
If we have learned one thing from the history of invention and discovery, it is that, in the long run - and often in the short one - the most daring prophecies seem laughably conservative.
Arthur C. Clarke in The Exploration of Space (1951)

Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Show Tune II
That's the long and short of it
now you know
how I've been waiting all these years
where I'm coming from
that's the long and short of it.
That's the long and short of it
now you see
just how hot hot jazz was
how it turned about, my bookcase
that's the long and short of it.
That's the long and short of it
now you know
that my arrest record's
not my best record
that's the long and short of it.
That's the long and short of it
now you see
how the Past's like a love
you can neither leave nor live
that's the long and short of it
That's the long and short of it
now you know
it was no gun in my pocket
it was a rocket
that's the long and short of it.
That's the long and short of it
and you're wond'ring dear
how I kept so pure
hull, it was easy
that's the long and short of it.
That's the long and short of it
now you see
so bounce your head
into bed
that's the long and short of it.
That's the long and short of it
read the blues
in these tattoos
make a song of it
that's the short and long of it.
How I wish
there was a bridge-
then I could burn it;
or the train
of a refrain
then I could board it
but there isn't
no there isn't, so...
poem by Morgan Michaels

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Painting is not for me either decorative amusement, or the plastic invention of felt reality; it must be every time: invention, discovery, revelation.
What Have We Learned From History
What have we learned from history little if anything
Of war men and war heroes their praises we still sing
Humankind have come far in technology and on the moon surface have trod
And still we fight for our Nation's flag and go to war for our God.
What have we learned from history not much if you ask me
We still have wars and famines and we still have poverty
And we still have this awful thing called ethnic cleansing and we still have refugees
And we still wage war on Mother Earth and we still pollute her seas.
What have we learned from history if anything at all
Before the baby has to walk the baby has to learn to crawl
And life is just a learning curve or so we have been told
But few of those who lack wisdom in their twenties grow wiser as they grow old.
What have we learned from history we have learned to populate
And by bulldozing more virgin woodlands more diseases we create
We pollute Mother Earth who feeds us and our successes seem so few
And that the World would do nicely without us only happens to be true.
What have we learned from history go ask one wiser than I
The World is far more polluted now than when I was a boy
And history has a habit of repeating itself a wise one once did say
And I've not learned from history though I grow old and gray.
poem by Francis Duggan

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History why do we care
History
a famous person dies
History
a war rages
History
a new invention
History
a building opens
History
what happens if something happens to me
is that history?
no....
So why do we care.....
poem by Andrea Thepoet

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In an approximate way, the logic of commons has been understood for a long time, perhaps since the discovery of agriculture or the invention of private property in real estate.
quote by Garrett Hardin

Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Self destruction
Invention: Man made God.
Discovery: God made man.
Inven.: Man made Satan.
Disco.: Satan haunted man
.
Inven.: Man made Religion.
Disco.: Religion held man.
Inven.: Man made Avatar.
Disco.: Avatar split man.
Inven.: Man himself is God.
Disco.: Man maimed Nature.
Result: No more invention,
No more discovery
Only annihilation
21.04.99
poem by Rm. Shanmugam Chettiar

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History
History is sad.
It makes me mad
that we have learned nothing.
History is the past.
It goes so fast
and still we have learned nothing.
Today's not history
and so it's a mystery
why we repeat the same old nothing?
poem by Edwina Reizer

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But I'm an adventurer. I like invention, I like discovery.
quote by Karlheinz Stockhausen

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Without question, the greatest invention in the history of mankind is beer. Oh, I grant you that the wheel was also a fine invention, but the wheel does not go nearly as well with pizza.
quote by Dave Barry

Submitted by Lucian Velea
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I Know My History
Mmmmm, Yeah.
I was a freckle-faced kid with a buck tooth grin.
I was cuttin' her grass when she asked me in.
Learned everything that I needed to learn,
When I was sixteen, know what I mean.
Whoo, ooh, ooh, grew up fast.
Fin'lly found somethin' I was really good at.
When it comes to love,
I know what I'm talkin' about.
I know my history, but good lovin' gets me.
It ain't no mystery, just kiss me: kiss me, baby.
I never learned my lesson: I'm pretty good at guessin'.
I been down that road a time or two or three:
I know my history.
Come a little closer, let me show you what it's all about.
Oh, I know my history, baby.
You can second guess me all night long,
Make yourself believe that it's all wrong.
Sooner or later, girl,
You're gonna see you can trust me.
Once again there, whoo, ooh, ooh, step into school:
Let me show you a thing or two:
When it comes to love,
I know what I'm talkin' about.
I know my history, but good lovin' gets me.
It ain't no mystery, just kiss me: kiss me, baby.
I never learned my lesson: I'm pretty good at guessin'.
I been down that road a time or two or three:
I know my history.
Don't worry 'bout tomorrow, come along girl.
Got his own road on a right cool world.
Take my hand, it's just you an' me.
Tonight's the night we're makin' history.
Instrumental Break.
(A little, little history.)
(Whoo, ooh, ooh.)
I know my history, yeah, good lovin' gets me.
It ain't no mystery, just kiss me: (Kiss me.)
Come a little closer, let me show you what it's all about.
Let me show you, baby, what my love is really all about.
song performed by by Van Zant

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He was what I often think is a dangerous thing for a statesman to be - a student of history; and like most of those who study history, he learned from the mistakes of the past how to make new ones.
quote by A.J.P. Taylor

Submitted by Lucian Velea
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And truly, when you look at the Constitution and our founding fathers and their writings, the things that made this country great, you might draw those conclusions: That they were conservative. They were fiscally conservative and socially conservative.
quote by Sharron Angle

