ON: GOOD THEATER

OSCAR WILDE OBSERVES

Good theater is real life concentrated and clarified… and censored. 

MARK TWAIN REMARKS

Good theater contains actors who speak loud enough to be heard.  Good bad theater contains actors who speak softly enough that you can sleep through the performance.   

Oscar Wilde’s new play, Who’s Afraid of the Long Day’s Journey into the Drawing Room, is available on Amazon and Lulu.com.  

ON: KNOWLEDGE

OSCAR WILDE OBSERVES

The only way to know how much one knows about a subject is to know how much is still to be known. 

MARK TWAIN REMARKS

I don’t know about that… or maybe I do. 

Oscar Wilde’s new play, Who’s Afraid of the Long Day’s Journey into the Drawing Room, is available on Amazon and Lulu.com.  

ON: CREATIVITY

OSCAR WILDE OBSERVES
The truly creative man, by creating something new, seeks to improve the entire world by expanding himself.

MARK TWAIN REMARKS
And vice verse... I think.  

ON: YOUTH AND WISDOM

OSCAR WILDE OBSERVES

We generally do not expect wisdom from youths because youth is often too consumed in enjoying life. 

MARK TWAIN REMARKS

At least we hope that they are… and that we were. 

Oscar Wilde’s new play, Who’s Afraid of the Long Day’s Journey into the Drawing Room, is available on Amazon and Lulu.com.  

ON: THE USE OF RELIGION

OSCAR WILDE OBSERVES

I do not object to religion being used as a crutch.  A good crutch will prevent repeated falls.  The original one by Adam was more than enough.    

MARK TWAIN REMARKS

The problem with many ministers is that they keep sell crutches at excessive prices.   

Oscar’s new play, The Importance of Being the Bride of the Son of Frank-enstein, is available on Amazon and Lulu.com.  

ON: WISDOM

OSCAR WILDE OBSERVES
There is more true wisdom available from a box of fortune cookies than in the philosophy classes of any modern university.


MARK TWAIN REMARKS
This is a completely untrue evaluation.  The two resources are completely equal.  

ON: POLITICIANS

OSCAR WILDE OBSERVES

The truly skillful politician does not evade questions.  Instead he manipulates the circumstances so that he is asked only what he wants to be asked. 

MARK TWAIN REMARKS

Mr. Wilde’s comment makes me wonder why all politicians are not women. 

Oscar’s new play, The Importance of Being the Bride of the Son of Frankenstein, is available on Amazon and Lulu.com. 

ON: INSANITY

OSCAR WILDE OBSERVES

There is a famous quote attributed to Einstein.  It is that the definition of insanity is repeating the same action and expecting different results.  I find it odd that the people who cite this repeat it endlessly, somehow expecting different reactions each time.

MARK TWAIN REMARKS

As I understand it, Edison repeated his actions thousands of times before he discovered a practical electric light.  I am quite grateful for such insane fanatics, but I do fear the officially moderate. 

Oscar’s new play Who’s Afraid of the Long Day’s Journey into the Drawing Room is available on Amazon and Lulu.com. 

ON: SUCCESS

OSCAR WILDE OBSERVES
A man who is judged successful by others is one who is valued by his successes and not by his attempts.  


MARK TWAIN
A man who is judged to be successful is he who has been successful in hiding his failed attempts from the judgments of others.  

ON: GOD

OSCAR WILDE OBSERVES
Regardless of how we pray, we believe in two gods.  There is the God of Mercy and Forgiveness for ourselves, and the God of Harsh Justice for our enemies.  


MARK TWAIN REMARKS
I shall avoid commenting directly upon the Divinity.  I shall merely say that we all sincerely hope that the angel in charge of keeping our records is a careless fellow.  

ON: SOCRATES

OSCAR WILDE OBSERVES
Socrates declared that a man should "Be as you wish to seem."  I advise that one should be as you wish to be seen (by others).


MARK TWAIN REMARKS
I can see how he feels that way.  

ON: AVOIDING PEOPLE

OSCAE WILDE OBSERVES
Some people are too obtuse to leave after a witty and subtle insult.  These are those people who do not use the word "obtuse."


MARK TWAIN REMARKS
To be rid of a person loan him money and pretend that you expect repayment.  This is particularly useful with relatives.  

ON: THE USE OF HISTORY

OSCAR WILDE OBSERVES
Cicero says that history may be used to learn from the lives and mistakes of others.  I would do so, if any one in the past had been as unique as I.


MARK TWAIN REMARKS
The primary purpose of history is to provide a relatively harmless past-time for history teachers, lest they otherwise become insurance salesmen.  As teachers they are slightly less annoying, as they tend to be concentrated in classrooms and thus can more easily be avoided. 

ON: BEING SPECIAL

OSCAR WILDE OBSERVES
No man should attempt to make his wife feel special.  Should he succeed she may then feel so special so as not to be satisfied with someone as ordinary as he is.  


