I’m 70 now and all my life I’ve heard that the Russians would one day make a surprise attack and, within 48 hours occupy the Eiffel Tower. Fait accompli! We in the West were weak – perhaps not right now but we would be within the next five if we did not invest much more in ”defence”.
Well, these damn Russians haven’t come yet – another reason we shouldn’t trust them, I assume!
In 15 Minuten.
Contradersation.
“We must have the same sources,” Roger said agreeably. “How much do you pay them?” “I say things to them in return. It is called having conversations, and for some it is payment enough.”
Neal Stephenson: Quicksilver
Castling.
[...] at Versailles, no one of importance speaks quickly and spontaneously, every utterance is planned like a move in a chess game.
Neal Stephenson: Quicksilver
Edurantion.
I tried to cover my embarrassment by ranting to the children about Descartes and Euclid.
Neal Stephenson: Quicksilver
Dare to laugh.
Eliza laughed out loud, lustily, drawing glares from women who never laughed that way, or at all.
Neal Stephenson: Quicksilver