Dolly “Parton writes songs, which is one artistic expression of storytelling — poetry adorned by the mathematics of music.... Preachers tell stories, too; stories about truths that change history. We preach the Word, and ‘in the beginning the Word and the Word was God.’ God is the first storyteller, and the angels the first song-tellers. A story endures to the extent that it conveys an enduring truth. That’s why so many songs are about love — desired, despairing, requited, unrequited, honoured, betrayed. Love is what most endures. The Jews taught the world about stories that make present now what God wrote in history, which is why their greatest collection of stories opens with ‘In the beginning.’ ‘Once upon a time’ is the usual way to do it, but doesn’t fit when time has not yet been created.”

Fr. Raymond J. de Souza in National Post December 24, 2022

“Count me out. I’d rather die. Why, those vampires would suck me dry. They’d scrape the tan right off my face.”

Pheidippides resisting his father Strepsiades’ advice to study at Sokrates’ Thinkery so he can learn to cheat Strepsiades’ creditors, in Aristophanes The Clouds (translation by William Arrowsmith)

“‘Life is short, so I shall eat butter,’ is India’s counterpart to ‘Eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we die.’”

My source for this one is “H. Smith WRM” but what it means I do not know; I failed to record it in my Bibliography file. Possibly it’s a misprint for Hyrum W. Smith’s What Matters Most.

“Two weeks ago in the run-up to Halloween, I visited Salem, Massachusetts... I was bowled over by what I found in the Witch City: bigger crowds, longer lines and a wider and welcome array of merchandise geared toward many different religious traditions and ethnic identities. Amid the curious crowds in black capes and conical hats, bags overflowing with DIY spell kits and candles to enhance prosperity, I overheard the same question: Is magic really real? For me, the answer is yes. I am one of a million-plus Americans who – whether proudly, secretly or dabbling through the power of consumerism – practice some form of witchcraft. Witchcraft, which includes Wicca, paganism, folk magic and other New Age traditions, is one of the fastest-growing spiritual paths in America. In 1990, Trinity College in Connecticut estimated there were 8,000 adherents of Wicca. In 2008, the U.S. Census Bureau figure was 342,000.... The precise number of witches in America is difficult to determine because many practitioners are solitary and, either by choice or circumstance, do not openly identify as such.”

Antonio Pagliarulo, author of the forthcoming “The Evil Eye: The History, Mystery, and Magic of the Quiet Curse”, in an NBC “Think” “Culture & Lifestyle” piece 30/10/22

“Those who tell the stories rule society.”

Widely cited on line [often attributed to Plato but I cannot find any specific place he supposedly said it, and it also turns up as native American wisdom. So I doubt Plato said it and if you know where he did please tell me, but if he did not say it he should have.]

“Self-pity is easily the most destructive of the non-pharmaceutical narcotics; it is addictive, gives momentary pleasure and separates the victim from reality.”

John William Gardner, quoted as “Thought du jour” in “Social Studies” in Globe & Mail April 26, 2010

“It is not the man of the world who appreciates the world.”

G.K. Chesterton in Daily News December 5, 2001, quoted in Gilbert Magazine Vol. 10 #7 (June-July, 2007)

“The Sacred Texts: Canadian perspectives on the Bible, Qu’ran, Torah, and their place in modern society/ Majority see positive lessons in Bible, but many Christians believe it has dated views on sexuality, gender”

Subject line/hed and deck on email teaser from the Angus Reid Institute December 12, 2022.