September 15, 2003:
Whenever you're called on to make up your mind,
and you're hampered by not having any,
the best way to solve the dilemma, you'll find,
is simply by spinning a penny.
No - not so that chance shall decide the affair
while you're passively standing there moping;
but the moment the penny is up in the air,
you suddenly know what you're hoping.
-Piet Hein, poet and scientist (1905-1996)

May 11, 2003:
"You need only reflect that one of the best ways to get yourself a reputation as a dangerous citizen these days is to go about repeating the very phrases which our founding fathers used in the struggle for independence."
-Charles A. Beard

February 20, 2003:
"The skill of writing is to create a context in which other people can think."
-Edwin Schlossberg, designer

Prior to 2003

"Have you never observed what an irresistible and invincible thing is spirit, the presence of which makes every soul in the face of everything fearless and unconquerable?"
-Plato, The Republic, Book II

"When life hands you a lemon, say 'Oh yeah, I like lemons. What else ya got?'"
-Henry Rollins

"They called me mad, and I called them mad, and damn them, they outvoted me."
-Nathaniel Lee (on being consigned to a mental institution, circa 17th c.)

"In truth everything and everyone / Is a shadow of the Beloved, / And our seeking is His seeking / And our words are His words... / We search for Him here and there, / while looking right at Him. / Sitting by His side, we ask: / 'O Beloved, where is the Beloved?'"
-Rumi, poet and mystic (1207-1273)

"Many people hear voices when no-one is there. Some of them are called mad and are shut up in rooms where they stare at the walls all day. Others are called writers and they do pretty much the same thing."
-Margaret Chittenden, writer