HAPPY 2008!

“Another fresh new year is here . . .
Another year to live!
To banish worry, doubt, and fear,
To love and laugh and give!

This bright new year is given me
To live each day with zest . . .
To daily grow and try to be
My highest and my best!

I have the opportunity
Once more to right some wrongs,
To pray for peace, to plant a tree,
And sing more joyful songs!”

- William Arthur Ward


HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL MY READERS!!

- Ghostwise

Common Sense Is Not Very Common.

"Le sens commun n'est pas si commun (Common sense is not very common)."

- Voltaire


Why do they call it common sense then? 'Common' refers to what all ought to have, not what they have.

- Ghostwise

~~~~~~~~~~"

"Common sense in an uncommon degree is what the world calls wisdom."

- Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772-1834)


Common sense missing is what is refers to as 'nonsense'.

- Ghostwise

He Ain't Heavy, He Is My Goat.

“He who lets the goat be laid on his shoulders is soon after forced to carry the cow”

- Italian Proverb quotes


And you can't claim "he ain't heavy, he is my goat...".

- Ghostwise

~~~~~~~~~~"

“Don't approach a goat from the front, a horse from the back, or a fool from any side.”

- Yiddish Proverb


It is easy to recognize a goat or a horse but how do you recognize a fool from a distance?

- Ghostwise

You Want Your Milk, Come And Get It!

Scientists tell us that the fastest animal on earth, with a top speed of 120 feet per second, is a cow that has been dropped out of a helicopter.

- Dave Barry


And made the biggest splash you've ever seen, unless you were under it.

- Ghostwise

~~~~~~~~~~"

Parties who want milk should not seat themselves on a stool in the middle of the field in hopes that the cow will back up to them.

- Elbert Hubbard


You want your milk, go and get it!

-Ghostwise

Why Frogs Don't Leap Over Unicorn.

(It is almost 1 am in the morning and I'm dead tired. So forgive the improvisation. My last conversation in MyKlang forum was about frog legs, so frog legs are what you will get. ha.)

“It is a truly wise man who does not play leap frog with a unicorn”

- Author Unknown


"You wouldn't want to be the bull that jumped over the fence and landed a cow the other side."

- Ghostwise

~~~~~~~~~~"

"How can there be a big fat frog jumping in the middle of the street?"

- Cantonese Proverb


There is no such thing as a free frog leg.

- Ghostwise

Because I have traveled...

"Because I have traveled, I can see other universes in the eyes of strangers. Because I have traveled, I know what parts of me I cannot deny and what parts of me are simply the choices I make. I know the blessings of my own table and the warmth of my own bed. I know how much of life is pure chance, and how great a gift I have been given simply to be who I am. ...

"If we don't offer ourselves to the unknown, our senses dull. Our world becomes small and we lose our sense of wonder. Our eyes don't lift to the horizon; our ears don't hear the sounds around us. The edge is off our experience, and we pass our days in a routine that is both comfortable and limiting."

- Kent Nerburn, Letters to my Son


Eloquently put, those are the reasons I travel.

- Ghostwise

~~~~~~~~~~"

The World is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page.

- St. Augustine


I may never finish the whole book but I will try to read as many pages as I can.

- Ghostwise

What The Grinch Learned About Christmas

“And the Grinch, with his Grinch-feet ice cold in the snow,
stood puzzling and puzzling, how could it be so?
It came without ribbons. It came without tags.
It came without packages, boxes or bags.
And he puzzled and puzzled 'till his puzzler was sore.
Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn't before.

What if Christmas, he thought, doesn't come from a store.
What if Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more.”

- Dr. Seuss


There are still many men who have not learn what The Grinch did - even after the movie came out.

- Ghostwise

~~~~~~~~~~"

“When Christmas bells are swinging above the fields of snow, we hear sweet voices ringing from lands of long ago, and etched on vacant places are half-forgotten faces of friends we used to cherish, and loves we used to know.”

- Ella Wheeler Wilcox


I think everyone should find some quiet moment during Christmas to remember old friends when our hearts are most full of love.

- Ghostwise

Finding Christmas Under A Tree.

(This is my Christmas tree. This year it won't be glittering in our house. We lent it to a friend to decorate her shop for its opening, see Ghost Walk. While our house is a little empty this year yet we delight in it being seen and enjoyed by thousands.)

He who has not Christmas in his heart will never find it under a tree.

-Roy L. Smith


And he who has Christmas in his hear will find joy under a tree.

