“The Chinese poet George Wu ... recorded on his comlog: "Poets are the mad midwives to reality. They see not what is, nor what can be, but what must become." Later, on his last disk to his lover the week before he died, Wu said: "Words are the only bullets in truth's bandolier. And poets are the snipers.””
“Mathematical rigor is like clothing; in its style it ought to suit the occasion, and it diminishes comfort and restricts freedom of movement if it is either too loose or too tight.””
“The Chinese poet George Wu, who died in the Last Sino-Japanese War about three centuries before the Hegira, understood this when he recorded on his comlog: “Poets are the mad midwives to reality. They see not what is, nor what can be, but what must become.” Later, on his last disk to his lover the week before he died, Wu said: “Words are the only bullets in truth’s bandolier. And poets are the snipers.””
“On a dais at one end of the room, Sid Simmons and his Ten Hot Dogs play swing music. Sid is the permanent attraction at the Westcombe Winter Gardens (open from April until October only!) and has brought his “boys” and their hideous noises to honour the Mayor,””
“Evenin’ folks. This is Sid Simmons and His Hot Dogs broadcastin’ to you from the Winter Gardens, Westcombe. Our first number’s a cute arrangement of a waltz by Brahms and Mick’s goin’ to sing you the words, ‘I’ve got a Hornet in my Cornet, Baby,’ … Okay boys. Give ’em the works…””
“IRVING Lat. 69° 37′ 42″ N., Long. 98° 40′ 58″ W.24 April, 1848 Except for the fact that John Irving was sick and half-starving and his gums were bleeding and he feared that two of his side teeth were loose and he was so tired that he was afraid he would collapse in his tracks at any moment, this was one of the happiest days of his life. All this day and the previous day, he and George Henry Hodgson, old friends from the gunnery training ship Excellent before this expedition, had been in charge of teams of men doing some hunting and honest-to-God exploring. For the first time in this accursed expedition’s three years of sitting around and freezing, Third Lieutenant John Irving was a true explorer.””