tiny thoughts https://tiny.takingthoughtscaptive.org/ the micro-blog version of “Taking Thoughts Captive” with brief quotes, fleeting thoughts, and other ephemera from the cutting room floor... Tue, 08 Sep 2026 23:44:17 +0000 https://i.snap.as/UXJnxT10.ico tiny thoughts https://tiny.takingthoughtscaptive.org/ “The best people possess a feeling for beauty, the courage to take risks, the... https://tiny.takingthoughtscaptive.org/the-best-people-possess-a-feeling-for-beauty-the-courage-to-take-risks-the?pk_campaign=rss-feed <![CDATA[“The best people possess a feeling for beauty, the courage to take risks, the discipline to tell the truth, the capacity for sacrifice. Ironically, their virtues make them vulnerable; they are often wounded, sometimes destroyed.” -- Ernest Hemingway]]> “The best people possess a feeling for beauty, the courage to take risks, the discipline to tell the truth, the capacity for sacrifice. Ironically, their virtues make them vulnerable; they are often wounded, sometimes destroyed.”

— Ernest Hemingway

]]> https://tiny.takingthoughtscaptive.org/the-best-people-possess-a-feeling-for-beauty-the-courage-to-take-risks-the Wed, 26 Aug 2026 15:52:05 +0000 "Nowadays, the moronic youth to whom movies are marketed prefer the visible to... https://tiny.takingthoughtscaptive.org/nowadays-the-moronic-youth-to-whom-movies-are-marketed-prefer-the-visible-to?pk_campaign=rss-feed <![CDATA["Nowadays, the moronic youth to whom movies are marketed prefer the visible to exceed reality—ergo the endless car-chases, explosions, and sci-fi fantasies. An intelligent film is as rare as a non-swearing teenager; being able to quote Breaking Bad’s best bits is the new measure of cultural refinement. With few exceptions, the quality of screen-writing, acting, and directing is now abysmal." -- Taki Theodoracopulos, from "Hollywood's War on America"]]> “Nowadays, the moronic youth to whom movies are marketed prefer the visible to exceed reality—ergo the endless car-chases, explosions, and sci-fi fantasies. An intelligent film is as rare as a non-swearing teenager; being able to quote Breaking Bad’s best bits is the new measure of cultural refinement. With few exceptions, the quality of screen-writing, acting, and directing is now abysmal.”

— Taki Theodoracopulos, from “Hollywood's War on America”

]]> https://tiny.takingthoughtscaptive.org/nowadays-the-moronic-youth-to-whom-movies-are-marketed-prefer-the-visible-to Tue, 25 Aug 2026 16:22:25 +0000 "We can’t crucify beauty without steadily walking into hell. https://tiny.takingthoughtscaptive.org/we-cant-crucify-beauty-without-steadily-walking-into-hell?pk_campaign=rss-feed <![CDATA["We can’t crucify beauty without steadily walking into hell. Every time we walk the dog we are surrounded by hints of the Kingdom of Heaven. That’s a big thought to swim into. One of the ways we can practice being saintly is to notice that sort of grace. The more we abide in it, the more folks around us start to notice. This is one of the attributes that used to define saints; you glimpse more of the Kingdom of Heaven around them. They are literally an eye-opener." -- Martin Shaw, Liturgies of the Wild: Myths That Make Us]]> “We can’t crucify beauty without steadily walking into hell. Every time we walk the dog we are surrounded by hints of the Kingdom of Heaven. That’s a big thought to swim into. One of the ways we can practice being saintly is to notice that sort of grace. The more we abide in it, the more folks around us start to notice. This is one of the attributes that used to define saints; you glimpse more of the Kingdom of Heaven around them. They are literally an eye-opener.”

— Martin Shaw, Liturgies of the Wild: Myths That Make Us

]]> https://tiny.takingthoughtscaptive.org/we-cant-crucify-beauty-without-steadily-walking-into-hell Wed, 12 Aug 2026 15:27:31 +0000 "To travel hopefully is a better thing than to arrive, and the true success is... https://tiny.takingthoughtscaptive.org/to-travel-hopefully-is-a-better-thing-than-to-arrive-and-the-true-success-is?pk_campaign=rss-feed <![CDATA["To travel hopefully is a better thing than to arrive, and the true success is to labour." -- Robert Louis Stevenson, El Dorado]]> “To travel hopefully is a better thing than to arrive, and the true success is to labour.”

— Robert Louis Stevenson, El Dorado

]]> https://tiny.takingthoughtscaptive.org/to-travel-hopefully-is-a-better-thing-than-to-arrive-and-the-true-success-is Thu, 30 Jul 2026 13:48:37 +0000 “Tolerance will reach such a level that intelligent people will be banned from... https://tiny.takingthoughtscaptive.org/tolerance-will-reach-such-a-level-that-intelligent-people-will-be-banned-from?pk_campaign=rss-feed <![CDATA[“Tolerance will reach such a level that intelligent people will be banned from thinking so as to not offend the imbeciles.” -- Fyodor Dostoevsky]]> “Tolerance will reach such a level that intelligent people will be banned from thinking so as to not offend the imbeciles.”

