Thursday Thirteen 209: Quotes from Sartre

In last week's post, I talked about French philosopher and writer Jean-Paul Sartre and mentioned that my favorite quote by him was L'enfer, c'est les autres (hell is other people). This week I thought I'd share a few more quotes by him.


1. As far as men go, it is not what they are that interests me, but what they can become.

2. Freedom is what you do with what's been done to you.

3. If you are lonely when you're alone, you are in bad company.

4. One always dies too soon or too late. And yet, life is there, finished: the line is drawn, and it must all be added up. You are nothing other than your life.

5. Only the guy who isn't rowing has time to rock the boat.

6. There is only one day left, always starting over: it is given to us at dawn and taken away from us at dusk.

7. Three o'clock is always too late or too early for anything you want to do.

8. Words are more treacherous and powerful than we think.

9. Better to die on one's feet than to live on one's knees.

10. As for me, I am mean: that means that I need the suffering of others to exist. A flame. A flame in their hearts. When I am all alone, I am extinguished. (From No Exit)

11. Perhaps its inevitable, perhaps one has to choose between being nothing at all and impersonating what one is.

12. There may be more beautiful times, but this one is ours.

13. You and me are real people, operating in a real world. We are not figments of each other’s imagination. I am the architect of my own self, my own character and destiny. It is no use whingeing about what I might have been, I am the things I have done and nothing more. We are all free, completely free. We can each do any damn thing we want. Which is more than most of us dare to imagine.




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Wordless Wednesday 11: Puccoons

Puccoons in Bloom ~ UW Arboretum ~ Madison, WI

More Wordless Wednesday

Teaser Tuesday 91: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

* Grab your current book or recent read.
* Share a few “teaser” sentences from somewhere in the book.
* BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (Make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away. You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
* Share the title and author so that other participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teaser!

Started book six of the Harry Potter series Saturday afternoon, and made it just about to the midpoint before bed that night. Didn't get as much read Sunday due to a nature outing. I'm currently on page 492 of 652...about 75 percent done. Whew! Almost there...

"Will you give him back his bat and get back to the goal posts!" roared Harry, pelting toward McLaggen just as McLaggen took a ferocious swipe at the Bludger and mishit it.

A blinding sickening pain…a flash of light…distant screams…and the sensation of falling down a long tunnel…

(Pg 415)

About the Book:
Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince (Book 6)
By J.K. Rowling

The war against Voldemort is not going well; even Muggle governments are noticing. Ron scans the obituary pages of the Daily Prophet, looking for familiar names. Dumbledore is absent from Hogwarts for long stretches of time, and the Order of the Phoenix has already suffered losses.

And yet . . .

As in all wars, life goes on. Sixth-year students learn to Apparate — and lose a few eyebrows in the process. The Weasley twins expand their business. Teenagers flirt and fight and fall in love. Classes are never straightforward, though Harry receives some extraordinary help from the mysterious Half-Blood Prince.

So it's the home front that takes center stage in the multilayered sixth installment of the story of Harry Potter. Here are Hogwarts, Harry will search for the full and complex story of the boy who became Lord Voldemort — and thereby find what may be his only vulnerability.

Random Photo: Flowers

People from a planet without flowers would think we must be mad with joy the whole time to have such things about us.

~ Iris Murdoch

Random Photo: Here's Looking at You, Kid

Random Photo: In the Woods

The wood is all flicker and murmur and illusion. Its silence is a pointillist conspiracy of a million tiny noises--rustles, flurries, nameless truncated shrieks; its emptiness teems with secret life, scurrying just beyond the corner of your eye.
~Tana French, In the Woods

Giveaway: Summer in the South

Want to win this book? Kaye is giving away one copy--stop by her blog to enter. You can also read her review of the book here.

Thursday Thirteen 208: Sartre

This week's post was influenced by Tuesday's issue of The Writer's Almanac.


Tuesday, June 21, marked the birth of French philosopher and writer Jean-Paul Sartre, born in Paris in 1905.

Sartre earned a doctorate in philosophy at the École Normale Supérieure in Paris, which was the alma mater for many prominent French thinkers.

