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blackkudos · 4 years

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Sammy Davis, Jr.

Samuel George Davis Jr. (December 8, 1925 – May 16, 1990) was an American singer, musician, dancer, actor, vaudevillian, comedian, and activist known for his impressions of actors, musicians, and other celebrities. At age three, Davis began his career in vaudeville with his father Sammy Davis Sr. and the Will Mastin Trio, which toured nationally. After military service, he returned to the trio and became an overnight sensation following a nightclub performance at Ciro's (in West Hollywood) after the 1951 Academy Awards. With the trio, he became a recording artist. In 1954, at the age of 29, he lost his left eye in a car accident. Several years later, he converted to Judaism, finding commonalities between the oppression experienced by African-American and Jewish communities.

After a starring role on Broadway in Mr Wonderful (1956), he returned to the stage in 1964's Golden Boy. Davis's film career began as a child in 1933. In 1960, he appeared in the Rat Pack film Ocean's 11. In 1966, he had his own TV variety show, titled The Sammy Davis Jr. Show. While Davis's career slowed in the late 1960s, his biggest hit, "The Candy Man", reached the top of the Billboard Hot 100 in June 1972, and he became a star in Las Vegas, earning him the nickname "Mister Show Business".

Davis had a complex relationship with the black community and drew criticism after publicly supporting President Richard Nixon in 1972. One day on a golf course with Jack Benny, he was asked what his handicap was. "Handicap?" he asked. "Talk about handicap. I'm a one-eyed Negro who's Jewish." This was to become a signature comment, recounted in his autobiography and in many articles.

After reuniting with Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin in 1987, Davis toured with them and Liza Minnelli internationally, before his death in 1990. He died in debt to the Internal Revenue Service, and his estate was the subject of legal battles after the death of his wife. Davis was awarded the Spingarn Medal by the NAACP and was nominated for a Golden Globe Award and an Emmy Award for his television performances. He was a recipient of the Kennedy Center Honors in 1987, and in 2001, he was posthumously awarded the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.

Early life

Davis was born on December 8, 1925, in the Harlem section of Manhattan in New York City, the son of African-American entertainer and stage performer Sammy Davis Sr. (1900–1988) and Cuban American tap dancer and stage performer Elvera Sanchez (1905–2000). In the 2003 biography In Black and White, author Wil Haygood wrote that Davis's mother was born in New York City to Afro-Cuban parents. Davis's parents were vaudeville dancers. As an infant, he was reared by his paternal grandmother. When he was three years old, his parents separated. His father, not wanting to lose custody of his son, took him on tour.

Davis learned to dance from his father and his "uncle" Will Mastin. Davis joined the act as a child and they became the Will Mastin Trio. Throughout his career, Davis included the Will Mastin Trio in his billing. Mastin and his father shielded him from racism, such as by explaining race-based snubs as jealousy. However, when Davis served in the United States Army during World War II, he was confronted by strong prejudice. He later said: "Overnight the world looked different. It wasn't one color any more. I could see the protection I'd gotten all my life from my father and Will. I appreciated their loving hope that I'd never need to know about prejudice and hate, but they were wrong. It was as if I'd walked through a swinging door for 18 years, a door which they had always secretly held open." At age seven, Davis played the title role in the film Rufus Jones for President, in which he sang and danced with Ethel Waters. He lived for several years in Boston's South End, and reminisced years later about "hoofing and singing" at Izzy Ort's Bar & Grille.

Military service

During World War II, Davis was drafted into the U.S. Army in 1943 aged 18. He was frequently abused by white soldiers from the South and later recounted that "I must have had a knockdown, drag-out fight every two days." His nose was broken numerous times and permanently flattened. At one point he was offered a beer laced with urine.

He was reassigned to the Army's Special Services branch, which put on performances for troops. At one show he found himself performing in front of soldiers who had previously racially abused him. Davis, who earned the American Campaign Medal and World War II Victory Medal, was discharged in 1945 with the rank of private. He later said, "My talent was the weapon, the power, the way for me to fight. It was the one way I might hope to affect a man's thinking."

Career

After his discharge, Davis rejoined the family dance act, which played at clubs around Portland, Oregon. He also recorded blues songs for Capitol Records in 1949, under the pseudonyms Shorty Muggins and Charlie Green.

On March 23, 1951, the Will Mastin Trio appeared at Ciro's as the opening act for headliner Janis Paige. They were to perform for only 20 minutes but the reaction from the celebrity-filled crowd was so enthusiastic, especially when Davis launched into his impressions, that they performed for nearly an hour, and Paige insisted the order of the show be flipped. Davis began to achieve success on his own and was singled out for praise by critics, releasing several albums.

In 1953, Davis was offered his own television show on ABC, Three for the Road — with the Will Mastin Trio. The network spent $20,000 filming the pilot which presented African Americans as struggling musicians, not slapstick comedy or the stereotypical mammy roles of the time. The cast included Frances Davis who was the first black ballerina to perform for the Paris Opera, actresses Ruth Attaway and Jane White, and Federick O'Neal who founded the American Negro Theater. The network couldn't get a sponsor, so the show was dropped.

In 1954, Davis was hired to sing the title song for the Universal Pictures film Six Bridges to Cross. In 1956, he starred in the Broadway musical Mr. Wonderful.

In 1958, Davis was hired to crown the winner of the Miss Cavalcade of Jazz beauty contest for the famed fourteenth Cavalcade of Jazz concert produced by Leon Hefflin Sr. held at the Shrine Auditorium on August 3. The other headliners were Little Willie John, Sam Cooke, Ernie Freeman, and Bo Rhambo. The event featured the top four prominent disc jockey of Los Angeles.

In 1959, Davis became a member of the Rat Pack, led by his friend Frank Sinatra, which included fellow performers Dean Martin, Joey Bishop, and Peter Lawford, a brother-in-law of John F. Kennedy. Initially, Sinatra called the gathering "the Clan", but Davis voiced his opposition, saying that it reminded people of the Ku Klux Klan. Sinatra renamed the group "the Summit". One long night of poker that went on into the early morning saw the men drunken and disheveled. As Angie Dickinson approached the group, she said, "You all look like a pack of rats." The nickname caught on, and they were called the Rat Pack, the name of its earlier incarnation led by Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall, who originally made the remark of the "pack of rats" about the group around her husband Bogart.

The group around Sinatra made several movies together, including Ocean's 11 (1960), Sergeants 3 (1962), and Robin and the 7 Hoods (1964), and they performed onstage together in Las Vegas.In 1964, Davis was the first African American to sing at the Copacabana night club in New York.

Davis was a headliner at The Frontier Casino in Las Vegas, but, due to Jim Crow practices in Las Vegas, he was required (as were all black performers in the 1950s) to lodge in a rooming house on the west side of the city, instead of in the hotels as his white colleagues did. No dressing rooms were provided for black performers, and they had to wait outside by the swimming pool between acts. Davis and other black artists could entertain but could not stay at the hotels where they performed, gamble in the casinos, or dine or drink in the hotel restaurants and bars. Davis later refused to work at places which practiced racial segregation.

Canada provided opportunities for performers like Davis unable to break the color barrier in U.S. broadcast television, and in 1959, he starred in his own TV special Sammy's Parade on the Canadian network CBC It was a breakthrough event for the performer, as in the United States in the 1950s, corporate sponsors largely controlled the screen: "Black people [were] not portrayed very well on television, if at all," according to Jason King of the Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music.

In 1964, Davis was starring in Golden Boy at night and shooting his own New York-based afternoon talk show during the day. When he could get a day off from the theater, he recorded songs in the studio, performed at charity events in Chicago, Miami, or Las Vegas, or appeared on television variety specials in Los Angeles. Davis felt he was cheating his family of his company, but he said he was incapable of standing still.

Although he was still popular in Las Vegas, he saw his musical career decline by the late 1960s. He had a No. 11 hit (No. 1 on the Easy Listening singles chart) with "I've Gotta Be Me" in 1969. He signed with Motown to update his sound and appeal to young people. His deal to have his own label with the company fell through. He had an unexpected No. 1 hit with "The Candy Man" with MGM Records in 1972. He did not particularly care for the song and was chagrined that he had become known for it, but Davis made the most of his opportunity and revitalized his career.

Although he enjoyed no more Top 40 hits, he did enjoy popularity with his 1976 performance of the theme song from the Baretta television series, "Baretta's Theme (Keep Your Eye on the Sparrow)" (1975–1978), which was released as a single (20th Century Records). He appeared on the television shows The Rifleman, I Dream of Jeannie, All in the Family (during which he famously kisses Archie Bunker (Carroll O'Connor) on the cheek), and Charlie's Angels (with his wife, Altovise Davis). He appeared in Japanese commercials for Suntory whisky in the 1970s.

On December 11, 1967, NBC broadcast a musical-variety special featuring Nancy Sinatra, daughter of Frank Sinatra, titled Movin' with Nancy. In addition to the Emmy Award-winning musical performances, the show is notable for Nancy Sinatra and Davis greeting each other with a kiss, one of the first black-white kisses in US television.

Davis had a friendship with Elvis Presley in the late 1960s, as they both were top-draw acts in Vegas at the same time. Davis was in many ways just as reclusive during his hotel gigs as Elvis was, holding parties mainly in his penthouse suite which Elvis occasionally attended. Davis sang a version of Presley's song "In the Ghetto" and made a cameo appearance in Presley's concert film Elvis: That's the Way It Is. One year later, he made a cameo appearance in the James Bond film Diamonds Are Forever, but the scene was cut. In Japan, Davis appeared in television commercials for coffee, and in the United States he joined Sinatra and Martin in a radio commercial for a Chicago car dealership.

On May 27–28, 1973, Davis hosted (with Monty Hall) the first annual, 20-hour Highway Safety Foundation telethon. Guests included Muhammad Ali, Paul Anka, Jack Barry, Dr. Joyce Brothers, Ray Charles, Dick Clark, Roy Clark, Howard Cosell, Ossie Davis, Ruby Dee, Joe Franklin, Cliff Gorman, Richie Havens, Danny Kaye, Jerry Lewis, Hal Linden, Rich Little, Butterfly McQueen, Minnie Pearl, Boots Randolph, Tex Ritter, Phil Rizzuto, The Rockettes, Nipsey Russell, Sally Struthers, Mel Tillis, Ben Vereen, and Lawrence Welk. It was a financial disaster. The total amount of pledges was $1.2 million. Actual pledges received were $525,000.

Davis was a huge fan of daytime television, particularly the soap operas produced by the American Broadcasting Company. He made a cameo appearance on General Hospital and had a recurring role as Chip Warren on One Life to Live, for which he received a 1980 Daytime Emmy Award nomination. He was also a game show fan, appearing on Family Feud in 1979 and Tattletales with his wife Altovise in the 1970s.

After his bout with cirrhosis due to years of drinking, Davis announced his sponsorship of the Sammy Davis Jr. National Liver Institute in Newark, New Jersey in 1985. In 1988, Davis was billed to tour with Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin, but Sinatra and Martin had a falling out. Liza Minnelli replaced Dean on the tour dubbed as ''The Ultimate Event.'' During the tour in 1989, Davis was diagnosed with throat cancer; his treatments prevented him from performing.

Personal life

Accident and conversion

Davis nearly died in an automobile accident on November 19, 1954, in San Bernardino, California, as he was making a return trip from Las Vegas to Los Angeles. During the previous year, he had started a friendship with comedian and host Eddie Cantor, who had given him a mezuzah. Instead of putting it by his door as a traditional blessing, Davis wore it around his neck for good luck. The only time he forgot it was the night of the accident. The accident occurred at a fork in U.S. Route 66 at Cajon Boulevard and Kendall Drive. Davis lost his left eye to the bullet-shaped horn button (a standard feature in 1954 and 1955 Cadillacs) as a result. His friend, actor Jeff Chandler, said he would give one of his own eyes if it would keep Davis from total blindness. Davis wore an eye patch for at least six months following the accident. He was featured with the patch on the cover of his debut album and appeared on What's My Line? wearing the patch. Later, he was fitted for a glass eye, which he wore for the rest of his life.

Eddie Cantor talked to Davis in the hospital about the similarities between the Jewish and black cultures. Davis, who was born to a Catholic mother and Baptist father, began studying the history of Jews. He converted to Judaism several years later in 1961. One passage from his readings (from the book A History of the Jews by Abram L. Sachar), describing the endurance of the Jewish people, interested him in particular: "The Jews would not die. Three millennia of prophetic teaching had given them an unwavering spirit of resignation and had created in them a will to live which no disaster could crush." The accident marked a turning point in Davis's career, taking him from a well-known entertainer to a national celebrity.

Marriages

In 1957, Davis was involved with actress Kim Novak, who was under contract with Columbia Pictures. Because Novak was white, Harry Cohn, the president of Columbia, gave in to his worries that racist backlash against the relationship could hurt the studio. There are several accounts of what happened, but they agree that Davis was threatened by organized crime figures close to Cohn. According to one account, Cohn called racketeer John Roselli, who was told to inform Davis that he must stop seeing Novak. To try to scare Davis, Roselli had him kidnapped for a few hours. Another account relates that the threat was conveyed to Davis's father by mobster Mickey Cohen. Davis was threatened with the loss of his other eye or a broken leg if he did not marry a black woman within two days. Davis sought the protection of Chicago mobster Sam Giancana, who said that he could protect him in Chicago and Las Vegas but not California.

Davis briefly married black dancer Loray White in 1958 to protect himself from mob violence; Davis had previously dated White, who was 23, twice divorced and had a six-year-old child. He paid her a lump sum, $10,000 or $25,000, to engage in a marriage on the condition that it would be dissolved before the end of the year. Davis became inebriated at the wedding and attempted to strangle White en route to their wedding suite. Checking on him later, Silber found Davis with a gun to his head. Davis despairingly said to Silber, "Why won't they let me live my life?" The couple never lived together, and commenced divorce proceedings in September 1958. The divorce was granted in April 1959.

In 1960, there was another racially charged public controversy when Davis married white, Swedish-born actress May Britt in a ceremony officiated by Rabbi William M. Kramer at Temple Israel of Hollywood. While interracial marriage had been legal in California since 1948, anti-miscegenation laws in the United States still stood in 23 states, and a 1958 opinion poll had found that only 4 percent of Americans supported marriage between black and white spouses. Davis received racist hate mail while starring in the Broadway adaptation of Golden Boy during 1964–1966, in which his character is in a relationship with a white woman, paralleling his own interracial relationship. At the time Davis appeared in the musical, although New York had no laws against it, debate about interracial marriage was still ongoing in America as Loving v. Virginia was being fought. It was only in 1967, after the musical had closed, that anti-miscegenation laws in all states were ruled unconstitutional by the Supreme Court of the United States.

Davis's daughter Tracey Davis revealed in a 2014 book that this marriage also resulted in President Kennedy refusing to allow Davis to perform at his Inauguration. The snub was confirmed by director Sam Pollard, who revealed in a 2017 American Masters documentary that Davis's invitation to perform at his inauguration was abruptly canceled on the night of his inaugural party.

Davis and Britt had one daughter, Tracey, and adopted two sons, Mark and Jeff. Davis performed almost continuously and spent little time with his wife. They divorced in 1968, after Davis admitted to having had an affair with singer Lola Falana. After his marriage imploded, Davis turned to alcohol and "found solace in drugs, particularly cocaine and amyl nitrite, and experimented briefly with Satanism and pornography."

In 1968, Davis started dating Altovise Gore, a dancer in Golden Boy. They were married on May 11, 1970, by the Reverend Jesse Jackson. Kathy McKee replaced Gore in Davis's nightclub act. They adopted a son, Manny, in 1989. Davis and Gore remained married until his death in 1990.

Hobbies

Davis was an avid photographer who enjoyed shooting pictures of family and acquaintances. His body of work was detailed in a 2007 book by Burt Boyar titled Photo by Sammy Davis, Jr. "Jerry [Lewis] gave me my first important camera, my first 35 millimeter, during the Ciro's period, early '50s," Boyar quotes Davis. "And he hooked me." Davis used a medium format camera later on to capture images. Boyar reports that Davis had said, "Nobody interrupts a man taking a picture to ask ... 'What's that nigger doin' here?'" His catalog includes rare photos of his father dancing onstage as part of the Will Mastin Trio and intimate snapshots of close friends Jerry Lewis, Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra, James Dean, Nat "King" Cole, and Marilyn Monroe. His political affiliations also were represented, in his images of Robert Kennedy, Jackie Kennedy, and Martin Luther King Jr. His most revealing work comes in photographs of wife May Britt and their three children, Tracey, Jeff and Mark.

Davis was an enthusiastic shooter and gun owner. He participated in fast-draw competitions. Johnny Cash recalled that Davis was said to be capable of drawing and firing a Colt Single Action Army revolver in less than a quarter of a second. Davis was skilled at fast and fancy gunspinning and appeared on television variety shows showing off this skill. He also demonstrated gunspinning to Mark on The Rifleman in "Two Ounces of Tin." He appeared in Western films and as a guest star on several television Westerns.

Political beliefs

Davis was a registered Democrat and supported John F. Kennedy's 1960 election campaign as well as Robert F. Kennedy's 1968 campaign. John F. Kennedy would later refuse to allow Davis to perform at his inauguration on account of his marriage with the white actress May Britt. Nancy Sinatra revealed in her 1986 book Frank Sinatra: My Father how Kennedy had planned to snub Davis as plans for his wedding to Britt were unfolding. He went on to become a close friend of President Richard Nixon and publicly endorsed him at the 1972 Republican National Convention. Davis also made a USO tour to South Vietnam at Nixon's request.

In February 1972, during the later stages of the Vietnam War, Davis went to Vietnam to observe military drug abuse rehabilitation programs and talk to and entertain the troops. He did this as a representative from President Nixon's Special Action Office For Drug Abuse Prevention. He performed shows for up to 15,000 troops; after one two-hour performance he reportedly said "I've never been so tired and felt so good in my life." The U.S. Army made a documentary about Davis's time in Vietnam performing for troops on behalf of Nixon's drug treatment program.

Nixon invited Davis and his wife, Altovise, to sleep in the White House in 1973, the first time African-Americans were invited to do so. The Davises spent the night in the Lincoln Bedroom. Davis later said he regretted supporting Nixon, accusing Nixon of making promises on civil rights that he did not keep. Davis was a long-time donor to the Reverend Jesse Jackson's Operation PUSH organization.

Illness and death

In August 1989, Davis began to develop symptoms—a tickle in his throat and an inability to taste food. Doctors found a cancerous tumor in Davis's throat. He had often smoked four packs of cigarettes a day as an adult. When told that surgery (laryngectomy) offered him the best chance of survival, Davis replied he would rather keep his voice than have a part of his throat removed; he was initially treated with a combination of chemotherapy and radiation. His larynx was later removed when his cancer recurred. He was released from the hospital on March 13, 1990.

Davis died of complications from throat cancer two months later at his home in Beverly Hills, California, on May 16, 1990, aged 64. He was interred in Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, California. On May 18, 1990, two days after his death, the neon lights of the Las Vegas Strip were darkened for ten minutes as a tribute.

Estate

Davis left a bulk of his estate, estimated at $4 million, to his widow Altovise Davis, but he owed the IRS $5.2 million which due to interest and penalties had increased to over $7 million. His widow Altovise Davis became liable for his debt because she had cosigned his tax returns. She was forced to auction his personal possessions and real estate. Some of his friends in the industry, including Quincy Jones, Joey Bishop, Ed Asner, Jayne Meadows and Steve Allen, participated in a fundraising concert at the Sands Hotel in Las Vegas. Altovise Davis and the IRS reached a settlement in 1997. After she died in 2009, their son Manny was named executor of the estate and majority rights holder of his intellectual property.

Legacy

On June 25, 2019, The New York Times Magazine listed Davis among hundreds of artists whose material was reportedly destroyed in the 2008 Universal fire.

Portrayals

In an episode of Charlie's Angels, Davis had a dual role, playing both himself and as a Sammy Davis Jr. impersonator who is kidnapped by mistake. (In a comic relief scene the impersonator beats up a candy machine which does not give him his candy, a spoof of Davis's song "The Candy Man".)

Comedian Jim Carrey has portrayed Davis on stage, in the 1983 film Copper Mountain, and in a stand-up routine.

On Saturday Night Live, Davis has been portrayed by Garrett Morris, Eddie Murphy, Billy Crystal and Tim Meadows.

Davis was portrayed on the popular sketch comedy show In Living Color by Tommy Davidson, notably a parody of the film Ghost, in which the ghost of Davis enlists the help of Whoopi Goldberg to communicate with his wife.

David Raynr portrayed Davis in the 1992 miniseries Sinatra, a television film about the life of Frank Sinatra.

In the comedy film Wayne's World 2 (1993), Tim Meadows portrays Davis in the dream sequence with Michael A. Nickles as Jim Morrison.

In the sitcom Malcolm & Eddie (1996), Eddie Sherman (played by comedian Eddie Griffin) impersonates Davis in the episode "Sh-Boing-Boing" to help his partner Malcolm McGee (played by Malcolm-Jamal Warner) reconcile his grandparents' relationship.

Davis was portrayed by Don Cheadle in the HBO film The Rat Pack, a 1998 television film about the group of entertainers. Cheadle won a Golden Globe Award for his performance.

He was portrayed by Paul Sharma in the 2003 West End production Rat Pack Confidential.

Davis was portrayed in 2008 by Keith Powell in an episode of 30 Rock titled "Subway Hero."

In September 2009, the musical Sammy: Once in a Lifetime premiered at the Old Globe Theatre in San Diego with book, music, and lyrics by Leslie Bricusse, and additional songs by Bricusse and Anthony Newley. The title role was played by Tony Award nominee Obba Babatundé.

Comedian Billy Crystal has portrayed Davis on "Saturday Night Live," in his stand-up routines, and at the 2012 Oscars.

