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January 27

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Quotes of the day from previous years:

2004
All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us. ~ J. R. R. Tolkien in The Lord of the Rings : The Fellowship of the Ring
2005
Remind yourself that all men assert that wisdom is the greatest good, but that there are few who strenuously seek out that greatest good. ~ Pythagoras
2006
If you drink much from a bottle marked "poison" it is almost certain to disagree with you, sooner or later. ~ Lewis Carroll (born 27 January 1832)
2007
"When I use a word," Humpty Dumpty said in rather a scornful tone, "it means just what I choose it to mean — neither more nor less."
"The question is," said Alice, "whether you can make words mean so many different things."
"The question is," said Humpty Dumpty, "which is to be master — that's all."
~ Lewis Carroll ~
2008
"In that direction," the Cat said, waving its right paw round, "lives a Hatter: and in that direction," waving the other paw, "lives a March Hare. Visit either you like: they're both mad."
"But I don't want to go among mad people," Alice remarked.
"Oh, you can't help that," said the Cat: "we're all mad here. I'm mad. You're mad."
"How do you know I'm mad?" said Alice.
"You must be," said the Cat, "or you wouldn't have come here."
~ Lewis Carroll in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland ~
2009
Everything's got a moral, if only you can find it. ~ Lewis Carroll in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
2010
Twas brillig and the slithy toves,
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe;
All mimsy were the borogoves,
And the mome raths outgrabe.

"Beware the Jabberwock, my son,
the jaws that bite and claws that scratch
Beware the jubjub bird
and shun the frumious bandersnatch."

~ Lewis Carroll in Through the Looking-Glass ~

2011
I suppose every child has a world of his own — and every man, too, for the matter of that. I wonder if that's the cause for all the misunderstanding there is in Life? ~ Lewis Carroll
2012
I believe it is the duty of each of us to act as if the fate of the world depended on him. Admittedly, one man by himself cannot do the job. However, one man can make a difference... We must live for the future of the human race, and not for our own comfort or success. ~ Hyman G. Rickover
2013
Be sure the safest rule is that we should not dare to live in any scene in which we dare not die.
But, once realise what the true object is in life — that it is not pleasure, not knowledge, not even fame itself, 'that last infirmity of noble minds' — but that it is the development of character, the rising to a higher, nobler, purer standard, the building-up of the perfect Man — and then, so long as we feel that this is going on, and will (we trust) go on for evermore, death has for us no terror; it is not a shadow, but a light; not an end, but a beginning!
~ Lewis Carroll ~
2014
Customs and convictions change; respectable people are the last to know, or to admit, the change, and the ones most offended by fresh reflections of the facts in the mirror of art.
~ John Updike ~
2015
The Quakers have an excellent approach to thinking through difficult problems, where a number of intelligent and responsible people must work together. They meet as equals, and anyone who has an idea speaks up. There are no parliamentary procedures and no coercion from the Chair. They continue the discussion until unanimity is reached. I want you guys to do that. Get in a room with no phones and leave orders that you are not to be disturbed. And sit there until you can deal with each other as individuals…
~ Hyman G. Rickover ~
2016
It is said that a wise man who stands firm is a statesman, and a foolish man who stands firm is a catastrophe.
~ Hyman G. Rickover ~
2017
For the last two years, the minute hand of the Doomsday Clock stayed set at three minutes before the hour, the closest it had been to midnight since the early 1980s. In its two most recent annual announcements on the Clock, the Science and Security Board warned: "The probability of global catastrophe is very high, and the actions needed to reduce the risks of disaster must be taken very soon." In 2017, we find the danger to be even greater, the need for action more urgent. It is two and a half minutes to midnight, the Clock is ticking, global danger looms. Wise public officials should act immediately, guiding humanity away from the brink. If they do not, wise citizens must step forward and lead the way.
~ Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists ~
2018
To call the world nuclear situation dire is to understate the danger — and its immediacy. … Beyond the nuclear and climate domains, technological change is disrupting democracies around the world as states seek and exploit opportunities to use information technologies as weapons, among them internet-based deception campaigns aimed at undermining elections and popular confidence in institutions essential to free thought and global security. … International diplomacy has been reduced to name-calling, giving it a surreal sense of unreality that makes the world security situation ever more threatening.
Because of the extraordinary danger of the current moment, the Science and Security Board today moves the minute hand of the Doomsday Clock 30 seconds closer to catastrophe. It is now two minutes to midnight — the closest the Clock has ever been to Doomsday, and as close as it was in 1953, at the height of the Cold War.
~ Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists ~
2019
Free discussion requires an atmosphere unembarrassed by any suggestion of authority or even respect. If a subordinate always agrees with his superior he is a useless part of the organization.
~ Hyman G. Rickover ~
2020
When I was young, my mindset was image, image, image. I took that approach with the media. As I became more experienced I realized: No matter what, people are going to like you or not like you. So be authentic, and let them like you or not for who you actually are. At that point, I started keeping all of my answers blunt and straightforward. I would mix in some humor and sarcasm, too. I think fans and reporters came to appreciate that, came to appreciate the real me.
~ Kobe Bryant ~
2021
Responsibility is a unique concept … You may share it with others, but your portion is not diminished. You may delegate it, but it is still with you … If responsibility is rightfully yours, no evasion, or ignorance or passing the blame can shift the burden to someone else. Unless you can point your finger at the man who is responsible when something goes wrong, then you have never had anyone really responsible.
~ Hyman G. Rickover ~
2022
I am such a great exponent of stopping this whole nonsense of war. Unfortunately limits — attempts to limit war have always failed. The lesson of history is when a war starts every nation will ultimately use whatever weapon it has available.
~ Hyman G. Rickover ~
2023
What it takes to do a job will not be learned from management courses. It is principally a matter of experience, the proper attitude, and common sense — none of which can be taught in a classroom … Human experience shows that people, not organizations or management systems, get things done.
~ Hyman G. Rickover ~
2024
"It was much pleasanter at home," thought poor Alice, "when one wasn't always growing larger and smaller, and being ordered about by mice and rabbits. I almost wish I hadn't gone down that rabbit-hole — and yet — and yet — it's rather curious, you know, this sort of life! I do wonder what can have happened to me! When I used to read fairy-tales, I fancied that kind of thing never happened, and now here I am in the middle of one!"
~ Lewis Carroll ~
in
~ Alice's Adventures in Wonderland ~ ~
2025
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Quotes by people born this day, already used as QOTD:

