Everything I Need to Know, I Learned from Firefly and Serenity

How you get to where you're going is the worthier part.

Doing the impossible makes us mighty.

Even at the corner of "no" and "where" you are rarely alone as you think you are.

If ever someone tries to kill you, you try and kill 'em right back.

There's some things not to be mistaken for suggestions.

There is no defense against Naked and Articulate

It's important to be respectful of other cultures; some people juggle geese.

Tearing the clothes off your spouse is work work work, but hey, someone's gotta do it.

A stegosaurus and a T-Rex will never be friends for long; Betrayal is sudden but inevitable.

Swearing is okay in Chinese.

Nothin into nothin, carry the nothin is NOTHIN!

When you and you and your crew arrive in the nick of time, that makes you Big Damn Heroes.

Sometimes a thing gets broke can't be fixed.

Sometimes, it's very important to interrogate buffet tables.

You don't fix faith; it fixes you.

There is a special level of Hell reserved for Child Molesters and people who talk at the theater.

The Bible is against killin', but it's a mite fuzzy on the subject of kneecaps.

Sometimes the voices in your head are right.

We are all dreaming.

No power in the 'verse can stop me.

"Whore" is just another way to say "I love you"

It's important to fall in love with a man of mystery, because so few men are.

"A man can get a job, he might not look to close at what the job is. But a man learns all the details of a situation like ours, well, he has a choice."

"I don't believe he does."

It's not altogether wise, sneakin up on a fella when he's handling his weapon.

Ah, but a government is just a body of people, usually notably ungoverned.

People who wear blue latex gloves are not to be trusted.

There's a very big difference between seeing somebody undressed and seeing them naked.

When you can't run, you walk. And when you can't walk, you crawl. And when you can't do that... you find someone to carry you.

Just because you want to be in command of the ship, doesn't mean you can.

Even if you're on the losing side, it doesn't mean you're on the wrong one.

The wheel keeps turnin', but it only matters to those on the rim.

Never admit that you're unarmed.

There's always time for some thrillin' heroics.

Reputation? It's gossip; people talking.

You can't stop the Signal.

You shouldn't hit a man with a closed fist but it is, on occasion, hilarious.

‘Sanguine’ means both Hopeful and Bloody, which just about covers everything.

If you can't do something Smart, do something Right.

Telling someone you're going to shoot them doesn't give them incentive to talk.

Most History was written by someone hiding the truth.

Soar like a Leaf on the Wind

Just because you’re lost don't mean you're done.

What you plan and what takes place ain't necessarily gonna be similar. Be prepared for emergencies.

Sometimes, you've just gotta reassure everyone that everything's shiny. And frettin' ain't gonna change it.

If you ever go to kill someone, it's only fair to make sure that they're awake, facing you, and armed.

“I got people with me, people who trust each other, who do for each other and ain’t always looking for the advantage. There’s good people in the ‘verse. Not many, lord knows, but you only need a few.”

Time & Beauty - Growing Old & Staying Young

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

Old age isn't so bad when you consider the alternatives. (Cato or Maurice Chevalier)

There is no excellent beauty that hath not some strangeness in the proportion. (Francis Bacon)

Remember that the most beautiful things in the world are the most useless; peacocks and lilies for instance. (John Ruskin)

Charm... it's a sort of bloom on a woman. If you have it, you don't need to have anything else; and if you don't have it, it doesn't much matter what else you have. (J.M. Barrie)

Time has no divisions to mark its passage, there is never a thunderstorm or blare of trumpets to announce the beginning of a new month or year. Even when a new century begins it is only we mortals who ring bells and fire off pistols. (Thomas Mann)

When I was a boy of 14, my father was so ignorant I could hardly stand to have the old man around. But when I got to be 21, I was astonished at how much the old man had learned in seven years. (Mark Twain)

I don't believe in vitamin pills. I swear by men, darling - and as many as possible. (Joan Collins)

The young do not know enough to be prudent and therefore they attempt the impossible - and achieve it, generation after generation. -Pearl S. Buck

When I am an old woman I shall purple
With a red hat which doesn't go, and doesn't suit me.
(Jenny Joseph)

Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
(Dylan Thomas)

I'm not young enough to know everything. (J.M. Barrie)

Those who love deeply never grow old; they may die of old age, but they die young. (Dorothy Canfield Fisher or Arthur Pinero)

Children are a great comfort in your old age - and they help you reach it faster, too. (Lionel Kauffman)

Youth is the gift of nature, but age is a work of art. (Stanislaw J. Lec)

Wrinkles should merely indicate where smiles have been. (Mark Twain)

Age and treachery will always triumph over youth and exuberance.