- Ghostwise

~~~~~~~~~~"

"I will honour Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year.""

- Charles Dickens (A Christmas Carol)


If only we can keep Christmas in our heart the whole year through.

- Ghostwise

MERRY X'MAS TO ALL MY READERS!

When Beauty Retreats To The Heart.

Some people, no matter how old they get, never lose their beauty - they merely move it from their faces into their hearts.

- Martin Buxbaum


Where it is harder to be seen and thus only appreciated by those not overtaken by the beauty of surface.

- Ghostwise

~~~~~~~~~~"

It matters more what's in a woman's face than what's on it.

- Lois P. Frankel


But most men can't go deeper than the beauty of a face.

- Ghostwise

A Man Who Knows The Price Of Everything.

“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; because there is not effort without error and shortcomings; but who does actually strive to do the deed; who knows the great enthusiasm, the great devotion, who spends himself in a worthy cause, who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement and who at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly. So that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.”

- Theodore Roosevelt


I would rather stand by the man who fought and failed than those who stood by and criticized his failures because he has my admiration for trying and also because I know such man always makes a better friend.

- Ghostwise

~~~~~~~~~~"

“What is a cynic? A man who knows the price of everything and the value of nothing.”

- Oscar Wilde


A man who trusts no one but himself doesn’t know the value of anything.

- Ghostwise

Makes It Sweet Though It Is Bitter.

“When fate hands you a lemon, make lemonade.”

- Dale Carnegie


Try making it sweet though it is bitter.

- Ghostwise

~~~~~~~~~~"

“We are living in a world today where lemonade is made from artificial flavors and furniture polish is made from real lemons.”

- Alfred E. Neuman


And they said the reasons were to improve them.

- Ghostwise

You Can't Buy Love But You Can Pay For It.

We can only learn to love by loving.

- Iris Murdoch

Fortunately or Unfortunately, there is no other way.

- Ghostwise

~~~~~~~~~~"

You can't buy love, but you can pay heavily for it.

- Henny Youngman


There is a world of difference between buying and paying,
One is noble while the other ignoble.

- Ghostwise

When We Waited Too Long In The Dark.

“How much of human life is lost in waiting?”

- Ralph Waldo Emerson


Something are worth waiting for.
Some are not.

- Ghostwise

~~~~~~~~~~"

To him that waits all things reveal themselves, provided that he has the courage not to deny, in the darkness, what he has seen in the light.

- Coventry Kersey Dighton Patmore


When we have waited too long in the dark,
We sometimes cannot recognize the light.

- Ghostwise

We Sang The Same Old Lang Syne.

(Yesterday's lost, I still feel today. So I've another day of tribute as I remembered The Same Old Lang Syne).

We drank a toast to innocence, we drank a toast to now
And tried to reach beyond the emptiness but neither one knew how
We drank a toast to innocence, we drank a toast to time
Reliving in our eloquence, another 'auld lang syne'

The beer was empty and our tongues were tired
And running out of things to say
She gave a kiss to me as I got out and I watched her drive away
Just for a moment I was back at school
And felt that old familiar pain

And as I turned to make my way back home
The snow turned in to rain...

- Dan Folgeberg, Same Old Lang Syne from the Album The Innocent Age, 1981


We drank a toast to innocence, we drank a toast to time
Feel that old familiar pain, as we sang the Same Old Lang Syne.

- Ghostwise

~~~~~~~~~~"

When you’re not near me
The time don’t seem to move as easy
When you’re not near me
The sun don’t seem to feel the same
The days don’t shine as brightly
And the nights don’t taste as sweet
And this soul of mine feels
lost and incomplete.

- Dan Folgeberg, When You're Not Near Me from the Album Full Circle, 2003


When you're not near me
I fill the space with your music.

- Ghostwise

Our "Leader Of The Band".

(Yesterday, one of my favorite singer/songwriter – Dan Folgelberg passed away after a long bout with prostrate cancer. He was only 56. In his most famous song “Leader Of The Band”, he paid tribute to his father through this famous line “Thank you for the freedom when it came my time to go”. Today, Ghostwise pays tribute to this amazing songwriter who will always be his leader of the band and for all of us who loves his music, we’re the living legacies to the leader of our band…)

I thank you for the music
And your stories of the road
I thank you for the freedom
When it came my time to go
I thank you for the kindness
And the times when you got tough
And, papa, I don't think I said
'I love you' near enough

The leader of the band is tired
And his eyes are growing old
But his blood runs through my instrument
And his song is in my soul
My life has been a poor attempt
To imitate the man
I'm just a living legacy
To the leader of the band

- Dan Folgelberg, Leader Of The Band from the album The Innocent Age 1981


We thank you for the music
And your stories of the road
We’re the living legacies
To the leader of our band

- Ghostwise

~~~~~~~~~~"

I was raised by a river
Weaned upon the sky
And in the mirror of the waters
I saw myself learn to cry

- Dan Folgelberg, The River from the album Home Free 1972


By the river today,
I saw the ripples of my tears

- Ghostwise

What Did The Puppeteer Say To The Puppet?

