In all of the reading I’ve done over the years, I’ve collected certain quotes and passages that have resonated with me in some way or another. While I have a bunch of these quotes in storage, there are four that I come back to frequently, and which I would call my favorites. Some of these…
Isaac Asimov was known as a bit of an egoist1 but this was something that he openly acknowledged. He called these “charming Asimovian immodesties” and later referred to his attitude as “cheerful self-appreciation.” However, once in a while, he could come across as brilliantly modest. For instance, this quote from him which I read a…
I just finished reading Robert Heinlein’s “Logic of Empire” in the March 1941 Astounding* and there were two quotes that jumped out at me as particularly apropos to current events in the Federal government today. First quote: “I suppose you’re a radical now?” Doc’s eyebrows lifted slightly. “Not at all. Radical and conservative are terms for…
Those of you with little kids will probably get an extra special kick out of the logic behind Ken Jenning’s son’s question that Ken posted on his blog today. It’s very Michael Scott-esque.
I was browsing through William Gibson’s website licking my fingers in anticipation of his latest book, Spook Country, when I came across this gem of insight on how he is able to write so much: I suspect I have spent just about exactly as much time actually writing as the average person my age has…
UPDATE: Just ignore me. As kevnyc points out in his comment, I’m just being repetitive. I remembered this this morning from one of my bus tours of London: Nancy Astor: Mr. Churchill, if you were my husband I’d poison your coffee! Winston Churchill: Ms. Astor, if I was your husband I’d drink it! What I…
For some reason, I took to glancing at a favorite quote of mine that I haven’t looked at in a very long time. It was refreshing to do so. The time will come when diligent research over long periods will bring to light things which now lie hidden. A single lifetime, even though entirely devoted…
“Thank you. Good night. Whoo-hoo!” strausmouse will know where that comes from.
I was thinking about elections earlier and that led me to think about ethics (something which always seems to come up when discussing politics). It made me think in turn about a quote I once read on ethics and ethical behavior. I couldn’t remember the quote word for word, but I did some digging and…
“First of all it was October, a rare month for boys.”
Great quote I came across in my recent reading: It is morally as bad not to care whether a thing is true or not, so long as it makes you feel good, as it is not to care how you got your money as long as you have got it. From Edmund Way Teale’s 1950…
This was underneath the bottle cap to the Nantucket Nectars apple juice I am having with my lunch today: The first bank on Nantucket was established in 1795. The first bank robbery was that same year. For some reason, that made me laugh.