"The brains of a pedant however full, are vacant."

“Most Oscar parties are pretty silly. They're really for people who like to schmooze.”

“During a warm winter rain ... the basins of her collarbones collected water.”

“I loved teaching. It was my world. I only left because I was overwhelmed with three careers - teaching, writing, and my family.”

“Intense fear comes in waves; the body can't stand it for long at a time.”

“Immersing yourself in the environment of a real record store where music is celebrated and cherished adds real value to the experience of buying music. In some ways, that retail experience is as important as the music.”

“What sets science and the law apart from religion is that nothing is expected to be taken on faith. We're encouraged to ask whether the evidence actually supports what we're being told - or what we grew up believing - and we're allowed to ask whether we're hearing all the evidence or just some small prejudicial part of it. If our beliefs aren't supported by the evidence, then we're encouraged to alter our beliefs.”

Source : Gary Taubes (2010). “Why We Get Fat: And What to Do About It”, p.16, Anchor

“Her only flair is in her nostrils.”

“If a general and his men fear death and are apprehensive over possible defeat, then they will unavoidably suffer defeat and death. But if they make up their minds, from the general down to the last footsoldier, not to think of living but only of standing in one place and facing death together, then, though they may have no other thought than meeting death, they will instead hold on to life and gain victory.”

Source : "Yoshida Shoin Zenshu" by Yoshida Shoin, vol. I, 1938.