Actor Phaldut Sharma created the comedy web-series I Gotta Be Me (2015), following a frustrated soap star as he performs as Sammy in a Rat Pack tribute show.

In January 2017, Davis's estate joined a production team led by Lionel Richie, Lorenzo di Bonaventura, and Mike Menchel to make a movie based on Davis's life and show-biz career.

Honors and awards

Shortly before his death in 1990, ABC aired the TV special Sammy Davis, Jr. 60th Anniversary Celebration. An all-star cast, including Michael Jackson, Eddie Murphy, Diahann Carroll, Clint Eastwood, and Ella Fitzgerald, paid tribute to Davis. The show was nominated for six Primetime Emmy Awards, winning Outstanding Variety, Music or Comedy.

Grammy AwardsEmmy AwardsOther honors

Discography

Filmography

Stage

Mr. Wonderful (1957), musical

Golden Boy (1964), musical – Tony Nomination for Best Actor in a Musical

Sammy (1974), special performance featuring Davis with the Nicholas Brothers

Stop the World – I Want to Get Off (1978) musical revival

Television

General Electric Theater – "The Patsy" (1960) Season 8 Episode 21

Lawman – episode Blue Boss and Willie Shay" (1961)

The Dick Powell Show – episode "The Legend" (1962)

Hennesey – episode "Tight Quarters" (1962)

The Rifleman – 2 episodes "Two Ounces of Tin (#4.21)" (February 19, 1962) and "The Most Amazing Man (#5.9)" (November 27, 1962)

77 Sunset Strip – episode "The Gang's All Here" (1962)

Ben Casey – episode "Allie" (1963)

The Patty Duke Show – episode "Will the Real Sammy Davis Please Hang Up?" (1965)

The Sammy Davis Jr. Show – Host (January 7, 1966)

Alice In Wonderland or What's a Nice Kid Like You Doing in a Place Like This? (March 30, 1966)

The Wild Wild West – episode "The Night of the Returning Dead" (October 14, 1966)

Batman – "The Clock King's Crazy Crimes" (1966)

I Dream of Jeannie – episode "The Greatest Entertainer in the World" (1967)

Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In – Here Comes The Judge skit (1968–70, 1971, 1973)

The Mod Squad – three episodes: "Keep the Faith Baby" (1969), "Survival House" (1970), and "The Song of Willie" (1970)

The Beverly Hillbillies – episode Manhattan Hillbilies (1969)

The Name of the Game – episode "I Love You, Billy Baker" (1970)

Here's Lucy (1970)

All in the Family – episode "Sammy's Visit" (1972)

Chico and the Man – episode "Sammy Stops In" (1975)

The Carol Burnett Show (1975)

Sammy and Company – host/performer (1975-1977)

Charlie's Angels – episode "Sammy Davis, Jr. Kidnap Caper" (1977)

Sanford (TV series) – episodes "Dinner and George's" (cameo) and "The Benefit" (1980)

Archie Bunker's Place – episode "The Return of Sammy" (1980)

General Hospital – episode Benefit for Sports Center (1982)

Channel Seven Perth's Telethon (1983)

The Jeffersons – episode "What Makes Sammy Run?" (1984)

Fantasy Island – episode "Mr. Bojangles and the Dancer/Deuces are Wild" (1984)

Gimme a Break! – episode "The Lookalike" (1985)

Alice in Wonderland (1985 film)

Hunter – episode "Ring of Honor" (1989)

The Cosby Show – episode "No Way, Baby" (1989)

Sammy Davis, Jr. 60th Anniversary Celebration (1990) – 2½ hour all star TV special

#12/08 #05/16

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peanutbutter-and-thumbtacks · 4 years

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Maid Malevolent

This is a screenplay project I’ve been working on for the last couple of months. I don’t have any long term plans with it, but I wanted to let more people read it. The story does get graphic so if you don’t like blood, violence and themes of domestic violence and sex, this is not for you.

Please enjoy and if you have any thoughts on the storyline, feel free to share them.

EPISODE I

EXT. FOREST – NIGHT

A thick fog rolls over the old forest floor. Unknown creatures hiss and chirp in the distance as an unseen specter glides through the the underbrush towards something in the distance. It speeds forward, knocking branches and trees out of its way. The ambience has grown now, louder, more demonic in tone. A small cabin emerges out of the darkness, red light pours out from the windows. The specter is growing faster and faster, the cabin growing closer and closer. The ambience has crescendoed and transformed into the blaring scream of an electric guitar. The specter comes up onto the porch and the door flies open to reveal a small rock concert in progress. A mosh pit surrounds the stage as the band stands centerfold. AMY ROSE, a young poet and singer, stands before the audience with her arms outstretched. LORNE, a tall bearded man, stands to Amy's right on bass. To her left, RUTH MARLOWE, a quiet but troubled soul shredding it on the guitar. NED, the drummer, pounds out a hard steady beat as doom metal pounds on.

AMY

(Singing)

Maid Malevolent, spare my soul, I'm not the one that wronged you. They took your girl and your mortal life. Bring the demons their needed hell! Maid Malevolent, you've traveled far, to the future where the wasteland waits. Time and space can't stop you now, burn the wizards army to the ground! Maid Malevolent, the end is nigh, with the coming of Asmodeus. You may be damned or you might just fly. So cross your heart, and hope to die! Legend! Legend! Legend!

Amy takes a step away from the spotlight as Ruth comes in with a earsplitting riff. She seems to be possessed by something greater than herself as she plays. The trauma of an unspoken past echoes through each chord, and the crowd eats it up.

Cut to

A stream of satanic images speed across the screen suddenly. Pentagrams, ritual sacrifices, nuclear annihilation, all culminating in one final image of a glowing red tesseract hovering in space.

Cut Back

RUTH strums the final chord and the crowd is ecstatic. Their cheers imitate the satisfied roars of wild beasts and dinosaurs. The show has been a success. Ruth and Amy look at each other and exchange smiles of approval.

INT. CABIN – LATER

The audience has departed now, and the band is nearly done packing up all their equipment. MARCUS, the band manager, talks with the OWNER of the cabin as he collects the bands earnings for the night. They seem to be quietly arguing over something. Lorne helps Ned pick up the drum set.

OWNER

I made myself perfectly clear. 100 bucks for an hour, that was the deal we agreed on.

MARCUS

Look I feel like I'm not asking for much here.

OWNER

I'm not renegotiating. If you wanted an extra 25 dollars, you should've played an extra 15 minutes.

MARCUS

Look, this band is black magic incarnate, my friend. Last week I witnessed a skinhead convert to Judaism over this fucking music. We're top notch shit. And we've got a whole day of driving ahead of us; gas money is everything. Now imagine in a couple years when these guys hit it big. Do you wanna be known as the guy who made it so we couldn't reach the next gig?

Amy exits from a nearby bathroom and lights a cigarette.

NED

Hey, Amy, do you have the keys to the van?

AMY

Why would I have them? Ruth's the one driving.

NED

Well I don't know where Ruth is. Can you find her so we can put our shit away?

AMY

Fine. You know it's not that hard to go look for her yourself.

LORNE

How are we supposed to find someone that constantly avoids human contact.

NED

You know she hides from us after every show.

AMY

She's not hiding, jackoffs. She likes her space. She's probably outside having a smoke.

(Heads for the front door before looking over at Marcus)

Don't give him too hard of a time, Marc.

MARCUS

Don't criticize me for being a good manager for you people. How about this, 15 dollars and I'll let you keep some merch?

EXT. CABIN – Night

Amy walks out into the fall air. She takes another pull of her cigarette. Above the main doorway she notices a silhouette perched at the entrance. A ladder is conveniently placed to climb up.

Ruth sits performing some form of meditation. She plays with a red rubber band on her wrist. Amy carefully edges her way up next to Ruth.

AMY

Whatcha thinking about?

RUTH

Nothing really. It's kind of the whole point of meditation.

AMY

(Pulls out a cigarette for Ruth)

You'll have to teach me about it sometime. Damn, have you seen the moon?

RUTH

(Lights cigarette with Amy's)

What about it?

AMY

It's crazy looking.

RUTH

(Looks at moon)

Reminds me of a dream I had.

AMY

(Stare at Ruth)

Tell me about it.

The two stare at a glowing red moon. Cigarette smoke floats across the clear autumn sky as the stars shine down on the two.

RUTH

I'm floating through space on some giant rock. And I can see all the planets in the sky. And then there's this bright light hovering over me, looked like the moon. I can feel everything around me moving. Gravity was pulling everything in every direction except for me. I'm... bleeding, but I'm not in pain. And you were there.

AMY

(Slides closer to Ruth)

Really? What was I doing?

RUTH

You were just staring at me. You looked sad, like I did something wrong.

AMY

Why do think you did something?

RUTH

I don't think I did. It was like I just made a difficult decision, and whatever it was I did it for you.

AMY

(Closing in for a kiss)

What happened next?

RUTH

(Puts out her cigarette and places her hand on Amy's cheek)

I think I was going to kiss you, but I woke up before I saw anything else.

AMY

Well that was a dream. This is real.

Amy and Ruth's lips meet at last, but are unfortunately cut short by the guys.

NED

So... how's finding the keys coming along?

AMY

(Takes her time to stop kissing Ruth)

As a matter of fact–

(Holds out Ruths keys)

I just found them.

LORNE

Can we go now? We've got two hours of driving before we're near the next motel.

MARCUS

Actually, that will not be necessary.

INT. VAN – Night – Moving

The band's van rattles down a dirt path on a lonesome forest road. Ruth and Amy sit in the front while Marcus, Lorne, and Ned sit in the back.

NED

So when were you going to tell us that you rented a house?

MARCUS

Well I was–

LORNE

How much did it cost?

MARCUS

It wasn't–

AMY

How much money do we have now?

MARCUS

If you would all please shut up for a moment. It didn't cost anything. I happen to know a guy who lives out here. He was leaving for a fishing trip, and I told him I'd watch the house for a couple days. I was gonna tell you all after the show, but I got stuck arguing with the owner.

RUTH

You were trying to weasel 15 dollars out of him.

MARCUS

I earned that 15 for you all! Don't judge me for trying to help out. And how the hell do you even know what we were talking about? You were on the fucking roof.

AMY

You know the howl of a weasel can be heard up to 5 miles away.

MARCUS

Glad to know I'm appreciated by you all.

RUTH

Just tell us where we're going, Marcus.

MARCUS

(Points out the window)

Take a left here, and follow the road.

A sign up sticks off the road reading:

RISING MOON ROAD

Ruth drives off the main road and into the fog. The road grows narrower as they continue driving.

AMY

Are you sure we're driving in the right direction?

MARCUS

It should be coming up pretty soon.

RUTH

Are we even on a road anymore? If this is the wrong spot, I don't know how I'm gonna get out of here.

NED

Anyone wanna pull up a map?

LORNE

(Looking at his phone)

No luck, we've got no cell signal up here.

MARCUS

I know what my friend, said. It's the first left past the cabin, and... and then he said...

AMY

Have you even been to this place, Marcus?

Marcus says nothing.

NED

You've got to be kidding me.

LORNE

So we're completely lost, great. We should've just headed for the mot–

AMY

LOOK OUT!

Ruth slams the brakes right before plowing into a man standing in the middle of the road. He stares at them, bug-eyed, mumbling something under his breath.

MARCUS

Get out of the road asshole!

He stumbles out of the way of the van and continues walking. As he walks past her window, Ruth notes the mans strange appearance. Tattoos cover his entire body, and his beard is long and gray. He vanishes into the fog behind them.

LORNE

Where the hell did he come from?

NED

Who gives a shit? I just wanna get the fuck out of here.

AMY

(Points ahead)

Look.

The group makes out the dim porch lights of a cabin.

MARCUS

Told you I knew where we were going. Now come on, before more tweakers show up.

AMY

Ruth, are you alright?

RUTH

What?

Amy is staring down at Ruth's side. Her hand is gripped around a small knife hanging off of her belt. Ruth quickly lets go.

RUTH

Yeah... I'm ok.

AMY

Are you sur–

RUTH

Let's keep moving.

The group drives towards the cabin without another word. The strange man watches from a distance.

INT. FRIENDS CABIN

Marcus unlocks the front door and the band enters with their gear. The house is quaint and generally inviting.

MARCUS

The lights should be around somewhere.

Marcus flips a switch, and the room is illuminated. A number of animal heads are mounted on the wall. Lorne notes the double barreled shotgun hanging over the mantle piece by a large hearth.

NED

(Approaching the heath)

If anyone can find me some matches I can get a fire going.

LORNE

First we get everything out of the van. I'm not leaving anything outside. Not with crazy old men wandering around.

Lorne and Ned head back outside to grab the rest of the gear. Ruth walks over to a couch in the lounge area of the room. It folds out into a bed.

MARCUS

There should be two more bedrooms upstairs. You and Ruth can have the main one, and I'll take the guest bedroom.

AMY

Sounds like a plan. How about you head up there now and make sure.

Marcus is about to protest, but stays quiet after Amy gives him a look. He ascends the staircase and leaves Amy and Ruth alone downstairs. Ruth wraps her arms around Amy and tries to kiss her. Amy doesn't reciprocate the feeling, but instead holds out her hand.

AMY

First things first.

RUTH

What?

AMY

You don't need it. We're safe here.

RUTH

I'm not... I'm fine. I'm in control.

AMY

If you're in control, give it to me.

Hesitant, Ruth slowly pulls out her knife and hands it to Amy.

AMY

You don't always need to be protecting me.

RUTH

I'm sorry.

AMY

It's alright. I feel safe enough just being with you.

RUTH

Thank you.

INT. CABIN – Later

A fire is finally going in the hearth, and the band sits around the dining room table. Lorne opens a bottle of Whiskey and pours and the group revel in the drinking. Lorne starts telling a drunken story.

LORNE

So I'm drunk out of my mind right now and we haven't even gotten to the party yet. But I'm an idiot and I feel like a million bucks. And we walk past this store, with one of those big window displays in it. I walk past, and out of nowhere this guy starts talking shit to me. We get into an argument, and then I'm just start screaming at this dude in the middle of the night downtown. Finally I'm like, fuck this guy, and I punch him in the face. Glass shatters in front of me and my hand is bleeding. I punched the window to the store. I'd been arguing with my reflection the whole time. I needed 10 stiches for that cut on my hand. Still stings when it gets cold outside.

NED

I can safely say I've never been that drunk.

AMY

Oh, and you don't have any horror stories you'd like to share?

NED

None like that. But I will say this–

(Rolls up his sleeves to reveal the tattoos on his arms)

–That used to be a girls name, and that also used to be a girls name. And I don't remember either of them in the slightest.

MARCUS

Well that's all well and good. What I wanna know, Ned, is who's Enrique and why is his name tramp stamped on you?

RUTH

Wait what?

NED

You said you wouldn't tell anybody!

MARCUS

You expect me to remember that in my current state?

NED

Fuck you.

AMY

I think we can all agree that Ned is free to love whoever he chooses to love. And I bet Enrique is a wonderful guy.

LORNE

What about you Ruth?

RUTH

What about me?

LORNE

We're all sharing stories. You gotta contribute something to the discussion.

RUTH

I don't really have any stories like that.

MARCUS

Oh come on darling, we've all made poor decisions. That's a part of being in a rock band. You do stupid shit sometimes. So fess up.

RUTH

Honestly, I don't have any good ones.

NED

Doesn't have to be good. I'm gonna be pissed off if we end this on my stupid decisions.

AMY

Guys, don't pressure her to–

RUTH

I've got one. I don't remember it very well, but here goes.

LORNE

We're all ears.

RUTH

So my dad used to keep all his guns in this tool shed next to our garage. He never let me go in there because he didn't trust me. But one day, I noticed where he hid the key for the shed. Bottom drawer by his bed. So I snuck into his room when he went to bed, got the key, and opened up the shed. And there was a ton of shit in there. Rifles, Shotguns, a fucking chainsaw– He was logger. And I notice this clear bottle lying on the floor. I pick it up and it's vodka. My dad liked to drink while he cleaned his guns. So, being a curious little kid, I took a sip, and then another. And another. Eventually I'm holding a shotgun in my hand. I'm 9 and I'm wasted. Then, I hear this scream come from behind me. I whip around just in time to see a raccoon right before I pulled the trigger.

NED

Holy fuck!

RUTH

And I don't remember looking at the raccoon as I did it. I just remember this red mist in the air when I opened my eyes. I'm also covered in raccoon guts. The whole neighborhood is awake now. Dogs are barking, Nina Parker, the old widow across the street, is wandering out on the lawn. And the icing on the cake was that the fucking cops showed up. It was a shit show.

MARCUS

Now that's a story right there. What the hell did your dad do when he found out?

RUTH

My dad? Um... he came outside, saw me holding the gun and–

Cut to

A young Ruth is seen cowering before the figure of her father. She's screaming but no sound is heard. Her father holds up his belt, lunges at Ruth and–

Cut Back

RUTH

He grounded me for two weeks... and decided to make chili with the racoon.

AMY

That's disgusting.

LORNE

Nah, that's just a Sunday in an RV camp.

RUTH

(Finishes her drink and stands)

Well, I think I'm gonna call it a night.

MARCUS

Oh come on, you can't call it quits now. This was just starting to get get fun.

RUTH

Unless someone else wants to drive tomorrow, which I doubt because you're all gonna be shit faced, I'm gonna need all the sleep I can get.

(Grabs her guitar, heads upstairs)

You know where to find me if you need me.

Ruth heads upstairs without another word. Amy follows close behind. She doesn't say another word to the rest of the group. The three men are left alone to their own devices.

MARCUS

(Pours another round of whiskey for the group)

Well, here's to another successful show.

LORNE

Cheers. So... what are we supposed to now?

Without a word, Ned reaches under the table and pulls up a small carved jewelry box. He smiles to himself for a moment, and then reveals.

LORNE

Whatcha got there, Dope Fiend?

NED

Half a pound of Electric Wizard.

LORNE

Nice.

MARCUS

And that?

NED

And what?

MARCUS

That.

Everyone looks in to see something else in the box. A small vial seems to glow an electric pink.

NED

Oh no, we're not doing that.

MARCUS

Oh come on, don't tease us like that.

LORNE

Is it dangerous?

NED

Potentially.

LORNE

What the hell is it?

NED

It's... a hallucinogen. Little bit of this, little bit of that.

MARCUS

Does it have penicillin in it?

NED

Uh... no.

MARCUS

Good. I'm allergic to penicillin.

NED

That should be the least of your worries with this.

LORNE

Ned, where the hell did you get something like this? Who did you even buy it from?

NED

Where doesn't matter, but they do live under a bridge.

MARCUS

Ned, I'm here to make stupid decisions tonight. So let me make stupid decisions.

NED

Marcus, I’m not joking, this shit will melt your face off.

LORNE

Then why do you even have it?

MARCUS

Yeah, you know what I think? I think you know that this is next level shit, and you want it all for yourself. Well as your manager, I am demanding you let us try this. If I'm gonna get fucked, I want it to be memorable.

The trio falls silent as each tries to read the others mind. The message conveyed, Ned opens the vial and takes out a dropper.

NED

Trust me, no one is gonna want to remember tonight.

INT. BEDROOM – Night

The room is dark except for a couple candles and the moonlight pouring in. Ruth lays on the bed with her guitar, quietly strumming a tune. Amy enters and starts to undress. She crawls into bed with Ruth and snuggles up next to her.

RUTH

I've been working on a new riff for when we get back in a studio.

AMY

Sounds metal. I mean everything you come up with is metal.

RUTH

Thanks.

AMY

I wish I had someone to teach me how to play growing up.

RUTH

It was the closest thing to therapy growing up. Whenever I felt bad, I just picked up the guitar and started playing. Only good my blood did for me.

AMY

You don't really talk about your family.

RUTH

Not much to say. We were all fucked up, and no one wanted to help us.

AMY

Why did you lie to them?

RUTH

(Sigh)

They didn't need to know, I guess.

AMY

You don't have to go easy on anyone. That's why you're here. These are the kind of people you can open up to. I know they feel like a lot, but they're not gonna judge you. I'm not gonna judge you. Everyone can be human here.

RUTH

Sometimes I just don't wanna be human.

(Brushes a scar across Amy's neck)

What good have humans done for you?

Amy takes hold of Ruth's hand. She kisses Ruth's callused and blisters fingers, and then places it against her breast. Ruth sets the guitar down on the floor.

AMY

I'd say this one has done a lot.

Ruth blows out the candles, and embraces her lover.

EXT. FOREST – Night

The wind has begun to pick up, and the trees moan and rock with the breeze. FOGERT, the crazy old man from earlier, is still wandering down the road. Through chattering teeth he mumbles a song to himself.

FOGERT

(Incoherent)

I see a bad moon a-rising. I see trouble on the way.

Fogert stops walking and stairs up into a tree. A single Raven looks down upon him from its perch. It doesn't make a sound. Fogert continues on with a quickened stride.

FOGERT

I hear hurricanes a-blowing, I know the end is coming soon. I fear rivers overflowing.

Fogert trails off as an extra strong gust of wind pushes against him. He shields his face from the cold. Fogert feels a strange sensation rush over him. Not the cold, it's something far more sinister.

FOGERT

I hear... the voice of rage and ruin.

An ambient red glow appears down the road ahead. A low rumble follows with it. Fogerts hands begin to tremble, and he grasps at a necklace around his neck. He mutters a jumble of words that don't make any sense. It sounds Latin. An incantation. The light grows brighter, as does the noise. A single thought runs through Fogert's head, hide.

He ducks into the thicket and behind a tree. His body is overtaken by fear, as a jet black car with red headlights rounds the bend. Fogert doesn't make a sound. His heartbeat pounds inside his head. The car slowly comes to stop in front of the tree. The drivers window lowers a crack. Bright red light pours out along with thick black smoke. Fogert hears a low growl like a tiger from within.

