Author Charles Wiegand
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charleswiegand.bsky.social
Author Charles Wiegand
@charleswiegand.bsky.social
1K followers 390 following 1.2K posts
Charles wrote "Heartbeats Across Borders" and many short stories, some have been published in many different journals/anthologies as well has his own two collections - "Daydreaming" and "Uncharted Realities". All three of his books are available on Amazon
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charleswiegand.bsky.social
Author Charles Wiegand @charleswiegand.bsky.social · Oct 22
My novel - "Heartbeats Across Borders" www.amazon.com/dp/B0D76PKHTG
My collection of short stories -"Daydreaming" www.amazon.com/dp/B0CNG22W76
My second collection of short stories - Uncharted Realities www.amazon.com/dp/B0D9ZSHXDR
For more info visit: author.wiegand.org
#writerslift #books #reading
My novel - "Heartbeats Across Borders" https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0D76PKHTG My collection of short stories -"Daydreaming" https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CNG22W76 My second collection of short stories - Uncharted Realities https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0D9ZSHXDR For more info visit: https://author.wiegand.org #writerslift #books #reading #publishedauthor #author #coffee #art #love #life
charleswiegand.bsky.social
“I am convinced that what are commonly known as ’the breaks’, good or bad, have fully as much to do with one's success or failure as ability. The break I got in this instance lay in the fact that my employer knew even less about the duties of an expert accountant than I did.”
--Edgar Rice Burroughs
“I am convinced that what are commonly known as ’the breaks’, good or bad, have fully as much to do with one's success or failure as ability. The break I got in this instance lay in the fact that my employer knew even less about the duties of an expert accountant than I did.” --Edgar Rice Burroughs (1875–1950) From "How I Wrote the Tarzan Books" (1929) #writerslift #life #authors #love #art #coffee #diary #write #books #amwriting #quotes #EdgarRiceBurroughs In "How I Wrote the Tarzan Books" (1929), Burroughs describes his early working life before Tarzan. He’s explaining how chance, not mastery, often determines who gets ahead. The “expert accountant” line refers to a job he landed despite not being qualified, because the person hiring him knew even less than he did about what the job actually required. So, Burroughs is saying: I got the job not because I was good, but because the guy in charge didn’t know enough to realize I wasn’t. That’s the “break” he referred to. He’s using that story as a setup for a broader point: success often comes from timing, ignorance above you, and luck, not pure talent. Only later does he go on to writing and Tarzan, where the same principle applies. Editors, publishers, and markets frequently don’t know what will work until after it works. Burroughs didn’t succeed because everyone instantly recognized genius. He succeeded because someone took a chance without fully understanding what they were betting on. So, he’s not insulting his Tarzan publishers’ literacy skills. He’s illustrating a recurring theme: opportunity often opens because nobody in the room fully knows what they’re doing yet. Which has some comfort to it, and is still painfully true.
December 19, 2025 at 6:28 PM
charleswiegand.bsky.social
“If you want to inspire confidence, give plenty of statistics – it does not matter that they should be accurate, or even intelligible, so long as there is enough of them.”
--Lewis Carroll (born Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, 1832–1898)
From “Three Years in a Curatorship, By One Whom It Has Tried” (1886)
“If you want to inspire confidence, give plenty of statistics – it does not matter that they should be accurate, or even intelligible, so long as there is enough of them.” --Lewis Carroll (born Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, 1832–1898) From “Three Years in a Curatorship, By One Whom It Has Tried” (1886) #writerslift #life #authors #love #art #coffee #diary #write #books #amwriting #quotes #LewisCarroll Lewis Carroll wrote this line not as a mathematician showing off numbers, but as a satirist skewering how authority often works. In “Three Years in a Curatorship,” he mocks the habit of using statistics as a performance rather than a tool. Pile on enough figures, he suggests, and people stop asking questions. Accuracy becomes optional. Clarity becomes irrelevant. The numbers themselves become a kind of fog that signals seriousness without delivering understanding. What makes the quote feel uncomfortably modern is how little has changed. Charts, metrics, percentages, and projections are still used to project confidence rather than convey truth. Carroll isn’t arguing against data — he’s warning against its misuse. When numbers are used to impress instead of inform, they stop serving knowledge and start serving power. Over a century later, his joke still lands because people keep falling for it.
December 18, 2025 at 3:37 PM
charleswiegand.bsky.social
“What a swarm of sophists you lot have swirled up!”
--Cratinus (519 BC–422 BC)
From Archilochoi ("The Archilochuses") (c. 448 BC)
The above line is not a direct quote; the source only exists in fragments
#writerslift #life #authors #love #art #coffee #diary #write #books #amwriting #quotes #cratinus
“What a swarm of sophists you lot have swirled up!” --Cratinus (519 BC–422 BC) From Archilochoi ("The Archilochuses") (c. 448 BC) The above line is not a direct quote; the source only exists in fragments #writerslift #life #authors #love #art #coffee #diary #write #books #amwriting #quotes #cratinus The above line is attributed to Cratinus, a 5th-century BC Athenian comic playwright, and survives only in fragments from his largely lost play "Archilochoi." Like much of Old Comedy, it comes to us through later quotations and scholarly reconstruction rather than a complete script. The wording we have is a modern translation capturing the spirit rather than a verbatim ancient line. What makes it endure is the attitude behind it. In Athenian comedy, “sophists” were seen less as wise thinkers and more as argumentative showmen whose cleverness muddied clarity instead of improving it. Cratinus’ jab reflects a cultural anxiety that still feels familiar: when rhetoric multiplies faster than insight, intelligence starts to sound like noise. Even in fragments, ancient comedy knew exactly where to sting.
December 17, 2025 at 3:50 PM
charleswiegand.bsky.social
“Stories of imagination tend to upset those without one.”
--Terence David John "Terry" Pratchett, OBE (1948- 2015)
From Pratchett’s essay “Let There Be Dragons” (1998)