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Become You
I heard you sing a rebel song
Sung it loud and all alone
We can't afford the things you save
We can't afford the warranty
Well i see you walking in the glare
Down the county road we share
Our southern blood my heresy
Damn that ol' confederacy
It took a
Long time to
Become the thing
I am to you
And you won't
Tear it apart
Without a fight
Without a heart
I'm sorry for what you've learned
(learned)
When you feel the tables turn
To run so hard in your race
(race)
Now you found who set the pace
The landed aristocracy
Exploiting all your enmity
All your daddies fought in vain
Leave you with the mark of cain
It took a
Long time to
Become the thing
I am to you
And you won't
Tear it apart
Without a fight
Without a heart
It took a
Long time to
Become you
Become you
The center holds so they say
(it never held too well for me)
It never held too well for me
(the center holds so they say)
I won't stop short for common ground
(that vilifies the trodden down)
That vilifies the trodden down
(i won't stop)
The center held the bonded slave
For the sake of industry
(ah)
The center held the bloody hand
Of the executioner man
(ah)
It took a
Long time to
Become the thing
I am to you
And you won't
Tear it apart
Without a fight
Without a heart
It took a
Long time to
Become you
Become you
It took a
Long time to
Become you
Become you
song performed by by Indigo Girls

Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Im A Conservative
Pop
I used to lead a quiet life
In fact it was a bare existence
I passed out on many floors
I dont do that any more
Hello my friends
Is everybody happy?
Hey look me over
Lend me an ear
Im a conservative
I like the small black marks on my hands
Im a conservative
I like the crazy girls that I screw
Hey I know them all well
And when I run out of bread I laugh
All the way to the bank
Sometimes I pause for a drink
Conservatism aint no easy job
I smile in the mornings
I live without a care
Nothing is denied me
And nothing ever hurts
I got bored so Im making my millions
When youre conservative you get a better break
Youre always on the rigltt side
When youre conservative
You walk with pride
Pride is on your side
Pride pride pride
Is on our side
Oh boy
Pride is on our side
I like my beer
I like my bread
I love my girl
I love my head
Im in the clear man
Im in the dear
Because Im a conservative
Im a conservative
I really am
Ohyeslam
And it would mean so much to me
If you would only be like me
Yes it could mean so much to me
Hey look me over
Lend me an ear
Im a conservative
song performed by by Iggy Pop

Submitted by Lucian Velea
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In other words, what is supposedly found is an invention whose inventor is unaware of his act of invention, who considers it as something that exists independently of him; the invention then becomes the basis of his world view and actions.
quote by Paul Watzlawick

Submitted by Lucian Velea
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History!
Spoken words are history
Records of some remain a mystery
And when today and tomorrow
Row bitterly over yesterday
Today will become history
With just an empty space
Enlightened by a darkened face
History reminds me of a repetition of events
Dancing to the rhythm of the same kind of achievements
A battle is won or lost
Every love or hatred will eventually be buried in dust
I love you
You love me
Soon our love goes down in history
Someone else will find love a new discovery
So the theory behind is history
Is to have a story that commands all glory
For the inevitable past that will last!
poem by Sylvia Chidi

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Conservative People
Conservative in their ways and in their thinking they do not embrace change in any way
They fear change as a threat to their existence as conservative through their lives they do stay
They resist change as if change is quite harmful as things were they wish them to remain
Their flawed values of rank and class distinction are things that they do fight hard to retain
Conservative people change not known to welcome on any change they like to have their say
They crave respect for their old ways of thinking whilst respect to those who want change they don't pay
No thanks to them that changes are occuring since they want to keep us tied to the past
They cannot accept that time brings with it changes that nothing as it was does seem to last,
Conservative people always in abundance their type never have been known to be rare
They live in Villages, Towns and in Cities you can meet their kind of person anywhere
To them change is something that should be resisted to the old ways with reverence they do cling
They fear change as much as they do fear the reaper as if indeed change were a dangerous thing
Suppose it takes all kinds to make up humanity and conservative people will always fight change
They look on people who to them are different as those who are untrustworthy and strange.
poem by Francis Duggan

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Alma Mater
Looking back a few short years
When we made our plans and played the cards
The way they fell
Clinging to our confidence
We stood on the threshold of the goal
That we knew, dear
And though we had our fights
Had our short tempered nights
It couldnt pull our dreams apart
All our needs and all our wants
Drawn together in our heart
We felt it from the very start
Its all happened recently
Now were living in that dream
We had not long ago
Everything is going fine
And now we just have to keep in mind
We must set brand new goals
We must not lose control
Of the possiblity of the discovery
That would let everybody see
That we were just meant to be
song performed by by Chicago

Submitted by Lucian Velea
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We've Not Learned From War History The Facts Never Lie
We've not learned from war history the facts never lie
For God and for Country many still fight and die
The flowers do not bloom brighter on the dead soldier's grave
As the one who died of old age and was not known to be brave.
With the words we've not learned from war history
I happen to be one of those who agree
One war leads to another it does seem to me
And we still have War Memorial day in the twenty first century.
Where there is mistrust between people hatred come to the boil
In war over borders and war over oil
And in wars over God far too many have died
To antiquated thinking many do remain tied.
Out of war and it's suffering many heroes are made
And to honour the war dead another parade
And for as long as those who glorify war do have things their own way
The flower of peace will never see light of day.
poem by Francis Duggan

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Napoleonic Fable
A fable that’s agreed upon
according to Napoleon
is what we should call history,
but ascribe its mystery
to recollections that are wrong
of brief events stretched into long,
in contrast to the brief report
that should, like our own lives, be short.
About this poem’s serious moral
A good historian would not quarrel:
Your history, if you are able
to write it up, is just a fable.
Napoleon once asked rhetorically: “What is history but a fable that is agreed upon? ”
1/3/10
poem by Gershon Hepner

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