Tears roll down Fogert's face. Death has never been closer to him than it has right now. Suddenly, the window rolls back up, and the car drives off. Fogert doesn't leave his hiding spot until the sound of the engine is gone. As Fogert comes out of hiding, he hears the spreading of wings. The Raven leaps from it's perch and sails over Fogert's head, following after the car.

Fogert breaks into a sprint in the opposite direction. He follows the road until suddenly running off into the woods. He trips and stumbles his way to a small hut hidden away.

INT. FOGERTS HUT

He runs inside, locks the door behind him, and closes all the blinds. One by one he lights all the candles scattered about the hut.

FOGERT

I hope you got your things together, I hope you are quite prepared to die.

Old books, artifacts and empty bottles of booze are scattered about. He clears a space in the middle of the hut and draws a circle with salt.

FOGERT

Looks like we're in for nasty weather. One eye is taken for an eye.

He sits in the middle of the circle and clings to the necklace around his neck. He bows his head to worship a mural etched on one of the walls. A six armed man with a goat for a head meditates, the mark of the beast is etched across his chest.

FOGERT

Don't go round tonight, it's bound to take your life. There's a bad moon on the rise.

INT. CABIN – The Witching Hour

Ruth and Amy lay asleep in bed, naked. Music is faintly heard echoing throughout the house. A record plays downstairs: The End by The Doors. Lorne, Marcus, and Ned lie in a circle on the floor. They stair wide eyed at the ceiling. The fire still burns strong. Marcus takes a drag from a joint and passes it to Ned. He starts to cough, and crawls towards the kitchen sink. He pours himself a glass of water. He stares into the glass. Sparkling light and flickers of color dance through the water. When Ned pulls the glass away, Imps and goblins dance around his feet.

NED

I think I might– I'm about to– Yep... I'm freaking out right now. There's demons in the house.

MARCUS

Calm down. They probably work for the Feds. We should smoke the rest of the weed so there's no evidence.

LORNE

(Takes a hit from the joint)

Way ahead of you man.

Ned wanders back towards the guys, but stops and stairs out the window. A black car with red headlights has parked in front of the cabin.

NED

You guys see what I'm seeing?

MARCUS

See what?

NED

...Nothing.

Ned opens the door and stands in the doorway of the cabin. He stares at the car. The bright red lights are hypnotic.

NED

Damn, this shit is crazier than I thought.

The driver door flies open. More red light radiates from within. Smoke pours out from within the car. It crawls across the ground like a low hanging mist. The driver steps out onto the grass. Ned doesn't move, he's frozen in place as he stairs at the horror before him.

A mesh of leather, latex and metal is illuminated by the blood red light. It's face is concealed beneath a jet black motorcycle helmet decorated with spikes. Immense in stature, and utterly depraved. There is no face to look at, no eyes to humanize it.

And yet, as Ned stares into the black void of it's visor, he can sense... lust. Is it real, or just an illusion? Has his mind merely imagined this avatar of sadomasochism? This Gimp from Hell?

Ned gets an answer, just not the one he wanted. The Gimp pulls out a massive pistol.

NED

Oh...

A gunshot cuts through the night like thunder. Hot shrapnel rips through Ned's stomach–– In and out. He is thrown backwards onto the ground.

Ruth lurches up in bed, awoken by the gunfire.

AMY

What's going on?

RUTH

(Quickly putting on her clothes)

Something's wrong. Something's very wrong.

Lorne and Marcus lurch upright to see Ned, riving in pain.

MARCUS

What the fuck!

Lorne sees the Gimp approach the cabin. He scrambles to his feet and grabs the shot gun off the mantle. Luckily, it's already loaded. The Gimp walks through the door, it's shoulders are so broad that they rip the door frame off the wall. The Gimp aims it's gun at Lorne and Marcus.

LORNE

GET DOWN!

Marcus and Lorne dive behind the couch as a barrage of bullets rip through the furniture. Marcus bolts for the upstairs, and catches a bullet in the ankle. He collapses onto the stairs in agony. The Gimp approaches Marcus with a low primal growl. Another victim to abuse.

RUTH

(Upstairs)

Where's my knife? Amy, what did you do with my knife?

AMY

You're not going down there!

Lorne pops up behind the Gimp and fires into the back of it's head. The buckshot bounces off like rubber and back into Lorne's face. Lorne staggers away unable to see. He trips over a coffee table and falls right in front of the fire.

The Gimp stands over Lorne, and pushes him into the fire with one of it's giant boots. Lorne bursts into flames, screaming and riving in pain. The Gimp doesn't move, he holds Lorne to the fire until it's done.

The Gimp turns it's gaze back to Ned, crawling into the kitchen. The Gimp enters the kitchen and takes a kitchen knife. He grabs Ned's hair and exposes his neck. The Gimp proceeds to cut through his throat and decapitates him. The Gimp admires it's new toy as Lorne's burning corpse sets fire to the carpet and begins to spread.

Marcus has managed to crawl upstairs and Ruth and Amy pull him into their bedroom.

AMY

Oh my god, Marcus! What's going on? Are we being robbed?

RUTH

Where's Ned and Lorne?

MARCUS

T-that... that thing. It... it fucking killed them!

The Gimps heavy footsteps are heard ascending the staircase. The whole house seems to shake. The bedroom door is knocked off it's hinges as The Gimp enters the room. Ned's severed head is pressed into the Gimps crotch.

AMY

Oh my god!

Ruth grabs her knife off the nightstand and gets in front of Amy and Marcus.

RUTH

Get downstairs and start the van.

MARCUS

The whole downstairs is on fire. Don't you see the smoke?

They're trapped. The Gimp inches towards them, growling. There's nowhere to go. Ruth locks eyes with Amy. If this is it, she wants to look at her one last time.

The Gimp presses forward. Ruth charges at it, knife raised. With a swipe from one of it's massive arms, The Gimp sends Ruth flying across the room and smashes into the wall. She lies on the ground motionless. The Gimp goes to finish the job.

AMY

Ruth!

The Gimp suddenly turns its gaze on Amy. It tilts it's head as if to admire her beauty. Marcus steps between them.

MARCUS

Fuck you, you fucking freak!

The Gimp roars at Marcus. He has stepped between an alpha and it's mate. The Gimp picks up Marcus and slams him on the ground. It picks him back up and proceeds to smash his head into the wall over and over and over and over again until there's nothing left.

There's only Amy now. She tries to run but The Gimp pushes her into a corner of the room. It towers over her, the spikes protruding from it's jacket piercing into her skin. The Gimp strokes Amy's cheek with one of it's massive hands, spreading blood and bits of Marcus's brain across her face. Violated doesn't begin to describe what Amy is feeling.

Before the harassment can go on, a knife is driven into The Gimps back, crying out in pain. Ruth has reentered the fight. She's bloody and bruised, but alive.

RUTH

Get the fuck away from her!

The Gimp whirls around, and grabs Ruth by the wrist. Her bones can be heard breaking under the pressure. Then, in one swift motion, The Gimp sends Ruth flying through the window. She rolls off the roof, cutting herself on the glass, bounces off the roof of the van, and unto the cold wet ground.

The Gimp grabs Amy, and drags her towards the stairs. She screams and cries for help, but no one is there to save her. The fire has spread to most of downstairs as The Gimp leaves the way it came. It's work has been done. A monument to agony and suffering. Amy pulls and punches at The Gimps arm, but it's useless.

The Gimp takes Amy to the back of it's car and pops the trunk. It forces her into the boot. Right as it's about to lock Amy inside–

RUTH

Let... her... go.

Ruth, bleeding, crippled, and barely able to stand, limps towards The Gimp. It doesn't matter if she can't win, she's not letting this thing take the one thing she cares about. The Gimp watches Ruth's valiant attempt at walking, seemingly amused. It pulls out it's pistol and unloads the clip into Ruth. The bullets don't stop until Ruth hits the ground.

AMY

NO!

Amy bursts into tears as The Gimp slams the trunk closed, plunging her into darkness. Her muffled cries are heard as The Gimp gets back into his car, and drives away. The house is consumed by fire, and the bodies inside are reduced to ash. Only the corpse of Ruth remains. Lifeless, bloodied, the victim of a force greater than herself. All witnessed by the watchful eye of a lone raven.

#horror #doommetal #screenwriting

2 notes · View notes

thelazyeye · 5 years

Note

oh okay, internet famous Losers, like they're all youtubers and insta famous kids doing really different stuff around the nation, what do each of them do? who connects with who and how?

Ooff I love this idea. I used to be moderately into youtube people. Mamrie Hart anyone? She cracks me the fuck UP. Anyway this got super long so its under the cut. I hope you enjoy anon! Thanks for sending something it!!

Okay. Here we go.

Richie

is a youtube personality. Duh. He started out vlogging and his Voices and somehow his channel picked up. He writes comedy bits, does personal blogging, and tests his voices.

When he was starting out he had a bit where he was a weatherman that had multiple personalities (Voices) and it got insanely popular. He received some backlash due to the offensiveness of the bit and has since retired it, but references it from time to time to credit his fame.

Now he focuses a lot on his comedy routines and improv acting with other members of the community. He does challenges from time to time as collabs as well

People are super invested in his personal life (bc people seriously get like that with youtube people) and started speculating about his sexuality. It took him a few years to address all the rumors that he wasn’t straight and how he was probably dating this youtuber or that youtuber.

Eddie

is an LGBT Activist that has a youtube channel as well (think Laci Green but LGBT and not sex ed, though he does do sex ed work)

He got his start when he was in college. He became the president of the LGBT club. He wanted to reach a large number of students and he figured the best way to do that would be youtube

The entire club helped him out. Every week he would have another club member on the channel to talk about their sexuality and experiences

It didn’t get big at the school but he got lowkey noticed by the HRC after about 6 or 7 videos. He was contacted by a social media manager on the team to commend him on his work

From then on out he started to work harder on his videos, including more in depth information and he included links to more resources

Eventually, his videos started to rack up views from young LGBT kids thanking him for his channel

He started to collab with famous LGBT youtubers (troye sivan, hannah hart) and that’s when he really blew up

Bill

actually got his start on Vine. He mastered the art of the 6 second story and when the platform went down he migrated to youtube, snapchat, and twitter. He’s got profiles on almost every social media platform and he’s written a couple of webseries, as well.

His first webseries (pre-vine) focused on comedy. He and some college friends got together and wrote the script/acted it out. It wasn’t very big but the following for it had a cultish feel.

It blew up after he became famous on vine

After that, he started writing more webseries and partnering with other youtube actors

He wrote and completed two successful comedy webseries before he got bored of it. He decided to make the jump to horror work

Think Marble Hornets

He ended up getting a scholarship to a film school and has been working on becoming a movie director ever since

His youtube work is on a hiatus but he still posts blogs and updates of his life. He’s active on Snapchat and Twitter the most. He still does dumb, funny shit from time to time and tweets out very random jokes

Stan

is an adventure youtuber. He travels all over the world, seeking thrills and exploring nature. His videos usually have some kind of educational component but they’re always entertaining. Stan has explored the Savanah and Rain Forrests, he’s sky dived and scuba dived. He’s done a lot

He has a side channel for his love of birds because how can I not throw this in here?

When Anti semites started showing back up in the world Stan started to dedicate more of his channel, and his other platforms, to Judaism. He’s uses his popularity and fame to educate people and create awareness around the issues Jews face

As a result, he blogged his Birthright to Israel. It was a weeks worth of videos, some candids that he just uploaded on the whim, and some he took the time to edit. They were adventurous, educational, and full of his personal journey

Stan has also faced a lot of backlash for his involvement with the jewish community. He voices this in his videos. To combat the threats against him, he recruits other members of the youtube community to collab with and talk about issues. He makes it fun. He’s cooked Jewish foods, celebrated Jewish holidays, and had fun discussions with other personalities.

Bev

is a famous fashion designer and makeup artist. She got her start on Instagram, posting her designs and outfits that she created. Sh started young. Like 15 years old. As she grew up and went to school, her fashion instagram grew. People got to see her skills improve and they watched as she turned into a teenager designing clothes in her bedroom to a design student to a professional

She gives fashion tips to people and her favorite hobby is making posts that help girls and boys create fun, new, and exciting clothes out of what they already have in their closet

She firmly believes that you don’t need to have money and status to dress well. She wants fashion to be accessible.

She started a youtube channel out of request from her followers. She got a lot of comments about her makeup and she started to do makeup tutorials there (Think Sailor J)

People really started to see how funny she was, then. She would always throw little bullshit videos onto her story but this was the first time she posted video content that didn’t disappear after 24h

Her youtube is not nearly as active as her instagram. That’s where you can find all of her content

She is also a vocal activist against child abuse on her insta. She frequently donates to various organizations and she does it very publicly. She runs clothing drives for those in need and has even hosted makeover days for young girls whose families can’t afford good clothes/makeup.

She has recently expanded her fashion designs to male clothing, promoting Non Binary, Trans, and other identities in her lines. She says “Clothing has no gender” and pushes that despite advice to lay low on the issue.

Mike

is a super unlikely case of internet fame. His instagram is composed almost entirely of his farm animals. He really didn’t think he was going to get famous from it. He just loves his farm so fucking much

The first half of his internet fame just consisted of pictures and videos of his animals. Namely, his dog Mr. Chips and his cow, Barely. They were best friends and Mike posted pictures of them napping together, playing together, and helping him run the farm

Once he started to gain an unreasonable about of followers he would pepper in posts that were educational. He talked about the importance of farmers, the work that he does, and how he maintains his animals. He worked to debunk a lot of myths about farming and really promote the work that he does.

He still posts a lot of videos of him with his animals being all cute, but he uses his activism to reach large numbers of people at a single time.

He also promotes healthy eating on his instagram. He talks about balanced diets and how to moderate sweets intake.

Eventually he talks about working out (because Mike Hanlon is ripped sorry I don’t make the rules) and helps build an all around healthy lifestyle for his following. He kind of accidentally becomes a life coach of sorts. Motivation, healthy living, and cute animals.

He has no idea how it happened but he doesn’t regret a single minute of it

Ben

is a singer! This sweet old mother fucker started out on youtube when he was 16. He bought a Ukulele and started writing love songs for the girl he was pining after

We all know that one mother fucker who owed a Ukulele in high school

His voice was like velvet, though. He wasn’t popular enough for anyone to really see it so he didn’t get teased in high school for it. His first couple videos got only a handful of views

What kick started his fame is a cover video. When he decided he wanted to do an acoustic cover of Lady Gaga’s Love Game

He did it on Ukulele

It ended up being such a fun and unique cover of such a popular song that he got noticed. Like. The video fucking blew up. He ended up getting over 5 thousand views overnight and the number just kept growing

Ben ran with it. He covered other popular songs (I Kissed a Girl, Viva La Vida, So What, etc)

He blew up so hard and fast that people started to notice his original works

He got noticed by a label and signed the summer after he graduated high school

His first album was a love album because it’s Ben come on

He doesn’t have much of a social media presence after his youtube channel. He has the mandatory instagram and twitter that all famous people seem to have but they’re fairly inactive

Collabs

Richie and Bill

Richie and Bill were the first to collab with each other. Richie acted in Bill’s first webseries and it built a friendship that lasts a lifetime.

The two of them do stupid youtube challenges with each other whenever they’re in the same city

Bill used to guest on Richie’s channels and play improv games to help both of them work on their comedy. They always turn out ridiculously funny and normally involve some level of alcohol

When Bill lost his younger brother in a car accident (sorry georgie dies in like every single universe) Richie flew out to see Bill and spend time with him. The two of them filmed a vlog together where they talked about the loss and then they both donated to anti drunk driving campaigns and urged their followers to do the same and never drive drunk

Richie and Eddie

They met for the first time at vidcon when they were first starting out. Richie was already pretty big but Eddie was working on his following. They hit it off immediately and they filmed a video for Eddie’s channel that focused on Eddie debunking stereotypes surrounding the LGBT community. Richie added a tasteful comedic flair that brought in views and he taught Eddie that things don’t always need to be serious 100% of the time

They kept in loose contact after that, always meeting up at vidcon and filming a ridiculous video for Eddie’s channel

2 years later, Richie reached out to Eddie and asked him to film a video for Richie’s channel

He wouldn’t tell Eddie what it was until they were in front of the camera, but Eddie readily agreed. He loved working with Richie. He thought he was fun and witty

When they got in front of the camera Richie revealed that he was bisexual and that Eddie’s videos helped him learn about bisexuality and come to terms with it

They spent the video talking about Richie’s journey to self acceptance, why he decided to come out, and Eddie’s knowledge surrounding sexual identity development. The video ended up being 15 minutes long and had the highest comment numbers Richie had ever seen. Not every comment was positive, but he took the experience in stride and started doing little bits of advocacy here and there for his and other channels

Richie and Eddie end up dating, but not for a long, long time after that video when they’re both living in LA and well established in their youtube careers.

Bev and Mike

An unlikely combo for an unlikely youtube star! Bev and Mike do a collab that focuses on self esteem and loving yourself!

Mike gives health tips and Bev gives fashion advice, but both of them talk about the importance of self worth and how external image means nothing if you don’t love yourself first. They both talk about their own journeys.

The collab starts because Bev finds out about Mike through insta and she ends up contacting him about wool. They partner up business wise and Mike helps provide wool for her fashion line while Bev promotes his farm work.

They don’t do many intentional collabs after they one, but they do show up on each others stories and in pictures together very frequently. The two become best friends

Ben and Bev

They don’t collab. But they do get married.

They meet through the fame and bustle of L.A. Ben’s music career makes him end up at the same Gala as Bev, where they’re introduced to each other. They hit it off immediately, connecting with their childhoods and such.

They date for 3 years before Ben proposes via Flash Mob and song written just for Bev

Bev loves the song so much she insists Ben release it. It becomes a Billboard hit

Eddie and Stan

Stan finds himself in NYC where Eddie lives and he reaches out to do an educational collab on LGBT politics in the Jewish community.

He takes Eddie rock climbing and the two film the video with go pros.

Eddie is terrified at first and it makes for a funny introduction but he eventually gets his bearings and the two of them scale a cliff together, talking about issues and getting to know each other.

Stan and Richie

Eddie introduces them after the Coming Out Video.

They collab as frequently as they can

They do ridiculous shit and Stan films Richie’s commentary. Its hilarious

They have a natural chemistry and they feed off of each other. Stan didn’t know he was a funny guy until he met Richie. Then it just kind of came out of the woodwork. Richie really highlighted Stan’s eccentric sense of humor.

Everyone

Richie and Bev are childhood best friends

Eventually, they all end up meeting. They don’t really film videos with each other. Sometimes there’s a vlog that includes more than two of them but very rarely are they all in the same video at the same time.

It happened intentionally once. It was chaos. Everyone was drunk. The video had to be edited so severely that it was only 1 minute and 30 seconds

They do however show up in snapchats, insta stories, and pictures as a group. By the time they’re all 30 they’re very, very good friends

#richie tozier #eddie kasbrak #mike hanlon #beverly marsh #stan uris #bill denbrough #ben hanscom #youtuber au #headcannon #hc #my writing #this is unedited and unproofread please go easy on me #Anonymous #Em Answers #reddie

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euroman1945-blog · 6 years

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The Daily Tulip

The Daily Tulip – News From Around The World

Sunday 8th July 2018

Good Morning Gentle Reader…. The day at the beach yesterday was fantastic, so good that I think I will do the same today, but as always, I have my faithful companion Bella to think about first, and she is eager to go for a walk… So out the door into the sultry heat of the night, cicadas frantically rubbing their back legs together break the silence of this Sunday morning, as we head towards the hermitage, one of our regular early morning walks, we walk under the arbor of the Flame Trees that when in bloom I am very allergic to, but all worries of that are long gone, all the yellow blossoms are laying dried on the floor… As we climb the hill, the church bells ring for the faithful, getting fewer everyday…at the top we pause and watch as a helicopter, lights ablaze sweeps over the ocean below, this is the time of the year the people try to cross the Straights of Gibraltar in rubber craft, and the drug runners try to cross in similar boats with more powerful engines at the same time, but Spain and Gibraltar work together to prevent this… Bella and I have had enough excitement for the start of a Sunday, so we turn for home, Coffee and Dog Food, await our arrival….

SHEERAN CHAPEL KNOCKED ON THE ED…. Ed Sheeran has been denied planning permission for a private wedding chapel in the grounds of his home. The 27-year-old chart-topper had hoped to wed fiancee Cherry Seaborn in the custom-built Saxon-style round tower at his estate in Dennington, Suffolk. But planning officials said the structure would cause "unsatisfactory visual impacts" and create "the impression of a second village church". It is not known if the couple will appeal or opt for an alternative venue.Suffolk Coastal District Council refused the application because the design would "be in conflict with the prevailing landscape character, creating the impression of a second village church". "This would result in visual conflict with the character of the existing local landscape," it added. The singer's application said the building would not be hired out and was solely intended for use by the owner. It justified the need for a chapel and said: "It is every person's right to be able to have a place of retreat for contemplation and prayer, for religious observance, celebration of key life and family milestones, marriages, christenings and so forth." Sheeran, who announced his engagement in January, has faced opposition from locals over the project. He had called in experts to check whether great crested newts could scupper his plans for the private chapel after concerns from people living nearby.The species has declined in recent years and is now legally protected. But, aside from the visual impact, planning officials also said it was not a sustainable development and would require artificial lighting in an area not currently polluted by light.Had the planning application been successful, Sheeran would have needed to obtain a wedding licence for the ceremony.

