Notable quotes, excerpts, and profound lines.

[BenG]

The first thing a man will do for his ideals is lie.

― Joseph A. Schumpeter, History of Economic Analysis

[covingtoncat73]

"At least the World will end, an event anticipated with great joy by many. It will end very soon, but not in the year 2000, which has come and gone. From that I conclude that God Almighty is not heavily into Numerology."
— Kurt Vonnegut, Hocus Pocus

[kennyc]

Originally Posted by covingtoncat73

"At least the World will end, an event anticipated with great joy by many. It will end very soon, but not in the year 2000, which has come and gone. From that I conclude that God Almighty is not heavily into Numerology."
— Kurt Vonnegut, Hocus Pocus

But today is 2/22 and in five years today will be 2/22/22!!!!

[covingtoncat73]

Originally Posted by kennyc

But today is 2/22 and in five years today will be 2/22/22!!!!

LOL!

“...she had that brand of pragmatism that would find her the first brewing tea after Armageddon.”
― Clive Barker, Weaveworld

[covingtoncat73]

“Nothing ever begins.
There is no first moment; no single word or place from which this or any story springs.
The threads can always be traced back to some earlier tale, and the tales that preceded that; though as the narrator's voice recedes the connections will seem to grow more tenuous, for each age will want the tale told as if it were of its own making.”
― Clive Barker, Weaveworld (current read)

[kennyc]

Originally Posted by covingtoncat73

“Nothing ever begins.
There is no first moment; no single word or place from which this or any story springs.
The threads can always be traced back to some earlier tale, and the tales that preceded that; though as the narrator's voice recedes the connections will seem to grow more tenuous, for each age will want the tale told as if it were of its own making.”
― Clive Barker, Weaveworld (current read)

[AlexBell]

'So long as prisons and madhouses exist someone must be shut up in them. If not you, I. If not I, some third person.'

Anton Chekhov, in Ward No. 6

[covingtoncat73]

"People pontificate, 'Suicide is selfishness.' Career churchmen like Pater go a step further and call in a cowardly assault on the living. Oafs argue this specious line for varying reason: to evade fingers of blame, to impress one's audience with one's mental fiber, to vent anger, or just because one lacks the necessary suffering to sympathize. Cowardice is nothing to do with it - suicide takes considerable courage. Japanese have the right idea. No, what's selfish is to demand another to endure an intolerable existence, just to spare families, friends, and enemies a bit of soul-searching."
David Mitchell, Cloud Atlas

[covingtoncat73]

"'Everything has its pattern,' Freddy put in. 'If you find it, the great can be contained within the small.'"

Clive Barker, Weaveworld

[gmw]

Originally Posted by covingtoncat73

"'Everything has its pattern,' Freddy put in. 'If you find it, the great can be contained within the small.'"

Clive Barker, Weaveworld

Which leads fairly naturally to:

"Exploring this set I certainly never had the feeling of invention. I never had the feeling that my imagination was rich enough to invent all those extraordinary things on discovering them. They were there, even though nobody had seen them before."

-- Benoit Mandelbrot
(Quote borrowed from Wikipedia, apparently transcribed from an interview with Arthur C. Clarke.)

[BenG]

Originally Posted by kennyc

But today is 2/22 and in five years today will be 2/22/22!!!!

I don't know. Nothing happened on 7/7/77 which is a more significant number.

[astrangerhere]

"But every sapient species has a long, messy history of powers that rise and fall. The people we remember are the ones who decided how our maps should be drawn. Nobody remembers who built the roads."

- Becky Chambers | The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet

[covingtoncat73]

“There are worse things than existence,” said Immacolata.

“Oh?” the Hag replied. “Can you name one?”

Immacolata thought for a short while. “No,” she conceded, with a soft sigh of distress. “You may be right, sister.”

~Weaveworld, Clive Barker

[BenG]

“Nobody's happy. What's happy? Happiness is over when the lights come on."
The older woman poured herself a glass of sangria. "Screw that," she said quietly.
"What?"
"Screw that. Wash your mouth out. Who taught you that half-assed existential drivel?”

― Armistead Maupin, Tales of the City

[Larla]

Originally Posted by kennyc

But today is 2/22 and in five years today will be 2/22/22!!!!

And in 205 years ...