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POPSHow to Write Aphorisms Delacroix, Eugene (France, 1798-1863) To be a poet at twenty is to be twenty; to be a poet at forty is to be a poet. According to James Geary, editor of the compendium Geary's Guide to the World's Great Aphorists , a truely memorable, quotable aphorism satisfies five laws: It must be brief. It must be definitive. It must be personal — that's the difference between an aphorism and a proverb. It must be philosophical — that's the difference between an aphorism and a platitude, which is not philosophical.... And the fifth law is it must have a twist. And that can be either a linguistic twist or a psychological twist or even a twist in logic that somehow flips the reader into a totally unexpected place. Now you know, so get to work! :)
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POPSWinter in Siberia Photos from a trip across Siberia in January 2006, when the average temperature was -60F. Just thinking of this numbing cold makes my bones ache, but the photos are lovely. Grab a cup of your favorite warm beverage and take a look at these photos of winter in Siberia.
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POPSDarvaz, Uzbekistan: The Door to Hell I couldn't find much more on this. One blog entry I read from someone who'd been to Darvaz: "Used to be a mining town, then there was an ENORMOUS gas explosion (the crater is more than 30 metres across and almost twice as deep) so the Soviets pulled out. Now there are just people living in houses in the shadow of rusting industrial equipment and Soviet vehicles with no tyres. And the wind blows....." The blog entry: http://www.h4ppy.com/blog/archives/2002_09_01_h4ppy.html
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POPSMore (Really) Stunning Desktop Wallpapers Smashing Magazine presents more (really) stunning desktop wallpapers related to typography, photography, illustrations, HDR as well as some abstract and fantasy-related wallpapers. All can be downloaded for free.
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POPSState of the world as we end 2007 This is an incredibly powerful paragraph. I wonder if when George Bush looks at the cover of Time Magazine and stares into the eyes of Vladimir Putin, he still says, "ah, those trusting eyes of Vlad." The U.S. is getting completely outplayed at the chess table and its leaders don't have a clue.
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POPSSomething "Definitely Unidentified" Crashes In Canada Ha!! This reminds me of War of the Worlds, but I do have a very vivid imagination. *LOL* Is it just me, or does there seem to be a rise in UFO reports as of late? I've read rumours on the net that governments around the world may be getting reading for some grand "disclosure" of some kind and it's claimed esp Mexico are pushing for it. Britain has just released their X-files too and was it France? Russia is opening up too. Anyway... I think it's all pretty funky. My clip prior to this one reports something shiny has been seen crashing in Kazakhstan too and {{kkcapricorn}} has a clip about groups of strange lights being reported over Britain and the US over New Year's. Any connection, I wonder? Where's Mulder when you need him?? :)
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POPSNightmare Playgrounds LOL this is the biggest creep-fest I've ever seen. Parents, would you let your kids play on this stuff? How depressing is this stuff?
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POPSTolstoy & Gandhi: Two Giants Bound By Pacifism
Enlightening account of the relationship between Tolstoy & Gandhi "In South Africa, Tolstoy's writings landed on the desk of a young Indian dissident, Mahatma Gandhi. He was overwhelmed, declaring that after reading Tolstoy his "lack of faith in non-violence vanished." He hung a picture of Tolstoy on his office wall and named the camp where he trained activists in peaceful resistance Tolstoy Farm. Gandhi wrote five letters to Leo Tolstoy and received four in return, all glowing with praise and intellectual exchange. In his last letter, written in September 1910 only weeks before his death, Tolstoy told Gandhi that his activity was "the most central and important of all the work now being done in the world." Years later, Gandhi repaid the compliment, writing that he knew of no one "in India or anywhere else who has had as profound an understanding of nonviolence as Tolstoy had." Tolstoy had inspired Gandhi's legendary instruction to "be the change you want to see in the worl
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POPSRussian Stone Idols of Komi The seven "stone idols" in the upper part of the river Pechora stand alone on a wide plateau. An interesting formation considering the surrounding landscape: The writer for englishrussia.com believes they were man-made. http://englishrussia.com/?p=1911 I think they appear to be formed by nature, but the location is odd. amgumen if you see this, any ideas?
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POPS7 Terrible Abuses Suffered By Women Around The World Barbaric - we have no right to call ourselves developed nations of the 21st century until such scourges are removed from the face of this earth forever and those guilty of these heinous crimes are severely punished. I ask what 'honor' do people speak of when they treat women so degradingly?!
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POPSHoly Warriers Set Sights on Iran Check out some of our fellow clipper's comments: "Willhelm, there is no stopping this war. The players are all falling into place. At least we know how it will end." "i agree this could be the final piece to the beginning of armagaddon" "but in the book of revelation and some other books in the new and old testament percieve the bear of the North or the great bear as Russia! Russia is in no way to be taken lightly."
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POPS30 Excellent Websites for Adventurous Urban Explorers urbex forums, defunct amusement parks, abandonments, sunken ships, photos and more.... From the page: "Ever wonder what is inside that dark tunnel or deserted structure you pass on your way to work every day? There are a vast number of spooky and surreal abandoned buildings that populate even the densest countries, states and cities. Organized into helpful categories here are thirty must-bookmark resources for would-be urban explorers around the world. In addition to those listed below (right-click on the screenshots to jump), sites like DarkRoastedBlend and LookAtThis have entire categories dedicated to abandoned places and vehicles also worth exploring."
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POPSAnd she's not talking about Bush... Either she hasn't been giving this advice to her own boss or he hasn't been listening. In this case, she's referring to Russia and the concentration of power in the Kremlin.
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POPSREALITY CHECK! There is a frightening new global trend of denial... Europeans think that they don't need to limit fishing... Car companies don't think they need to improve fuel economy standards... Bush thinks he can increase spending and cut taxes at the same time... Jingoists think we are winning the war in Iraq... Democrats think Hillary Clinton has enough experience to win an election... Polluters think that Global Warming won't really happen... Evangelicals think Jesus is coming back soon... Fundamentalists think they can win the war against modernity... The truth is: we're stuck with this world. The rules DO apply. No free passes. You have to face the music sometime. We must choose realism over comfortable delusion. Unfortunately, for now, wistful thinking will rule the day until we let it all collapse around us. Then we'll stand there scratching our heads saying: How could this happen?