O.E. Tearmann > O.E.'s Quotes

“Our parents are the worst for us, the most difficult to endure, precisely because they have the most intentions towards us. Hopes, dreams, needs for relationship. Acknowledgement.”
― Jason Dias, Finding Life on Mars: A novel of isolation

“We failed. They failed us. What's left to do but die?" "Live," I said, red Martian dust floating and settling all around us.”
― Jason Dias, Finding Life on Mars: A novel of isolation

“The reward for toil had been more toil. If you dug the best ditches, they gave you a bigger shovel.”
― Terry Pratchett, Carpe Jugulum

“I’m not a hero,” Oliver insisted.
“Not without mask and uniform,” Mrs. Chun countered. “Now you have those things.”
― Brian Howard

“Making things worse came easy.

Rectifier - The Electric Man”
― Brian Howard

“Making things worse came easy.”
― Brian D. Howard, Rectifier - The Electric Man

“Be ready to run at my signal.” “What signal?” “I think you’ll know it when you see it,”
― Brian D. Howard, Rectifier - The Electric Man

“Sure, the Electric Man, solving the city’s problems from his cardboard hero lair, shouldering the mantle of Great Responsibility.”
― Brian D. Howard, Rectifier - The Electric Man

“Cops were a worthwhile thing to fear. Cops showing up could mean arrest, or just being beaten to unconsciousness no matter how cooperative he might be. But they probably wouldn’t kill him.”
― Brian D. Howard

“Fly safe, little canary; I’ll miss you.”
― E.V. Greig, Project Nightingale

“It wouldn’t be right.”
“And you don’t do wrong.”
“Do you?”
― E.V. Greig, Project Nightingale

“You’re troubled.”
“And you’re observant.”
― E.V. Greig, Project Nightingale

“Mr Whitby, why have you armed this cleaning robot?”
“Ah, good – you’ve met him already!”
― E.V. Greig

“You know, I’ve never met a non-gendered person before. It’s fascinating. Are you completely physically neutral too?”
“If you look it’s a breach of seventeen international laws and fifty two assorted provisions.”
― E.V. Greig

“The last time that I agreed to meet one of your projects it tried to kill me.”
― E.V. Greig, Project Nightingale

“Obsessive devotion to duty was a key feature in this role. It spurred them on past the normal limits of endurance and blurred the pain of the latest bullet into little more than a dull nag at the back of their thoughts. It was utterly mad and Spence relished every shred of it.”
― E.V. Greig

“HUMAN BEINGS MAKE LIFE SO INTERESTING. DO YOU KNOW, THAT IN A UNIVERSE SO FULL OF WONDERS, THEY HAVE MANAGED TO INVENT BOREDOM. (Death)”
― Terry Pratchett, Hogfather

“I want to share three warnings. First, to stand up for human goodness is to stand up against a hydra–that mythological seven-headed monster that grew back two heads for every one Hercules lopped off. Cynicism works a lot like that. For every misanthropic argument you deflate, two more will pop up in its place. Veneer theory is a zombie that just keeps coming back. Second, to stand up for human goodness is to take a stand against the powers that be. For the powerful, a hopeful view of human nature is downright threatening. Subversive. Seditious. It implies that we’re not selfish beasts that need to be reined in, restrained and regulated. It implies that we need a different kind of leadership. A company with intrinsically motivated employees has no need of managers; a democracy with engaged citizens has no need of career politicians. Third, to stand up for human goodness means weathering a storm of ridicule. You’ll be called naive. Obtuse. Any weakness in your reasoning will be mercilessly exposed. Basically, it’s easier to be a cynic. The pessimistic professor who preaches the doctrine of human depravity can predict anything he wants, for if his prophecies don’t come true now, just wait: failure could always be just around the corner, or else his voice of reason has prevented the worst. The prophets of doom sound oh so profound, whatever they spout. The reasons for hope, by contrast, are always provisional. Nothing has gone wrong–yet. You haven’t been cheated–yet. An idealist can be right her whole life and still be dismissed as naive. This book is intended to change that. Because what seems unreasonable, unrealistic and impossible today can turn out to be inevitable tomorrow. The time has come for a new view of human nature. It’s time for a new realism. It’s time for a new view of humankind.”
― Rutger Bregman

“She had seen her mother looking ethereal, in her tutu and swan feathers and dinky little crown, in the poster from a Denver Opera Ballet production—looking like something you could break in two. But looking over her shoulder one day and seeing Nita eyeing dubiously that old framed poster, her mother had said, “Honey, take my advice. Don’t mess around with swans. One of those pretty white wings could break your leg in three places.” And off she had gone with the laundry basket, sailing past, graceful and strong, with the danger showing only around the edges of the chuckle.”
― Diane Duane, The Wizard's Dilemma

“I used to think optimists were naive and pessimists were smart. Pessimism seemed like an essential feature of a scientist: the basis of science is to challenge every result, to pick theories apart to see which one stands up. I thought cynicism was one of its founding principals. Maybe there is some truth in that. But science is inherently optimistic too. How else would we describe the willingness to try experiments over and over, often with slim odds of success? Scientific progress can be frustratingly slow: the best minds can dedicate their entire lives to a single question and come away with nothing. They do so with the hope that a breakthrough is around the corner. The odds drop to zero if they give up.”
― Hannah Ritchie, Not the End of the World: How We Can Be the First Generation to Build a Sustainable Planet

“I often feel embarassed to admit that I'm an optimist. I imagine it knocks me down a peg or two in people's estimations.But the world desperately needs more optimism. The problem is that people mistake optimism for 'blind optimism', the unfounded faith that things will just get better. Blind optimism really is dumb. And dangerous. If we sit back and do nothing, things will not turn out fine. That's not the kind of optimism I'm talking about.
Optimism is seeing challenges as opportunities to make progress; it's having the confidence that there are things we can do to make a difference. We can shape the future, and we can build a great one if we want to. The economist Paul Romer makes this distinction nicely. He separates 'complacent optimism' from 'conditional optimism'.”
― Hannah Ritchie, Not the End of the World: How We Can Be the First Generation to Build a Sustainable Planet

“I would have loved you even if you hadn’t. Because you loved me first. But you made it easier when you replanted that tree.

Quinn, Susan Kaye. Halfway To Better (Short Story Collection) (p. 88). Twisted Space LLC. Kindle Edition.”
― Susan Kaye Quinn, Halfway To Better

“It’s a tiny thing in the vastness of the damage, difficult work if you object to waders, and a lot of methodical mapping, but tiny is objectively different from zero. And the zones from last year are already growing.

Quinn, Susan Kaye. Halfway To Better (Short Story Collection) (p. 51). Twisted Space LLC. Kindle Edition.”
― Susan Kaye Quinn, Halfway to Better

“This thing has grown fast, the way things can when a million people do a tiny thing, and suddenly it's not so tiny.

Quinn, Susan Kaye. Halfway To Better (Short Story Collection) (p. 87). Twisted Space LLC. Kindle Edition.”
― Susan Kaye Quinn, Halfway To Better