A man is not old until regrets take the place of dreams. (John Barrymore)

It's true, some wines improve with age. But only if the grapes were good in the first place. (Abigail Van Buren)

Don't complain about growing old - many, many people do not have that privilege. (Earl Warren)

The secret of staying young is to live honestly, eat slowly, and lie about your age. (Lucille Ball)

Age does not protect you from love. But love, to some extent, protects you from age. (Jeanne Moreau)

You know you're getting old when the candles cost more than the cake. (Bob Hope)

A diplomat is a man who always remembers a woman's birthday, but never remembers her age. (Robert Frost)

I was thinking about how people seem to read the Bible a whole lot more as they get older. Then it dawned on me. They were cramming for their finals.

Don't say you don't have enough time. You have exactly the same number of hours per day that were given to Helen Keller, Pasteur, Michaelangelo, Mother Teresa, Leonardo da Vinci, Thomas Jefferson, and Albert Einstein. (H. Jackson Brown, Jr.)

Yesterday is history,

Tomorrow's a mystery.

Today's a gift,

That's why it's called the Present.

Time is the coin of your life. It is the only coin you have, and only you can determine how it will be spent. Be careful lest you let other people spend it for you. (Carl Sandburg)

As a white candle in a holy place,

So is the beauty of an aged face.

(Joseph Campbell, "The Old Woman")

Forty is the old age of youth; fifty is the youth of old age. (Victor Hugo)

I'm not interested in age. People who tell me their age are silly. You're as old as you feel. (Elizabeth Arden)

Old age is when you look the food over, instead of the waitress.

Few women admit their age... few men act it.

Inside every older person is a younger person -- wondering what the hell happened. (Cora Harvey Armstrong)

I refuse to think of them as chin hairs. I think of them as stray eyebrows. (Janette Barber)

Thirty-five is when you finally get your head together and your body starts falling apart. (Caryn Leschen)

A man has reached middle age when he is cautioned to slow down by his doctor instead of by the police.

Anyone who stops learning is old, whether at twenty or eighty. Anyone who keeps learning stays young. The greatest thing in life is to keep your mind young. (Henry Ford)

Age is a very high price to pay for maturity.

Time is a great teacher, but unfortunately it kills all its pupils.

You know you're getting old when you stop buying green bananas.

I don't plan to grow old gracefully. I plan to have face-lifts until my ears meet. (Rita Rudner)

The key to successful aging is to pay as little attention to it as possible (Judith Regan)

The day the child realizes that all adults are imperfect, he becomes an adolescent; the day he forgives them, he becomes an adult; the day he forgives himself, he becomes wise (Alden Nowlan)

Tomorrow is the most important thing in life. Comes into us at midnight very clean. It's perfect when it arrives and it puts itself in our hands. It hopes we've learned something from yesterday. (John Wayne)

Another candle on your cake?

Well, that's no cause to pout,

Be glad that you have strength enough

To blow the damn thing out.

I love everything that's old - old friends, old times, old manners, old books, old wine. (Oliver Goldsmith)

How to Stay Young: 

1. Throw out nonessential numbers. This includes age, weight and height. Let the doctor worry about them.

2. Keep only cheerful friends. The grouches pull you down.

3. Keep learning. Never let the brain idle. An idle mind is the devil's workshop, and the devil's name is Alzheimer's.

4. Enjoy the simple things.

5. Laugh often, long and loud.

6. The tears happen. Endure, grieve, and move on.

7. Surround yourself with love, whether it's family, pets, friends, or whatever.

8. Cherish your health: If it's good, preserve it. If it's unstable, improve it as much as you can.

9. Don't take guilt trips. Take a trip to anywhere except where the guilt is.

10. Tell people you love them, at every opportunity.

Thoughts on Mid-Life (for Women Only):

Mid-life is when the growth of hair on our legs slows down. This gives us plenty of time to care for our newly acquired mustache.

Mid-life is when you can stand naked in front of a mirror and you can see your rear without turning around.

Mid-life is when you want to grab every firm young lovely in a tube top and scream, "Listen honey, the Roman Empire fell and those will too."

Mid-life is when you look at your know-it-all, beeper-wearing teenager and think, "For this I have stretch marks?"