INDIA FAMILY FOUND HANGED FROM CEILING IN DELHI HOUSE…Eleven members of an extended family have been found dead in a house in India's capital, Delhi - 10 of them hanging from the ceiling, police say. A woman in her 70s was the only one found lying on the floor. Most of the dead were blindfolded and gagged with their hands tied behind their backs. What lies behind the deaths is unclear and police have not ruled out murder. But they also released a statement saying they had found evidence of "mystical practices" by the family. The full police statement refers to handwritten notes found in the house which pointed to "definite spiritual and mystical practices" that appear to have some links to the deaths. They are still waiting for the results of the post-mortem examinations, questioning neighbours and examining CCTV footage of the area.One police official told the AFP news agency it was "still too early" to know what happened. "It is an ongoing investigation and we haven't ruled out anything," he said. The family had lived in the Burari district of Delhi for more than 20 years, although they were originally from Rajasthan. They ran two shops on the ground floor of a three-storey building. The bodies were discovered by a neighbour when he went to buy milk on Sunday morning…. Well this gives a new meaning to “Come over the house and hang out with the family!”

NUDE MODEL'S WESTERN WALL PHOTO SHOOT SPARKS ANGER…. A Belgian artist has faced a backlash in Israel after posing nude in front of one of Judaism's most sacred sites. Marisa Papen posted the image of herself reclining naked on a rooftop overlooking the Western Wall in Jerusalem. The rabbi of the site described the incident as "grave and lamentable". Last year, Ms Papen was briefly detained after taking naked photos at an ancient Egyptian temple in Luxor. On her website, the young model describes her way of life as "a naked form of freedom where masks are torn off and thrown in the ocean". Many of her publicly posted images are nude modelling shots taken all over the world. In a blog post on Saturday entitled "The Wall of Shame", the model said her experiences in Egypt had made her want "to push the bounderies [sic] of religion and politics even further... [by] showing my personal religion in a world where freedom is becoming a very luxurious thing". She said her three-day visit to Israel had coincided with the 70th anniversary of its founding, and the controversial opening of the US embassy in Jerusalem in May. Photos from the trip showed the model in the Dead Sea and straddling an Israeli flagpole. But the most provocative image was of Ms Papen posing naked in view of the Western Wall. It is a remnant from the time of the biblical second Jewish temple and the most sacred place where Jewish people can pray. Jewish religious authorities were quick to condemn the photograph. The Rabbi of the Western Wall, Shmuel Rabinovich, told Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper: "This is an embarrassing incident, grave and lamentable, which offends the sanctity of the site and the feelings of those who visit the holy places."

'HERO' DOG BITTEN BY RATTLESNAKE WHILE PROTECTING OWNER…. Move over K-9, there's a new superdog in town.Todd the golden retriever was labelled a hero for putting himself in harm's way to protect his owner - and was bitten by a rattlesnake in the process. Paula Godwin posted the story to Facebook, alongside pictures of Todd's swollen face, describing what happened."As we were walking down the hill I literally almost stepped on a rattlesnake. But my hero of a puppy Todd saved me."Todd was called into action when Paula found herself face-to-face with a rattlesnake on a hike trail in Arizona. "He bolted by my leg," she told the BBC. "That's when he was hit by the snake. "Todd was yelping right away, crying. I picked him up, ran down the hill with my other dog Copper, and we got him to the hospital within about 10 minutes of being bit. "He got the anti-venom quickly and was in the hospital for about 12 hours. "He for sure saved me from being bit. He's my hero." Paula explained that she was aware of the risks rattlesnakes pose where she lives, but said that this particular reptile was almost undetectable. "I am a native from Arizona," she said, "I know all the dangers, I am very vigilant of where I am and my surroundings. "This snake did not give any indication he was there. Usually if I hear that rattle I am alert and I am backing away. "I think he was just resting in the road - he was a grey speckled white rattlesnake, he looked just like the road. "I am so aware, so vigilant, but I didn't see him." Pictures of Todd have been widely shared online, with popular Twitter account WeRateDogs calling the puppy "a true hero".

MAN STUCK UP 32FT LAMP-POST IN BIRMINGHAM ENGLAND…. The fire service said they had no idea how the man got up the lamp-post. A man thought to have taken an illegal high became stuck at the top of a lamp-post and was rescued by firefighters.The man somehow scaled the 32ft (10m) lamp-post in Birmingham and became stranded at the top for an hour. Crews used a ladder from a hydraulic platform to get him down. A spokesman said they had no idea how he got there. The fire service tweeted he had taken an "illegal high" and the incident could have "ended very differently." West Midlands Ambulance Service said they were called to reports of a man in "a precarious position at the top of a lamppost" just before 22.00 BST on Saturday. He was treated for a hand injury and taken to Sandwell Hospital. And a West Midlands Police spokeswoman added: "We were called to reports of a man up a lamppost in Holly Road, Handsworth, at around 9.50pm. He came down around an hour later and was taken to hospital."

Well Gentle Reader I hope you enjoyed our look at the news from around the world this, morning… …

Our Tulips today are a little different, hope you enjoy...

A Sincere Thank You for your company and Thank You for your likes and comments I love them and always try to reply, so please keep them coming, it's always good fun, As is my custom, I will go and get myself another mug of "Colombian" Coffee and wish you a safe Sunday 8th July 2018 from my home on the southern coast of Spain, where the blue waters of the Alboran Sea washes the coast of Africa and Europe and the smell of the night blooming Jasmine and Honeysuckle fills the air…and a crazy old guy and his dog Bella go out for a walk at 4:00 am…on the streets of Estepona…

All good stuff....But remember it’s a dangerous world we live in

Be safe out there…

Robert McAngus

#Travel#News#Blog#Love#dog#Bella#Spain#Gibraltar

#travel #news #blog #bella #spain #gibraltar

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glittergummicandypeach · 4 years

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What religion is Dylan now?

It has only been four days since the release of Bob Dylan's first album of original songs in eight years -- "Rough and Rowdy Ways."

In those few days, several of its songs -- most notably, "I Contain Multitudes" and "Mother of Muses" -- have become ear worms. They have taken up permanent residence within my brain.

That is how good this album is -- Dylan's 39th studio album, coming out right after his 79th birthday.

I shall let certified Dylanologists analyze the lyrics on the new Dylan album with the appropriate depth

I have only one question.

What religion is Dylan, now?

Speaking of his life, decades ago, Dylan said: "My past is so complicated you wouldn't believe it, man."

Not really. He was Robert Zimmerman, born in Duluth, Minnesota, and spending his childhood in Hibbing, Minnesota.

Bobby Zimmerman became bar mitzvah in Hibbing's small shul. His father, Abe, was the president of the local Bnai Brith lodge. His mother, Beatty, was the president of the local Hadassah chapter. He attended Camp Herzl. At the University of Minnesota, he was a member of Sigma Alpha Mu, a nominally Jewish fraternity.

At certain points in his life, he all but denied being Jewish -- pretending to be Woody Guthrie; saying that he had been an itinerant blues singer.

But, dos pintele yid, that Jewish spark, just kept on coming back. He sang "Talkin' Havah Nagilah Blues," and said that it was a "foreign song I learned in Utah." He recorded numerous songs with Jewish references and biblical motifs -- all of which have been analyzed beyond imagination.

Dylan embraced evangelical Christianity, recording several albums of songs with Christian-influenced lyrics.

He returned to Judaism. Check out this video of Dylan, his son-in-law, musician and observant Jew, Peter Himmelman, and the late Harry Dean Stanton at a Chabad telethon! He visited Israel on several occasions. He recorded "Neighborhood Bully," rock music's most Zionist song.

So, yes: for someone whose religious identity has been "like a rolling stone," it is fair to listen to the new album, and ask: What religion is Dylan, now?

Is Dylan, once again, a Christian?

Consider the macabre song "My Own Version of You," with references to Saint John, the author of the fourth Gospel, and, Jewishly-speaking, the most problematic; Saint Peter, one of the founders of Christianity, and Saint Jerome, who translated the Bible into Latin.

I'm gon' make you play the piano like Leon Russell

Like Liberace, like St. John the Apostle

I'll play every number that I can play

I'll see you maybe on Judgment Day

After midnight, if you still wanna meet

I'll be in Black Horse Tavern on Armageddon Street

Two doors down, not that far a walk

I'll hear your footsteps, you won't have to knock

I'll bring someone to life, balance the scales

I'm not gonna get involved in any insignificant details...

You can bring it to St. Peter

You can bring it to Jerome

You can bring it all the way over

Bring it all the way home.

True: Leon Russell played a mean piano. So did Liberace.

But, Saint John the Apostle? Unless Dylan needed a rhyme for Russell? Judgement Day -- clearly Christian.

If I had the wings of a snow white dove

I'd preach the gospel, the gospel of love

A love so real, a love so true

I've made up my mind to give myself to you.

And finally, "Goodbye Jimmy Reed," which refers to the influential American blues musician and songwriter.

I live on a street named after a Saint

Women in the churches wear powder and paint

Where the Jews, and Catholics, and the Muslims all pray

I can tell they're Proddie from a mile away

Goodbye Jimmy Reed, Jimmy Reed indeed

Give me that old time religion, it's just what I need.

For thine is kingdom, the power, the glory

Go tell it on the mountain, go tell the real story

Tell it in that straightforward, puritanical tone

In the mystic hours when a person's alone

Goodbye Jimmy Reed, godspeed

Thump on the Bible, proclaim a creed.

Is Dylan back to Christianity? Or, is he just using Christian images, as he had done so often even before his born again phase? Recall "I Dreamed I Saw Saint Augustine": ...With a blanket underneath his arm and a coat of solid gold. Searching for the very souls whom already have been sold."

That street "where the Jews, and Catholics, and the Muslims all pray" -- is that a vision of a multi-faith America, or some point in the Old City in Jerusalem where such a prayer life would be possible?

Or, is Dylan flirting with ancient Greek religion? Consider the hymn-like "Mother Of Muses:"

Mother of Muses sing for my heart

Sing of a love too soon to depart

Sing of the heroes who stood alone

Whose names are engraved on tablets of stone

Who struggled with pain so the world could go free

Mother of Muses sing for me...

Is "Mother of Muses" just an easier way of referring to Mary? Is she (oh, I am so going out on a limb here!) the Shechinah, the feminine presence of God?

I don't know, and as I said, let's leave the religious question to the "professionals."

Especially because when Dylan channels Walt Whitman in "I Contain Multitudes;" when he sings of all the identities that comprise him, who is among the ones that he cites? Along with Edgar Allan Poe, the Rolling Stones, Indiana Jones: "I'm just like Anne Frank..."

Dylan sees himself as a Jewish teenage girl, hiding in an attic with her family from the Nazis.

When all is said and done (and all is probably not said and done), at the very root of his existence: Dylan is Bobby Zimmerman, and there is no piece of him that can forget it.

"I'm a man of contradictions, I'm a man of many moods. I contain multitudes..."

There is no single popular artist -- no, there is no single American cultural hero -- who contains as many multitudes as does Bob Dylan.

Listen to the album. It will move you, profoundly -- and, as is always the case with Dylan, it will make you think.

This content was originally published here.

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x-enter · 4 years

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Paramount's Sammy Davis Jr. Biopic Moves Forward with Writer Charles Murray

Paramount Pictures is ready to move forward with their Sammy Davis Jr. biopic, and they’ve hired Charles Murray to write the script.

The film is being produced by Lorenzo di Bonaventura; fellow musical icon Lionel Richie, who was instrumental in getting the rights from Sammy Davis Jr’s estate to make the movie; and Mike Menchel. The film that’s being developed is based on several resources, including the singer’s 1965 memoir Yes I Can: The Story of Sammy Davis Jr, which Davis wrote with Jane and Burt Boyar.

Apparently the studio looked long and hard for the right writers to take on this project, and they ended up hiring Murray, who has been a writer/producer on shows such as Sons of Anarchy and Luke Cage. According to Deadline, the “writer had read pretty much everything written about Davis Jr and came in with an encyclopedic knowledge of the iconic entertainer’s life and pretty much all dance movies.” That’s what landed him the job. Murry said:

“If you saw me, I’m 6’4″ and 290 pounds, maybe 300 if I’m being really honest. So it might surprise you that I grew up loving musicals, and gravitated to Fred Astaire, Gene Kelly, Elvis and James Cagney, and this little black dude I would see on TV, who held his own alongside Frank Sinatra.

“I would see movies like Ocean’s Eleven and Sammy just stood out. Singing with Frank, dancing like Fred and Gene, with none of those cats looked at him any different in those movies because he was black. I think I made the proclamation to my parents around eight that I wanted to make movies when I grew up. They’re from the South and knew all about what racial tension was and they said, ‘good luck.’ There weren’t a lot of actors on TV who looked like me. I would watch Bill Cosby as the gym teacher Chet Kincaid, and sometimes we would see Diahann Carroll in Julia. But of all those people, Sammy stood out. There was something completely unique about him and I never forgot him.”

This movie is obviously his dream project, and it seems like the kind of film he was born to be a part of. The report went on to offer the following rundown of Davis’s life and what he went through:

Davis was plenty provocative, a mix of out-sized talent and ambition, courage and defiance, with a need to constantly prove his worth at all times that led to a lot of loneliness. Murray is convinced the singer/dancer paid a price earning his way toward being the only black man on those sets and on the stages of casinos where he wasn’t allowed to book a hotel room. James Brown could support Richard Nixon, but Davis Jr took heat when he did. Davis Jr. was forced to hide his love affair with Kim Novak, and faced a backlash when he married the white Swedish actress May Britt at a time when interracial marriage was illegal in many states. Davis made his stands when he could, eventually refusing to work for companies that engaged in segregation, an effort that was helped by the likes of his Rat Pack pals Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin, who did not see the world through skin color. Davis Jr marched with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr numerous times during the Civil Rights movement and when a 1954 car crash in San Bernardino nearly killed him and took his left eye, Davis began studying Judaism as he recovered. He converted along with wife May in 1961.

It’s said that the film will cover all of this stuff, “from his vaudeville origins to becoming a star as a member of The Rat Pack, and the highs and lows in Las Vegas and Hollywood.” Murray went on to talk about Davis Jr. more saying:

“James Brown didn’t get the same flack for bonding with Nixon because James was seen as the ultimate independent black man. Sammy had to ask himself, how do I become normal to the majority, and do I subjugate my ego and personality to do so, even when my talent is equal to or better than most everyone else? He was proving himself, every moment he was in the public eye. Imagine the toll that must take? His father and uncle would take him on walks through the city while touring, where no hotel would take them in, even ones they performed at. He understood what they are trying to avoid saying to him, as he saw the shame in the face of his father and uncles. He thought, eventually my talent will equalize the situation, but imagine being told you can be just as talented as the others, but you’ll never be equal. If I had to deal with that type of his today, at least I know I have rights and that there is a majority of people who embrace equality, so it’s only words that you can say or clandestine actions you can take to keep me from getting a job. But people were open about it back then; you’re black, stay back. You’ll never get a lead role in a studio movie ever, no matter how good you are. And this diminutive dude kept getting stronger.

“All this drove him but was his demon. He was constantly trying to impress people, and did not like being alone because that’s when the insecurities and terrible thoughts played in his head. That is what most fascinates me about him. In public he could be defiant. When threatened about dating white women, he dives in deeper. He spends money he doesn’t have. The act becomes your life. It was only during the course of interviews later in his life that he realized this, and only found peace with himself when he stopped worrying whether or not he fit in, and realized that fame doesn’t erase how people mistreat you. Being told you can play The Sands, but take your ass over there, to sleep. That colors the great time you are having and makes you not enjoy the times his life that were fabulous, those moments with Frank and Dean, making a ton of money and doing plays. What drives us can damage us. We saw it in Rocketman, the painful time Elton John went through in finding his sexual identity. And he was on top of the world.”

This Sammy David Jr. biopic is a movie that I’m very much looking forward to watching, and Murray seems like the guy that is going to deliver the kind of script that Davis Jr. deserves.

source https://geektyrant.com/news/paramounts-sammy-davis-jr-biopic-moves-forward-with-writer-charles-murray

#Entertainments

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funbuzzblog · 4 years

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Erin Foster Wore a Danielle Frankel Dress With a Statement Sleeve at Her New Year’s Eve Wedding in Nashville

“We met at the gym! Not a sentence I ever thought I’d say,” jokes writer, performer, and all-around funny girl Erin Foster of how she and Simon Tikhman, the CEO and co-founder of The Core Entertainment, a partner of Live Nation, first got to know each other. “We were on the same schedule, and after seeing him every Monday, Wednesday, Friday at 8 a.m., I decided to slide into his DMs like the old-fashioned romantic that I am.”

With her sister Sara Foster, Erin created the TV series Barely Famous, a mockumentary of reality TV that first aired back in 2015 and became a VH1 cult classic. Now, the two are the creative heads of Bumble and collaborate on the clothing brand Sub Urban Riot. (Erin, Sara, and their stylist sister Jordan are all daughters of record producer David Foster and model Rebecca Foster. David is now married to Katharine .)

Erin and Simon had been dating for a year when he proposed. “It was so well executed and thought out,” Erin recalls. “He told me we were going to his friend’s vow renewal in Napa. A detailed invitation for it actually came in the mail to our house. When we checked into the hotel, the front desk gave us an envelope from the bride and groom with directions to the ceremony. I had no clue!” Erin and Simon walked into the Napa Valley Reserve, and there were signs for the renewal everywhere. “He had even staged a conversation

with a woman who greeted us, so she explained that everyone just went on a wine tour. Then we walked to an area to wait, and he got down on his knee,” Erin says. “My first reaction was that we were at someone else’s wedding! But then he explained that it had all been a decoy, and there was no wedding. After I said ‘yes,’ both of our families came walking out to us. I was blown away!”

After Erin had a chance to fully process the surprise proposal, she started to focus on wedding plans. The couple decided to have a quick engagement, planning their wedding for four months away. “We were trying to pack all the stress into a shorter time frame,” Erin says. “Simon thought New Year’s Eve

would be fun, and we randomly picked Nashville because it’s fun and different, and easy to get to.”

Erin’s friend Marc Rose was in the process of opening the new Graduate Hotel in Nashville, and they devised a plan to open it early for the wedding so they could take over the whole hotel, turning it into a full-on summer camp with everyone’s name on their door, community wellness stations, bands playing in the lobby, and kids running around freely. “It solidified us picking Nashville,” Erin says. “Also, Nashville is surrounded by farmland, and I’ve always wanted to get married in a rustic setting.” Simon took a trip down South to scout places, and Saddle Woods Farm was exactly what they were looking for. He booked it without Erin ever even seeing it in person. “Simon is better at details and planning than I am,” she notes.

In light of this, they decided the best thing to do was to get a local planner in Nashville who knew the city inside and out. “I asked everyone I knew who lived there—Reese Witherspoon, Lily Aldridge, Simon’s business partner Chief Zaruk—and they all said Hugh Howser of H Three Events was who we had to hire,” Erin says. “They were right.”

Erin worked with her sister and stylist Jordan on all aspects of her wedding wardrobe. “Erin decided to plan her wedding in only four months, so from the get-go, we knew we had to act fast,” Jordan says. “Initially, she had zero idea what she wanted to wear, so I made her go to a bridal salon and try on literally 50 dresses, so she could point out things she liked and disliked from

each one.” From there, Erin and Jordan started to create the ideal dress. They were originally going to have it custom-made. “But by the time her final fitting came around, she just didn’t feel like it was right for her,” Jordan remembers. “She slept on the thought and woke me up early the next day to tell me she had decided overnight to go in a new direction, that she had changed her flight, and that we needed to find a new dress that day. Luckily, she had fallen in love with a wedding dress she had tried on during her reception dress fitting with Danielle Frankel.”

“Danielle is young and fresh and making a name for herself since being a finalist in the CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund,” Erin explains. “I walked into her showroom,

and it felt so romantic and special. I tried on her samples and found two amazing wedding dresses that were perfect.” One, she wore to the ceremony, and the other was cut shorter and turned into the reception dress. Erin complemented the dress with Martin Katz jewelry—“He made my engagement ring that I am still in shock over and wake up every day staring at,” she admits—and ivory Saint Laurent heels.

Simon wore a Todd Snyder tux. He worked with his friend Jason Rembert on his entire wedding day look, and together they opted for an ivory jacket, Tom Ford bow-tie, and Lanvin shoes.

On New Year’s Eve, the bride walked down an aisle illuminated by candlelight, escorted by her father. “I always wanted to get married at night inside a barn. A beach wedding would never have been my vibe,” she says. “But because it was cold we couldn’t have the ceremony and the reception inside the barn, and had to build a tent for the ceremony. I was worried it wouldn’t have that intimate feeling I wanted, but Hugh made the tent feel like a barn with wooden floors and candles everywhere.” Erin chose to get married in the round so that no one felt too far away or like they had a bad seat. “I converted to Judaism after Simon and I got engaged, so we had a reformed Jewish ceremony,” she explains. “The rabbi who converted me, Rabbi Shapiro, is so cool and made the ceremony feel so personal and relatable instead of being generic. We laughed and cried through our personal vows.” At the end of the ceremony, Simon stepped on the glass, and a local gospel choir sang “Signed, Sealed, Delivered.”

For the reception, the barn was transformed with greenery climbing up the walls and floating candles hovering over the dance floor. Rustic farm tables were covered with warm neutral flower arrangements by Flwr Shop. “Simon is Russian, and it’s customary to have alcohol bottles on the table for people to make their own drinks so every table had Ketel One Botanical vodka, Don Julio 1942 tequila, and proper Russian caviar on it,” Erin notes. “My stepmom Katharine [McPhee] sang two songs for us after we begged her to, and she killed it. Simon also surprised me with a choreographed dance he had secretly been working on with my niece Valentina. It was unreal!”

The newlyweds danced to Leon Bridges’s “Beyond,” which they had listened to on the way home from their first date. Simon found singer Nathan Davis Jr. on

Instagram and convinced him to fly to Nashville to perform the song at the wedding. “In the middle of our first dance, my nine-year-old niece Valentina walked up and interrupted us,” Erin says. “She had to tell us that Nathan is apparently a massive TikTok star.”

The evening was punctuated with fireworks at midnight, followed by lots more dancing before everyone returned to the Graduate Hotel to sing karaoke at the Cross-Eyed Critters Watering Hole until 6 a.m.

