What Does Love Mean?

The following collection of quotes arrived at my Inbox one day, and I thought I might as well post them here, although the same quotes, with the addition of others can already be found on thousands of websites. I don't know if the quotes really were written (or spoken) by children between the ages of 4 and eight, but it probably doesn't matter, they are all worth a few moments of contemplation.

WHAT DOES LOVE MEAN?
A group of professional people posed this question to a group of 4 to 8 year-olds, "What does love mean?" The answers they got were broader and deeper than anyone could have imagined. See what you think:

"When my grandmother got arthritis, she couldn't bend over and paint her toenails anymore. So my grandfather does it for her all the time, even when his hands got arthritis too. That's love." Rebecca – age 8

"When someone loves you, the way they say your name is different. You know that your name is safe in their mouth." Billy – age 4

"Love is when a girl puts on perfume and a boy puts on shaving cologne and they go out and smell each other." Karl – age 5

"Love is when you go out to eat and give somebody most of your French fries without making them give you any of theirs." Chrissy – age 6

"Love is what makes you smile when you're tired." Terri – age 4

"Love is when my mommy makes coffee for my daddy and she takes a sip before giving it to him, to make sure the taste is OK." Danny – age 7

"Love is when you kiss all the time. Then when you get tired of kissing, you still want to be together and you talk more. My mommy and Daddy are like that. They look gross when they kiss" Emily – age 8

"Love is what's in the room with you at Christmas if you stop opening presents and listen," Bobby – age 5

"If you want to learn to love better, you should start with a friend who you hate," – age 6

"There are two kinds of love. Our love. God's love. But God makes both kinds of them." Jenny – age 4

"Love is when you tell a guy you like his shirt, then he wears it every day." Noelle – age 7

"Love is like a little old woman and a little old man who are still friends even after they know each other so well." Tommy – age 6

"During my piano recital, I was on a stage and scared. I looked at all the people watching me and saw my daddy waving and smiling. He was the only one doing that. I wasn't scared anymore," Cindy – age 8

"My mommy loves me more than anybody. You don't see anyone else kissing me to sleep at night." Clare – age 5

"Love is when mommy gives daddy the best piece of chicken." Elaine – age 5

"Love is when mommy sees daddy smelly and sweaty and still says he is handsomer than Robert Redford." Chris – age 8

"Love is when your puppy licks your face even after you left him alone all day." Mary – age 4

"I know my older sister loves me because she gives me all her old clothes and has to go out and buy new ones." Lauren – age 4

"I let my big sister pick on me because my Mom says she only picks on me because she loves me. So I pick on my baby sister because I love her." Bethany – age 4

"When you love somebody, your eyelashes go up and down and little stars come out of you." Karen – age 7

"Love is when mommy sees daddy on the toilet and she doesn't think it's gross." – age 6

"You really shouldn't say 'I love you' unless you mean it. But if you mean it, you should say it a lot. People forget," Jessica – age 8

*****

Author and lecturer Leo Buscaglia once talked about a contest he was asked to judge. The purpose of the contest was to find the most caring child. The winner was a four year old child whose next door neighbour was an elderly gentleman who had recently lost his wife. Upon seeing the man cry, the little boy went into the old gentleman's yard, climbed onto his lap, and just sat there. When his mother asked him what he had said to the neighbour, the little boy said, "Nothing, I just helped him cry."

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Quote of The Day...

To fear love is to fear life, and those who fear life are already three parts dead. Bertrand Russell (1872 - 1970), Marriage and Morals (1929)

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Bound for Glory: America in Color

It could be a scene from Huckleberry Finn or Tom Sawyer, but the image on the left is from an online exhibition on the American Library of Congress site called Bound for Glory: America in Color.

It is the first major exhibition of the little known color images taken by photographers of the Farm Security Administration/Office of War Information (FSA/OWI).

Comprised of seventy digital prints made from color transparencies taken between 1939 and 1943 (the photographers took over 172,000 shots), this exhibition reveals a surprisingly vibrant world that has typically been viewed only through black-and-white images.

These vivid scenes and portraits capture the effects of the Depression on America's rural and small town populations, the nation's subsequent economic recovery and industrial growth, and the country's great mobilization for World War II.

Highly recommended.

Take a look at Bound for Glory: America in Color.

Image Details
Photographer: Marion Post Wolcott.
Subject: Boys fishing in a bayou.
Location: Schriever, Louisiana, June 1940.

On This Day...

