Jeremy Maddux > Recent Status Updates

"the world must extend a sympathetic understanding to theGerman people and their aims under the leadership of Adolf Hitler." - Thomas J. Watson, chairman/ceo of IBM. 'More than fundamental sympathy, Watson in 1933 possessed an extra-ordinary investment in Germany. It began in the early twenties during theheight of Germany's tornadic post-War inflation.'

'And also proudly boast Of that "man of men," our sterling president. The name of T.J. Watson means a courage none can stem: And we feel honored to be here to toast the IBM. Revival-style meetings enthralled the men of IBM. Swaying as theychanted harmonies of adulation for the Leader, their palms brought togetherin fervent applause in hero worship,' They had so much in common with Germany. No wonder they did business

And the songs. They began the very first day a man entered the IBMculture. They never ended during one's entire tenure. More than 100 songswere sung at various company functions. There were several for Watson,including the "IBM Anthem": There's a thrill in store for all, For we're about to toast The corporation that we represent. We're here to cheer each pioneer And also proudly boast Of that "man of men," our sterli

'LIMA, PERU, 2004: Decapitated baby boy found on a hilltop surrounded by containers of blood. Investigators believe the killing was a ritual sacrifice to appease a pre-Colombian earth deity.'

'It may even be answered by dogmatic science because -- whereas the two previous volumes were profanations of astronomic deities -- this is the gage thrown down. It is the loudest scream of all. It flouts and taunts and jeers at astronomers who sleep well o'nights, leaving the discoveries to interested amateurs. It records the murder of 30,000 people -- by dogmatic science. What will his next book reveal?'

'When the textbooks of another day refer to this, our age, as a time of great mental contentment, of mutual back-slapping and no troublesome doubts, it is just possible that the name Charles Fort will be mentioned as the lone dissenter, the one small voice raised in defense of suspended judgments. It will be best to see that Mr. Fort is thoroughly dead before that day arrives, because he could brook no such honors.'

11 pages in with no idea what's going on. If this is a brand new world he's creating, I need context. Not sure what he's describing as metaphor and what he's describing in the literal.

11 pages in with no idea what's going on. If this is a brand new world he's creating, I need context.

A manticore was nobody’s pet, and it certainly wasn’t fit to ride. As if slapping wings and a poison-barbed tail on a lion made it somehow a fine idea to climb on its back!

I knew of Italians who get into raised-voice arguments over buffalo-milk mozzarella versus cow-milk mozzarella, Spaniards who feed acorns to pigs to make the ham more delicious, and Americans who take barbecue so seriously it has become a competitive sport. So what was going on with steak? Had modern agriculture bled the flavor out in the name of efficiency and profit margins?

Please... Stop. Using. Flashbacks every other chapter. I hate this plot device. So. Much.

The quotes from the San
Francisco Chronicle are interesting as Dr. Layton was
neither sensitive nor religious; he was a hardened,
godless man who earned his living inventing new
techniques to kill people en masse. His reference to
Patty Hearst is significant when one considers evidence presented elsewhere in this work that strongly
indicates that Jim Jones was instrumental in her
kidnapping

'Never did he fight women. ...he expected women to be doughty, inspirational, even mythical, supernatural figures. We were supposed also to altercate with him, more or less too, to overrule him, which was all very unusual but part of his unshakeable women rules. If a woman wasn’t being mythical and so on, he’d try to nudge things in that direction by himself becoming slightly dictatorial towards her.'