Post-wedding, the newlyweds headed to the Bahamas to celebrate. “Planning is so much more intense than you realize it’s going to be,” Erin admits. “You say you won’t be that bridezilla who obsesses over every detail, but you become her so fast and just want everyone to be happy with all your choices. We are so ready to sleep-in and lay around on a beach, and never look at a seating chart ever again!

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klinejack · 7 years

Note

hi divvy! i know you are MAD right now, so don't answer this until you feel like it, but when you're ready i'd love to hear your thoughts on music on the sabbath and yom kippur! i love hearing you talk about jewish things tbh.

first off i’m so sorry i didn’t answer this whole time. it’s not that i was so mad (that came and went) but i did need a little distance from thinking about it and then i thought why not wait and see how the rest of the holiday goes before replying.

secondly oh my goodness i can’t believe you love hearing me talk about anything XD but it feels really nice that you enjoy my random outbursts about religion. i get that it must be weird for people (especially ones who know me irl) that i have this whole aspect of me that doesn’t fit at all with the way i present myself/live my life (for the most part- except the people who only know that part of me, of course, my students/congregation members etc). i have such a weird dual personality when it comes to this but anyway that is a HUGE can of beans for maybe another time.

but anyway here’s a bottom line about me to help us in this discussion about music on shabbat (im just gonna call it shabbat from here on cuz “the sabbath” is so weird for me to write for some reason) and holidays:

my elementary school was a secular zionist/traditional jewish day school. this might sound completely ridiculous so i’ll break it down- it wasn’t an orthodox place (girls and boys did everything together, nobody had to dress or act a certain way because of religion, and it was basically non-denominational so… secular), but it was traditional in the sense that we did morning prayers every day from the traditional (i guess u could call it orthodox) prayerbook, we learned Torah every day and everything to do with jewish traditions/ritual practices, learned about Israel, jewish history, etc. we, of course, studied all of the secular subjects (including french) at the same time. at the time i also went to a jewish summer camp from age 6-12, but it was more traditional and pretty jewish/israel intensive. we also prayed every day, observed shabbat in the orthodox sense (no electricity, no “work”, special activities, lots of food and rest), and even had special events on certain days like tisha b’av (the fast day commemorating the destruction of the temple), and maccabiah games at the end of the summer (like color war/olympics, but we had to talk hebrew the whole time or we lost points XD). my favorite part of camp was an event called ma’apilim, where the counselors would wake us up in the middle of the night and the entire camp would run through this simulation of the experience of the holocaust refugees being smuggled into palestine in the mid-40s. i can describe that whole experience for you in detail if you want but maybe not right now since i’ve rambled so much already.

SUFFICE TO SAY i grew up in a seriously jewish environment, but not a religious home. as a teenager i went to a jewish high school, though not at all as religious, and became active in my synagogue youth group. OH also, when i was 9, my parents switched us over to the reconstructionist synagogue (from a conservative one) so my sisters and i could have a real bat mitzvah (in orthodox and conservative shuls girls aren’t allowed to read from the Torah like boys do). so thru high school i was very involved in jewishy things and my synagogue, and i got really attached to reading Torah and the prayer service in my synagogue. my reason for emphasis is because, as i’ve said, i’d been exposed to the traditional prayer service for most of my life, but praying in this shul has always been a completely different experience.

in school and in camp, despite the traditional service (and separation of boys and girls, in camp only), i was always able to sing out loud as much as i wanted. but, traditionally, prayer is lead by an individual- the cantor- and the congregation (and the rabbi) only “participates” out loud in certain parts. that’s how it is in most synagogues in montreal except the temple and mine. in my shul, we’ve never had a cantor, and the entire service is basically communally led. our rabbi was also very special. our leader for 40 years, he was a pioneer in the reconstructionist movement, creating his own prayer book (not new prayers, just his own translation and commentary and additions) and passover haggadah. he wasn’t a singer, but he had a musical soul and when he led prayers it just moved me every time. the tunes for the prayers were sometimes the same as the traditional melody, and sometimes not. it always took me awhile to get used to new melodies or songs he would introduce (i’m so inflexible, what a shock), but i would always eventually suck it up. for him. basically for 25+ years i got used to doing things a certain way in my shul. i also watched through the years as new people came and left, including my entire generation (moved away/got married/not interested in synagogue), until the whole makeup of my shul was essentially completely different. but we’ve always had a few core members that stuck around, and the melodies have always remained. i was always proud to carry it on.

so, a little about the reconstructionist movement and synagogues in montreal. reconstructionism began post-holocaust when the founder, mordechai kaplan, realized how difficult it was becoming for people to continue to have faith in religion after such trauma. people couldn’t connect, or didn’t want to be involved at all anymore. so the movement began as a place for these people, to maintain a connection to judaism without feeling the pressure of having to believe in god or accept all of the traditional tenets of the religion. this isn’t the same as reform, by the way, which a lot of people think is the only other denomination of judaism besides orthodox/conservative. i don’t wanna give a lesson on denominations rn, but basically reconstructionism is all about adapting and shaping judaism so that it can fit into your life and inform your values without infringing on however else you choose to live. okay all of that just to get to this motherfuckingpoint:

playing music on shabbat/(certain) holidays is part of the laws of shabbat, codified by rabbis during the temple period as part of the Talmud. these laws, which are basically a breakdown of all the things you cannot or must do on shabbat, are what is considered oral Torah, just as binding as the laws in the written Torah from moses. they had to break it down because “on the 7th day you must rest” isn’t exactly specific, so how can you know if you break the law? there are 39 things that are listed as “work” which you cannot do on shabbat. the two main reasons for not playing an instrument on shabbat are: the instrument might break and you might be tempted to fix it (and in so doing, do one of the 39 acts), and the fact that instruments were played in the Temple, and we’re not supposed to be doing anything they did in the Temple until we’ve built the new one (hence no more sacrifices even tho almost the entire book of leviticus deals with the priestly ritual laws).

okay so those are the rules. now, for me personally. what’s my problem? i’m a member at a reconstructionist synagogue, not an orthodox one. i’m not a religious person. i don’t keep the laws of shabbat on a regular basis. what. is. my. problem?

maybe i should have mentioned, along with my heavily traditionally influenced childhood, there was also a point in my life where i did decide to keep all the rules. for about 5 years in my mid twenties i became completely zealous when it came to the laws of shabbat/holidays (maybe cuz i was trying to get my jewish teaching career off the ground idek). i walked 45 minutes each way to shul. i even walked clear across town on saturdays to get to the theatre in time to meet my mom for the ballet at 8pm after sunset. i made them turn off the microphones if i was going to be on the bimah (pulpit) in shul. i was a bit insane, but nobody was offended and neither was i, i just tried it out and eventually decided it wasn’t for me.

i guess what i’m trying to say is that my problem with music in synagogue comes from a few places: 1- my “traditional/religious” brain saying NO it’s just NOT ALLOWED, IT’S TOO MUCH. YOU BREAK SO MANY RULES AS IT IS, and i guess that’s harder to turn off than i would like 2- the shul i grew up in and love was one where our collective voices were the instrument, and that alone has had a huge impact on my spiritual growth. i don’t like being drowned out (my own and other’s voices) when i’m praying. 3- while my rabbi occasionally would whip out the guitar, this new rabbi has it out every single shabbat. to me, prayer and ritual worship are not a performance. when i see someone on a “stage”- in this case the bimah- with an instrument, i’m in the mind frame of a concert, and all of my attention is focused on the musician. i just can’t pray like that. when i lived in nyc i worked at this huge reform synagogue that had like 5 rabbis and 3 cantors and every friday night service was like a broadway spectacle with a full orchestra and choir and what not. it was beautiful, but i couldn’t concentrate on the praying. i don’t know how many people could. i understand that for most people music in itself is a spiritual experience, and that makes complete sense, but for me, my spiritual experience in synagogue is hearing voices in prayer.

i just realized i didn’t talk about yom kippur specifically. yk is one of the only times of the year that most jews in the world decide to do the exact same thing (the other is passover). jews who eat bacon every morning and work all day on saturday will put their lives aside and fast. most will even be in synagogue for kol nidre (the night before) or neilah (the night of), depending on your ethnic background (for ashkenazis the former is most important, for sephardim the latter). the main part of the kol nidre service (which is the beginning of yk), is the kol nidre prayer itself, which is supposed to be chanted 3 times, starting off soft and each time getting progressively louder. as a child i led the kol nidre service once in the conservative shul where we went, and it was unbelievable i’ll never forget it, so i’ve always had a special connection to this prayer and melody. in my current shul we’ve always had a choir, and a cantor, for the occasion, much like many traditional congregations do. i’ve never really liked it because i can’t sing aloud all three times, and therefore don’t feel the same connection to the prayer, but i dealt with it. bringing in an orchestra was just kinda a last straw i guess? i didn’t want to have to deal with all of that negative bitterness as i’m trying to ask god to nullify my vows so i can be clean again.

oy gevalt. this was an essay, and not a well thought out one at that. sorry :// my main point is, basically, that for me music on shabbat is complicated, and it’s not just about the law, because clearly i’m not a “follow every law” kinda person. i don’t feel like i fit into any particular jewish mold, thanks to my upbringing, and i can’t really connect to any of the denominations, so i pick and choose what’s meaningful to me. luckily i stuffed a lot of information into my brain (thank you mcgill jewish studies), and i feel more comfortable doing so than i might have in my youth because i actually know and understand my options. maybe i’m not the best jew i can be, but i’m trying to be the best divvy. :)

#clarz #fuck #speaking of music and emotions #that fucking mondo cozmo song just came on and im gonna cry again DAMN IT #thank you so much for this clara #and for your patience #you're the best #jewish things #judaism #personal

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whtaft · 7 years

Note

1-99 you're doing it too this time

I know I deserve this. But.

1: 6 of the songs you listen to most?

Sugar Boats by Modest Mouse

These Days by Nico

Sleepyhead by Passion Pit

Sleeping Lessons by The Shins

Up from Below by Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeroes

2: If you could meet anyone on this earth, who would it be?

My ~ one true love ~ or Ruth Bader Ginsberg

3: Grab the book nearest to you, turn to page 23, give me line 17.

“When you fill a page, try drafting that section, because writing out your ideas can improve your thinking at every stage of your project.” This is what I get for having the Chicago Manuel of Style out.

4: What do you think about most?

How worried I am about getting a job

5: What does your latest text message from someone else say?

Oh god this is weird without context: “The strange thing is that she somehow thinks that some cat lady's crafts belong in a museum. What makes them significant?”

6: Do you sleep with or without clothes on?

With, but not a lot of them

7: What’s your strangest talent?

I have double jointed thumbs

8: Girls… (finish the sentence); Boys… (finish the sentence)

Girls are all amazing

Boys need to work harder

9: Ever had a poem or song written about you?

I... don’t believe so? My high school crush once told me that I’m “not the sort of girl people write songs about” which was great for my self-esteem

10: When is the last time you played the air guitar?

I genuinely don’t know

11: Do you have any strange phobias?

YUP

12: Ever stuck a foreign object up your nose?

NOPE, IT’S ONE OF MY PHOBIAS

13: What’s your religion?

Judaism

14: If you are outside, what are you most likely doing?

Walking my dog

15: Do you prefer to be behind the camera or in front of it?

Behind

16: Simple but extremely complex. Favorite band?

The Shins

17: What was the last lie you told?

That I was feeling okay

18: Do you believe in karma?

Not really

19: What does your URL mean?

William Howard Taft

20: What is your greatest weakness; your greatest strength?

Weakness: I’m very sensitive

Strength: I’m a good writer

21: Who is your celebrity crush?

Right now? Travis McElroy

22: Have you ever gone skinny dipping?

Nope

23: How do you vent your anger?

I cry and write something shitty on Tumblr about it

24: Do you have a collection of anything?

Tsum tsum!

25: Do you prefer talking on the phone or video chatting online?

Video chatting

26: Are you happy with the person you’ve become?

Yes and no; overall, I’m more okay than not okay

27: What’s a sound you hate; sound you love?

Hate the sound of my upstairs neighbors clomping around; love the sound of Monty’s tail whacking something as it wags

28: What’s your biggest “what if”?

What if I went to a different college where I was happier

29: Do you believe in ghosts? How about aliens?

Yes and yes

30: Stick your right arm out; what do you touch first? Do the same with your left arm.

Right: pillow

Left: PUPPY DOG

31: Smell the air. What do you smell?

I can’t smell anything because allergies

32: What’s the worst place you have ever been to?

@stevebarnacles‘ blog

Just kidding

This very creepy bed and breakfast in Ohio

33: Choose: East Coast or West Coast?

East Coast because I’ve never been to West

34: Most attractive singer of your opposite gender?

I don’t like that I’m this way, but Marcus Mumford

35: To you, what is the meaning of life?

Dogs

36: Define Art.

Do you like it? Then it’s art.

37: Do you believe in luck?

Ehhh sort of

38: What’s the weather like right now?

Getting colder

39: What time is it?

9:03

40: Do you drive? If so, have you ever crashed?

Yes and no

41: What was the last book you read?

Don’t call me out like this

42: Do you like the smell of gasoline?

No???

43: Do you have any nicknames?

Unless you count whtaft or mambo, then no

44: What was the last film you saw?

Labyrinth!

45: What’s the worst injury you’ve ever had?

My ear drums rupture every couple years and it’s awful

46: Have you ever caught a butterfly?

Yes, the scary mother fuckers

47: Do you have any obsessions right now?

TAZ and MBMBAM

48: What’s your sexual orientation?

49: Ever had a rumour spread about you?

Ofc

50: Do you believe in magic?

Yes, to an extent

51: Do you tend to hold grudges against people who have done you wrong?

Y U P

52: What is your astrological sign?

Capricorn

53: Do you save money or spend it?

Spend

54: What’s the last thing you purchased?

A movie ticket to see Labyrinth

55: Love or lust?

Love

56: In a relationship?

In my dreams

57: How many relationships have you had?

Classified

58: Can you touch your nose with your tongue?

59: Where were you yesterday?

Home and the movie theater

60: Is there anything pink within 10 feet of you?

I am sitting on a blanket that has pink on it

61: Are you wearing socks right now?

Hell no

62: What’s your favourite animal?

MONTY

63: What is your secret weapon to get someone to like you?

... Is this a thing that people have? Because I don’t have any

64: Where is your best friend?

Canada

65: Give me your top 5 favourite blogs on Tumblr.

@biblionerd07

@hakunahistata

@stevebarnacles

@relenafanel

@n0tdrunk

66: What is your heritage?

Eastern European Jewish/German Catholic

67: What were you doing last night at 12AM?

Just falling asleep

68: What do you think is Satan’s last name?

He doesn’t have one

69: Be honest. Ever gotten yourself off?

Um. Yes. Why is this phrased this way? It’d be a lot better if it asked if I’d gotten myself off today, which is also yes.

70: Are you the kind of friend you would want to have as a friend?

71: You are walking down the street on your way to work. There is a dog drowning in the canal on the side of the street. Your boss has told you if you are late one more time you get fired. What do you do?

Get the dog, bring him to the office, and take care of him there until your boss gets annoyed but doesn’t fire you

72: You are at the doctor’s office and she has just informed you that you have approximately one month to live. a) Do you tell anyone/everyone you are going to die? b) What do you do with your remaining days? c) Would you be afraid?

TELL EVERYONE

Go to Disney World

FUCK YEAH

73: You can only have one of these things; trust or love.

Love

74: What’s a song that always makes you happy when you hear it?

Hot Patootie from Rocky Horror

75: What are the last four digits in your cell phone number?

Classified

76: In your opinion, what makes a great relationship?

Ummm I’ve never been in one, so I’m not an expert, but I think you gotta be on the same level

77: How can I win your heart?

Like, just be nice to me and I’ll probably fall in love with you

78: Can insanity bring on more creativity?

No, and it’s a dangerous myth to propagate

79: What is the single best decision you have made in your life so far?

Getting Monty

80: What size shoes do you wear?

6-7

81: What would you want to be written on your tombstone?

Probably just my name; I don’t really know of anything else that I want to carry with me like that

82: What is your favourite word?

Monty

83: Give me the first thing that comes to mind when you hear the word; heart.

Monty

84: What is a saying you say a lot?

Fuck a duck

85: What’s the last song you listened to?

Sugar Boats by Modest Mouse

86: Basic question; what’s your favourite colour/colours?

Dark green/black/maroon

87: What is your current desktop picture?

It’s of Sora, Pooh, Piglet and Tigger from Kingdom Hearts

88: If you could press a button and make anyone in the world instantaneously explode, who would it be?

The Cheeto

89: What would be a question you’d be afraid to tell the truth on?

Who my crush is

90: One night you wake up because you heard a noise. You turn on the light to find that you are surrounded by MUMMIES. The mummies aren’t really doing anything, they’re just standing around your bed. What do you do?

I’d probably just die, let’s be real

91: You accidentally eat some radioactive vegetables. They were good, and what’s even cooler is that they endow you with the super-power of your choice! What is that power?

Teleportation

92: You can re-live any point of time in your life. The time-span can only be a half-hour, though. What half-hour of your past would you like to experience again?

I’d like to go back to when I met Sebastian Stan again and wear something different this time

93: You can erase any horrible experience from your past. What will it be?

The night where I almost committed suicide

94: You have the opportunity to sleep with the music-celebrity of your choice. Who would it be?

Yo-Yo Ma

95: You just got a free plane ticket to anywhere. You have to depart right now. Where are you gonna go?

I’m gonna go to NYC to visit @hakunahistata

96: Do you have any relatives in jail?

Yes

97: Have you ever thrown up in the car?

I can’t remember an instance but I was also a baby, so maybe then

98: Ever been on a plane?

Yup

99: If the whole world were listening to you right now, what would you say?

CHILL THE FUCK OUT

#stevebarnacles #Words

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gd2-2019 · 4 years

Quote

What it was like to be Paul Rand's Daughter" from a speech given in his honor after his death Good evening, it is a great honor and a privilege to be here, tonight. I have been given five minutes to speak about what it was like to be Paul Rand’s daughter. Some of you in the room knew my father. Those of you who did, know that is an impossible task! But I will do my best. In two words, not easy! But it was always interesting. My father was the most brilliant, creative, fascinating and difficult person I have ever known. I am proud to be his daughter. I loved him dearly, and always wanted him to be proud of me. My father had a very difficult childhood. He grew up poor in an Orthodox Jewish family in Brooklyn. He had an identical twin brother, Philip, whom he both adored and envied. Philip was much more extroverted and socially at ease than he was. His parents owned a small grocery store and my father and his brother had to sleep in a loft where the bread was stored, and there were rats. My father absolutely hated rodents. My grandfather was a gentle, sweet, pious man, and my grandmother was the opposite. She ruled the roost with an iron fist. She had a pronounced hunchback, a crooked nose, and wiry white hair she wore in a bun—she looked exactly like the Wicked Witch of the West to me as a child and I was completely afraid of her. I never heard one positive word come out of her mouth. I was once told that the reason she didn’t say anything encouraging or positive to my father or me was because it was considered to be a jinx, in a certain branch of Judaism. My father drew like an adult at the age of three with charcoal he snuck from the fire, receiving not one iota of encouragement from his parents because drawing was essentially considered a sin, as it represented the “reproduction of the graven image.” I was awed that in spite of such blatant discouragement, he persisted. My father’s talent and drive were so intense that wild horses could not have stopped him. One terrible story I remember hearing from my mother happened when my father and his brother were about five or six years old. Their mother had gone to the store and they decided to mop the kitchen floor to make her happy. One of them accidentally knocked the bucket over and suds bubbled up everywhere. When my grandmother returned she was so angry that she whipped them severely. This is not the kind of childhood that engenders emotional well-being. My father was so driven to pursue his passion that he lied about his age to get into Pratt and Parsons art schools. At fourteen, he took the subway into the city at night, after a full day in high school. My father was ashamed that he only went to art school and not college, although he was awarded many honorary degrees throughout his career. He was one of the most well-read people I know, usually reading at least ten books at a time. You might not be aware that my father was a very picky eater. While he did not keep Kosher, he did not like to eat butter or cream with his meals. My father would bark to the server that he did not want any cream or butter on anything—“Just plain!” Once he took my college boyfriend and me to a very elegant French restaurant in Boston. When he ordered, he loudly stated, “No cream! No butter! Just plain!” Within minutes the Chef came out with her hands on her hips and said, “Sir, do you realize that this is a FRENCH restaurant?? And in French cuisine nearly everything is made with cream and butter?!” Andrew and I wanted to creep under the table. My father was the most visually oriented person I have ever met. In some ways, this was a curse because he was bombarded by visual stimuli everywhere he went. Perhaps this is why he always worked at home and had his clients and students come to see him. His home was his shrine. It was serene, stunningly beautiful, modern and so elegant in its simplicity and grace. He felt most at peace in his home or in Europe, where design and beauty are abundant. My mother told me that when my father was depressed she would encourage him to take her to Europe, as that elevated his mood. It must have been very difficult to be Paul Rand, in part because of his overwhelming visual perception. He absolutely could not stand what he perceived as ugly. On one occasion when he came to visit us in Cincinnati and my son Troy was about two years old. We went to a Bob Evans restaurant, where he reeled at the sights: “Look at that wallpaper with that rug! Oh God! Those pictures! Look at that lady’s outfit!” While I would be mortified by his usually too loud comments, I can now see that he almost felt assaulted by visual stimuli. Most of us don’t suffer from what we see. My parents divorced when I was three and a half, and I never lived with my father again. My mother and I moved to Manhattan, and I saw him every other weekend until I was nine when we moved to Los Angeles. The visits became much less frequent then. He might come to LA once or twice a year for a weekend, and I would go to Weston for a two or three weeks in the summers. My mother told me that my father adored me when I was little and still lived with him. When I was a colicky baby, my father played the accordion to soothe me to sleep. He loved to tell me that story. I believe I was indeed the apple of his eye then. Sadly for both of us, life tore us apart and it was never the same again. My father lived for his work. He was not a people person. He could be crass and cruel. I remember times when students came over to show him work they had toiled over and his loudly exclaiming, “This is shit!” As hard as he was on me, he was more brutal with them. Although my father wrote so beautifully about art, he was almost coarse when talking about it. And as playful as his art was, he was sour and serious much of the time. It almost seemed as if he only had fun when drawing or creating. Whenever he was at a restaurant, he drew all over the tablecloths—the most playful and beautiful things. I wish I had kept some of them! I once asked my father what I could do that would please him, and he said, “Marry a Jewish man.” I didn’t. He announced he wouldn’t come to my wedding unless we were married by a Rabbi. This proved quite difficult since I had not really been raised Jewish and did not identify as Jewish, and my ex-husband, John, was an Atheist who had been raised Methodist! Happily, my father did come to my wedding, and did walk me down the aisle. I know if there is a Heaven, he must be very happy now because my boyfriend of the past five years, Howard Wolkoff, is Jewish. So I am finally partnered with a Jewish man! My father was an artist, designer and genius. My mother was an architect, writer, painter and a great beauty. My genes were loaded with creativity, and I am quite a creative person. People wonder whether I inherited any of my father’s artistic talent. As a child, I drew prolifically. When I was eleven, I traveled to Spain with my mother and stepfather. One evening we had dinner at the Ritz Carlton of Madrid. It was always a late night out with adults for me, and I would draw to entertain myself. That night I drew bulls and all the waiters lined up to get one. I have always loved horses and used to draw horses, stallions in particular. One of my white stallions appeared in a book of children’s poetry when I was about eight, but sadly I don’t own a copy or even know the title. I stopped drawing when I was about thirteen. I was simply too intimidated by my father’s overwhelming talent to continue. My sons, Troy and Brody, are both profoundly talented in art. I believe that some of their grandfather’s gifts shine on in them. My other passions were music and writing, and although I wanted to become a professional singer for many years, I became a Clinical Psychologist. When you have a complicated childhood, sometimes you want to heal yourself by healing others. The most healing moment I ever had with my father happened while he was dying. I am so grateful that I did not heed his mandate not to come see him. When I walked into my father’s hospital room four days before his death, he looked up at me smiling and said, “Hi Pooky!” I was blessed to spend my father’s final days at his bedside. He did not believe he was dying, although he had advanced colon cancer which had tragically been misdiagnosed as an ulcer, so it was not caught early enough for treatment to be effective. Since I was working as a geropsychologist in nursing homes at this time, I knew how to take care of older people. A death from colon cancer is very unpleasant. I sat next to my father nursing him as best I could, holding his hand all the while. I just wanted to be with him, to cherish that connection with him in his final hours. At one point he looked at me and said, “You are a terrific nurse!” The next day he said to me, “Catherine, you are completely transformed.” I replied, “Daddy, I have always been this way.” My father was sarcastic to the end: “Well, it takes a crisis to bring it out!” And I said softly, “No, Daddy, it took a crisis for you to see it.” I guess that is the saddest thing to me about our relationship…small-my father couldn’t really see that I am a good person or to really know me until his dying hours… It meant the world to me that he finally seemed to know and appreciate me, and I am grateful for the days I spent with him at his parting.