Born 1920, Ray Bradbury, sci-fi author (Fahrenheit 451, Illustrated Man) 1485 Richard III slain at Bosworth Field-last of Plantagenets 1922 Michael Collins Sinn Fein leader, killed by rebels 1977 Sebastian Cabot actor (Mr French-Family Affair), dies at 59 1991 Colleen Dewhurst actress (Murphy Brown), dies of cancer at 67 Not Only, But Also... 1775 King George III proclaims American colonies to be in open rebellion 1791 Haitian Revolution begins 1846 US annexes New Mexico 1864 Geneva Convention signed by 12 nations 1911 Mona Lisa stolen from Louvre

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Quote of The Day...

Early to rise and ditto to bed, Makes a man healthy, but socially dead.

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Guardian Angels: A True Story

Speaking of Guardian Angels (as I did in an earlier post). Did I ever tell you this true story involving one?

This incident took place about 10-12 years ago, when I and my former partner were still happily living together.

I remember it was January -- some two or three weeks after Christmas. The blazing Australian summer temperatures of February were still a few weeks off. My partner had received as a Christmas gift, a scented candle. Set somewhere inside this candle was a small silver 'guardian angel'. The idea was that you lit the candle, and eventually, once the candle had burnt down low enough, the 'guardian angel' would be exposed and presumable set free to do its good work.

So here it was, a lovely balmy summer afternoon, when my partner decided to go and have a lie down on the fold out sofa in the lounge room. She also thought she might as well start the process of releasing the 'guardian angel', so she lit the candle, placed it up on the built in cupboard well away from the curtains, but near the bookshelf, and stretched out on the lounge to have a rest.

Meanwhile, yours truly, here, was down in the back room (the computer room, as I liked to call it), wasting time doing God knows what. I simply can't remember now. My house is not that big. You walk out of the lounge room, down a short hallway, to a cluster of bedrooms - one of which was being used as the afore mentioned computer room. Like I say, I can't remember exactly what I was doing on the computer that day. Nor can I remember if it was an hour later, or two hours later. But I do remember this...

At some point during the afternoon, I distinctly felt someone or something enter the computer room. Since my back was to the door, I turned around to see who, or what, had come into the room. There was no-one there. That's strange, I thought, someone or some thing, some presence had made me turn around fully expecting to see them. But there was nothing. Nobody. And since there was no-one there, I turned back to my work at the computer.

Immediately, and I do mean immediately, once more, some one, or some thing entered the room, and I felt an irrisistable urge to look around again. I could feel this presence trying to get my attention.

Again I look around towards the door, and could see nothing. But this time I felt something was wrong, and knew I had to get up and walk down towards the lounge room and kitchen area, and see what that 'something' was.

Imagine my surprise as I walked out of the computer room into the hallway, to see smoke, gentle working its way along the ceiling towards my end of the house. I rushed down the hallway and turned into the lounge room. Now, imagine my shock to see the top third of the lounge room filled with thick black smoke, and diagonally across from the lounge room door, the bookcase, its shelves stuffed tight with books, going up in flames!

And where was my beloved? Stretched out on the fold out sofa, fast asleep, or so I hoped!

I rushed into the lounge room calling her name. I remember she didn't respond the first time, and as I reached her I roared her name once more. To my great relief, she sat bolt upright so quickly that it almost felt like there must have been some sort of mechanism built into the sofa to propel her up so forcefully.

Needless to say, we got out of there immediately. Luckily, not only did we have enough time to call the fire brigade, but I also, somewhat heedlessly I must say, rushed back into the house with a garden hose and managed to extinguish the bulk of the fire before the fire service arrived.

Of course, the scented candle had been the cause of the fire. But here's the kicker. A day or two later, as the cleanup began and we were removing charred books, melted cassette tapes and other debri from the lounge room, we took a closer look at the offending candle.

And there, lying exposed in the remains of the candlewax -- was the Guardian Angel.

Now I don't know about you, dear reader, but I've been around quite a few years, and I've seen some pretty strange and wonderful things. Many of which can't be explained by the rationalizations of educated men or women. So how do I explain this? The work of God or some higher source? Mere coincidence, perhaps, and nothing more?

I don't know. What I do know, however, is that as I sat in the back room in front of the computer, an overwhelming presence entered that space and demanded my attention -- not once, but twice. And it was only as a result of responding to the presence that I discovered the fire in the lounge room.

This story is filled with potential 'What ifs'. What if I had ignored that presence and stayed at the computer until I actually smelt the smoke before I'd responded? What if I'd done that and hadn't smelt the smoke at all, but simply been overcome by it and collapsed in my chair? What if? What if? What if?

