Potluck Quote of the Day (10 of 10): Natalie Portman

Tonight's Quote of the Day is from Oscar-winning actress Natalie Portman ("V for Vendetta;" "Black Swan;" "Garden State") who was on the cover of the New York Times' T-Magazine (which covers fashion); one of our favorite films with the Israeli-born Portman is "Closer" with Julia Roberts and Jude Law:

"If you're an actress or a musician, everyone thinks you're hot."

http://www.natalieportman.com

http://www.nytimes.com

Quotes from Famous Authors (5 of 5): Dorothy Parker

Greetings to our blog readers in Denmark, Montenegro and Yemen.......well, perhaps it's a boring Sunday afternoon in Aden!

Here is our quote from Dorothy Parker:

"This is not a novel to be tossed aside lightly. It should be thrown with great force."

Now to get back to watching Sarah Silverman host "Saturday Night Live."

Quotes from Famous Authors (3 of 5): Mark Twain

"The difference between the right word and the almost-right word is the difference between the lightning and the lightning-bug."

If one is in the Hartford, Connecticut, area, we highly recommend visiting the Mark Twain House where Ghost Walk tours are being offered on Friday nights this month in honor of Halloween.

http://www.marktwainhouse.org

Quotes from Famous Authors (2 of 5): Margaret Atwood

"Being edited is like falling face down into a threshing machine," Margaret Atwood.

SIDEBAR: We learned from The Urban Dictionary last week that when a person takes a selfie of their shoes, it is called a ''shoefie.' We imagine it is popular with suburban narcissist women in places like Bethesda, Maryland, who want the whole world to see how they fit into their new Jimmy Choo high heels!

http://us.jimmychoo.com/on/demandware.store/Sites-jchus-Site/en_US/Default-Start?geoip=geoip

Quotes from Off the Beat and Path (5 of 6): Sarah Silverman

Since we fully realize we will never the blog hits that Andrew Sullivan or our good friend Chris Knight will get from their blogs, we hope that by quoting the always brilliant lightning rod  stand-up comedian/actress Sarah Silverman that a few people in Ecuador pay attention to us.

Silverman, 43,  is an agnostic Jew who admits that she likes Jesus; religion is one of her favorite topics to make fun of.

Here is one of her quotes:

"I have a ton of Holocaust stuff, and some of it is hard core."

http://www.andrewsullivan.com

Quotes from Off the Beat and Path (4 of 6): Marcel Marceau

Though the late, great Marcel Marceau was a French mime and not known for speaking, today, we feature a quote from this comic genius who ironically said the only line in the mid-70s Mel Brooks movie "Silent Movie."

Here is his quip:

"To communicate through silence is a link between the thoughts of man."

Little Thinkers' Quotes (13 of 16): Kurt Vonnegut

Here is today's quote from Kurt Vonnegut, author of "Slaughterhouse Five." When I was a reporter in Woodstock, Va., several years and touring the local jail, I was amused to see there was a copy of this novel in the prison library:

"True terror is to wake up one morning and realize that your high school class is running the country."

http://www.vonnegut.com/

I also have to wonder if Vonnegut ever met the engaging Slovenian philosopher Slavoj Zizek before the author's death in 2007.

Little Thinker Quotes (12 of 16): We're Not Afraid of Virginia Woolf.

"You cannot find peace in by avoiding life."

Ironically, this is a quote from Virginia Woolf, who alas committed suicide.

SIDEBAR: According to "Mental Floss" magazine, at some point and place in time, people used to say: "It's colder than a brass toilet seat in the Yukon."

With that in mind, here are some look at temperatures across America and around the world:

48 degrees in Sochi, Russia

37 degrees in Greensboro, NC

37 degrees in Bergen, Norway

29 degrees in Portland, Maine

21 degrees in Kars, Turkey

14 degrees in Port Huron, Michigan

http://www.mentalfloss.com

http://www.virginiawoolfsociety.co.uk

Little Thinkers Quote of the Day (10 of 16): Albert Einstein

"Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results."

Little Thinkers (6 of 16): Leonardo da Vinci

Greetings to our blog readers in Sri Lanka, The Netherlands and China.

Here is quote of the day from Leonardo da Vinci:

"While I thought I was learning how to live, I have been learning to die."

Little Thinkers Quotes: Andy Warhol (5 of 16)

Greetings to our blog-readers in Israel, Ethiopia (?!, well perhaps) and Kazakhstan.

Today, we continue our Little Thinkers series with a quote from the great American pop artist Andy Warhol, who was famous for painting soup cans as well as avant garde portraits of Elvis Presley, Marilyn Monroe and Mao Tse-Tung, among others.

In art, the Baltimore Museum of Art recently recovered a Renoir that was stolen form the museum in the 1960s, the person who had the painting claimed that it was purchased for seven dollars at the Harpers Ferry Flea Market in Harpers Ferry, West Virginia.

There is an Andy Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh.

Here is his quote:

"Sex is more exciting on the screen and between the pages than between the sheets."


http://www.warhol.org

http://www.artbma.org

Quotes from the Little Thinkers (3 of 16): Charlie Chaplin

Greetings to our blog-readers in Italy, France and Bulgaria.

Today, we quote the great actor/filmmaker/composer Charlie Chaplin, whose classic film "City Lights" is available from the Criterion Collection: http://www.crterion.com

There is also an independent bookstore in San Francisco, Calif., called City Light.

Here is his quip:

"This is a ruthless world and one must be ruthless to survive in it."

http://www.charliechaplin.com

Presidential Quotes (10 of 16): General Grant Said.....

