Famous Tombstone Inscriptions

Gravestone epigraphs of famous people

I am Providence 

Howard Phillips Lovecraft
(Swan Point Cemetery; Providence, Rhode Island)

ΚΑΤΑ ΤΟΝ ΔΑΙΜΟΝΑ ΕΑΥΤΟΥ (greek)

Jim Morrison
(Pere Lachaise Cemetery;Paris, France)
{in translation: True to his own spirit.}


Quoth the Raven,
"Nevermore."
Edgar Allan Poe
(Westminster Presbyterian Cemetery; Baltimore, Maryland)

And alien tears will fill for him
Pity's long-broken urn,
For his mourners will be outcast men,
And outcasts always mourn.
Oscar Wilde
(Pere Lachais; Paris, France)


Against you I will fling myself,
unvanquished and unyielding, O Death!
Virginia Woolf
(Monk's House, Rodmell, Sussex, England)


Cast a cold eye
On life, on death
Horseman, pass by!
William Butler Yeats
(Drumcliffe Cemetery; County Sligo, Ireland)


Steel True, Blade Straight
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
(Windlesham Estate; Crowborough, Sussex, England)
[In 1955 the bodies of Conan Doyle and his wife, were moved to a grave at Minstead Churchyard, Hampshire.]

Called Back
Emily Dickinson
(West Cemetery; Amherst, Massachusetts)
{self written}


I had A Lover's Quarrel With The World
Robert Lee Frost
(Old Bennington Cemetery, Bennington, Vermont)


Even amidst fierce flames the golden lotus can be planted.
Sylvia Plath Hughes
(Heptonstall Churchyard;Heponstall; Yorkshire, United Kingdom)


I am Providence
Howard Phillips Lovecraft
(Swan Point Cemetery; Providence, Rhode Island)


Because we don't know when we will die, we get to think of life as an inexhaustible well. And yet everything happens only a certain number of times, and a very small number really. How many more times will you remember a certain afternoon of your childhood, an afternoon that is so deeply a part of your being that you can't even conceive of your life

without it? Perhaps four, or five times more? Perhaps not even that. How many more times will you watch the full moon rise? Perhaps twenty. And yet it all seems limitless...
Brandon Lee
(Lake View Cemetery, Seattle, Washington)

10 Things House MD Taught Us

Life Lessons by House MD

There are some series, just like some books or films, that are rare to find and most most precious. This is because, when you find them and if you are able to get into equal frequency, they change your worldview forever. So, series can be instructive other than fun. Let's see only some of the life lessons we learned from House MD.

10 Things House MD Taught Us

1. Everybody lies.
2. Everybody dies.
3. You can't save everyone.
4. The truth begins in lies.
5. Observing is more efficient than asking.
6. You won't always be praised for your work.
7. Life is not fair-get used to it!
8. If you find your boss strict and unfair, maybe a good look of the real world will change your mind.
9. It is not easy to pretend that there is no elephant in the room.
10. You should know thy self and feel comfortable about it, because no one cares if they mess with your self-esteem.

PS: As I said, these are only some of the lessons we learned from House. More of them in a following post...

To be continued...

Lilian White

The Dresden Files: An Introduction

Book Series by Jim Butcher

Diaries of a fan

Every time I get the chance to recommend a book to someone, it is almost impossible not to talk about The Dresden Files. And since this is a personal blog, I will tell you the story from my own perspective. I think it was about 2008 when I won the first Dresden Files book, Storm Front, in a draw on the radio. Back then, I didn't even know the existence of the book series or the author. I later learnt that the book I won was the first of a series. I have to tell you that I read the whole book in one breath. I liked it so much that I got the second and the third book and I still keep going till I finish all the books in the series. I just can't stop telling everyone about The Dresden Files! I think that I would do a very good job if Butcher hired me to promote his books! -laughs

A connoisseur's guide

The Dresden Files is a book series by the American author named Jim Butcher. The series consists of 14 books with a 15th book being expected to come out in May 2014.

