John Updike :
Our brains are no longer conditioned for reverence and awe. We cannot imagine a Second Coming that would not be cut down to size by the televised evening news, or a Last Judgment not subject to pages of holier-than-thou second-guessing in The New York Review of Books.
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Christians and Christianity
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Books - Reading
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Television
Gift it
 Baker_64x64.png "Quotations by Russell (Wayne) Baker")
![Powerpoint](http://www.iwise.com/downloadPPT.php?quote_id=39686&author=John Updike"e=++Our+brains+are+no+longer+conditioned+for+reverence+and+awe.+We+cannot+imagine+a+Second+Coming+that+would+not+be+cut+down+to+size+by+the+televised+evening+news%2C+or+a+Last+Judgment+not+subject+to+pages+of+holier-than-thou+second-guessing+in+The+New+York+Review+of+Books.&image=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.iwise.com%2FauthorIcons%2F212%2FJohn+Updike_64x64.png){kind=link}
![Powerpoint](http://www.iwise.com/downloadPPT.php?quote_id=68974&author=L Frank Baum"e=The+scenery+and+costumes+of+%27The+Wizard+of+Oz%27+were+all+made+in+New+York+%E2%80%94+Mr.+Mitchell+was+a+New+York+favorite%2C+but+the+author+was+undoubtedly+a+Chicagoan%2C+and+therefore+a+legitimate+butt+for+the+shafts+of+criticism.+So+the+critics+highly+praised+the+Poppy+scene%2C+the+Kansas+cyclone%2C+the+Scarecrow+and+the+Tin+Woodman%2C+but+declared+the+libretto+was+very+bad+and+teemed+with+%27wild+and+woolly+western+puns+and+forced+gags.%27+Now%2C+all+that+I+claim+in+the+libretto+of+%27The+Wizard+of+Oz%27+is+the+creation+of+the+characters+of+the+Scarecrow+and+the+Tin+Woodman%2C+the+story+of+their+search+for+brains+and+a+heart%2C+and+the+scenic+effects+of+the+Poppy+Field+and+the+cyclone.+These+were+a+part+of+my+published+fairy+tale%2C+as+thousands+of+readers+well+know.+I+have+published+fifteen+books+of+fairy+tales%2C+which+may+be+found+in+all+prominent+public+and+school+libraries%2C+and+they+are+entirely+free%2C+I+believe%2C+from+the+broad+jokes+the+New+York+critics+condemn+in+the+extravaganza%2C+and+which%2C+the+New+York+people+are+now+laughing+over.+In+my+original+manuscript+of+the+play+were+no+%27gags%27+nor+puns+whatever.+But+Mr.+Hamlin+stated+positively+that+no+stage+production+could+succeed+without+that+accepted+brand+of+humor%2C+and+as+I+knew+I+was+wholly+incompetent+to+write+those+%27comic+paper+side-splitters%27+I+employed+one+of+the+foremost+New+York+%27tinkerers%27+of+plays+to+write+into+my+manuscript+these+same+jokes+that+are+now+declared+%27wild+and+woolly%27+and+%27smacking+of+Chicago+humor.%27+If+the+New+York+critics+only+knew+it%2C+they+are+praising+a+Chicago+author+for+the+creation+of+the+scenic+effects+and+characters+entirely+new+to+the+stage%2C+and+condemning+a+well-known+New+York+dramatist+for+a+brand+of+humor+that+is+palpably+peculiar+to+Puck+and+Judge.+I+am+amused+whenever+a+New+York+reviewer+attacks+the+libretto+of+%27The+Wizard+of+Oz%27+because+it+%27comes+from+Chicago.%27%22%0A&image=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.iwise.com%2FauthorIcons%2F13371%2FL++Frank+Baum_64x64.png){kind=link}
![Powerpoint](http://www.iwise.com/downloadPPT.php?quote_id=77169&author=Peter Cook"e=If+I+did+become+Minister+of+Nudism%2C+I%27d+be+allowed+to+be+on+television+every+evening+around+nine+thirty.+I%27d+come+on+and+say+%22Good+evening.+This+is+the+Minister+of+Nudism.+Take+off+your+clothes+and+begin+to+dance+about.%22%0A&image=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.iwise.com%2FauthorIcons%2F13674%2FPeter_Cook_64x64.png){kind=link}
