My mother, who is a pianist and a fine artist, purchased a piano for me. Twice. This was back when I was a small girl. Pianos, of course, came complete with the quintessential piano teacher who whacked my hand with a stick each time I struck the wron...
For years, I declined to fill in the form for my Senate press credential that asked me to state my 'race,' unless I was permitted to put 'human.' The form had to be completed under penalty of perjury, so I could not in conscience put 'white,' which i...
[Jesus] tilted His head back, pulled up one last time to draw breath and cried, "Tetelestai!" It was a Greek expression most everyone present would have understood. It was an accounting term. Archaeologists have found papyrus tax receipts with "Tetel...
In the end, he had to admit, he didn't really understand her. He didn't understand women. He didn't understand men. He didn't even understand children very well. All he really understood, he thought, was himself and the rest of the universe. Neither ...
Writing keeps me at my desk, constantly trying to write a perfect sentence. It is a great privilege to make one’s living from writing sentences. The sentence is the greatest invention of civilization. To sit all day long assembling these extraordin...
So they were pen pals now, Emma composing long, intense letters crammed with jokes and underlining, forced banter and barely concealed longing; two-thousand-word acts of love on air-mail paper. Letters, like compilation tapes, were really vehicles fo...
Words are harsh mistresses, to be sure. Like petulant divas, they want only those parts that play to their talents and mask their blemishes, and only when complete companies of players who love their parts are assembled will they sing in harmony. I a...
the whole Bible is itself a missional phenomenon. The writings that now comprise our Bible are themselves the product of and witness to the ultimate mission of God. The Bible renders to us the story of God's mission through God's people in their enga...
Col. Rodin: Will you do it? The Jackal: Yes. Montclair: How much? The Jackal: You must understand that this is a once-in-a-lifetime job, whoever does it can never work again... Montclair: How much do you want? The Jackal: Half a million. Montclair: W...
Merlin: What are you afraid of? Arthur: I don't know. Merlin: Shall I tell you what's out there? Arthur: Yes, please. Merlin: The Dragon. A beast of such power that if you were to see it whole and all complete in a single glance, it would burn you to...
Madame D.: Come with me. M. Gustave: To... fucking Lutz? Madame D.: Please! M. Gustave: Give me your hand. You've nothing to fear. You're always anxious before you travel. I admit you appear to be suffering a more acute attack on this occasion, but t...
Kevin McCallister: [apprehensively] I made my family disappear. [thinks back to family members saying bad things about him] Megan McCallister: Kevin, you're completely helpless! Linnie McCallister: You know, Kevin, you're what the French call les inc...
Darth Vader: You cannot hide forever, Luke. Luke: I will not fight you. Darth Vader: Give yourself to the Dark Side. It is the only way you can save your friends. Yes, your thoughts betray you. Your feelings for them are strong. Especially for... sis...
[first title card] Title card/crawl: A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away... Title card/crawl: Luke Skywalker has returned to his home planet of Tatooine in an attempt to rescue his friend Han Solo from the clutches of the vile gangster Jabba th...
The Emperor: Rise my friend. Darth Vader: The Death Star will be completed on schedule. The Emperor: You've done well, Lord Vader. And now I sense you wish to continue your search for young Skywalker. Darth Vader: Yes, my Master. The Emperor: Patienc...
Tiffany: Listen, I haven't dated since before my marriage so I don't really remember how this works. Pat: How what works? Tiffany: I saw the way you were looking at me, Pat. You felt it, I felt it, don't lie. We're not liars like they are. I live in ...
Melanie Daniels: Just what is it you're looking for, sir? Mitch Brenner: Lovebirds. Melanie Daniels: Lovebirds, sir? Mitch Brenner: Yes. I understand there are different varieties. Is that true? Melanie Daniels: Oh yes, there are. Mitch Brenner: Well...
Jesse: I'm having kind of an odd situation here, which is that... is... you see that girl over there? Yeah, well, this is our only night together. Here's the problem: The problem is that she wants a bottle of red wine, and I don't have any money. I w...
The lie [of compulsory female heterosexuality] is many-layered. In Western tradition, one layer—the romantic—asserts that women are inevitably, even if rashly and tragically, drawn to men; that even when that attraction is suicidal (e. g, Tristan...
This is the story I am working on. But it isn't complete as I don't have the right way to begin. I sit on the crosshouse floor and look at the objects. I see different ways they could be put together and the way the story changes over time. The objec...
In a world of change and decay not even the man of faith can be completely happy. Instinctively he seeks the unchanging and is bereaved at the passing of dear familiar things. Yet much as we may deplore the lack of stability in all earthly things, in...
