I've always liked a good quotation, and used to keep a journal of them back in high school. Here's one from E.B. White that a former co-worker sent around the office:
"I wake up every morning determined to both change the world and have one hell of a good time. Sometimes this makes planning the day a little difficult."
I ran across it while emptying out my inbox (21 to go!) and figured this would make a good sidebar quotation. But what's the source? Google gave me 160,000 hits but none of them primary sources. Fortunately, there's Wikiquote, which provides both the accurate quotation and its source, a New York Times interview with White in 1969 by one Israel Shenker.
"If the world were merely seductive, that would be easy. If it were merely challenging, that would be no problem. But I arise in the morning torn between a desire to improve (or save) the world and a desire to enjoy (or savor) the world. This makes it hard to plan the day."
Where did the original turn into the inspirational-poster version? Who decided to mess with White -- who wrote the book on writing? We may never know. The only hit on both phrases was this page of user-submitted quotes which contains a third version:
"Every morning I awake torn between a desire to save the world and an inclination to savor it. This makes it hard to plan the day. But if we forget to savor the world, what possible reason do we have for saving it? In a way, the savoring must come first."
Since the last two sentences aren't in the interview, where did they come from? That's easier to find; in an address right after 9/11, Mary Spilde, president of Lane Community College in Eugene, OR said the following:
E.B.White said, "every morning I awake torn between a desire to savor the world and an inclination to savor it. This makes it hard to plan the day." But if we forget to savor the world, what possible reason do we have for saving it? In a way, the savoring must come first.
The last two sentences are clearly Ms. Spilde's, but someone took out the middle quote mark. Only 9 hits on this version, but who knows? Someday we may be quoting White as saying:
Woke up this morning. Hit the alarm clock. Should I save the world today? Or just have a hell of a good time? Must check my planner.
| Errata | Quotations
I am on a CAUSE -- a Crusade Against Useless Stuff Everywhere!
I can't remember where I read about the book It's All Too Much -- probably Lifehacker or 43 Folders or somewhere like that. I'm telling you now: you need this book. It will change the way you think about your house and your stuff. Since I've read this I've been filling up trash bags, giving things away, and generally de-cluttering. Things I haven't seen in five years because they've been sitting in a box? Out. Clothes that don't fit me anymore? Out. Old magazines I'm never going to get to? Out.
Speaking of which, let me know if you're interested in a bunch of copies of Nadine...
And here to inspire you is George Carlin, talking about Stuff. (It's Carlin, so audio is NSFW).
posted this | this entry's link | speak your mind | Stuff
me: Ricardo Montalban DIED?!
Debra: um, yes. and? you thought that his personal acquaintance with the devil (Roddy McDowell) on Fantasy Island meant this wouldn't happen?
me: yes
me: i heard about McGoohan but not Ricardo.
| BLIM | Obituaries
| Promises Promises
In which Gavin Edwards reviews the MTV year-end top-100 countdown from 1988. Commercials and all. And speaking of 80's videos, you have seen Literal Take On Me, haven't you? I warn you, you might have "Pipe Wrench Fight" stuck in your head afterward.
posted this | this entry's link | 1 comment | MTV | Music Videos | Reviews
Zach's Kindergarten class watches the inauguration:
posted this | this entry's link | 1 comment | Zach
I'm going to have the best inauguration party -- Zach's entire kindergarten class (plus Ben) will be watching the swearing-in on our living room rug.
By the way -- congratulations and all, Obama, on becoming president. Now can you please stop asking me for more money? Thanks.
posted this | this entry's link | 2 comments | Spider-Man | Superheroes
Ben brought home The Terrible Topsy-Turvy, Tissy-Tossy Tangle by Margaret Mahy. It's got the usual children's book plot -- scientist invents a potion, her twin brother wants her to invent a new tomato sauce for his spaghetti lunch instead, the sauce and the potion get switched, a spy infiltrates the house disguised as a lost girl, spy tries to steal the potion and opens the pot of spaghetti instead. Then things get weird.
The titular Terrible Topsy-Turvy, Tissy-Tossy Tangle comes out of the pot -- and it's a flying spaghetti monster. The T-TT-TT chases the spy out of the house and down the road in her spy van.
This book was written in 1996 -- long before His Noodly Appendage was revealed through the series of tubes. I can only conclude that Margaret Mahy was a prophet.
posted this | this entry's link | speak your mind | Flying Spaghetti Monster
