posted on August 23, 2001 03:00:41 PM new
I don't claim to be wise, but one of my favorite authors is. From Robert A Heinlein's "Time Enough for Love":
Certainly the game is rigged. Don't let that stop you; if you don't bet, you can't win.
If it can't be expressed in figures, it is not science; it's an opinion.
A generation which ignores history has no past - and no future.
What a wonderful world it is that has girls in it!
A motion to adjourn is always in order.
Money is a powerful aphrodisiac. But flowers work almost as well.
Everthing in excess! To enjoy the flavor of life, take big bites. Moderation is for monks.
People who go broke in a big way never miss any meals. It is the poor jerk who is a half a slug shy who must tighten his belt.
You live and learn. Or you don't live long.
Natural laws have no pity.
Freedom begins when you tell Mrs. Grundy to go fly a kite.
--------
There is much more in this book, but this old man was wise!
posted on August 23, 2001 06:58:53 PM new
An interesting thing with Heinlein was that he had a lot of good lines and good ideas but he made it clear to his fans that just as Archie Bunker's life style and thoughts were not the off screen personality of the actor not all his characters reflected his personal views. He once had a young fellow hang out at his mail box waiting for the great man to appear so he could have a deep conversation about the word grok from one of his novels.
Heinlein told him basically that he wrote the material to pay the rent and that if he wanted to shape his life around it he was reading too much into it. He might laugh at me also but I got a lot of ideas out of his books.
I liked his way of explaining the pointlessness of many civil service jobs.
He said there was this good for nothing who got a job polishing the brass canon in front of the court house when his brother in law was elected mayor. He pushed and pleaded to get more pay until finally the mayor told him plainly he was lucky to have the free ride he was getting without getting greedy. That made him so mad he went out - bought a brass canon - and went into business for himself.
posted on August 23, 2001 07:10:15 PM new
I think the brass cannon story came out of "The Moon is a Harsh Mistress".
He also told a story of "A Man to Lazy to Fail", about a guy that, when drafted, wormed his way into a pilots job because it was "sitting down work". After the war, the guy went to agrocultural school on the GI Bill, then bought a farm with a GI loan, and had the government pay him for NOT raising crops.
posted on August 24, 2001 10:29:48 AM new
If you like the wry insights of Robert Heinlein, then look for this book : "The Notebooks of Lazurus Long"
In it, Lazurus Long, the longest lived human in existance, fills the pages with witty sayings and wry observations and downright common sense that is sure to please. I've been fortunate to own the book twice and stupid enough to loan it out twice.
sp.
[ edited by Borillar on Aug 24, 2001 10:30 AM ]
posted on August 24, 2001 10:52:21 AM new
One hobby of mine is collecting old radio shows I have a few thousand of them. There was a series in the early 50s on radio called "X-Minus One" a weekly show of sci/fi stories. Several of them are by Heinlein, other writers were Bradbury, Asimov. To me they are great, 30 minute radio shows that are like time capsules.
If anyone is interested post an email address and I'll email you some FTP sites and passwords (provided you know how to use an ftp program) so you can download them. They are in MP3 format and run anywhere from 5 to 12 megs.