#writerslift #life #authors #love #art #coffee #diary #write #books #amwriting #quotes #terrypratchett
“Stories of imagination tend to upset those without one.” --Terence David John "Terry" Pratchett, OBE (1948- 2015) From Pratchett’s essay “Let There Be Dragons” (1998) #writerslift #life #authors #love #art #coffee #diary #write #books #amwriting #quotes #terrypratchett Terry Pratchett had little patience for people who dismissed fantasy as frivolous or dangerous, and this line cuts straight to the point. In “Let There Be Dragons,” he argues that imagination isn’t escapism or weakness. It’s a mental tool, a way to rehearse ideas, explore consequences, and test moral questions safely. When people react with hostility to imaginative stories, Pratchett suggests it’s not because those stories are harmful, but because they challenge rigid thinking. Imagination unsettles certainty, and that can feel threatening. What makes the quote enduring is how accurately it describes the backlash against creativity itself. Stories that bend reality expose how narrow some worldviews are, and not everyone likes that mirror. Pratchett wasn’t defending dragons and wizards for their own sake. He was defending the human capacity to imagine better worlds, worse worlds, and alternatives to the status quo. If a story upsets someone simply because it imagines differently, that says far more about the reader than the tale.
December 16, 2025 at 3:22 PM
charleswiegand.bsky.social
“Years of love have been forgot,
In the hatred of a minute.”
--Edgar Allan Poe, born Edgar Poe (1809–1849)
From his poem “To M———” (1829)
“Poe’s Complete Poems” edited by Thomas Ollive Mabbott, 1969
#writerslift #life #authors #love #art #coffee #diary #write #books #amwriting #quotes #edgarallanpoe
“Years of love have been forgot, In the hatred of a minute.” --Edgar Allan Poe, born Edgar Poe (1809–1849) From his poem “To M———” (1829) “Poe’s Complete Poems” edited by Thomas Ollive Mabbott, 1969 #writerslift #life #authors #love #art #coffee #diary #write #books #amwriting #quotes #edgarallanpoe Edgar Allan Poe knew heartbreak wasn’t linear. In the poem “To ——,” the above line captures how decades of affection can vanish in a flash of pain, anger, or betrayal. Far from sentimental, Poe’s language is crisp and unsettling: love isn’t erased by time but by intensity. A single moment of emotional violence can overwrite what took years to build, leaving a kind of emotional amnesia rooted not in forgetting but in hurt. That’s what makes this line so haunting yet relatable. We’ve all seen how one argument, one betrayal, or one unbearable word can eclipse years of warmth. Poe wasn’t just dramatizing love; he was pointing to the fragile architecture of human attachment. What took years to nurture can fracture in minutes, not because love was weak but because emotion can be overwhelming. These words remind us that the heart’s memory isn’t tidy; it’s raw, quick to feel, and quick to forget when the pain outweighs the warmth.
December 15, 2025 at 4:27 PM
charleswiegand.bsky.social
“Some day you will be old enough to start reading fairy tales again.”
--C.S. Lewis (1898-1963)
From “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe” Found in the Dedication

