James

We control life, Winston, at all its levels. You are
imagining that there is something called human nature
which will be outraged by what we do and will turn
against us. But we create human nature. We do not
not destroy the heretic because he resists us: so long
as he resists us we never destroy him. We convert
him, we capture his inner mind, we reshape him.

“

—	O’Brien, Inner Party member in Nineteen Eighty-Four (1949), by George Orwell (via emptyblueprints)

“Pursue some path, however narrow and crooked, in which you can walk with love and reverence.”
- Henry David Thoreau

“Pursue some path, however narrow and crooked, in which you can walk with love and reverence.”

- Henry David Thoreau

thescienceofreality:

project-argus:

Carl Sagan on astrology in newspapers. From his interview with Ted Turner.

Also, photosets are fun.

I will never stop reblogging this set.

Republicans always run on that idea that, ‘government doesn’t work’: yeah, the way you do it, but it could work.

“

—	Bill Maher http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=endscreen&NR=1&v=xPFBmFz70gU

‘To Hitch’ - In Memoriam - (2012 Global Atheist Convention)

“Not only are we a part of the universe, but the universe is in us”
- Neil deGrasse Tyson

“Not only are we a part of the universe, but the universe is in us”

- Neil deGrasse Tyson

Statue to modernity (I’m trying to find grounds for justification; I shouldn’t).

The isles of Greece, the isles of Greece!

Where burning Sappho loved and sung,

Where grew the arts of war and peace,

Where Delos rose, and Phoebus sprung!

Eternal summer gilds them yet,

But all, except their sun, is set…

And where are they? And where art thou?

My country? On thy voiceless shore

The heroic lay is tuneless now—

The heroic bosom beats no more!

And must thy lyre, so long divine,

Degenerate into hands like mine?

‘Tis something, in the dearth of fame,

Though linked among a fettered race,

To feel at least a patriot’s shame,

Even as I sing, suffuse my face;

For what is left the poet here?

For Greeks a blush–for Greece a tear….

“

—	Byron (In homage to the illustrious past of a nation close to my heart, Byron also recognises the country’s inability to enjoy its heritage, as a result of Greece’s position of modern times. I have recently been reminded of this, and the touching threnody above seems perfectly congruous).

A Modest Proposal - Stephen Fry »

I have a modest proposal that might simultaneously celebrate the life of Christopher Hitchens, strengthen Britain’s low stock in Europe and allow us to help a dear friend in terrible trouble.

It’s time we lost our marbles.

- Stephen Fry

Does anyone else lie in bed at 2:30am filled with the crippling fear that they’re never going to accomplish anything in life and fail miserably or is that just me?

I see offence as the collateral damage of free speech. I hate the thought of a person’s ideas being modified or even hushed up because someone somewhere might not like to hear them.
Outside actually breaking the law or causing someone physical harm, “hurting someone’s feelings” is almost impossible to objectively quantify.
What some people might find offensive, others will not. Such is life. Offence is rarely about right and wrong but rather about feelings. Feelings are personal. Trying to have a consensus about what is objectively offensive is rather like arranging books in a library in order of merit. We’d all have a completely different order in mind.
We can’t go round not saying what we want to say in case it offends someone somewhere. It will. Some people are offended by equality. Mixed marriage. Being gay. So you’re offended? So fucking what?
Recently The New York City of Dept of Education banned 50 terms from being used in tests administered to students for fear that they could offend. One of these words was “dinosaurs”.

“

—	Ricky Gervais

A lot of conspiracy theorists find it comforting, secretly. The idea of the Illuminati and the CIA and whoever controlling our lives and destinies. You know, because that means that at least someone is in control, at least someone is at the steering wheel. And it’s not a runaway train. Paranoia is a security blanket, a massive security blanket. Whereas I think that yes these people do try to have an influence, and they often do have a very big influence; the CIA’s unique method of funding its wars over the last thirty years has contributed to the crippling drug problems of most of the Western world. So, yes they have an effect. Do they control our destinies?
No, they don’t. They are nowhere near that powerful or organised.
Does anything human control our destinies?
No.
Does this mean that God does?
No, for all I know, God might just be a simple, two-line, iterative equation, with no more awareness of itself than that.

“

—	Alan Moore

yourlittleampersand:

A very Happy Birthday to Jane Goodall, one of my heroes.

You are an incredible woman with a beautiful soul. Wishing you many more to come.

‎Human beings make life so interesting. Do you know, that in a universe so full of wonders, they have managed to invent boredom.

“

—	Terry Pratchett (via togivelifeameaning)

“Animals, whom we have made our slaves, we do not like to consider our equal.”
- Charles Darwin

“Animals, whom we have made our slaves, we do not like to consider our equal.”

- Charles Darwin