Quotes: The Light Fantastic

The Light Fantastic, Terry Pratchett

(Light)

When light encounters a strong magical field it loses all sense of urgency. It slows right down. And on the Discworld the magic was embarrassingly strong, which meant that the soft yellow light of dawn flowed over the sleeping landscape like the caress of a gentle lover or, as some would have it, golden syrup. It paused to fill up valleys. It piled up against mountain ranges. When it reached Cori Celesti... it built up in heaps until it finally crashed in great lazy tsunami as silent as velvet, across the dark landscape beyond.

(Staring)

Galder broke off first- looking at Trymon always bothered him. It had the same disconcerting effect as gazing into a mirror and seeing no one there.

(Oh, Emotions)

"Dead?" said Rincewind. In the debating chamber of his mind a dozen emotions got to their feet and started shouting. Relief was in full spate when Shock cut in on a point of order and then Bewilderment, Terror and Loss started a fight which was ended only when Shame slunk in from next door to see what all the row was about.

(Sane to Insane)

"No one goes mad quicker than a totally sane person."

Thoughts: Tao Te Ching

I have wanted to read the Tao Te Ching for a long time now. For anyone unfamiliar, the Tao is the force that flows through all living things. It is a spiritual book, Taoism being one the main religions of ancient China. It can be eye opening at times, and made me think about how I act. Although each proverb, if you will, is short, it is rather poetic and deserves to be read slowly and thought about. I recommend finding a copy with notes, but not a full a on analysis- think through it for yourself and find what it means to you. Good for anyone feeling overwhelmed by the world in general- the Tao will teach you how to relax and go with the flow. I enjoyed this book greatly, because it's one of those reads that make you stop and think. It's difficult giving a review- I feel like some chapters will receive very different reactions. I wish I had someone to discuss specific proverbs with, it would make the experience (yes, reading this was an experience) all the better.


Quotes: Tao Te Ching

(Harmonizes)

When the sage lives with people, she harmonizes with them
And conceals her mind for them.
The sages treat them as their little children

(Illumination)

Seeing the subtle is illumination.
Keeping flexible is called strength
Use the illumination, but return to the light.
Don't bring harm to yourself.

(Nothing Can Alter It)

Nothing in the world is softer than water,
Yet nothing is better at overcoming the hard and strong.
This is because nothing can alter it.

Other Quotes

Quotes: America's War on Sex

American's War on Sex, by Marty Klein:

(Last Refuse of Scoundrels)

Concern about the "secondary effects" of adult entertainment is the last refuge of scoundrels.

Quotes: American Gods

American Gods, by Neil Gaiman

(Shuffled)

Shadow felt like a pea being flicked between three cups, or a card being shuffled through a deck.

(Worrying About What Is)

"This is the only country in the world," said Wednesday into the stillness, "that worries about what it is... the rest of them know what they are. No one ever needs to go searching for the heart of Norway. Or looks for the soul of Mozambique. They know what they are."

(Frozen Moments)

Shadow turned, slowly, streaming images of himself as he moved, frozen moments, each him captured in a fraction of a second, every tiny movement lasting for an infinite period.

(Sight, Touch, Memory)

All we have to believe with is our senses, the tools we use to perceive our world: our sight, our touch, our memory. If they lie to us, then nothing can be trusted.

Quotes: The Color of Magic

The Color of Magic, by Terry Pratchett:

(Divine Plan)

"Precisely why all the above should be so is not clear, but goes some way to explain why, on the disc, the Gods are not so much worshipped as blamed."

(Captain Death)

"If words had weight, a single sentence from Death would have anchored a ship."

(How did Death Watch?)

"Death watched impassively."

(The Drunk Artist)

And whoever had done those carvings on the wall, Twoflower thought charitably, had probably been drinking too much. For years.

Quotes: Neverwhere

Neverwhere, by Neil Gaiman:

(Uncomfortably Female)

Jessica didn't like Richard's apartment: it made her feel uncomfortably female.

