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581b7f7 To be logical you have to dig up and face your own hidden motives and emotions, and of course they're hidden principally because you don't want to face them. So...um...it's easier to let your basement feelings run the upper storeys, so to speak, and the result is quarrels, love, opinions, anorexia, philanthropy... almost anything you can think of. I just like to know what's going on down there, to pick out why I truly want to do things, tha.. Dick Francis
dcd8dc1 Never ever make a joke to the police, they have no sense of humour. Never make a political joke, it will always be considered an insult. Always remember that umbrage can be taken by the lift of an eyebrow. Remember that if offence can possibly be taken, it will be. joke offence Dick Francis
830fdbc All the important roles shortly boiled down to one: remember your with other people; show some consideration. consideration manners Lynne Truss
cbb7746 The reason to stand up for punctuation is that without it there is no reliable way of communicating meaning. Lynne Truss
ff2309c Those spineless types who talk about abolishing the apostrophe are missing the point. Lynne Truss
ab3f440 On the page, punctuation performs its grammatical function, but in the mind of the reader it does more than that. It tells the reader how to hum the tune. Lynne Truss
95aa897 the Law of Conservation of Apostrophes. A heresy since the 13th century, this law states that a balance exists in nature: "For every apostrophe omitted from an it's, there is an extra one put into an its." Thus the number of apostrophes in circulation remains constant, even if this means we have double the reason to go and bang our heads against a wall." -- Lynne Truss
6ce14d9 Yes, you can see the bullet points here, here and here, sir; there are multiple back-slashes, of course. And that's a forward slash. I would have to call this a frenzied attack. Did anyone hear the interrobang?" "Oh yes. Woman next door was temporarily deafened by it. What's this?" "Ah. You don't see many of these any more. It's an emoticon. Hold your head this way and it appears to be winking." "Good God! You mean - ?" "That's the mout.. murder-mystery path-lab punctuation Lynne Truss
694c8b9 What's wrong with (Captain) Jack Aubrey?" "Everything, since he has a command and I have not." jealousy rebellion Patrick O'Brian
b10b9b7 They played, not beautifully but deep, ignoring their often discordant strings and striking right into the heart of the music they knew best, the true notes acting as their milestones. On the poop above their heads, where the weary helmsmen tended the new steering-oar and Babbington stood at the con, the men listened intently; it was the first sound of human life that they had heard, apart from the brief Christmas merriment, for a time they.. sea-stories Patrick O'Brian
cfff4e6 Were you ever in Elsinore, Mr Jagiello?' asked Jack. Oh, many a time, sir,' said Jagiello. 'I know it well. I believe I could show you Hamlet's grave from here.' I was really wondering whether they had ten or thirteen inch mortars on the upper terrace,' said Jack, 'but I should be very happy to see Hamlet's grave as well.' Both ten and thirteen, sir. And if you go a little to the right from the farthest turret, there are some trees: and amo.. Patrick O'Brian
96c786d If men were to consider what they were at - if if they were to look around them, and reflect upon the cost of life in a universe where prisons, brothels, madhouses, and regiments of men armed and trained to kill other men are so very common - why, I doubt we should see many of these poor mewling little larval victims, so often a present misery to their parents and a future menace to their kind. Patrick O'Brian
bad2600 If I were a woman I should march out with a flaming torch and a sword; I should emasculate right and left. stephen-maturin Patrick O'Brian
42044ed Stephen's heart was big to bursting with the violence of his grief, yet even as he looked distractedly from side to side his mind told him that there was something amiss, the more so as the cheering had now almost entirely died away. The whaler had a huge spread of canvas aboard, far too great a press of sail for her possibly to enter the lagoon: she was tearing along with a great bow-wave and she sped past the mouth of the farther channel... endings-and-beginnings Patrick O'Brian
cfe3a04 The lookout that first sights the cat shall have ten guineas and remission of sins, short of mutiny, sodomy, or damaging the paintwork. Patrick O'Brian
9314519 Killick was a cross-grained bastard, who supposed that if he sprinkled his discourse with a good many sirs, the words in between did not signify: Patrick O'Brian
9402f32 When I'm given a role, the first thing I do is read the play over and over again. I scour the script and write down everything the character says about himself and everything that everyone else says about him. I immerse myself in my character and imagine what it might be like to be that person. When I played Cassio in Othello I imagined what it would be like to be a lieutenant in the Venetian navy in 1604. I sat down with Ewan McGregor and .. emotion the-guardian theatre tom-hiddleston Tom Hiddleston