Mid-life means that you become more reflective.... You start pondering the 'big' questions. What is life? Why am I here? How much Healthy Choice ice cream can I eat before it's no longer a healthy choice?

Mid-life also brings with it an appreciation for what is important. We realize that breasts sag, hips expand, and chins double, but our loved ones make the journey worthwhile. Maybe our bodies simply have to expand to hold all the wisdom and love we've acquired.

Patriotism, War, & Politics

I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which It stands, One Nation Under God, with Liberty and Justice for All. (James B. Upham and F. M. Bellamy)

Intellectually I know that America is no better than any other country; emotionally, I know she is better than every other country. (Sinclair Lewis)

America is a country that doesn't know where it is going but is determined to set a speed record getting there. (Lawrence J. Peter)

The world is my country, all mankind are my brethren, and to do good my religion. (Thomas Paine)

I fear that all I have done is awakened a sleeping giant and filled him with a terrible resolve. (Admiral Yamamoto after Pearl Harbor, Dec 7, 1941)

We will not give in to terrorists; we will not rest until they are found and defeated; we will win this struggle. Not for glory, nor wealth, nor power, but for justice, for freedom, and for peace; so help us God. (Tom Harkin)

We must all hang together, or, assuredly, we shall all hang separately. (Benjamin Franklin, at the signing of the Declaration of Independence)

America and England: and may they never have any division but the Atlantic between them. (Charles Dickens)

As for those that carried out these attacks there are no adequate words of condemnation. Their barbarism will stand as their shame for all eternity. (British Prime Minister Tony Blair, on 9-11)

Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe, to assure the survival and success of liberty. (John F. Kennedy)

America - half-brother of the world! - with something good and bad of every land. (Philip Bayley)

Being in politics is like being a football coach; you have to be smart enough to understand the game, and dumb enough to think it's important. (Eugene McCarthy)

Mankind must put an end to war, or war will put an end to mankind. (John Fitzgerald Kennedy)

Ninety-eight percent of the adults in this country are decent, hard-working, honest Americans. It's the other lousy two percent that gets all the publicity. But then, we elected them. (Lily Tomlin)

Democracy does not guarantee equality of conditions - it only guarantees equality of opportunity. (Irving Kristol)

The worst thing in this world, next to anarchy, is government. (Henry Ward Beecher)

Many forms of Government have been tried, and will be tried in this world of sin and woe. No one pretends that democracy is perfect or all-wise. Indeed, it has been said that democracy is the worst form of Government except all those others that have been tried from time to time. (Sir Winston Churchill)

No man is good enough to govern another man without that other's consent. (Abraham Lincoln)

When government accepts responsibility for people, then people no longer take responsibility for themselves. (George Pataki)

We, therefore, here in Britain, stand shoulder to shoulder with our American friends in this hour of tragedy, and we, like them, will not rest until this evil is driven from our world (Tony Blair)

The more we sweat in peace the less we bleed in war. (Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit)

Politicians and diapers have one thing in common. They should both be changed regularly, and for the same reason.

Being President is like running a cemetary; you've got a lot of people under you, and nobody's listening. (Bill Clinton)

We have a presidential election coming up. And I think the big problem, of course, it that someone will win. (Barry Crimmins)

In politics, if you want anything said, ask a man. If you want anything done, ask a woman. (Margaret Thatcher)

We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. (Thomas Jefferson, US Declaration of Independence)

Democratic nations must try to find ways to starve the terrorist and the hijacker of the oxygen of publicity on which they depend. (Margaret Thatcher)

If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor. If an elephant has its foot on the tail of a mouse and you say that you are neutral, the mouse will not appreciate your neutrality. (Bishop Desmond Tutu)

Patriotism is not short, frenzied outbursts of emotion, but the tranquil and steady dedication of a lifetime. (Adlai E. Stevenson)

Any American who is prepared to run for president should automatically, by definition, be disqualified from ever doing so. (Gore Vidal)

The real differences around the world today are not between Jews and Arabs; Protestants and Catholics; Muslims, Croats, and Serbs. The differences are between those who embrace peace and those who would destroy it; between those who look to the future and those who cling to the past; between those who open their arms and those who are determined to clench their fists. (William J. Clinton)

It isn't enough to talk about peace. One must believe in it. And it isn't enough to believe in it. One must work at it. (Eleanor Roosevelt)

Peace begins with a smile. (Mother Teresa)

