"I don’t think necessity is the mother of invention. Invention, in my opinion, arises directly from idleness, possibly also from laziness. To save oneself trouble." Agatha Christie (quoted as Thought du jour in "Social Studies" in Globe and Mail August 6, 2001)
"If God did not exist, it would be necessary to invent him." Voltaire
"scrambling like a cat on a linoleum floor." MP Peter MacKay in 2002 (re a minister dealing badly with a crisis)
Great news, especially for US and international shoppers: Our True, Strong and Free documentary is now available on Amazon.com.
"The more truly we can see life as a fairytale, the more clearly the tale resolves itself into war with the Dragon who is wasting fairyland." G.K. Chesterton, quoted by Kyro R. Lantsberger in Gilbert Magazine Vol. 9 #1 (September 2005)
My latest for The Rebel: The audio-only version is available here: [podcast title="The vandals' name lives on"]http://www.thejohnrobson.com/podcast/John2016/December/161215Rebel.mp3[/podcast]
"The demand for 'relevance' in what is studied has its lazy, philistine and intolerant sides. But relevance has always been sought by readers if not (for good reason) by writers of history, for without a knowledge of his links to the past man is a social amnesiac, intellectually and therefore to some extent emotionally rootless." J.R. Hale Renaissance Europe 1480-1520
The audio-only version is available here: [podcast title="Ask the Professor, December 14"]http://www.thejohnrobson.com/podcast/John2016/December/Ask_Professor_68.mp3[/podcast]