddaya think, huh?” Rocky (1976 winner), Hockee

11. “Bob, I gotta bad feeling on this one all right?  I mean I gotta bad feeling!  I don’t think I”m gonna make it outta here!  D’ya understand what I’m sayin’ to you?

    “Everybody gotta die some time, Red.”  Platoon (1986 winner), Hockee

12. “I’m an excellent driver.”  Rain Man (1988 winner), Hockee

13. “I do wish we could chat longer, but I’m having an old friend for dinner.”  The Silence of the Lanbs (1991 winner), Mark

14. “But we have the white wizard.  That’s got to count for something.”  Lord of the Rings:Return of the King (2003 winner), Tonya

15. “It’s the sense of touch.  In any real city, you walk, you know?  You brush past each other, people bump into you.  In L.A. nobody touches you.  We’re always behind this metal and glass.  I think we miss that touch so much, that we crash into each other, just so that we can feel something.” Crash (2005 winner), Jason

Who’s that Prez Quiz?

CONGRATS MARK!  Have you been studying?

In honor of the the new President  this week’s quiz is full of quotes from past Presidents (of the United States!) and one from our new President.

Here’s how to play…Identify the President and leave a comment with the # and the name and I’ll cross it off the list. No Googling, that’s cheating and no fun! 

Possible Presidents left-Wilson, Eisenhower,  Truman, Washington, Nixon, Clinton, CArter,  Kennedy

1.” A man is not finished when he is defeated.  He is finished when he quits.”–RICHARD NIXON

2.” We cannot be both the world’s leading champion of peace and the world’s leading supplier of the weapons of war.”–JIMMY CARTER

3. “All great change in America begins at the dinner table.”  RONALD REAGAN, Mark

4. “I claim not to have controlled events, but confess plainly that events have controlled me.”  ABRAHAM LINCOLN, Mark

5. “You can’t know too much, but you can say too much.”  CALVIN COOLIDGE,  Janet

6. “Do not pray for easy lives.  Pray to be stronger men.”–JOHN F KENNEDY

7. “Success is not the measure of a man but a triumph over those who choose to hold him back.”–BILL CLINTON

8. “I would rather belong to a poor nation that was free than to a rich nation that had ceased to be in love with liberty.”–WOODROW WILSON

9. “I despise people who go to the gutter on either the right or the left and hurl rocks at those in the center.” –DWIGHT D EISENHOWER

10. “Firearms are second only to the Constitution in importance; they are the peoples’  liberty’s teeth.”–GEORGE WASHINGTON

11. “Every nation in every region now has a decision to make.  Either you are with us, or are you with the terrorists.”  GEORGE W BUSH, Elena

12. “Let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself.”     FRANKLIN D ROOSEVELT, Jason

13. “I assume the Presidency under extraordinary circumstances…This is an hour of history that troubles our minds and hurts our hearts.”  GERALD FORD, Kathy

14. “It is amazing what you can accomplish if you do not care who gets the credit.”–HARRY S TRUMAN

15. Americans…still believe in America where anything’s possible-they just don’t think their leaders do.”  BARACK OBAMA, Mark

Christmas is coming

“Unless we make Christmas an occasion to share our blessings, all the snow in Alaska won’t make it ‘white’.” –Bing Crosby

“A lovely thing about Christmas is that it’s compulsory, like a thunderstorm, and we all go through it together.” –Garrison Keillor

“At Christmas, all roads lead home.”  –Marjorie Holmes

Vote!

“The world will not change until we do.” - Jim Wallis

“Change is a challenge and an opportunity, not a threat.”  – Prince Phillip of England

“Change is often rejuvenating, invigorating, fun…and necessary.”  - Lynn Povich

“If you don’t like the way the world is, you change it.  You have an obligation to change it.” - Marian Wright Edelman

Both candidates represent some sort of change, although I happen to think that one represents more real  change than the other.  But, that is for you to decide.  And you may not want change at all. 

 I’m very excited at the prospect of an overwhelming voter turnout.  It will mean a busy day for me tomorrow, but a satisfying one.  Please be nice to your poll workers

After your vote, go here and get a free book from me.

Authors on politics

I saw this quote today and couldn’t help but pass it along.  I’m also including a quote from the insightful Douglas Adams which I also find fitting during this election season.  It is important to vote and I hope you have all voted or will be voting on November 4 – even if your vote isn’t the same as mine.  It’s so easy to get discouraged by all the lies being told this late in the campaign, but I’m hoping we voters can prove that we care about the truth and we care enough to vote.

“I look at these people and can’t quite believe that they exist. Are they professional actors? I wonder. Or are they simply laymen who want a lot of attention? To put them in perspective, I think of being on an airplane. The flight attendant comes down the aisle with her food cart and, eventually, parks it beside my seat. “Can I interest you in the chicken?” she asks. “Or would you prefer the platter of shit with bits of broken glass in it? To be undecided in this election is to pause for a moment and then ask how the chicken is cooked.”  - Author David Sedaris, on undecided voters

“Anyone who is capable of getting themselves made President should on no account be allowed to do the job.”   – Douglas Adams, author

A few words on censorship

“All of us can think of a book… that we hope none of our children or any other children have taken off the shelf. But if I have the right to remove that book from the shelf – that work I abhor – then you also have exactly the same right and so does everyone else. And then we have no books left on the shelf for any of us.”
– Katherine Paterson, American author of childrens books (1932-)

“Censorship is telling a man he can’t have a steak just because a baby can’t chew it.”
– Mark Twain

