Quote Digest

[tushantin]

Lizzy: Aww, thank you! Why are you soooo sweet?
Prem: My mom and dad have diabetes, so...

[tushantin]

Common Man: But... but why arrest me? I'm a witness!
Police Officer: You're a witness; that's your crime.

(Note: The point of the satire was that apparently in India a witness or samaritan is often treated worse than the suspects)

[tushantin]

Gregory (Scotland Yard detective): "Is there any other point to which you would wish to draw my attention?"
Holmes: "To the curious incident of the dog in the night-time."
Gregory: "The dog did nothing in the night-time."
Holmes: "That was the curious incident."

[tushantin]

I will far rather see the race of man extinct than that we should become less than beasts by making the noblest of God's creation, woman, the object of our lust.

[tushantin]

Interesting! Reading through the Andrew Lane series I can easily consider it canonical. Why? I'll answer the question with another question: Why would you think I'd consider it canon in the first place? You could call this "fan-power", albeit a good one, as all the loose ends of the original seems to be tied quite successfully and effectively. One particular (nostalgic) parallel I just found was this:

(Note: Amyus Crowe, in Andrew Lane series, is Sherlock's mentor who taught him the art of detection, espionage, and many other crucial skills.)

Sherlock Holmes: "How did you find me?"
Amyus Crowe: "Simple answer: ah was followin' you."
Sherlock Holmes: "I didn't see you."
Amyus Crowe: "That's what you can expect when ah follow you. Unlike you, ah can keep myself in the shadows, or in crowds, or around corners."

Sterndale: "How do you know that?"
Sherlock: "I followed you."
Sterndale: "I saw no one."
Sherlock: "That is what you may expect to see when I follow you."

[tushantin]

So I was messing around with my boss' phone today (yes, I like stealing phones temporarily, but return them soon after with puppy-dog eyes and all) and installed Aldiko in it to read books, especially my favorite "Le Père Goriot". Read something quite interesting there!

Our heart is a treasury; if you pour out all its wealth at once, you are bankrupt. We show no more mercy to the affection that reveals its utmost extent than we do to another kind of prodigal who has not a penny left.

The next day Rastignac dressed himself very elegantly, and about three o'clock in the afternoon went to call on Mme. de Restaud. On the way thither he indulged in the wild intoxicating dreams which fill a young head so full of delicious excitement. Young men at his age take no account of obstacles nor of dangers; they see success in every direction; imagination has free play, and turns their lives into a romance; they are saddened or discouraged by the collapse of one of the visionary schemes that have no existence save in their heated fancy. If youth were not ignorant and timid, civilization would be impossible.

He hesitated till the last moment, but finally dropped them in the box, saying, "I shall win!"--the cry of a gambler, the cry of the great general, the compulsive cry that has ruined more men than it has ever saved.

However gross a man may be, the minute he expresses a strong and genuine affection, some inner secretion alters his features, animates his gestures, and colors his voice. The stupidest man will often, under the stress of passion, achieve heights of eloquence, in thought if not in language, and seem to move in some luminous sphere. Goriot's voice and gesture had at this moment the power of communication that characterizes the great actor. Are not our finer feelings the poems of the human will?

[chi_z]

wow man that last bunch was really......wow. the first one especially kinda hit home.

[FaustWolf]

The most merciful thing in the world, I think, is the inability of the human mind to correlate all its contents. We live on a placid island of ignorance in the midst of black seas of infinity, and it was not meant that we should voyage far. The sciences, each straining in its own direction, have hitherto harmed us little; but some day the piecing together of dissociated knowledge will open up such terrifying vistas of reality, and of our frightful position therein, that we shall either go mad from the revelation or flee from the light into the peace and safety of a new dark age.

I just discovered H.P. Lovecraft for real and I can't help but kick myself for all I've missed out on. All this time I thought Cthulhu was a bit silly for being a giant octopus thing, but it's amazing how Lovecraft whipped it all up into a work that resonates on so many levels.

