“A radioactive isotope of tedium.”
Another of my own, from February 2, 2004, on reading an exceptionally dull column.
“Man is born ridiculous, as can easily be seen if you look at him soon after he is born.”
G.K. Chesterton, “Shaw, The Philosopher,” in Alberto Manguel, ed., On Lying in Bed and Other Essays by G.K. Chesterton
“No man who is correctly informed as to the past will be disposed to take a morose or desponding view of the present.”
“Th. B. Macaulay, History of England” quoted in Burton Malkiel A Random Walk Down Wall Street
“What next? Economists divided on the future”
Subject line of an MSNBC teaser email whose body said “If you're confused about the outlook for the economy and stocks one year after the market hit bottom, then you've got good company — the Wall Street economists and strategists who are supposed to have this all figured out.” (The actual date, if you care, was March 7, 2010 but just as some words of wisdom are eternal, so are some fatuities.)
“Can’t is the father of feeble endeavor,/ The parent of terror and halfhearted work….”
Edgar Guest, “Can’t,” in William Bennett The Book of Virtues
“Much of the stress that people feel doesn’t come from having too much to do. It comes from not finishing what they’ve started.”
David Allen quoted by Jeff Hayden on Inc. online (www.inc.com/jeff-haden/top-350-inspiring-motivational-quotes-to-tweet-and-share.html)
“Many moderns treat taste as if it were a matter of morality. I can only hope that they do not treat morality as a matter of taste.”
G.K. Chesterton in Daily News Sept. 1, 1906 quoted in Gilbert: The Magazine of the Society of G.K. Chesterton Vol. 25 #2 (November-December 2021)
“The [tsetse] fly’s devastating effects are similar to those of other known sleeping-sickness carriers, such as the tsetse professor, tsetse boss, and tsetse New York Times op-ed page writer.”
P.J. O’Rourke Eat the Rich