I’ve grown quite weary of the spunky heroines, brave rape victims, soul-searching fashionistas that stock so many books. I particularly mourn the lack of female villains — good, potent female villains. Not ill-tempered women who scheme about land...
I often said that writers are of two types. There is the architect, which is one type. The architect, as if designing a building, lays out the entire novel at a time. He knows how many rooms there will be or what a roof will be made of or how high it...
The child (mis)recognizes itself as a whole entity for the first time. It sees an image of itself as a unified person, an image which promises for the child that it will soon achieve full co-ordination of its body. The incoherent ‘hommelette’ see...
The traditional arguments for the existence of God have been fairly thoroughly criticised by philosophers. But the theologian can, if he wishes, accept this criticism. He can admit that no rational proof of God's existence is possible. And he can sti...
The human race has the capacity to render itself extinct unless alternatives are found to the patterns of intraspecific warfare that have dominated civilized history. Ours has long been a predatory species. Living, for humans, depends upon the abilit...
I had been brought up to be something of an intellectual, but there seemed at the time no connection between my newly formed ideas and the world to which I had returned. Indeed, I did not even recognize my ideas as ideas at all: they seemed to be cul...
Have you ever wondered what it feels like to have a love for the lost? This is a term we use as part of our Christian jargon. Many believers search their hearts in condemnation, looking for the arrival of some feeling of benevolence that will propel ...
Harry dreamed he was back in the DA room. Cho was accusing him of luring her there under false pretences; she said he had promised her a hundred and fifty Chocolate Frog Cards if she showed up. Harry protested... Cho shouted, 'Cedric gave me loads of...
Gosh, it's easy!' he marveled, open-mouthed. 'I never knew before how easy it is to kill anyone! Twenty years to grow 'em, and all it takes is one little push!' He was suddenly drunk with some new kind of power, undiscovered until this minute. The po...
I’ve had librarians say to me, “People in my school don’t agree with homosexuality, so it’s difficult to have your book on the shelves.” Here’s the thing: Being gay is not an issue, it is an identity. It is not something that you can agre...
[Jürgen Habermas' obituary to friend and philosopher, Richard Rorty] One small autobiographical piece by Rorty bears the title 'Wild Orchids and Trotsky.' In it, Rorty describes how as a youth he ambled around the blooming hillside in north-west New...
Going through the customs dampened them further. Customs inspectors must have a mental twist that makes them suspicious of innocence. Dewy-eyed honeymooners, red-cheeked provincials, and helpless little old ladies lash them into frenzied investigatio...
Sandy Carver: [Sandy needs help with homework] Hey Mikey? Mikey Carver: Yeah. Sandy Carver: Geometry? Mikey Carver: Sure, anything but this English. Sandy Carver: How come your so good at Math, but not at English? Mikey Carver: I'm not good at Math, ...
Dr. John Montgomery: He had two cavities that needed filling. He put up a fight, but I took care of it. Christine Collins: And? Dr. John Montgomery: Your son's upper front teeth were separated by a small tissue, a diastema. It made them sit about an ...
Dirty Tricks #4: [Plotting about how to clear the Devil's Tower area of its population] Contaminated water. Affects people, crops, animals. Disease. Dirty Tricks #3: Yeah, epidemic. Dirty Tricks #1: What kind of disease? Dirty Tricks #3: A plague. A ...
Sonny: I don't wanna talk to some flunky pig trying to calm me man. Det. Sgt. Eugene Moretti: Now you don't have to be calling me pig for... Sonny: [notices other officers moving toward him] What is he doing? Det. Sgt. Eugene Moretti: [shouts at offi...
Kevin Lomax: Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, I know you've spent all morning listening to Mr. Broygo talk; I know you're hungry; what I need to tell you won't take very long at all. I don't like Alexander Cullen. I don't think he's a nice person. I...
Dwayne T. Robinson: I've got a hundred people down here, and they're covered with glass. John McClane: Glass? Who gives a shit about glass? Who the fuck is this? Dwayne T. Robinson: This is Deputy Chief of Police, Dwayne T. Robinson, and I am in char...
Frank Costello: Get you? Give you? Who the fuck do you work for? What? Colin Sullivan: All right, all right. Frank, Frank, Frank, I'm sorry, Frank. If you could, please. What I need are SS numbers, DOBs, just all the pedigree information so I can run...
FBI Agent Andy Cross: [showing pictures] Do you recognize this guy? John McClane: No. FBI Agent Andy Cross: How 'bout this one? John McClane: Mm-mm. FBI Agent Andy Cross: How 'bout you? [Zeus shakes head] FBI Agent Andy Cross: Did you recognize the v...
Katharine Clifton: This - what is this? Almásy: It's a folk song. Katharine Clifton: Arabic. Almásy: No, no. It's Hungarian. My daijka sang it to me when I was a child growing up in Budapest. Katharine Clifton: It's beautiful. What's it about? Alm�...