#writerslift #life #authors #love #art #coffee #diary #write #books #amwriting #quotes #CSLewis
“Some day you will be old enough to start reading fairy tales again.” --C.S. Lewis (1898-1963) From “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe” Found in the Dedication #writerslift #life #authors #love #art #coffee #diary #write #books #amwriting #quotes #CSLewis C. S. Lewis didn't aim that line at kids. Instead, he spoke right through them - straight toward the grown-up waiting inside. It shows up in the dedication of "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe," where it gently turns a usual belief upside down. You don’t leave fairy tales behind just because you get older. You grow past them since life teaches you to stay sharp, cautious, maybe a bit stiff. Lewis says true grown-up strength means coming back to those things - no shame, no walls, no smirk. Look at it like this - the line feels like a gentle push forward, not a pull backward. Fairy tales tell real things without extra notes: bravery, giving up something big, standing by someone, being scared, holding on. Grown-ups usually brush them off as kid stuff since they cut straight to the core. Lewis figured that when you’ve lived awhile, when you're worn out, you see - simple doesn't mean empty. It means concentrated. Now and then, the tales we really need are the ones that aren’t dressed up or tangled.
December 14, 2025 at 2:53 PM
charleswiegand.bsky.social
“Fear is the foundation of most governments.”
--John Adams (1735-1826)
(2nd President of the USA 1797-1801)
From his essay “Thoughts on Government” (April 1776)

#writerslift #life #authors #love #art #coffee #diary #write #books #amwriting #quotes #JohnAdams
“Fear is the foundation of most governments.” --John Adams (1735-1826) (2nd President of the USA 1797-1801) From his essay “Thoughts on Government” (April 1776) #writerslift #life #authors #love #art #coffee #diary #write #books #amwriting #quotes #JohnAdams John Adams wasn’t just warning people about fear-mongering politicians; he called out fear itself as a base for rule. In "Thoughts on Government" (1776), he wrote that fear may be the foundation of most governments, but that it’s “sordid and brutal,” making those who lead by it stupid and miserable. Adams meant that when power rests on fear rather than shared principles, it corrupts both rulers and ruled. He believed that a republic should rest not on terror, but on virtue, consent, and the better angels of human nature. That idea still hits today. Leaders who govern by stoking anxiety, whether about enemies, crime, or crisis after crisis, trade long-term trust for short-term obedience. Adams’s message isn’t that government can ever be perfect, but that fear is the cheap way out: easy to whip up, hard to build a free, flourishing society on. History shows that governments rooted in fear tend to breed instability, resentment, and resistance. His words were rooted in the revolutionary moment of 1776, but the basic insight applies anywhere people are urged to trade liberty for security.
December 13, 2025 at 2:57 PM
charleswiegand.bsky.social
“He who has never learned to obey cannot be a good commander.”
--Aristotle (384BC-322BC)
From Politics Book 3 (trans. by Benjamin Jowett)

#writerslift #life #authors #love #art #coffee #diary #write #books #amwriting #quotes #Aristotle
“He who has never learned to obey cannot be a good commander.” --Aristotle (384BC-322BC) From Politics Book 3 (trans. by Benjamin Jowett) #writerslift #life #authors #love #art #coffee #diary #write #books #amwriting #quotes #Aristotle Aristotle’s line about obedience and leadership isn’t just pithy; it’s a snapshot of his Politics. For him, leadership wasn’t a title or a badge; it was a craft built on experience. A person who has never taken orders, never walked in another’s shoes, never learned the discipline of following another’s direction lacks the foundation needed to guide others. That’s the core of Aristotle’s insight: obedience is training for judgement, not submission. It teaches humility, teaches how systems work, and shows the limits of one’s own perspective. That foundation makes leaders more effective, not weaker. Today, this resonates beyond ancient Greek city-states. In workplaces, politics, and life, leaders who know how to listen, follow, and learn tend to earn deeper respect and make wiser choices. Command without understanding obedience is like trying to drive without ever having been a passenger, you might get somewhere, but you won’t know why you chose the road you did. Aristotle wasn’t saying obedience is everything, he was saying that great leadership builds on a balance of following and leading.
December 12, 2025 at 2:56 PM
charleswiegand.bsky.social
“Who does the best his circumstance allows
Does well, acts nobly; angels could no more.”
--Edward Young (1683-1765)
From Night Thoughts (1742–1745), "Night II", line 91

#writerslift #life #authors #love #art #coffee #diary #write #books #amwriting #quotes #edwardyoung
“Who does the best his circumstance allows Does well, acts nobly; angels could no more.” --Edward Young (1683-1765) From Night Thoughts (1742–1745), "Night II", line 91 #writerslift #life #authors #love #art #coffee #diary #write #books #amwriting #quotes #edwardyoung This powerful couplet comes from Edward Young's "Night Thoughts" (1742). The full context - "If nothing more than purpose in thy power, Thy purpose firm is equal to the deed: Who does the best his circumstance allows, Does well, acts nobly; angels could no more." The passage is a profound meditation on mortality, time, and virtue that became one of the 18th century's most influential philosophical poems. Young wrote these lines during Night II, "On Time, Death, and Friendship," as part of a broader reflection on human purpose and moral striving. The passage argues that genuine virtue lies not in achieving perfection, but in maximizing one's efforts within given limitations, a radical democratization of nobility that challenges aristocratic notions of worth based on birth or circumstance. Young's message resonates across centuries: true excellence is doing your absolute best with whatever resources, abilities, or situations you've been given. The comparison to angels is particularly striking - even celestial beings, with all their divine powers, could do no better than their utmost. This levels the moral playing field entirely, suggesting that a person of modest means acting nobly within their constraints achieves the same moral height as anyone else doing their best. It's an early articulation of what we might call "moral meritocracy," where effort and intention matter more than outcomes or advantages.
December 11, 2025 at 3:02 PM
charleswiegand.bsky.social
“Imagination is more important than knowledge.
Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world.”
--Albert Einstein (1879-1955)
From a 1929 interview with George Sylvester Viereck, published in The Saturday Evening Post