With perhaps the exception of Dwight D. Eisenhower, whom we are quoting on our sister blog http://www.politicscultureandotherwastesoft.blogspot.com Ulysses S. Grant(1822-1855; president from 1869-1877)  was perhaps more known for his life before the presidency as a Civil War general for the winning Union side, than he was for his years in the White House.

Grant was born in Point Pleasant, Ohio. He signed an end to the Civil War with General Robert E. Lee, who headed the losing Confederate side of the Civil War, in Appomattox, Va.

Grant also defeated Horace Greeley of New Hampshire to win reelection in 1872, and Greeley also had the misfortune of dying before all the votes were tallied!

Here is Grant's quote:

"My failures have been errors in judgment, not of intent."

http://www.millercenter.org/grant

Quote of the Day: Andy Warhol

Greetings to our blog-readers in Italy, Spain and Australia.

We are a bit stunned that there is no Google Doodle for America's great pop artist Andy Warhol, who would have turned 85 today.

David Bowie wrote a song called "Andy Warhol" and later played him on film.

The Andy Warhol Museum is one of Pittsburgh, Pa.'s top tourist attractions.

The image above is an Andy Warhol doll that is made by the Unemployed Philosophers Guild, a novelty-item maker in America.

Here is one of his quotes:

"The always say time changes things, but you actually have to change them yourself."

http://www.warhol.org

Presidential Quotes (6 of 8)_ James Monroe

Greetings to our blog readers in Turkey, Egypt and Pakistan. Since this is the Ramadan holiday for practicing Muslims, I wanted to say Ramadan Mubarak to those in the Arab world, and Ramadan Bayraminiz Kultu Olusn for those in Turkey.

Today, we quote James Monroe, America's fifth president and one of Virginia's most distinguished native sons. There is a high school which bears his name in Fredericksburg, Va.

Here is his quote:

"The best form of government is that which is mostly likely to prevent the great sum of evil."

http://www.visitfred.com/

Presidential Quotes, Cont'd: Ronald Reagan

Greetings to our blog readers in Singapore, Dubai and Istanbul.

We actually thought about posting an image of Mao Tse-Tung to go with this quote from Ronald Reagan, but we figured if George F. Will was reading this blog that he would not be amused, though Michael Moore might be?!

Here is our quote; to check out other quotes in this series go to our sister blog "Politics, Culture and Other Wastes of Time" http://www.politicscultureandotherwastesoft.blogspot.com :

"I never drink coffee at lunch. I find it keeps me awake for the afternoon."

http://www.reaganfoundation.org

http://www.reaganlibrary.gov

Quote of the Week- Mustafa Kemal Ataturk

Yes, it has been a long time, but this blog is continuing on.

Today in honor of my late father Mehmet Gokbudak (1921-1983), we are quoting his personal hero Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, who founded the modern Republic of Turkey in 1923. My father would have turned 92 on Jan.7th.

Here is the quote:

"Unless a nation's life faces peril, war is murder."

Quote of the Night-William S. Burroughs

Tonight, we continue quoting famous American authors with a quip from my personal favorite William S. Burroughs (1914-1997). His best-known work is the novel "Naked Lunch" (1953) which was made into a film of the same name in 1991 by Canadian director David Cronenberg. Other famous novels by Burroughs include "Junky" (1953) and "The Soft Machine" (1961, pictured here).

Here are some brief facts about his life:

_Lived much of his abroad including time spent in London, Paris, Mexico City and Tangier (Morocco), and he lived most of his senior years in Lawrence, Kansas.

_He had a son named William Burroughs Jr. (1947-1981) who wrote the novel "Speedy." Tragically, the younger Burroughs died at age 33 from liver disease.

Here is the quote from the author of "The Soft Machine:"

"A cat's rage is beautiful, burning with pure cat flame, and its hair standing up and crackling blue sparks, eyes blazing and sputtering."

Quote of the Day/Week- F. Scott Fitzgerald

Today's quote of the day is from F. Scott Fitzgerald (1896-1944), the famed Minnesota novelist who died age 44. Last year, a characterization of him was in the Woody Allen movie "Midnight in Paris." He was played by Tom Hiddleston.

In a tragic irony, his wife Zelda Sayre (known as Zelda Fitzgerald) also died young at age 48 in 1948. She was played in the same Allen film by Alison Pill.

Here are some other quick facts about F. Scott Fitzgerald:

_ Best-known for his novel "The Great Gatsby" (1925), which was made into a theatrical film in 1974 with Robert Redford playing the lead. I found a paperback copy of it at a nifty used bookstore in Wilmington, NC.

_Wrote the novel "Tender is the Night" (1934), which is the same title of a catchy Jackson Browne ballad, released in 1983.

_ A theatre named after him in St. Paul, Minn., was featured in Robert Altman's last film "A Prairie Home Companion"

Here is the quote:

"Show me a hero and I will write you a tragedy."

Quote of the Day- Carson McCullers

Today, we start a week-long series of quotes from famous American writers since the 4th of July, or Independence Day, was celebrated here last week.

We start with the distinguished Southern writer Carson McCullers (1917-1997), who died at age 50. She had suffered considerable health and personal problems during her short life. Two of her most famous novels "The Heart is a Lonely Hunter" (1940) and "Member of the Wedding" (1946) were written before she turned 30. Her work has also been adapted to stage plays and film.

McCullers was born in Georgia, and wrote most of her famous novels while residing in Charlotte, NC.

Here is her quote:

"I live with the people I create and it has always made my essential loneliness less keen."