“The idea for each of the stories in this book came in a moment of belief and was written in a burst of faith, happiness, and optimism. Those positive feelings have their dark analogues, however, and the fear of failure is a long way from the worst of them. The worst - for me, at least - is the gnawing speculation that I may have already said everything that I have to say, and am now only listening to the steady quacking of my own voice because the silence when it stops is just too spooky.” WayWritingMayLongSaidBookIdeasMomentsStoriesFeelingsBeliefVoiceDarkMy OwnSilenceWrittenWorstListeningOptimismSteadySpeculationLong WayFear Of FailureSpookyAnaloguePositive Feelings Book:Nightmares & Dreamscapes Source: Nightmares & Dreamscapes
“I'm living in Los Angeles, I'm in films and I'm on television, and I'm working with actors and telling stories. I'm living the fantasy. My worst day is a great day.” StoriesFilmActorsFantasyWorstTelevisionLos AngelesTelling StoriesGreat DayWorst Day Author:Nathan Fillion
“I learned a lot from the stories my uncle, aunts, and grandparents told me: that no one is perfect but most people are good; that people can't be judged only by their worst or weakest moments; that harsh judgements make hypocrites of us all; that a lot of life is just showing up and hanging on; that laughter is often the best, and sometimes only response to pain.” PeopleLifeSometimesMomentsStoriesPainLife IsPerfectWorstLaughterResponseJudgementJudgedHarshUnclesGrandparentAuntHypocriteShowing UpHanging On Author:William J. Clinton
“History is not the story of heroes entirely. It is often the story of cruelty and injustice and shortsightedness. There are monsters, there is evil, there is betrayal. That's why people should read Shakespeare and Dickens as well as history ~~ they will find the best, the worst, the height of noble attainment and the depths of depravity.” PeopleShouldWellsBookStoriesEvilReadingWorstHeroDepthInjusticeBetrayalNobleMonstersCrueltyHeightAttainmentDepravityDickensBooks And Reading Author:David McCullough
“Thank God, 50 years ago I learned that our entire business is all based on two things; a great song and a great story. Film, television, if you don't have that story, nothing else matters. You don't call anybody else or direct anybody. The same with a song. A great song can make the worst singer in the world a star.” IfsWorldYearsTwoMatterStoriesFilmSongStarsWorstTelevisionYears AgoDirectSingersTwo ThingsThank God Author:Quincy Jones
“I have really seen the best in people and I've absolutely seen the worst in people. And I'm happy to say that most of the time I have been seeing the best of people in the first congressional district and connecting with voters and seeing what's important to them hearing their stories and what they want to see happen.” PeopleWantFirstsHas BeensImportantStoriesHappensSeeingWorstHearingVotersConnectingWhat's Important Author:Rob Zerban
“When we seek a textbook case for the proper operation of science, the correction of certain error offers far more promise than the establishment of probable truth. Confirmed hunches, of course, are more upbeat than discredited hypotheses. Since the worst traditions of "popular" writing falsely equate instruction with sweetness and light, our promotional literature abounds with insipid tales in the heroic mode, although tough stories of disappointment and loss give deeper insight into a methodology that the celebrated philosopher Karl Popper once labeled as "conjecture and refutation.” GivingWritingStoriesLightCertainCoursesLiteratureLossCasesWorstPromiseOffersToughTraditionErrorsPhilosopherDisappointmentDeeperInsightTalesOperationsHeroicInstructionEstablishmentSweetnessHypothesisTextbooksCorrectionsMethodologyHunchesConjectureInsipidUpbeatRefutation Book:Bully for Brontosaurus: Reflections in Natural History Source: Bully for Brontosaurus: Reflections in Natural History
“Many of the early greats of sf Hugo Gernsback (publisher of Amazing Stories) in particular saw themselves as educators. The didactic thrust of science fiction got the genre initially pegged as children's fare. It was seen, at its best, as an extension of school and, at its worst, as teenage wish fulfillment.” ChildrenStoriesSchoolWishFictionSawsWorstParticularScience FictionGenreFulfillmentExtensionsTeenagePublishersThrustEducatorDidactic Author:Samuel R. Delany
“Coca-Cola remains emblematic of the best and worst of America and Western civilization. The history of Coca-Cola is the often funny story of a group of men obsessed with putting a trivial soft drink "within an arm's reach of desire." But at the same time, it is a microcosm of American history. Coca-Cola grew up with the country, shaping and shaped by the times. The drink not only helped to alter consumption patterns, but attitudes toward leisure, work, advertising, sex, family life, and patriotism.” MenCountryStoriesAmericaDesireSexAttitudeGroupsWorstArmsGrewDrinkCivilizationGrew UpRemainsWesternPatternsAdvertisingObsessedLeisureAmerican HistoryConsumptionFamily LifeWestern CivilizationMicrocosmCoca ColaFunny StorySoft Drinks Author:Mark Pendergrast
“The Da Vinci Code may well be the only novel ever written that begins with the word 'renowned'... I think what enabled the first word to tip me off that I was about to spend a number of hours in the company of one of the worst prose stylists in the history of literature was this. Putting curriculum vitae details into complex modifiers on proper names or definite descriptions is what you do in journalistic stories about deaths; you just don't do it in describing an event in a narrative... Why did I keep reading? Because London Heathrow is a long way from San Francisco International.” ThinkingWayFirstsWellsMayLongBookStoriesReadingLiteratureNamesLanguageHoursNumbersCompanyNovelWrittenWorstEventsComplexesInternationalDetailsLondonNarrativeCodeProseDescriptionDefiniteLong WaySan FranciscoDescribingCurriculumStylistJournalisticRenownedDa Vinci Code Author:Geoffrey K. Pullum