It was at the École Normale in 1929 that he met Simone de Beauvoir, who studied at the Sorbonne and became a noted philosopher, writer, and feminist. They were inseparable lifelong companions, though not monogamous.

Sartre and de Beauvoir challenged cultural and social assumptions and expectations of what they considered their bourgeois upbringings, both in how they lived and thought.

Sartre was drafted into the French army in 1939 as a meteorologist, and was captured by Germans in 1940. It was during his nine months as a prisoner of war that he first read Heidegger, which had a huge influence on his own writings.

After WWII, Sartre established a quarterly literary and political review, Les Temps Modernes (Modern Times), and began writing full-time, writing numerous plays, novels, screenplays, and essays.

Sartre was a leading figure in French philosophy and existentialism, influenced by such notables as Kant, Hegel, Kierkegaard, Husserl and Heidegger. His work continues to influence studies in literature, sociology and many other fields today.

Existentialism generally focuses on the condition of human existence, and a person’s emotions, thoughts, responsibilities and actions, or the purpose of life. It makes for very heavy, thought-provoking reading, and challenges your beliefs.
The dominant theme in much of Sartre’s early work, as found in his principal philosophical work L'Être et le Néant (Being and Nothingness) was the conflict between oppressive and spiritually destructive conformity and living an authentic life.

I read a few of his works in college, both in French and in English (and in subjects other than those two), including Le Mur (The Wall), Les Mouches (The Flies), and one of my favorite plays, Huis Clos (No Exit).

Huis Clos is the source of one of my favorite quotes, l'enfer, ç'est les autres ("Hell is other people"). Sartre also said, "If you are lonely when you're alone, you are in bad company."

In 1964, Sartre refused the Nobel Prize in literature.

50,000 people thronged the streets of Paris at his death in 1980 to pay their respects.





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WordlessWednesday 11: Spiderwort

Greene Prairie * UW Arboretum * Madison, WI

More Wordless Wednesday

Teaser Tuesday 90: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

* Grab your current book or recent read.
* Share a few “teaser” sentences from somewhere in the book.
* BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (Make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away. You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
* Share the title and author so that other participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teaser!


With only weeks before the last movie is out in theaters, I decided it was time to buckle down and finish reading the final three books in the series. So, I spent the past weekend and a few hours tonight (Monday) reading book five, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. Only 60 more pages to go....

This paragraph is from near the very end of the book/movie.

Five curses flew in five different directions and the shelves opposite them exploded as they hit. The towering structure swayed as a hundred glass spheres burst apart, pearly-white figures unfurled into the air and floated there, their voices echoing from who knew what long-dead past amid the torrent of crashing glass and splintered wood now raining down upon the floor—

"RUN!"

(pg 787)

About the Book:
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Book five)
By JK Rowling

There is a door at the end of a silent corridor, and it's haunting Harry Potter's dreams. Why else would he be waking in the middle of the night, screaming in terror?

Here are just a few of the things on Harry's mind:

• A Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher with a personality like poisoned honey
• A venomous, disgruntled house-elf
• Ron as Keeper of the Gryffindor Quidditch team
• The looming terror of the end-of-term Ordinary Wizarding Level (O.W.L.) exams

. . . and of course, the growing threat of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named.

In the richest installment yet of J.K. Rowling's seven-part story, Harry Potter is faced with the unreliability of the very government of the magical world and the impotence of the authorities at Hogwarts.

Despite this (or perhaps because of it), he finds depth and strength in his friends, beyond what even he knew; boundless loyalty; and unbearable sacrifice.

Though thick runs the plot (as well as the spine), readers will race through these pages and leave Hogwarts, like Harry, wishing only for the next train back.

Random Photo: Surprise

I noticed this fresh shoot growing in the pot of my dragon tree and gigantic fern earlier last Monday. Based on the leaves, I'd say it is probably another fern. Funny, for years all the growth was by the dragon tree, with the fern straggling along. Now this past year, the fern has really taken off. It's more than half the height of the dragon tree now and just keeps going. I swear every couple months there's a new frond growing on it. And now it seems to have reproduced. Oy! I think I'm going to have to dig this one up while it's still small and transplant it. There's barely enough space in the pot as it is!