Politics, it seems to me, for all too long, has been concerned with right or left instead of right or wrong. (Richard Armour)

Those who stand for nothing fall for anything. (Alexander Hamilton)

Politics, n: Poly "many" + tics "blood-sucking parasites" (Larry Hardiman)

Half of the American people have never read a newspaper. Half never voted for President. One hopes it is the same half. (Gore Vidal)

Voters don't decide issues, they decide who will decide issues. (George F. Will)

You can no more win a war than you can win an earthquake. (Jeannette Rankin)

The trouble with America is that there are far too many wide-open spaces surrounded by teeth. (Charles Luckman)

You can't separate peace from freedom because no one can be at peace unless he has his freedom. (Malcolm X)

One is left with the horrible feeling now that war settles nothing; that to win a war settles nothing; that to win a war is as disastrous as to lose one. (Agatha Christie)

Freedom is not the right to do as you please but the liberty to do as you ought.

The worst thing about history is that every time it repeats itself, the prices go up.

I believe God is deeply saddened by [the events of September 11], just as we are, but for years we've been telling God to get out of our schools, to get out of our government and to get out of our lives. And being the gentleman He is, I believe He has calmly backed out. How can we expect God to give us His blessing and protection if we demand He leave us alone? (Anne Graham, daughter of Billy Graham)

Obey the rulers who have authority over you.... People who oppose the authorities are opposing what God has done.... (Romans 13:1-2)

Koran (9:11) - For it is written that a son of Arabia would awaken a fearsome Eagle. The wrath of the Eagle would be felt throughout the lands of Allah and lo, while some of the people trembled in despair still more rejoiced; for the wrath of the Eagle cleansed the lands of Allah; and there was peace.

To be prepared for war is one of the most effectual means of preserving peace. (George Washington)

One flag, one land, one heart, one hand, one nation, evermore! (O. W. Holmes)

Out where the handclasp's a little stronger,

Out where the smile dwells a little longer,

That's where the West begins.

(Arthur Chapman, "Out Where the West Begins")

I believe it is my duty to my Country to love it; to support its Constitution; to obey its laws; to respect its flag, and to defend it against all enemies. (William Tyler Page)

Whatever makes men good Christians, makes them good citizens. (Daniel Webster)

Government cannot make us equal; it can only recognize, respect, and protect us as equal before the law. (Clarence Thomas)

Americans should select and prefer Christians as their rulers. (John Jay, the first Supreme Court Justice)

The man who trades freedom for security does not deserve, nor will he ever receive, either. (Benjamin Franklin)

That government is best which governs least. (Henry David Thoreau)

Patriotism is when love of your own people comes first; nationalism, when hate for people other than your own comes first. (Charles de Gaulle)

Elections are won by men and women chiefly because most people vote against somebody rather than for somebody. (Franklin P. Adams)

When a dog barks at the the moon, then it is religion; but when he barks at strangers, it is patriotism! (David Starr Jordan)

The strength of a nation derives from the integrity of the the home. (Confucious)

Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains or slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take but as for me; give me liberty or give me death! (Patrick Henry)

Patriotism is in political life what faith is in religion. (John Dalberg Acton)

A visitor from the Netherlands was chatting with his American friend and was jokingly explaining about the red, white and blue in the Netherlands flag. "Our flag symbolizes our taxes," he said. "We get red when we talk about them, white when we get our tax bill, and blue after we pay them." "That's the same with us," the American said, "only we see stars, too."

God bless America. Let's not forget that her greatness is not in her intellectualism, technology, or natural resources, but in her people. (Andy Horner, founder of Premier Designs)

It cannot be emphasized too strongly or too often that this great nation was founded not by religionists but by Christians, not on religions but on the Gospel of Jesus Christ. (Patrick Henry)

When you're born you get a ticket to the freak show. When you're born in America, you get a front row seat. (George Carlin)

It's not the voting that's democracy, it's the counting. (Tom Stoppard)

If the Government is big enough to give you everything you want, it is big enough to take away everything you have. (Gerald Ford)

War makes rattling good history; but Peace is poor reading. (Thomas Hardy)

You can't separate peace from freedom because no one can be at peace unless he has freedom. (Malcolm X)

*Qui desiderat pacem, praeparet bellum.*
Let him who desires peace, prepare for war.
(Vegetius)

A statesman is a politician who places himself at the service of the nation. A politician is a statesman who places the nation at his service. (Georges Pompidou)