What is a Quafaie?


Quafaie (pronounced: kwa FAY) are fantasy creatures that exist in the fantasy writing of Hugh Kemeny, and are created by him. They are primarily in Hugh Kemeny’s Black Phoenix short stories...

To learn more, read this post: What is a Quafaie?

Thursday, January 23, 2014

Daily Inspiration

The Way of the sage is to act but not to compete.
- Lao Tzu
Zen, 2014 day-at-a-time calendar; Thu 16 Jan 2014


You are quaffing drink from a hundred fountains: whenever any of these hundred yields less, your pleasure is diminished. But when the sublime fountain gushes from within you, no longer need you steal from the other fountains.
- Djalal Ad-Din Rumi
Wisdom of The East daily calendar; Fri 27 Dec 2013

Wednesday, January 22, 2014

Daily Inspiration

Behave toward everyone as if receiving a great guest.
- Confucius
Zen, 2014 day-at-a-time calendar; Wed 15 Jan 2014



Acts of compassion are eternal; they live forever shining their rays throughout the Universe.
- Chogyam Trungpa
Wisdom of The East daily calendar; Thu 26 Dec 2013

Tuesday, January 21, 2014

Daily Inspiration

Happiness is not something ready made.
It comes from your own actions.
- Dalai Lama
Zen, 2014 day-at-a-time calendar; Tue 14 Jan 2014


May I be peaceful and happy.
May I be safe and free from injury.
May I be free from anger, fear, and anxiety.
- Buddhist Mediation Verse
Wisdom of The East daily calendar; Wed 25 Dec 2013

Monday, January 20, 2014

Daily Inspiration

Our greatest glory is not in never failing, but in rising every time we fall.
- Confucius
Zen, 2014 day-at-a-time calendar; Mon 13 Jan 2014


To encounter a true master is worth a century of studying his or her teaching.
- Thich Nhat Hanh
Wisdom of The East daily calendar; Tue 24 Dec 2013

Sunday, January 19, 2014

Daily Inspiration

Each one has to find his peace from within. And peace to be real must be unaffected by outside circumstances.
- Mahatma Gandhi
Zen, 2014 day-at-a-time calendar; Sat/Sun 11/12 Jan 2014



We do not make harmony.
We do not achieve it or gain it.
It is there all the time.
- Maezumi Roshi
Wisdom of The East daily calendar; Mon 23 Dec 2013

Saturday, January 18, 2014

Daily Factoid

Darn, That's Clever
On the Aran Islands off the coast of Ireland, knitting patters were derived from daily life. The lattice stitch, for example, represented the low stone walls dividing small patches of land throughout the countryside. 
- The Old Farmer's Everyday Almanac Calendar; Mon 30 Dec 2013 



Poor Richard's Advice
With the old Almanack and the old Year,
Leaves thy old vices, tho' ever so dear.
- Benjamin Franklin, Poor Richard's Almanack, 1742
- The Old Farmer's Everyday Almanac Calendar; Tue 31 Dec 2013

Daily Inspiration

To have little is to possess.
To have plenty is to be perplexed.
- Lao Tzu
Zen, 2014 day-at-a-time calendar; Fri 10 Jan 2014



In the march of events, we notice the rise and fall, and we generally look towards the rise, forgetting the fall. Both are necessary, and both are great. This is the nature of the universe.
- Swami Vivekananda
Wisdom of The East daily calendar; Sat/Sun 21/22 Dec 2013

Friday, January 17, 2014

Daily Factoid

Is That Clear?
A polar bear's fur is not white, but transparent. Like snow, the fur scatters and reflects all wavelengths of sunlight, so it appears white.
- The Old Farmer's Everyday Almanac Calendar; Fri 27 Dec 2013 



To prevent chapped hands,
was them with flour of mustard [ground mustard seed].
Or, in bran and water boiled together.
- John Wesley, Primitive Remedies, 1776
- The Old Farmer's Everyday Almanac Calendar; Sat/Sun 28/29 Dec 2013

Daily Inspiration

Happily the peaceful live, discarding both victory and defeat.
- Buddha
Zen, 2014 day-at-a-time calendar; Thu 9 Jan 2014


If one allows a problem to endure for a month or a day, or even for a few minutes, it distorts the mind.
- Krishnamurti
Wisdom of The East daily calendar; Fri 20 Dec 2013

Thursday, January 16, 2014

Daily Factoid

If ice hand on the willow at Christmas,
clover may be cut at Easter.
- The Old Farmer's Everyday Almanac Calendar; Wed 25 Dec 2013 



Be true to your work,
your word,
and your friend.
- Henry David Thoreau, American writer (1817-62)
- The Old Farmer's Everyday Almanac Calendar; Thu 26 Dec 2013

Daily Inspiration

Hold faithfulness and sincerity as first principles.
- Confucius
Zen, 2014 day-at-a-time calendar; Wed 8 Jan 2014


For what purpose should one cultivate wisdom?
May you always ask yourself this question.
- Daisaku Ikeda
Wisdom of The East daily calendar; Thu 19 Dec 2013

Wednesday, January 15, 2014

Daily Factoid

Well, even then, though cake and pie do service on the side,
And coffee is a luxury that may not be denied,
Still of the many viands there is one that's hailed as chief,
And that, as you are well aware, is rare roast beef.
- Eugene Field, American poet (1850-95)
- The Old Farmer's Everyday Almanac Calendar; Mon 23 Dec 2013 



Dear Old Rudy
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, the brainchild of department store ad copywriter Robert May, was "born" in 1939, whn the poem of the same name was published as a promotional giveaway.
- The Old Farmer's Everyday Almanac Calendar; Tue 24 Dec 2013 