Random Photo: Smile

Henry Vilas Zoo, July 2010
Madison, WI

Thursday Thirteen 207: Recently Viewed

With no cable and the end of the season for regular network TV, I've being doing less watching, but do manage to catch a movie on PBS or ThisTV on occasion, or TV show on DVD. Here's what I've watched the last couple months, going back to April. And hey, don't judge--a couple of these might have been campy, but sometimes you need that mindless entertainment.












1. Men of Honor (2000): One of my favorite based-on-a-true-story movies about the first black navy diver. Plus, it has Cuba Gooding, Jr. and Robert DeNiro. (ThisTV)
2. Invictus (2009): Matt Damon/Morgan Freeman. Another great movie based on a true story. Two Oscar Nominations. (DVD)
3. Persuasion (2007): Based on the novel by Jane Austen. This was a pretty good rendering of the story. (PBS)

4. Bonnie and Clyde (1967): Based on the Depression-era bank robbers. Won two of ten Oscars for which it was nominated (PBS)
5. Munster Go Home (1966): I did mention some of these were pretty campy...right? (ThisTV)
6. Pajama Party (1964): Campy 1960's beach movie starring Annette Funicello. (PBS)

7-9: Gilmore Girls, Seasons 3, 4 and 5: On loan from my sister. Still have seasons six and seven to watch. (DVD)

10. Sliding Doors (1998): An interesting though weird premise about how different one's life might be based on whether or not you caught a particular train. Liked it, if for no other reason than it stars John Hannah. There's just something about that man's voice and eyes.
11. Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (1971): A childhood favorite, part of a weekend chocolate double-feature. I have not seen the newer version and do not care to. (VHS)
12. Chocolat (2000): Part two of the chocolate double-feature. Absolutely love this movie, and the soundtrack is awesome, too. Nominated for five Oscars. (DVD)

13. Unforgiven (1992): Easy to see why this movie won four of the nine Oscars for which it was nominated, including that of director and best picture. (PBS)

What was the most recent movie or DVD you watched?





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Wordless Wednesday 10

Teaser Tuesday 89: Should've Been a Cowboy

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

* Grab your current book or recent read.
* Share a few “teaser” sentences from somewhere in the book.
* BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (Make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away. You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
* Share the title and author so that other participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teaser!


Finished over the weekend and loved it!

"I don't want to talk." He reached for her.

"Me neither." With a groan she surrendered to the kiss she'd been craving for ten long months, the kiss she'd promised herself wouldn't happen, the kiss that was so...damn...good.

(pg 52)

About the book:
Should've Been a Cowboy (Sons of Chance #4)
By Vicki Lewis Thompson

Party organizer Tyler O'Connelli is on the fast track to her dream career. She's so close she can almost taste it. But when she returns to her family and sees her one-night stand, Alex Keller, all done up in his cowboy gear, her self-control is stretched to the breaking point....

They're worlds apart. She's a busy career girl, and Alex is a cowboy. But while getting together might not bode well for anything long-term, it more than makes up for it in sheer hot chemistry! Problem is, this is one wrangler she might want to get tied down—and tied up—to...indefinitely!

Jelly Legs

Jelly Legs...that would be me.

It being a pleasant evening of around 70F, I decided to get the bike out after dinner for a short ride. And short it was. Ugh! This city has way too many hills, and my neighborhood is no exception. Yeah...I barely made it three miles. I can walk a mile in fifteen minutes no problem, but I seriously lack the strength in my knees for riding a bicycle in this town.

It wasn't always that way. When we were kids I used to ride a bike on almost a daily basis. My sisters and I went everywhere on our bikes: the library, friends' homes, or just on long random rides. In high school we would ride our bikes across town, hills and all, no problem. The thing is, I got out of the habit of riding while in college. There was no place to store a bike on my campus, so I left it at home. And then being out of practice did not ride it much during summer vacations or after graduation. Yup...sure paying for that now.

There were also a few knee injuries in there that prevented me from riding for long stretches, too. That is not an excuse, but a fact. For example, the injury of January 1999. First day back to work after the holidays and I fell at work, coshing my knee against a stainless steel chest. Can you say, Ouch?!