[Sajainta]

I just discovered H.P. Lovecraft for real and I can't help but kick myself for all I've missed out on. All this time I thought Cthulhu was a bit silly for being a giant octopus thing, but it's amazing how Lovecraft whipped it all up into a work that resonates on so many levels.

I fully approve this message.  I had heard a lot about Lovecraft, but didn't start reading him until 2009.  I borrowed a copy of Call of Cthulhu and Other Stories that summer from a friend and was immediately hooked.  My favourite story of his by far is "Celephaïs".  It is absolutely enchanting and beautifully written.  I highly recommend that story.  You should read At the Mountains of Madness as well.

Ah, I am still waiting for the day when someone will visit my profile and comment on the location I put.  "Hehe, Plateau of Leng, hehehe."  XD

/Lovecraft fangirl

[tushantin]

The most merciful thing in the world, I think, is the inability of the human mind to correlate all its contents. We live on a placid island of ignorance in the midst of black seas of infinity, and it was not meant that we should voyage far. The sciences, each straining in its own direction, have hitherto harmed us little; but some day the piecing together of dissociated knowledge will open up such terrifying vistas of reality, and of our frightful position therein, that we shall either go mad from the revelation or flee from the light into the peace and safety of a new dark age.

I just discovered H.P. Lovecraft for real and I can't help but kick myself for all I've missed out on. All this time I thought Cthulhu was a bit silly for being a giant octopus thing, but it's amazing how Lovecraft whipped it all up into a work that resonates on so many levels.

While I've never read Lovecraft, I am familiar with the context of his mythos. For one thing, I relate immensely with that quote.

The only difference is that because I'm a die-hard Holmesian, it's my job to piece together dissociated knowledge; as for the horrors hidden in the depth of insanity? Why, like the crazy thrill-seeking fool I am, I march towards it!

The Doctor: There it is again. That itch. "Go down go down go down go down."
Ida: The urge to jump. Do you know wher e it comes from, that sensation? Genetic heritage. Ever since we were primates in the tress. It's our body's way of testing us. Calculating whether or not we can reach the next branch.
The Doctor: No, that's not it. That's too kind. It's not the urge to jump, it's deeper than that. It's the urge to fall!

[FaustWolf]

Thanks Sajainta! I've got "Celephaïs" bookmarked now and shall endeavor to read it. I hope this website is a trustworthy collection; it looks like something put together in the 1990s, which it very well could have been.

tushantin, I'd recommend Lovecraft to you just because I think you'd be interested in looking at the writing style. There's a sort of Gothic richness to it, which is appropriate enough since these are supposed to be horror stories.

[Mr Bekkler]

I just read Celephais now and damn that was good! I did predict the ending but it was beautiful, albeit a little depressing.

[Sajainta]

albeit a little depressing.

Were you surprised?  =P  This is Lovecraft we're talking about.  Depressing endings are to Lovecraft as "every single woman gets married" is to Austen.

[tushantin]

albeit a little depressing.

Were you surprised?  =P  This is Lovecraft we're talking about.  Depressing endings are to Lovecraft as "every single woman gets married" is to Austen.

And "every ice cream ever made" to Tushantin!

"Let us never fear robbers nor murderers. Those are dangers from without, petty dangers. Let us fear ourselves. Prejudices are the real robbers; vices are the real murderers. The great dangers lie within ourselves. What matters it what threatens our head or our purse! Let us think only of that which threatens our soul."

I FREAKIN' LOVE THIS BOOK!

[Mr Bekkler]

And "every ice cream ever made" to Tushantin!

I don't get it. In Lovecraft's books, there are depressing endings. In Austen's books, every single woman gets married. In tushantin's books, every ice cream ever gets made?

albeit a little depressing.

Were you surprised?  =P  This is Lovecraft we're talking about.  Depressing endings are to Lovecraft as "every single woman gets married" is to Austen.

No, like I said I predicted it while reading, (though I thought it was going to happen around the halfway point and then get really crazy or something) but that didn't make it less beautiful.