(Yesterday I went for a Japanese show "Bu.Su" about a school girl/apprentice geisha performing a famous puppet dance "Oshichi" (itself about a daughter of the greengrocer who started a fire to be reunited with the man she loves, a priest and ended up burning down half a city accidentally) for the school festival. One of the most interesting aspect of the movie was the dance in which a real person imitate a puppet.)

Love is just like a merry-go-round
With all the fun of the fair
One day I'm feeling down on the ground
Then I'm up in the air
Are you leading me on
Tomorrow will you be gone?

I wonder if one day that, you'll say that, you care
If you say you love me madly, I'll gladly be there
Like a puppet on a string

- Sandie Shaw


The puppeteer said to the puppet, "look, no strings attached".

- Ghostwise

~~~~~~~~~~"

He was the puppet of his past, because at the very stroke of midnight he jumped up and ran swiftly downstairs as if confident that, by the power of destiny, the house door would fly open before the absolute necessity of his errand.

- Under Western Eyes by Conrad, Joseph


We are all puppets of our past.
Habit & Obsession the Puppet Masters.

- Ghostwise

I Once Had A Sweet Little Doll Dears.

(Today I went for a Japanese Kokeshi (wooden doll) exhibition. Love them and wood is my favorite material for dolls. Watch out for it in a future post in Ghost Walk. Meanwhile, today's post is dedicated to the dolls we grew up with.)

I once had a sweet little doll dears,
The prettiest doll in the world...

- The Lost Doll by Charles Kingsley


But I grew up, dears,
And the little doll didn't.

- Ghostwise

~~~~~~~~~~"

“Nothing that grieves us can be called little: by the eternal laws of proportion a child's loss of a doll and a king's loss of a crown are events of the same size”

- Mark Twain


And more often than not, the child's loss is less deserving.

- Ghostwise

It Is A Dog's Life.

Yesterday I was a dog. Today I’m a dog.

Tomorrow I’ll probably still be a dog.
Sigh! There’s so little hope for advancement.

- Snoopy (Charles M. Schulz 1922-2000)


It is a dog’s life.

- Ghostwise

~~~~~~~~~~"

One reason a dog can be such a comfort when you're feeling blue is that he doesn't try to find out why.

-Author Unknown


Or tries to give you good advice.

- Ghostwise

Holding A Cat By The Tail.

(Dedicated to Bizcat)

No matter how much the cats fight, there always seem to be plenty of kittens.

- Abraham Lincoln


Couples should be more like cats but should stop before the kittens part.

- Ghostwise

~~~~~~~~~~"

“If you hold a cat by the tail you learn things you cannot learn any other way.”

- Mark Twain


Until you hold a dog by the tail.

- Ghostwise

Would You Like Feet In Your Wine Or Beer Without?

(This post is dedicated to Happy Feet whom I met yesterday)

(I've exhausted the pictures of roses - hope that you've enjoyed its beauty while it last. If you still remember "The Rose That Lives Its Little Hour" let us celebrate the rose that gave love its hour. But with that ending is a new beginning and new discoveries. I'm starting a new picture series of flowers. This time they are flowers & plants from my garden that we planted since we shifted in about six months ago. Enjoy.)

“Only a fool tests the depth of the water with both feet.”

- African Proverb


He should be thinking with his foot, not his feet.

- Ghostwise

~~~~~~~~~~"

Why beer is better than wine: "....human feet are conspicuously absent from beer making."

- Steve Mirsky, Scientific American (May, 2007)


Others disagree because there is feet in wine.

- Ghostwise

Bait With Your Heart When You Fish For Love.

(Tonight I made a few new friends by taking a chance. Two of them Happy Feet and Kurau King have been bantering with me over the net without us ever met. We had a happy meal with fish that Kurau King caught. It was a sumptuous feast and I dedicate today's post to the king of fishermen.)

“When you fish for love, bait with your heart, not your brain”

- Mark Twain


With the correct bait, you can catch anything.

- Kurau King

~~~~~~~~~~"

“Many men go fishing all of their lives without knowing it is not fish they are after.”

- Henry David Thoreau


That is why a real fishing enthusiast returns with a smile even if the net is empty. For it is always about the fishing, not the catch.

- Ghostwise

Memory Of Winter In The Heat Of Summer.

“Memory is a way of holding on to the things you love, the things you are, the things you never want to lose.”

- Kevin Arnold


And when you lose them, you wish you could also lose the memories.

