Monday, May 30, 2005

"Oh, judgemental and superior." Max says. He takes a bite of Pop-Tart and a swig of cold coffee. "To regard others critically and to feel that one's own situation, decisions, or actions are in some way more noble, or simply more comme il faut, than theirs, is one of the great satisfactions of a reflective life."

Paul Kafka-Gibbons, Dupont Circle (235)

Saturday, May 28, 2005

George
...and try to keep your clothes on, too. There aren't many more sickening sights than you with a couple of drinks in you and your skirt up over your head, you know...

Edward Albee
, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (17)
Often during this period in my life, to the embarassment of my hearers, I claimed that my whole existance was love. I meant that I was trying never to close my hand against anyone - even the unloveable (in dealing with whom I was having a great deal of practice). I would have placed at anyone's disposal my meager resources of money or advice or concern. Sometimes I fancied that all the elements of a golden age of universal well-wishing were already known and would become instantly effective when, as with the components of DDT, some genius combined them in their right order. I was always delighted with the slightest breakthrough in this field.

Quentin Crisp, The Naked Civil Servant (111)

Wednesday, May 04, 2005

"Let's see," Fiona said, paging through a thick book entitled Mushroom Minutiae, a word which here means "obscure facts." "It was in the table of contents - that's all I've read so far. It was about halfway through." She brought the book over to the table, and ran a finger down the table of contents while the Baudelaires leaned over to see. "Chapter Thirty-Six, The Yeast of Beasts. Chapter Thirty-Seven, Morel Behavior in a Free Society. Chapter Thirty-Eight, Fungible Mold, Moldable Fungi. Chapter Thirty-Nine, Visitable Fungal Ditches. Chapter Forty, The Gorgonian Grotto - there!"

Lemony Snicket, The Grim Grotto (101-102)

Sunday, May 01, 2005

Here is a woman who is solely responsible for the brand image of Amtrak, our nation's flagship railroad, and she's wearing a tacky pantsuit from QVC and twelve-dollar shoes. She sat back in her chair like a trucker and complained. "Why the hell don't you talk about the new engines we got? We got all new engines on most of our trains. Why can't you say, 'Come aboard and experience our new engines.' Why can't you talk about that if you don't wanna talk about the price?"

Augusten Burroughs, Magical Thinking (56)