Daily Inspiration

To take what is required may be profitable; to have more given to you is highly likely to be a burden. To overload a stomach is to court slow death.
- Mahatma Gandhi
Zen, 2014 day-at-a-time calendar; Tue 7 Jan 2014


By being spiritually minded, you become aware of your unity with the Supreme Being. That is life, truly speaking.
- Swami Satprakashananda
Wisdom of The East daily calendar; Wed 18 Dec 2013

Tuesday, January 14, 2014

Daily Factoid

On occasion, sprinkle a small amount of wood ashes from the fireplace or stove over the compost pile to add nutrients, such as potassium. Its alkaline nature will also help to conuterbalance any acidic materials added to the pile.
- The Old Farmer's Everyday Almanac Calendar; Fri 20 Dec 2013 



Ladies First
Term 1963-69
First Lady Claudia "Lady Bird" Johnson, wife of Lyndon B. Johnson (36th U.S. president) was born on December 22, 1912. When her husband ran for election in 1964, Lady Bird embarked on a 4-day, 1,628-mile campaign trip - the first for a first lady without the president.
- The Old Farmer's Everyday Almanac Calendar; Sat/Sun 21/22 Dec 2013 

Monday, January 13, 2014

Daily Factoid

Birth Verse
If cold December gave you birth,
The month of snow and ice and mirth,
Place on your hand a turquoise blue;
Success will bless whate'er you do.
- Tiffany and Company 1870
- The Old Farmer's Everyday Almanac Calendar; Wed 18 Dec 2013 



A period of release from exacting duties has been proven by experience to be beneficial to everyone, and it is poor economy not to act on this principle, considering the choice you have among the many newly developed facilities for recreation.
- The Old Farmer's Almanac, 1914
- The Old Farmer's Everyday Almanac Calendar; Thu 19 Dec 2013 

Daily Inspiration

It is as hard to see one's self as to look backwards without turning around.
- Henry David Thoreau
Zen, 2014 day-at-a-time calendar; Mon 6 Jan 2014 



One moon shows in every pool;
in every pool, the one moon.
- Zen saying
Wisdom of The East daily calendar; Tue 17 Dec 2013

Sunday, January 12, 2014

Daily Factoid

Family Jokes,
though rightly cursed by strangers, are the bond that keeps most families alive.
- Stella Benson, English writer (1892-1933)
- The Old Farmer's Everyday Almanac Calendar; Mon 16 Dec 2013 



Historic Happenings
On this day in 1969, Project Blue Book, a program dedicated to the investigation of UFO's was terminated. During more than 20 years, the U.S. Air Force had examined 12,618 sightings. 701 remain unexplained.
- The Old Farmer's Everyday Almanac Calendar; Tue 17 Dec 2013

Daily Inspiration

If you wish to experience peace, provide peace for another.
- Dalai Lama
Zen, 2014 day-at-a-time calendar; Sat/Sun 4/5 Jan 2014 



Success comes by obeying the divine and the material laws.
- Paramahansa Yogananda
Wisdom of The East daily calendar; Mon 16 Dec 2013

Saturday, January 11, 2014

Daily Factoid

Colorful Display
The annual Geminid meteor shower peaks after midnight tonight. You may see blue, gree, red, white, or yellow shooting stars.
- The Old Farmer's Everyday Almanac Calendar; Fri 13 Dec 2013


Frankly, It's Free
For many official purposes, members of the U.S. Congress need only to sign their name where a postage stamp would normally appear on a letter.
This is called "franking privileges." The vice president also enjoys this benefit, as ell as former presidents.
- The Old Farmer's Everyday Almanac Calendar; Sat/Sun 14/15 Dec 2013 

Daily Inspiration

Where ignorance is our master, there is no possibility of real peace.
- Dalai Lama
Zen, 2014 day-at-a-time calendar; Fri 3 Jan 2014


The greatest recelation is stillness.
- Lao-Tzu
Wisdom of The East daily calendar; Sat/Sun 14/15 Dec 2013

Friday, January 10, 2014

Daily Factoid

Decorate your home. 
It gives the illusion that your life is more interesting than it really is.
- Charles Schulz, American cartoonist (1922-2000)
- The Old Farmer's Everyday Almanac Calendar; Wed 11 Dec 2013 


How to Find Your Perfect Mate
Make a string of snap beans and toss it into the air. When it comes down, your true love's initials will be formed.
- The Old Farmer's Everyday Almanac Calendar; Thu 12 Dec 2013

Daily Inspiration

The more laws and order are made prominent, The more thieves and robbers there will be.
- Lao Tzu
Zen, 2014 day-at-a-time calendar; Thu 2 Jan 2014 


The mid of absolute trust 
is beyond all thought, all striving, 
is perfectly at peace, for in it there id no yesterday, no today, no tomorrow.
- Seng T'san
Wisdom of The East daily calendar; Fri 13 Dec 2013

Thursday, January 9, 2014

Daily Inspiration

Kindness in words creates confidence.
Kindness in thinking creates profoundness.
Kindness in giving creates love.
- Lao Tzu
Zen, 2014 day-at-a-time calendar; Wed 1 Jan 2014


Your mind must become one, do not try to understand with your ears but with your heart. Indeed, not with your heart but with your soul.
- Chang Tzu
Wisdom of The East daily calendar; Thu 12 Dec 2013


Match each term with the correct sport.
1) bonk
2) gimme
3) kiss
4) lollipop
5) stutz

a) golf
b) gymnastics
c) volleyball
d) snowboarding
e) billiards

Highlight below for answers:
1-d; 2-a; 3-e; 4-c; 5-b
- The Old Farmer's Everyday Almanac Calendar; Mon 9 Dec 2013