“The sooner we all learn to make a decision between disapproval and censorship, the better off society will be… Censorship cannot get at the real evil, and it is an evil in itself.”
– Granville Hicks (1901-1982)

 

 

 

Banning Books, day 2

“Censorship, like charity, should begin at home: but unlike charity, it should end there.” — Claire Booth Luce

“Every burned book enlightens the world.”
– Ralph Waldo Emerson

 “Censorship of anything, at any time, in any place, on whatever pretense, has always been and always be the last resort of the boob and the bigot.”
– Eugene Gladstone O’Neill, American playwright (1888-1953)

Why do people attempt to ban books?  I think the biggest reason is fear.  Fear of the unknown, or in some cases the known but despised.  The problem with banning books is who decides what is offensive?  As I was looking around at the multitude of sites out there about challenging books I found more than one offensive, but that doesn’t mean I am going to try and deny access to these sites or flood their message boards with hateful email. 

Also, I do see the difference between finding a book that is required reading in high school offensive and trying to get offensive books removed from the public library.  I tend to think that they are both misguided, but the intent from the parent is from a different, more understandable place.  But, unless the parent plans on keeping the child at home or on a commune for the rest of his or her life I think it’s important for said parent to realize that there is a big world out there that kids need to be aware of.  Find a book distasteful or dangerous?  Why not use it for teaching a life lesson instead of trying to hide from them what is out in the big, bad world. 

Judy Blume has written some wonderful things about censorship and she should know since many of her books have been challenged.  http://judyblume.com/censorship.php

I was surprised that so many books are still being challenged and in some cases banned.  Too many to list today, but tomorrow I’ll have a quiz to see if you can guess why a book was banned.  Some of them are pretty funny.

Banned Books Week, Sept.27-Oct.4

“Don’t join the book burners. Don’t think you are going to conceal faults by concealing evidence that they ever existed. Don’t be afraid to go into your library and read every book.” – Dwight D. Eisenhower

 This week I’ll be focusing on banning books and censorship.  To get the week started I copied this from the American Library Association website.  www.ala.org 

Banned Books Week

Celebrating the Freedom to Read

Banned Books Week: Celebrating the Freedom to Read is observed during the last week of September each year. Observed since 1982, this annual ALA event reminds Americans not to take this precious democratic freedom for granted. This year, 2008, marks BBW’s 27th anniversary (September 27 through October 4).

BBW celebrates the freedom to choose or the freedom to express one’s opinion even if that opinion might be considered unorthodox or unpopular and stresses the importance of ensuring the availability of those unorthodox or unpopular viewpoints to all who wish to read them. After all, intellectual freedom can exist only where these two essential conditions are met.

BBW is sponsored by the American Booksellers Association, American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression, American Library Association, American Society of Journalists and Authors, Association of American Publishers, National Association of College Stores, and is endorsed by the Center for the Book in the Library of Congress.

The most frequently challenged books of 2007

The following books were the most frequently challenged in 2007:

The ALA Office for Intellectual Freedom received a total of 420 challenges last year. A challenge is defined as a formal, written complaint, filed with a library or school requesting that materials be removed because of content or appropriateness.  According to Judith F. Krug, director of the Office for Intellectual Freedom, the number of challenges reflects only incidents reported, and for each reported, four or five remain unreported.

The “10 Most Challenged Books of 2007” reflect a range of themes, and consist of the following titles:

1) “And Tango Makes Three,” by Justin Richardson/Peter Parnell
Reasons: Anti-Ethnic, Sexism, Homosexuality, Anti-Family, Religious Viewpoint, Unsuited to Age Group

2) The Chocolate War,” by Robert Cormier
Reasons: Sexually Explicit, Offensive Language, Violence

3) “Olive’s Ocean,” by Kevin Henkes
Reasons: Sexually Explicit and Offensive Language

4) “The Golden Compass,” by Philip Pullman
Reasons:  Religious Viewpoint

5) “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn,” by Mark Twain
Reasons:  Racism

6) “The Color Purple,” by Alice Walker
Reasons: Homosexuality, Sexually Explicit, Offensive Language,

7) “TTYL,” by Lauren Myracle
Reasons: Sexually Explicit, Offensive Language, Unsuited to Age Group

“I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings,” by Maya Angelou
Reasons:  Sexually Explicit

9) “It’s Perfectly Normal,” by Robie Harris
Reasons:  Sex Education, Sexually Explicit

10) “The Perks of Being A Wallflower,” by Stephen Chbosky
Reasons:  Homosexuality, Sexually Explicit, Offensive Language, Unsuited to Age Group

Off the list this year, are two books by author Toni Morrison. “The Bluest Eye” and “Beloved,” both challenged for sexual content and offensive language.

The most frequently challenged authors of 2007

1) Robert Cormier
2) Peter Parnell and Justin Richardson
3) Mark Twain
4) Toni Morrison
5) Philip Pullman
6) Kevin Henkes
7) Lois Lowry
Chris Crutcher
9) Lauren Myracle
10) Joann Sfar

A few words from Philip Roth

“A Jewish man with parents alive is a fifteen-year-old boy, and will remain a fifteen-year-old boy till they die.”

“History… is a nightmare from which I am trying to awake.”

“I cannot and do not live in the world of discretion, not as a writer, anyway. I would prefer to, I assure you – it would make life easier. But discretion is, unfortunately, not for novelists.”

“The road to hell is paved with works-in-progress.”

“When you publish a book, it’s the world’s book. The world edits it.”