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July 16

From Wikiquote

Quotes of the day from previous years:

2003
Experience is the name everyone gives to their mistakes. ~ Oscar Wilde
2004
When we wish to correct with advantage and to show another that he errs, we must notice from what side he views the matter, for on that side it is usually true, and admit that truth to him, but reveal to him the side on which it is false. He is satisfied with that, for he sees that he was not mistaken and that he only failed to see all sides. ~ Blaise Pascal
2005
By the declining day, man is a state of loss, save those who believe and do good works, and exhort one another to truth and exhort one another to endurance. ~ The Qur'an, Surah 103.
2006
If you build it, he will come. ~ "The Voice" in Field of Dreams (Shoeless Joe Jackson born 16 July 1888)
2007
You'll find that you're not the first person who was ever confused and frightened and even sickened by human behavior. You're by no means alone on that score, you'll be excited and stimulated to know. Many, many men have been just as troubled morally and spiritually as you are right now. Happily, some of them kept records of their troubles. You'll learn from them — if you want to. Just as someday, if you have something to offer, someone will learn something from you. It's a beautiful reciprocal arrangement. And it isn't education. It's history. It's poetry. ~ J. D. Salinger in The Catcher in the Rye
  • proposed by Kalki (date of first publication of The Catcher in the Rye (1951)
2008
Ignorance perpetuates itself just as knowledge does. Men write false documents, they preach false doctrine, and those beliefs survive to inspire wickedness in later generations. … Conversely, some men write and teach about the truth, only to be declared heretic by the wicked. In such cases evil has the advantage, for it will do anything to suppress truth, but the good man limits what he will do to suppress falsehood.
One might almost make a rule of it: "Whoever declares another heretic is himself a devil. Whoever places a relic or artifact above justice, kindness, mercy, or truth is himself a devil and the thing elevated is a work of evil magic." ~ Sheri S. Tepper
2009
I have always lived in a world in which I'm just a spot in history. My life is not the important point. I'm just part of the continuum, and that continuum, to me, is a marvelous thing. The history of life, and the history of the planet, should go on and on and on and on. I cannot conceive of anything in the universe that has more meaning than that. ~ Sheri S. Tepper
2010
Nothing limits intelligence more than ignorance; nothing fosters ignorance more than one's own opinions; nothing strengthens opinions more than refusing to look at reality. ~ Sheri S. Tepper
2011
What I mean is, lots of time you don't know what interests you most till you start talking about something that doesn't interest you most. I mean you can't help it sometimes. What I think is, you're supposed to leave somebody alone if he's at least being interesting and he's getting all excited about something. I like it when somebody gets excited about something. It's nice. ~ J. D. Salinger in The Catcher in the Rye (60th anniversary of publication date in 1951)
2012
The sooner we can separate salvageable skeptics from self-righteous absolutists, the sooner we can move along.
~ Sheri S. Tepper ~
2013
To my mind, the expression of divinity is in variety, and the more variable the creation, the more variable the creatures that surround us, botanical and zoological, the more chance we have to learn and to see into life itself, nature itself. … we need variety. We came from that, we were born from that, it's our world, the world in which we became what we have become.
~ Sheri S. Tepper ~
2014
Creation has the truth written all over it — the age of the universe, the history of the world — but nine-tenths of mankind either don't know it or think it's a sham, because it isn't what their book or their prophet says, and it isn't cozy or manipulable enough.
~ Sheri S. Tepper ~
2015
We knew the world would not be the same. A few people laughed, a few people cried, most people were silent. I remembered the line from the Hindu scripture, the Bhagavad-Gita... "Now, I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds."
~ Robert Oppenheimer ~
2016
I am impressed by the great limitations of the human mind. How quick are we to learn, that is, to imitate what others have done or thought before. And how slow to understand, that is, to see the deeper connections. Slowest of all, however, are we in inventing new connections or even in applying old ideas in a new field.
~ Frits Zernike ~
2017
I'm not too sure old Phoebe knew what the hell I was talking about. I mean she's only a little child and all. But she was listening, at least. If somebody at least listens, it's not too bad.
~ J. D. Salinger ~
in
~ The Catcher in the Rye ~
2018
Not many years before the Happening, one of your country's largest religious bodies officially declared that their book was holier than their God, thus simultaneously and corporately breaking several commandments of their own religion, particularly the first one. Of course they liked the book better! It was full of magic and contradictions that they could quote to reinforce their bigoted and hateful opinions, as I well know, for I chose many parts of it from among the scrolls and epistles that were lying around in caves here and there. They're correct that a god picked out the material; they just have the wrong god doing it.
~ Sheri S. Tepper ~
2019
11 … 10 ... 9 … ignition sequence start … 6 … 5 … 4 … 3… 2 … 1 … 0. All engine running. Liftoff! We have a liftoff — 32 minutes past the hour — lift off on Apollo 11. Tower cleared.
~ Jack King ~
  • proposed by Kalki, in regard to the 50th Anniversary of the Apollo 11 launch.
2020
I'll be all right. I'm just going through a phase right now. Everybody goes through phases and all, don't they?
~ J. D. Salinger ~
in
~ The Catcher in the Rye ~
2021
What really knocks me out is a book that, when you're all done reading it, you wish the author that wrote it was a terrific friend of yours and you could call him up on the phone whenever you felt like it. That doesn't happen much, though.
~ J. D. Salinger ~
in
~ The Catcher in the Rye ~
  • proposed by Kalki, for the 70th anniversary of its publication.
2022
The song the carrousel was playing was "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes." It was playing it very jazzy and funny. All the kids kept trying to grab for the gold ring, and so was old Phoebe, and I was sort of afraid she'd fall off the goddam horse, but I didn't say anything or do anything. The thing with kids is, if they want to grab the gold ring, you have to let them do it, and not say anything. If they fall off they fall off, but it's bad if you say anything to them.
~ J. D. Salinger ~
in
~ The Catcher in the Rye ~
2023
I remember I asked old Childs if he thought Judas, the one that betrayed Jesus and all, went to Hell after he committed suicide. Childs said certainly. That's exactly where I disagreed with him. I said I'd bet a thousand bucks that Jesus never sent old Judas to Hell. I still would, too, if I had a thousand bucks. I think any one of the Disciples would've sent him to Hell and all — and fast, too — but I'll bet anything Jesus didn't do it.
~ J. D. Salinger ~
in
~ The Catcher in the Rye ~
2024
We are to be needed, but I'm not sure for what.
~ Sheri S. Tepper ~
2025
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It's true — a lot of people have gotten into comedy because of certain influences in their lives or events that were painful, and I really have wracked my brain to figure it out. I pretty much have had a normal childhood. Maybe it was too normal. ~ Will Ferrell (born 16 July 1967)

