And on the pedestal these words appear: 
"My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings: 
Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!" 
Nothing beside remains. Round the decay 
Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare 
The lone and level sands stretch far away. 
  -- Percy Bysshe Shelley 

***

...the intellect, divine as it is, and all worshipful, has a habit of
lodging in the most seedy of carcases, and often, alas, acts the
cannibal among the other faculties so that often, where the Mind is
biggest, the Heart, the Senses, Magnanimity, Charity, Tolerance,
Kindliness, and the rest of them scarcely have room to breath.
  -- Virginia Woolf, Orlando

***

Science comforting man's animal poverty
and leisuring his toil, hath humanized manners
and social temper, and now above her globe-spredd net
of speeded intercourse hath outrun all magic,
and disclosing the secrecy of the reticent air
hath woven a web of invisible strands
spiriting the dumb inane with the quick matter of life...
  -- Robert Bridges, Testament of Beauty (1930) Book I, ll.722-8

***

100 Ways to Be Happy and Feel Good...
  
  1. Never put yourself last.
  2. When you extend a helping hand to one person, be careful not to
     kick someone else in the teeth.
  3. Always own a pair of old, faded jeans.
  4. Count your blessings every day.
  5. Acknowledge your successes along with your downfalls.
  6. Burn the candle that has been in storage for the last two years.
  7. Strive for progress, not perfection.
  8. Remember, the voice telling you that you cannot do something is
     always lying.
  9. At least once a day sit and do nothing.
 10. Don't close your heart so tightly against life's pain that you
     shut out life's  blessings.
 11. Celebrate all your birthdays no matter how old you get.
 12. Examine your life for limitations and ask yourself why you put
     them there.
 13. Plant a tree, pull weeds, or get your hands dirty.
 14. Diminish your wants instead of increasing your needs.
 15. Cry when you feel like it.
 16. Rejoice in other people's triumphs.
 17. Don't wait for someone else to laugh or express joy.
 18. Forgive yourself for any mistake you make, no matter how big or small.
 19. Keep good company.
 20. Never take a pill for a pain you need to feel.
 21. Use your enthusiasm to put yourself in forward gear and give
     yourself a spark to move ahead.
 22. Look in the eyes of the ones you love when you are talking to them.
 23. Remember that one is a whole number.
 24. Walk in a rain shower without an umbrella.
 25. Do a kind deed for someone else.
 26. Keep your eyes and ears open to get the messages you need from
     people and events in your daily life.
 27. Be patient.
 28. Eat something green.
 29. Change what you can and leave the rest alone.
 30. Walk hand and hand with truth.
 31. Make laughter and joy a greater part of your life than anger and grief.
 32. Embrace solitude instead of running from it.
 33. Be zealous, not jealous.
 34. Forgive anyone you've been holding a grudge against.
 35. Slow down and enjoy the present.
 36. Walk in others' shoes before judging them.
 37. Send yourself a kind message.
 38. Remind yourself that the company you keep is a reflection of
     what you think of yourself.
 39. Go on a picnic.
 40. Accept your fears, no matter how crazy they seem.
 41. Don't let other people's opinions shape who you are.
 42. Say a prayer.
 43. Never attribute your accomplishments to luck or chance.
 44. Know when to say no.
 45. Look at the positive side of negative situations.
 46. Remember that you are a spiritual being in a physical body.
 47. Avoid seeking out other people for constant approval, because it
     makes them the master and you the slave.
 48. Go fly a kite.
 49. Watch South Park or The Simpsons or Seinfeld.
 50. Accept the things you cannot change.
 51. Look inside instead of outside yourself for answers to life's problems.
 52. Remember that all feelings are okay.
 53. Shield yourself from bad influences.
 54. Stand up for what you believe in.
 55. Respect the wishes of others when they say no.
 56. Seize every moment and live it fully.
 57. Give away or sell anything you haven't used in the past five years.
 58. Never downgrade yourself.
 59. Take responsibility for what you think, feel, and do.
 60. Pamper yourself.
 61. Never say or do anything abusive to a child.
 62. Eat spicy food before going to bed.
 63. Volunteer to help someone in need.
 64. Refrain from overindulging in drink, work, and relationships.
 65. Finish unfinished business.
 66. Be spontaneous.
 67. Find a constructive outlet for your anger.
 68. Think about abundance instead of lack, because whatever you
     think about expands.
 69. Think of yourself as a survivor, not a victim.
 70. Cuddle an animal.
 71. Be open to life.
 72. See success as something you already have, not something you
     must attain.
 73. Experience the splendor and awe of a sunset.
 74. When you score a base hit, don't wish it were a home run.
 75. Learn to be in the present moment.
 76. Instead of believing in miracles, depend on them.
 77. Take a child to the circus.
 78. Change your attitude and your whole life will change.
 79. Never turn your power over to another person.
 80. When your heart is at odds with your head, follow your heart.
 81. Always remember that the past is gone forever and the future
     never comes.
 82. Live your life according to what is right for you.
 83. Acknowledge your imperfections.
 84. Plant a tree and watch it grow.
 85. See "friend" instead of "enemy" on the face of strangers.
 86. Watch an army of ants build their houses and cities and carry
     food ten times their weight.
 87. Believe in something bigger than yourself.
 88. Let the playful child within you come out.
 89. Make haste slowly.
 90. Work through your problems step by step and one day at a time.
 91. Success is a journey, not a destination.
 92. Sit on the lawn without worrying about grass stains.
 93. Don't condemn yourself for your imperfections.
 94. Do a humility check periodically by loving the truth about yourself.
 95. Tell someone you appreciate them.
 96. Never live your life according to what is right for someone else.
 97. Admit your wrongdoing and forgive yourself for it.
 98. Thrive on inner peace instead of on crises.
 99. Affirm all the good things about yourself.
100. Talk less and listen more.

***

Mark Crispin Miller (New York University, US), makes the following
points: 1) Seven media giants control the diversity of television:
Tele-Communications Inc., Time-Warner, Disney, Rupert Murdoch's News
Corporation, General Electric, Viacom, and CBS. 2) Whereas 20 years ago
TV production was the work of many non-affiliated entities, today
approximately 90 per cent of what is seen on the 6 networks during prime
time belongs to General Electric, Time-Warner, Disney, News Corporation,
Viacom, CBS, Sony, and Universal. 3) Miller predicts that in the future
"our entertainment will become at once more violent and more boring,
with all the hits of yesteryear, or yesterday, recycled, only now with
desperate crudity: lots of skin and rape and torture -- anything to keep
the audience from moving on or passing out." Miller proposes "radical
reform: to free the media through new antitrust laws, a stringent public
service code, and ample public funding (based on corporate revenues) of
a national and local broadcast system that would really serve the
people." Miller does not address the question of who will decide what
will "really serve the people", or the larger question of whether any
such decision can ever be made without the wielding of dangerous
political power by a self- consecrated elite.  QY: Mark Crispin Miller,
New York University 212-998-4500 (The Nation 8 Jun 98) (The Monday
Review 15 Jun 98)

***

Cats in Physics

1 - Law of Cat Inertia
    A cat at rest will tend to remain at rest, unless acted upon
    by some outside force - such as the opening of cat food, or a
    nearby scurrying mouse.

2 - Law of Cat Motion
    A cat will move in a straight line, unless there is a really
    good reason to change direction.

3 - Law of Cat Magnetism
    All blue blazers and black sweaters attract cat hair in
    direct proportion to the darkness of the fabric.

4 - Law of Cat Thermodynamics
    Heat flows from a warmer to a cooler body, except in the case
    of a cat, in which case all heat flows to the cat.

5 - Law of Cat Stretching
    A cat will stretch to a distance proportional to the length
    of the nap just taken.

6 - Law of Cat Sleeping
    All cats must sleep with people whenever possible, in a
    position as uncomfortable for the people involved as is
    possible for the cat.

7 - Law of Cat Elongation
    A cat can make her body long enough to reach just about any
    counter top that has anything remotely interesting on it. 

8 - Law of Cat Acceleration
    A cat will accelerate at a constant rate, until he gets good
    and ready to stop.

9 - Law of Dinner Table Attendance
    Cats must attend all meals when anything good is served. 

10 - Law of Rug Configuration
     No rug may remain in its naturally flat state for very long.

11 - Law of Obedience Resistance
     A cat's resistance varies in proportion to a human's 
     desire for her to do something.

12 - First Law of Energy Conservation
     Cats know that energy can neither be created nor destroyed
     and will, therefore, use as little energy as possible.

13 - Second Law of Energy Conservation
     Cats also know that energy can only be stored by a lot of
     napping.

14 - Law of Refrigerator Observation
     If a cat watches a refrigerator long enough, someone will
     come along and take out something good to eat.

15 - Law of Electric Blanket Attraction
     Turn on an electric blanket and a cat will jump into bed at
     the speed of light.

16 - Law of Random Comfort Seeking
     A cat will always seek, and usually take over, the most
     comfortable spot in any given room.

17 - Law of Bag / Box Occupancy
     All bags and boxes in a given room must contain a cat within
     the earliest possible nanosecond.

18 - Law of Cat Embarrassment
     A cat's irritation rises in direct proportion to her 
     embarrassment times the amount of human laughter.

19 - Law of Milk Consumption
     A cat will drink his weight in milk, squared, just to show
     you he can.

20 - Law of Furniture Replacement
     A cat's desire to scratch furniture is directly proportional
     to the cost of the furniture.

21 - Law of Cat Landing
     A cat will always land in the softest place possible. 

22 - Law of Fluid Displacement
     A cat immersed in milk will displace her own volume, minus
     the amount of milk consumed.

23 - Law of Cat Disinterest
     A cat's interest level will vary in inverse proportion to
     the amount of effort a human expends in trying to interest
     him. 

24 - Law of Pill Rejection
     Any pill given to a cat has the potential energy to reach
     escape velocity.

25 - Law of Cat Composition
     A cat is composed of Matter + Anti-Matter + It Doesn't
     Matter. 

You can see me cyber cats at http://www.joker.org/cat/

***

These are taken from resumes and cover letters that were printed in the
July 21, 1997 issue of Fortune Magazine: The spelling is exactly the way
it appeared in the magazine. 

1) "I demand a salary commiserate with my extensive experience." 

2) "I have lurnt Word Perfect 6.0 computor and spreadsheet progroms." 

3) "Received a plague for Salesperson of the Year." 

4) "Reason for leaving last job: maturity leave." 

5) "Wholly responsible for two (2) failed financial institutions." 

6) "Failed bar exam with relatively high grades." 

7) "It's best for employers that I not work with people." 

8) "Let's meet, so you can 'ooh' and 'aah' over my experience." 

9) "You will want me to be Head Honcho in no time." 

10) "Am a perfectionist and rarely if if ever forget details." 

11) "I was working for my mom until she decided to move." 

12) "Marital status: single. Unmarried. Unengaged. Uninvolved. No
commitments." 

13) "I have an excellent track record, although I am not a horse." 

14) "I am loyal to my employer at all costs...Please feel free to
respond to my resume on
my office voice mail." 

15) "I have become completely paranoid, trusting completely no one and
absolutely
nothing." 

16) "My goal is to be a meteorologist. But since I possess no training
in meterology, I suppose I should try stock brokerage." 

17) "I procrastinate, especially when the task is unpleasant." 

18) "As indicted, I have over five years of analyzing investments." 

19) "Personal interests: donating blood. Fourteen gallons so far." 

20) "Instrumental in ruining entire operation for a Midwest chain
store." 

21) "Note: Please don't miscontrue my 14 jobs as 'job-hopping'. I have
never quit a job." 

22) "Marital status: often. Children: various." 

23) "Reason for leaving last job: They insisted that all employees let
to work by 8:45 a.m.
every morning. Could not work under those conditions." 

24) "The company made me a scapegoat, just like my three previous
employers." 

25) "Finished eighth in my class of ten." 

26) "References: None. I've left a path of destruction behind me."

.... and what better accompaniment for quotes from real resumes than
quotes from actual
performance evaluations: 

1) "Since my last report, this employee has reached rock bottom and has
started to dig." 

2) "His men would follow him anywhere, but only out of morbid
curiosity." 

3) "I would not allow this employee to breed." 

4) "This associate is really not so much of a has-been, but more of a
definitely won't be." 

5) "Works well when under constant supervision and cornered like a rat
in a trap." 

6) "When she opens her mouth, it seems that this is only to change
whichever foot was
previously in there." 

7) "He would be out of his depth in a parking lot puddle." 

8) "This young lady has delusions of adequacy." 

9) "He sets low personal standards and then consistently fails to
achieve them." 

10) "This employee should go far - and the sooner he starts, the
better." 

11) "This employee is depriving a village somewhere of an idiot."

***