MARK TWAIN REMARKS
Trying to make my wife judge herself to be special is like trying to increase the sun's internal heat by holding a candle next to it.  

ON: HYPOCRISY

OSCAR WILDE OBSERVES

The only man who is, at times, not a hypocrite is he whose standards are so adaptable that even he can meet them.

MARK TWAIN REMARKS

Hypocrisy is the sincerest admission of our fallen natures and our inherent knowledge of the good.  On second thought, I am not sure that I believe that.   

Oscar’s new play The Importance of Being the Bride of the Son of Frankenstein is available on Amazon and Lulu.com.  

ON: TRUTH

OSCAR WILDE OBSERVES

There is a common sense rule that the “truth lies between the two extremes.”  If this were true then it would be only partially true, and thus not true at all.

MARK TWAIN REMARKS

There are at least two versions to every story.  There is the truth and then there are the lies. 

Oscar’s new play The Importance of Being the Bride of the Son of Frankenstein is available on Amazon and Lulu.com.  

ON: PRAYER

OSCAR WILDE OBSERVES

We often pray, in petition, to God when we want conditions changed.  We seldom pray, in gratitude, when we do not.  Such is a problem with human nature.   

MARK TWAIN REMARKS

The fact that we often need to pray for a change is, in my opinion, a problem with the Divine Nature. 

Oscar Wilde’s new play, The Importance of Being the Bride of the Son of Frankenstein, is available on Amazon and Lulu.com.  

ON" WOMEN AS MYSTERY

OSCAR WILDE OBSERVES

What a deep mystery is WOMAN!  What man can know the depths and hidden ways!  It is only time most men seek to become lost.  And they refuse to ask for directions.   

MARK TWAIN REMARKS

Women are not so much mysterious… as they are too often confused by the same facts that men totally ignore.  

Other works by the author are available on Amazon and Lulu.com.  

ON: CRITICIZING OTHERS

OSCAR WILDE OBSERVES
We fear most in ourselves what we most attack in others.  This is why I find it so difficult to criticize others, no matter how stupid or evil they are... and most are.  


MARK TWAIN REMARKS
I can find nothing wrong with that statement.  

ON: MONEY AND HAPPINESS

OSCAR WILDE OBSERVES
The relation between money and happiness is relative.  If you have relatively enough money your relations will be happy.  


MARK TWAIN REMARKS
The relation is absolute, but only applies to those relatives who feel that you will still loan them money.  

ON: LITERARY STYLE

OSCAR WILDE OBSERVES:
If an author reminds the reader of another then he has merely duplicated.  Each successful author creates his own unique and permanent effect.  


MARK TWAIN REMARKS:
I recall reading somewhere like this somewhere else, but I can't remember who wrote it.  

ON: DAILY SUCCESSES

OSCAR WILDE OBSERVES

The success of a day should be determined not only by what you have done today, but also by what you were inspired to do tomorrow.

MARK TWAIN REMARKS

I judge such matters by the amount of work I was able to put off until tomorrow.   

Oscar’s new play The Importance of Being the Bride of the Son of Frankenstein is available on Amazon and Lulu.com.  

ON: ACCOMPLISHMENTS

OSCAR WILDE OBSERVES"

It is improper to judge a man by his opinion of his own accomplishments.  It is proper to judge him by how much he appreciates mine. 

MARK TWAIN REMARKS

I define an accomplishment as the amount of work I have done right up to the point of my giving up on it. 

Oscar’s new play The Importance of Being the Bride of the Son of Frankenstein is available on Amazon and Lulu.com.  

ON: AUTHOR'S INSPIRATION

OSCAR WILDE OBSERVES

The professional author sees every new acquaintance as either a source of new inspiration or as a potential customer.

MARK TWAIN REMARKS

Unfortunately most people fail in either role. 

Oscar’s new play The Importance of Being the Bride of the Son of Frankenstein is available on Amazon and Lulu.com.  

ON: INSPIRATION

OSCAR WILDE OBSERVES:  posted

A problem with being “inspired” by other authors is that the admiration can evolve into envy… for other authors, that is. 

MARK TWAIN REMARKS:

I wish that I had written this… in my own way, of course. 

Oscar’s new play Who’s Afraid of the Long Day’s Journey into the Drawing Room is available on Amazon and Lulu.com.  

ON: PREDICTIONS

OSCAR WILDE OBSERVES:
To be considered a prophet simply wait for the future to occur and then claim that you predicted it.  


MARK TWAIN REMARKS:
As we spend so much time denying the past I see no reason that we can not deny the future as well.  

ON: AMERICAN GREED

OSCAR WILDE OBSERVES:
Not all Americans are motivated primarily by the pursuit of the dollar.  They also are interested in its acquisition.  


MARK TWAIN REMARKS:
The dollar is so highly prized only for one reason.  The USA is no longer on the Gold Standard.


Oscar Wilde's new prize winning play The Importance of Being Driven is available on Amazon and Lulu.com.