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By Phil Scoville, December 23, 2008 6:37 pm

I’m reading 1984 and a line that is the book reads,

WAR IS PEACE
FREEDOM IS SLAVERY
IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH

I was caught a bit alarmed by this philosphy and I wasn’t sure why. Then as I was thinking about the words a song that remember listening to as a kid by Nine Inch Nails called Happiness is Slavery came to mind.

Is happiness slavery?
Is war peace?
Is freedom slavery?
Or is ignorance strength?

I couldn’t help but think about the adversary’s plan and his attempt to have us believe that losing our agency or ability to choose would be better for us than the opportunity to grow and develop by making mistakes.

The ability to choose and not be forced to do things against our will is the ultimate way for us to grow and develop.

This is an excellent book to allow us to see what happens to a world that doesn’t offer choice or encourage differences.

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By Phil Scoville, November 26, 2007 1:58 pm

I remember that my grandfather Scoville (Ellsworth Earl Scoville) was often stated that he reminded people of J. Golden Kimball. I remember his stories including lots of “hells” and “damns” that I too have thought and said that about Grandpa Scoville. Today I stumbled across a few sites that talk about J. Golden and have some of his quotes.

Here are a few pictures of my Grandpa Scoville.

I think there are some similarities, although not a perfect match. Here are some of my favorite quotes from J. Golden Kimball.

“Cut me off from the church? They can’t do that! I repent too damn fast.”

“I may not walk the straight and the narrow, but I sure in hell try to cross it as often as I can!”

“I understand you brethren can’t go on missions because you swear too much. You can overcome it. Hell, I did.’ ….

See the official J. Golden Kimball website, or others. Grandpa Bill’s site. Here are few more quotes. A memorial about J. Golden.

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By Phil Scoville, November 13, 2007 10:29 pm

At This Party

I don’t want to be the only one here

Telling all the secrets -

Filling up all the bowls at this party,

Taking all the laughs.

I would like you

To start putting things on the table

That can also feed the soul

The way I do.

That way

We can invite

A hell of a lot more

Friends.

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By Phil Scoville, November 7, 2007 3:01 pm

I have been considering getting back into selling used books online again. I have a few textbooks that I’ve collected over the years and maybe there are a few that I’ve not needed and don’t think that I’ll need.

From what I could find out, Amazon has a 15% commission rate for selling books and then a .99 fee for all sales and then it looked like another 1.35 or something per sale for variable closing fees to the seller, in addition to paying for the book to be shipped.

Then for Half.com, it is a flat 15% commission rate and then I pay for the shipping, but like Amazon I do get money from the buyer to pay for the  shipping related costs. If the book is light then it works out okay but if it is heavy it maybe more expensive to ship than the shipping charge covers. Here are Half.com’s commission policies. 

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By Phil Scoville, November 6, 2007 11:42 am

"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is
that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness
that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant,
gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to
be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the
world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other
people won’t feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as
children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is
within us. It’s not just in some of us; it’s in everyone. And as we let
our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to
do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence
automatically liberates others."

I have taken this from the following post about the common mistake made giving credit for this quote to Nelson Mandela. He did use it as part of his Inaguration Speech in 1994. Read below and also check out the site.

Note About Nelson Mandela

This quote is often found on the Internet incorrectly credited to Nelson Mandela
from his Inauguration Speech, 1994, especially the last sentence of
that quote, “As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence
automatically liberates others.”

For reference, here are links to two official African government sites with Nelson Mandela’s 1994 Inauguration Speech:

• Mandela: Inauguration Address – Cape Town, 09 May 1994, via South Africa Government Online Official Web site.
• Statement
  Of The President Of The African National Congress Nelson Rolihlahla
  Mandela At His Inauguration As President Of The Democratic Republic Of
  South Africa Union Buildings – Pretoria, 10 May 1994, via ANC’s (African National Congress) Official Web site.

 Reference: From SKD Designs Website.

I made a post about this awhile back but I can’t find it now. Hmmm. Well I’ve made updates so it doesn’t appear anymore. I’ll make another post with this then.