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2 : Good – some desire to see it used.
1 : Acceptable – but with no particular desire to see it used.
0 : Not acceptable – not appropriate for use as a quote of the day.
An averaging of the rankings provided to each suggestion produces it’s general ranking in considerations for selection of Quote of the Day. The selections made are usually chosen from the top ranked options existing on the page, but the provision of highly ranked late additions, especially in regard to special events (most commonly in regard to the deaths of famous people, or other major social or physical occurrences), always remain an option for final selections.
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Suggestions

[edit]

It is a mistake to think that the practice of my art has become easy to me. I assure you, dear friend, no one has given so much care to the study of composition as I. There is scarcely a famous master in music whose works I have not frequently and diligently studied. ~ Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (born January 27, 1756)

  • 3 InvisibleSun 11:44, 26 January 2007 (UTC)
  • 3 Kalki 23:40, 26 January 2008 (UTC) with a strong lean toward 4.
  • 2 Zarbon 19:13, 22 April 2008 (UTC)

I never lie down at night without reflecting that — young as I am — I may not live to see another day. Yet no one of all my acquaintances could say that in company I am morose or disgruntled. ~ Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

  • 3 InvisibleSun 11:44, 26 January 2007 (UTC)
  • 3 Kalki 23:40, 26 January 2008 (UTC)
  • 1 Zarbon 19:13, 22 April 2008 (UTC)

'Begin at the beginning,' the King said gravely, 'and go on till you come to the end: then stop.' ~ Lewis Carroll

  • 3 InvisibleSun 11:44, 26 January 2007 (UTC)
  • 3 Kalki 23:40, 26 January 2008 (UTC)
  • 1 Zarbon 19:13, 22 April 2008 (UTC)

The rule is, jam to-morrow and jam yesterday — but never jam to-day. ~ Lewis Carroll

  • 3 InvisibleSun 11:44, 26 January 2007 (UTC)
  • 2 Kalki 23:40, 26 January 2008 (UTC)
  • 1 Zarbon 19:13, 22 April 2008 (UTC)

The format of the nightly newscasts is still very much 1981 — "Tremble, onlookers! I am the anchorman and now here is a miracle: a report by satellite from many thousands of miles away. I will return to introduce another one in due course." ~ Keith Olbermann (born January 27, 1959)

  • 3 InvisibleSun 11:44, 26 January 2007 (UTC)
  • 2 Kalki 23:40, 26 January 2008 (UTC)
  • 1 Zarbon 19:13, 22 April 2008 (UTC)

I'm not trying to win a popularity contest. If you're in a public media setting and you're not expressing something of yourself, turn it over to someone who will. Just get out. Just go away and put somebody on who has a point of view, because the most dangerous thing about TV is its equalizing factor, its lowest common denominator factor. And that's what I fight against all the time. ~ Keith Olbermann

