"My chief difficulty was in constructing the carbon filament, the incandescence of which is the source of the light...Every quarter of the globe was ransacked by my agents, and all sorts of the queerest materials used, until finally the shred of bamboo, now utilized by us, was settled upon."

"I would like evolution to join the roster of other discredited religions, like the Cargo Cult of the South Pacific. Practitioners of Cargo Cult believed that manufactured products were created by ancestral spirits, and if they imitated what they had seen the white man do, they could cause airplanes to appear out of the sky, bringing valuable cargo like radios and Television|TVs. So they constructed “airport towers” out of bamboo and “headphones” out of coconuts and waited for the airplanes to come with the cargo. It may sound silly, but in defense of the Cargo Cult, they did not wait as long for evidence supporting their theory as the Darwinists have waited for evidence supporting theirs."

"My instrument there is simply bamboo. The sound is straight from nature and it connects me to nature."

"After the corpse is almost completely burned [during cremation as per Hindu rites, the chief mourner performs the rite called kapälakriyä, the 'rite of the skull,' cracking the skull with a long bamboo stick, thus releasing the soul from entrapment in the body."

"Bamboo has long been a subject dear to the heart of the Chinese painter. Bamboo painting has practically developed into a separate art in its own right, standing about midway between calligraphy and the painting of trees."

"With women, I've got a long bamboo pole with a leather loop on the end. I slip the loop around their necks so they can't get away or come too close. Like catching snakes."

"If we have a thousand bamboo spears, there's nothing to worry about a war with the Soviet Union."

"For better or worse, zoos are how most people come to know big or exotic animals. Few will ever see wild penguins sledding downhill to see on their bellies, giant pandas holding bamboo lollipops in China or tree porcupines in the Canadian Rockies, balled up like giant pine cones."

"Bamboo is a symbol of good luck and one of the symbols of the New Year celebrations in Japan. The important image of snow-covered bamboo represents the ability to spring back after experiencing adversity. The bamboo endured the heavy burden of the snow, but in the end it had to power to spring back as if to say "I will not be defeated.""

"Be always ready. Unlike other types of wood which take a good deal of processing and finishing, bamboo needs little of that. As the great Aikido master KenshoFuruya says in Kodo: Ancient Ways, "The warrior, like bamboo, is ever ready for action." In presentation or other professional activities too, through training and practice, we can develop in our own way a state of being ever ready."

"Remember that we must be careful not to underestimate others or ourselves based only on old notions of what is weak and what is strong. You may not be from the biggest company or the product of the most famous school, but like the bamboo, stand tall, believe in your own strengths, and know that you are as strong as you need to be."

"The body of a single bamboo tree is not large by any means, but the plants endure cold winters and extremely hot summers and are sometimes the only trees left standing in the aftermath of a typhoon. They may not reach the heights of the other trees, but they are strong and stand tall in extreme weather. Bamboo is not as fragile as it may appear, not by a long shot."

"In time, even the strongest wind tires itself out, but the bamboo remains standing tall and still. A bend-but-don't-break or go-with-the-natural-flow attitude is one of the secrets for success whether we're talking about bamboo trees, answering tough questions in a Q&A session, or just dealing with the everyday vagaries of life."

"The bamboo sway with even the slightest breeze. This gentle swaying movement with the wind is a symbol of humility. Their bodies are hard and firm and yet sway gently in the breeze while their trunks stay rooted firmly in the ground below. Their foundation is solid even though they move and sway harmoniously with the wind, never fighting against it."

"The forests that surround the village there in Nara, Japan are filled with beautiful bamboo trees. In Japan, the symbolism of the bamboo plant runs deep and wide and offers practical w:Lessonslessons for life and for work."

"Painters of today start joint after joint and pile up leaf on leaf. How can that be a bamboo. When you are going to paint bamboo, you must first realize the thing completely in your mind. Then grasp the brush, fix your attention so that you see clearly what you wish to paint; start quickly, move the brush, and follow straight what you see before you, as the buzzard sweeps when the hare jumps out. If you hesitate one moment, it is gone."

"If you ask, Grandmother, what did you say? she will look up absentmindedly and, after a while, say, Oh, you're back from school? Are you hungry? There are sweet potatoes in the bamboo steamer. When she chatters it's best not to interrupt."

"While the polar bear is mostly carnivorous and the giant panda feeds almost entirely on bamboo, the remaining six species are omnivorous, with largely varied diets including both plants and animals."

"Larry Abraham has traveled throughout the world (including low-profile trips behind the Iron and Bamboo Curtains). He has lectured extensively, and he has written scores of articles and another book, Call It Conspiracy, exposing the power, the ploys, and the grand design of the real rulers of the Establishment...in both the East and the West."

