“The twentieth century was strictly low comedy, Elizabeth. The raw courage of Piet Mondrian! A creepy little twit—Jean-Paul Sartre—telling us (each and every one of us) all about ‘being’. And there—it seems so long ago now—stood Doctor Freud, solemnly explaining that tiny infants not only want to engage in coitus with their mothers, but cannot help being completely shaped for the rest of their lives by that desire.”
Rollin Mungo, Selected Rants of Mr. Barraclough.
The Enlightenment held that if people are given the freedom to think—and actually engage that freedom—they will eventually arrive at the same thoughts (i.e., the Truth). There are only three problems with this. First, people are not like that. Second, the world is not like that. And third, what we refer to as Reason is not like that.
Titus Musgrave, The Enigma of the Box.
“Your name is Blackie. Blackie Humphries. Or Ned Humphries? Also known as Slim Louderbush. Also known as Buster Kelso and Cowboy Dilly Dale. And Tom Stearns. Well, sir?”
Ansonia Lytle, The Forgotten Door—A Hilda Lake Mystery. (1934)
Words are ephemera.
Godfrey Tooke, Collected Aphorisms.
“This item has an established value of $7,500.00. That is largely because Pablo Picasso is alleged to have looked at it, for more than twenty seconds.”
Nicholas Bruhns, Otto the Magpie.
His statement to the authorities was disjointed and, at times, ambiguous. Toward the end he settled upon two rather striking phrases: “the dream of the resonating image” and “the image that would change all”. These he repeated again and again.
Constantine Aviola, Chandu the Magician.
“I’ll not be trifled with, Aunt Lizzie. Never again!”
James Finial, The Misadventures of Caroline.
“Wow,” said Darren. “And I do mean wow! It is so cool! And I say ‘cool’ for no particular reason. It’s just that I said ‘wow’ twice, and I like to keep my wows and my cools somewhat balanced. Hey, I’m a Boomer!”
Stacie Knotts, Crazy Days.
Harry wants to be admired, you see. And if not for succeeding at something, then for failing. Either way.
Anselm Bligh, A Collection of Miniatures.
Janice was ready to report—in full detail—just exactly what she wanted, to all present, whether those individuals had an interest in the matter or not.
Stacie Knotts, Crazy Days.
dennis scharnberg 