![Powerpoint](http://www.iwise.com/downloadPPT.php?quote_id=34381&author=Raymond Chandler"e=++Television%27s+perfect.+You+turn+a+few+knobs%2C+a+few+of+those+mechanical+adjustments+at+which+the+higher+apes+are+so+proficient%2C+and+lean+back+and+drain+your+mind+of+all+thought.+And+there+you+are+watching+the+bubbles+in+the+primeval+ooze.+You+don%27t+have+to+concentrate.+You+don%27t+have+to+react.+You+don%27t+have+to+remember.+You+don%27t+miss+your+brain+because+you+don%27t+need+it.+Your+heart+and+liver+and+lungs+continue+to+function+normally.+Apart+from+that%2C+all+is+peace+and+quiet.+You+are+in+the+man%27s+nirvana.+And+if+some+poor+nasty+minded+person+comes+along+and+says+you+look+like+a+fly+on+a+can+of+garbage%2C+pay+him+no+mind.+He+probably+hasn%27t+got+the+price+of+a+television+set.&image=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.iwise.com%2FauthorIcons%2F299%2FRaymond+Chandler_64x64.png){kind=link}
 Baker"e=By+any+precise+definition%2C+Washington+is+a+city+of+advanced+depravity.+There+one+meets+and+dines+with+the+truly+great+killers+of+the+age%2C+but+only+the+quirkily+fastidious+are+offended%2C+for+the+killers+are+urbane+and+learned+gentlemen+who+discuss+their+work+with+wit+and+charm+and+know+which+tool+to+use+on+the+escargots.%0AOn+New+York%27s+East+Side+one+occasionally+meets+a+person+so+palpably+evil+as+to+be+fascinatingly+irresistible.+There+is+a+smell+of+power+and+danger+on+these+people%2C+and+one+may+be+horrified%2C+exhilarated%2C+disgusted+or+mesmerized+by+the+awful+possibilities+they+suggest%2C+but+never+simply+depressed.%0ADepression+comes+in+the+presence+of+depravity+that+makes+no+pretense+about+itself%2C+a+kind+of+depravity+that+says%2C+%22You+and+I%2C+we+are+base%2C+ugly%2C+tasteless%2C+cruel+and+beastly%3B+let%27s+admit+it+and+have+a+good+wallow.%22%0AThat+is+how+Times+Square+speaks.+And+not+only+Times+Square.+Few+cities+in+the+country+lack+the+same+amenities.+Pornography%2C+prostitution%2C+massage+parlors%2C+hard-core+movies%2C+narcotics+dealers+%E2%80%94+all+seem+to+be+inescapable+and+permanent+results+of+an+enlightened+view+of+liberty+which+has+expanded+the+American%27s+right+to+choose+his+own+method+of+shaping+a+life.%0AGranted+such+freedom%2C+it+was+probably+inevitable+that+many+of+us+would+yield+to+the+worst+instincts%2C+and+many+do%2C+and+not+only+in+New+York.+Most+cities%2C+however%2C+are+able+to+keep+the+evidence+out+of+the+center+of+town.+Under+a+rock%2C+as+it+were.+In+New+York%2C+a+concatenation+of+economics%2C+shifting+real+estate+values+and+subway+lines+has+worked+to+turn+the+rock+over+and+put+the+show+on+display+in+the+middle+of+town.%0AWhat+used+to+be+called+%22The+Crossroads+of+the+World%22+is+now+a+sprawling+testament+to+the+dreariness+which+liberty+can+produce+when+it+permits+people+with+no+taste+whatever+to+enjoy+the+same+right+to+depravity+as+the+elegant+classes.%0A&image=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.iwise.com%2FauthorIcons%2F518%2FRussell+%28Wayne%29+Baker_64x64.png){kind=link}
