Wednesday, April 12, 2006

A Smattering of Quotes

Like someone who walks down the corner, expecting just to buy a bottle of milk at the grocery store, and ends up days later hundreds of miles from home, wandering around the desert, I have taken an unplanned vacation from blogging this past week or so. Nothing tragic, mind you, just one of my occasional lapses. For those of you kind enough to continue to stop in here, I want to share with you some of my favorites from the quotes I've collected over the past week. I promise a regular post soon (yeah, right, we're on pins and needles, Muley...)
"Human language is like a cracked kettledrum on which we beat out tunes for bears to dance to, when what we long to do is make music that will move the stars to pity."

--Gustave Flaubert
in Madame Bovary

(This has to be the lament of every writer, no matter how famous)
"Art is the only way to run away without leaving home."

--Twyla Tharp

(So true)
"A gentleman is simply a patient wolf."

--Lana Turner

(I guess this is a somewhat understandable sentiment from a woman who was married seven times)
"Opera is when a guy gets stabbed in the back and, instead of bleeding, he sings."

--Ed Gardner

(In Elvis movies, he would sing, play guitar and ride a motorcycle as well)
"Very nice, though there are dull stretches."

--Antoine de Rivarol

(His classic, snarky review of another writer's two-line poem)
"English was good enough for Jesus Christ and it's good enough for the children of Texas."

--Miriam "Ma" Ferguson
Texas governor, 1925-27 and 1933-35

(Hey Dixie Chicks, I'm proud of our governors here in Texas, even the dumb ones)

And, today's favorite...

"If it hadn't been for books we would have been entirely at the mercy of sex."

--Anatole Broyard

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Good to see you out and about in the blogging world. Love the quotes. I have been collecting books of quotations since I was in high school, although I still don't have Bartlett's Book (and maybe won't now that it's online).

My favorite: the review of the two-line poem. Perfect.

Jenn said...

Hey, Im having a book sale. hehe.

I LOVE quotes.

One of my other favorites:

There is a fine line between fishing and standing on the shore like and idiot.

Muley said...

Stephanie: good to be back. Glad I'm finding so many people like you and Emma who love quotes. And you can quote me on that.

I know, isn't it deliciously snarky?

Emma: by the way, when aren't you Emma? Full moons?

When I saw this quote, I thought about you. Don't you own like 629 DVDs and 3,000 books or something? What are you avoiding? Hmmm.

The difference between fishing and standing on the shore like an idiot is whether you have any bait on your line (and whether you have a line at all).

Jenn said...

Emma is a name I picked..and will be legal soon enough. (DONT tell about the full moons!)

Hey, Im going to email you my hubby's quote list he has had for the last 15 years, starting in Bible College. Very good reads, if you want it???

Jenn said...

that is 637 DVDs!

Muley said...

Emma: Please e-mail me the list--I'd love to see it. Sorry I left off those eight DVDs, but I didn't think the full set of "Girls Gone Wild" was something that counted.

And I thought you were legal. Can your husband say, "Mann Act?"

LBJ said...

"Every time I fly and am forced to remove my shoes, I'm grateful Richard Reid is not known as the Underwear Bomber."

— Douglas Manuel, aerospace executive regards airport security