Quote of the Day

He that never changes his opinions, never corrects his mistakes, will never be wiser on the morrow than he is today.
- Tryon Edwards

Quote of the Day

Non omnia possumus omnes.
[We are not all capable of everything.]
- Virgil

Quote of the Day

As blushing will sometimes make a whore pass for a virtuous woman, so modesty may make a fool seem a man of sense.
- Jonathan Swift

Quote of the Day

In the long run we are all dead.
- John Maynard Keynes

My trip to Prague V

My final posting is largely from the tower of Old Town Hall. The city bought the house in 1338, but no one seems to know exactly how old it is. Much of it was destroyed by heavy fighting in 1945, but they've done a really good job of rebuilding and making everything look ancient again. You can walk or take the elevator a few floors up and then go through a ticket check, which will allow you to walk a few extra floors before you finally step out at the top and aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah, sweet fuckin' jebus, it's a long way down!

Here, my brain was trying to crawl out of my ears and back to safety. I still had enough sense to point the camera and press the right button.


I love this town.


Even so, I just had to take a skelfie.


Old Town Square, with the Jan Huus monument from 1915.


The old gunpowder tower.


Our Lady of Tyn church.


The castle.


Petrin Hill, with the tower to the right and the hunger wall to the left.


The yanks seemed to have a good time, not caring one iota that I was near death from sheer, blind anxity.


Naturally, they still needed refreshments afterwards.

My trip to Prague IV

The last touristy thing I saw up at Prague Castle, was the so called Golden Lane, a small street made up of old houses where many of the castle's menial workers lived.

The narrow street was packed with tourists.


Number 22 is associated with Franz Kafka, who lived here for appx. 2 years.


Cozy.


Super cozy.


Not sure if this was a doll or a native.


Kertek, the little mole, is very popular and omnipresent in the Czech Republic.

Quote of the Day

I never make the mistake of arguing with people for whose opinions I have no respect.
- Edward Gibbon

My trip to Prague III

After the Cathedral, I went to the part of the complex known as the Old Royal Palace, which was originally built in the 12th century. It contains several spots of historical importance.

The Vladislav Hall, where the coronation of Czech kings took place. It is so big they even held jousting competitions with muthafuckin' horses in there. I apologize for the blurry pic, but flash photography was not allowed.


From this window, outraged Protestant nobles threw three Papist fucks in 1618. This incident is known as The Second Defenestration of Prague, igniting the Thirty Year's War. Per capita it is still held by many historians to have been the bloodiest conflict in history.


The balcony just off the Hall has some great views over the city.


In another room off the Hall, the Czech Diet would meet. The Diet did not, as one might think, consist of meat, potatoes and cabbage, but was rather a type of proto-parliament, where representatives of the various high and mighty groups in society would meet to advise the King.


One of the officials of the Diet held the keys to the rooms where they kept the property protocols. These were ancient documents outlining the borders for all the properties clerical and secular in the realm. The room was conveniently situated right next to the Diet, in case a property dispute came up (it often did). Again, I apologize for the blurry pics.


As previously mentioned, the Vladislav Hall was so large they held jousting tournaments in there. The competing knights would use this entrance.

My trip to Prague II

A little later Saturday morning, I went up to Prague castle, where, for the first time, I bought actual tickets, to see the actual inside of several of its many buildings.

Prague castle, above the lovely district of Mala Strana.


I first entered the huge, old and very handsome (for a church) St Vitus cathedral.


The interior.


Hidden in one of the many glass stained windows was a picture of Emperor Palpatine as a young man.


Outside, right next to a side entrance known as the Golden Gate, is a huge painting of the Last Judgement.


There was also a statue of St George killing the dragon.


The oldest part of the castle is St George's Basilica.

My trip to Prague I

I did a week in Prague July 15-22. The trip was partially to met up with mah Houston peeps and partially plain recreation. I also went and saw some of the attractions I'd never done before, although this was my sixth visit.

The first morning I awoke freakishly early and went out to greet the city around 6PM. The astronomical clock from 1490 in Old Town Square was almost deserted at this point.


As you can see on the tower clock, the sun is just rising and it's appx. 6:20AM.


The wedding industry has really taken off in Prague since my last visit in 2009. And more than 90% of the couples are Asian. These people were actually out in the rather chilly morning air to get their pics done when I walked by at 6:30AM.