"In former times, in Japan, very simple things make men happy. Moon right on fish pond at certain moment. Cricket singing in bamboo grove. Very small things bring very great feeling. Japan a little island country, must make do with very near nothing. Not like endless China, not like U.S."

"Study the teachings of the pine tree, the bamboo, and the plum blossom. The pine is evergreen, firmly rooted, and venerable. The bamboo is strong, resilient, unbreakable. The plum blossom is hardy, fragrant, and elegant."

"The body of bamboo in repose should resemble a jade dragon; the form of a bamboo with a dancing appearance should be golden phoenix turning its body."

"A gentlemen is comparable to bamboo because of their similar virtues. What people may describe and paint are only the form, the color and the type of bamboo; what neither description nor painting can encompass are the virtues for which bamboo stands. Bamboo stems are hollow, empty hearted, standing for the virtue of humbleness... Bamboo's joints (jie), which are evenly spaced, and hence represent the mean, are clear-cut (zhen) like the virtue of chastity."

"The first thing that I remember that made me realize we're in trouble, in the distance I saw something way up in the air and I couldn't figure out what it was but as he came closer on the horse I realized what it was. It was a head. He had it on a bamboo pole. A head on a bamboo pole. When I saw that, you know, I figured we were in big trouble."

"The first thing I do when I’m creating, either for stage or for cinema, is to find the ideograph of the story. Which is; the one, simple expression that can tell everything. And at the same time be recognizable for the audience. It’s like in old Japanese paintings – if you were to paint a bamboo forest, you should be able to find its essence with only three strokes."

"Bamboo is a Chinese symbol for longevity because of its durability, strength, flexibility and resilience. It survives in the harshest conditions, and seems to endure through all the brutalities mother nature can dish out - still standing tall, and staying green year-round. Its flexibility and adaptability are a lesson to us all that the secret of a long happy life is to go with the flow. Feng Shui practitioners recommend putting bamboo plants in the front of your home to assure long life for all those who dwell there."

"Goddess of Bamboo Who's there that you don't reach out? When you were young You gave us the rice during the famine When you grew up You grew as tall as the mountain itself Though you stayed at the bottom You became a flute to Lord Krishna Became a cradle to the new born You became a thing of racing toy for the playful children You became the storage can for the food grains During the off season you became a storage room You became a celebration as the pillar of the wedding pendal You became the excitement During the dance of the Nandi-Kolu You became the roof for the entire village You became a blowing tube for the stove When my grandparents became weak you became the supporting stick You became a paddle for the boatman You became a beautiful basket in the hands of the artisan When man wanted to climb up You became a ladder When man was but a dead body You became the the platform to carry him to heaven."

"Me ol' bam-boo, me ol' bam-boo You'd better never bother with me ol' bam-boo. You can have me hat or me bum-ber-shoo But you'd better never bother with me ol' bam-boo."

"Lung cancer"

"I'll tell you why I like the cigarette business. It cost a penny to make. Sell it for a dollar. It's addictive. And there's a fantastic brand loyalty."

"He who doth not smoke hath either known no great griefs, or refuseth himself the softest consolation, next to that which comes from heaven."

"Woman in this scale, the weed in that, Jupiter, hang out thy balance, and weigh them both; and if thou give the preference to woman, all I can say is, the next time Juno ruffles thee—O Jupiter, try the weed."

"Tobacco, divine, rare superexcellent tobacco, which goes far beyond all panaceas, potable gold and philosopher's stones, a sovereign remedy to all diseases."

"After he had administer'd a dose Of snuff mundungus to his nose; And powder'd th' inside of his skull, Instead of th' outward jobbernol, He shook it with a scornful look On th' adversary, and thus he spoke."

"Divine in hookas, glorious in a pipe When tipp'd with amber, mellow, rich, and ripe; … Yet thy true lovers more admire by far Thy naked beauties - give me a cigar!"

"I'm gettin' tired of guys who smoke pipes. When are they gonna outlaw this shit? Guy with a fuckin' pipe! It's an arrogant thing to place a burning barrier between you and the rest of the world. It's supposed to imply thoughtfulness or intelligence. It's not intelligent to stand around with a controlled fire sticking out of your mouth. I say, "Hey, professor! You want somethin' hot to suck on? Call me! I'll give ya somethin' to put in your mouth!" I think these pipe-smokers oughta just move to the next level and go ahead and suck a dick. There's nothing wrong with suckin' dicks. Men do it, women do it; can't be all bad if everybody's doin' it. I say, Drop the pipe, and go to the dick! That's my advice. I'm here to help."

