G.K. Chesterton: Tremendous Trifles
I remember a former boss criticizing and ultimately crushing a colleague with this scathing and unforgettable description: “He has only one idea and it is wrong.”
Gilbert Keith Chesterton (1874-1936) was a versatile and enormously gifted writer. He was also a prolific writer, having published some 80 books, a dozen posthumously. The fact that he was […]
Carpe Diem
“Carpe, carpe diem, seize the days boys”, Keating shouted to his students. “Make your lives extraordinary!” The movie was Dead Poets Society. Keating was played by an extraordinary Robin Williams. And if there was ever a call to action, this was it.
I am writing a book on quotations. I have a chapter called Action Items […]
Proverbs With Nationalist Pretensions
Proverbs tend to be assigned to, ascribed to or claimed by nations or nationalities. Silly really, because proverbs are, by definition, universal in nature. On the other hand, some connections - if somewhat stereotypical - make intuitive sense:
The Tsarina’s breasts yield milk, not wine. (Russian proverb of the upper crust)
You can’t heat a stove on […]
Picture Perfect
“Brevity is the soul of wit”, wrote William Shakespeare in Hamlet. It is also one of the key elements in making quotations…well…quotable. A quote is the literary equivalent of the 10-second sound bite. It has to be quick and, yes, it has to bite. If properly delivered, few get the chance to bite back.
So before […]
