Quotations Weblog

I read the Ward-O-Matic every day. I found Ward’s website when he did a review of why Polar Express is so creepy, but his excellent writing and casual demeanor has kept me reading every day. Somehow, I missed this entry last March, but he linked to it.

• The Ward-O-Matic: The Subconscious Art of Graffiti Removal

In this entry, he comments on a DVD that he watched that playfully entertained the idea that the city workers that cover graffiti are actually artists on par with Rothko and Malevich. After looking at some of Ward’s photography of graffiti removal, suddenly the world is filled with unknowing artists everywhere.

These are my favorites:

I love this photo. Paint, graffiti, and everything else that man can do cannot win against rust. Rust trumps all.

When I first saw this picture, I read the sign as saying, “Anger High Voltage” and nodded my head gravely. “Yes,” I said to myself, “Anger IS a high voltage.”

Last week I linked to American Book Review’s list of 100 best first lines from novels. While I’m not fond of (or even familiar with) all of the books listed, they do have some excellent examples of first lines.

Then again, the first line from Edward Bulwer-Lytton’s Paul Clifford also made the list:

Yes, this is the same “It was a dark and stormy night” that inspired Snoopy’s many attempts at writing the great American novel. It also inspired the Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest, in which contestants try to write the worst possible opening sentence to an imaginary novel.

The contest is held yearly, and the deadline is usually April 15th. If you have the stomach for it, you can read last year’s winning entries or the entire list of grand prize winners. My favorite was this one from 1986.

The Utah Museum of Fine Art has an exhibit right now called, Frida Kahlo through the Lens of Nickolas Muray. For the story of Nickolas Muray and Frida Kahlo, see our art museum review on Starling Travel:

• Starling Travel » Frida Kahlo through the Lens of Nickolas Muray Exhibit

Because of their torrid love affair, we have many of Frida’s writings in the form of letters to Nickolas. If he had loved her less, we might have lost the thoughts that she wrote so long ago. As I walked through the exhibit, I was more drawn to her letters to Nickolas than his photographs of her. It was obvious that she “dressed up” for his photographs, but those letters were her heart open to him with raw honesty.

Click here for a detailed biography of Frida Kahlo:

• Frida Kahlo – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

For all of Frida Kahlo’s quotations, click here:

• Frida Kahlo Quotes – The Quotations Page

American Book Review has published their list of 100 best first lines from novels. There’s something about a good first line–if it’s done right, it draws you into the novel, setting the scene and giving you an idea of what to expect from the rest of the book. Some of them, like my favorite from Anna Karenina above, do that amazingly well in a short sentence or two. Here are a few more:

• See the complete list at American Book Review

I laughed out loud when I saw this comic for Groundhog Day this year. It’s probably the most up-to-date Groundhog Day comic ever!

• The Joy of Tech – Groundhog Day

Here are my favorite Groundhog Day Quotations: