Céline on the human race (plus more quotes)

Louis Ferdinand Céline

Louis Ferdinand Céline , 1894-1961, French author, whose real name was Louis Ferdinand Destouches. Céline wrote grim, scatological, and blackly funny novels. His first and best-known work, Journey to the End of Night (1932, tr. 1934) is based on his service at the front in World War I, his travels through Africa, and his service as a League of Nations doctor. Looking back on his Paris childhood, Death on the Installment Plan (1936, tr. 1938) introduced Céline's stylistic innovation—the regular use of ellipses and apostrophes to capture the rhythm of everyday speech.



Céline on the human race:

"There is nothing inside them… they are like bulls, wave something to distract them; tits, patriotism, the church, anything in fact, and they will jump. It doesn't take much, it is very easy… they want always to be distracted."

From: http://countrad.blogspot.com/2009/11/celine-on-human-race.html


(here are a few more quotes from Céline I have run across recently)

“Never believe straight off in a man's unhappiness. Ask him if he can still sleep. If the answer's 'yes', all's well. That is enough.”

“To hell with reality! I want to die in music, not in reason or in prose. People don't deserve the restraint we show by not going into delirium in front of them. To hell with them!”

“We've no use for intellectuals in this outfit. What we need is chimpanzees. Let me give you a word of advice: never say a word to us about being intelligent. We will think for you, my friend. Don't forget it.”

General Smedley Butler (USMC, Ret.) - "War is just a racket."

From: Robrt Chrysler's The Master Meets The Mugwump blog
http://thisworldwemustleave.tumblr.com/post/232908970/war

War

“War is just a racket. A racket is best described, I believe, as something that is not what it seems to the majority of people. Only a small inside group knows what it is about. It is conducted for the benefit of the very few at the expense of the masses[…]

I helped make Mexico, especially Tampico, safe for American oil interests in 1914. I helped make Haiti and Cuba a decent place for the National City Bank boys to collect revenues in. I helped in the raping of half a dozen Central American republics for the benefits of Wall Street. The record of racketeering is long. I helped purify Nicaragua for the international banking house of Brown Brothers in 1909-1912 (where have I heard that name before?). I brought light to the Dominican Republic for American sugar interests in 1916. In China I helped to see to it that Standard Oil went its way unmolested.

During those years, I had, as the boys in the back room would say, a swell racket. Looking back on it, I feel that I could have given Al Capone a few hints. The best he could do was to operate his racket in three districts. I operated on three continents.”

- General Smedley Butler (USMC, Ret.)

Creative Thievery

"Nothing is original. Steal from anywhere that resonates with inspiration or fuels your imagination. Devour old films, new films, music, books, paintings, photographs, poems, dreams, random conversations, architecture, bridges, street signs, trees, clouds, bodies of water, light and shadows. Select only things to steal from that speak directly to your soul. If you do this, your work (and theft) will be authentic. Authenticity is invaluable; originality is nonexistent.” - Jim Jarmusch

I stole this from: http://richardkovitch-thedrift.blogspot.com/2009/09/authenticity-is-invaluable.html

AITA: Quote Of The Week

"...Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent..."

http://achillesinthealleyway.blogspot.com/2009/08/quote-of-week_24.html

ACHILLES IN THE ALLEYWAY
PROTESTING THE RISING TIDE OF CONFORMITY
MONDAY, AUGUST 24, 2009

Quote Of The Week

"Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan 'press on' has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race." -Calvin Coolidge

POSTED BY MR. LEE AT 2:17 AM