Language is one of the more complex human cognitive functions,” Narly Golestani, Group Leader of the university’s Brain and Language Lab, tells me during a recent visit. “There’s been a lot of work on bilingualism. Interpretation goes one ste...
I have argued elsewhere (Fighting Words: The Origins of Religious Violence [2005]) that we need to treat ethics in biblical texts just as we treat ethics in any other works of ancient literature. It is a vacuous exercise to pick and choose which atro...
This Christmas mend a quarrel. Seek out a forgotten friend. Dismiss suspicion and replace it with trust. Write a letter. Give a soft answer. Encourage youth. Manifest your loyalty in word and deed. Keep a promise. Forgo a grudge. Forgive an enemy. Ap...
Among the greatest tragedies is a person who believes that they aren't meant to win--by winning I mean find their purpose, passion and joy in life. They believe that other people have better DNA or happiness genes or something, but that they themselv...
Saying that “life is short” is such a cliche. And it’s true. In fact, we only have five minutes to be here. In the really big scheme of things, not even that long. We humans don’t even have the lifespan of fruit flies if you look at the bigge...
Waves of ice cold shock swept over Theo. Mrs. Dietrich, the woman who fed him chocolate cookies every time she pulled a sliver from his finger, the woman who’d tended him through every sickness and illness he’d had, the woman he loved as much as ...
You better [start writing] now because you know how to write, and you have fingers, and you have this one life, and during this one life, you should put your words down, and make your voice heard, and then let others hear your voice. And the only way...
We live in a world in which people are censured, demoted, imprisoned, beheaded, simply because they have opened their mouths, flapped their lips, and vibrated some air. Yes, those vibrations can make us feel sad or stupid or alienated. Tough shit. Th...
When the clock stops on a life, all things emanating from it become precious, finite, and cordoned off for preservation. Each aspect of the dead person is removed from the flux of the everyday, which, of course, is where we miss him most. The quarant...
Today you are encouraged to start tuning in to your inner voice. Nothing will bring you down quicker than berating yourself. The words you speak to yourself have a major impact on your mood and your perception. One of the major reasons we fail is due...
Female reporter: If you could've found out what Rosebud meant, I bet that would've explained everything. Jerry Thompson: No, I don't think so; no. Mr. Kane was a man who got everything he wanted and then lost it. Maybe Rosebud was something he couldn...
Willie: [arriving at Stalag Luft III] How far are the trees, Danny? Danny: Over... two hundred feet. Willie: Yeah, I'd say three hundred. Danny: Long ways to dig. Willie: We'll get Cavendish to make a survey. I wish Big X were here. Danny: Willy, you...
Alan Garner: I want you to know, Doug, I'm a steel trap. Whatever happens tonight, I will never, ever, ever speak a word of it. Doug Billings: Ok, I got it. Thank you. I don't think that... Alan Garner: Seriously, I don't care what happens. I don't c...
Sarah Packard: I love you, Eddie. Fast Eddie: You know, someday, Sarah, you're gonna settle down... you're gonna marry a college professor and you're gonna write a great book. Maybe about me. Huh? Fast Eddie Felson... hustler. Sarah Packard: I love y...
George Bailey: What is it you want, Mary? What do you want? You want the moon? Just say the word and I'll throw a lasso around it and pull it down. Hey. That's a pretty good idea. I'll give you the moon, Mary. Mary: I'll take it. Then what? George Ba...
George Bailey: Now, you listen to me! I don't want any plastics, and I don't want any ground floors, and I don't want to get married - ever - to anyone! You understand that? I want to do what I want to do. And you're... and you're... [runs out of wor...
General Allenby: I believe your name will be a household word when you'll have to go to the War Museum to find who Allenby was. You're the most extraordinary man I've ever met! T.E. Lawrence: Leave me alone! General Allenby: What? T.E. Lawrence: Leav...
Sebastian: Jeez, mon, I'm surrounded by amateurs. You want something done, you've got to do it yourself. [speaking in a low, seductive voice] Sebastian: First, we've to create the mood. [transitioning from speech to song] Sebastian: Percussion. Strin...
Olive: Why were you unhappy? Frank: I fell in love with someone... [interrupted by Grandpa blowing his nose] Frank: ...who didn't love me back. Olive: Who? Frank: One of my grad students. I was very much in love with him. Olive: *Him*? You fell in lo...
Katsumoto: The Emperor could not hear my words. His army will come. For nine hundred years, my ancestors have protected our people. Now... I have failed them. Algren: So you will take your own life? In shame? Shame for a life of service? Discipline? ...
Eowyn: Leave me alone, snake! Wormtongue: Oh, but you are alone. Who knows what you have spoken to the darkness, alone, in the bitter watches of the night, when all your life seems to shrink, the walls of your bower closing in about you, a hutch to t...
