notable quotables

mental debris of late, accumulating and peeking out here and there...


"Nearly all men can withstand adversity. But if you want to test a man's character, give him power"

- Muneer Malik
(president of the supreme court bar association in Pakistan speaking at a seminar and addressing the Musharef/Judicial situation, but telling a truth that applies far and wide)

"'You don't need to' I say, 'you are normal.'... I cannot say the rest, that I think, that he is easy in his body, that he sees and hears and tastes and smells and feels what others do, so his reality matches theirs."

- from The Speed of Dark by Elizabeth Moon
(while about the interior world of a man with autism, the notions of consensual reality in the "normal" world apply too)

"He was a fierce satirist of his own culture, but nursed what he called a 'romantic love' for the U.S. For him, the country represented a vigorous modernity, unencumbered by history."

- blurb on the wall about artist George Grosz next to his work on display at the Walker Art Center (which seems so relevant in these days... while the U.S. is a relatively new nation compared to old world european nations, we're accumulating baggage and becoming encumbered by our own history more and more)

"It's really easy to get out of the habit of intimate socializing"

- excerpt from The Amazing Adventures of Captain Bland and Dr. Sabbatical

"You there... able-bodied lazy rich white girl. Yes, you... You are not old, injured or incapable. Pick up your fucking feet when you walk. You are lazy shuffling moron, and showing contempt for the soles of your shoes (and the pavement) only proves how spoiled and worthless you are."

- Me