December 2011
28 posts
“Discretion also governs another feature of the typically Wodehousean syntax –...”
– PG Wodehouse: a life in letters | Books | The Guardian
Who, but PG, would abbreviate “fiend in human shape”? Delightful.
“Clyde, discussing available free agents, with the line of the night:...”
– Preseason: Knicks 92, Nets 83 - Posting and Toasting
guessimdumb:
Glen Campbell - Guess I’m Dumb
I...
“When I’m stuck for a closing to a lyric, I will drag out my last resort:...”
– David Bowie Interview - Chameleon of Rock - Esquire
“Everyone wants an answer. I think it was Gertrude Stein who wrote, “There...”
– New Quotations From Harry Dean Stanton - Esquire
Some kinda mantra.
On John McPhee, Perfectionism and Fear
John McPhee, in an interview with The Paris Review:
I can’t stand a sentence until it sounds right, and I’ll go over it again and again. Once the sentence rolls along in a certain way, that’s sentence A. Sentence B may work out well, but then its effect on sentence A may spoil the rhythm of the two together. One of the long-term things about knitting a piece of writing together is making all...
“Put your best nine on the field, don’t burn out your pitchers, don’t...”
– Much Ado About Bobby Valentine
Jonah Keri, consistently excellent.
Man arrested at Large Hadron Collider claims he's... →
“He also claimed responsibility for the infamous baguette sabotage in November last year.”