Quotes from Anaïs Nin

Anaïs Nin said...

• "We do not see things as they are, we see them as we are."

• "The role of a writer is not to say what we all can say, but what we are unable to say."
• "Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one's courage."
• "And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom."
• "I am an excitable person who only understands life lyrically, musically, in whom feelings are much stronger as reason. I am so thirsty for the marvelous that only the marvelous has power over me."
• "I must be a mermaid, Rango. I have no fear of depths and a great fear of shallow living."
• "I am not a Sunday morning inside four walls with clean blood and organized drawers. I am the hurricane setting fire to the forests at night when no one else is alive or awake however you choose to see it and I live in my own flames sometimes burning too bright and too wild to make things last or handle myself or anyone else and so I run. Run run run far and wide until my bones ache and lungs split and it feels good. Hear that people? It feels good because I am the slave and ruler of my own body and I wish to do with it exactly as I please."
• "Love never dies a natural death. It dies because we don't know how to replenish its source. It dies of blindness and errors and betrayals. It dies of illness and wounds; it dies of weariness, of witherings, of tarnishings."
• "Life is a process of becoming, a combination of states we have to go through. Where people fail is that they wish to elect a state and remain in it. This is a kind of death."

The role of a writer is not to say what we all can say, but what we are unable to say.

• "I am lonely, yet not everybody will do. I don't know why, some people fill the gaps and others emphasize my loneliness. In reality, those who satisfy me are those who simply allow me to live with my 'idea of them.'"
• "I am an instrument in the shape of a woman trying to translate pulsations into images for the relief of the body and the reconstruction of the mind."
• "The only thing I know is that I paint because I need to, and I paint whatever passes through my head without any other consideration."
• "I take pleasure in my transformations. I look quiet and consistent, but few know how many women there are in me."
• "The dream was always running ahead of me. To catch up, to live for a moment in unison with it, that was the miracle."
• "Anxiety is love's greatest killer. It makes others feel as you might when a drowning man holds on to you. You want to save him, but you know he will strangle you with his panic."

Love never dies a natural death. It dies because we don't know how to replenish its source. It dies of blindness and errors and betrayals. It dies of illness and wounds; it dies of weariness, of witherings, of tarnishings

• "The personal life deeply lived always expands into truths beyond itself."
• "We don't see things as they are, we see them as we are."
• "I postpone death by living, by suffering, by error, by risking, by giving, by losing."
• "I want to live only for ecstasy. Small doses, moderate loves, all half-shades, leave me cold. I like extravagance, heat."
• "The possession of knowledge does not kill the sense of wonder and mystery. There is always more mystery."
• "The artist's duty is to express the spirit of the time."
• "The personal life deeply lived always expands into truths beyond itself."
• "It is the function of art to renew our perception. What we are familiar with we cease to see" 

The Varangian Guard

The Varangian Guard was an elite unit of the Byzantine Army, formed in the late 10th century AD. Its members were mostly Norsemen or Vikings, who were known as Varangians in the East.

The origins of the Varangian Guard can be traced back to the early 980s, when the Byzantine Emperor Basil II sent an embassy to the Viking lands in the north, in search of mercenaries to aid his campaigns against the Bulgarians. The Varangians impressed the Byzantines with their bravery and fighting skills, and they were eventually hired as mercenaries.

The Importance of Writing Fiction

Fiction is like a magical spell that transports readers to far-off lands, introduces them to unforgettable characters, and makes them feel things they never thought possible. It's a form of storytelling that has been around for centuries, entertaining and inspiring generations of readers. And it's more important now than ever before.

Savor

Bent by the will, reshaped by the forge, fracture and furor blows from heated flame. Hammers tong the anvil a mournful dirge, horses steamy breath, hooves stamp in the rein. Lift, then savor the fall of each hammer’s call

#vss365 #savor

Can We Make Photosynthesis More Efficient?

Photosynthesis is the process by which plants convert light energy from the sun into chemical energy in the form of glucose, which is used as food for the plant. While photosynthesis is a highly efficient process, there is still room for improvement.

One way to potentially make photosynthesis more efficient is through genetic engineering. Scientists have been exploring ways to modify the genes of plants to enhance their photosynthetic abilities. For example, researchers have identified certain genes that, when modified, can increase the efficiency of the plant's light-harvesting systems. Other genes may be modified to increase the rate at which carbon dioxide is converted into glucose during photosynthesis.

Another approach to improving photosynthesis is through the use of synthetic biology. Scientists are developing new techniques for designing and building artificial photosynthetic systems that are more efficient than natural photosynthesis. These systems typically involve using synthetic proteins and other components that can capture and use sunlight more efficiently than natural photosynthetic systems.

Additionally, researchers are exploring ways to optimize the growth conditions for plants to improve their photosynthetic efficiency. This could involve using advanced agricultural practices, such as precision farming, to create optimal conditions for plant growth and photosynthesis.

In summary, while photosynthesis is already a highly efficient process, there are still ways to potentially improve its efficiency through genetic engineering, synthetic biology, and optimization of growth conditions. These efforts could have significant implications for the agricultural industry, as well as for addressing global food and energy needs.

A new project from SETI addresses this question, which you can find here. 

Diphthongs -- Semantic Accentuation

In linguistics, a diphthong is a combination of two vowel sounds pronounced within the same syllable. The term "diphthong" comes from the Greek words "di" (meaning two) and "phthongos" (meaning sound or voice).

Diphthongs are common in many languages, including English. For example, the English word "coin" contains the diphthong "oi" pronounced as a single sound. Another example is the word "day," which contains the diphthong "ay." In both cases, the diphthong is formed by combining two vowel sounds.