Catherine Rand, daughter of Paul Rand

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holisticsoulhealer · 4 years

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Risk Taking

We are all risk takers and you know how I know that? We are here having taken the biggest risk by being born on to this earth, which can be unpredictable at best and challenging at it’s worst.

All of us take risks to differing degrees every day. Some of the obvious ones are jumping out of a plane, hoping the parachute opens, or bungee jump from a tall structure, hoping the rope holds us strongly enough that we don’t break a neck or anything else that we desperately need.

Some of us take risks with quitting a job or starting a business using every penny we have. Some of us invest in a home we aren’t sure we can afford, or purchase unseen stocks, bonds, equities or precious metals without really knowing they are going to increase as we wish.

We take risks with trusting others in business and in intimate relationships all the time. We chance life with life itself when birthing children or adopting another human. We are taking these extraordinary risks all the time. It’s called living.

Of course, I have taken my fair share of risks during this life so far - some big and some small.

One of my risks was small and had a large impact which is why I am about to share it with you………….

My heritage is based in Judaism and my Jewish mother loved to celebrate the New Year, which happens every year(currently 2020 to 2021 is 5781 in Judaism).

She especially enjoyed going to a temple the day before the fasting day each year. She was staying with me in California and our local reform, relaxed temple, were having full days of prayer and song. We wore our Sunday best and went to join a huge melting pot of local people and their families at our local temple.

The Rabbi gave his sermon, inviting at the close of his speech for all those who needed healing to either come up to the stage or stand or raise their hands, so that we could recognize those who needed help and prayers for their healing.

I observed the community dividing with this exercise. Some people walked or limped up to the stage. Some wore caps with bald heads from chemo, while others had walking sticks, crutches or wheelchairs.

I looked around at many of the people in the room, who were sat feeling pretty darned smug that they were healthy and could be superior in their prayers to those who were struggling with very obvious outer challenges, many of which were seen by all of us.

I found myself feeling uncomfortable with how this went down and whispered to my mum about my observations. She agreed although she didn’t feel I ought to say anything to the Rabbi, in his house of prayer. She felt we must be respectful of the host of this faithful home and should not necessarily disagree with him in his own house.

I couldn’t sit on the feeling I had.

I walked up to the Rabbi, with my mother’s concerns for respect of him and the house of prayer he represented, and asked if I could comment on the healing aspect of his sermon. He readily agreed to listen, and offered me both his ears and full attention. It was such a great opportunity for me to let him know I had felt great separation in his community and that the hierarchy that so often exists in our World was very present in this room, because of the way healing had been offered.

I told him that there wasn’t one person in the room who didn’t need some form of healing, whether it was physical, emotional, mental, relational or financial. We all had something to heal and rather than divide, it would be better to unite and create space for everyone to search within themselves and see where their personal struggles or healing was the most needed.

The Rabbi was so quiet after I had shared in a big flow of communication, you could hear a pin drop. He let me know he would consider what I had shared.

My mum and I left the service after most people had long gone, and we walked and talked, wondering if he would really take my words to heart.

We didn’t have to wonder long. When we returned in the evening to another full room for the service my mum loved, the answer was granted.

It was the service before a day of fasting where the singer begs The Lord for mercy, compassion and forgiveness for all and any mistakes each of us made that year, to prepare the new book for the next year to be clean and pure again. It’s a beautiful heartfelt service and it was done really well.

Just before it, the Rabbi gave his address. He began sharing with his congregation that a member had touched his heart when letting him know that by picking out those who needed healing, separation had occurred. He wanted instead to create union. He invited everyone to hold hands, close their eyes and hold a prayer space for healing whatever was in each of our lives that needed attention and love.

I stood with eyes closed, my mum squeezing my hand while the tears of understanding fell down my face, reminding me that my honest approach had made a difference that evening. When I opened my eyes, my mum was wiping hers. It was a very sweet moment of taking a small risk that paid off in a big way.

Please share, in the comments section below, your experiences and stories as to how you, or people in your life, have great risk in order to reap the benefits of coming out the other side more enriched. It often helps us all when we can read and relate the wisdom of others to heal us. It can provide the keys to unlocking our hidden abilities to activate change in our own lives!!

As always, please share this post with anyone that you feel can benefit from it! Please like us on your social media channels and subscribe to our mailing list if you haven’t already done so… We are mailing out a monthly newsletter and a recap each week of our blog posts and interesting tidbits… This is how you can stay informed with what is new in the world of The Holistic Soul Healer!!

Love & Blessings, Ruth

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networkingdefinition · 4 years

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Roots Quotes

Official Website: Roots Quotes

(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push(); • A people without the knowledge of their past history, origin and culture is like a tree without roots. – Marcus Garvey • A person with faith does not question its roots, for he knows that if he subjected it to the critical examination of his intellect, he would end up without faith. The same thing can be said of any feeling. You can analyze any feeling to death, but when you do that, you end up without feeling and without a meaninful life. – Alexander Lowen • A real foolproof way to do it is play your stuff by hook or by crook and build up a grass roots following – Duncan Sheik • A single act of kindness throws out roots in all directions, and the roots spring up and make new trees.- Amelia Earhart • A singular fact about modern war is that it takes charge. Once begun it has to be carried to its conclusion, and carrying it there sets in motion events that may be beyond men’s control. Doing what has to be done to win, men perform acts that alter the very soil in which society’s roots are nourished. – Bruce Catton • A society which abandons children and the elderly severs its roots and darkens its future. – Pope Francis • A tree is a self: it is ‘unseen shaping’ more than it is leaves or bark, roots or cellulose or fruit … What this means is that we must address trees as we must address all things, confronting them in the awareness that we are in the presence of numinous mystery. – Brian Swimme • A tree is alive, and thus it is always more than you can see. Roots to leaves, yes-those you can, in part, see. But it is more-it is the lichens and moss and ferns that grow on its bark, the life too small to see that lives among its roots, a community we know of, but do not think on. It is every fly and bee and beetle that uses it for shelter or food, every bird that nests in its branches. Every one an individual, and yet every one part of the tree, and the tree part of every one. – Elizabeth Moon • A tree nowhere offers a straight line or a regular curve, but who doubts that root, trunk, boughs, and leaves embody geometry? – George Iles • A tree root won’t get into your sewer line unless there’s something already wrong with your sewer line. I know most people don’t want to hear that, but it’s true – Thomas J. Hylton • A tree with strong roots can withstand the most violent storm, but the tree can’t grow roots just as the storm appears on the horizon.- Dalai Lama • A tree without roots is just a piece of wood. – Marco Pierre White • Amid all change, we desire something permanent; amid all variety, something stable; amid all progress, some central unity of life; something which deepens as we ascend; which roots itself as we advance; which grows more and more tenacious of the old, while becoming more and more open to the new. – James Freeman Clarke • Among the great struggles of man-good/evil, reason/unreason, etc.-there is also this mighty conflict between the fantasy of Home and the fantasy of Away, the dream of roots and the mirage of the journey. – Salman Rushdie • An illuminating read for every classical scholar engaged with the current quest for the subject’s roots, and the excavation of the way that it has evolved over the past century and a half. – Edith Hall • Anti-Semitism is nothing but the antagonistic attitude produced in the non-Jew by the Jewish group. This is a normal social reaction. The Jewish group has thrived on oppression and on the antagonism it has forever met in the world… the root cause is their use of enemies they create in order to keep solidarity. – Albert Einstein • Are you becoming more sweet-spirited, more like Jesus? Are you looking soberly in the mirror each day and praying, ‘Lord, I want to conform to Your image in every area of my life’? Or has your bitterness taken root, turning into rebellion and hardness of heart? Have you learned to shield yourself from the convicting voice of God’s Spirit? – David Wilkerson • Art need not be intended. It comes inevitably as the tree from the root, the branch from the trunk, the blossom from the twig. None of these forget the present in looking backward or forward. They are occupied wholly with the fulfillment of their own existence. – Robert Henri • As a tree, even though it has been cut down, is firm so long as its root is safe, and grows again, thus, unless the feeders of thirst are destroyed, the pain (of life) will return again and again. – Max Muller • At root, a pearl is a ‘disturbance’ a beauty caused by something that isn’t supposed to be there, about which something needs to be done. It is the interruption of equilibrium that creates beauty. Beauty is a response to provocation, to intrusion. … The pearl’s beauty is made as a result of insult. – Julia Cameron • At the root of all the varied manifestations of dancing, lies the common impulse to resort to movement to externalize emotional states which we cannot extemalize by rational means. – Jamake Highwater • Audrey Auld is a great singer songwriter. She holds a unique place in contemporary Americana/Roots music. I believe that this uniqueness is largely due to the fact that she is Australian. This affords her a totally different attitude as an artist than traditional American contributors to this genre. Audrey is one of the most honest original artists I know. – Fred Eaglesmith