— Fyodor Dostoevsky

]]> https://tiny.takingthoughtscaptive.org/tolerance-will-reach-such-a-level-that-intelligent-people-will-be-banned-from Thu, 30 Jul 2026 13:16:41 +0000 "No one ever became excellent in any exercise whatsoever without beginning from... https://tiny.takingthoughtscaptive.org/no-one-ever-became-excellent-in-any-exercise-whatsoever-without-beginning-from?pk_campaign=rss-feed <![CDATA["No one ever became excellent in any exercise whatsoever without beginning from his childhood to endure heat, cold, hunger, thirst, and other discomforts; wherefore those men are entirely deceived who think to be able, at their ease and with all the comforts of the world, to attain to honorable rank. It is not by sleeping but by waking and studying continually that progress is made." -- Giorgio Vasari, on Luca Della Robbia in Lives of the Artists]]> “No one ever became excellent in any exercise whatsoever without beginning from his childhood to endure heat, cold, hunger, thirst, and other discomforts; wherefore those men are entirely deceived who think to be able, at their ease and with all the comforts of the world, to attain to honorable rank. It is not by sleeping but by waking and studying continually that progress is made.”

— Giorgio Vasari, on Luca Della Robbia in Lives of the Artists

]]> https://tiny.takingthoughtscaptive.org/no-one-ever-became-excellent-in-any-exercise-whatsoever-without-beginning-from Thu, 30 Jul 2026 13:15:12 +0000 “There is no good reason why we should fear the future, but there is every... https://tiny.takingthoughtscaptive.org/there-is-no-good-reason-why-we-should-fear-the-future-but-there-is-every?pk_campaign=rss-feed <![CDATA[“There is no good reason why we should fear the future, but there is every reason why we should face it seriously, neither hiding from ourselves the gravity of the problems before us nor fearing to approach these problems with the unbending, unflinching purpose to solve them aright.” -- Theodore Roosevelt]]> “There is no good reason why we should fear the future, but there is every reason why we should face it seriously, neither hiding from ourselves the gravity of the problems before us nor fearing to approach these problems with the unbending, unflinching purpose to solve them aright.”

— Theodore Roosevelt

]]> https://tiny.takingthoughtscaptive.org/there-is-no-good-reason-why-we-should-fear-the-future-but-there-is-every Wed, 29 Jul 2026 16:29:03 +0000 "The first requisite of a good citizen in this republic of ours is that he... https://tiny.takingthoughtscaptive.org/the-first-requisite-of-a-good-citizen-in-this-republic-of-ours-is-that-he?pk_campaign=rss-feed <![CDATA["The first requisite of a good citizen in this republic of ours is that he shall be able and willing to pull his own weight." -– Theodore Roosevelt]]> “The first requisite of a good citizen in this republic of ours is that he shall be able and willing to pull his own weight.”

-– Theodore Roosevelt

]]> https://tiny.takingthoughtscaptive.org/the-first-requisite-of-a-good-citizen-in-this-republic-of-ours-is-that-he Tue, 28 Jul 2026 13:06:18 +0000 “’Emergencies’ have always been the pretext on which the safeguards of... https://tiny.takingthoughtscaptive.org/emergencies-have-always-been-the-pretext-on-which-the-safeguards-of?pk_campaign=rss-feed <![CDATA[“’Emergencies’ have always been the pretext on which the safeguards of individual liberty have eroded. And once they are suspended it is not difficult for anyone who has assumed emergency powers to see to it that the emergency will persist.” -- Friedrich Hayek]]> “’Emergencies’ have always been the pretext on which the safeguards of individual liberty have eroded. And once they are suspended it is not difficult for anyone who has assumed emergency powers to see to it that the emergency will persist.”

— Friedrich Hayek

]]> https://tiny.takingthoughtscaptive.org/emergencies-have-always-been-the-pretext-on-which-the-safeguards-of Mon, 27 Jul 2026 14:56:07 +0000 “Sir, there are two passions which have a powerful influence on the affairs of... https://tiny.takingthoughtscaptive.org/sir-there-are-two-passions-which-have-a-powerful-influence-on-the-affairs-of?pk_campaign=rss-feed <![CDATA[“Sir, there are two passions which have a powerful influence on the affairs of men. These are ambition and avarice; the love of power, and the love of money. Separately each of these has great force in prompting men to action; but when united in view of the same object, they have in many minds the most violent effects. place before the eyes of such men a post of honor that shall at the same time be a place of profit, and they will move heaven and earth to obtain it. ” -- Benjamin Franklin, June 2nd, 1787 ]]> “Sir, there are two passions which have a powerful influence on the affairs of men. These are ambition and avarice; the love of power, and the love of money. Separately each of these has great force in prompting men to action; but when united in view of the same object, they have in many minds the most violent effects. place before the eyes of such men a post of honor that shall at the same time be a place of profit, and they will move heaven and earth to obtain it. ”

— Benjamin Franklin, June 2nd, 1787

]]> https://tiny.takingthoughtscaptive.org/sir-there-are-two-passions-which-have-a-powerful-influence-on-the-affairs-of Wed, 03 Jun 2026 13:21:02 +0000