In the other direction was the Charles bridge (Karluv most), almost empty of people at this early hour. It was literally two minutes from my hotel (and that was about the only good thing you could say about the hotel).


Right next to the bridge, on the Old Town side, is this statue of Charles IV as a transvestite. Bold choice!


I was skeptical of the Charles bridge.

Quote of the Day

We contend that for a nation to try to tax itself into prosperity is like a man standing in a bucket and trying to lift himself up by the handle.
- Winston Churchill

Quote of the Day

Believe in magnetism, not needles.
- Ralph Waldo Emerson

Quote of the Day

It is far harder to kill a phantom than a reality.
- Virginia Woolf

Quote of the Day

I am like any other man. All I do is supply a demand.
- Al Capone

Quote of the Day

The trouble with some women is that they get all excited about nothing - and then marry him.
- Cher

Quote of the Day

The laws of probability, so true in general, so fallacious in particular.
- Edward Gibbon

Quote of the Day

More men die of worry than of work, because more men worry than work.
- Robert Frost

Quote of the Day

Trust yourself
Think for yourself
Act for yourself
Speak for yourself
Be yourself.
Imitation is suicide.
- Marva Collins

Quote of the Day

An absurd problem came to the surface: 'How could God permit that [crucifixion of Jesus Christ]!' The deranged reason of the little community found quite a frightfully absurd answer: God gave his Son for forgiveness, as a sacrifice. The sacrifice for guilt, and just in its most repugnant and barbarous form - the sacrifice of the innocent for the sins of the guilty! What horrifying heathenism!
- Friedrich Nietzsche

Quote of the Day

An occasional lucky guess as to what makes a wife tick is the best a man can hope for, Even then, no sooner has he learned how to cope with the tick than she tocks.
- Ogden Nash

Quote of the Day

The death of democracy is not likely to be an assassination from ambush. It will be a slow extinction from apathy, indifference, and undernourishment.
- Robert Hutchins

Quote of the Day

Democracy means that anyone can grow up to be president, and anyone who doesn't grow up can be vice president.
- Johnny Carson

Quote of the Day

There can be no real freedom without the freedom to fail.
- Erich Fromm

Quote of the Day

My grandmother's brain was dead, but her heart was still beating. It was the first time we ever had a Democrat in the family.
- Emo Phillips

Quote of the Day

Necessity is the plea for every infringement of human freedom. It is the argument of tyrants; it is the creed of slaves.
- William Pitt

Quote of the Day

I die, as I have lived, a free spirit, an Anarchist, owing no allegiance to rulers, heavenly or earthly.
- Voltarine de Cleyre

Quote of the Day

People seldom become famous for what they say until after they are famous for what they've done.
- Cullen Hightower

Quote of the Day

We swallow greedily any lie that flatters us, but we sip little by little at a truth we find bitter.
- Denis Diderot

Quote of the Day

The Vice Presidency is sort of like the last cookie on the plate. Everybody insists he won't take it, but somebody always does.
- Bill Vaughn

Quote of the Day

Anyone who can walk to the welfare office can walk to work.
-Al Capp

Quote of the Day

The graveyards are full of indispensable men.
- Charles de Gaulle

Quote of the Day

Festina lente
[Hasten slowly]
- Suetonius

Quote of the Day

The most ridiculous concept ever perpetrated by H.Sapiens is that the God of Creation, Shaper and Ruler of the Universe, wants the saccharine adoration of his creations, that he can be persuaded by their prayers, and that he becomes petulant if he does not receive this flattery. Yet this ridiculous notion, without one shred of evidence to bolster it, has gone on to found one of the oldest, largest and least productive industries in history.
- Robert Heinlein

Quote of the Day

It can hardly be a coincidence that no language on Earth has ever produced the phrase, 'as pretty as an airport.'
- Douglas Adams

Quote of the Day

Don't hit at all if it is honorably possible to avoid hitting; but never hit softly.
- Teddy Roosevelt

Quote of the Day

It is easy to be brave from a safe distance.
- Aesop

Quote of the Day

The substance of the eminent Socialist gentleman's speech is that making a profit is a sin, but it is my belief that the real sin is taking a loss.
- Winston Churchill

