Some Favorite Quotes

• The trouble with having an open mind, of course, is that people will insist on coming along and trying to put things in it.

• In ancient times cats were worshipped as gods; they have not forgotten this.

• Build a man a fire, and he’ll be warm for a day. Set a man on fire, and he’ll be warm for the rest of his life.

• Most gods throw dice, but Fate plays chess, and you don’t find out til too late that he’s been playing with two queens all along.

• They say a little knowledge is a dangerous thing, but it’s not one half so bad as a lot of ignorance.

• Light thinks it travels faster than anything, but it is wrong. No matter how fast light travels, it finds the darkness has always got there first, and is waiting for it.

• The pen is mightier than the sword if the sword is very short, and the pen is very sharp.

• Only in our dreams are we free. The rest of the time we need wages.

• Five exclamation marks, the sure sign of an insane mind.

• The entire universe has been neatly divided into things to (a) mate with, (b) eat, (c) run away from, and (d) rocks.

• Real stupidity beats artificial intelligence every time.

• It’s not worth doing something unless someone, somewhere, would much rather you weren’t doing it.

• Stories of imagination tend to upset those without one.

• The presence of those seeking the truth is infinitely to be preferred to the presence of those who think they’ve found it.

• There are times in life when people must know when not to let go. Balloons are designed to teach small children this.

• If you don’t turn your life into a story, you just become a part of someone else’s story.

• The truth may be out there, but the lies are inside your head.

• I have no use for people who have learned the limits of the possible.

• So much universe, and so little time.

• Sometimes it is better to light a flamethrower than curse the darkness.

• It is often said that before you die your life passes before your eyes. It is in fact true. It’s called living.

• I’ll be more enthusiastic about encouraging thinking outside the box when there’s evidence of any thinking going on inside it.

• Fantasy is an exercise bicycle for the mind. It might not take you anywhere, but it tones up the muscles that can. Of course, I could be wrong.

• Some humans would do anything to see if it was possible to do it. If you put a large switch in some cave somewhere, with a sign on it saying ‘End-of-the-World Switch. PLEASE DO NOT TOUCH,’ the paint wouldn’t even have time to dry.

• If cats looked like frogs we’d realize what nasty, cruel little bastards they are. Style. That’s what people remember.

• Wisdom comes from experience. Experience is often a result of lack of wisdom.


• The whole of life is just like watching a film. Only it’s as though you always get in 10 minutes after the big picture has started, and no one will tell you the plot, so you have to work it out all yourself from the clues.

~ Sir Terry Pratchett, R.I.P.

My Love Affair

... with books, that is. Srsly, what did you think?

I'm one of those geeks that loves hard science fiction. I like knowing that something is at least theoretically possible; it enhances my pleasure in the reading. I enjoy science fantasy, too - what matters is that the story be told believably. It's perfectly okay to suspend my disbelief, if the details don't keep kicking me back to reality.

Beginning in the late '60s, I have devoured every science fiction/fantasy book I could get my hands on. I don't remember exactly when the fascination began, but it must date back to grade school. Having gone through all of the Bobbsey Twins, Hardy Boys, and even Nancy Drew novels as soon as I was old enough to read, I moved on to Tom Swift and novels of that sort. I loved the whole "boy inventor" concept behind titles like Tom Swift & His Hydraulic Steampunk. That, perhaps, was the first intimation of my love of science fiction. Yes, I read all the Tom Swift books, too.

But I was reading scifi before I got to high school, and have never stopped. I discovered other genres a bit later, and - for example - didn't get 'round to Tolkien & LOTR until my mid-20s. (Sorry, Rick; I know you tried to tell me how great that was, back in '74. I just didn't grok what you were talking about.)

I'm a bit of a traditionalist ... okay, perhaps "old fuddy-duddy" might be a better phrase ... and have sometimes been reluctant to try other things. This led me to miss entire works of certain authors, which lack I'm now trying to rectify. That said, and after months of passing references by Brigid, Tam and others, I finally bought a large armload of Terry Pratchett's Discworld novels, and am busily making up for lost time.

I'm also working on The Real George Washington, as I mentioned previously. It's not like me to read two books at once, but maybe it's time to try new things (grins).