Finally, take another look at that strange image at the beginning of this entry. I offer you Exhibit A. That's right, that's the candle -- still covered in grime and soot as a result of the fire, but minus the Guardian Angel. What happened to this precious little silver icon? Several years after this incident, my partner and I went our separate ways. However, we parted as friends and have kept in contact over the years since we broke up. A few years ago, my ex-partner took a trip overseas. As a gift, I removed the Guardian Angel from the candle, cleaned it up, and gave it to her so that it could continue doing what it was designed to do -- that is, look after her, and make sure she comes to no harm.

I'm delighted to report, the Angel appears to be fulfilling its duties very well. And long may it continue to do so.

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Quote of The Day...

Faith is, at one and the same time, absolutely necessary and altogether impossible. ~ Stanislaw Lem (1921 - 2006)

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Internet Discoveries: Justin King

Justin King, guitar player extraordinaire.

Actually simply calling Justin a 'guitar player' is doing the man a great diservice. Clearly this man knows more about the guitar and its possibilities than mere mortals like me will ever know.

And take a look at the man's hands. Those fingers go on forever! With hands like that, Justin would also make a great piano player (for all I know he does play piano, too). Of course, just having a great pair of hands - does not a guitar player make. You have to have the patience and time to put in hours and hours of practise to get to the point that Justin has arrived at.

You can find out more by visiting Justin King's page at SONY BMG, or by going to Justin's personal official website. Both sites offer extensive music streaming of his material, and you could do a lot worse than checking out the man and his music. Justin appears to moving away from solo acoustic guitar gigs, and has now put together a band that also showcases his fine songwriting talents as well.

The double neck guitar Justin is playing in the clip below, was designed specifically for him by Mike Doolin, of Doolin Guitars.

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Quote of The Day...

What's money? A man is a success if he gets up in the morning and goes to bed at night and in between does what he wants to do. ~ Bob Dylan (1941 - )

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Guardian Angels

I ran a red light today.

I won't give the full details, as it could get me into more trouble than I care to be in right now -- but I will just say, it was not deliberate.

I was not in a hurry. I had no particular deadline to meet. I was not suffering from 'road rage'; trying to keep up with someone; drag racing; or trying to get away from anyone.

Why did I run the red light? Because I didn't see it. In fact, I didn't really 'see' anything. I was completely spaced out; in my own world; 'off with the fairies'; day dreaming; wool gathering; inattentive, and finally, when you get right down to it, just plain stupid.

But someone was watching over me. In deed, this 'someone' or something has been watching over me for quite a long time. Because this is the third time that I have run a red light, or stop sign, and come away completely unharmed, and more importantly, no-one else was hurt by my inattentiveness, either. In each case, I had been completely tuned out to the world around me. I could have been anywhere. Except that I wasn't. I was driving in my car, on this occasion at around 60Kms/hour, and therefore driving a very lethal weapon.

On another occasion, quite a few years ago, I was a passenger in a car when the driver of that vehicle, failed to stop at a "T-junction", and drove straight across the country road we were on. Luckily, there was a dirt path directly opposite the junction and we raced straight across the intersecting highway onto the path. In that incident, we were literally seconds away from causing, and being involved in a major road traffic accident. I remember a whole string of cars, maybe five or six, hitting their brakes and as we crossed directly in front of them.

Again, inattentiveness was the cause of the problem. Being preoccupied by conversations, music, or who knows what, for just that brief moment in time which could literally mean the difference between life and death for someone.

But again, my Guardian Angel was watching over me. Clearly, it seems, my time on this planet is not yet over. When it finally is, I can only hope that I don't leave as a road accident statistic. It seems such a pointless and stupid way to go.

Meanwhile, I thank you, my Guardian Angel, for taking care of me, and for watching out for my welfare (and for the welfare of others). I promise to be more careful in future, and to do my best to stay alert and aware, and living in the present.

Thank You... thank you...

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Quote of The Day...

Man is what he believes. ~ Anton Chekhov (1860 - 1904)

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Pirates of The Carribean - Dead Man's Chest

Jack's back...

That's Captain Jack Sparrow, to give him his full moniker.

Last night I made one of my rare forays to my local cineplex to see, Pirates of The Carribean: Dead Man's Chest, the second of the Pirates... fanchise.

I guess it was a pleasant enough way to spend AU$8.50, and a couple of hours, but 24 hours later as I write this, I think that's the best you can say about the film. But let me digress.