jQuery(document).ready(function($) var data = action: 'polyxgo_products_search', type: 'Product', keywords: 'roots', orderby: 'rand', order: 'DESC', template: '1', limit: '68', columns: '4', viewall:'Shop All', ; jQuery.post(spyr_params.ajaxurl,data, function(response) var obj = jQuery.parseJSON(response); jQuery('#thelovesof_roots').html(obj); jQuery('#thelovesof_roots img.swiper-lazy:not(.swiper-lazy-loaded)' ).each(function () var img = jQuery(this); img.attr("src",img.data('src')); img.addClass( 'swiper-lazy-loaded' ); img.removeAttr('data-src'); ); ); ); • Becoming rich isn’t as much about getting rich financially as about whom you become, in character and mind, to get rich. I want to share a secret with you that few people know: the fastest way to get rich and stay rich is to work on developing you! The idea is to grow yourself into a successful person. Again, your outer world is merely a reflection of your inner world. You are the root; your results are the fruits. – T. Harv Eker • Belief is like plastic flowers, which look like flowers from far away. Trust is real rose. It has roots, and roots go deep into your heart and into your being. – Rajneesh • Beloved, gaze in thine own heart, The holy tree is growing there; From joy the holy branches start, And all the trembling flowers they bear. The changing colours of its fruit Have dowered the stars with metry light; The surety of its hidden root Has planted quiet in the night; The shaking of its leafy head Has given the waves their melody, And made my lips and music wed, Murmuring a wizard song for thee. – William Butler Yeats • But people who long to be rich fall into temptation and are trapped by many foolish desires and schemes that plunge them into ruin and destruction. For love of money is the root of all of evil and some having pursued its power, fall from faith and end in sorrow. – Saint Timothy • But we need to pray daily for humility and honesty to see these sinful attitudes for that they really are, and then for grace and discipline to root them out of our minds and replace them with thoughts pleasing to God. – Jerry Bridges • Cal says that humans are made from the nuclear ash of dead stars. He says that when I die, I’ll return to dust, glitter,rain. If thats true, I want to be buried right here under this tree. Its roots will reach into the soft mess of my body and suck me dry. I’ll be re-formed as apple blossom. I’ll drift down in the spring like confetti and cling to my family’s shoes. They’ll carry me in their pockets to help them sleep. What dreams will they have then? – Jenny Downham • Change your opinions, keep to your principles; change your leaves, keep intact your roots. – Victor Hugo • Charity is the form, mover, mother and root of all the virtues. – Thomas Aquinas • Choices are at the root of every one of your results. – Darren Hardy • Christianity, Judaism, and Islam all stem from the same Abrahamic roots. All three reject terrorism. – H. John Poole • Civilization has its roots in the soil. – Charles Kellogg • Courage lies in being oneself, in showing complete independence, in loving what one loves, in discovering the deep roots of one’s feelings. – Fernand Pouillon • Covetousness like jealousy, when it has taken root, never leaves a person, but with their life. Cowardice is the dread of what will happen. – Epictetus • Creativity belongs to the artist in each of us. To create means to relate. The root meaning of the word art is ‘to fit together’ and we all do this every day.- Corita Kent • Criticism, like rain, should be gentle enough to nourish a man’s growth without destroying his roots. – Frank A. Clark • Deep in their roots, all flowers keep the light. – Theodore Roethke • dive for dreams or a slogan may topple you (trees are their roots and wind is wind) trust your heart if the seas catch fire (and live by love though the stars walk backward) honour the past but welcome the future (and dance your death away at this wedding) never mind a world with its villains or heroes (for god likes girls and tomorrow and the earth) – e. e. cummings • Do you know that the words meditation and medicine come from the same root? Meditation is a kind of medicine; its use is only for the time being. Once you have learned the quality, then you need not do any particular meditation, then the meditation has to spread all over your life. Only when you are meditative twenty-four hours a day then can you attain, then you have attained. Even sleeping is meditation. – Rajneesh • Do you know, that is the root of the whole trouble – has been one of the roots at any rate – is people hearing things and then imagining some more and magnifying it and multiplying it.- John Harvey Kellogg • Don’t over-analyze your marriage; it’s like yanking up a fragile indoor plant every 20 minutes to see how its roots are growing. – Ogden Nash • Don’t put down too many roots in terms of a domicile. I have lived in four countries and I think my life as a writer and our family’s life have been enriched by this. I think a writer has to experience new environments. There is that adage: No man can really succeed if he doesn’t move away from where he was born. I believe it is particularly true for the writer. – Arthur Hailey • Drawing is the root of everything. – Vincent Van Gogh • Duality is the real root of our suffering and of all our conflicts. All our concepts and beliefs, no matter how profound they may seem, are like nets which trap us in dualism. When we discover our limits we have to try to overcome them, untying ourselves from whatever type of religious, political, or social conviction may contain us. We have to abandon such concepts as ‘enlightenment’, ‘the nature of the mind’, and so on, until we no longer neglect to integrate our knowledge with our actual existence. – Namkhai Norbu • Every forest branch moves differently in the breeze, but as they sway they connect at the roots. – Rumi • Every man who has reached even his intellectual teens begins to suspect that life is no farce; that it is not genteel comedy even; that it flowers and fructifies on the contrary out of the profoundest tragic depths of the essential dearth in which its subject’s roots are plunged. The natural inheritance of everyone who is capable of spiritual life is an unsubdued forest where the wolf howls and the obscene bird of night chatters. – Henry James, Sr. • Farewell, a long farewell to all my greatness! This is the state of man: today he puts forth The tender leaves of hope, tomorrow blossoms, And bears his blushing honours thick upon him: The third day comes a frost, a killing frost, And – when he thinks, good easy man, full surely His greatness is a-ripening – nips his root, And then he falls, as I do. – William Shakespeare • Fear is the root of all courage. – Vivian Stanshall • Fear of something is at the root of hate for others, and hate within will eventually destroy the hater. – George Washington Carver • For a tree to become tall it must grow tough roots among the rocks. – Friedrich Nietzsche • For our personal advancement in virtue and truth one quality is sufficient, namely, love; to advance humanity there must be two, love and intelligence; to accomplish the Great Work there must be three love, intelligence, and activity. And yet love is ever the root and the source. – Louis Claude de Saint-Martin • For this purpose was I born, let all virtuous people understand. I was born to advance righteousness, to emancipate the good, and to destroy all evil-doers root and branch. – Guru Gobind Singh • Forgiveness of sin strikes the root of all pain. – T. B. Joshua • Free expression is the base of human rights, the root of human nature and the mother of truth. To kill free speech is to insult human rights, to stifle human nature and to suppress truth. – Liu Xiaobo • From a family tree that has healthy roots, there emerge hearty leaves and most beautiful fruits. – Wes Fesler • General principles… are to the facts as the root and sap of a tree to its leaves. – Samuel Taylor Coleridge • Give the ones you love wings to fly, roots to come back and reasons to stay. – Dalai Lama • Good parents give their children Roots and Wings. Roots to know where home is, wings to fly away and exercise what’s been taught them. – Jonas Salk • How deep congenital sex-inversion roots may be gathered from the fact that the pleasure-dream of the male Urning has to do with male persons, and of the female with females. – Richard von Krafft-Ebing • How does the Meadow flower its bloom unfold? Because the lovely little flower is free down to its root, and in that freedom bold. – William Wordsworth • Human hopes and human creeds; have their root in human needs. – Eugene Fitch Ware • Humility, the place of entire dependence on God, is the first duty and the highest virtue of the creature, and the root of every virtue. And so pride, or the loss of this humility, is the root of every sin and evil. – Andrew Murray • I am proud of my black roots and of the black blood that runs in my veins. – Ryan Giggs • I am sometimes asked, ‘Why do you spend so much of your time and money talking about kindness to animals when there is so much cruelty to men?’ I answer: ‘I am working at the roots.’ – George Thorndike Angell • I believe it is important for the university to always remember its roots. – Michael N. Castle • I believe the root of all happiness on this earth to lie in the realization of a spiritual life with a consciousness of something wider than materialism; in the capacity to live in a world that makes you unselfish because you are not overanxious about your own comic fallibilities; that gives you tranquility without complacency because you believe in something so much larger than yourself. – Hugh Walpole • I believe we are a species with amnesia, I think we have forgotten our roots and our origins. I think we are quite lost in many ways. And we live in a society that invests huge amounts of money and vast quantities of energy in ensuring that we all stay lost. A society that invests in creating unconsciousness, which invests in keeping people asleep so that we are just passive consumers or products and not really asking any of the questions.- Graham Hancock • I came into the world charged with the duty to uphold the right in every place, to destroy sin and evil… the only reason I took birth was to see that righteousness may flourish, that good may live, and tyrants be torn out by their roots. – Guru Gobind Singh • I can say-not as a patriotic bromide, but with full knowledge of the necessary metaphysical, epistemological , ethical, political and esthetic roots-that the United States of America is the greatest, the noblest and, in its original founding principles, the only moral country in the history of the world.- Ayn Rand • I can’t multiply myself out of a paper bag. But when it comes to roots, I’m your man. – Jerry Newport • I don’t claim to know an over-arching ‘Meaning of Life,’ but I do operate under the understanding that life should not be lived under the pretense that it is simply a test propagated by an invisible, intangible, Creator-God. And it should not be spent identifying with religious traditions and organized groups that, historically, have been at the root of a tremendous amount of oppression and violence. – David G. McAfee • I feel like I’m a fighter. I’ve fought my whole life to get to where I’m at. I like fight movies. When someone gets knocked down, I like to root for him to succeed. – Ricky Schroder • I hunt everywhere for a life worth living and a knowledge worth knowing. Having roots nowhere, I have everywhere to go. – Elif Safak • I know now that he who hopes to be universal in his art must plant in his own soil. Great art is like a tree, which grows in a particular place and has a trunk, leaves, blossoms, boughs, fruit, and roots of its own. The more native art is, the more it belongs to the entire world, because taste is rooted in nature. When art is true, it is one with nature. This is the secret of primitive art and also of the art of the mastersMichelangelo, Czanne, Seurat, and Renoir. The secret of my best work is that it is Mexican. – Diego Rivera • I never saw a discontented tree. They grip the ground as though they liked it, and though fast rooted they travel about as far as we do. – John Muir • I root for hurricanes. When, courtesy of the Weather Channel, I see one forming in the ocean off the coast of Africa, I find myself longing for it to become big and strong–Mother Nature’s fist of fury, Gaia’s stern rebuke. Considering the havoc mankind has wreaked upon nature with deforesting, stripmining, and the destruction of animal habitat, it only seems fair that nature get some of its own back and teach us that there are forces greater than our own. – James Wolcott • I think it is important to maintain your personality, your roots, very important. – Paz Vega • I think that everything I do tends to root for the underdog. – Judd Apatow • I view Witchcraft as a religion that has evolved over the centuries. I do not consider Witchcraft to be a modern invention. Instead I deal with it in my writings as a Mystery Tradition with long roots to the past. It has always been my position that we don’t need an ancient tradition in order to be validated. We just happen to have one. – Raven Grimassi • I will use whatever position I have in order to root out hypocrisy. Democrats have strong moral values. Frankly, my moral values are offended by some of the things I hear on programs like “Rush Limbaugh,” and we don’t have to put up with that. – Howard Dean • If art is to nourish the roots of our culture, society must set the artist free to follow his vision wherever it takes him. – John F. Kennedy • If busyness can become a kind of violence, we do not have to stretch our perception very far to see that Sabbath time – effortless, nourishing rest – can invite a healing of this violence. When we consecrate a time to listen to the still, small voices, we remember the root of inner wisdom that makes work fruitful. We remember from where we are most deeply nourished, and see more clearly the shape and texture of the people and things before us. – Wayne Muller • If church prelates, past or present, had even an inkling of physiology they’d realize that what they term this inner ugliness creates and nourishes the hearing ear, the seeing eye, the active mind, and energetic body of man and woman, in the same way that dirt and dung at the roots give the plant its delicate leaves and the full-blown rose. – Sean O’Casey • If there is to be an ecologically sound society, it will have to come the grass roots up, not from the top down. – Paul Hawken • Ignorance, the root and the stem of every evil. – Plato • I’ll never forget where I’m from, never forget my roots. It doesn’t matter where I live. I’m English, simple as that. – David Beckham • I’m convinced that FEAR is at the root, of all bad writing – Stephen King • Imagination is a tree. It has the integrative virtues of a tree. It is root and boughs. It lives between earth and sky. It lives in the earth and the wind. The imagined tree imperceptibly becomes a cosmological tree, the tree which epitomises a universe, which makes a universe. – Gaston Bachelard • In almost every musical ever written, there’s a place that’s usually about the third song of the evening – sometimes it’s the second, sometimes it’s the fourth, but it’s quite early – and the leading lady usually sits down on something; sometimes it’s a tree stump in Brigadoon, sometimes it’s under the pillars of Covent Garden in My Fair Lady, or it’s a trash can in Little Shop of Horrors… but the leading lady sits down on something and sings about what she wants in life. And the audience falls in love with her and then roots for her to get it for the rest of the night. – Howard Ashman • In an old song the Mother sings: ‘My sleeping is my dreaming, my dreaming is my thinking, my thinking is my wisdom.’ She is the bed we are born in, in which we sleep and dream, where we are healed, love and die. In her wisdom we remember day’s broken images and carry them down into dreams where their motions roll into shadows and root, growing into stories. – Meinrad Craighead • In essence, there is only one thing God asks of us – that we be men and women of prayer, people for whom God is everything and for whom God is enough. That is the root of peace. We have that peace when the gracious God is all we seek. When we start seeking something besides Him, we lose it. – Brennan Manning • In every forest, on every farm, in every orchard on earth, it’s what’s under the ground that creates what’s above the ground. That’s why placing your attention on the fruits that you have already grown is futile. You cannot change the fruits that are already hanging on the tree. You can, however, change tomorrow’s fruits. But to do so, you will have to dig below the ground and strengthen the roots. – T. Harv Eker • In spite of my great admiration for individual splendid talents I do not accept the star system. Collective creative effort is the root of our kind of art. That requires ensemble acting and whoever mars that ensemble is committing a crime not only against his comrades but also against the very art of which he is the servant. – Constantin Stanislavski • In the NFL game today, there are a lot of better athletes than I am, and quarterbacks these days are faster than the quarterbacks have always been, they’re running like crazy. But I kind of stick to my roots of the disciplined quarterback. You know, I’m doing the same routine every week, studying tapes and working hard, getting ready to play and making good decisions on Sundays. – Peyton Manning • In the Old Testament…God is the owner of the vineyard. Here He is the Keeper, the Farmer, the One who takes care of the vineyard. Jesus is the genuine Vine, and the Father takes care of Him…In the Old Testament it is prophesied that the Lord Jesus would grow up before Him as a tender plant and as a root out of the dry ground. Think how often the Father intervened to save Jesus from the devil who wished to slay Him. The Father is the One who cared for the Vine, and He will care for the branches, too. – J. Vernon McGee • In this era of the global village, the tide of democracy is running. And it will not cease, not in China, not in South Africa, not in any corner of this earth, where the simple idea of democracy and freedom has taken root. – Paul Tsongas • Incorrect assumptions lie at the root of every failure. Have the courage to test your assumptions. – Brian Tracy • Indeed, she often wondered if she were dead, or dying from the inside out, and that was the root of her calm, the reason she could surrender her character. – Gregory Maguire • Industry is the root of all ugliness.- Oscar Wilde • Is where you’re from the place you’re leaving or where you have roots? – Sara Gruen • It is necessary not only to relieve the gravest needs but to go to their roots, proposing measures that will give social, political and economic structures a more equitable and solidaristic configuration. – Pope Benedict XVI • It isn’t a coincidence that governments everywhere want to educate children. Government education, in turn, is supposed to be evidence of the state’s goodness and its concern for our well-being. The real explanation is less flattering. If the government’s propaganda can take root as children grow up, those kids will be no threat to the state apparatus. They’ll fasten the chains to their own ankles. H.L. Mencken once said that the state doesn’t just want to make you obey. It tries to make you want to obey. And that’s one thing the government schools do very well. – Llewellyn Rockwell • I’ve also gotten to play in front of a million people in Central Park when there was a grass roots movement calling for nuclear disarmament – it was about 1982 – they called it Peace Sunday. – Jackson Browne • I’ve grown certain that the root of all fear is that we’ve been forced to deny who we are. – Frances Moore Lappé • Just as a tree, though cut down, can grow again and again if its roots are undamaged and strong, in the same way if the roots of craving are not wholly uprooted sorrows will come again and again – Gautama Buddha • Just as a tree, though cut down, sprouts up again if its roots remain uncut and firm, even so, until the craving that lies dormant is rooted out, suffering springs up again and again. – Gautama Buddha • kindnesses have wings and roots … wings that never droop, and roots that never die. – Mary Louisa Molesworth • Land is a nation’s basis for existence. The nation has its roots like those of a tree deep in the country’s soil whence it derives its nourishment and life. There is no people that can live without land, as there is no tree which can live hanging in air. – Corneliu Zelea Codreanu • Lessons, however, that enter the soul against its will never grow roots and will never be preserved inside it. – Plato • Let no man pretend to fear sin that does not fear temptation also! These two are too closely united to be separated. He does not truly hate the fruit who delights in the root. – John Owen • Let the gentle bush dig its root deep and spread upward to split the boulder. – Carl Sandburg • Let us not be surprised when we have to face difficulties. When the wind blows hard on a tree, the roots stretch and grow the stronger, Let it be so with us. Let us not be weaklings, yielding to every wind that blows, but strong in spirit to resist. – Amy Carmichael • Life is like a tree and its root is consciousness. Therefore, once we tend the root, the tree as a whole will be healthy. – Deepak Chopra • Life is uncertain. Eternity is not. Unforgiveness cannot be allowed to last another day. Are you holding a grudge? You will never be more like God than when you forgive. Let it go. Kill the root of bitterness. Let the hurt go and set yourself free. – Craig Groeschel • Like roots finding water, we always wind up moving towards what sustains us. – Mark Nepo • Love is like a tree, it grows of its own accord, it puts down deep roots into our whole being. – Victor Hugo • Many of those who are driven to this life are desperately searching for those pockets of silence where we can root and grow. – Mark Rothko • Metaphor is our mental root of imagination and language. Arnold Kozak offers fertile metaphors for growing your knowledge of the Buddhadharma. If you contemplate these brief stories, your emotional intelligence and mindfulness will develop effortlessly from the insights they provide. – Polly Young-Eisendrath • Modern societies accepted the treasures and the power offered them by science. But they have not accepted – they have scarcely even heard – its profounder message: the defining of a new and unique source of truth, and the demand for a thorough revision of ethical premises, for a complete break with the animist tradition, the definitive abandonment of the ‘old covenant’, the necessity of forging a new one. Armed with all the powers, enjoying all the riches they owe to science, our societies are still trying to live by and to teach systems of values already blasted at the root by science itself. – Jacques Monod • My entire delight was in observing without being myself noticed,- if I could have been invisible, all the better. . . to be in the midst of it, and rejoice and wonder at it, and help it if I could, – happier if it needed no help of mine, – this was the essential love of Nature in me, this the root of all that I have usefully become, and the light of all that I have rightly learned. – John Ruskin • My music had roots which I’d dug up from my own childhood, musical roots buried in the darkest soil. – Ray Charles • My roots and Victor’s are jazz, basically, but these two young fellows that we have with us come out of rock bands. And they’re tremendously exciting players. – Chico Hamilton • Nature does have manure and she does have roots as well as blossoms, and you can’t hate the manure and blame the roots for not being blossoms. – R. Buckminster Fuller • No kind action ever stops with itself. One kind action leads to another. Good example is followed. A single act of kindness throws out roots in all directions, and the roots spring up and make new trees. The greatest work that kindness does to others is that it makes them kind themselves. – Amelia Earhart • No one comes from the earth like grass. We come like trees. We all have roots. – Maya Angelou • No tree, it is said, can grow to heaven unless its roots reach down to hell. – Carl Jung • O, You who are ever giving life to all life, moving all creatures, root of all things, washing them clean, wiping out their mistakes, healing their wounds, You are our true life, luminous, wonderful, awakening the heart from its ancient sleep. – Hildegard of Bingen • Once the seed of faith takes root, it cannot be blown away, even by the strongest wind – Now that’s a blessing. – Rumi • Or did you say it’s the love of money that’s the root of all evil? To love a thing is to know its nature. To love money is to known and love the fact that money is the creation of the best power within you, and your passkey to trade your effort for the effort of the best among men. It’s the person who would sell his soul for a nickel, who is loudest in proclaiming his hatred of money – and he has good reason to hate it. The lovers of money are willing to work for it. They know they are able to deserve it. – Ayn Rand • Our life depends on others so much that at the root of our existence is a fundamental need for love. That is why it is good to cultivate an authentic sense of responsibility and concern for the welfare of others. – Dalai Lama • Our lives are like islands in the sea, or like trees in the forest. The maple and the pine may whisper to each other with their leaves … But the trees also commingle their roots in the darkness underground, and the islands also hang together through the ocean’s bottom. – William James • Our world, so we see and hear on all sides, is drowning in materialism, commercialism, consumerism. But the problem is not really there. What we ordinarily speak of as materialism is a result, not a cause. The root of materialism is a poverty of ideas about the inner and the outer world. Less and less does our contemporary culture have, or even seek, commerce with great ideas, and it is that lack that is weakening the human spirit. This is the essence of materialism. Materialism is a disease of the mind starved for ideas. – Jacob Needleman • Paul spoke about the root of faith (Eph 2:8). James spoke about the fruit of faith (Jm 2:17-18). – Adrian Rogers • Perhaps this is the root of all evil, that gardeners are not put in charge of our schools. – Helen DeWitt • Refusal to accept the flow of the world is the root of all misery. – Devdutt Pattanaik • Remember, the political idea being expressed a year ago was that because the GOP interpreted its 1994 mandate as a call to budget-balancing austerity, the electorate would never give the White House to the GOP if its nominee was also a root-canal austerian. – Jude Wanniski • Remember, we without our roots and branches cannot be saved. – Quentin L. CookReturn to the root and you will find the meaning. – Sengcan • Roots are nice, but a tree can’t run. – Andrew Vachss • Roots are not in landscape or a country, or a people, they are inside you. – Isabel Allende • Selfishness is the most constant of human motives. Patriotism, humanity, or the love of God may lead to sporadic outbursts sweep away the heaped-up wrongs of centuries; but they languish at times, while the love of self works on ceaselessly, unwearyingly,burrowing always at the very root of life, and heaping up fresh wrongs for other centuries to sweep away. – Charles W. Chesnutt • Shallow breathing is the root of all evil but conscious deep breathing restores and secures our souls. – Desmond Green • Since being a Jew not only means that I bear within me a catastrophe that occurred yesterday and cannot be ruled out for tomorrow, it is-beyond being a duty-also fear. Every morning when I get up I can read the Auschwitz number on my forearm, something that touches the deepest and most closely intertwined roots of my existence; indeed I am not even sure if this is not my entire existence. Then I feel approximately as I did back then when I got a taste of the first blow from a policeman’s fist. Every day anew I lose my trust in the world. – Jean Amery • Slavery has become so engrafted into the policy of the Southern States, that it cannot be eradicated without tearing up by the roots their happiness, tranquillity, and prosperity. – William Loughton Smith • So our human life but dies down to its root, and still puts forth its green blade to eternity. – Henry David Thoreau • So we took out those 3 root canals when she had 3-6 months to live. And that was 6 years ago, and she is still alive today, and MRI can’t find the tumour anymore. It went away. – Hal Huggins • Socialism never took root in America because the poor see themselves not as an exploited proletariat but as temporarily embarrassed millionaires. – John Steinbeck • Some of the roots of role-playing games (RPGs) are grounded in clinical and academic role assumption and role-playing exercises. – Gary Gygax • Sorrow prepares you for joy. It violently sweeps everything out of your house, so that new joy can find space to enter. It shakes the yellow leaves from the bough of your heart, so that fresh, green leaves can grow in their place. It pulls up the rotten roots, so that new roots hidden beneath have room to grow. Whatever sorrow shakes from your heart, far better things will take their place. – Rumi • States that rise quickly, just as all the other things of nature that are born and grow rapidly, cannot have roots and ramifications; the first bad weather kills them – Niccolo Machiavelli • Storms make the oak grow deeper roots. – George Herbert • Storms make trees take deeper roots. – Dolly Parton • Stressing the practice of living purposefully as essential to fully realized self-esteem is not equivalent to measuring an individual’s worth by his or her external achievements. We admire achievements-in ourselves and others-and it is natural and appropriate for us to do so. But that is not the same thing as saying that our achievements are the measure or grounds of our self-esteem. The root of our self-esteem is not our achievements but those internally generated practices that, among other things, make it possible for us to achieve. – Nathaniel Branden • Temperance is a tree which as for its root very little contentment, and for its fruit calm and peace. – Gautama Buddha • The average man can’t prove most of the things that he chooses to speak of, and still won’t research and find out the root of the truth that you seek of – Damian Marley • The blues are the roots and the other musics are the fruits. It’s better keeping the roots alive, because it means better fruits from now on. The blues are the roots of all American music. As long as American music survives, so will the blues. – Willie Dixon • The Death of Money is an engrossing account of the massive stresses accumulating in the global financial system, especially since the 2008 financial crisis. Jim Rickards is a natural teacher. Any serious student of financial crises and their root causes needs to read this book. – John H. Makin • The deep root of failure in our lives is to think, ‘Oh how useless and powerless I am.’ It is essential to think strongly and forcefully, ‘I can do it,’ without boasting or fretting. – Dalai Lama • The faculty of voluntarily bringing back a wandering attention, over and over again, is the very root of judgment, character, and will… An education which should improve this faculty would be the education par excellence. – William James • The first duty of a Christian, of a disciple and follower of Jesus Christ, is to deny himself. To deny oneself means to give up one’s bad habits, to root out of the heart all that ties us to the world; not to cherish bad desires and thoughts; to quench and suppress bad thoughts; to avoid occasions of sin; not to do or desire anything from self-love but to do everything out of love for God. To deny oneself means, according to the Apostle Paul, to be dead to sin and the world, but alive to God. – Innocent of Alaska • The greatest gifts you can give your children are the roots of responsibility and the wings of independence. – Denis Waitley • The growth of all the plants of the garden from seeds and roots keep us mindful, in accordance with of the Parable of the Sower, of the need for our loving, mortified reception and cultivation in our hearts and souls of the seeds and roots of the supernatural gifts and virtues necessary for progress in the ascetical/mystical ascent of our souls toward union with God and with the divine will for Creation and Kingdom – John Stokes • The hidden so-called scholars of old did not hide themselves and refuse to be seen. They did not close the door on their words and refuse to let them out. They did not shut away their wisdom and refuse to share it. But those times were all haywire. If it had been possible for them to act, they could have done great things, bringing all to Oneness without any sign of doing so. However, the times were not favorable and it was not possible, so they put down deep roots, remained still and waited. this was the Tao by which they survived. – Zhuangzi • The idea that some lives matter less is the root of all that is wrong with the world. – Paul Farmer • The lack of money is the root of all evil. – Mark Twain • The mind is the root from which all things grow. If you can understand the mind, everything else is included. – Bodhidharma • The moment God put a dream in your heart, the moment the promise took root, God not only started it, but He set a completion date. – Joel Osteen • The noble must make humility his root. – Laozi • The organizer of industry who thinks he has ‘made’ himself and his business has found a whole social system ready to his hand in skilled workers, machinery, a market, peace and order – a vast apparatus and a pervasive atmosphere, the joint creation of millions of men and scores of generations. Take away the whole social factor, and we have not Robinson Crusoe with his salvage from the wreck and his acquired knowledge, but the native savage living on roots, berries and vermin. – Leonard Trelawny Hobhouse • The pain that comes from deep love makes your love more fruitful. It is like a plow that breaks the ground to allow the seed to take root. – Henri Nouwen • The pleasure of rooting for Goliath is that you can expect to win. The pleasure of rooting for David is that, while you don’t know what to expect, you stand at least a chance of being inspired. – Michael Lewis • The problem is that many bitter people don’t know they are bitter. since they are so convinced that they are right, they can’t see their own wrong in the mirror. And the longer the root of bitterness grows, the more difficult it is to remove. – Craig Groeschel • The revolt of the poet is invariably conservative at its roots. … Not politically conservative, but imaginatively conservative, with a profound regard for what is given, as earth or air, sun or moon or stars, or the dreams of man. – Cid Corman • The root of all desires is the one desire: to come home, to be at peace. – Jean Klein • The root of all sin is the suspicion that God is not good. – Oswald Chambers • The root of compassion, is compassion for oneself. – Pema Chodron • The root of humanly caused evil is not man’s animal nature, not territorial aggression, or innate selfishness, but our need to gain self-esteem, deny our mortality, and achieve a heroic self-image. Our desire for the best is the cause of the worst. – Sam Keen • The root of suffering is attachment – Gautama Buddha • The root of the word education is e-ducere, literally, to lead forth, or to bring out something which is potentially present. – Erich Fromm • The roots of all goodness lie in the soil of appreciation for goodness. – Dalai Lama • The roots of education are bitter, but the fruit is sweet. – Aristotle • The roots of great innovation are never just in the technology itself. They are always in the wider historical context. They require new ways of seeing. As Einstein put it, ‘The significant problems we face cannot be solved at the same level of thinking we were at when we created them.’ – David Brooks • The root-trouble of the present distress is that the Church has more faith in the world and the flesh than in the Holy Ghost. – Samuel Chadwick • The silence of the forest is my bride and the sweet dark warmth of the whole world is my love, and out of the heart of that dark warmth comes the secret that is heard only in silence, but it is the root of all the secrets that are whispered by all the lovers in their beds all over the world. – Thomas Merton • The Singing of Swans is a remarkable narrative calling–even compelling–us to connect with our own ancestral roots, to seek our own inner wisdom, and to reclaim our own inner voices! – Margaret Starbird • The ten thousand things flourish and then each returns to the root from which it came. Returning to the root is stillness. Through stillness each fulfils its destiny. – Laozi • The therapist does not treat patients by simply giving them another set of beliefs. He or she tries to help them see which kinds of ideas and beliefs have led to their suffering. Many patients want to get rid of their painful feelings, but they do not want to get rid of their beliefs, the viewpoints that are the very roots of their feelings. – Nhat Hanh • The tree of love its roots hath spread Deep in my heart, and rears its head; Rich are its fruits: they joy dispense; Transport the heart, and ravish sense. In love’s sweet swoon to thee I cleave, Bless’d source of love. – Francis of Assisi • The true penance comes when God takes away the soul’s health and strength for doing penance. Even though I have mentioned elsewhere the great pain this lack causes, the pain is much more intense here. All these things must come to the soul from its roots, from where it is planted. – Teresa of Avila • The word relationship is beautiful. The original meaning of the root from which the word to relate comes is exactly the same as to respond. Relationship comes from that word respond. If you have any image of your wife or husband, you cannot respond, and hence relate, to the truth of the person. And we all go on carrying images. – Rajneesh • The word ‘vegetable’ has no precise botanical meaning in reference to food plants, and we find that almost all parts of plants have been employed as vegetables – roots (carrot and beet), stems (Irish potato and asparagus), leaves (spinach and lettuce), leaf stalk (celery and Swiss chard), bracts (globe artichoke), flower stalks and buds (broccoli and cauliflower), fruits (tomato and squash), seeds (beans), and even the petals (Yucca and pumpkin). – Charles Heiser • The world is part of our own self and we are a part of its suffering wholeness. Until we go to the root of our image of separateness, there can be no healing … Only when our feet learn once again how to walk in a sacred manner, and our hearts hear the real music of creation, can we bring the world back into balance. – Llewellyn Vaughan-Lee • There are only two lasting bequests we can hope to give our children. One of these is roots, the other, wings. – Johann Wolfgang von Goethe • There are three kinds of violence: one, through our deeds; two, through our words; and three, through our thoughts. …The root of all violence is in the world of thoughts, and that is why training the mind is so important. – Eknath Easwaran • There are two great systems in the body of man: the tree of life, which is the arterial with its roots in the heart; and, the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, i.e. the nervous system, which has its roots in the brain. These two “trees” are physical manifestations of a complicated network of branching energy currents in the aura or superphysical bodies. – Manly Hall • There is a principle which is pure, placed in the human mind, which in different places and ages hath had different names. It is, however, pure and proceeds from God. It is deep and inward, confined to no forms of religion nor excluded from any, where the heart stands in perfect sincerity. In whomsoever this takes root and grows, of what nation soever, they become brethren in the best sense of the expression. – John Woolman • There is no abstract Evil; you have to understand that! Its roots are here, all around us, in this herd that goes on chewing and having a good time only an hour after a murder! That’s what you have to fight for. For people. Evil is a hydra with many heads, and the more of them you cut off, the more it grows! Hydras have to be starved to death, do you understand that? Kill a hundred Dark Ones, and a thousand more will take their place. – Sergei Lukyanenko • They read their sports pages, know their statistics and either root like hell or boo our butts off. I love it. Give me vocal fans, pro or con, over the tourist types who show up in Houston or Montreal and just sit there. – Mike Schmidt • Think of the Father as a spring of life begetting the Son like a river and the Holy Ghost like a sea, for the spring and the river and sea are all one nature. Think of the Father as a root, and of the Son as a branch, and the Spirit as a fruit, for the substance in these three is one. The Father is a sun with the Son as rays and the Holy Ghost as heat. – John of Damascus • Though leaves are many, the root is one; Through all the lying days of my youth I swayed my leaves and flowers in the sun Now I may wither into the truth. – William Butler Yeats • To be without trees would, in the most literal way, to be without our roots. – Richard Mabey • To kill the grass you must also remove the root – Pol Pot • To the great tree-loving fraternity we belong. We love trees with universal and unfeigned love, and all things that do grow under them or around them – the whole leaf and root tribe. Not alone when they are in their glory, but in whatever state they are – in leaf, or rimed with frost, or powdered with snow, or crystal-sheathed in ice, or in severe outline stripped and bare against a November sky – we love them. – Henry Ward Beecher • To the great tree-loving fraternity we belong. We love trees with universal and unfeigned love, and all things that do grow under them or around them – the whole leaf and root tribe. – Henry Ward Beecher • To write or speak is to communicate. To communicate is to share meanings, make them ‘common’ to all participants in the discourse. (The etymological root of communication means ‘common.’) – Robin Lakoff • Tofu is the root of all evil, and there’s only one thing that can change a man’s mind, and that’s a modified Uzi with an extra-long clip. – Robert Downey, Jr. • Too many times we pray for ease, but that’s a prayer seldom met. What we need to do is pray for roots that reach deep into the Eternal, so when the rains fall and the winds blow, we won’t be swept asunder. – Philip Gulley • Truth will never come into our minds so long as there will remain the faintest shadow of Ahamkâra (egotism). All of you should try to root out this devil from your heart. Complete self-surrender is the only way to spiritual illumination. – Swami Vivekananda • Unfortunately, you’ve grown up hearing voices that incessantly warn of government as nothing more than some separate, sinister entity that’s at the root of all our problems. Some of these same voices also do their best to gum up the works. They’ll warn that tyranny is always lurking just around the corner. You should reject these voices. – Barack Obama • Wakening from the dreaming forest there, the hazel-sprig sang under my tongue, its drifting fragrance climbed up through my conscious mind as if suddenly the roots I had left behind cried out to me, the land I had lost with my childhood – and I stopped, wounded by the wandering scent. – Pablo Neruda • War is behavior with roots in the single cell of the primeval seas. Eat whatever you touch or it will eat you. – Frank Herbert • We also have a tendency to root for the fugitive. We’re always on the side of the animal being chased. – Norman Jewison • We are all born as animals and live the life that animals live: we sleep, eat, reproduce, and fight. There is, however, another order of living, which the animals do not know, that of awe before the mystery of being … that can be the root and branch of the spiritual sense of one’s days. That is the birth – the Virgin Birth – in the heart of a properly human, spiritual life. – Joseph Campbell • We are often indifferent to our brethren who are distressed or upset, on the grounds that they are in this state through no fault of ours. The Doctor of souls, however, wishing to root out the soul’s excuses from the heart, tells us to leave our gift and to be reconciled not only if we happen to be upset by our brother, but also if he is upset by us, whether justly or unjustly; only when we have healed the breach through our apology should we offer our gift. – John Cassian • We cannot afford the still-birth of new ideas that lack the life force that comes from the depths. We are called to return to the root of our being where the sacred is born. Then, standing in both the inner and outer worlds, we will find our self to be part of the momentous synchronicity of life giving birth to itself. – Llewellyn Vaughan-Lee • We have our roots in country, and that’s our foundation, but we pull from a lot. – Dave Haywood • We know that silence equals consent when atrocities are committed against innocent men, women and children. We know that indifference equals complicity when bigotry, hatred and intolerance are allowed to take root. And we know that education and hope are the most effective ways to combat ignorance and despair. – Gabrielle Giffords • We must alert and organise the world’s people to pressure world leaders to take specific steps to solve the two root causes of our environmental crises – exploding population growth and wasteful consumption of irreplaceable resources. Overconsumption and overpopulation underlie every environmental problem we face today. – Jacques Yves Cousteau • We must win the common people in every corner. This will be obtained chiefly by means of the schools, and by open, hearty behavior, show, condescension, popularity, and toleration of their prejudices, which we shall at leisure root out and dispel. – Adam Weishaupt • We need to discover the root causes of success rather than the root causes of failure. – David Cooperrider • We should embrace our immigrant roots and recognize that newcomers to our land are not part of the problem, they are part of the solution. – Roger Mahony • We should forget about small efficiencies, say about 97% of the time: premature optimization is the root of all evil. – Donald Knuth • What I’ve found is that country doesn’t refer to where you grew up as much as where your heart grows down, where it takes root. Country is a state of mind. I believe what ultimately defines being country is simple: a loving heart, a helping hand, an open mind, poor in spirit. – Clay Walker • What makes the strength of the soldier isn’t the energy he uses trying to intimidate the other guy by sending him a whole lot of signals, it’s the strength he’s able to concentrate within himself, by staying centered. That Maori player was like a tree, a great indestructible oak with deep roots and a powerful radiance- everyone could feel it. And yet you also got the impression that the great oak could fly, that it would be as quick as the wind, despite, or perhaps because of, its deep roots. – Muriel Barbery • Whatever you have to say, leave The roots on, let them Dangle And the dirt Just to make clear Where they come from. – Charles Olson • When the doubters tell you it can’t be done and all kind of tragedies will come your way, I say nonsense. If you can get to the very root of who you are and make something happen from it, my sense tells me you are going to surprise yourself. – Vidal Sassoon • When the sun shouts and people abound One thinks there were the ages of stone and the age of bronze And the iron age; iron the unstable metal; Steel made of iron, unstable as his mother; the tow-ered-up cities Will be stains of rust on mounds of plaster. Roots will not pierce the heaps for a time, kind rains will cure them, Then nothing will remain of the iron age And all these people but a thigh-bone or so, a poem Stuck in the world’s thought, splinters of glass In the rubbish dumps, a concrete dam far off in the mountain. – Robinson Jeffers • When you are up against a wall, put down roots like a tree, until clarity comes from deeper sources to see over that wall and grow. – Carl Jung • When you open up to the ultimate, immediately it pours into you. You are no longer an ordinary human being – you have transcended. Your insight has become the insight of the whole existence. Now you are no longer separate – you have found your roots. – Rajneesh • Where there is no fruit, there may be no root. – Sam Storms • Whether rich or poor, a home is not a home unless the roots of love are ever striking deeper through the crust of the earthly and the conventional, into the very realities of being, not consciously always; seldom, perhaps; the simplicity of loving grows by living simply near nature and God. – Lucy Larcom • Whoever touches the life of the child touches the most sensitive point of a whole which has roots in the most distant past and climbs toward the infinite future. – Maria Montessori • Without ambition no conquests are made, and no business created. Ambition is the root of all achievement. – James A. Champy • Woman is the root of all evil. – St. Jerome • Wonderful songwriting, beautiful production, and deeply rooted in what makes American Roots Music great: Deep Southern Pain. It’s the hurt that brings the songs, and it’s the songs that heal the hurt. Jonathan’s songs bring us there, and back. Check this record out, it’s a good ‘un. – Mary Gauthier • You are the root of heaven, the morning star, the bright moon, the house of endless Love – Rumi • You can’t have the fruits without the roots. – Stephen Covey • You don’t need to condemn. Just observe, That is sin. That is insanity. That is unconsciousness. Above all, don’t forget to observe your own mind. Seek out the root of the insanity there. – Eckhart Tolle • You have first an instinct, then an opinion, then a knowledge, as the plant has root, bud, and fruit. – Ralph Waldo Emerson • You have to know what’s happening in the locker rooms, you have to know what’s happening at the grass-roots level. That’s the best way to work. – Jacques Rogge • You shall be my roots and I will be your shade, though the sun burns my leaves. You shall quench my thirst and I will feed you fruit, though time takes my seed. And when I’m lost and can tell nothing of this earth you will give me hope. And my voice you will always hear. And my hand you will always have. For I will shelter you. And I will comfort you. And even when we are nothing left, not even in death, I will remember you. – Mark Z. Danielewski • You thought I was that type: that you could forget me, and that I’d plead and weep and throw myself under the hooves of a bay mare, or that I’d ask the sorcerers for some magic potion made from roots and send you a terrible gift: my precious perfumed handkerchief. Damn you! I will not grant your cursed soul vicarious tears or a single glance. And I swear to you by the garden of the angels, I swear by the miracle-working ikon, and by the fire and smoke of our nights: I will never come back to you. – Anna Akhmatova