- Ghostwise

~~~~~~~~~"

“God gave us memory so that we might have roses in December.”

- James Matthew Barrie


And winter in the heat of summer.

- Ghostwise

Secret Loves Cannot Remain Secret For Long.

“If you reveal your secrets to the wind you should not blame the wind for revealing them to the trees.”

- Kahlil Gibran


Each of us has someone we want to tell our secrets to.

- Ghostwise

~~~~~~~~~~"

Once I had a secret love
That lived within the heart of me
All too soon my secret love
Became impatient to be free

So I told the friendly star
The way that dreamers often do
Just how wonderful you are
And why I'm so in love with you

Now I shout it from the highest hills
Even told the golden daffodils
At last my heart's an open door
And my secret love's no secret anymore

- Music by Sammy Fain, lyrics by Paul Francis Webster


Secret loves cannot remain secret for long,
For they are too impatient to be free.

- Ghostwise

A Daughter Is A Daughter All Her Life.

A son is a son till he takes him a wife, a daughter is a daughter all of her life.

- Irish Saying


Can we say, daughters last twice as long?

- Ghostwise

~~~~~~~~~~"

Certain is it that there is no kind of affection so purely angelic as of a father to a daughter. In love to our wives there is desire; to our sons, ambition; but to our daughters there is something which there are no words to express.

- Joseph Addison


What about those fathers who have no daughter?

- Ghostwise

At Five, Your Son Is Your Master.

“Your son at five is your master, at ten your slave, at fifteen your double, and after that, your friend or your foe, depending on his bringing up”

- Anonymous

And it is all because of you.

- Ghostwise

~~~~~~~~~~"

“Every father should remember that one day his son will follow his example instead of his advice”

- Anonymous


He follows - good or bad,
Whether he loves or hates,
He follows - good or bad.

- Ghostwise

Men Should Be More Like Their Mothers.

The heart of a mother is a deep abyss at the bottom of which you will always find forgiveness.

- Honoré de Balzac


Oh, Mother! How deep is your love?

- Ghostwise

~~~~~~~~~~"

All women become like their mothers. That is their tragedy. No man does. That's his.

- Oscar Wilde, The Importance of Being Earnest, 1895


Men should be more like their mothers, women less.

- Ghostwise

When A Man Begins To Look Like His Father

“By the time a man realizes that maybe his father was right, he usually has a son who thinks he's wrong.”

- Charles Wadsworth


It was his son who taught him that maybe his father was right. It was also his son who taught him to love his father more.

- Ghostwise

~~~~~~~~~~"

“A man knows he is growing old because he begins to look like his father.”

- Gabriel Garcia Marquez


And begins to think like him. And understands why he goes slow.

- Ghostwise

Man Wants To Be A Woman's First Love, Woman His Last.

“Between men and women there is no friendship possible. There is passion, enmity, worship, love, but no friendship.”

- Oscar Wilde


There is no friendship between men and women IF there is passion, enmity, worship and love. Without them, friendship is always possible.

- Ghostwise

~~~~~~~~~~"

Men always want to be a woman's first love. That is their clumsy vanity. We women have a more subtle instinct about things. What (women) like is to be a man's last romance.

- Oscar Wilde


In this case, I stand on the side of women and Oscar Wilde.

- Ghostwise

Are Both Wise Men & Fools Foolish?

Wise men learn more from fools than fools from the wise.

- Cato the Elder


That is why wise men are wise men and fools are fools.

- Ghostwise

~~~~~~~~~~"

Silence is foolish if we are wise, but wise if we are foolish.

-Charles Caleb Colton


Talk if you are wise, don't talk if you are foolish.
But neither wise men nor fools heed this advice.
So do you think both wise men and fools are foolish?

- Ghostwise

Forcing A Floppy Disk Into A DVD Drive.

The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn.

-Alvin Toffler


If you cannot unlearn, you are bound to repeat the mistakes made because what you had learned is no longer applicable. Liked trying to force a floppy disk into a DVD drive.

- Ghostwise.

~~~~~~~~~~"

The aim of education should be to teach us rather how to think, than what to think - rather to improve our minds, so as to enable us to think for ourselves, than to load the memory with thoughts of other men.

- Bill Beattie


There is not enough good teachers who respect their students enough to do that. Most think it is better they learn something than nothing at all. I call that 'justifiable homicide'.

- Ghostwise.

The Wise Pays A High Price To Be Wise.

“It is strange how often a heart must be broken before the years can make it wise”

- Sara Teasdale


The wise pays a high price to be wise.

- Ghostwise

~~~~~~~~~"

“It is better to weep with wise men than to laugh with fools”

- Spanish Proverb


Only trouble is wise men weep too often and laugh too infrequent.

- Ghostwise