Tuesday, May 16, 2006

Wish I'd Said That

Babe's Always WriteLooking for new inspiration? A drop of something more than sweat to get you past that writer's block? A friend of mine has an online group that pumps a new inspiring quote into your email box every day. Here's the link.
htp://groups.yahoo.com/group/Writing-Quote-A-Day/
She also has the most amazing Winsconsin choc-coated cherries, but I'm trying to concentrate on feeding my soul here. My other feeding habits need no encouragement, believe me.

So, I'm sitting here munching my third chocolate brownie (hey, my son cooked them today so it's purely to help build the kid's self esteem) and I'm trying to work out what's my favorite quote. There's so many good ones, it's not an easy decision. I do like parts of "The Art of War" by Sun Tzu.
To find out what a person is like there are seven ways:
Ask him a difficult question, observe his talent for analysis
Speak to provoke him, observe his attitude
Ask him how he goes about solving difficult problems, judge his intelligence
Let him deal with a difficult situation, observe his courage
Get him drunk, observe his nature
Tempt him with gold, observe his integrity
Give him instructions to complete a task, assess his trustworthiness

Personally I think he could have added an eighth way:
Give him a whole container of chocolate brownies, assess his self-control

Mencius speaks to me with his saying
A great talker uses few words
ahem, see earlier post about underwater marble manipulations

I also like the Chinese proverb
The less you know the more confident you are.
I'm sure that speaks to us all. And it's so true of this business!

So, what's your favorite saying?

8 comments:

Babe King said...

Gack! I thought the post was lost and retyped it. Forgive my reiteration.
Again, sorry. :-)
heh, heh, heh, I'm such a newbie!

Dayna_Hart said...

hrm. My favorite saying? "People Suck". No wait, that's my mantra. My favorite quote would have to be from the Princess Bride. "You're only saying never because no one ever has." Yeah, I admit it...deep down...somewhere in the 'cockles of my heart' (and cockles is one of those words not used nearly enough in this day and age) anywho. Deeeeeep down...I'm still an optimist, and tenacious as hell. Someone who doesn't like to say 'never'.

Anonymous said...

My favorite saying (or rather, it's more of a mantra) is cribbed from what my old roommate referred to as her vaccuuming song (sung to the London Bridge is Falling Down):

Life's a bitch and so am I!
So am I!
So am I!
Life's a bitch and so am I!
Guess I'll go eat chocolate.

Eva Gale said...

Lol Babe! Happy to see you on the blogosphere.

My favorite quote?

If I did not wear torn pants, orthopedic shoes, frantic disheveled hair, that is to say, if I did not tone down my beauty, people would go mad. Married men would run amuk.-Brenda Ueland.

LOVe that one.

Eva Gale said...

Oh!

Creative minds have always been known to survive any kind of bad training.-Anna Freud

Babe King said...

LOL- you girls are a riot. Brenda Ueland has trouble with her self-esteem, huh? ANd thanks a lot AManda, I'm humming London Bridge and the kids are looking at me strange. :-)

Silma said...

Oh, don't mention brownies... I'm having a chocolate withdrawl. *bangs head against his head*

Heather said...

Wow, thanks for the plug, Babe! Must find new source for those Chocolate Cherry De-Lites ASAP -- can you believe my grocery store had the nerve to stop carrying them??

Hmmm...favorite quotes. Here's one of mine:

"Patience and perseverance have a magical effect before which difficulties disappear and obstacles vanish." ~ John Quincy Adams