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jQuery(document).ready(function($) var data = action: 'polyxgo_products_search', type: 'Product', keywords: 'y', orderby: 'rand', order: 'DESC', template: '1', limit: '4', columns: '4', viewall:'Shop All', ; jQuery.post(spyr_params.ajaxurl,data, function(response) var obj = jQuery.parseJSON(response); jQuery('#thelovesof_y').html(obj); jQuery('#thelovesof_y img.swiper-lazy:not(.swiper-lazy-loaded)' ).each(function () var img = jQuery(this); img.attr("src",img.data('src')); img.addClass( 'swiper-lazy-loaded' ); img.removeAttr('data-src'); ); ); );

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equitiesstocks · 4 years

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Roots Quotes

Official Website: Roots Quotes

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newageislam-blog · 7 years

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Indian Pluralism, A Model of Successful Co-existence, Recent Challenges

In this post-9/11 world characterised by a burgeoning clash of civilisations, multiculturalism and tolerance of religious diversity is under threat practically everywhere in the world. It has virtually ceased to exist in large parts of South Asia. In Pakistan, for instance, a near civil war in raging among religious, sectarian, ethnic and linguistic groups. Poor Pakistanis don’t even feel secure to go to mosques to pray. How does India then thrive in relative peace in the midst of this chaos, despite having the second largest population in the world, an astounding variety of religions, cultures, ethnicities and languages and dialects? [Indian constitution, for instance, recognises 22 languages and the country is home to at least 844 major dialects.] This question has staggered political scientists and sociologists around the world in recent times.

Just look at the top people in India’s political and economic life. The Prime Minister hails from the Sikh community which constitutes barely two to three per cent of India’s billion plus population. He is in his second five-year term as prime minister. The head of the ruling party and arguably the most powerful politician in the country is a Christian. Christians are numerically an even smaller community than Sikhs. Until a year or so ago, the head of state was a Muslim, that is from a community that constitutes nearly 13 per cent of the population. Even after retirement President Abdul Kalam probably remains the most respected and popular elder statesman India has ever had. Even now the vice-President of India is a Muslim. The wealthiest person in India is a Muslim technocrat. Seven out of top ten most popular actors in the Indian film industry are Muslim, not to speak of an assortment of artistes, musicians, singers, etc. So on and so forth.

One can go on giving examples of the respect common Indians have for the religious, cultural and linguistic diversity of their country. One and a half centuries of the notorious Divide and Rule policy pursued by our colonial masters did certainly make a dent in our national unity – after all, the country did get divided and saw horrendous scenes of communal violence that was completely alien to our experience before the British arrived on the scene. And yet, even today, you cannot go to the shrine of any Sufi saint anywhere in India and not notice that the majority of devotees there are non-Muslims, reflecting the full religious diversity of India. Indian constitution, of course, gives every Indian citizen perfect equality. It recognises religious diversity in the fullest sense, making India the only non-Muslim majority country that allows Muslims to organise their personal life in accordance with their religious personal laws.

To gain a perspective of how staggering these Indian achievements are, let us compare the situation with the one prevailing in Pakistan, which was part of our own nation and the same multi-religious, multi-cultural milieu till only 60 years ago. Let me quote from a recent article by a top Pakistani journalist, Kamila Hyat. She writes: “All of us who have attended school in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan were taught at one point or the other that the white strip that runs down the flag stood for non-Muslims who make up an estimated three per cent or so of the population. Now it seems this white is to be washed over with a shade of green that denies the existence of diversity in the country and closes the door of opportunity for citizens who practise a different faith. We may as well change our flag and give up the pretence that there is any space for minorities in our state.”

Then Ms. Hyat goes on to give specific instances of the Pakistani state’s intolerance. One of the more insidious doings of the recent 18th Amendment to the Pakistan constitution, for instance, has been to seal off the office of prime minister to non-Muslims by declaring that the post will be held by a Muslim. The presidency has, since 1956, already been reserved for Muslims alone. Any attempt to roll back this position, she says, would bring an outcry from the religious parties and other groups that back them. No political party has in recent years displayed the moral courage necessary to take on such groups. Indeed, already, on internet discussion forums, while an encouraging number of voices have spoken out against the measure, others have argued that it is justified for an ‘Islamic’ state to have only a Muslim at its head.

She goes on: “The message that the latest change sends out is a dangerous one. It comes at a time when we see at periodic intervals orgies of violence that involve the burning of houses belonging to non-Muslims or the torture of members of minority groups, often after charges of blasphemy have been brought. We have seen lynching carried out in public on these grounds. All around us we see in fact a kind of ‘cleansing’ on the basis of religion that should leave us ashamed. Hindus from Sindh – sometimes even from communities where they had lived in peaceful harmony with their Muslim neighbours for years – have been forced to flee to escape forced conversions or the kidnapping of their daughters. The few Sikh families who still lived in the tribal areas have been driven out of their homes by the Taliban following the imposition of ‘jaziya’ taxation on them. Christians have, since the 1980s, begun disappearing to escape discrimination; the names on school registers even at missionary-run institutions in Lahore reflect the change and the monolithic nature of the society we live in.

The attitudes that have created this are for a large part the product of state policies. The laws against Ahmadis, the separate electorate for minorities and the ‘Islamisation’ policies have all encouraged social and economic discrimination. Opportunities available to non-Muslims have closed down. Employers are less likely to grant them jobs or offer promotions; schools deny them admission. The Basant festival has been labelled as being ‘Hindu’ and, therefore, undesirable. Even the simple act of flying a kite has been given a religious overture. There can be little doubt this has been a factor in the ban on Basant and the sport of kite-flying that has led to the fluttering paper shapes vanishing from the skies over Lahore, a city that once observed the only secular festival on our calendar with unrivalled passion.

“There is evidence too that the unpleasant process of creating a kind of sterile uniformity by rooting out diversity is growing. Muslim sects have confronted the wrath of those who hold they are non-Muslim. The mass killing of Shias in Karachi on two separate occasions as they marked Muharrum is just one example of this. Other groups have faced threats of many kinds. Some indeed, to protect themselves and their children, have chosen to disguise identity. Other groups, such as the small number of Jews who once lived in Karachi, have simply left the country.

The process is an immensely dangerous one. It has already created divisions that in the past simply did not exist. The result has been growing social unease.”

We are all, of course, familiar with the result of this growing social unrest. Scores of people are dying on an average practically every day in Pakistan.

So the question acquires even more potency: Where does India derive its strength? How do Indians so fully accept people from other communities, religions, ethnicities, languages, regions, etc. so fully, in positions of power and as their icons in various fields?

To understand this one has to go to the very roots of Indian way of life, our dharma, that is now known as Hindu religion but it was always a conglomeration of religions, philosophies, including atheism and agnosticism. Yes atheism was as much an integral part of Hindu dharma as was faith in one God or a multiplicity of gods or any particular deity which may have had a following in only one small locality. So one Hindu family could have had a couple of devout believers in one God or several gods or atheists or agnostics, all living together under the same roof, their beliefs causing no hindrance in their lives together. In different parts of India too there were different religions, different scriptures, and people from different parts used to travel carrying their beliefs with them and sharing them with one another.

So when beliefs like Islam or Christianity or Judaism came from foreign lands, they hardly faced any problem in being accepted. In any case the Hindu or more correctly the Indian considered the whole world as a family, a kutumb. One of the cardinal principles of Hindu philosophy was that there are many ways to the God and ultimately they all lead to the same divine truth. So while Islam’s encounter with some other religions was quite violent, Hinduism provided it with a fertile ground for growth. Islam was first introduced to India during Prophet Mohammad’s life itself by traders travelling between India’s Southern coast and Arabia. It was later taken to the masses by Sufi saints like Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti and Hazrat Nizamuddin. Hindus of all denomination visit and pray at the shrines of these and thousands of other Muslim saints with the same reverence as do Muslims. A number of Sufi saints spent their life-time in India, spreading Islam’s message of peace. Prophet Mohammad, too, is believed to have felt attraction for India.

Even the very first Muslim to conquer parts of India – Sind and Multan in 711 A.D. – Mohammad bin Qasim, accorded the Hindus the special status of Ahl-e-Kitab (People bearing Divine Books) that was by then meant for Christians and Jews alone, realising that the Hindu scriptures were clear testimony to the fact that they were revealed to earlier prophets that the Holy Quran talks about and asks Muslims to treat with same respect as Prophet Mohammad and believe in their prophethood as an essential part of their faith. Later emperors, particularly the Mughals adopted a secular system of governance, according the highest places in the governments, including the position of finance ministers and Army chiefs to Hindus. Even the Central Asian bandits who invaded and looted India, desecrating some temples in the process, could not disturb the milieu of religious tolerance and acceptance of Islam.

But this largely harmonious living came first under threat from the British policy of Divide and Rule. While this policy had been going on since 1800, it was formalised later. In a note dated May 14, 1858, to the Governor-General Lord Elphinstone, governor of Bombay advocated the continuation of the policy of “divide and rule”. He stated: “Divide et impera was the old Roman motto and it should be ours”. Sir John Wood, another ardent colonialist, in a letter to Governor-General Elgin said in plain words, “We have maintained our power by playing off one party against the other and we must continue to do so”.

Pursuing this policy the British divided the province of Bengal in 1905 and created a new province with a Muslim majority. Then to isolate the Muslim community from the Hindus, Muslims were granted separate electorates and this right was incorporated in the Indian Councils Act of 1909. This was the beginning of what later took the form of confrontation and alienation between Hindus and Muslims.

The British also spawned and nurtured groups among both communities that promoted exclusivist tendencies. This eventually led to partition of India between Hindu-majority and Muslim majority lands. But while Muslim majority Pakistan almost immediately declared itself an Islamic republic, closing many doors and creating many problems for its religious minorities, Hindu-majority India chose to continue pursuing its age-old philosophy of integration and acceptance of all religions as different paths to the same God and thus as equally valid.

In recent decades, however, the challenges to Indian unity have grown. Some Hindutva groups, the legacy of the colonial era, have gained in strength, partly as a result of growing fundamentalism among Muslims under the influence of a world-wide movement spreading the Wahhabi radicalism. But the main challenge to Indian national unity today comes from neighbouring Pakistan which has been creating and promoting terrorist groups with the specific purpose of destabilising India. There is not the slightest reason to doubt the known fact now that Pakistani terrorist organisations like the Lashkar-e-Tayyaba are particularly after damaging the Muslim community in India.

The very idea of Indian Muslims living peacefully and marching towards prosperity in multi-cultural India with the same confidence as other Indians strikes at the very root of Pakistan’s existential philosophy. The very existence of a prosperous Muslim community in India destroys the Two-Nation Theory on which the state of Pakistan is based. The very fact that Muslims in India not only live peacefully among themselves but also in harmony with a variety of other religious, linguistic, ethnic communities while Muslims in Pakistan are deeply divided among themselves and constantly at each others’ throats is a profoundly destabilising factor for the very existence of Pakistan. That Pakistan’s Muslim Sindhis, Baluchis, Pathans, Saraikis, and indeed Mohajirs would love to join the Indian mainstream, given half a chance, cannot possibly be lost on the Pakistani establishment that has spawned these terrorist organisations to further its dubious strategic imperatives. The Muslims of India, by their very existence, more so on account of their peaceful and prosperous co-existence, are an existential threat to Pakistan. One can only hope that wise counsel will prevail and Pakistan would desist from following such policies.

In any case, Indians have shown great resilience and have become quite adept in facing challenges to their unity and secularism for long decades. They would continue to present a model of peaceful and prosperous plural co-existence to the world, possibly to be emulated by some who are looking for a solution to their problems of reconciling multiple diversities.

For more details visit here: Muslims and Islamophobia

Source URL: http://newageislam.com/islam-and-pluralism/sultan-shahin,-editor,-new-age-islam/indian-pluralism,-a-model-of-successful-co-existence,-recent-challenges/d/2978

#Progressive Islam

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