Quicksand

Quicksand is a colloid hydrogel consisting of fine granular material (such as sand or silt), clay, and water. It forms in saturated loose sand when the sand is suddenly agitated. When water in the sand cannot escape, it creates a liquefied soil that loses strength and cannot support weight. Quotes The real question of government versus private enterprise is argued on too philosophical and abstract a basis.  Theoretically, planning may be good.  But nobody has ever figured out the cause of government stupidity—and until they do (and find the cure), all ideal plans will fall into quicksand. Richard Feynman, letter to his wife Gweneth, written while attending a gravity conference in Communist-era Warsaw in 1963, contained in "Letters, Photos, and Drawings," What Do You Care What Other People Think (pp. 90–91, 1988). Human progress never rolls in on wheels of inevitability; it comes through the tireless efforts of men willing to be co-workers with God, and without this hard work, time itself becomes an ally of the forces of social stagnation.  We must use time creatively, in the knowledge that the time is always ripe to do right.  Now is the time to make real the promise of democracy and transform our pending national elegy into a creative psalm of brotherhood.  Now is the time to lift our national policy from the quicksand of racial injustice to the solid rock of human dignity. Martin Luther King, Jr., Letter from a Birmingham Jail (1963). This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilising drug of gradualism.  Now is the time to make real the promises of democracy.  Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice.  Now is the time to open the doors of opportunity to all of God's children.  Now is the time to lift our nation from the quicksands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood.  Now is the time to make justice a reality for all of God's children. Martin Luther King, Jr., I Have a Dream (1963). Making the best of things is … a damn poor way of dealing with them.... My whole life has been a series of escapes from that quicksand. Rose Wilder Lane, letters to Guy Moyston, (25 August 1924 and 11 Jul 1925). With me, the present is forever, and forever is always shifting, flowing, melting.  This second is life.  And when it is gone it is dead.  But you can't start over with each new second.  You have to judge by what is dead.  It's like quicksand…hopeless from the start. Sylvia Plath, The Unabridged Journals of Sylvia Plath (8 July 1950, published 2000). A quicksand of deceit. William Shakespeare, Henry VI, Part III (c. 1591), Act V, scene 4, line 26. From film Henry "Mutt" Williams-Jones III:  What is it, quicksand?Marion Ravenwood:  I'm calm.Dr. Henry "Indiana" Jones, Jr.:  No, it's a drysand pit.Marion:  I'm sinking, but I'm calm."Indiana":  Quicksand is a mix of sand, mud and water and depending on the viscosity it's not as dangerous as people sometimes think.Marion:  For Pete's sake, Jones, we're not in school!"Indiana":  Don't worry.  There's nothing to worry about unless there's a… [suddenly there is a void collapse] …a void collapse.Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008). Sergeant Calhoun:   What is this?  [sees sign]  Nesquik-sand!?Fix-It Felix, Jr:  Quicksand?  Oh, I'll hop out and grab you one of those vines.  [tries unsuccessfully to hop]  I can't hop.  I'm hopless.  This is hopeless!  We're gonna drown here!Sergeant Calhoun:   Stop thrashing.  Stop—stop, you're making us sink faster. [Felix continues thrashing]  Get ahold of yourself!  [hits Felix]Wreck-It Ralph (2012). From music I have died a thousand daysJust to feel this quicksandAnd every movement is embracedBy this sweet frustration Audiovent, "Sweet Frustration," Dirty Sexy Knights in Paris (2002). Our mother's philosophyIt feels like quicksandAnd if she sinksI'm going down with her Björk, "Quicksand," Vulnicura (2015). Should I kiss the viper's fangOr herald loud the death of ManI'm sinking in the quicksand of my thoughtAnd I ain't got the power anymore David Bowie, "Quicksand," Hunky Dory (1971). Your father's gone a-huntingIn the quicksand and the clayAnd a woman cannot follow himAlthough she knows the way Leonard Cohen, "Hunter's Lullaby," Various Positions (1984). Slow, sinking feelingKills the mood you're conveyingAnd it pulls me far down below 'Cause the world waits aroundBut I keep slipping and losing ground Stop you're talking downI lack the strength to sit or standI lost my self confidence in the quicksandIn the quicksandIn the quicksandIn the quicksand Finger Eleven, "Quicksand," Tip (1997). Our love is quicksandSo easy to drownThey steal the gravity, yeahFrom moving ground Hole, "Dying," Celebrity Skin (1998). As If I ever had a choiceAll in the hands of the energyOnce again feel the quicksand swallow meTonight, I won't struggle In Flames, "Touch Of Red," Soundtrack to Your Escape (2004). Some people fall in love and touch the skySome people fall in love and find quicksand Incubus, "Quicksand," Light Grenades (2006). Nothing but a castle built on top of a swamp of quicksand Blyss (later known as Lifehouse), "Mudpie," Diff's Lucky Day (1999). I'm running in quicksandSomething's haunting meThe guilty past I've buriedMy mind won't let me sleep Megadeth, "Insomnia," Risk (1999). Figure eighting in quicksand R.E.M., "The Ascent of Man," Around the Sun (2004). That someone is youThat someone is youThat someone has pulled me up and out of cartoon quicksandPulled me up and out of me R.E.M., "That Someone Is You," Collapse into Now (2011). Feet first into the quicksandEvery day we are surrenderingNever straying from the game planI keep hoping you will take my hand and stand up Rise Against, "A Beautiful Indifference," The Black Market (2014). Quicksand's got no sense of humourI'm still laughing like hell Shinedown, "Sound of Madness," The Sound of Madness (2008). You're nothing but a historyA second here and then you're goneQuicksand, quicksand all aroundTurn the corner just beyond Sonic Youth, "JC," Dirty (1992). Time's like quicksandSoon again, I'm standing naked in Wonderland The Cult, "Wonderland," Ceremony (1991). Deviate all by means in name'Cause we all crawl in quicksand the same The Mars Volta, "Halo of Nembutals," Octahedron (2009). The quicksand of timeYou know it makes me want to cry The Moody Blues, "Isn't Life Strange," Seventh Sojourn (1972) These hands disappear as I wave farewellThis gentle quicksand turns into hard times They Might Be Giants, "Hate The Villanelle" You're dancing in quicksand Tool, "Swamp Song", Undertow'' (1993). External links Category:Nature Category:Environment Category:Geology