It is about a wizard, Harry Dresden, who lives in Chicago in our contemporary era. Harry runs an office where people come asking for his services as a wizard. He also assists the Chicago PD Special Investigation as a consultant when there is a case of paranormal nature. In his world they exist all kinds of supernatural entities, like demons, werewolves, spirits, ghosts, ghouls, fairies, vampires and many other monster-like creatures, thus making the book suitable for every taste.

I personally think that Jim Butcher has his own, unique style of writing and very cleverly combines action with fantasy, seriousness, emotion and sarcastic humour. He created a character that reminds us a bit of a superhero like Batman and a bit of the guy next door. He made us believe that Harry is always out there, almost being killed by magic.

How the first book was written:

Jim Butcher was taking a writing class in 1996 and started writing the Storm Front book under the supervision of his teacher, Deborah Chester.

"When I finally got tired of arguing with her and decided to write a novel as if I was some kind of formulaic, genre writing drone, just to prove to her how awful it would be, I wrote the first book of the Dresden Files."

— Jim Butcher in "A Conversation With Jim Butcher", 2004

Since the first publication in 2000, the series became a great success and have won many awards and prizes. Apart from the paperbacks and the hardcovers, there have also come out many short stories, several graphic novels and an RPG (role playing game) all based on the Dresden Files. In addition, "The Dresden Files was adapted to television in 2007 by the Sci-Fi Channel, and was cancelled after one season" (Wikipedia).

The Dresden Files books

1. Storm Front
2. Fool Moon
3. Grave Peril
4. Summer Knight
5. Death Masks
6. Blood Rites
7. Dead Beat
8. Proven Guilty
9. White Night
10. Small Favor
11. Turn Coat
12. Changes
13. Ghost Story
14. Cold Days
15. Skin Game

Useful Links

You can read about the author on Wikipedia and also on his website.

Here are all the books in the series.

References

"The Dresden Files" Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. 18 Jan 2014. Web. 20 Jan 2014.

McCune, Alisa (2004). "A Conversation With Jim Butcher". The SF Site. Retrieved 2008-02-04.web.

The story behind Jack-o'-lanterns

A folklore tale of Halloween

The origins of the jack-o'-lantern

Jack-o'-lanterns are made by carving and giving shape to pumpkins. They are traditionally carried by guisers on All Hallows' Eve in order to frighten evil spirits. But where did they come from? How did they become associated with Halloween?

There is a popular Irish Christian folktale associated with the jack-o'-lantern, which in lore, is said to represent a "soul who has been denied entry into both heaven and hell":

On route home after a night's drinking, Jack encounters the Devil who tricks him into climbing a tree. A quick-thinking Jack etches the sign of the cross into the bark, thus trapping the Devil. Jack strikes a bargain that Satan can never claim his soul. After a life of sin, drink, and mendacity, Jack is refused entry to heaven when he dies. Keeping his promise, the Devil refuses to let Jack into hell and throws a live coal straight from the fires of hell at him. It was a cold night, so Jack places the coal in a hollowed out turnip to stop it from going out, since which time Jack and his lantern have been roaming looking for a place to rest.

Development of artifacts and symbols associated with Halloween formed over time. The carving of the pumpkin has not been a very old custom and did not associate with All Hallows' Eve until the 19th century. Since Halloween (originally, All Hallows' Eve) is a celebration dedicated to the memory of the dead, saints and believers, jack-o'-lanterns are also in memory of a lost soul and provide us with the haunting atmosphere as needed for that day.

Tale quoted from Wikipedia.

Information by Wikipedia.

Boo!

Lilian W.

Cat books suggestions

The Cat In The Hat

Under the genre of 'Children's literature' is the famous book of Dr. Seuss published in 1957. The title may seem familiar to you, as it has been adapted into a film in 2003 with the actors Mike Myers and Dakota Fanning.

Plot: An anthropomorphic cat shows up on the doorstep of two children rescuing them from boredom and taking them in an amazing daily experience filled with excitement .

