None of the characters in (the story) were distinguished ones -- not even the lion. He was an old lion, prepared from birth to lose his life rather than to leave it. But he had the dignity of all free creatures, and so he was allowed his moment. It w...
We swung over the hills and over the town and back again, and I saw how a man can be master of a craft, and how a craft can be master of an element. I saw the alchemy of perspective reduce my world, and all my other life, to grains in a cup. I learne...
A daughter, a wife, a grandson,' You could say this place took away all I had. I could easily appear to be one of those unfortunate white men you hear about, who thought too lovingly of the other races and civilization of the world, who left his own ...
One of the comforts of firing a big gun during a siege must be the satisfaction of watching the results at long range. Inside a tank or behind an M107, a smudge of smoke against a building can be marked off against a map coordinate. The blood and sha...
In his book , written in 1951-2 and published in the West in 1953, the Polish poet and essayist Czeslaw Milosz paid Orwell one of the greatest compliments that one writer has ever bestowed upon another. Milosz had seen the Stalinisation of Eastern Eu...
For a moment he came near to sharing their incredible belief—it would do no harm to mutter a prayer of thanks to the God of his childhood, the God of the Common and the castle, that no ill had yet come to Sarah's child. Then a sonic boom scattered ...
Thirty years ago [written 2009], over-regulation, over-taxation, mis-regulation, statism, state corporatism, and economic folly, cosiness and regulatory capture, and a crescent ideological enemy without, who were assisted by enemies – both fifth co...
Melvin B. Tolson: Anybody know who Willie Lynch was? Anybody? Raise your hand. No one? He was a vicious slave owner in the West Indies. The slave-masters in the colony of Virginia were having trouble controlling their slaves, so they sent for Mr. Lyn...
Brutus "Brutal" Howell: [a rehearsal execution] Arlen Bitterbuck, you have been condemned to die by a jury of your peers, sentence imposed by a judge in good standing in this state. Do you have anything to say before the sentence is carried out? Toot...
Morton: There are many things you'll never understand. [Frank draws on Morton as he pulls out money to show him] Morton: This is one of them. You see, Frank, there are many kinds of weapons. And the only one that can stop that is this. [Morton's trai...
Tom Conlon: So you gonna ask about her, or you just gonna sit there all sober? Paddy Conlon: I know. Tom Conlon: Oh you know. What do you know? You know it wasn't enough to drive west to get away from you? When we hit the water we drove north, too. P...
Lieutenant Schrank: [as they exit] Say goodbye to the nice boys, Krupke. Officer Krupke: Goodbye, boys. Snowboy: [mimicking Krupke] "Goodbye, boys." Action: [mimicking Shranke] "You hoodlums don't own the streets." Snowboy: "Go play in the park!" Act...
Riff: Look, Tony, I've never asked the time of day from a clock but I'm asking you, come to the dance tonight. I already told the gang you'd be there. If you don't show I'll be marked lousy. Tony: What time? Riff: Ten. Tony: Ten it is. Riff: Womb to ...
Anita: You have your big important council. The council, [kiss] Anita: or me. [kiss] Bernardo: First one, [kiss] Bernardo: then the other. [Tries to kiss her, she pulls away] Anita: Ah, I'm an American girl now, I don't wait. Bernardo: Ah, back home ...
Action: We've gotta show them who's on top! Joyboy: The Jets! Action: Let's do it now! Baby John: Hey, haven't we had enough? Action: What's the matter; you scared? Baby John: Well... who're you callin' scared? A-Rab: Lay off of him. Action: Mind you...
Anybodys, Tomboy: Hey buddy boys! Action: Ah, go wear a skirt. Anybodys, Tomboy: Listen... Ice: The first thing we do is we start showin' around like we have nothin' to hide... Anybodys, Tomboy: Listen! A-Rab: Supposin' they ask us about the rumble? ...
Officer Krupke: [to Baby John] You. Baby John: Who, me sir? Officer Krupke: Yeah, you. Didn't ya hear me? Baby John: Oh, yes sir. I got 20-20 hearing. Officer Krupke: [not amused] Then why didn't ya answer me? A-Rab: His mother told him never to answ...
[Marty is left-behind back in 1955, with the young Doc of then as his only hope to getting back to the future] Marty McFly: I'm sorry, Doc. It's all my fault you're stuck back there. I never should have let Biff get to me! Young Doc: Well, there are ...
Taggart: [on learning Bart is the new sheriff of Rock Ridge] Now if that don't beat all. Here we take the good time and trouble to slaughter every last Indian in the West, and for what? So we can appoint a sheriff that's blacker than any Indian. I am...
It is always difficult to make the transition to a modern world. I moved from the world of faith to the world of reason - from the world of excision and forced marriage to the world of secual emancipation. Having made that journey, I know that one of...
I am made for autumn. Summer and I have a fickle relationship, but everything about autumn is perfect to me. Wooly jumpers, Wellington boot, scarves, thin first, then thick, socks. The low slanting light, the crisp mornings, the chill in my fingers, ...