![Powerpoint](http://www.iwise.com/downloadPPT.php?quote_id=89786&author=Robert G Ingersoll"e=I+have+said+before%2C+and+I+say+again%2C+the+brain+thinks+in+spite+of+me%2C+and+I+am+not+responsible+for+my+thoughts.+I+cannot+control+the+beating+of+my+heart.+I+cannot+stop+the+blood+that+flows+through+the+rivers+of+my+veins.+And+yet+I+am+held+responsible+for+my+belief.+Then+why+does+not+God+give+me+the+evidence%3F+They+say+he+has.+In+what%3F+In+an+inspired+book.+But+I+do+not+understand+it+as+they+do.+Must+I+be+false+to+my+understanding%3F+They+say%3A+%22When+you+come+to+die+you+will+be+sorry+if+you+do+not.%22+Will+I+be+sorry+when+I+come+to+die+that+I+did+not+live+a+hypocrite%3F+Will+I+be+sorry+that+I+did+not+say+I+was+a+Christian+when+I+was+not%3F+Will+the+fact+that+I+was+honest+put+a+thorn+in+the+pillow+of+death%3F+Cannot+God+forgive+me+for+being+honest%3F+They+say+that+when+he+was+in+Jerusalem+he+forgave+his+murderers%2C+but+now+he+will+not+forgive+an+honest+man+for+differing+from+him+on+the+subject+of+the+Trinity.&image=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.iwise.com%2FauthorIcons%2F14203%2FRobert+G_Ingersoll_64x64.png){kind=link}
![Powerpoint](http://www.iwise.com/downloadPPT.php?quote_id=29164&author=E L Doctorow"e=++You+can%27t+remember+sex.+You+can+remember+the+fact+of+it%2C+and+recall+the+setting%2C+and+even+the+details%2C+but+the+sex+of+the+sex+cannot+be+remembered%2C+the+substantive+truth+of+it%2C+it+is+by+nature+self-erasing%2C+you+can+remember+its+anatomy+and+be+left+with+a+judgment+as+to+the+degree+of+your+liking+of+it%2C+but+whatever+it+is+as+a+splurge+of+being%2C+as+a+loss%2C+as+a+charge+of+the+conviction+of+love+stopping+your+heart+like+your+execution%2C+there+is+no+memory+of+it+in+the+brain%2C+only+the+deduction+that+it+happened+and+that+time+passed%2C+leaving+you+with+a+silhouette+that+you+want+to+fill+in+again.&image=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.iwise.com%2FauthorIcons%2F9054%2FE++L+Doctorow_64x64.png){kind=link}
![Powerpoint](http://www.iwise.com/downloadPPT.php?quote_id=79751&author=E L Doctorow"e=You+can%E2%80%99t+remember+sex.+You+can+remember+the+fact+of+it%2C+and+recall+the+setting%2C+and+even+the+details%2C+but+the+sex+of+the+sex+cannot+be+remembered%2C+the+substantive+truth+of+it%2C+it+is+by+nature+self-erasing%2C+you+can+remember+its+anatomy+and+be+left+with+a+judgment+as+to+the+degree+of+your+liking+of+it%2C+but+whatever+it+is+as+a+splurge+of+being%2C+as+a+loss%2C+as+a+charge+of+the+conviction+of+love+stopping+your+heart+like+your+execution%2C+there+is+no+memory+of+it+in+the+brain%2C+only+the+deduction+that+it+happened+and+that+time+passed%2C+leaving+you+with+a+silhouette+that+you+want+to+fill+in+again.%0A&image=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.iwise.com%2FauthorIcons%2F9054%2FE++L+Doctorow_64x64.png){kind=link}
![Powerpoint](http://www.iwise.com/downloadPPT.php?quote_id=68827&author=Bernard M Baruch"e=%22When+good+news+about+the+market+hits+the+front+page+of+the+New+York+Times%2C+sell.%22&image=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.iwise.com%2FauthorIcons%2F1165%2FBernard+M+Baruch_64x64.png){kind=link}
![Powerpoint](http://www.iwise.com/downloadPPT.php?quote_id=116716&author=Frank Lloyd Wright"e=It+is+where+life+is+fundamental+and+free+that+men+develop+the+vision+needed+to+reveal+the+human+soul+in+the+blossoms+it+puts+forth.+...+In+a+great+workshop+like+Chicago+this+creative+power+germinates%2C+even+though+the+brutality+and+selfish+preoccupation+of+the+place+drive+it+elsewhere+for+bread.+Men+of+this+type+have+loved+Chicago%2C+have+worked+for+her%2C+and+believed+in+her.+The+hardest+thing+they+have+to+bear+is+her+shame.+These+men+could+live+and+work+here+when+to+live+and+work+in+New+York+would+stifle+their+genius+and+fill+their+purse....+New+York+still+believes+that+art+should+be+imported%3B+brought+over+in+ships%3B+and+is+a+quite+contented+market+place.+So+while+New+York+has+reproduced+much+and+produced+nothing%2C+Chicago%E2%80%99s+achievements+in+architecture+have+gained+world-wide+recognition+as+a+distinctively+American+architecture.%0A&image=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.iwise.com%2FauthorIcons%2F8021%2FFrank+Lloyd_Wright_64x64.png){kind=link}