#life #love #art #coffee #quotes #AlbertEinstein
“Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world.” --Albert Einstein (1879-1955) From a 1929 interview with George Sylvester Viereck, published in The Saturday Evening Post #writerslift #life #authors #love #art #coffee #diary #write #books #amwriting #quotes #AlbertEinstein This quote gets reduced and modified to a feel-good meme far too often, but Einstein wasn’t dismissing knowledge; he was warning against stopping there. Facts are essential, but they only describe what already exists. Imagination is what pushes beyond the known, connects ideas that haven’t been paired yet, and asks questions no textbook contains. For a scientist, that wasn’t poetic fluff; it was practical truth. Without imagination, discovery stalls. You end up memorizing the map instead of venturing beyond its edges. What makes this line endure is how uncomfortable it still feels. We reward expertise, credentials, and certainty, but real progress comes from uncertainty and creative risk. Imagination isn’t the opposite of intelligence; it’s what gives intelligence somewhere new to go. Einstein understood that knowing the rules matters, but daring to imagine what lies outside them is how the world actually moves forward.
December 10, 2025 at 2:45 PM
charleswiegand.bsky.social
“It’s no use going back to yesterday, because I was a different person then.”
--Lewis Carroll (1832-1898)
Chapter 2 of "Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland” (1865)
Spoken by Alice, talking to herself

#writerslift #life #authors #love #art #coffee #diary #write #books #amwriting #quotes #LewisCarroll
“It’s no use going back to yesterday, because I was a different person then.” --Lewis Carroll (1832-1898) Chapter 2 of "Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland” (1865) Spoken by Alice, talking to herself #writerslift #life #authors #love #art #coffee #diary #write #books #amwriting #quotes #LewisCarroll This quote gets shared a lot as a gentle nostalgia line, but it’s sneakier than that. Alice isn’t longing for the past here; she’s rejecting it. She recognizes that trying to return to “yesterday” doesn’t work because yesterday’s self no longer exists. Growth changes the rules. Experience edits the character. Going backward isn’t comforting; it’s pointless. Carroll slips a surprisingly modern insight into a children’s story: identity isn’t fixed, and pretending otherwise just causes confusion, which Alice already has plenty of. Read this way, the quote becomes quietly liberating. You don’t owe loyalty to an older version of yourself. Decisions made then were made by someone with different information, fewer scars, or a smaller view of the world. You can remember the past without trying to live in it. Progress only happens forward, even when forward feels messy, unfamiliar, or uncomfortable. Alice gets it early. Most of us take years longer.
December 9, 2025 at 2:57 PM
charleswiegand.bsky.social
“Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.”
--Misattributed to Winston S. Churchill (1874-1965)
There is no source of him ever saying a quote like the above attributed to him.
“Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.” --Misattributed to Winston S. Churchill (1874-1965) There is no source of him ever saying a quote like the above attributed to him. #writerslift #life #authors #love #art #coffee #diary #write #books #amwriting #quotes #winstonchurchill #misattributions This quote gets passed around the internet wearing Churchill’s name like a borrowed tuxedo. He never owned it, never wore it, and never said it. The line actually traces back to late-1930s advertising copy and later business writing, not wartime speeches or cigar-smoked wisdom. It sounds like Churchill because it’s sharp, confident, and easy to nod along with. That’s usually how these quote memes are born. A good idea plus a famous name equals instant credibility, whether it’s true or not. Still, stripped of the false attribution, the message itself holds up just fine. Success isn’t a finish line, failure isn’t a death sentence, and neither one should freeze you in place. What matters is what you do next. Forward motion beats dwelling every time. So keep the quote if you like it, just don’t drag Churchill into it. The truth stands on its own and, ironically, it’s a little braver that way. Earlier uses of similar lines - 1. 1938 – Budweiser beer advertisement (probable origin) Source: Newspaper ad for Budweiser (Anheuser-Busch), e.g., Trenton Evening Times, Sept. 21, 1938. Wording: “They found contentment in the thrill of action, knowing that success was never final and failure never fatal. It was courage that counted.” 2. 1939 – Budweiser ad in LIFE magazine Source: Budweiser advertisement, LIFE magazine, March 13, 1939. Wording: Essentially the same as the 1938 newspaper ad: “...knowing that success was never final and failure never fatal. It was courage that counted.” 3. 1948 – Forbes magazine, credited to George F. Tilton Source: Forbes, “Thoughts on the Business of Life,” Nov. 1, 1948.
December 8, 2025 at 3:47 PM
charleswiegand.bsky.social
“We are what we pretend to be, so we must be careful about what we pretend to be.”
--Kurt Vonnegut (1922-2000)
From “Mother Night” (1961)