Great way to start off the new year, let me tell you. That was the month both parents were dealing with health issues, and my sisters lived out of state. Rather than staying off the knee and propping it up as much as possible the way I was supposed to, I was expected to run all over hell and creation. It didn't help when I slipped on some ice and wrenched the already injured knee--which, of course, prolonged the injury.

Yup, 1999 was a really great year. Not.

And, okay, so I should have been in the fitness center after it started to get better to try to strengthen it, but did I mention both parents were dealing with illnesses? Which meant Heather had zero time to take care of herself. And while I did start walking regularly again come summer, which is great cardio exercise, walking targets completely different muscles than riding a bike. You don't realize it when you're a kid because most kids are usually pretty active year round, and riding a bike is just one more routine activity. But let it go for a few years and try to take it up again as an adult...believe me--you notice.

Two summers ago I decided it was time to liberate my bike from the dungeon (aka basement storage locker), get new tires, polish it up a bit, and start using it. Umm...yeah. I rode it only a couple of times. The intention was there, but not the spirit.

This summer I am determined to get more use out of it. I'd like to be able to ride it through the Arboretum, and maybe to work. Hence the ride this evening. And it wouldn't have been so bad were it not for those freaking hills I live on. Yes, plural. My neighborhood is anything but flat, and it really challenged me. I've decided I need new knees. Also, an inhaler. While the asthma hasn't bothered me much the last few years, I am feeling it tonight. The steam from a hot shower helped some, but man...I am whipped.

Sigh... Maybe I should just sell the bike and stick with walking.

A's Graduation

It seems only yesterday this little girl, the daughter of a close friend, was heading off to elementary school...




She graduated high school yesterday afternoon, and will be starting Madison College in the fall. Below is the card I made for her. When I saw this image in my daily calendar last month, I knew I had to use it for A's card. The sentiment reads, "Now get out there and do something remarkable." That plus the look on the girl's face made it absolutely perfect. There are graduation caps stamped in yellow on top of the yellow background. Image is matted on dark blue--blue and yellow are her school colors.

Stamps: Graduation (My Sentiments Exactly)
Ink: Summer Sun (Stampin Up)
Paper: Blue, yellow striped (DCWV)
Image: Mary Engelbreit desk calendar
3-D Stickers: Graduation Celebration (Reminisce)

Random Photo: Polar Bear

Henry Vilas Zoo, Summer 2005
Madison, WI

Thursday Thirteen 206: Beat the Heat

Our area has been plagued by a heat wave the last several days, which is quite unusual for this time of year. Our normal temps for early June are mid-70s. Tuesday's temp set a new record high of 96F. In June! If, like me, you've been suffering from the heat, here are a few tips on how to cope with it.

1. Stay out of the sun, especially between 10am and 2pm, which is typically the hottest part of the day. If you do have to go out, wear sunscreen, hat and sunglasses and take it easy.

2. Stay hydrated. Water is best, but certain sports drinks and fruit juice are also good. Make sure it is 100 percent juice, though, not a juice "drink" like Sunny-D or a juice cocktail.

3. Avoid alcohol, tea and caffeine as they will dehydrate you.

4. Avoid heavy meals. Salads, fruits, cold soups and sandwiches are best for hot weather.

5. Lay in a supply of popsicles, freeze pops and juice bars for a refreshing treat. Frozen grapes and melon are also good.

6. Avoid outdoor physical activity. Trust me, the lawn and the garden can wait. If you really must tend to them, do so early in the morning or late evening. This is also when a gym membership or workout DVD comes in handy.

7. Wear loose, comfortable clothing that allows heat to evaporate.

8. Keep windows closed, and shades or curtains drawn during the day to block out the sun. It's even better if, like me, your windows are shaded by a few trees. Because I have eastern-facing windows, I leave my front blinds open overnight so my plants get a couple hours early morning sun, then close them before I leave for work. It truly does make a difference!

9. Turn lights off, or use fewer of them, to avoid heat build-up and to conserve energy. Also minimize use of energy-draining appliances (yes, even the TV!), and try to run larger ones such as dishwashers, washers, and dryers either early in the morning or later in the evening.