Quote of the Day

The world is moving so fast these days that the man who says it can't be done is generally interrupted by someone doing it.
- Harry Fosdick

Quote of the Day

The argument for liberty is not an argument against organization, which is one of the most powerful tools human reason can employ, but an argument against all exclusive, privileged, monopolistic organization, against the use of coercion to prevent others from doing better.
- F.A. Hayek

Quote of the Day

When it is a question of money, everybody is of the same religion.
- Voltaire

Quote of the Day

As a nation we are dedicated to keeping physically fit and parking as close to the stadium as possible.
- Joe Moore

Quote of the Day

There are new words now that excuse everybody. Give me the good old days of heroes and villains. The people you can bravo and hiss. There was a truth to them that all the slick credulity of today cannot touch.
- Bette Davis

Quote of the Day

Wherever a set of alternative possible routes toward achieving a given end presents itself, a student movement will tend to choose the one which involves a higher measure of violence or humiliation directed against the older generation.
- Lewis S. Feuer

Quote of the Day

Idealism increases in direct proportion to one's distance from the problem.
- John Galsworthy

Quote of the Day

In politics, stupidity is not a handicap.
- Napoleon Bonaparte

Quote of the Day

It is part of the American character to consider nothing as desperate - to surmount every difficulty by resolution and contrivance.
- Thomas Jefferson

Quote of the Day

A long and wicked life followed by five minutes of perfect grace gets you into Heaven. An equally long life of decent living and good works followed by one outburst of taking the name of the lord in vain - then have a heart attack at that moment and be damned for eternity. Is that the system?
- Robert Heinlein

Quote of the Day

The empires of the future are the empires of the mind.
- Winston Churchill

Quote of the Day

Beauty, n: the power by which a woman charms a lover and terrifies a husband.
- Ambrose Bierce "The Devil's Dictionary"

Quote of the Day

Everyone can master a grief but he that has it.
- Shakespeare

Quote of the Day

Men often oppose a thing merely because they have had no agency in planning it, or because it may have been planned by those whom they dislike.
- Alexander Hamilton

Quote of the Day

He is a self-made man and worships his creator.
- John Bright

Quote of the Day

Compromise is but the sacrifice of one right or good in the hope of retaining another -- too often ending in the loss of both.
- Tryon Edwards

Quote of the Day

A man's ethical behavior should be based effectually on sympathy, education, and social ties; no religious basis is necessary. Man would indeeded be in a poor way if he had to be restrained by fear of punishment and hope of reward after death.
- Albert Einstein

Quote of the Day

It’s not a successful climb unless you enjoy the journey.
- Dan Benson

Quote of the Day

It’s a recession when your neighbor loses his job; it’s a depression when you lose yours.
- Harry S. Truman

Quote of the Day

I use not only all the brains I have, but all I can borrow.
- Woodrow Wilson

Quote of the Day

No man would listen to you talk if he didn't know it was his turn next.
- Edgar Watson Howe

Quote of the Day

So loud each tongue, so empty was each head
So much they talked, so very little said.
- Charles Churchill

Quote of the Day

There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you.
- Maya Angelou

Quote of the Day

I have something to say to the religionist who feels atheists never say anything positive: You are an intelligent human being. Your life is valuable for its own sake. You are not second-class in the universe, deriving meaning and purpose from some other mind. You are not inherently evil; you are inherently human, possessing the positive rational potential to help make this a world of morality, peace and joy. Trust yourself.
- Dan Barker

Quote of the Day

If a man watches three football games in a row he should be declared legally dead.
- Erna Bombeck

Quote of the Day

No nation was ever ruined by trade.
- Benjamin Franklin

Quote of the Day

Time is precious, but truth is more precious than time.
- Benjamin Disraeli

Quote of the Day

He who laughs, lasts.
- Mary Pettibone Poole

Quote of the Day

Furor arma ministrat.
[Anger supplies the weapons.]
- Virgil

Quote of the Day

That woman speaks eighteen languages and she can’t say "no" in any one of them.
- Dorothy Parker

Quote of the Day

The origin of all science is the desire to know causes, and the origin of all false science and imposture is the desire to accept false causes rather than none; or, which is the same thing, in the unwillingness to acknowledge our own ignorance.
- William Hazlitt