385a062 It took all of her moral strength not to kick him--just a little--while he was so conveniently at her feet. Karen Hawkins
4505ce5 Shoes really did lead the perfect life. They were polished and taken care of and not expected to do anything more painful than occasionally step in a bit of mud or a rare puddle. She'd wager her shoes never wished they could just disappear. Karen Hawkins
bdc7018 Jack took the note: My lord, Lady Kincaid announced she would be out this evening. When I asked where, she said she was going "carousing." That is a direct quote. Please advise. Devonsgate." Karen Hawkins
5f2ee8a He can cook?" "In a manner of speaking," Mrs. Treadwell said, cheerfully. "What manner of speaking is that?" Karen Hawkins
60b46b9 we are all wont to make mistakes, but if we learn from each trick, each error, and refuse to allow it to happen again, then the experience is not a loss, but a lifelong gain. Our pride may sting for the moment, but our future will be the better for it. Karen Hawkins
ebfd1c5 There comes a time in every endeavor when one must take fate by the lapels and explain the need for urgency. Karen Hawkins
380c7cd Never underestimate the power of a bossy woman. Karen Hawkins
95e4c0a Sometimes you have to grab life by the horns and ride it,even if it tries to throw you. Karen Hawkins
302b2e8 If sarcasm were gold, she would have just made her fortune. Karen Hawkins
fe6245c If there is not radical, concrete growth in humble love towards everyone (even your enemies), you don't really know you are a sinner saved by grace. And if there is not radical, concrete growth in confidence and joy (even in difficulties), you don't really know you are a sinner saved by grace. - Timothy Keller Justin Taylor
ba8366b You'd have thought that after suffering such a loss nothing else would matter to her but that didn't seem to be how it worked. She was fearful about everything now. It was as if she had finally seen the awful power of fate, it's deviousness, the way it could wipe out in an instant the one thing you had been certain you could rely on, and now she was constantly looking over her shoulder, trying to work out where the next blow might fall. loss suffering Mary Lawson
928dc04 How little we know of what there is to know. Ernest Hemingway
daf66de That's why Priscus is wisest of all: silence cannot be judged. Silence masks all things or no thing. Only Priscus can tell us what his silence conceals, but since he won't, we suspect him great. Gore Vidal
318aaa1 T]here is no such thing as a homosexual or a heterosexual person. There are only homo- or heterosexual acts. Most people are a mixture of impulses if not practices, and what anyone does with a willing partner is of no social or cosmic significance. Gore Vidal
b0ca288 Is it not better for a man never to have been born?" "Certaintly not" The response was brisk. "Just to be able to study the sky is reason enough to be alive." "Unfortunately, I can't see the sky." "Then listen to music." Gore Vidal
d8b59ca It is curious how little interested we are in the sexual desires of those who do not attract us. unattractiveness Gore Vidal
bfc8d33 bmjrd 'n 'mkn nql l'fkr lm`qd@ bshwl@ mn frd l~ jmw` lakhryn - wm 'n tmkWn lakhrwn mn tlqyh bshwl@, w'SbH bws`hm lmwfq@ `lyh - Sr lkl frd fj'@ qw@ lslT@ lsysy@ lshml@. ldhlk '`T~ tdfq lm`lwmt lHr kl frd mnzl@ 'kbr fy lmjtm` - bGD lnZr `n ntmy'h lTbqy 'w thrwth - lyTlb bqdr mn lkrm@ ytsw~ m` lakhryn jmy`, wtmnH l'frd lqdr@ `l~ fHS stkhdm lslT@ mn qbl mn y`mlwn fy lHkwm@. Al Gore
a30b5d3 I had done this. I had pulled my life apart. I would never, ever be safe again. Ruth Reichl
e55bc59 A great meal is an experience that nourishes more than your body. spirituality Ruth Reichl
10a6ea0 It's only hunting you that keeps me from being you. Val McDermid
46cba82 It was a lot easier to be optimistic about equality when you didn't have to confront the Neanderthals on a daily basis. When you could imagine that people were actually changing their minds because they'd stopped groping secretaries at the photocopier. Val McDermid
455cbc8 I failed her. And she's out of my life. I don't even know where she's living. What she's doing to get through the days. And I miss her. Every single day, I miss her. Val McDermid
c8f3a37 It forced me to realise that I'd been blaming you for not being flawless. And none of us is flawless.' Another sigh. 'I was so angry with myself for what happened to Michael and Lucy that I had to turn my anger somewhere else and you were the easiest target. Val McDermid
41386e1 You know, I've often wondered. It's pretty clear what they were up to in Sodom, but what do you suppose the sin of Gomorrah was?' Carol asked. Val McDermid
911e3b1 The people celebrate with our traditional dancing: the women clapping their hands and chanting, their low sweet voices humming across the desert night, and the men leaping high into the air. Everyone contributes food, and we eat Waris Dirie
43f2f86 There's no reality without battles and no future without fights. Henning Mankell
0ead7ef Not everything can go according to the plan. Henning Mankell