10. Use the air conditioner if you have it (and can afford it), fans if you don't. If the heat gets too unbearable, take yourself off to the library, mall, or movie theater for a while.

11. Check on elderly or disabled neighbors and family members to make sure they are okay. Sadly, there was an incident Wednesday in which an elderly man in Milwaukee died after sitting outside for more than three hours. His body core temp was over 101 degrees.

12. DO NOT leave children, the elderly or pets in an unattended vehicle for even five minutes. JUST DON'T! I cannot emphasize this enough. A local man learned this lesson the hard way Monday afternoon, when he was issued a $177 fine for leaving his dog in the car while he ran into a downtown business. The outside temp was 93F; the temp inside his car over 100F.

13. Know the signs of heat exhaustion and heat stroke, and what you should do treat them. And yes, there is a difference. Both are forms of hyperthermia, but heat stroke is more severe and can be fatal if medical treatment is not sought immediately.

It's only natural to want to get outdoors once the temperature starts to warm up—especially after a long, cold winter—but please be aware of the weather conditions in your area and be safe while you are outside.




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The Accidental Cooks * Rekaya Gibson

Teaser Tuesday 88: In the Woods

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

* Grab your current book or recent read.
* Share a few “teaser” sentences from somewhere in the book.
* BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (Make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away. You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
* Share the title and author so that other participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teaser!


Just about done with this one. The author's writing style is such that I wouldn't call this a fast read, but it has drawn me in.

If you, like me, are essentially a city person, then the chances are that when you imagine a wood you picture a simple thing: matching green trees in even rows, a soft carpet of dead leaves or pine needles, orderly as a child’s drawing. Possibly those earnestly efficient man-made woods are in fact like that; I wouldn’t know.
(pg 271)

About the book:
In the Woods
By Tana French

As dusk approaches a small Dublin suburb in the summer of 1984, mothers begin to call their children home. But on this warm evening, three children do not return from the dark and silent woods. When the police arrive, they find only one of the children gripping a tree trunk in terror, wearing blood-filled sneakers, and unable to recall a single detail of the previous hours.

Twenty years later, the found boy, Rob Ryan, is a detective on the Dublin Murder Squad and keeps his past a secret. But when a twelve-year-old girl is found murdered in the same woods, he and Detective Cassie Maddox—his partner and closest friend—find themselves investigating a case chillingly similar to the previous unsolved mystery. Now, with only snippets of long-buried memories to guide him, Ryan has the chance to uncover both the mystery of the case before him and that of his own shadowy past.

Splash!

Can I just say that itis far too hot for this time of year? We had temps in the high 80s over the weekend (heat index in the 90s), and are experiencing temps in the 90s today through Wednesday. The heat index for Tuesday is supposed to be around 100F. In early June! In Wisconsin! If it's this hot in June, what the heck is August going to bring? *whimper*

Saturday, my younger sister, BIL and two nieces (cousins, not sisters) were up for the day. We started out at the Farmers' Market and Cows on the Concourse on the Capitol Square, had lunch at Ella's Deli, then went to Tenney Beach where the girls splashed in the water about an hour before we wandered over to watch a few of the boats coming through the Tenney Locks. Neither girl had seen locks before, so both thought them pretty cool. The locks connect Lake Mendota to the Yahara River, which runs between Lakes Mendota and Monona. We ended the day with a stop at the Memorial Union Terrace where we enjoyed Babcock Dairy ice cream while listening to live music. Mmm...

Needless to say, after all the sun and heat and walking Saturday, I wasn't up to doing much Sunday. I watched a movie and spent most of the day reading, though I did venture out for a walk the evening. Only did three miles as it was still 86F at 7pm. Crazy! This is Wisconsin, not Mississippi!

Thankfully, the weather is supposed to be more "seasonable" next weekend.

Random Photo: Moooo

The Bug with calf
Cows on the Concourse, June 2006

Madison, WI

Random Photo: Golden

Olbrich Gardens, summer 2005

Thursday Thirteen 205: Spelling Bee

IT’S TIME FOR THE NATIONAL SPELLING BEE!