Quote of the Day

The mosquito is the state bird of New Jersey.
- Andy Warhol

Quote of the Day

Government, even in its best state, is but a necessary evil; in its worst state an intolerable one.
- Thomas Paine

Quote of the Day

Speak when you are angry and you will make the best speech you will ever regret.
- Ambrose Bierce

Quote of the Day

I cannot forecast to you the action of Russia. It is a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma.
- Winston Churchill

Quote of the Day

I’m not denying the women are foolish: God almighty made them to match the men.
- George Eliot

Quote of the Day

Normality is a fine ideal for those who have no imagination.
- Carl Jung

Quote of the Day

We must not be hampered by yesterday's myths in concentrating on today's needs.
- Harold S. Geneen

Quote of the Day

Don't compromise yourself. You are all you've got.
- Janis Joplin

Quote of the Day

A liar should have a good memory.
- Quintilian

Quote of the Day

To invent, you need a good imagination and a pile of junk.
- Thomas Alva Edison

Quote of the Day

Universities should be safe havens where ruthless examination of realities will not be distorted by the aim to please or inhibited by the risk of displeasure.
- Kingman Brewster Jr

Quote of the Day

Thus the metric system did not really catch on in the States, unless you count the increasing popularity of the nine-millimeter bullet.
- Dave Barry

Quote of the Day

Mediocrity can talk; but it is for genius to observe.
- Benjamin Disraeli

Quote of the Day

They [preachers] dread the advance of science as witches do the approach of daylight and scowl on the fatal harbinger announcing the subversions of the duperies on which they live.
- Thomas Jefferson

Quote of the Day

Don’t go around saying the world owes you a living. The world owes you nothing. It was here first.
- Mark Twain

Quote of the Day

Never tell people how to do things. Tell them what to do, and they will surprise you with their ingenuity.
- General George Patton

Quote of the Day

Take your life in your own hands, and what happens? A terrible thing: no one to blame.
- Erica Jong

Quote of the Day

The cost of liberty is less than the price of repression.
- W. E. B. Du Bois

Quote of the Day

Sex alleviates tension. Love causes it.
- Woody Allen

Quote of the Day

There is nothing more difficult to take in hand, more perilous to conduct or more uncertain in its success than to take the lead in the introduction of a new order of things.
- Machiavelli

Quote of the Day

What was it that Adam ate that he wasn't supposed to eat? It wasn't just an apple - it was the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. The subtle message? Get smart and I'll fuck you over - sayeth the Lord. God is the smartest - and he doesn't want any competition. Is this not an absolutely anti-intellectual religion?
- Frank Zappa

Quote of the Day

What’s the point of wearing your favorite rocketship underpants if nobody ever asks to see ‘em?
- Bill Watterson, American cartoonist "Calvin and Hobbes"

Quote of the Day

Selfhood begins with a walking away,
And love is proved in the letting go.
- C. Day Lewis (from "Walking Away")

Quote of the Day

The young do not know enough to be prudent, and therefore they attempt the impossible, and achieve it, generation after generation.
- Pearl Buck

Quote of the Day

Sin lies only in hurting other people unnecessarily. All other "sins" are invented nonsense.
- Robert Heinlein

Quote of the Day

We do not choose to be born. We do not choose our parents. We do not choose our historical epoch, the country of our birth, or the immediate circumstances of our upbringing. We do not, most of us, choose to die; nor do we choose the time and conditions of our death. But within this realm of choicelessness, we do choose how we live.
- Joseph Epstein

Quote of the Day

You don’t let the fox guard the chickens just because he has experience from the henhouse.
- Harry Truman

Quote of the Day

Anything beyond the limits and grasp of the human mind is either illusion or futility; and because your god having to be one or the other of the 2, in the 1st instance I should be mad to believe in him, and in the 2nd a fool.
- Marquis de Sade

Quote of the Day

The fundamental error of their matrimonial union: that of having based a permanent contract on a temporary feeling.
- Thomas Hardy

Quote of the Day

The great enemy of the truth is very often not the lie - deliberate, contrived, and dishonest - but the myth - persistent, persuasive, and unrealistic.
- John F. Kennedy

Quote of the Day

Intellectual brilliance is no guarantee against being dead wrong.
- David Fasold

Quote of the Day

As against having beautiful workshops, studios, etc., one writes best in a cellar on a rainy day.
- Van Wyck Brooks