When I was a child, I was familiar with the term 'Davy Jones's Locker'. I can't remember where or why I knew about Davy Jones's Locker, maybe it was from old movies about the sea. Or comics, or classic books like Treasure Island or Kidnapped, or... who knows? To me, and I think most of my generation, Davy Jones's Locker was a metaphor for the place sailors who drowned at sea went to. That is, you didn't go to either Heaven or Hell, you went to Davy Jones's Locker. Not that we thought an actual locker existed. Again, that was simply a metaphor for 'the deep dark sea'.

But in Dead Man's Chest, Davy Jones's Locker, is in fact a real object. In this case, a Chest, or lockable box. And the contents of this Chest, helps form part of the story for this film. Essentially the story revolves around a debt that Cap'n Jack owes Davy Jones, which Jones now wants Cap'n Jack to honour. As with most films of this genre, there are convoluted plots twists, and improbable connections linking one person with another, until most strands of the story are wrapped up neatly at the end. However, since just about everyone knows already that a third Pirates... film is currently in production, the conclusion of this film leaves it very open-ended.

Speaking of which. The film begins with what I assume was supposed to be the wedding of Keira Knightly and Orlando Bloom's characters. This marriage is interrupted and never takes place during Dead Man's Chest. I'm putting my money on one of those 'and they lived happy ever after' marriages in the final scene of Pirates of The Carribean, III. Any takers?

The special effects (CGI of course), were suitably impressive, especially the scenes involving the monster from the deep, the Kraken. The headhunting natives that capture Johnny Depp look very authentic (although I missed completely how or why Cap'n Jack/Depp fell into their clutches), and there are some great set piece fights at sea.

There is also what I can only assume is a homage to Terry Gilliam's Time Bandits. In one scene in Dead Man's Chest most of the surviving crew of the Black Pearl are held captive in two large ball shaped baskets or cages, which hang suspended from some point high above them. To escape from these cages the crew swing back and forth until they are able to grab hold of jungle vines running down a nearby cliff face.

In Time Bandits, our hero's too are held captive in a large cage (see screen shot below), which is also suspended from some point high above them. The characters in Time Bandits manage to escape by securing a rope around one of the characters, and swinging him back and forth until he is able to grab hold of a second cage suspended about 20 feet away. The escape scene in Time Bandits is much more dramatic and longer, but the parallels are there. But I've digressed again.



Johnny Depp is still doing a passable takeoff of Keith Richards, but apart from playing almost every scene for laughs (and generally getting them), he doesn't have to stretch himself too much as an actor. Orlando Bloom bares most of the dramatic weight of the movie, even undergoing a flogging at the hands of his own father (don't ask, you will have to see it for yourself). And then there is Keira Knightly. Unfortunately, Keira doesn't have a lot to do in this film. I suspect that if you timed her scenes with a watch, you would find she has very little screen time, and most of this is in the last half of the film.

Actually, I had a lot of fun playing "Spot the extra's" during the movie. One of these was Mackenzie Crook who came to prominence as Gareth Keenan, in the brilliant British TV series, The Office. Then there is Kevin McNally, who I have seen many times in numerous British television dramas. Jonathan Pryce stared on one of my all time favourite films, Terry Gilliam's Brazil. Here he has little to do, as Keira Knightly's father, but it's always nice to see him onscreen. When I first saw Martin Kleeba, I thought, Wow, there's Mini-Me, from the Austin Power's movies. But it turns out Martin didn't play Mini-Me after all. That role was played by another small person, Verne Troyer, although apparantly Martin Kleeba did have an uncredited role in Goldmember as a dancer.

Oops, I've done it again -- digressed, I mean.

To sum up. This is one film, where the inevitable Director's Cut should be shorter rather than longer than the original. Preferably by a good 20-30 minutes. I found the film overlong, and while the film was certainly entertaining, I found myself wishing I could fast-forward through some of the slower scenes.

I started off by saying, the film was a pleasant enough way to spend AU$8.50, and a couple of hours, and that I think that's the best you can say about the film. Of course, that's not necessarily a bad thing. Sometimes, all you want from your movies (and life), is a way to relax for a few hours, and to not have to think to hard about what is taking place on the big screen -- or in your life. You could do a lot worse than watch Dead Man's Chest, but you could also do a lot better. I guess it just depends on the mood you are in at the time.

Despite everything I've said in my review above, I really enjoyed the first Pirates... movie, Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl. You can buy the Two-Disc Collector's Edition by following the link above directly to Amazon.Com.

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On This Day In...

1942: Born, Garth Hudson, keyboardist with The Band 1944: Born, Joanna Cassidy, the actress who played a replicant in Blade Runner 1977: Born, Edward Furlong, the actor who played John Connor in Terminator 2

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Quote of The Day...

I enjoy being a highly overpaid actor. ~ Roger Moore (1927 - )

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