The Rape of Persephone
I never saw a wild thing
sorry for itself.
A small bird will drop frozen dead from a bough
without ever having felt sorry for itself.
— D.H. Lawrence, “Self Pity”
Now that Mitt Romney is running for the GOP nomination for President,...
Reflections Upon an Occasion of Little Consequence
I. Death
Many times man lives and dies
Between his two eternities
That of race and that of soul
And ancient Ireland knew it all.
Whether man dies in his bed
Or the rifle knocks him dead,
A brief parting from those dear
Is the worst man has to fear.
T...
All Together Now
“Do you mean, sir, that these birds are cannibals?”
“That’s an odd question, young Master,” the banker said. “I merely said the birds drink blood. It doen’t have to be the blood of their own kind, does it?&r...
A Certain Moral Flexibility
Marty: “When I left, I joined the Army, and when I took the service exam, my psych profile fit a certain... ‘moral flexibility’ would be the only way to describe it. I was loaned out to a CIA-sponsored program, and we sort of found ...
All’s Fair…
“Musashi!”
No answer.
“Musashi!”
The sea rumbled ominously in the distance; the tide lapped and murmured at the two men’s feet.
“You’re late again, aren’t you? Is that your strategy? As far as I&rsq...
The Root of Some Evil
“It has always seemed strange to me,” said Doc. “The things we admire in men, kindness and generosity, openness, honesty, understanding and feeling are the concomitants of failure in our system. And those traits we detest, sharpness,...
Turn the Page
“Everybody’s coming back to take stock of their lives. You know what I say? Leave your livestock alone.”
— Grosse Pointe Blank
One more rotation of a small blue planet on its circuit around a minor yellow star at the edge of...
Turn the Page
“Everybody’s coming back to take stock of their lives. You know what I say? Leave your livestock alone.”
— Grosse Pointe Blank
One more rotation of a small blue planet on its circuit around a minor yellow star at the edge of...
Shhh!
Je souhaite dans ma maison:
Une femme ayant sa raison,
Un chat passant parmi les livres,
Des amis en toute saison
Sans lesquels je ne peut pas vivre.
In my house I wish:
A woman with her reason,
A cat passing among the books,
Friends in every season
W...
In the Nation’s Service
“They all have husbands and wives and children and houses and dogs, and—you know—they’ve all made themselves a part of something, and they can talk about what they do. What am I gonna say? ‘I killed the President of Para...
TED’s Greatest Hits of 2011
True, true, 2011 isn’t officially over yet, but I am happy to hurry the good-for-nothing wastrel out the door. What promised to be a busy and productive year in my business fizzled out pathetically after Labor Day, leaving me far too much time t...
As Good as It Gets
Carol Connelly: “OK, we all have these terrible stories to get over, and you...”
Melvin Udall: “It’s not true. Some of us have great stories, pretty stories that take place at lakes with boats and friends and noodle salad. J...
