Feeling Philosophical

This morning’s post wasn’t really a post so I trawled through old posts to bring you a new post, of philosophical quotes; a new post to you, that is, but don’t quote me. 

Portrait of René Descartes, dubbed the "Father of Modern Philosophy", after Frans Hals c. 1648 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Dale Carnegie: Tell me what gives a man or woman their greatest pleasure and I’ll tell you their philosophy of life.

Real Carnegie: Tell me what gives a man or woman their greatest pleasure and I’ll sell it to ‘em.

Alphonse Karr: The more things change, the more they remain the same.

Carphone Warehouse: The more phones change, the more money we make.

Ursula Le Guin: It is good to have an end to journey towards, but it is the journey that matters, in the end.

Urge Le Goin: If you must travel, go First Class.

Soren Kierkegaard: Life must be understood backward. But it must be lived forward.

Liam Gallagher: Don’t look back in anger; throw the first punch.

Charles Schultz: I’ve developed a new philosophy… I only dread one day at a time.

Charlie Brown: I’m a miserable git.

Lao Tzu: The journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step.

Low Shoe: The journey of a thousand miles must begin with a flat tyre.

John Keats: Beauty is truth, truth beauty –  that is all ye know on earth, and all ye need to know.

Dodge McLarty: Don’t buy no ugly truck – it’s unpatriotic.

René Descartes on Philosophy: I think; therefore I am.

Tilly Bud on Pig Philosophy: I’m pink; therefore I’m ham.

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• Of Absurdity: What it is (poignantboy.wordpress.com)
• Whole Dude With Whole Thought (tarangini.wordpress.com)

Talking Wildely

I read this Oscar Wilde quote today:

We have really everything in common with America nowadays except, of course, language.

He was a bit of a bitch, wasn’t he?

The quote reminded me of an Anglo-EU Translation Guide I once read.  I thought you might enjoy it.

 

A Cup Of Coco

Image by hto2008 via Flickr

I have no fashion sense, no style, no elegance.  Having no elegance, I had to opt for funny.  It is impossible to be funny and elegant.

I have nothing in common with Coco Chanel.  I have never been independent, or set up a business, or associated with disreputable types.  I don’t like her perfume: I think No.5 smells like cheap market stall concoctions (I’ve known a few), and it smells even worse on me.  It is as if my body is anti-style: quite apart from expensive perfume being allergic to me, I am too short for clothes to look good; my feet are too big for my height; my chest is neither one thing nor the other.  It’s why I never really fought the fat; there didn’t seem much point.

I will never pay obscene prices for clothes and handbags and perfume and accessories and jewellery and a room to store them all in.  The only connection I will ever have with Miss Chanel is this post.  I thought, if Radio 4 can do it, why can’t I?

Today is Coco’s 128th birthday.  She died in 1971 so she probably won’t be at the party.  Justine Picardie has written a new biography of Chanel and the Today programme invited her to appear, along with a previous biographer who claimed Chanel was more Nazi than she let on.  His rage at Picardie’s claims (she wasn’t more Nazi than she let on) made him appear venomous and unrestrained; quite the contrast to Picardie’s cool rebuttal.  She was so cool and rebutting, I could see why Chanel might be an attractive choice of subject.

I am never cool and hardly ever rebut.  Just this week, I had a slight issue (so slight, it could have been me at British size 6; I was once, you know.  Sigh.) with one of Nancy’s excellent posts.  I made my point in the comments; she countered; I thought, fair point, and didn’t reply because I had no comeback and don’t stick to an argument for the sake of it.

I suspect Coco did.  Consider some of her famous quotes:

• A girl should be two things: classy and fabulous.  Ah well.  I’m not even a girl these days.
• Fashion is architecture: it is a matter of proportions.  By that reasoning, I am an abandoned bunker.
• I don’t know why women want any of the things men have when one the things that women have is men.  Ouch!
• It is always better to be slightly underdressed.  Tell that to the Inuit.
• ‘Where should one use perfume?’ a young woman asked. ‘Wherever one wants to be kissed,’ I said.  She really didn’t like men, did she?  How horrible she must have tasted.
• Nature gives you the face you have at twenty. Life shapes the face you have at thirty. But at fifty you get the face you deserve.  Can’t believe I did anything bad enough to deserve this face.

I can’t write about Coco Chanel without mentioning that famous Monroe quote: asked what she wore in bed, Marilyn replied, ‘Chanel No. 5.’  Now that’s style.

You won’t be surprised to learn that I wear fleecy pyjamas and most of the duvet.  I may not have style, but I’m always warm.

Related articles

• Coco Chanel Was Nazi Spy, Claims Book (abcnews.go.com)
• New book claims Coco Chanel was Nazi spy (seattletimes.nwsource.com)
• Coco Chanel was bisexual, new biography claims (pinkbananaworld.com)
• Get the Look: Coco Avant Chanel (casasugar.com)
• Midday Muse: Coco Chanel’s Stylish Staircase (casasugar.com)

A Girl Can Change Her Mind If She Wants To

Image via Wikipedia

Write about a mistake you can learn from.

I hope I learn from every mistake.  I’d be pretty stupid not to.  Einstein put it best:

The definition of insanity: doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result.

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Who annoys you more, Justin Bieber or Lady Gaga?

No third option?  The WordPress prompter with inane questions?  What if I hadn’t heard of either of these two Glee-featured singers?  Gleatured?  I love neologisms.  That (neologism) was a fairly new definition to me, by the way, and is a posh term for homemade word.

Sorry, what was the question?

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Pick a blog or blog post you enjoy and write a post about it.

I will just say in frigid and haughty tones that I don’t need a prompt to do that, thank you very much.  When I read something or someone I like, I share it and always link back.

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Write about something you want to do, but know you shouldn’t.

Poke fun at the prompts.  I know I shouldn’t because I’ll never be Freshly Pressed and might even be silenced one day.  I must remember to save all my posts for posterity.  Let’s see…an average three posts a day over a couple of years…equals…an awful lot of work…

Dear readers, don’t you think the WordPress prompts are awesome?

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I Speak Truth: Don’t Trust Me

Have you ever lied about your age? Why?

I have never lied about my age.  I never saw the point.  I have always looked younger than I am: a pain at eighteen when I was the oldest in our group but the only one who had to show i.d. to get into a disco; not such a bother now.

How old do you think I am here?

Oscar Wilde once said:

One should never trust a woman who tells one her real age. A woman who would tell one that would tell one anything.

Those of you who’ve been reading my blog for a while know that Oscar is probably right.