"Haven't we had about enough of this cigar smoking shit? When are these fat, arrogant, overfed, white-collar business criminals going to extinguish their cigars and move along to their next abomination? Soft, white, business pussies suckin' on a big brown dick. That's all it is, folks, a big, brown dick. You know, Freud used to say, "Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar." Yeah? Well, sometimes it's a big brown dick! With a fat, criminal business asshole sucking on the wet end of it! But, hey. The news is not all bad for me. Not all bad. Want to hear the good part? Cancer of the mouth. Good! Fuck 'em! Makes me happy; it's an attractive disease. So light up, suspender-man, and suck that smoke deep down into your empty suit. And blow it out your ass, you miserable cocksucker!"

"As the most powerful state, the U.S. makes its own laws, using force and conducting economic warfare at will. It also threatens sanctions against countries that do not abide by its conveniently flexible notions of "free trade." In one important case, Washington has employed such threats with great effectiveness (and GATT approval) to force open Asian markets for U.S. tobacco exports and advertising, aimed primarily at the growing markets of women and children. The U.S. Agriculture Department has provided grants to tobacco firms to promote smoking overseas. Asian countries have attempted to conduct educational anti-smoking campaigns, but they are overwhelmed by the miracles of the market, reinforced by U.S. state power through the sanctions threat. Philip Morris, with an advertising and promotion budget of close to $9 billion in 1992, became China's largest advertiser. The effect of Reaganite sanction threats was to increase advertising and promotion of cigarette smoking (particularly U.S. brands) quite sharply in Japan, Taiwan, and South Korea, along with the use of these lethal substances. In South Korea, for example, the rate of growth in smoking more than tripled when markets for U.S. lethal drugs were opened in 1988. The Bush Administration extended the threats to Thailand, at exactly the same time that the "war on drugs" was declared; the media were kind enough to overlook the coincidence, even suppressing the outraged denunciations by the very conservative Surgeon-General. Oxford University epidemiologist Richard Peto estimates that among Chinese children under 20 today, 50 million will die of cigarette-related diseases, an achievement that ranks high even by 20th century standards."

"The pipe, with solemn interposing puff, Makes half a sentence at a time enough; The dozing sages drop the drowsy strain, Then pause, and puff—and speak, and pause again."

"Pernicious weed! whose scent the fair annoys Unfriendly to society's chief joys, Thy worst effect is banishing for hours The sex whose presence civilizes ours."

"Tobacco was the major model used to establish the principals and methods of plant somatic cell genetics including in vitro propagation of cells and tissues, totipotency of somatic cells, doubled haploid production and genetic transformation."

"The money expended for liquor and tobacco is the difference between a young man making a success in life and making a failure."

"Tobacco is a dirty weed. I like it. It satisfies no normal need. I like it. It makes you thin, it makes you lean, It takes the hair right off your bean. It’s the worst darn stuff I’ve ever seen. I like it."

"I am convinced that if I had been a smoker I would never have been able to withstand the worries that have burdened me for so long. Perhaps thanks to that the German people owes its salvation to me. Original: Ich bin überzeugt, wenn ich Raucher gewesen wäre, nie würde ich den Sorgen standgehalten haben, die mich seit so langer Zeit belasten. Vielleicht verdankt dem das deutsche Volk mir seine Rettung."

"Indeed, without tobacco it is doubtful whether the Virginia colony could have survived at all. Initially all the authorities, at home and abroad, were against tobacco farming, largely because King James I hated the “weed,” thinking it “tending to general and new Corruption both of Men’s Bodies and Manners.” Governor Dale actually legislated against it in 1616, ordering that only one acre could be laid down to tobacco for every two of corn. It proved impossible to enforce. By the next year tobacco was being laid down even in Jamestown itself, in the streets and market-place. Men reckoned that, for the same amount of labor, tobacco yielded six times as much as any other crop. It was grown close to the banks of many little rivers, such as the James, the York, and the Rappahannock. Every small plantation had its own riverside wharf and boat to get the crop to a transatlantic packet. Roads were not necessary. Land would yield tobacco only for three years: then a fresh set of fields had to be planted. But the real problem was labor—hence slavery. The increasing supply of cheap, high-quality slave-labor from Africa came (as the planters would say and believe) as a Godsend to America’s infant tobacco industry. So it flourished mightily. James I himself signaled his capitulation as early as 1619 when he laid a tax of a shilling in the pound (5 percent) on tobacco imports to England, though he limited the total (from Bermuda as well as Virginia) to 55,000 lb a year. But soon all such quantitative restrictions were lifted and tobacco became the first great economic fact of life in the new English-speaking civilization growing up across the Atlantic. It continued to be counted as a blessing over four centuries until, in the fullness of time, President Bill Clinton brought the wheel back full circle to the days of James I, and in August 1996 declared tobacco an addictive drug."

"And a woman is only a woman, but a good cigar is a smoke."

"It is now proved beyond doubt that smoking is one of the leading causes of statistics."

"For I hate, yet love thee, so, That, whichever thing I show, The plain truth will seem to be A constrained hyperbole, And the passion to proceed More from a mistress than a weed."