"From this hour I ordain myself loos'd of limits and imaginary lines, going where I list, my own master total and absolute, Listening to others, considering well what they say, Pausing, searching, receiving, contemplating, Gently, but with undeniable will, divesting myself of the holds that would hold me."
Walt Whitman (1819-92)
"When I look back now over my life and call to mind what I might have had simply for taking and did not take, my heart is like to break."
Akhenaton (d. c.1354 BC)
And now, the current weather, from some random person we pulled off the street:
Thursday, July 15, 2004
Lycos 50
Just a quick note...I've added another blog to the ever increasing Lines of Communication to the left. The name of the blog is the Lycos 50.
The Lycos 50 is a daily commentary about what terms people are searching for most often on the Lycos search engine. It might sound boring, but trust me, its fascinating to see how our cultural mind works and changes with the seasons.
And You Thought U.S. Courts Were Bad II When he was 14 years old, Philip Dederer, now 20, ignored signs posted on a bridge in New South Wales, Australia, prohibiting diving. He dove to the river below and broke his neck. Left paraplegic, he sued the Roads and Traffic Authority and the Great Lakes Shire Council, and was awarded A$1,400,000. The judge reduced the award by one-quarter since Dederer was judged 25 percent at fault, leaving him A$1,050,000 (US$809,000). The basis for the award: the signs didn’t say why diving was prohibited, and because kids still dive there. “I wouldn’t like to see another person get into the same position as I did,” Dederer said. (Australian AP) ...Maybe in return for the taxpayer-supplied windfall, Dederer can spend eight hours a day parked on the bridge to talk to the kids there. Available in This is True: Book Collection Vol. 11