For the most part, I don't have too many fears. It's like: Why am I even doing it if I'm not going to enjoy it and just go for it? And that manifests itself in different ways. ~ Will Ferrell (born 16 July 1967)

  • 3 Kalki 01:39, 11 July 2007 (UTC) * 2 Kalki 04:23, 17 July 2006 (UTC) with a lean toward 4.
  • 2 InvisibleSun 22:01, 15 July 2007 (UTC)
  • 1 Zarbon 06:22, 24 April 2008 (UTC)
  • 1 //Gbern3 (talk) 09:52, 10 July 2013 (UTC)

A lot of people, especially this one psychoanalyst guy they have here, keeps asking me if I'm going apply myself when I go back to school next September. It's such a stupid question, in my opinion. I mean how do you know what you're going to do till you do it? The answer is, you don't. I think I am, but how do I know? I swear it's a stupid question. ~ J. D. Salinger in The Catcher in the Rye (first published on this date in 1951)

  • 3 Kalki 01:39, 11 July 2007 (UTC) with a lean towrd 4.
  • 3 InvisibleSun 22:01, 15 July 2007 (UTC)
  • 1 Zarbon 06:22, 24 April 2008 (UTC)
  • 2 //Gbern3 (talk) 09:52, 10 July 2013 (UTC)

Mankind accepts good fortune as his due, but when bad occurs, he thinks it was aimed at him, done to him, a hex, a curse, a punishment by his deity for some transgression, as though his god were a petty storekeeper, counting up the day's receipts... ~ Sheri S. Tepper

  • 2 Zarbon 11:52, 21 May 2008 (UTC)
  • 3 Kalki 23:45, 15 July 2008 (UTC) with a lean toward 4.
  • 3 InvisibleSun 23:58, 15 July 2008 (UTC)
  • 3 //Gbern3 (talk) 09:52, 10 July 2013 (UTC)

Long ago, the people of the world cried out for help. In the reaches of heaven their cry was heard, and a Visitor came in answer to it. The Visitor began helping immediately, but secretly. Now the visitor intends to be known to the people of the world and the people of the world must deal with that knowledge. ~ Sheri S. Tepper

  • 3 Kalki 19:34, 14 July 2009 (UTC) with a strong lean toward 4.
  • 1 Zarbon 18:15, 21 August 2009 (UTC)
  • 1 //Gbern3 (talk) 09:52, 10 July 2013 (UTC)
There are no secrets about the world of nature. There are secrets about the thoughts and intentions of men.
~ Robert Oppenheimer ~
  • 2 ♞☤☮♌︎Kalki ⚚⚓︎⊙☳☶⚡ 00:23, 16 July 2023 (UTC); with a lean toward 3, regarding the anniversary of the Trinity explosion.
Personal beliefs are unarguable, even if the other side has all the facts.
~ Sheri S. Tepper ~
Being an immortal doesn’t matter to me. If one looks out into the universe and perceives what true immortality would mean in terms of time and space, it takes monstrous hubris to even conceive of personal immortality, much less desire it.
~ Sheri S. Tepper ~
You asked for wisdom? Hear these words. Nothing limits intelligence more than ignorance; nothing fosters ignorance more than one's own opinions; nothing strengthens opinions more than refusing to look at reality.
~ Sheri S. Tepper ~
I am myself, though from moment to moment something else seems to be looking on. Whatever will be required of me, however, can best be done if I remember who I am.
~ Sheri S. Tepper ~

Further ideas:
The Trinity explosion 1945
Apollo 11 launch 1969


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