  • 3 InvisibleSun 11:44, 26 January 2007 (UTC)
  • 3 Kalki 23:40, 26 January 2008 (UTC) with a lean toward 4.
  • 1 Zarbon 19:13, 22 April 2008 (UTC)

A leader is one who, out of madness or goodness, volunteers to take upon himself the woe of the people. There are few men so foolish, hence the erratic quality of leadership in the world. ~ John Updike (died 27 January 2009)

  • 3 Kalki 22:47, 27 January 2009 (UTC) with a strong lean toward 4, but a preference to eventually use it on 18 March, his birthdate.
  • 3 InvisibleSun 23:52, 27 January 2009 (UTC)
  • 3 bystander (talk) 23:51, 22 January 2013 (UTC)

Writers may be disreputable, incorrigible, early to decay or late to bloom but they dare to go it alone. ~ John Updike (died 27 January 2009)

  • 3 Kalki 22:47, 27 January 2009 (UTC) with a lean toward 4, but a preference to eventually use it on 18 March, his birthdate.
  • 3 InvisibleSun 23:52, 27 January 2009 (UTC)

If you are going to sin, sin against God, not the bureaucracy. God will forgive you but the bureaucracy won't. ~ Hyman G. Rickover

When doing a job — any job — one must feel that he owns it, and act as though he will remain in that job forever. ~ Hyman G. Rickover

Everything new endangers something old. A new machine replaces human hands; a new source of power threatens old businesses; a new trade route wipes out the supremacy of old ports and brings prosperity to new ones. This is the price that must be paid for progress and it is worth it. ~ Hyman G. Rickover

All men are by nature conservative but conservatism in the military profession is a source of danger to the country. One must be ready to change his line sharply and suddenly, with no concern for the prejudices and memories of what was yesterday. To rest upon formula is a slumber that, prolonged, means death. ~ Hyman G. Rickover

To doubt one's own first principles is the mark of a civilized man. Don't defend past actions; what is right today may be wrong tomorrow. Don't be consistent; consistency is the refuge of fools. ~ Hyman G. Rickover

Is all our Life, then but a dream
Seen faintly in the goldern gleam
Athwart Time's dark resistless stream?
~ Lewis Carroll ~

All in the golden afternoon
Full leisurely we glide;
For both our oars, with little skill,
By little arms are plied,
While little hands make vain pretense
Our wanderings to guide.
~ Lewis Carroll in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland ~

The Caterpillar and Alice looked at each other for some time in silence: at last the Caterpillar took the hookah out of its mouth, and addressed her in a languid, sleepy voice.
'Who are you?' said the Caterpillar.
This was not an encouraging opening for a conversation. Alice replied, rather shyly, 'I — I hardly know, sir, just at present — at least I know who I was when I got up this morning, but I think I must have been changed several times since then.
~ Lewis Carroll in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland ~

'Have you guessed the riddle yet?' the Hatter said, turning to Alice again.
'No, I give it up,' Alice replied: 'what's the answer?'
'I haven't the slightest idea,' said the Hatter.
'Nor I,' said the March Hare.
Alice sighed wearily. 'I think you might do something better with the time,' she said, 'than waste it in asking riddles that have no answers.'
~ Lewis Carroll in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland ~

'I've a right to think,' said Alice sharply, for she was beginning to feel a little worried.
'Just about as much right,' said the Duchess, 'as pigs have to fly'.
~ Lewis Carroll in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland ~

"When I use a word,' Humpty Dumpty said in rather a scornful tone, 'it means just what I choose it to mean — neither more nor less."
"The question is," said Alice, "whether you can make words mean so many different things."
"The question is," said Humpty Dumpty, "which is to be master— that's all."
~ Lewis Carroll in Through the Looking-Glass

It's a poor sort of memory that only works backwards. ~ Lewis Carroll in Through the Looking-Glass

You may seek it with thimbles — and seek it with care;
You may hunt it with forks and hope;
You may threaten its life with a railway-share;
You may charm it with smiles and soap —

("That's exactly the method," the Bellman bold
In a hasty parenthesis cried,
"That's exactly the way I have always been told
That the capture of Snarks should be tried!")

"'But oh, beamish nephew, beware of the day,
If your Snark be a Boojum! For then
You will softly and suddenly vanish away,
And never be met with again!'
~ Lewis Carroll ~

In the midst of the word he was trying to say,
In the midst of his laughter and glee,
He had softly and suddenly vanished away —
For the Snark was a Boojum, you see.
~ Lewis Carroll ~

We must be the change we wish to see in the world. Mahatma_Gandhi


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