Carpe Diem
“Carpe, carpe diem, seize the days boys”, Keating shouted to his students. “Make your lives extraordinary!” The movie was Dead Poets Society. Keating was played by an extraordinary Robin Williams. And if there was ever a call to action, this was it. I am writing a book on quotations. I have a chapter called Action [...]
Proverbs With Nationalist Pretensions
Proverbs tend to be assigned to, ascribed to or claimed by nations or nationalities. Silly really, because proverbs are, by definition, universal in nature. On the other hand, some connections – if somewhat stereotypical – make intuitive sense: The Tsarina’s breasts yield milk, not wine. (Russian proverb of the upper crust) You can’t heat a [...]
Picture Perfect
“Brevity is the soul of wit”, wrote William Shakespeare in Hamlet. It is also one of the key elements in making quotations…well…quotable. A quote is the literary equivalent of the 10-second sound bite. It has to be quick and, yes, it has to bite. If properly delivered, few get the chance to bite back. So [...]
Wilde Thing
Oscar Wilde: I wish I had said that. James Whistler: You will, Oscar, you will. A few words on Oscar Wilde and James Whistler are merited. Whistler, of course, is best known for his nearly black-and-white full-length portrait of his mother, in fact titled Arrangement in Gray and Black: Portrait of the Artist’s Mother, but [...]
