illegitimi non carborundum

So, thanks to a former coworker and friend of mine, I am very much enthralled by the HBO series, "Deadwood." If any of you get a chance to watch it, I highly recommend it. It's not for the faint of heart - it's violent, gruesome and filled with foul language. But it's fantastically written, and the scenery, actors and content are just amazing.

Anyway, I just watched the behind the scenes DVD extra and the director, David Milch, was asked how he came up with the storyline on a regular basis. He doesn't have a grand plan at all, but instead just follows the path and what needs to happen is revealed for him. He quotes Friedrich August Kekule, who was a German organic scientist who discovered the shape of benzene (a ring) by dreaming of a snake eating its own tail. The quote?

Visions come to prepared spirits.

How lovely is that? What a great line to store away for a rainy day...