Wikipedia about The Cat in the Hat

Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats

According to Wikipedia (forever in debt to you, Wikipedia!), Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats is a collection of whimsical poems by T. S. Eliot about feline psychology and sociology, published by Faber and Faber.

The poems were written during the 1930s and included by Eliot, under his assumed name "Old Possum," in letters to his godchildren. They were collected and published in 1939 with cover illustrations by the author, and quickly re-published in 1940, illustrated in full by Nicolas Bentley. It has also been published in reillustrated versions by Edward Gorey (1982) and Axel Scheffler (2009)

Interesting fact: It has inspired the composer and theatre director Andrew Lloyd Webber to create one of the most popular musicals of all times, Cats.

Wikipedia about Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats

The Black Cat

Horror-lovers of the world unite! This book combines both horror and a cat! It is one of the most famous short stories by the metre of the horror genre, Edgar Allan Poe. It is quite short, so I won't get into details about the plot. Just read it to feel the unique creepy atmosphere that Poe creates in his stories and if you like it, I would advise you to read some more of Poe's best stories, like The Fall of the House of Usher, The Mask of the Red Death, The Cast of Amontillado and don't forget about his superb poems.

Simon's Cat

Once there was a very popular YouTube animated series by Simon Tofield called Simon's Cat. In 2009 the animation made its way into a book owing to the audience's love. The author's inspiration was obviously his four cats, which provide him with dozens of stories to illustrate.

The animation and book presents a man and his relationship to his always-hungry cat. You will find the cat's strategies to get attention hilarious and the cat adorable.

Alice in Wonderland & Through The Looking Glass

Who does not know the famous Cheshire Cat in the book Alice in Wonderland? Most of those who have read the book declare their love for this unique cat. It is there to amaze you and confuse you at the same time with the things he says to Alice, leaving you wonderling whether to consider him mad or the wisest cat of all. I will not say anything more about Alice in Wonderland because I believe that everyone knows about it and every single person must read it at least once in their life.

Cheers!

Lilian White

Chocolate, Chocolate Everywhere..!

Do you dream of swimming in a pool filled with chocolate, too?

From sweet alchemies to chocolate addiction.

Many people on this planet take vows in the name of chocolate and claim that if they could, they would built for themselves a palace made of chocolate. Most of us adore chocolate. It is not random, after all, that the Maya considered chocolate a divine food.

The way I see it is that chocolate is not just a festive food we either consume or give as a gift at Easter or on Valentine's day. It is a very important ingredient of modern gastronomy and, of course, a huge part in our lives. Chocolate is everywhere. From choco bars, to cookies, to literally very sweet decorations and crafts (chocolate houses, bunnies, etc), even to chocolate underwear! But, why all this chocomania? There are so many kinds of addictions in life, but the sweetest of them all is chocolate addiction.

I am sure you have some friends that declare themselves as choco-addicts. So, is it true that chocolate can be addictive? There have been several surveys trying to shed some light on the reasons why chocolate can be considered a sweet drug. Experts say that because chocolate contains sugar and fat, it stimulates the brain, it gives us energy and this makes us feel more active and alive. It also causes a rewarding feeling because of its ingredients (fat and sugar mainly) which gives us pleasure, satisfaction and happiness. This is also true about sugar and fat-based food in general. Have you ever seen a child eating sweets and being unhappy at the same time? No. Therefore, it is natural for people to crave chocolate and its beneficial effects. However, to make the long story short, there is nothing yet that officially points directly at chocolate as an addictive food.

But chocaholics beware! We always ask for more of the things that we derive pleasure from such as food, let alone food that has positive effects in our psychology. Yet, losing control over our balanced diet can lead to health problems, obesity and increasing craving. That last leads also to a kind of addiction. So, I will repeat the big cliché that measure is important in our lives.

PS1: You can find more scientific explanations about choco-addiction here.

PS2: If I have just built up your appetite about chocolate, there are some mouthwatering recipes for you right here and here. Let me know if you eventually cook something delicious!

Lilian W.