#writerslift #life #authors #love #art #coffee #diary #write #books #amwriting #quotes #kurtvonnegut
No, that line is not saying “pretending makes you authentic.” It’s saying the opposite. If you pretend to be something long enough, you don’t just fool others. You start rewiring yourself. Vonnegut isn’t defending fakes. He’s warning about them. What “pretend” means here (this is the key). He’s not talking about: -playful imagination -fiction -trying on roles -aspirational growth He’s talking about "performative" identity. Acting a role publicly, repeatedly, until it becomes your behavior, your habits, and eventually your moral footprint. Vonnegut’s point is: -If you act superior long enough, you become disconnected. -If you perform expertise long enough, you stop learning. -If you pretend to be wealthy or powerful, you start valuing image over truth. At some point, the pretending isn’t harmless anymore. It becomes identity drift. Such people are, functionally, becoming what they pretend to be: not rich, not experts - but people who live by deception. ☝️
December 7, 2025 at 4:34 PM
charleswiegand.bsky.social
“If you want your children to be intelligent, read them fairy tales. If you want them to be more intelligent, read them more fairy tales.”
―Misattributed to Albert Einstein (1879-1955)
No source has found it in his writings, lectures, or documented interviews
“If you want your children to be intelligent, read them fairy tales. If you want them to be more intelligent, read them more fairy tales.” ―Misattributed to Albert Einstein (1879-1955) No source has found it in his writings, lectures, or documented interviews #writerslift #life #authors #love #art #coffee #diary #write #books #amwriting #quotes #AlbertEinstein #misattributions This line celebrates the idea that stories grow minds. Fairy tales don’t teach formulas or facts; they train imagination - what if? why not? what happens next? That inner flexibility is a huge part of real intelligence: problem-solving, creativity, and the ability to see more than one possibility. It’s also a reminder that “making kids smart” isn’t just about test scores or early academics. Reading fairy tales with children gives them symbols, emotions, and patterns for understanding life. Heroes fail and try again, scary things can be faced, the world is larger than their immediate experience. In that sense, the “more fairy tales” line is really an argument for feeding curiosity and wonder, not just stuffing their heads with information. The above line is widely attributed to Einstein, but no one has found it in his writings, lectures, or documented interviews. The Library of Congress traced the story back to a 1958 article in the New Mexico Library Bulletin, where a librarian relays a second-hand tale: a mother asks Einstein how to raise a future scientist, and he supposedly answers “fairy tales and more fairy tales,” because imagination is essential for science.
December 6, 2025 at 2:11 PM
charleswiegand.bsky.social
“It's the possibility of having a dream come true that makes life interesting.”
―Paulo Coelho (1947- )
From 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝘼𝙡𝙘𝙝𝙚𝙢𝙞𝙨𝙩 (1988)

#writerslift #life #authors #love #art #coffee #diary #write #books #amwriting #quotes #PauloCoelho
“It's the possibility of having a dream come true that makes life interesting.” ―Paulo Coelho (1947- ) From 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝘼𝙡𝙘𝙝𝙚𝙢𝙞𝙨𝙩 (1988) #writerslift #life #authors #love #art #coffee #diary #write #books #amwriting #quotes #PauloCoelho The line captures why dreams matter long before they ever come true. Coelho isn’t just talking about success; he’s talking about possibility, the idea that something you long for could become real, and that “maybe” is what pulls you out of bed in the morning and turns an ordinary life into a story in motion. Without a dream tugging at you from the horizon, the days can blur into routine; with one, even small steps feel charged with meaning. At a deeper level, the quote is a reminder that the journey toward a dream is where life actually happens. You grow, fail, adjust, learn, and meet people you never would’ve met if you’d stayed safely still. The dream itself is important, sure, but it’s the possibility of it, the chase and the change it demands from you, that makes life interesting.
December 5, 2025 at 3:08 PM
charleswiegand.bsky.social
“Anger most hurts the sender.”
--Rajinder Singh (1946- )
From “Echoes of the Divine” (2011)