The Scripps National Spelling Bee takes place this week in Washington, DC, with 275 young spellers competing. I'm extremely disappointed I won't get to watch the finals this year, which have been moved to cable. Grrr... For those who are able to watch, here are a few words to get you in the mood...


01. incommodious [in-kuh-MOH-dee-uhs], adjective: Inconvenient, as not affording sufficient space or room; uncomfortable

Some poets have seen death's offer in many forms and accepted the outcome but ignored incommodious invitations.
-- Lesley Choyce, Dance the Rocks Ashore

02. autodidact [aw-toh-DY-dakt] noun: One who is self-taught.

He is our ultimate autodidact, a man who made himself from nothing into a lawyer, a legislator—a president.
--Kevin Baker, "Log Cabin Values", New York Times, April 2, 2000

03. irenic [eye-REN-ik; -REE-nik], adjective: Tending to promote peace; conciliatory.

While this left him at odds with older ecclesiastics of a more irenic disposition such as Archbishop Murray of Dublin (1768- 1852), he found an ally in John Mchale (1791-1881).
--W. J. McCormack, Patrick Gillan, The Blackwell Companion to Modern Irish Culture

04. wistful [WIST-ful] adjective:
1: full of yearning or desire tinged with melancholy; also: inspiring such yearning
2: musingly sad: pensive

"So,” said Wood, at long last, jerking Harry from a wistful fantasy about what he could be eating for breakfast at this very moment up at the castle.
-- J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

05. philippic [fi-lip-ik] noun: any speech or discourse of bitter denunciation.

I pulled at his sleeve, and we were followed up the sidewalk by a philippic on our family’s moral degeneration...
--Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird

06. irascible [ih-RASS-uh-buhl] adjective: Prone to anger; easily provoked to anger; hot-tempered.

His father was an irascible and boastful bully, a heavy drinker and a gambler.
--Robin Waterfield, Prophet: The Life and Times of Kahlil Gibran

07. interdict [n. in-ter-dikt; v. in-ter-dikt] noun: any prohibitory act or decree of a court or an administrative officer.
–verb (used with object): to forbid; prohibit.

What Jem did was something I’d do as a matter of course had I not been under Atticus’s interdict, which I assumed included not fighting horrible old ladies.
--Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird

08. oppugn [uh-PYOON], verb:
1. To assail by criticism, argument, or action.
2. To call in question; dispute.

I do not wish to oppugn the character of Miss Goodrich by bearing false witness in regard to her activities.
--Jeffrey D. Marshall, The Inquest

09. rectitude [rek-ti-tood, -tyood] noun: rightness of principle or conduct; moral virtue

In later years, I sometimes wondered exactly what made Jem do it, what made him break the bonds of “You just be a gentleman, son,” and the phase of self-conscious rectitude he had recently entered.
--Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird

10. deleterious [del-uh-TEER-ee-us] adjective: harmful often in a subtle or unexpected way

Marguerite is convinced that violent television programs will have a deleterious effect on her children, so she carefully monitors what they watch.

11. vociferate \voh-SIF-uh-reyt\, verb:
To speak or cry out loudly or noisily; shout; bawl.

He replied audibly enough, in a fashion which made my companion vociferate, more clamorously than before, that a wide distinction might be drawn between saints like himself and sinners like his master.
--Emily Brontë, Wuthering Heights

12. nonplus [non-PLUHS], transitive verb: To cause to be at a loss as to what to think, say, or do; to confound; to perplex; to bewilder.

I told him that to many people she is one of the best sculptors alive, but he seemed nonplussed by the thought.
--Jed Perl, Eyewitness: Reports from an Art World in Crisis

13. epigamic [ep-i-GAM-ik], adjective: Attracting the opposite sex, as the colors of certain birds.

But now the epigamic urgings travel beyond their periphery, kneading painfully against my heart and lungs and brain.
--Jim Thompson , Now and on Earth


Watch the Scripps National Spelling Bee
Semi-finals: Thursday, June 2; ESPN, 10am EDT
Finals: Thursday June 2; ESPN, 8:30pm EDT



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YOUR NAME

Wordless Wednesday 9

Janesville Rotary Gardens, May 2008