(Angels and Candles)

Then it stood up, and walked away, back through the Hall, the way it had come; and the candles went out as it passed, as they had done for tens of thousands of years.

(Lack of Redeeming Features)

"When you don't have any redeeming features, you don't take particularly kindly to disappointment, do you, Mister Vandemar?"

(Sunny and Delightful Disposition)

Mr. Vandemar showed them his teeth, demonstrating his sunny and delightful disposition. It was unquestionably the most horrible thing that Richard had ever seen.

(Do Not Trust Reasonable Voices)

Somewhere inside Richard a small, reasonable voice pointed out that there never was an Atlantis, and, thus emboldened, went on to state that there were no such things as angels, and that, furthermore, most of his experiences of the last few days had been impossible. Richard ignored it. He was learning, awkwardly, to trust his instincts, and to realize that the simplest and most likely explanations for what he had seen and experienced recently were the ones that had been offered up to him- no matter how unlikely they might seem.

(Darkness is Happening)

"What's happening?" whispered Richard.
"Darkness is happening," said the leather woman very quietly. "Night is happening. All the nightmares that have come out when the sun goes down, since the cave times, when we huddled together in fear for safety and for warmth, are happening. Now," she told them, "now is the time to be afraid of the dark."

(A Place of Things that Are)

Metaphors failed him, then. He had gone beyond that world of metaphor and simile into the place of things that are, and it was changing him.

Quotes: Tao Te Ching

Some favorite quotes from the Tao Te Ching, by loa tzu:

(Mysterious Virtue)

Pacify the agitated material soul and holding to oneness:
Are you able to avoid separation?
Focusing your energy on the release of tension:
Can you be like an infant?
In purifying your insight:
Can you un-obstruct it?
Loving the people and ruling the state:
Can you avoid over-manipulation?
In opening and closing the gate of Heaven:
Can you be the female?
In illuminating the whole universe:
Can you be free of rationality?

Give birth to it and nourish it.
Produce it but don't possess it.
Act without expectation.
Excel, but don't take charge.

This is called Mysterious Virtue

(Absence Equals Usefulness)

Cut doors and windows to make a room
It is because of its emptiness that the room is useful.
Therefore, what is present is used for profit.

But it is absence that there is usefulness.

(Keep Stillness Whole)

Effect emptiness to the extreme.
Keep stillness whole.

(Perfect Continuity)

If even Heaven and Earth cannot force perfect continuity
How can people expect to?

Quotes: The Stand: American Nightmares

Favorite quote from The Stand: American Nightmares, by Stephen King, script by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa:

(Sacrificed Babies and Locked Basements)

Nick had the feeling that the normal world was skewing into a place where babies were sacrificed behind closed blinds and stupendous black machines roared on and on in locked basements...

Quotes: Three Cups of Tea

Some favorite quotes from Three Cups of Tea, by Greg Mortenson:

(Cement Details)

Balanced unsteadily on a toy stool, Mortenson blew on his fifth thimbleful of green tea and tried to decipher Abudls conversation with a trio of aged tea-shop customers, their white beards stained yellow with nicotine. They seemed to be conversing with great passion and Mortenson was sure the details about cement were pouring out.

(Fabric of Twilight)

After dark, fortified with strong green tea and three plates of dhal chana, a curry of yellow lentils, from a roadside stand, Mortenson lay back in his nest on top of the truck and watched individual stars pinprick the fabric of twilight.

Quotes: Three Men in a Boat

Some favorite quotes from Three Men in a Boat, by Jerome K. Jerome:

(Also my Ambition)

Montmorency's ambition in life, is to get in the way and be sworn at.

(The Halo of Age)

I wonder if there is real intrinsic beauty in the old soup-plates, beer-mugs, and candle-snuffers that we prize so now, or if it is only the halo of age glowing around them that gives them their charms in our eyes.