It didn't take me long out there, in the landscapes my father had painted, to realize that as much as I loved my country [Australia], I barely knew it. I'd spent so many years studying the art of our immigrant cultures, and barely any time at all on ...
In the aftermath of the recent wave action in the Indian Ocean, even the archbishop of Canterbury, Dr. Rowan Williamson [ ], proved himself a latter-day Voltairean by whimpering that he could see how this might shake belief in a friendly creator. Wil...
For a lot of people, their first love is what they'll always remember. For me it's always been the first hate, and I think that hatred, though it provides often rather junky energy, is a terrific way of getting you out of bed in the morning and keepi...
I can see why people find him [Hugo Chávez] charming. He's very ebullient, as they say. I've heard him make a speech, though, and he has a vice that's always very well worth noticing because it's always a bad sign: he doesn't know when to sit down. ...
Most of the people I worked with in my old job were pretty cool. We used to go out drinking after lights out and the less pleasant members of staff would be the topic of our pub discussions. We had a laugh. Nothing too damning. No one called anyone a...
The Post is famous for its investigative journalism. It pours energy and investment and sweat and dollars into uncovering important stories. And then a bunch of websites summarize that [work] in about four minutes and readers can access that news for...
Interpreters package and then sell, rent, or impose upon us artificially flavored illusions of truth, salvation, enlightenment, and happiness that are built upon their goals. That twisted information and those errant goals and are often very differen...
Our lives drifts along with normal things happening. Some ups, some downs, but nothing to go down in history about. Nothing so fantastic or terrible that it'll be told for a thousand years. “But because we grew up surrounded by big dramatic story a...
There are cities that get by on their good looks, offer climate and scenery, views of mountains or oceans, rockbound or with palm trees; and there are cities like Detroit that have to work for a living, whose reason for being might be geographical bu...
Be ruthless about protecting writing days, i.e., do not cave in to endless requests to have "essential" and "long overdue" meetings on those days. The funny thing is that, although writing has been my actual job for several years now, I still seem to...
It is no longer just engineers who dominate our technology leadership, because it is no longer the case that computers are so mysterious that only engineers can understand what they are capable of. There is an industry-wide shift toward more "product...
Liesel Meminger: There once was a ghost of a boy who liked to live in the shadows, so he wouldn't frighten people. His job was to wait for his sister, who was still alive. She wasn't afraid of the dark, because she knew that's where her brother was. ...
[first lines] Frank Costello: I don't want to be a product of my environment. I want my environment to be a product of me. Years ago we had the church. That was only a way of saying - we had each other. The Knights of Columbus were real head-breakers...
Dawson: We joined the Marines because we wanted to live our lives by a certain code, and we found it in the Corps. Now you're asking us to sign a piece of paper that says we have no honor. You're asking us to say we're not Marines. If a court decides...
Paul Edgecomb: Men under strain can snap; hurt themselves, hurt others. That's why our job is talking, not yelling. You'll do better to think of this place like an intensive care ward in a hospital. Percy Wetmore: I think of it as a bucket of piss to...
Ricky Roma: You stupid fucking cunt. You, Williamson, I'm talking to you, shithead. You just cost me $6,000. Six thousand dollars, and one Cadillac. That's right. What are you going to do about it? What are you going to do about it, asshole? You're f...
Arthur: What about his security? It's gonna get worse as we go deeper. Cobb: I think we run with Mr. Charles. Arthur: No. Eames: Who's Mr. Charles? Arthur: Bad idea. Cobb: The second we get in that hotel with Fischer, his security is gonna be all ove...
Big Daddy: Good job. I'm so proud of you, baby doll. Are you okay? Hit Girl: Mhmm... but getting shot, Daddy... it hurt a lot more than when you did it. Big Daddy: That's because I used low velocity rounds, child... he... he... Hit Girl: You're the k...
Dean: [after seeing Gary holding a candle under the house owner's feet] Whoa, whoa Kenny! What are you doing? Gary: I am trying to find out where they keep their money! Dean: You twat! Can't you see these people have got no money? They can't even aff...
[first lines] Sid Hudgens: [voiceover] Come to Los Angeles! The sun shines bright, the beaches are wide and inviting, and the orange groves stretch as far as the eye can see. There are jobs aplenty, and land is cheap. Every working man can have his o...
Banzai: Hey, Boss! Scar: Oh, what is it this time? Banzai: We've got a bone to pick with you! Shenzi: I'll handle this. Scar, there's no food, no water... Banzai: Yeah, it's dinner time, and we ain't got no stinkin' entrees. Scar: It's the lionesses'...