![Powerpoint](http://www.iwise.com/downloadPPT.php?quote_id=95385&author=Sinclair Lewis"e=You+have+curiosity+and+you+are+stubborn.+You+do+not+accept+rules.+Therefore+I+t%27ink+you+will+either+make+a+very+good+scientist+or+a+very+bad+one%2C+and+if+you+are+bad+enough%2C+you+will+be+popular+with+the+rich+ladies+who+rule+this+city%2C+New+York%2C+and+you+can+gif+lectures+for+a+living+or+even+become%2C+if+you+get+to+be+plausible+enough%2C+a+college+president.+So+anyvay%2C+it+will+be+interesting.+%7E+Gottlieb%2C+Ch.+26&image=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.iwise.com%2FauthorIcons%2F1178%2FSinclair_Lewis_64x64.png){kind=link}
![Powerpoint](http://www.iwise.com/downloadPPT.php?quote_id=2314&author=John Updike"e=++Dreams+come+true%3B+without+that+possibility%2C+nature+would+not+incite+us+to+have+them.&image=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.iwise.com%2FauthorIcons%2F212%2FJohn+Updike_64x64.png){kind=link}
![Powerpoint](http://www.iwise.com/downloadPPT.php?quote_id=32434&author=John Updike"e=++A+healthy+male+adult+bore+consumes+each+year+one+and+a+half+times+his+own+weight+in+other+people%27s+patience.&image=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.iwise.com%2FauthorIcons%2F212%2FJohn+Updike_64x64.png){kind=link}
![Powerpoint](http://www.iwise.com/downloadPPT.php?quote_id=48609&author=John Updike"e=Any+activity+becomes+creative+when+the+doer+cares+about+doing+it+right%2C+or+doing+it+better.&image=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.iwise.com%2FauthorIcons%2F212%2FJohn+Updike_64x64.png){kind=link}
![Powerpoint](http://www.iwise.com/downloadPPT.php?quote_id=26595&author=John Updike"e=++Rain+is+grace%3B+rain+is+the+sky+condescending+to+the+earth%3B+without+rain%2C+there+would+be+no+life.&image=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.iwise.com%2FauthorIcons%2F212%2FJohn+Updike_64x64.png){kind=link}
![Powerpoint](http://www.iwise.com/downloadPPT.php?quote_id=48612&author=John Updike"e=Art+is+like+baby+shoes.+When+you+coat+them+with+gold%2C+they+can+no+longer+be+worn.&image=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.iwise.com%2FauthorIcons%2F212%2FJohn+Updike_64x64.png){kind=link}
![Powerpoint](http://www.iwise.com/downloadPPT.php?quote_id=9213&author=John Updike"e=++I+love+my+government+not+least+for+the+extent+to+which+it+leaves+me+alone.&image=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.iwise.com%2FauthorIcons%2F212%2FJohn+Updike_64x64.png){kind=link}
![Powerpoint](http://www.iwise.com/downloadPPT.php?quote_id=22182&author=John Updike"e=++Perfectionism+is+the+enemy+of+creation%2C+as+extreme+self-solitude+is+the+enemy+of+well-being.&image=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.iwise.com%2FauthorIcons%2F212%2FJohn+Updike_64x64.png){kind=link}
![Powerpoint](http://www.iwise.com/downloadPPT.php?quote_id=8386&author=John Updike"e=++America+is+a+vast+conspiracy+to+make+you+happy.&image=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.iwise.com%2FauthorIcons%2F212%2FJohn+Updike_64x64.png){kind=link}
![Powerpoint](http://www.iwise.com/downloadPPT.php?quote_id=29225&author=John Updike"e=++Sex+is+like+money%3B+only+too+much+is+enough.&image=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.iwise.com%2FauthorIcons%2F212%2FJohn+Updike_64x64.png){kind=link}