"The rich man never sees or notices, he simply looks and lights a cigarette with the air of someone expecting it to arrive already lit." - from 'Manual of Painting and Calligraphy' by José Saramago (tr. Giovanni Pontiero)
‘The argument goes something like this: “I refuse to prove that I exist,” says God, “for proof denies faith, and without faith I am nothing.”
‘“But,” says Man, “the Babel fish is a dead giveaway, isn’t it? It could not have evolved by chance. It proves you exist, and so therefore, by your own arguments, you don’t. QED.”
An astute judge of human nature ain't he?
"And it all meant this: that there are hardly any excesses of the most crazed psychopath that cannot easily be duplicated by a normal, kindly family man who just comes in to work every day and has a job to do.
Vorbis loved knowing that. A man who knew that, knew everything he needed to know about people." #SmallGods#terrypratchett#theturtlemoves#discworldquotes@bookstodon#GNUPterry#reading#books#quotes
Wandered across an old email I had sent a friend when she and I were both reading Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell back in 2015. I had quoted the following exchange because it's beautiful:
"And there are days when I would be away."
"Where?"
"Oh, wherever men of my sort used to go. Wandering on paths that other men have not seen. Behind the sky. On the other side of the rain."
@zakyfarms@dbsalk@bookstodon It really is good. I was amazed how short it was, though! But I get the feeling that Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell was so exhausting for her, she needed to do something very different, something short and tight as opposed to massive and flowing in every direction. (And I think the pressure to write a sequel to JS&MN must have been weighing on her, too.)
Technology should exist for our convenience, not for the convenience of anyone who wants to interrupt us.
from #Hyperfocus by #ChrisBailey
This resonates deeply with me. I loathe constant phone buzzing or browser notifications. Sometimes it feels like we’re slaves to the technology instead of us being the boss.
FYI the #book is not aimed at the #neurodiverse at all; my goal in reading it is to find #research-backed information that can help me understand and handle my distractions and maybe - just maybe - he’ll have some #tips that will be useful for my brain.
For example, knowing that it takes 29 minutes to get back on track after distracting ourselves (vs 6 minutes when distracted by someone else) quantifies the consequences of distractions. Thinking that a distraction = losing half an hour feels much more tangible.
@ArpComics This is the reason I mostly kept my phone in flight mode while I was freelancing because it would just steal too much time that I needed for writing.
@AimeeMaroux I turned off most notifications & badges a few years back but Apple’s focus modes have been a game changer. I still need to work on it more but I’d rather miss something & see it hours later than get interrupted constantly.
“When fundamental rights depend on someone's whim, you really have no rights, only privileges that may be withdrawn at any minute.”
― John Taylor Gatto
After I finished her audiobook, I had to listen to it again immediately, because I just so enjoy the feeling of #SinéadOConnor just chatting with me, her speaking voice and rhythm is so soothing. I love her speaking voice filling my house. Her singing voice is one thing, but her conversational tone in the audiobook is something else!
I can't recommend it enough!
...&, of course, it adds more depth to her music, understanding how the stories of her songs started in childhood, grew right alongside her.
Plus, she's a great mimic, doing the voices of everyone who's ever crossed her path!
My favorite vignette is the bit about her Aunt Francis, and how she'd have Sinéad hold up and display the album covers of her record collection as they listened. "Innit he lovely? Innit he lovely?"
@historyshapes@histodons@philosophy My default is to be very sceptical about any quotation attributed to famous people, and even more those from the ancient world.
That feels like a bit of a deviation.
I've read 4 or 5 translations, and don't remember similar phrasing.
There's the MIT copy for comparison:
"He who knows other men is discerning; he who knows himself is intelligent. He who overcomes others is strong; he who overcomes himself is mighty. He who is satisfied with his lot is rich; he who goes on acting with energy has a (firm) will."
“As it turned out, imagining the fate of seven billion people was far less emotionally affecting than imagining the fate of one.”
― Neal Stephenson #Booklovers#scifi#quotes
image from Pixabay