dennis scharnberg

“I am kicking a boulder, therefore I am.”

Ralston Dowd, A Spot of Bother.

Sophistication: a popular mental illness; a toxin.

Nathaniel Bumppo, The Final Word.

Computer: a place of concealment.

Clive Morrow, A Crustacean’s Dictionary.

Creating a world and then trying to make it seem as though that world simply happened. What do we call this activity?

Pamela Hrothgar, No Stone Unturned.

“Come on, Harry. Don’t you feel sorry for those two kids?”

“Well, yes. Of course. But, given sufficient time, I’d feel sorry for everyone.”

Gwen Tunder, The Soda Pop Murders.

“I am surprised all the time, Eleanor. And I must admit that it can be quite exhausting.”

Porter Oakes, The Alabaster Box.

“Oh look, he’s got a plastic bottle of water with him. He’ll be able to keep himself hydrated. What a clever fellow!”

Ralston Dowd, The General Ghastliness.

“Believe me, they know how to write those special novels better than anyone else on earth. The secret knowledge.”

Diana Moone, Living Well.

It is this: Feelings about memories of the feelings that we had before.

Titus Musgrave, The Enigma of the Box.

The philosophers tended to accept certain “problems” as being well-founded. As being “received”. Just as the mathematicians did (and still do). It is as though they are involved in some established “game” that has an existence independent of their intentions.

Christopher Jayne, A Critique of Sincerity.