#writerslift #life #authors #love #art #coffee #diary #write #books #amwriting #quotes #RajinderSingh
“Anger most hurts the sender.” --Rajinder Singh (1946- ) From “Echoes of the Divine” (2011) #writerslift #life #authors #love #art #coffee #diary #write #books #amwriting #quotes #RajinderSingh Anger feels like it’s aimed outward, but this line reminds us it usually hits the one who launches it. When we stew in anger, our body floods with stress, our thoughts narrow, and we say or do things we regret. The “sender” pays in tension, broken relationships, restless sleep, and spiritual turbulence long before the target ever feels the impact. The quote flips the usual fantasy of “getting even” and shows anger as self-harm dressed up as power. At a deeper level, Singh is nudging us toward compassion and self-awareness. If anger mostly wounds the one who carries it, then letting go isn’t weakness, it’s protection. You shift from reacting to responding: pausing, breathing, choosing forgiveness, or at least calm distance instead of combustion. The message for a modern feed: don’t be the one who keeps drinking poison, hoping someone else will get sick. Release the anger; keep the lesson.
December 4, 2025 at 1:58 PM
charleswiegand.bsky.social
“Saying ’We will destroy terrorism’ is about as meaningful as saying: ‘We shall annihilate mockery.’”
--Terence Graham Parry Jones (1942-2020)
From "Why grammar is the first casualty of war" in “The Daily Telegraph” (1 December 2001)

#life #love #coffee #books #amwriting #quotes #terryjones
“Saying ’We will destroy terrorism’ is about as meaningful as saying: ‘We shall annihilate mockery.’” --Terence Graham Parry Jones (1942-2020) From "Why grammar is the first casualty of war" in “The Daily Telegraph” (1 December 2001) #writerslift #life #authors #love #art #coffee #diary #write #books #amwriting #quotes #terryjones Terry Jones is mocking the slogan “we will destroy terrorism” by pointing out how empty it is. You can defeat an army or shut down a group, but “terrorism” is an idea and a tactic, not a physical enemy. Saying you’ll destroy it is like vowing to “annihilate mockery”; it sounds tough, but it’s meaningless. Behind the joke is a serious warning about political speech. Leaders use big, dramatic phrases to make impossible goals sound concrete and winnable. Jones is urging us to listen carefully: when someone promises to wipe out an abstract noun, they’re selling a feeling, not a realistic plan.
December 3, 2025 at 4:15 PM
charleswiegand.bsky.social
“The marks humans leave are too often scars.”
―Attributed to John Green (1977- )
Unverified, possibly from “The Fault in Our Stars” - Possibly a paraphrase

#writerslift #life #authors #love #art #coffee #diary #write #books #amwriting #quotes #johngreen
“The marks humans leave are too often scars.” ―Attributed to John Green (1977- ) Unverified, possibly from “The Fault in Our Stars” - Possibly a paraphrase #writerslift #life #authors #love #art #coffee #diary #write #books #amwriting #quotes #johngreen This line, “The marks humans leave are too often scars.” appears in the character Augustus Waters’ letter to Peter Van Houten near the end of the book, where he’s writing about legacy, being remembered, and the damage people often do while trying to “leave a mark.” The marks humans leave are “too often scars.” Many attempts at greatness, whether political movements, grand projects, or personal ambitions, end up wounding people or the world more than they heal it. It’s a reminder that impact, by itself, isn’t automatically good; it can be damaging, selfish, or destructive, even when it’s dressed up as “legacy.” At the same time, the idea forces us to pause and ask what kind of imprint we’re trying to leave behind. Are we reaching for connection, kindness, or meaning, or just vanity, ego, and noise? Because scars stay long after glory fades. If you choose what you carve into the world, better make it something worth healing for, not something that leaves others bleeding long after you’re gone.
December 2, 2025 at 2:43 PM
charleswiegand.bsky.social
“The books that the world calls immoral are books that show the world its own shame.”
--Oscar Wilde (1854-1900)
"The Picture of Dorian Gray" - 1891 (chapter 19 of the full-novel edition)

