Look, I say. You can't just let your thoughts float around in the ether and hope eventually they'll connect with something. It's absurd. No, it's not, Gil says. Lots of good things happen that way. Penicillin. Teflon. Smart dust. Something happens th...
Moreover, knowledge and investigation help promote wonder they do not destroy it. Whatever our tastes, we can generally appreciate such things as music, art or wine better when we understand a bit about them. We read up on our favourite singers or ar...
The salamander flared, etching the room with searing white light and dark shadows. Otto screamed. He fell to the floor, clutching at his throat. He sprang to his feet, goggle-eyed and gasping, and staggered, knock-kneed and wobbly-legged, the length ...
After driving 30-minutes East of Seattle, I expect to see a great bowling alley. But, as we pull into the parking lot, all I see are pot holes, a horse and Amish buggy, and no cars to speak of- broken down or otherwise. Even the building is in shambl...
I took ten days off and by 11 o’clock on the first morning I had drunk fourteen cups of coffee, read all the newspapers and the Guardian and then… and then what? By lunchtime I was so bored that I decided to hang a few pictures. So I found a hamm...
The thing I can’t figure out,” Axel turned to gaze directly at the gorgeous Elf. “Is how we got drawn into this mess? A week ago we were just boys, bumbling about in our last year of study, and now we’re in the midst of events that will chang...
He smelled the odor of the pine boughs under him, the piney smell of the crushed needles and the sharper odor of the resinous sap from the cut limbs. ... This is the smell I love. This and fresh-cut clover, the crushed sage as you ride after cattle, ...
In the end Navidson is left with one page and one match. For a long time he waits in darkness and cold, postponing this final bit of illumination. At last though, he grips the match by the neck and after locating the friction strip sparks to life a f...
Many a person over the years has tried- both successfully and unsuccessfully, to get rid of their inner demons. Those who are successful are deemed artists, those who are not are call dreamers at best and lunatics at worse. But where exactly resides ...
...I suspect everyone there can reason along the lines I described...It's just that when it comes to evolution, and especially to the related realization that we are all pretty small bits of the universe, it seems as though Ham and his followers just...
Ron Franz: I'm going to miss you when you go. Christopher McCandless: I will miss you too, but you are wrong if you think that the joy of life comes principally from the joy of human relationships. God's place is all around us, it is in everything an...
[Murdoch opens the door to what should be Shell Beach and instead sees the same sign he saw earlier advertising it. Murdoch walks up to the sign, confused] Dr. Schreber: There is no ocean, John. There is nothing beyond the city. The only place home e...
Gambol's Bodyguard: Yo, Gambol, there's somebody here for you. They say they just killed the Joker. Gambol's Bodyguard: They brought the body. [a body bag is brought in and dropped on the table; Gambol unzips it, revealing Joker's face] Gambol: So. F...
Bernie Rose: Did Shannon ever tell you how we met? Driver: No. Bernie Rose: I used to produce movies. In the 80s. Kind of like action films. Sexy stuff. One critic called them European. I thought they were shit. Anyway, he arranged all the cars for m...
Dr. King Schultz: Good morning, inn keeper. Two beers for two weary travelers! Innkeeper: [while busy fixing a lamp bulb in the diner] Ah, it's still a bit early. We won't be open for another hour. By then, we'll be servin' breakfast- [the innkeeper ...
Manny Cussins: Let's be honest, Brian. It's not working, is it? The players aren't happy. We're not happy. In truth, we should probably never have hired you without Peter Taylor. Brian Clough: So... what do you want to do about it? Manny Cussins: It'...
Archy Hamilton: You of all people should be going. Frank Dunne: Why me of all people? Archy Hamilton: 'Cause you're an athlete. Frank Dunne: [laughs] What's that got to do with it? Archy Hamilton: I've got mates who'd be lucky to do the hundred in tw...
Eret: [approaches Hiccup after he saves Berk] That was some pretty fine dragon-wrangling back there. You'd make a good trapper. [Skullcrusher nudges him playfully] Eret: Whoa! [He chuckles] Hiccup: You know, Skullcrusher's gonna need somebody to look...
Hermione: Victor's gone to get drinks. Would you care to join us? Ron: No, we would not care to join you and *Victor*. Hermione: What's got your wand in a knot? Ron: He's from Durmstrang! You're fraternizing with the enemy! Hermione: The enemy? Who w...
Hermione: Harry, you told me you'd figured that egg out weeks ago! The task is two days from now! Harry: [sarcastically] Really? I had no idea. I suppose Viktor's already figured it out. Hermione: Wouldn't know. We don't actually talk about the tourn...
Alan Garner: Hello. How 'bout that ride in? I guess that's why they call it Sin City. [awkward laughter] Alan Garner: You guys might not know this, but I consider myself a bit of a loner. I tend to think of myself as a one-man wolf pack. But when my ...