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“The books that the world calls immoral are books that show the world its own shame.” --Oscar Wilde (1854-1900) "The Picture of Dorian Gray" - 1891 (chapter 19 of the full-novel edition) #writerslift #life #authors #love #art #coffee #diary #write #books #amwriting #quotes #oscarwilde This line flips the usual condemnation of “immoral books” on its head. Instead of blaming literature for corruption or sin, it argues that when people cry “immorality,” they’re actually recoiling from truths the book exposes - truths about hypocrisy, hidden vices, and societal shame. The books “the world calls immoral” don’t invent vice; they cast a mirror back on the ugly parts of human behavior we’d rather ignore. At its heart, the quote defends art’s vital role: to provoke, to unmask, to challenge. When a book makes you uncomfortable, when it stirs guilt, doubt, or unease, it’s often doing exactly what it should: forcing you to look at yourself, at your society, and at the darkness you’d rather keep hidden. That’s not a crime, it’s clarity.
December 1, 2025 at 2:10 PM
charleswiegand.bsky.social
“When the spirits are low, when the day appears dark, when work becomes monotonous, when hopes seem hardly worth having, just mount a bicycle and go for a good spin down the road, without thought of anything but the ride you are taking.”
--Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle (1859–1930)
“When the spirits are low, when the day appears dark, when work becomes monotonous, when hopes seem hardly worth having, just mount a bicycle and go for a good spin down the road, without thought of anything but the ride you are taking.” --Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle (1859–1930) From “Testimony of an Enthusiast,” section in “What Are the Benefits of Bicycling?”, Demorest’s Family Magazine, Vol. 31, No. 7 (May 1895), p. 383 #writerslift #life #authors #love #art #coffee #diary #write #books #amwriting #quotes #arthurconandoyle The passage captures a simple but deep prescription: when life drags you down, when days feel grim, work becomes a slog, and hope seems threadbare, sometimes what you need most is a break: a literal physical motion that frees your mind by engaging your body. The bicycle becomes a mental reset button, a way to shake off the heaviness, clear your head, and return to life with renewed energy. In its day, this wasn’t just nostalgia; cycling was becoming a rising pastime, and Doyle sees it as an antidote to modern burnout, a democratic pleasure open to many. On a broader level, the quote acts as a subtle celebration of movement and simplicity. It doesn’t call for grand escapes or elaborate distractions, just a ride down the road, with no thoughts but the ride itself. In that sense, it’s a timeless reminder: sometimes, the simplest remedy for a worn-out spirit isn’t therapy or talk, but motion and solitude, letting the wheel turn, letting the wind in your face, and trusting that clarity might catch up on the road. From the Demorest text as reconstructed by Quote Investigator, Doyle’s section runs to about three short paragraphs. First, he gives the famous line about low spirits, dark days, monotonous work, and hopes hardly worth having, and prescribes a bicycle ride with no thought beyond the ride itself. Then he talks about his own habit: as both a physician and a working writer, he uses the bicycle before or after
November 30, 2025 at 3:43 PM
charleswiegand.bsky.social
"Authority poisons everybody who takes authority on himself."
--Attributed to Golda Meir; source unverified,
also frequently misattributed to Vladimir Lenin

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"Authority poisons everybody who takes authority on himself." --Attributed to Golda Meir; source unverified, also frequently misattributed to Vladimir Lenin #writerslift #life #authors #love #art #coffee #diary #write #books #amwriting #quotes #GoldaMeir #VladimirLenin #misattributions This aphorism (with no known, verifiable source) is a blunt warning about what power does to human beings. Instead of treating authority as a neutral tool that decent people can wield safely, it assumes that the very act of taking authority carries a built-in risk of moral toxicity: once you’re in charge, your judgment warps. The quote doesn’t just target tyrants; “everybody who takes authority on himself” covers the entire spectrum - from prime ministers and party bosses to CEOs, generals, and even local petty officials. It suggests that the danger isn’t only in how much power you hold, but in the psychological shift that happens once you step above others and start believing you’re entitled to command. The line also hints at a democratic and almost self-suspicious ethic: if authority is inherently poisonous, then any healthy political culture has to treat leaders with skepticism and build systems that limit, rotate, and scrutinize their power. It pushes back against the myth of the “pure” or “incorruptible” strong leader by assuming that even well-intentioned people are vulnerable once they sit in the big chair. In a century marked by dictatorships, cults of personality, and leaders who slid from idealism into authoritarianism and brutality, the quote reads like a compressed diagnosis of the 21st century: power doesn’t just reveal character; if left unchecked, it corrodes it.
November 29, 2025 at 1:51 PM
charleswiegand.bsky.social
"Straight roads do not make skillful drivers."
—Attributed to Paula Coelho (1947- )
No known source exists

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"Straight roads do not make skillful drivers." —Attributed to Paula Coelho (1947- ) No known source exists #writerslift #life #authors #love #art #coffee #diary #write #books #amwriting #quotes #PauloCoelho #misattributions The above line makes a strong and useful point: easy, smooth paths don’t necessarily build skill. A road without turns, obstacles, or challenges doesn’t test a driver. It doesn’t demand focus, adaptability, judgment, or reaction. In that sense, a straight road may escort you safely, but it won’t train you. The message is universal: growth often comes through difficulty. Whether it’s driving, learning a craft, building resilience, or becoming more capable in life, it’s the bumps, curves, mistakes, and detours that sharpen skill and character. More broadly, the quote can be read as a metaphor for life’s value in struggle. Those who always take the easy route may feel comforted, but they risk staying untested and underprepared when real challenges appear. True growth, in contrast, happens when we get out of smooth zones and navigate the rough, unpredictable parts. It encourages embracing discomfort, confronting difficulty, and welcoming the mistakes and obstacles that force us to learn, adapt, and become more capable.
November 28, 2025 at 4:05 PM
charleswiegand.bsky.social
“Women and cats will do as they please, and men and dogs should relax and get used to the idea.”
―Robert A. Heinlein (1907-1988)
A paraphrase of a line in “Time Enough for Love” (1973)

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“Women and cats will do as they please, and men and dogs should relax and get used to the idea.” ―Robert A. Heinlein (1907-1988) A paraphrase of a line in “Time Enough for Love” (1973) #writerslift #life #authors #love #art #coffee #diary #write #books #amwriting #quotes #RobertHeinlein There is a Heinlein line very close to this in "Time Enough for Love" (1973). In chapter 29, via the character Lazarus Long, he writes: “Women and cats do what they do; there is nothing a man can do about it.” Several paraphrases of this line have been passed around as quotes since the Web came into being. At its core, the quote is a joke about autonomy and acceptance. “Women and cats will do as they please” puts women and cats in the same camp: independent, self-directed, not easily managed, and not particularly interested in asking permission. The second half - “and men and dogs should relax and get used to the idea,” tells the other camp to stop fighting what they can’t control. Instead of trying to impose order on what is inherently free-willed, the line suggests the saner response is to surrender gracefully and enjoy the ride. Underneath the humor, there’s a gentler point about relationships and power. You don’t build harmony by forcing obedience; you build it by respecting other people’s agency. Men and dogs in the quote stand in for those who are more loyal, accommodating, and eager to please; women and cats stand in for those who insist on being fully themselves. The punchline hints that life gets a lot easier, and relationships a lot healthier, when you stop trying to reshape independent beings into something more convenient and instead learn to live with, and even appreciate, their untamable streak.
November 27, 2025 at 2:28 PM
charleswiegand.bsky.social
“I have not failed 10,000 times. I have successfully found 10,000 ways that will not work.”
―Attributed to Thomas A. Edison (1847-1931)
This is an anecdote, not a quote, based on hearsay from many sources.

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“I have not failed 10,000 times. I have successfully found 10,000 ways that will not work.” ―Attributed to Thomas A. Edison (1847-1931) This is an anecdote, not a quote, based on hearsay from many sources. #writerslift #life #authors #love #art #coffee #diary #write #books #amwriting #quotes #ThomasEdison #misattributions Although often presented as one of Thomas Edison’s great inspirational lines, “I have not failed 10,000 times. I have successfully found 10,000 ways that will not work” is best understood as an attributed anecdote, not a verified quotation. No diary entry, interview transcript, laboratory notebook, or published speech contains these exact words. Instead, the line appears to have evolved through decades of retellings - journalists paraphrasing Edison’s outlook, biographers smoothing his phrasing, and motivational writers polishing it into the neat sentence we repeat today. In short, people remember the message, not the wording. Still, the sentiment faithfully represents Edison’s approach to invention. He treated each unsuccessful attempt not as failure but as progress, another step toward finding the solution that worked. In that sense, the anecdote captures something true: innovation is an iterative, messy journey, and perseverance is often more powerful than brilliance. The line may not be Edison’s words, but it reflects the mindset that drove his work, learning from every setback and seeing possibility where others saw defeat.
November 26, 2025 at 2:33 PM
charleswiegand.bsky.social
“Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend. Inside of a dog, it's too dark to read.”
―Misattributed to Groucho Marx (1890-1977)
No Groucho Marx source can be found

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“Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend. Inside of a dog, it's too dark to read.” ―Misattributed to Groucho Marx (1890-1977) No Groucho Marx source can be found #writerslift #life #authors #love #art #coffee #diary #write #books #amwriting #quotes #grouchomarx #misattributions This zinger plays on our assumptions about dogs, books, and companionship. At first, it gives us the comfortable cliché - “a dog is man’s best friend.” Then it does a u-turn: sure, outside of a dog, a book is man’s best friend, but inside a dog, you can’t read because it’s too dark. The joke is a clever twist of language and logic, making you laugh, then think. The literal absurdity amplifies the love of both dogs and books by placing them in a humorous contest of companionship and utility. According to the research done by Quote Investigator, the earliest documented appearances of this joke do not come from Marx. The earliest printed versions date back to 1947–1954, attributed to other sources such as a jockey (Ted Atkinson) and a reader submission to Boys’ Life magazine. The earliest known attribution to Groucho appears only in 1973, long after the quote had circulated widely.
November 25, 2025 at 3:13 PM